ENGLISH ORAL COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG THAI UNIVERSITY STAFF

Abstract

This study aimed to 1) identify the language functions commonly used by university staff when serving international students and instructors, 2) examine English oral communication problems encountered by Thai university staff, and 3) explore strategies used to overcome these problems. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with 60 staff from 13 departments across one public and one private university in Bangkok. The Google Forms questionnaire was used as the main tool for providing and collecting data and was distributed to all 60 participants. The questionnaire covered demographic information, English language functions, oral communication problems in listening and speaking, and communication strategies. Upon completion of the questionnaire, twelve participants were purposively selected for in-depth semi-structured online interviews focusing on their roles, frequency of English use, communication challenges, and strategy use. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. Findings indicated that 1) explaining and clarifying were the most frequently used language functions. 2) Major listening difficulties stemmed from unclear pronunciation and varied non-native accents, while speaking problems were mainly related to grammar and sentence structure, often due to direct translation from Thai. 3) Commonly adopted strategies included asking speakers to slow down, repeating key points, paraphrasing, and occasionally using translation tools. These results suggest the need for targeted English training programs tailored to real-world communication needs. The findings also provide valuable insights for university administrators seeking to enhance international communication and support staff development in higher education contexts.