An Exploration of English as a Lingua Franca Communication: A Case Study of How English is Used as a Lingua Franca among Non-native Speakers for Mutual Understanding in an International Golf Tournament Operation in Thailand
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
To study the success of an international event handling in Thailand with a focus on the area of mutual communication, this paper aimed to shed light on how English is used as a lingua franca among the local Thai working team and the organizer team who are non-native speakers from different language backgrounds to achieve their mutual understanding and efficaciously execute works in the context of an international golf tournament operation staged in Thailand. Included in the study are lingua franca communication perceptions held by the interlocutors. Additionally, this study explored communication barriers in international
interactions, and finally investigated strategies adopted and practiced throughout the event operation period. Using the framework of qualitative analysis research design, this study explored and described how the event working personnel used English as a lingua franca (ELF) to communicate with one another who do not share a first language (L1) background by conducting semi-structured interviews with the 10 participants. The data was then analyzed to see their perceptions, communication barriers and how they overcame non-understanding when there was a breakdown in mutual intelligibility. The findings suggested the organizer team’s perceptions towards English communication were positive whereas lack of confidence was found among the local Thai working team when dealing with lingua franca interactions. The lingua franca encounter participants perceived that terminologies used in the working field, limited vocabulary and word choices, grammar points and various accents might disrupt their communication. In order to achieve mutual intelligibility of both parties, the participants applied various communication strategies such as simplifying word choices or sentences, repeating words or statements, cross-checking and using body language. Finally, this case study would give some indications and guidelines for further research in an area of English usage in international business settings, particularly in the Thai context.
Article Details
References
Andersen, P. A. (2012). The Basis of cultural differences in nonverbal communication. In L. A. Samovar, R. E. Porter & E. R. Mcdaniel (Eds.), Intercultural communication: A Reader (13th ed., pp. 239-309). Wadsworth, CA: Cengage Learning.
Andersen P. A., Hecht, M. L., Hoobler, G. D., & Smallwood, M. (2002). Nonverbal Communication across cultures. In W. B Gudykunst & B. Mody (Eds.), Handbook of international and intercultural communication (2nd ed., pp. 89-106). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Babbie, E. (1990). Survey research methods (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Baker, W. (2012). English as a lingua franca in Thailand: Characteristics and implication. English in Practice, 1, 18-27.
Baker, W., & Jarunthawatchai, W. (2017). English language policy in Thailand. European journal of language policy, 9(1), 27-42.
Canagarajah, S. (2007). Lingua franca English, multilingual communities, and language acquisition. The Modern Language Journal, 91, 923–939.
Canagarajah, S. (2016). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and cosmopolitan relations. New York,
NY: Routledge.
Clarke, C. (2000). Perceptual adjustments to foreign accented English. Research on spoken language processing, 24, 321-335.
Creswell, J. C. (2003). Research design (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language (2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Education System in the Federal Republic of Germany. (2018, June 25). Retrieved from https://www.
kmk.org/kmk/information-in-english.html
Ministry of Education. (2018). English speaking population in Thailand. Retrieved from http://www.siamedunews.com/articles/42275409
Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and power. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Firth, A. (1996). The discursive accomplishment of normality: On ‘lingua franca’ English and conversation analysis. Journal of Pragmatics, 26(2), 237-259.
Glesne, C., & Peshkin, A. (1992). Becoming qualitative researchers. An introduction. White Plains, NY: Longman.
Gudykunst, W. B. (2005). An anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) theory of effective communication: Making the mesh of the net finer. In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), Theorizing about intercultural communication (pp. 281-323). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hanamoto, H. (2014). Relationship between learners’ exposure to English varieties and their intelligibility and comprehensibility: A quantitative approach on non-native English varieties. Asian English Studies, 16, 61-80.
House, J. (1999). Misunderstanding in intercultural communication: Interactions in English as a lingua franca and the myth of mutual intelligibility. In C. Gnutzmann (Ed.). Teaching and learning English as a global language: Native and non-native perspectives (pp. 245-267). Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Lang.
House, J., & Kasper, G. (2000). How to remain a non-native speaker. In C. Riemer (Ed.). Kognitive aspekte des lehrens und lernens von fremdsprachen (pp. 101-118). Narr, Germany: Tübingen.
Huang, S. (2005). Taiwanese students talk about English in Taiwan and their lives. Languages, Communities, and Education, 45-54. Retrieved from http://www.tc.columbia.edu/students/sie/journal/Volume_3/ Huang.pdf
Jenkins, J. (2000). The Phonology of English as an international language. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Jenkins, J. (2007). English as a lingua franca: Attitude and identity. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Jenkins, J. (2014). English as a lingua franca in the international university: The politics of academic English language policy. London, England: Routledge.
Kankaanranta, A., & Planken., B. (2010). BELF Competence as Business Knowledge of Internationally Operating Business Professionals, Journal of Business Communication, 47, 380-407.
Kachru, B. B. (1992). Teaching World Englishes. In Kachru, B.B. (Ed.). The other tongue: English across cultures. Urbana and Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Kaur, J. (2012). Saying it again: enhancing clarity in English as a lingua franca (ELF) through self-repetition. De Gruyter Mouton, 32(5), 593-613.
Kennedy, K., & Trofimovich, P. (2008). Intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness of L2 speech: The role of listener experience and semantic context. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 64(3), 459-489.
Leyland, C. (2011). For mutual intelligibility, must English as a lingua franca be standardized? ARECLS, 8, 25-45.
Mackenzie, I. (2014). English as lingua franca: Theorizing and teaching English. Oxon, England: Routledge.
McKay, S. L. (2009). Pragmatics and EIL pedagogy. In Sharifian, F. (Ed.), English as an international language: Perspectives and pedagogical issues (pp.227-241). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Meierkord, C. (2000). Interpreting successful lingua franca interaction. An analysis of non-native/nonnative small talk conversations in English. Linguistik Online, 5. Retrieved from http://linguistik-online.com
Park, J. S.Y., & Wee, L. (2011). A practice-based critique of English as a lingua franca. World Englishes, 30, 360–374.
Phongsirikul, M. (2017). A learner of the 20th century becoming a teacher of the 21st century: A perspective on the goals of ELT in Thailand. rEFLections, 24, 81-94.
Pullin, P. (2010). Small talk, rapport, and international communicative competence: Lessons to learn from BELF, Journal of Business Communication, 47, 455-476.
Rappa, A. L., & Wee, L. (2006). Language policy and modernity in Southeast Asia: Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. New York, NY: Springer.
Seidlhofer, B. (2001). Closing a conceptual gap: The case for a description of English as a lingua franca. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(1), 133-158.
Seidlhofer, B. (2004). Research perspectives on teaching English as a lingua franca. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 209–239.
Sifakis, N. (2007). The education of teachers of English as a lingua franca: A transformative perspective. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 17, 355-371.
Sommer, B., & Sommer, R. (1997). Practical guide to behavioral research. Oxford, England, Oxford University Press.
Oxford University (2018). What is Standard English? Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved from https://en.oxford dictionaries.com/definition/standard_english
Varner, I., & Beamer, L. (2011). Intercultural communication in the global workplace (5th ed.). Columbus, OH: McGraw Hill Education.
Wolf, H. G., & Polzenhagen F. (2009). World Englishes: A cognitive sociolinguistic approach. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co.