NEEDS FOR ENGLISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF THAI EMPLOYEES IN A MULTINATIONAL COMPANY PANIDA KARACHEDEE A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER DEGREE OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE SUTDIES IN HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT FACULTY OF EDUCATION BURAPHA UNIVERSITY JANUARY 2017 COPYRIGHT OF BURAPHA UNIVERSITY
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NEEDS FOR ENGLISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF THAI
EMPLOYEES IN A MULTINATIONAL COMPANY
PANIDA KARACHEDEE
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER DEGREE OF
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE
SUTDIES IN HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
BURAPHA UNIVERSITY
JANUARY 2017
COPYRIGHT OF BURAPHA UNIVERSITY
The thesis of Panida Karachedee has been approved by the examining
committee to be partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master Degree of
Human Resource Development in Faculty of Education of Burapha University.
Advisory Committee
……………………………………………Principal advisor
(Associate Professor Dr. Chalong Tubsree)
……………………………………………co-advisor
(Dr. Chalermsri Chantarathong)
Examining Committee
…………………………………………….Principal examiner
(Associate Professor Dr. Chalong Tubsree)
……………………………………………Member
(Dr. Chalermsri Chantarathong)
……………………………………………Member
(Dr. Nart Nontasak)
……………………………………………Member
(Dr. Denchai Prabjandee)
The thesis has been approved by the Departmemt of International Graduate
Studies in Human Resource Development of Faculty of Education to be partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the Master Degree of Arts in Human Resource
Development of Burapha University
……………………………………... Dean of the Faculty of Education
(Associate Professor Dr.Vichit Suratreungchai)
January .…, 2017
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This thesis could not have been completed without the support from several
people to whom I would like to use this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude
and appreciation. They are as following.
Great appreciation is given to my principal research advisor Associate
Professor Dr. Chalong Tubsree, my co-advisor Dr. Chalermsri Chantarathong, and the
teachers who suggested me during questionnaire development process. I also would
like to give my respectful thank all the teachers of Department of International
Graduate Studies in Human Resource Development (IGHRD).
In addition, I would like to thank to Mr. Kajonsak Suwattanakorn, Deputy
Managing Director, Miss Patchanee Minrattanakorn, Human Resource Division
Manager, Mr. Tarin Chantharavisoot, Advisor, all managers, and employee of Siam
Compressor Industry Co., Ltd. who provided me the information for the research.
Furthermore, thank you very much for Mr. Junlasak Sooksabai, Assistant
Professor Dr. Chaiwat Nuthong, Miss Usa Phuchadapirom, Assistant Professor
Pattaya Karachedee, and all members of my family who support me for the study.
Panida Karachedee
55921456: MAJOR: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT;
M.A (HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT)
KEYWORDS: NEEDS/ ENGLISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS/
MULTINATIONAL COMPANY
PANIDA KARACHEDEE: NEEDS OF ENGLISH COMMUNICTION
SKILLS FOR THAI EMPLOYEES IN A MULTINATIONAL COMPANY.
maintenance, and v) employee relationships. This is significantly influenced by
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. At the esteem needs level, the author suggested that the
employees’ achievement should be recognized by the organization. Organizations
should set specific awards for achieving certain goals and tasks and make promotion
based on achievements rather than seniority. The employees should also feel valued
and appreciated. In addition, in cases where the organization could satisfy the
employees’ needs at the self-actualization level, their abilities and potential would be
fully utilized. This would lead to the overall productivity and effectiveness of the
business. It was mentioned in Maslow (1954) that he added, “needs to know and
understand” to the existing five levels of needs. It is obvious that the organization
should offer both pre-work training and on the job training.
3. Needs of English Communication Skills in Multinational Companies
It is clear from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory that people seek these
needs in their life even when working in the organization. Knowing the needs of
employees and satisfying them would lead to the high competitive potential of the
company in the market.
As mentioned earlier, globalization changes the characteristics of investors
and overseas companies. In the future, more and more companies will become
multinational companies and English communication skills will be the language used
to communicate in the companies. However, the local employees who lack English
communication skills will certainly have problems concerning their work. This would
lead to needs’ deficiency according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, as the
22
employee’s ultimate needs, i.e. self-actualization would not be fulfilled. As a result,
the multinational companies could not utilize the best potential of their employees.
Petcharat (2012) reported that English communication skills were very
important especially in a joint venture business between a Thai company and foreign
company. The author focused on English communication skills for the oil drilling
business. In this business, there were overseas companies investing their business in
Thailand. Since the headquarters of these companies resided in Europe or USA, the
employees were bound to use English as an official language for communications
inside the companies. This was because the companies usually allocated the managers
or supervisors from the headquarters’ to look after the production. The local senior
crew and junior crew then had to use English to communicate both for work and their
daily life conversations.
As was mentioned earlier, the employees were forced both directly or
indirectly to use English as the communication language in the company, lack of
English communication skills might cause miscommunication and lead to errors or
waste of resources. As a result, a rig manager had a vision to improve the English
communication skills of all the employees. The author performed the survey of needs
of English communications in all four skills, i.e. listening, speaking, reading, and
writing. The survey was applied to 240 employees classified into 45 senior crews and
195 junior crews. The questionnaires were used in the survey asking about the
necessities of using English for career, necessities in learning English for target
situations, abilities in English communication, needs for English usage improvements,
activities that help in developing the abilities to use English in their careers, and
evaluation of currently used textbooks and exercises. The research results showed that
both junior crews and senior crews need all four English communication skills in their
careers. The senior crews possessed these skills in moderate level while the junior
crews had low level for all skills. The study showed that they were needed to improve
their English communication skills in order to work effectively. One of the
approaches to solve this problem is to provide an English training course to the local
employees.
23
In order to set up an efficient course, the survey of problems and
requirements of the staff is a very crucial step. The developed English course should
be able to improve English communication skills in all 4 parts, i.e. listening, speaking,
reading, and writing for communication in occupational work (English for
Occupational Purpose: EOP). EOP can be categorized further to English for Specific
Purpose: ESP and English for Academic Purposes: EAP (Khan, Ghulamullah,
Mohsin, Dogar, & Awan, 2011). The aims of this English training course are more
specific compared to general teaching English (English for General Purpose: EGP).
The relationship of English communication skills and the scope of occupational work
are of importance. Setting up the English courses in multinational companies that
does not contribute to the occupational work might fail the objectives of the course
expected from the companies.
Khan et al. (2011) studied needs analysis of English for occupational and
specific purposes. The authors suggested that needs analysis was a process undertaken
by trainers and course designers to identify the information necessary to develop
courses in order to satisfy the desired learning goals. They defined the definition of
“needs” concerning linguistics according to Hutchinson and Waters (1987) as the
ability to comprehend and or to produce the linguistic features of target situation.
In the point of view of a learner-centered approach “needs” referred to requirements
according to learners. It implied that the learners lacked some abilities concerning the
learning language. The authors mentioned the works of Chambers (1980), which
concluded that needs analysis did not mean the analysis of needs, but referred to
analyzing in order to establish needs.
4. Needs of English Communication Skills According to Job Categories
and Levels
Although English communication skills are required for the employees,
there are differences in required communication skills according to several factors, for
example, the education background, job position and categories.
Phetcharat (2012) reported in her investigation over the English needs that in
general, the most important English communication skills were listening and
speaking. It was found that middle-level employees had better skills compared to low-
level employees. The middle-level employees usually hold at least a bachelor degree
24
while the lower-level employees have an education level lower than bachelor degree
graduation. Though the former group has better English communication skills, both
groups still need improvement. It was reported that their need for English
communication skills were different and thus the goals of improvement were
different. The middle-level employees required improvement over reading and
writing skills while the lower-level employees preferred to improve their listening and
speaking skills. The author also reported that the training courses designed for these
two groups of employees were also different. The middle-level employees preferred
to have the training courses applicable to their real work situations concerning
working tools, working instructions, safety instructions, and daily reports.
They suggested using games, graphs, or diagrams for vocabulary, reading skill
improvement. The lower-level employees were satisfied with the training courses
involving conversation, practicing in listening, and reviewing.
Medlin (2009) developed the ESP to create a handbook on teaching
American Hospital English to nurses and other healthcare professionals who were not
native English speakers. The authors found that EGP courses were too broad and not
as applicable to the work situation as ESP. This was because the medical staff
communicated directly with patients so required colloquial and conversational
English skills, as well as the ability to translate medical and scientific jargon into lay
terms for the information to be more effective. Lin, Wu, and Huang (2013) examined
ESP for hospitality college students and hotel employees in Taiwan. The participants
in research were college students from two colleges and employees from five hotels in
Taiwan. It was found that the variances of students who learned English with a
hospitality college and the hotel employees differed significantly. The authors
concluded that ESP had become a core study subject for the hospitality-training
program in Taiwan.
Wiriyachitra (2002) mentioned in her research that English skills needed and
wanted in workplaces could not be obtained from the Thai university English
curriculum. The skills mostly required in the workplaces such as listening and
speaking skills were not focused on in Thai education English curriculum. Her study
emphasized that EGP had not been successfully taught to the students. Kaewpet
(2009) reported that three communicative events should be incorporated into the
25
English training courses in engineering fields, i.e. talking about daily tasks and duties,
reading textbooks or manuals, and writing periodic or progress reports. The issue
became more crucial as this was the qualification for multinational companies.
However, these needs can be achieved and more efficiently satisfied in the ESP
courses rather than EGP courses.
Khan et al. (2011) mentioned in their work that though the employees were
good in general English, they still needed to be trained for their specific fields using
ESP. Hence, designing an English course to satisfy the goals of multinational
companies should provide for the learners to have better understanding in the contents
related to their work experiences and result in English communication skills
improvement. It is expected that after finishing the course, the learner should be able
to communicate with the foreign staff in the company concerning their jobs and work
functions.
At this point, it can be seen from the aforementioned research results that
employees in the multinational companies require English communication skills
developed differently according to several factors, e.g. education level, job level and
categories. It is also found that ESP seems to be more efficient to be used for
developing the training courses. This is because the EGP is quite broad and hardly
applied to the working objectives or goals set by the companies. Furthermore, each
job category has its own technical terms and definitions, which could not be found in
EGP courses. The following sections discuss in details about ESP as well as the needs
for English communication in the multinational companies.
English for Specific Purpose (ESP) and Its Relationship with English
for General Purpose (EGP) Studying English as a foreign language is categorized into two main groups,
i.e., English for General English (GE) or General Purpose (EGP) and English for
Specific Purpose (ESP). Figure 2.3 shows this in details.
26
Figure 2.3 The Tree of English Language Teaching
Source: Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 17)
The study of Popescu (2010) showed that EGP referred to English normally
taught in school with general purposes. It provided a broad foundation rather than a
detailed and selective specification of goals. As a result, EGP often focuses on
education and there is no specific goal for the learner apart from learning the broad
foundation. The content for EGP is hard to decide since it would be broad and
general. In contrast, ESP normally focuses on training. It is intended to be used in a
specific vocational context. As a result, the content can be easily designed and the
goal can be set clearly.
27
Far (2008) mentioned that the meaning “general purposes” used in EGP is
vague. He mentioned a helpful interpretation suggested by Strevens (1988), who
prefers the term “English for Educational Purposes” (EEP) to account for a school-
based learning of a language as a subject element within the overall school
curriculum. He also mentioned the work of Strevens (1988), Dudley-Evans, and St.
John (1998) over the definition of ESP as follows:
ESP as suggested by Strevens (1988):
1. Designed to meet specified needs of learning
2. Related in content (i.e. themes and topics) to particular disciplines,
occupations and activities
3. Centered on the language appropriate to those activities in syntax,
lexis, discourse and semantics
4. In contrast with general English
ESP as suggested by Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998):
1. ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines
2. ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology
from that of general English
3. ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners
4. ESP is generally designed for intermediate and advanced students
Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) suggested more flexibility in ESP
definitions. The most important point to be emphasized is that the authors removed
the important characteristics suggested by Strevens (1988), i.e. “ESP is in contrast
with general English”. Table 2.1 summarizes the important characteristics of EGP and
ESP.
28
Table 2.1 Summary of EGP and ESP Characteristics
EGP ESP
• The focus is often on
education
• As the future English needs
of the students are impossible
to predict, course content is
more difficult to select
• It is more usefully
considered as providing a
broad foundation on language
skills which are equally
stressed
• The focus is on training
• As the English is intended to
be used in specific vocational
contexts, selection of
appropriate content is easier
(but note not ‘easy’ in itself)
• It is needs analysis that
determines which language
skills are most needed by the
students, and the syllabus is
designed accordingly
Source: Far (2008, pp. 1-11)
Concepts of English for Specific Purpose (ESP)
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) mentioned the work of Widdowson
(Widdowson, 1978) in their work that traditionally English studying aims to describe
the grammar. However, the new English studying has a goal in which language is
actually used in real communications.
As a result, the usage of the language varies from one context to another.
It can be said that English of commerce is significantly different from that of
engineering.
This discovery affects the development of English courses for specific
groups of learners. The concept underlying this development is then focused on
determining the features of specific situations and using these features as the basis for
the learners’ course. This becomes the concept of English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
29
ESP emphasizes on the learners and their attitudes to learn. The learners’
interests influence greatly on their motivation to learn and success in the given
courses. For this reason, the courses are developed based on the learners’ needs and
interests. It is therefore assumed that the learners would learn better and faster if the
English courses were designed to fit their needs and thus improve their motivation to
learn.
It was mentioned in the work of Bracaj (2014) that English as a foreign
language is mainly used for instrumental purposes. People in these countries learn
English in order to fulfill particular purposes, such as for graduation, job application,
promotion or professional development at work.
As a result, it would be better to provide English courses for these groups of
people regarding their professional fields so that they could easily find a job
according to their profession or get promotion in their career. Therefore, the author
mentioned the definition of ESP as the teaching or studying English for a particular
career (like law, medicine) or for business in general.
ESP is then closely related to learners’ interest in various disciplines, e.g.
‘Law English’, ‘English for the Hotel Industry’, or ‘English for Tourist Management’,
‘English for Business’, ‘English for Medicine’ etc. The learners study English for
a specific purpose, represented by studying subject matter, to gain and develop
appropriate knowledge and skills through English.
The learners are forced to have good communication skills in English
because they need to fulfill the requirements in their specialist subject studies. It can
be implied that the study of ESP gives higher potential for the learners to adapt to
their work conditions and would be easily employed and promoted in their specialties.
1. Types of English for Specific Purpose (ESP)
Bracaj (2014) discussed about the learners’ expectation toward ESP.
The author suggested that the learners have at least three kinds of expectations:
1. Cultural-educational
2. Personal and individual
3. Academic/occupational
30
The first two reflects the learners’ success in terms of what they expect to
learn. The last one represents a type of ESP, which is commonly expressed in
advance, when a needs analysis is carried out. The author mentioned two types of
ESP according to the motivation, position, and status of the learners, which becomes
a reason for learning English. These two types are English for Occupational Purpose
(EOP) and English for Academic Purpose (EAP). The author also added the other
type of ESP proposed by the work of Kennedy and Bolitho (1984). This type is called
English for Science and Technology (EST), which is needed for scientists and
technology concerned people.
EOP is offered in such a situation in which the learners are required to use
English as part of their work or profession (Kennedy & Bolitho, 1984) the courses
will be different from English courses the learners have taken before being trained for
their profession as it is job or profession oriented. While EOP is offered according to
occupation, EAP is normally offered within educational institutions. However, the
aims and methods provided in EAP courses may vary according to the requirements
of each faculty. In these situations, there is a need to see the role of English in terms
of its providing accessibility to knowledge contained in textbooks, proceedings,
journals, reports, and abstracts. In addition, the learners are expected to produce their
new knowledge involving presentations, papers, university thesis, and articles in
scientific journals using English. In cases where EAP is in the field of science and
technologies the border between EAP and EST is somehow indistinguishable.
In summary, analyzing the linguistic characteristics of a particular group of
learners’ specialist area of work or study could identify the English needed by them.
Thus, ESP has the principle as quoted in the following sentences “Tell me what you
need English for and I will tell you the English that you need” (Hutchinson & Waters,
1987, p. 8).
Designing English for Specific Purpose (ESP) Course Designing an ESP course is somehow different from the EGP course. Since
the learners of ESP courses have specific purposes, the course content is scoped down
to the learners’ needs while in EGP the content can be very broad.
31
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) proposed the three main factors that affect
the designing of an ESP course. This is illustrated in the following figure.
Figure 2.4 Factors Affecting ESP Course Design
Source: Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 22)
These three main factors are Language descriptions, Learning Theories and
Needs analysis. Although they are related, each of them can be considered separately.
The language description is the way in which the language system is broken
down and described for the purpose of learning. It does not mention how to describe
the element of the language or how it should be taught. The commonly used words for
language descriptions are ‘structural’, ‘functional’ or ‘notional’. The language
description involves questions, e.g. “What topic areas will need to be covered?”,
“What does the student need to learn?”, “What aspects of language will be needed and
how will they be described”.
The way of learning is described in the learning theory. It provides the
theoretical basis for methodology and describes how the language can be learned. It is
natural that learning strategies vary and correspond with learners’ groups, ages, level
or reason for studying. The way one group of learners acquired language might be
quite different from the other groups. It should be noted that the learning theories
themselves could be referred in a broader sense to cover any kind of knowledge, for
32
example how to drive a car. The term ‘approach’ or ‘method’ is derived not from the
view of the language itself but from a view of learning. The relevant terms that should
be considered in learning theories are, for example, ‘cognitive’, ‘affective’.
The last factor, needs analysis, refers to the awareness of a target situation
that is a definable need to communicate in English. This relates to learners’
characteristics. The questions of who, why, where, and when connect the learners and
the learning situation. The author concluded that in organizing the ESP course
effectively and consequently achieving a satisfactory goal these three factors should
be taken into account.
Bracaj (2014) also reported that since the learners have clear goals, it gives a
great advantage to both learners and teachers sides and hence the designing of the
course. The ESP learners are then motivated by the same aim. This would make the
teacher satisfying the learners’ needs and expectations easier. In ESP, the learner and
the way of learning are considered the main factors in the process. This means that an
SP course should have different curriculum with different types of exercises and
materials according to the learners’ needs.
In general, course design is referred to a process that interprets the raw data
about a learning need in order to produce an integrated series of teaching-learning
experiences. The aim of the course is to lead the learners to a particular state of
knowledge. In practice, this implies developing a syllabus, selecting, adapting or
writing materials in accordance with the syllabus, developing a methodology for
teaching those materials and establishing evaluation procedures to measure the
progress towards the specific goals. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) proposed three
different approaches to course design in corresponding to ESP, which are language-
centered, skill-centered, and learning-centered.
1. Language-centered Approach
This approach is probably the most familiar one to English teachers. It has
been used extensively in ESP course design. Its aim is to establish a direct connection
between the analysis of the target situation and the context of the ESP courses. Figure
2.3 shows the process of course design using language-centered approach.
33
Figure 2.5 A language-centered approach to course design
Source: Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 66)
The approach starts with the learners and their needs, proceeds to obtaining
the syllabus after some analysis, then to develop the corresponding materials to be
used in the course and finally performing evaluation of students’ mastery of the
syllabus items. This approach though it seems logically straightforward contains
several weaknesses. For example, the learners’ are considered only for locating the
restricted area of study and then disregarded. Thus, the learning needs of the students
are not accounted for at all. The course itself is not flexible since it has been planned
completely before being applied to the learners. Thus, the learners’ feedback is not
taken into account during the course.
2. Skill-centered Approach
The skills-centered approach is based on two fundamental principles, i.e.
34
a theoretical and a pragmatic approach. From the theoretical point of view, it is
hypothesized that underlying any language behavior are certain skills and strategies,
which the learner uses to produce or comprehend discourse. For this reason, a course
designed using a skill-centered approach sets the learning objectives in terms of both
performance and competence. From the pragmatic viewpoint, the skill-centered
approach results in an ESP course that does not focus on achieving a particular set of
goals, but rather encourages the learners to achieve what they can within the given
constraints
A course designed using the skill-centered approach then aims to help the
learners to develop skills and strategies, which will continue to develop after the ESP
course itself. It does not provide a specific achievement in linguistic knowledge but
makes the learners into better processors of information. Figure 2.6 shows the skill-
centered approach to course design.
Figure 2.6 A skills-centered Approach to Course Design
Source: Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 71)
The skills-centered approach though considering the learners more than the
language-centered approach it still treats the learners as a user of language rather than
as a learner of language. This is reflected in the processes, which are of language use
not of language learning.
35
3. Learning-centered Approach
It was mentioned previously that a language-centered approach concerns the
target situation performance and uses it to design the ESP course. The skills-centered
approach suggests that the processes lying behind the target performance should be
considered such that these can be used to suggest the learners perform in the language
being studied. The learning-centered approach, however, looks beyond the
competence that enables the learners to perform. The aim is to discover how the
learners acquire the competence not the competence itself. The following diagram
shows this relationship.
Figure 2.7 A comparison of Approaches to Course Design
Source: Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 73)
36
Figure 2.8 shows that a learning-centered approach in designing courses
considers the learners at every stage of the process. The characteristics of this
approach can be described as:
1. The approach possesses a negotiable process. The learning situation and
the target situation will both influence the nature of the syllabus, materials,
methodology and evaluation procedures.
2. The approach possesses a dynamic process. It has feedback channels to
enable the course to respond to developments.
The learning-centered course design process is shown in Figure 2.8.
Figure 2.8 A learning-centered Approach to Course Design
Source: Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p.74)
37
In the learning-centered approach, the authors concluded that the
effectiveness of learning process should employ many other skills apart from focusing
on mono-skill. This would enrich the knowledge gained by the learners. The author
also mentioned that mono-skill focus methodology would lead to lack of variety in the
lesson including contents and exercise types. However, learning includes repeating,
but frequent repetition would lead to learners’ boredom and the learning would fail.
Thus, integrated skills employment in the lessons seems to be a reasonable method.
Application of ESP Courses in Multinational Companies It has been shown that an ESP course is the course designed for specific
purposes of the learners. It is thus more appropriate to implement in the multinational
companies. This is because the ultimate goal of the multinational companies is to
have effective communication within the companies using English as a common
language. For this reason, the learners are not required to be experts in English;
however, they are required to use English communication skills effectively
concerning their job level and job categories.
Petcharat (2011) studied the English communication required in petroleum
companies. The authors mentioned that lacking English communication by
the employees caused operation failures or unnecessary work, which consumed
valuable resources. To solve this problem, a rig manager decided to train English
communication skills to the employees. However, the objective of the training was to
elevate the English communication skills concerning the employees’ work functions.
The English course thus aimed to be specific for petroleum business purposes.
However, there were little to no English teaching materials concerning the petroleum
business. For this reason, the author implemented a survey of English needs in terms
of formats and situations in all four English communication skills. This included
the teaching materials and activities for the offshore-oil rig employees. It was found
that the employees were satisfied with provided ESP courses and activities.
Furthermore, the author also showed that different job levels of the employees affects
the English capability as well as the development needs.
38
Kaur and Clarke (2009) studied the demands of English language for human
resource (HR) personnel in multinational companies. It was expected the HR
employees possessed good English communication skills. The study showed that HR
personnel are required to improve English language skills and abilities in order to
perform their daily tasks more effectively. The English language skills required for
the HR staff were more specific. They were required to use English language skills in
specific communicative events such as speaking in meetings, writing reports, and
editing written materials. Though the study did not discuss explicitly about the
English training course offered to the HR staff, it was clear that the requirements were
specific and thus fitted into ESP criterion.
Lin, Wu, and Huang (2013) mentioned the work of Hsu (2011) that ESP had
become a core study subject within the hospitality-training program in Taiwan.
The author reported that the employees of the hotel industry were required to
communicate efficiently with English-speaking hotel clients. To improve this
the authors suggested involvement of the students in the hospitality industry.
They also pointed out that ESP learning had a main effect in learning English
including spoken tasks, comprehension, interaction strategies, and writing tasks. From
their study, it was found that ESP should be involved in English training courses in
the hospitality business.
From all the studies mentioned above, it is obvious that in English required
environments, such as multinational companies, job categories that expected efficient
English communication skills, or businesses with multinational interaction English
communication skills are extremely important. All of them mention using ESP either
directly or indirectly to train the employees to achieve their companies’ objectives.
From the aforementioned research, it could be concluded that English
communication skills are of importance and very necessary in multinational
companies. These needs are also obvious according to job level and job categories in
every level of work and education. As a result, this research attempts to analyze the
needs of English communication skills by collecting data from the multinational
company via interview and questionnaire distribution. This information will be used
further to develop an efficient ESP course in order to improve English communication
39
skills of the employees in different job categories in the selected multinational
company
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY AND TOOLS
In order to set up an effective English course, needs analysis concerning
English communication skills is required. This is because the requirement of English
communication skills improvement seems to vary according to several factors, for
example, educational level, job level, job categories, etc. This, therefore, becomes the
main focus of this research. The purposes of this research are restated here for
completion:
1. Study the need for English communication skills regarding listening,
speaking, reading and writing in a selected multinational company from a
management point of view,
2. Study the need for English communication skills and relationships
according to different job categories, gender, educational level, age, and service years
In order to achieve these goals, several concepts and tools have been
applied. Firstly, the population and sample size of interest is discussed. It is then
followed by explanations of the research tools, which are used to collect data. Finally,
the method of data analysis and the statistics concerned are discussed.
Population and Sample Size Determination of Sample Size Usually a review of literature only gives guidance and might not fit exactly
with the work at hand. The last two approaches are actually the same thing. While
using the formula can vary any parameters as desired to calculate the sample size, the
published tables provide only the frequently used parameters along with the sample
size. Table 3.1 shows the sample size for some fixed values of precision level and
confidence levels.
41
Table 3.1 Table for Determining Sample Size
Size of Population Sample Size (n) for Precision Level of:
+/-5 percent +/-7 percent +/-10 percent
100 81 67 51
125 96 78 56
150 110 86 61
175 122 94 64
200 134 101 67
. . . .
. . . .
Table 3.1 Table for determining sample size for +/-5 percent, +/-7 percent,
and +/-10 percent precision levels where confidence level is 95 percent and P=0.5
(G.D. Israel, 1992).
In this study, the total population is 180 employees who hold supervisory
level positions in the selected multinational company. They come from different
departments and hence possess different job categories. Their educational level and
service years also vary. Out of this population, a sample size determined according to
Table 3.1 should lie between 122 and 134 when the precision level and the confidence
level are selected to be +/-5 percent and 95 percent respectively.
The author also gave a simplified formula to calculate a sample size. This is
given as follows:
(3.1)
Where is the sample size, is the total population size, and is the
level of precision. Applying this formula to the total population of this study with the
precision level of +/-5 percent, yields 180
42
As a result, the sample size required for this study is 125. However, I
decided to increase the sample size number to 134 just in case of incomplete returned
questionnaires. The samples are selected with variation of several factors, for
example, educational level, job categories, service years, etc.
Research Tools There are two research tools involved in this proposed research work, i.e.
an interview guide for the management level employees and a set of questionnaires to
survey needs analysis for English communication skills, including listening skills,
speaking skills, reading skills, and writing skills.
A Set of Questions for Interview Questions for Management Level
Employees
A tool in this section is developed in order to survey the opinions of the
management level employees concerning the English communication skills. There are
five qualitative interview guides:
1. As you are management staff what do you think of the needs of English
communication ability of the employees in the multinational company as an
overview.
2. As you are management staff what do you think about the necessity for
English communication ability according to job description.
3. As you are management staff what do you think of the necessity for
English communication ability of the employees according to job description in
a multinational company.
4. As you are management staff what do you think of the level of English
communication skills for employees in a multinational company.
5. As you are management staff what do you think of onsite working
abilities of English communication skills for the employees in a multinational
company.
180 . 1 + 180(0.05)2
= 124.14 n =
43
This interview question guide has been distributed to the management level
employees in various departments in the selected multinational company.
The obtained results are concluded and suggestions made regarding policy
deployment concerning employees’ English communication skills development. The
questionnaire form can be found in appendix A.
A Set of Questions for Surveying Needs Analysis for English
Communication Skills
A questionnaire is developed to survey needs for English communication
skills of Thai employees in a selected company. The purpose of this questionnaire is
to survey the problems and needs of Thai employees who are in supervisory level in a
multinational company. The results would be used in designing training courses in
order to satisfy English communication requirements according to job category.
The questionnaire consists of five parts, i.e. i) personal information, ii)
English communication problems in four skills, including listening, speaking, reading
and writing, iii) English communication skills according to job category, iv)
preferable training style and urgently required improvement skills, v) comments and
suggestions.
Part I of the questionnaire collects data concerning personal information.
The data is collected on both fact and opinion. This includes the information about
respondent’s gender, age, service years, education, and working department. The
other section asks the opinions of the respondent towards English communication
skills. The questions include proficiency in English communication skills, the level of
English placement test of the company, reason for English studying and English
courses ever taken. This section will illustrate the respondents’ opinions about
English communication skills. This data can be further analyzed according to the
information known from the previous section, for example, gender, education level,
department, etc.
The second part collects the information concerning English communication
problems. The questions are categorized according to communication skills, i.e.
listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The respondents are required to answer in
five levels ranging from Least to Most. This part of the questionnaire aims to search
44
for English communication problems encountered by Thai employees in the selected
multinational company.
Frequency of English communication skills used depending on job
categories has been asked about in the third part. The questions divide all English
communication skills into two fields, i.e. internal communication and external
communication. The respondents shall respond in five level scores ranging from Least
to Most. This part assumes that each job category would have different needs and
problems. Some departments might have more concerns with internal English
communications while the others take the external communication to be more
important.
Part IV surveys merely the training style preferred by the respondents.
This includes training frequency, frequency of self-study and corresponding sources,
training style and areas for improvement, which are urgently required. This would
help in designing a training course with the data collected from other parts. Apart
from the aforementioned questions, the respondents are allowed to put comments and
suggestions in Part V. This part though very open might give some insight into ideas
or problems, which can be used in designing the training courses. The questionnaire
form can be found in appendix A.
Data Analysis and Statistics in Use Tools mentioned in the previous section are used to collect data. Once the
data has been collected, it is analyzed statistically in order to extract useful
information according to the objectives. This work uses a number of statistics for data
analysis.
1. Data Visualization
Once data has been collected, there are many promising tools to analyze it.
The first step in data analysis normally concerns data visualization. Healy and Moody
(2014) stated in their work that there are generally two purposes presented in data
visualization, i.e. visualization for exploration and presentation of a final finding. The
former is meant for the researchers as they try to figure out the characteristics of the
collected data. The latter, in contrast, is designed for audiences in order to convince
45
them about the research results. Both forms might somehow share their similarities in
certain aspects.
One of the basic visualization methods is to display the collected data in
a table. By using this approach, the raw data can be easier to visualize and some
statistics such as mean, variances, and standard deviation can be added to provide in
depth information about the data.
Another approach is to use graphical methods. The graphical methods are
the basic tools integrated into most of the commercial statistical software packages.
The following figure shows some example plots of an ordinary least square
regression. Figures 3.1- 3.3 provide basic analysis of the data such as trends,
correlation, distribution, outlier (not sure about this word is it a technical research
term or is it a spelling mistake) etc. The plot can be performed from two to many
variables. It is also possible to have multi-panel plots. These plots allow the reader to
have more information though it can become quite complex. However, the goal is not
to summarize what has been discovered but rather to demonstrate the data for further
exploration.
Figure 3.1 Example of Plots of Pie Chart Generated by Commercial Software/
MATLAB.
46
Figure 3.2 Example of Plots of Bar Chart Generated by Commercial Software
MATLAB.
Figure 3.3 Example of Scatter and Line Plot Provided by Statistical Software R.
Source: Healy and Moody (2014, p. 112)
47
In the case of many variables and large amounts of data, the previously
mentioned representation can be cumbersome and hard to obtain information from.
A correlation matrix is another useful tool to be considered. The tool can show the
correlation between pairs of variables and can add more visualization using color,
see the following figure for example.
Figure 3.4 A Correlation Matrix Represented in a Tile Heat Map
Source: Healy and Moody (2014, p. 115)
The color key in the correlation matrix helps visualize the correlation
strength according to its correlation color index displayed at the bottom of the matrix.
There are some other interesting methods such as parallel coordinate plots that shows
48
multiple variables side by side. The detail can be found in the work of Healy and
Moody (2014).
2. Measure of Center and Measure of Variation
For both population and sample data, it is possible to find frequency
distribution that lists the corresponding frequencies for each class. In case the data is
population it results in population distribution, however, for the sampling data case, it
is known as sample distribution. Thus, the sample distribution somehow represents
the population distribution. It should be noted that the sample distribution becomes
closer to the population distribution as the sample size increases. In the graphical
representation, the histogram, which is used to represent a sample distribution,
gradually approaches a smooth curve, which represents the population distribution as
the sample size increases. This is illustrated in Figure 3.5 and 3.6. The histogram
plotted in Figure 3.4 is based on the sample size of 100 while the one plotted in
Figure 3.5 is based on the sample size of 2000. It is clear that as the sample size
increases the shape of the histogram becomes closer to the population distribution
displayed with the line curve.
Figure 3.5 A Histogram Plot Illustrated Sample Distribution Based on Sample Size of
100.
49
Figure 3.6 A Histogram Plot Illustrated Sample Distribution Based on Sample Size of
2000.
Figure 3.7 Symmetric and Non-Symmetric Distribution.
One way to summarize a sample of population distribution is to describe its
shape. In general, the distribution is a bell-shape expected in cases of the population
being large enough. The bell-shaped curve is widely used in statistics. Its shape shows
symmetric property. On the contrary, a distribution is known as skewed distribution in
case of non-symmetric. There are two type of skewness, i.e. skewed to the right or
skewed to the left. The name is suggested according to the longer tail of the curve.
Figure 3.7 shows the non-symmetric distribution. The skewness of the distribution
affects the center measurement of the distribution.
CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
This chapter analyzes the collected data from sets of questionnaire. It aims to
answer the research problems and investigate the results statistically. Methods and tools
aforementioned in the previous chapter are applied to the collected data here.
Before dwelling into details, it is preferable to introduce the notations that will
be used in the following data analysis.
N Number of respondents
𝑋 Mean value
K Full marks in each category
S Standard deviation
SS Sum of squares
t Statistic used in consideration in t -distribution
F Statistic used in consideration in F -distribution
p Probability of the statistic
** Statistical significance at level of .01
Data Visualization and Basic Statistics This section visualizes the collected data and shows its basic statistics. There
are two sets of data collection. The first data set was collected from the management
level employees of the selected multinational company whereas the second data set
collected from 134 Thai employees in the selected multinational company who
responded to the questionnaire concerning the needs for English communication
skills. The following figures and tables visualize this collected data. Table 4.1 - 4.3 presents the data of management employees in terms of
gender, ages, service years and education level. It was found that the interviewed
management employees are 83 percent male, their average age is 50.5 years old, and
they serve the company for about 28 years on average. Two of the management
employees hold Master degree while the rest hold Bachelor degree.
51
Table 4.1 Gender of Management Employees
Gender Frequency Percentage
Male 5 83.33
Female 1 16.67
Total 6 100.00
Table 4.2 Ages and Service Years of Management Employees
No. Age Service Years
1 45 21
2 47 24
3 59 36
4 48 26
5 56 36
6 48 26
𝑿 50.50 28.17
𝑺 5.61 6.34
Table 4.3 Education Level of Management Employees
Education Level Frequency Percentage
Bachelor Degree 4 66.67
Master Degree 2 33.33
Total 6 100.00
There are 134 Thai employees in the multinational company who answered
the questionnaires concerning the need for English communication skills. The
following tables show the number of respondents categorized by gender, education
level, and departments.
52
Table 4.4 Gender of Respondents
Gender Frequency Percentage
Male 112 83.58
Female 22 16.42
Total 134 100.00
Table 4.4 shows that from 134 respondents who are Thai employees in the
multinational company there are 112 male (85.38 percent) and 22 female (16.42
percent). Thus, the ratio of male respondents to the female respondents can be roughly
said to be 5:1.
The number of respondents as categorized by education level was shown in
Table 4.5.
Table 4.5 Education Level of Respondents
Education Level Frequency Percentage
Diploma 28 20.90
Bachelor Degree 101 75.37
Master Degree 5 3.73
Total 134 100.00
It was found that 101 respondents (75.37 percent) hold bachelor degree,
which is the largest group of respondents. The second large group was the
respondents who hold diploma. There are 28 respondents (20.90 percent) in this group
while there are only 5 respondents (3.73 percent) who graduated at master degree
level.
The following table illustrates the number of respondents according to the
job category listed by department of the respondents.
53
Table 4.6 Job Categories of Respondents
Department Frequency Percentage
Production 24 17.91
Marketing 13 9.70
Procurement 12 8.96
Technical 45 33.58
HR and MD Office 9 6.72
Financial 3 2.24
Engineering 21 15.67
IT 3 2.24
TPM 4 2.99
Total 134 100.00
In the case of categorized by department, the largest group of respondents is
from Technical department. There are 45 respondents (33.58 percent) in this group.
The number of the respondents in the second and third large groups is approximately
the same. These are the 24 respondents (17.91 percent) from Production department
and 21 respondents (15.67 percent) from Engineering department.
These three groups make up approximately 70 percent of all the
respondents. The two smallest groups of respondents are from Financial department
and Information Technology department with 3 respondents (2.24 percent) from each
department.
Analysis of Need for English Communication Skills Analysis of needs of English communication skills has been done from both
the management level employees and the employees of selected multinational
company’s point of view. The interview method was applied to the former group in
order to obtain the information while the questionnaire has been given to the latter
group. The following sections give analysis of the obtained information.
54
1. Analysis of Need for English Communication Skills from
Management Level Employees Point of View
The interview was given to six employees in management level. These
employees are from different departments in the multinational company both
technical and supportive departments. The questions mainly focus on the needs of
English communication skills toward different factors in the multinational company.
Table 4.7 Analysis of Need for English Communication Skills from Management Level
Employees Point of View
Question Finding
1. As you are management staff what do you think of the need for English communication ability for the employees in the multinational company as an overview
- Employees have obvious problems in
listening and speaking skills. The
problems of these two skills vary with
nationalities and communication skills
of colloquists. The employees are found
to have skills deficiency according to
lack of opportunities of usage.
- Writing skill is also found to be
problematic. Though, it is
understandable but it is generally
grammatically wrong.
- Reading skills is found to be less
problematic. The employees have
sufficient skills to read and understand
the content of technical documents,
which fulfill the minimum expectations
of the management level employees.
55
Table 4.7 (Continued)
Question Finding 2. As you are management staff
what do you think about the
necessity for English
communication ability according to
job description
- English communication skills are found to
be essential in all job descriptions and all
education levels.
- It is also found that each job description
requires different levels of English
communication skills.
- Job descriptions, such as marketing,
procurement or research and development,
require high English communication skills
in listening and speaking. This is because
the employees are expected to be fluent in
English when they contact customers or
suppliers. It also reflects the image of the
company.
- Reading and writing skills are found to be
less important than listening and speaking.
This is because the employees do not have
to respond instantaneously and thus have
time for corrections. Furthermore, these two
skills have found more opportunities to be
used in most of the job descriptions, e.g.
reading articles, writing reports.
56
Table 4.7 (Continued)
Question Finding
3. As you are management staff
what do you think of the
necessity for English
communication ability of the
employees according to job
description in the multinational
company
- It is very important that the employees in a
multinational company have sufficient
English communication skills.
- English communication skills are one of the
essential factors for career advancement. In
multinational companies, which have two or
more nationalities, English will be the
common language used. For this reason,
employees with lack of English
communication skills will be limited in
showing their abilities to perform the
assigned job or state valuable ideas to the
company. This eventually leads to lack of
career advancement opportunities
4. As you are management staff
what do you think of the level
of English communication skills
for the employees in a
multinational company
- Most of the management level employees
agreed that the employees of the
multinational companies should have English
communication skills at intermediate level.
- They also mentioned that the ability to
communicate is more important than the
level. It is desirable that the employees can
communicate in all ways to get the job done
correctly.
57
Table 4.7 (Continued)
Question Finding
5. As you are management staff
what do you think about on site
working abilities of English
communication skills for the
employees in a multinational
company
- In general, the abilities of the employees in
English communication skills is lower than
standard.
- Employees, holding bachelor degree,
generally have adequate English
communication skills whereas employees with
diploma generally have lower skills. However,
both groups need continuous improvement in
English communication skills.
The interview shows that the management level employees regard English
communication skills for Thai employees in a multinational company as one of the
important skills. The needs of each skill are different. From the management point of
view, it was found that the employees need to improve their listening and speaking
skills. Since these are the skills most employees lack. The level of needs in each skill
varies from department to department. In the departments with more opportunities to
contact outside organizations, the level of needs is higher. This is because it reflects
the image and reputation of the company.
It was also found that in general Thai employees in multinational companies
possess inadequate English communication skills. This is more obvious with the
employees holding a diploma. In summary, the employees at management level agree
that English communication skills are essential to Thai employees in a multinational
company. They pointed out that fluency in English communications in employees
would benefit both the company and the employees themselves concerning self-
development and career advancement.
58
2. Analysis of Need for English Communication Skills of Thai Employees
in a Multinational Company
In order to analyze the need for English communication skills for Thai
employees in a multinational company, a survey was carried out. The questionnaire in
five parts was given to a number of Thai employees in the multinational company.
The data was collected. This section gives analysis to the collected data.
The following tables show the information concerning English
communication skills requirement that arises from the problems encountered and the
frequency of English communication skills used according to each job category.
Table 4.8 Basic Statistics Concerning Problems of English Communication Skills for
Thai Employees in a Multinational Company
Communication
Skills
Descriptions 𝑿 𝑺 Level
Listening -Unable to catch a word 3.54 0.91 High
-Unable to understand the meaning 3.35 0.88 Moderate
-Lack of vocabulary knowledge 3.62 0.86 High
-Unfamiliar with intonation 3.87 0.84 High
-Panic when you are asked 3.30 1.05 Moderate
Problems in listening skills 3.54 0.70 High
Speaking -Lack of vocabulary knowledge 3.82 0.87 High
-Unable to make a sentence for
conversation
3.46 1.09 Moderate
59
Table 4.8 (Continued)
Communication
Skills
Descriptions 𝑿 𝑺 Level
-Understand the question but
unable to answer in English
3.34 0.98 Moderate
-Shy to talk 2.82 1.17 Moderate
Problems in speaking skills 3.36 0.80 Moderate
Reading -Lack of vocabulary knowledge in
general
3.18 0.93 Moderate
-Lack of vocabulary knowledge in
technical terms
3.00 1.00 Moderate
-Unable to understand the sentence
structure
3.24 0.96 Moderate
-Unable to understand the grammar 3.36 0.95 Moderate
-Unable to understand overall
paragraph
3.00 0.83 Moderate
Problems in reading skills 3.16 0.75 Moderate
Writing -Lack of vocabulary knowledge in
general
3.57 0.94 High
-Unable to understand the grammar 3.57 0.94 High
-Understand English but cannot
write
2.99 0.86 Moderate
Problems in writing skills 3.38 0.76 Moderate
On average 3.36 0.66 Moderate
Table 4.8 shows information concerning problems in English
communication skills including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It was found
that, on average, Thai employees in multinational companies have problems in
English communication skills at the score of 3.36 with a standard deviation of 0.66.
The overall level of English communication skills was found to be at moderate level.
60
In consideration of each English communication skill individually, it was
found that the most problematic skill in English communication for Thai employees
in the multinational company is listening. The result shows the mean value at the
score of 3.54 with a standard deviation of 0.70. This indicated that Thai employees in
multinational company’s need listening skills or have a problem with listening skill at
a high level. The problem in writing and speaking skills is approximately at the same
level. For the problem concerning writing skills, the mean value is 3.38 with the
standard deviation of 0.76 while for speaking skill; the mean value is 3.36 with
standard deviation of 0.80. English reading skills appears the least problematic of all
English communication skills. It has the mean value of 3.16 with standard deviation
of 0.75.
The frequency of English communication skills usage according to job
category was shown in Table 4.9
Table 4.9 Frequency of Use for English Communication Skills of Thai Employees in
the Multinational Company
Communication Skills
Descriptions 𝑿 𝑺 Level
1. Listening 1.1 Internal communication
-Listening to daily conversation or job assignment from boss
3.50 0.90 Moderate
-Listening in the meeting and discussion in department
3.48 0.94 Moderate
-Listening to a telephone conversation
3.87 0.94 High
Frequency of use 3.62 0.79 High
61
Table 4.9 (Continued)
Communication
Skills
Descriptions 𝑿 𝑺 Leve
l
1.2 External
communication
-Meeting and discussion with
outsiders e.g. customers,
suppliers, foreign visitors
3.54 1.14
-Listening to the lecture or
training given by foreign
instructors
4.07 0.92
-Listening to telephone
conversations
3.99 1.02
Frequency of use 3.87 0.92
On average 3.74 0.78
2. Speaking 2.1 Internal
Communication
-Daily conversation or report
on progress of job assignment
3.78 0.88
-Report to the monthly
meeting and discussion
3.69 0.95
-Speaking on telephone 4.09 0.90
Frequency of use 3.85 0.80
2.2 External
communication
-Meeting and discussion with
customers, suppliers, guests,
foreign visitors
3.84 1.13
-Presenting products or
technical information to
customers
4.18 1.00
-Speaking on telephone with
customers or suppliers
4.13 1.01
-Negotiating with customers
or suppliers
4.12 1.14
Frequency of use 4.07 0.99
62
It was found from Table 4.8 that the frequency of English communication
skills used according to each job category has the total average of 3.61 with a
standard deviation of 0.77. It indicated that Thai employees in the multinational
company have frequency of English communication at a high level.
In consideration of each communication skill, the result shows that speaking
skill has the highest mean value at 3.97 with the standard deviation of 0.85. The
second highest skill frequently used is listening. It has a mean value of 3.62 with a
standard deviation of 0.79. Both skills are classified as the “Much” level for
frequently used English communication skills.
The writing skill has the mean value of frequency use at 3.51 with a standard
deviation of 0.89 while reading skill has its mean value at 3.24 with a standard
deviation of 0.85. Both skills are classified as the “Moderate” level for frequently
used English communication skills.
3. Analysis of Need for English Communication Skills of Thai
Employees in Multinational Company According to Various Factors
This section studied needs for English communication skills of Thai
employees in the multinational company according to various factors, i.e. gender,
education level, age, and working experiences.
a. Gender
This section shows the comparison of needs for English communication
skills including listening, speaking, reading, and writing as well as the frequency of
use in each gender
Table 4.10 Comparison of Needs for English Communication Skills Categorized by
Gender
Gender N 𝑿 𝑺 t df Sig. Male 112 3.38 0.65
1.168 132 0.245 Female 22 3.21 0.66
63
It was found that the needs for English communication skills including
listening, speaking, reading, and writing of both genders are different. However, this
difference is not statistically significant (t = 1.168, Sig = 0.245).
Table 4.11 Comparison of Frequency of Use of English Communication Skills
Categorized by Gender
Table 4.11 shows the comparison of frequency of use of English
communication skills categorized by gender. It is found that the difference of
frequency of use of English communication skills in both genders is not statistically
significant (t = 1.732, Sig = 0.086).
b. Education
This section analyzes the needs for English communication skills
including listening, speaking, reading, and writing of Thai employees in a
multinational company categorized by education level.
Table 4.12 Mean and Standard Deviation of Needs for English Communication Skills
Categorized by Education Level
Education N 𝑿 𝑺
Diploma 28 3.70 0.71
Bachelor degree 101 3.26 0.62
Master degree 5 3.33 0.58
Total 134 3.36 0.66
It was found that the mean value of English communication skills for all
education levels is at 3.36 with standard deviation of 0.66. The result showed that the
Gender N 𝑿 𝑺 t df Sig.
Male 112 3.66 0.78 1.732 132 0.086
Female 22 3.35 0.66
64
respondents with diploma degree had the highest mean value of 3.70 with the
standard deviation of 0.71 while the respondents with bachelor degree have the lowest
mean value of 3.26 with standard deviation of 0.62.
Table 4.13 Analysis of Variance of Needs for English Communication Skills of Thai
Employees in a Multinational Company Categorized by Education Level
Sources of variation SS df MS F Sig.
Between groups 4.117 2 2.058 5.061 0.008
Within groups 53.278 131 0.407
Total 57.395 133
The results from Table 4.13 shows that employees with different education
level have different needs in English communication skills. This difference is
statistically significant at level .01. For this reason, the comparison between groups
was conducted by using Scheffe method. The results are shown in Table 4.14.
Table 4.14 Mean Difference Comparisons of Needs for English Communication
Skills of Thai Employees of the Selected Multinational Company Categorized by
Education Level
Education 𝑿 Diploma Bachelor Master
3.70 3.26 3.33
Diploma 3.70 - 0.43* 0.37
Bachelor 3.26 - 0.007
Master 3.33 -
Remark: * Statistical significant level at 0.05
It was found that needs of English communication skills of Thai employees
with education level in Diploma and Bachelor degree differ significantly at the
statistical significant level of 0.05 whereas there is no difference in other education
levels.
65
The frequency of use of English for communication skills categorized by
education level was shown in Table 4.15
Table 4.15 Mean and Standard Deviation of Frequency of Use of English
Communication Skills Categorized by Education Level
Education N 𝑿 S
Diploma 28 4.12 0.70
Bachelor degree 101 3.44 0.74
Master degree 5 3.99 0.23
Total 134 3.61 0.77
The overall mean value for frequency of use of English communication
skills is 3.61 with standard deviation of 0.77. It can be seen that the respondents with
diploma degree have the highest mean, which implies that this group of respondents
rarely use English communication skills compared to the other groups. The group that
used English communication skills the most frequently is the group of respondents
who held bachelor degree. The mean value of this group is of the lowest value at 3.44
with standard deviation of 0.74. The analysis of variance for the frequency of use of
English communication skills categorized by education level was illustrated in Table
4.16.
Table 4.16 Analysis of Variance for Frequency of Use of English Communication
Skills of Thai Employees of a Multinational Company Categorized by
Education Level
Sources of
variation SS df MS F Sig.
Between groups 10.744 2 5.372 10.352 0.000
Within groups 67.980 131 0.519
Total 78.723 133
66
It was found that employees with different education levels have different
frequency of use of English communication skills. This difference is statistically
significant at level .01. For this reason, the comparison between groups was
conducted by using Scheffe method. The results were shown in Table 4.17
Table 4.17 Mean Difference Comparisons of Frequency of Use of English
Communication Skills of Thai Employees of the Selected Multinational
Company Categorized by Education Level
Education 𝑿 Diploma Bachelor Master
4.12 3.44 3.99
Diploma 4.12 - 0.67* 0.13
Bachelor 3.44 - 0.55
Master 3.99 -
Remark: * Statistical significant level at 0.05
It was found that frequency of use of English communication skills of Thai
employees with education level in Diploma and Bachelor degree differ significantly at
the statistical significant level of 0.05 whereas there is no difference in other
education levels.
c. Age
This section shows the result of age variation for Thai employees in the
selected multinational company in needs and frequency of use of English
communication skills.
67
Table 4.18 Mean and Standard Deviation of Needs for English Communication Skills
Categorized by Age
Age (years) N 𝑿 S
< 30 49 3.25 0.65
30 - 39 44 3.31 0.57
40 - 49 37 3.52 0.75
> 50 4 3.69 0.51
Total 134 3.36 0.66
Table 4.18 shows the mean and standard deviation of the respondents
categorized by age. It can be seen that the highest mean value is 3.69 with standard
deviation of 0.51, which indicates that the employees of the age of greater than 50
years old need English communication skills more than employees of younger age.
The employees of age less than 30 years old have the lowest mean value of 3.25 with
standard deviation of 0.65.
Table 4.19 Analysis of Variance of Needs for English Communication Skills of Thai
Employees of a Multinational Company Categorized by Age
Sources of
variation SS df MS F Sig.
Between groups 2.083 3 0.694 1.632 0.185
Within groups 55.312 130 0.425
Total 57.395 133
From Table 4.19, it was found that the employees with different range of
ages need different English communication skills. This difference is statistically
significant.
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Table 4.20 Mean and Standard Deviation of Frequency of Use of English
Communication Skills Categorized by Age
Age (years) N 𝑿 S
< 30 49 3.35 0.71
30 - 39 44 3.55 0.73
40 - 49 37 3.96 0.77
> 50 4 4.18 0.34
Total 134 3.61 0.77
Table 4.20 shows that the average of frequency of use of English
communication skills for the employees with different ranges of age is 3.61 with
standard deviation of 0.77.
Considering each range of ages, it was found that the employees of ages
greater than 50 years old have the highest mean of 4.18. This signifies that they have
high frequency of use of English communication skills. The employees of age below
30 and 30-39 years old were found to use English communication skills less often.
Table 4.21 Analysis of Variance for Frequency of Use of English Communication
Skills of Thai Employees of the Selected Multinational Company
Categorized by Age
Sources of variation SS df MS F Sig.
Between groups 9.406 3 3.135 5.880 0.001
Within groups 69.318 130 0.533
Total 78.723 133
It was found that the employees with different ranges of age have different
frequency of use of English communication skills. This difference is statistically
significant at level 0.1. For this reason, the comparison between groups was
conducted by using Scheffe method. The results were shown in Table 4.22
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Table 4.22 Mean Difference Comparisons of Frequency of Use of English
Communication Skills of Thai Employees of a Multinational Company
Categorized by Age
Ages 𝑿 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59
3.35 3.55 3.96 4.18
20-29 3.35 - 0.2 0.61** 0.83*
30-39 3.55 - 0.41** 0.63
40-49 3.96 - 0.22
50-59 4.18 -
Remark: **Statistical significant level at 0.01, *Statistical significant level at 0.05
It was found that there are three statistical significances found at level 0.01
and 0.05. The employees of ages 20-29 have different frequencies of use of English
communication skills compared to the employees of ages 40-49 and 50-59.
Furthermore, the employees of ages 30-39 were also found to have different
frequency use of English communication skills compared to the employees of ages
40-49. The other pairs of ranges of age were not found to be different.
d. Working experience
This section shows the result of working experience for Thai employees
in the selected multinational company in needs and frequency of use of English
communication skills.
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Table 4.23 Mean and Standard Deviation of Need for English Communication Skills
Categorized by Working Experiences
It was found that the mean value of need for English communication skills
of the employees with different working experience is 3.36 with a standard deviation
of 0.66.
Considering each range of working experience, it was found that the
employees of working experience greater than 20 years have the highest mean of 3.67
with standard deviation of 0.69. This signifies that they have need for English
communication skills. The employees of working experience in the range of 11-15
years were found to have the lowest mean in the group with value of 2.98. The
standard deviation of this group is 0.61. This result shows that this group of
employees need less English communication skills.
Table 4.24 Analysis of Variance of Need for English Communication Skills of Thai
Employees of the Selected Multinational Company Categorized by
Working Experience
Sources of variation SS df MS F Sig.
Between groups 5.819 4 1.455 3.639 0.008
Within groups 51.576 129 0.400
Total 57.395 133
Working Experience (years) N 𝑿 S
< 5 41 3.20 0.67
5 - 10 37 3.37 0.56
11 - 15 10 2.98 0.61
16 - 20 13 3.31 0.54
> 20 33 3.67 0.69
Total 134 3.36 0.66
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It was found that the employees with different ranges of working experience
have different need for use of English communication skills. This difference is
statistically significant at level 0.1. For this reason, the comparison between groups
was conducted by using the Scheffe method. The results were shown in Table 4.25.
Table 4.25 Mean Difference Comparisons of Need for English Communication Skills
of Thai Employees of the Selected Multinational Company Categorized by
Working Experience
Working 𝑿 <5 5-10 11-15 16-20 >20
Experience 3.20 3.37 2.98 3.31 3.67
<5 3.20 - 0.17 0.22 0.11 0.48**
5-10 3.37 - 0.39 0.06 0.30*
11-15 2.98 - 0.22 0.69**
16-20 3.31 - 0.36
>20 3.67 -
Remark: **Statistical significant level at 0.01, *Statistical significant level at 0.05
It was found that there are three statistical significances found at level 0.01
and 0.05. The employees of working experience greater than 20 years have different
need for English communication skills compared to the employees of working
experience less than 5 years, 5-10 years, and 11-15 years. The other pairs of ranges of
working experiences were not found to be different.
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Table 4.26 Mean and Standard Deviation of Frequency of Use of English
Communication Skills Categorized by Working Experience
Working Experience (years) N 𝑿 S
< 5 41 3.37 0.69
5 - 10 37 3.41 0.79
11 - 15 10 3.46 0.60
16 - 20 13 3.71 0.83
> 20 33 4.13 0.63
Total 134 3.61 0.77
It was found that the mean value of frequency of use of English
communication skills of the employees with different working experience is 3.61 with
a standard deviation of 0.77.
Considering each range of working experience, it was found that the
employees with working experience greater than 20 years have the highest mean of
4.13 with standard deviation of 0.63. This signifies that they rarely use English
communication skills. The employees with working experience less than 5 years were
found to have the lowest mean in the group with value of 3.37. The standard deviation
of this group is 0.69. This result showed that this group of employees frequently use
English communication skills.
Table 4.27 Analysis of Variance for Frequency of Use of English Communication
Skills of Thai Employees of a Multinational Company Categorized by
Working Experience
Sources of
variation SS df MS F Sig.
Between groups 13.332 4 3.333 6.575 0.000
Within groups 65.392 129 0.507
Total 78.723 133
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It was found that the employees with different ranges of working experience
have different frequency of use of English communication skills. This difference is
statistically significant at level 0.1. For this reason, the comparison between groups
was conducted by using Scheffe method. The results were shown in Table 4.28
Table 4.28 Mean Difference Comparisons of Frequency of Use of English
Communication Skills of Thai Employees of a Multinational Company
Categorized by Working Experience
Working 𝑿 <5 5-10 11-15 16-20 >20
Experience 3.37 3.41 3.46 3.71 4.13
<5 3.37 - 0.04 0.09 0.34 0.77**
5-10 3.41 - 0.05 0.30 0.73**
11-15 3.46 - 0.25 0.67*
16-20 3.71 - 0.42
>20 4.13 -
Remark: **Statistical significant level at 0.01, *Statistical significant level at 0.05
It was found that there are three statistical significances found at level 0.01
and 0.05. The employees with working experience greater than 20 years have
different frequency of use of English communication skills compared to the
employees with working experience less than 5 years, 5-10 years, and 11-15 years.
The other pairs of ranges of working experience were not found to be different.
Correlation of Need for English Communication Skills This section studies correlation between the need for English
communication skills and job category, education level, and working experience of
Thai employees in the selected multinational company. The following table showed
the study result of Pearson correlation. The items of rows and columns of the table
were represented by the letters A to F. These letters have the following implications,
i.e.
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A: Department
B: Education level
C: Age
D: Working experiences
E: Needs for English communication skills
F: Frequency of use of English communication skills
Table 4.29 The Study of Pearson Correlation
Items A B C D E F
A 1 0.09 0.15 0.14 0.08 0.18*
B 1 0.44** 0.49** 0.24** 0.26**
C 1 0.97** 0.19* 0.38**
D 1 0.22* 0.39**
E 1 0.26**
F 1
Remark: **Statistical significant level at 0.01, *Statistical significant level at 0.05 It was found that there are many correlations with statistical significance of
the studied factors. For example, the need of English communication skills (E) have
statistical significant correlation with education level (B), age (C) and working
experience (D). Furthermore, the frequency of use of English communication skills has
statistical significant correlation with department (A), education level (B), age (C) and
working experience (D).
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION
This chapter concludes the results found in the previous chapter. It also
summarizes the objectives of the study, methodology used in this work as well as the
tools applied to analyze the data. After that the discussion concerning the findings
was given. This part explains the reasons behind the findings according to the
hypothesis and supporting literature review. Finally, the recommendation part
suggests the application of findings and future study.
Conclusion The study proposed in this thesis aims to answer the following research
questions:
1. What are the needs for English communication skills regarding listening,
speaking, reading and writing of Thai employees in a selected multinational company
from a management point of view?
2. What are the needs for English communication skills of Thai employees
regarding the different factors, e.g. job categories, educational levels, and service
years of employees at a multinational company?
The researcher used an interview and questionnaire as the tools to collect the
data. Thai employees are sampled with the number suggested by G.D. Israel, 1992.
By using this approach, 134 Thai employees from various departments, ages,
educational levels and working experience were selected. The collected data was then
analyzed using various statistical tools, e.g. mean, standard deviation, t-test, F-test,
and Pearson correlation.
It was found that in the selected multinational company, English
communication skills is of great importance. This was concluded from both the
management point of view and employee point of view. In the management point of
view, English is the language for business, thus it is unavoidable to use it in doing
business. The employees who possess English communication skills would have
higher opportunities in completing the tasks in contact with foreigners and thus are
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important to the company. Furthermore, the multinational company usually has a
foreigner in the management team. This implies that Thai employees who have higher
English communication skills would have higher opportunities for being promoted in
their career path compared to the ones who possess poor English communication
skills.
From Thai employees’ point of view, English communication becomes more
and more necessary as they advance through their career path. The need for English
communication skills increases along with their position and service years. In the
beginning they might encounter the need for English communication skills only to
fulfill their jobs, for example, reading English articles or technical manuals. However,
as they were promoted to higher positions, the need for English communication skills
were more obvious. For example, they might need to contact the customers, vendors
or business partners. Thus, from the employees’ point of view, they were also aware
that English communication skills is of importance in working in a multinational
company.
It was found that from the management point of view, English
communication skills were inadequate, particularly, listening and speaking skills.
This was obvious with Thai employees holding Diploma degree. One of the reasons
the management pointed out was that these two skills require more instantaneous
responses compared to writing and reading skills. This implied that the employees
should possess high levels of these skills in order to interact with the foreign
customers, suppliers and visitors. This would reflect a high image of the company as
well as the business performance and relationship. The management also pointed out
that though different departments need different levels of English communication
skills, listening and speaking skills should be improved overall.
Thai employees also specified their need for English communication skills.
It was found that all English communication skills are of moderate level or higher
with listening skills in the high level. This was consistent with the findings from the
management point of view. Concerning listening skills, Thai employees pointed out
that their problems come from unfamiliar intonation, lack of vocabulary knowledge
and inability to catch all words.
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Though the listening skills were found to be the highest need for
improvement for Thai employees, another two skills, i.e. speaking and writing, were
also found to be essential needs for improvement among them. It was found that lack
of vocabulary knowledge was the highest factor for speaking skills. This was also true
for writing skills. In addition to this, being unable to understand the grammar was
another factor found for improvement in writing skills. These problems in listening,
speaking and writing skills should be focused on when developing a training course
for the Thai employees English communication skills improvement.
In terms of frequency of use, it was found that speaking skills was the
highest need followed by listening skills. It was also found that Thai employees
frequently use these skills in telephone communications both internal and external.
Other situations in which Thai employees frequently use these two skills were in
training from foreign instructors, presenting the products, customer service and
negotiation, and discussions in meetings.
From the study, it was also found that English communication skills differ
significantly for Thai employees holding Diploma and Bachelor degrees. The
employees’ age also affects the needs and frequency of use for English
communication skills. Elder employees were found to have higher needs and use
English communication skills more frequently. Service years also affected the need
for English communication skills. It was found that employees with more service
years have more needs and frequency of use for English communication skills
compared to new employees. The correlation study also suggested that need for
English communication skills were related to various factors, e.g. education level,
age, and working experience. This was also true for frequency of use with additional
factors for certain departments.
Discussion The research results show that English is of importance for Thai employees
in a multinational company. It was shown that Thai employees realize the importance
and expressed their need for English communication skills improvement. This is
consistent with hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1954, p. 35) which stated that the
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ultimate goal of humans is to seek for “the desire to become more and more what one
is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming”. In Thai employees’ case,
they seek to improve their knowledge of English communication skills because they
are aware that these skills help improve their capabilities and maximize their
potential. This improvement actually drives them towards the self-actualization level
mentioned in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
In general, it was found that English communication skills of Thai
employees in the multinational company are inadequate, especially listening and
speaking skills. This was also felt from the employee’s point of view. Hence, the
multinational company should support the English communication skills
improvement of the employees. In support, the company may take the human
resource development approach to implement a training program. As mentioned by
Harris et al. (2006) practical human resource development should begin with needs
assessment. Therefore, in order to implement a training program, needs must be
clearly identified.
The research result showed that the need for English communication skills
varied according to several factors, i.e. education background, and working
experience. This finding was supported by the study of Verapornvanichkul (2011) in
the topic of “survey of problem in oral communication skills when dealing with
English client: a case study of employees at one of the big four audit firms in
Thailand”. The results of the study showed that inadequate English skills and
communication apprehensions were the main problem to the employees. The
problems were caused by infrequent usage in daily life, and feeling nervous when
using an unfamiliar language. Speaking skills were found to be a problem in
communication because of other inadequate English communication skills. Another
cause was lack of practice that in turn comes from inadequate abilities in vocabulary
and pronunciation. The frequency of use of English communication skills was also
found to vary with several factors, i.e. department, and working experience. It should
be noted that the results obtained stated the findings in general. The work of
Sursattayawong (2006) also stated similar findings. The author performed a research
in the topic of “a survey of English speaking problems of nurses at Rajavithi
hospital”. It was found that most of the nurses sometimes used English or rarely used
79
English. They had to speak English in cases of them having to deal with foreign
patients, and discussions with doctors and other nurses. The respondents in the
research were selected such that they had different working experience and were from
different departments. Though, the study did not show the factors of working
experience and department directly, the author showed the frequency of English usage
in different contact situations. This suggested that nurses with different working
experience and department might have different frequency in English usage, e.g.
Giving instructions and health education about the disease the patients have when
taking care of foreign patients seemed to be the practitioner jobs instead of
management while this situation rarely came from the Accident and Emergency
department.
Though this research focuses on examining the needs of English
communication skills, the first step according to practical human resource
development proposed by Harris et al. (2006), the author also mentioned a guideline
in order to implement the training program as well. It was found that the content as
well as instructional method and media should be aimed towards English for special
purpose. Because this approach is more likely to satisfy the multinational companies’
objectives concerning employees’ competence improvement as required by specific
job functionality rather than general English communication skills. The
implementation step, evaluation and follow up step can then be done respectively.
Recommendation Recommendation for Application
The findings of this research suggest the following applications for
multinational companies
1. Thai employees realize the importance of English communication skills,
English communication skills for their needs, and English communication skills in
terms of frequency of use. This information could be used to design English training
courses in order to improve English communication skills of Thai employees.
2. As stated earlier, the English for special purposes courses are claimed to
be more effective compared to the English for general purposes. This study showed in
even more depth what skills for English communication and the corresponding
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subtopics should be the focus of the course. However, this would be a general
guideline. In order to design English training courses to serve Thai employees
according to specific groups, e.g. Marketing department, employees with working
experience of 11-15 years more study should be undertaken. This would require more
samples from each of these interested groups for analysis.
3. According to the survey of need for English communication skills, the
inadequate skills are speaking and listening which was caused by lack of vocabulary,
unable to catch words and unfamiliarity with intonation. Those mentioned problems
should be considered when designing an English training course.
Recommendation for Further Study
1. The study has indicated that English is very important for Thai
employees, however those employees have to work during weekdays, therefore, the
researcher suggests finding the best appropriate way to enhance their English ability
while working.
2. Apart from teaching all communication skills in the training class, what
kind of additional materials or English communication environment creations would
encourage Thai employees to speak English more and better?
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