English for Community-Based Tourism: Barriers and Challenges of Local Entrepreneurs in Thailand

Abstract

This qualitative research aims to investigate the barriers and identify challenges to the English language by local entrepreneurs in Thailand. Thirty-five participants were selected by snowball sampling and purposive sampling as the key informants. The research instruments were the researcher, interviews, observations, and focus group discussion. The data was analyzed by thematic analysis. The findings reveal that problems and barriers to English used by Thai people still are the main issue, especially in a rural communities. It was found that background knowledge and education in English language learning are crucial factors for CBT entrepreneurs in communication with international tourists. The findings demonstrate the challenge that CBT entrepreneurs face in using English for communication and promoting their tourist sites. According to their needs for English development, they would not like to learn English in a traditional style, for example, short training for 2-3 days, however, they would like long-term learning by integrating with online and offline learning that can construct their knowledge by themselves as well as create sustainable learning.