The Errors in Thai Writing of Students at Prince of Songkla University, Surat Thani Campus

Abstract

This research investigates and analyzes the errors in Thai writing of the students at Prince of Songkla University, Surat Thani Campus, who are enrolled in the course 935-011 Thai Language and Communication, totaling 420 individuals. The research focuses on the content of Thai language writing, using descriptive paragraphs as a test model consisting of two paragraphs. The agreed-upon rules for writing include: 1) permission to research information using the Internet; 2), if using the Internet for research, adapting the obtained information into one's own language; and 3) refraining from discussing the writing assignment or working in groups. The research findings reveal that deficiencies in Thai language writing cover four aspects: 1) Spelling, including the misuse of consonants, vowels, tone markers, and Ka-ran markers; 2) Word usage, involving the use of inappropriate words, omitted words, excessive words, ambiguous words, spoken language, foreign language words, and online media language; 3) Sentence construction: run-on sentences, incomplete and non-cohesive sentence structures; and 4) Language organization: disjointed content and repetitive writing. Additionally, there are some suggestions for using language and solutions, such as emphasizing spelling accuracy, clarifying the meanings and functions of words, choosing Thai words instead of foreign ones, warning about the use of improper language at various levels, and avoiding mistakes caused by words used in online communication.