An Analysis of Strategies and Problems in English E-mail Writing of Employees Working on a Thai Commercial Bank in Bangkok, Thailand
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study utilized a mixed research design, integrating both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the challenges of English email writing among bank employees and to explore the strategies they employ to manage these difficulties. For data collection, the study analyzed 172 English emails sent and received by 63 bank employees between May 1, 2023, and July 31, 2023. The purpose was to classify email types and examine writing issues along with strategies for improvement. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, along with comparative analysis through t-tests and F-tests. The findings showed that the most frequently received email types were Informational emails (33 items, 19.19%), followed by Request emails (25 items, 14.53%), Updating emails (18 items, 10.47%), Invitation emails (17 items, 9.88%), and Attachment emails (16 items, 9.30%). An analysis of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors revealed that the most common mistakes occurred in the use of adjectives, verbs, and spelling. No statistically significant difference (α = .05) was found in English email writing styles between male and female employees. However, at the sub-variable level, a significant difference was identified in how employees addressed the challenges of writing emails, especially regarding the clarity of using online resources to enhance writing and make a favorable impression on recipients. This was supported by post hoc analysis using the Least Significant Difference (LSD) method. Both male and female employees, from various experience levels, often used translation tools such as Google Translate, DeepL, Wordvice AI, Alexa Translations, and Bing Microsoft Translator to reduce errors. Employees with less than five years of experience generally reported higher accessibility to these tools than those with over fifteen years of experience.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Agarwal, P. (2016). Common mistakes in the use of adjectives. Englishleap.com. https://medium.com/@hdi.prateek/common-mistakes-in-the-use-of-adjectives-dc31ac95ce31
Beal, V. (2021). Email (Electronic Mail): Typical components of an email system. Webopedia. https://www.webopedia.com/definitions/email
Bletzer, K. V. (2023). The mail they send: An exploration of relationship-building strategies utilized by special interest groups. Practicing Anthropology, 45(3), 58–62. https://doi.org/10.17730/0888-4552.45.3.58
Chi-Fen, E. C. (2016). The development of e-mail literacy: From writing to peers to writing to authority figures. Language Learning & Technology, 10(2), 35–55. https://www.lltjournal.org/item/2547
Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16, 297–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310555
Dalke, M., & Shaw, A. (2023). Email writing, functional level (A2-B1). Modulo Education Group. https://www.modulo-education.org/
Elekaei, A., Faramarzi, S., & Afghari, A. (2014). Lexical variation, linguistic choice and style in writing emails of Iranian male and female. International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World, 7(4), 298–306.
Foosuwan, S., Chumpavan, S., & Suksaeresup, N. (2019). English writing errors in the written tasks of Thai employees working in a Thai bank and the impact of errors on the bank’s business. Manutsat Paritat: Journal of Humanities, 39(2), 139–152. http://ejournals.swu.ac.th/index.php/hm/article/view/11984/9963
Grammarly. (2023). Free online grammar checker. Grammarly Inc. https://app.grammarly.com/ddocs/2399715090
Herrity, J. (2023). How to write an email with an attachment (with examples). Indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-email-with-attachment
Kathy, & Petras, R. (2021). These are the 32 most commonly misspelled words, say grammar experts. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/07/most-commonly-misspelled-words-that-make-you-look-less-smart-according-to-grammar-experts.html
Kholina, A. S. (2023). How to write an update email that gets results. Stripo. https://stripo.email/blog/how-to-write-an-update-email-that-gets-results/
Kittelstad, K. (2022). 7 common verb tense mistakes: Using inconsistent verb forms. YourDictionary. https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/verb-tense-mistakes
Kraichoke, C. (2017). Error analysis: A case study on non-native English speaking college applicants’ electronic mail communications (Master’s thesis, University of Arkansas). https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1910
Merriam, S. B. (2014). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Wiley & Sons.
Mouton, D. G. (2016). Internal e-mail communication in the workplace: Is there an “East–West divide”? Intercultural Pragmatics. https://doi.org/10.1515/ip-2016-0002
Park, J. Y. (2023). Informational email: Everything you need to know. TokTok.io. https://toktok.io/en/glossary/email/informational-email/
Pimthong, S., Chumpavan, S., & Suksaeresup, N. (2018). Email writing problems and strategies used to solve the problems by Thai employees communicating with native and non-native English speakers in an international workplace. Manutsat Paritat: Journal of Humanities, 39(2), 139–152. http://ejournals.swu.ac.th/index.php/hm/article/view/11985
Ponvarin, S. (2007). A survey of writing errors of first year graduate students studying Business English for International Communication at Srinakharinwirot University (Unpublished Master’s thesis). Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Rovinelli, R. J., & Hambleton, R. K. (1977). On the use of content specialists in the assessment of criterion-referenced test item validity. Tijdschrift Voor Onderwijs Research, 2, 49–60.
Rungwaraphong, P. (2014). Problems in writing English of the new-entry university students: A case study of Prince of Songkla University, Trang Campus. Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University Journal (Humanities and Social Sciences), 8(3), 119–126.
Sophana, S. (2015). Globalisation and the language situation in Thailand. Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284148708
Tran, A. (2023). Meeting invitation email: What is a meeting invitation email?. AhaSlides. https://ahaslides.com/blog/meeting-invitation-email/
Watch, O. H. (2020). How to write an email requesting something – Templates included!. EmailEffective. https://emaileffective.com/how-to-write-an-email-requesting-something/
