Mail-Language and Cross Border Migration

Language and Cross Border Migration
โครงการเผยแพร่ความรู้สู่สังคม ลำดับที่ 2
คณะมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยทักษิณ
อ.เมืองสงขลา จ.สงขลา 90000 โทรศัพท์ 0-7431-7600 ต่อ 1503
โทรสาร 0-7444-3972 E-mail : husotsu@gmail.com

เจ้าของ
คณะมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยทักษิณ
อ.เมืองสงขลา จ.สงขลา 90000 โทรศัพท์ 0-7431-7600 ต่อ 1503
โทรสาร 0-7444-3972 E-mail : husotsu@gmail.com
ที่ปรึกษา
รองศาสตราจารย์ ดร.ณฐพงศ์ จิตรนิรัตน์ คณบดีคณะมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์
อาจารย์รัชนีย์ ศรีศักดา
รองคณบดีคณะมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์
ผู้ช่วยศาสตราจารย์ ดร.สุทธิพร บุญมาก รองคณบดีคณะมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์
อาจารย์ดิญะพร วิสะมิตนันท์ ผู้ช่วยคณบดีคณะมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์
บรรณาธิการ
ผู้ช่วยศาสตราจารย์ ดร.นิสากร กล้าณรงค์
กองบรรณาธิการ
ผู้ช่วยศาสตราจารย์ ดร.พรพันธุ์ เขมคุณาศัย
ผู้ช่วยศาสตราจารย์ ดร.ไพโรจน์ เบ็ญนุ้ย
ผู้ช่วยศาสตราจารย์ พรชัย นาคสีทอง
กองจัดการ
นางสาวสมสมัย เอียดคง // นางสาวสารายา เปาะโซะ // นางสาวกรรณิการ์ แซ่หยี
วัตถุประสงค์
เพื่อรวบรวมผลงานทางวิชาการของอาจารย์ นักวิจัย นักวิชาการและบุคลากรสังกัด
คณะมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์
เพื่อนำผลงานทางวิชาการของอาจารย์ นักวิจัย นักวิชาการและบุคลากรสังกัด
คณะมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์ เผยแพร่สู่ชุมชน
เพื่อสร้างชื่อเสียง เกียรติภูมิ ด้านวิชาการให้กับคณะมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์
ให้กว้างขวางสู่ชุมชนมากยิ่งขึ้น
พิมพ์ที่
บริษัท นำศิลป์โฆษณา จำกัด 32 ถ.นิพัทธ์สงเคราะห์ 1 ซอย 10 อ.หาดใหญ่ จ.สงขลา 90110
โทร. 0-7423-6637 Fax. 0-7423-6638 Email : Namsilp32@yahoo.com
จำนวนและราคา
จำนวน 500 เล่ม // ราคา 150 บาท
อาจารย์ ดร.เยาวลักษณ์ สุวรรณแข
อาจารย์ ดร.เกตมาตุ ดวงมณี
นางสาวสมสมัย เอียดคง

บทบรรณาธิการ
ภารกิจหลักที่สถาบันอุดมศึกษาจะต้องปฏิบัติ มี 4 ประการ คือ การผลิตบัณฑิต
การวิจัย การให้บริการทางวิชาการแก่สังคม และการทำนุบำรุงศิลปะและวัฒนธรรม
ซึ่งภารกิจหลักเหล่านี้จะไปสัมพันธ์กับการประกันคุณภาพการศึกษาในระดับอุดมศึกษา
โครงการเผยแพร่ความรู้สู่สังคม ลำดับที่ 2 ของคณะมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์
มหาวิทยาลัยทักษิณ เป็นการให้บริการทางวิชาการแก่สังคม โดยการเผยแพร่บทความ
วิจัยของคณาจารย์สายมนุษยศาสตร์ และสายสังคมศาสตร์ ในฉบับนี้ Language and
Cross Border Migration เป็นการรวบรวมผลงานวิจัยที่ได้ตีพิมพ์ในวารสารระดับ
นานาชาติ และการนำเสนอผลงานวิจัยในที่ประชุมวิชาการในระดับนานาชาติ จำนวน 7
บทความ
บทความ 4 บทความแรก เป็นบทความวิจัยทางภาษา ซึ่งคณะมนุษยศาสตร์และ
สังคมศาสตร์ได้เปิดสอนหลักสูตรศิลปศาสตรบัณฑิต (ศศ.บ.) ระดับปริญญาตรีสาขา
ภาษา จำนวน 5 หลักสูตร ได้แก่ สาขาวิชาภาษาไทย สาขาวิชาภาษาอังกฤษ สาขาวิชา
ภาษามลายู สาขาวิชาภาษาญี่ปุ่น และ สาขาวิชาภาษาจีน และ ระดับปริญญาโท หลักสูตร
ศิลปศาสตรมหาบัณฑิต (ศศ.ม.) สาขาวิชาภาษาไทย จำนวน 1 หลักสูตร
บทความ เรื่อง An Investigation of the Errors Made in Thai-Chinese
Translation by Thaksin University Students Majoring in Chinese and Remedial
Methods ของ Katematu Duangmanee มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาข้อผิดพลาดที่พบ
บ่อยในการใช้ไวยากรณ์ และคำในภาษาจีน ของนิสิตชั้นปีที่ 2 วิชาเอกภาษาจีน ของ
มหาวิทยาลัยทักษิณ ผลการศึกษาพบว่าสาเหตุสำคัญสี่ประการที่ทำให้เกิดความ
ผิดพลาด ประการแรกนิสิตนำการใช้ภาษาไทยที่นิสิตมีความเคยชิน เพราะเป็นภาษา
แม่ไปใช้ในภาษาจีน ประการที่สอง นิสิตไม่สามารถจำแนกประเภทของคำชนิดต่าง ๆ
ในภาษาจีนได้ จึงทำให้เกิดความผิดพลาดในการใช้คำผิดประเภท ประการที่สาม

โครงสร้างทางไวยากรณ์ที่แตกต่างกัน ซึ่งภาษาจีนมีวิธีการใช้คำ และโครงสร้างประโยค
ที่ซับซ้อนกว่า และประการที่สี่ เกิดจากความไม่รอบครอบในการแปล
บทความ ของ Pairote Bennui เรื่อง First, Second and Foreign Language
Listening : Similarities and Differences มุ่งเปรียบเทียบและเปรียบต่างปัจจัย
ทั้งสี่ด้านของทักษะการฟังในฐานะภาษาที่หนึ่ง ภาษาที่สอง และภาษาต่างประเทศ
ได้แก่ ความเข้าใจด้านการพูด (speech perception) การตีความเนื้อความทาง
การพูด (interpretation of spoken texts) ความรู้พื้นฐาน (a set of stereotypical
knowledge) และ กลยุทธ์ในการฟัง (listening strategies)
บทความของสาขาวิชาภาษาอังกฤษ อีกบทความหนึ่ง คือ The Study of
Achievement Motivation in Using Weblogs to Enhance University Students’
Writing Competency ของ Kredsai Woottipong มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อเปรียบเทียบความ
สามารถในการเขียนภาษาอังกฤษของนักศึกษาก่อนและหลังการใช้เว็บบล็อกเพื่อสอน
การเขียนแบบเน้นกระบวนการ และแรงจูงใจในการเขียนก่อนและหลังจากการทดลอง
ของนิสิตชั้นปีที่ 1 มหาวิทยาลัยทักษิณ วิทยาเขตสงขลาที่กำลังศึกษาวิชาภาษาอังกฤษ II
Teaching Young Children to Read Involves More than Phonics ของ
Yaowaluk Suwannakhae เป็นงานวิจัยที่ทบทวนวรรณกรรม วัตถุประสงค์ที่
สำคัญสองประการของบทความนี้ ประการแรกคือ การทบทวนวรรณกรรมและ
สังเคราะห์สารสนเทศสมัยใหม่ ในประเด็นที่เป็นที่ถกเถียงกันของนักวิชาการตะวันตก
ด้านการศึกษาปฐมวัยว่าการเรียนรู้ การอ่านของเด็กเกี่ยวข้องกับการออกเสียงและ
การสะกดคำศัพท์ ประการที่สอง เป็นการรวบรวมหลักฐานทางวิชาการที่สนับสนุน
ว่ามีปัจจัยสำคัญอื่น ๆ ที่เกี่ยวข้องกับการเรียนรู้การอ่านของเด็กปฐมวัย นอกเหนือ
ไปจากการสะกดคำและสะกดคำศัพท์ของนักวิชาการนักวิจัยและครูผู้มีประสบการณ์
การสอน
บทความที่เหลืออีก 3 บทความเป็นบทความที่เกี่ยวข้องกับการย้ายถิ่นระหว่าง
ประเทศ ซึ่งการย้ายถิ่นเป็นปัจจัยที่มีผลต่อการเปลี่ยนแปลงขนาด องค์ประกอบทาง
ประชากร และการกระจายเชิงพื้นที่ของประชากร และมีผลกระทบทั้งในพื้นที่ชุมชน
ต้นทางที่มีการย้ายถิ่นออกของประชากร และ ชุมชนปลายทางที่มีการย้ายถิ่นเข้าของ
ประชากร ผลกระทบที่เกิดขึ้นมีทั้งผลกระทบทางบวกและผลกระทบทางลบ ทั้งใน
ระบบประชากร และนอกระบบประชากร (สังคม เศรษฐกิจ การเมือง) การย้ายถิ่นของ
ประชากรสามารถเกิดขึ้นได้หลายครั้งในช่วงชีวิตของคนคนหนึ่ง ซึ่งแตกต่างจากภาวะ

เจริญพันธ์ุ หรือการเกิด (Fertility) และภาวะการตาย (Mortality) ซึ่งเกิดขึ้นเพียงครั้ง
เดียวในช่วงชีวิตของบุคคล
I Still Call Thailand Home : A Study of Thai Migrants in Melbourne,
Australia ของ Sansanee Chanarnupap เป็นบทความที่นำเสนอผลการศึกษาการย้าย
ถิ่นถาวรของนักเรียนไทยที่ไปศึกษาในนครเมลเบิร์น ประเทศออสเตรเลีย ได้ค้นพบ
แนวคิดใหม่เกี่ยวกับการเปลี่ยนรูปทางความสัมพันธ์ข้ามพรมแดนและความเชื่อมโยง
ระหว่างคนไทยย้ายถิ่นในนครเมลเบิร์น ขณะที่อาศัยอยู่ห่างไกลจากประเทศไทย
คนไทยย้ายถิ่นยังคงรักษาความสัมพันธ์ ความผูกพันและปฏิสัมพันธ์กับบ้านเกิด
โดยเฉพาะกับบุคคล ผ่านสื่อเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศ และขนส่งมวลชนที่ทันสมัยและ
ราคาถูก
ขณะที่ บทความ Cross-Border Migration Pattern of People from Southern
Border Provinces of Thailand to Malaysia ของ Nisakorn Klanarong and Sirirat
Sinprajakpol ศึกษารูปแบบการย้ายถิ่นของประชาชนที่อาศัยอยู่ในจังหวัดชายแดนภาคใต้
(ปัตตานี ยะลา นราธิวาส และ สตูล) ที่ย้ายถิ่นเข้าไปในประเทศมาเลเซีย ในลักษณะ
การย้ายถิ่นชั่วคราวมากกว่าการย้ายถิ่นถาวรเพื่อเข้าไปตั้งถิ่นฐานในประเทศมาเลเซีย
ซึ่งพบว่ามี 3 รูปแบบหลัก ได้แก่ การย้ายถิ่นตามฤดูกาล (seasonal labour migration)
การย้ายถิ่นแบบเช้าไป เย็นกลับ (commuting labour migration) และ การย้ายถิ่นแบบ
หมุนเวียน (circular labour migration) ซึ่งผู้เคลื่อนย้ายส่วนใหญ่เป็นแรงงานไร้ทักษะ
(unskilled workers) หรือ กึ่งทักษะ (semi-skilled workers)
ส่วนบทความ Mental Health of Thai Female Migrants Working
in Food Shops on Langkawi Island, Malaysia ของ Nisakorn Klanarong,
Anchalee Singhanetra-Renard, and Pechdau Tohmeena เน้นการย้ายถิ่นระหว่าง
ประเทศของแรงงานสตรี โดยมีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาสุขภาพจิตของแรงงานสตรี ขณะ
ที่เข้าไปทำงานร้านอาหารในเกาะลังกาวี รัฐเกดาห์ ประเทศมาเลเซีย เนื่องจากแรงงาน
ส่วนใหญ่ที่เข้าไปทำงานจะไม่มีใบอนุญาตทำงาน ต้องคอยระวัง และหลีกเลี่ยงจาก
เจ้าหน้าที่ของประเทศมาเลเซียทำให้เกิดความเครียด และมีผลต่อจิตใจ ของแรงงาน
สตรีย้ายถิ่น

สารบัญ
An Investigation of the Errors Made in Thai-Chinese Translation by Thaksin
University Students Majoring in Chinese and Remedial Methods
Katematu Duangmanee............................................................................3
First, Second and Foreign Language Listening : Similarities and Differences
Pairote Bennui.......................................................................................17
The Study of Achievement Motivation in Using Weblogs to Enhance University
Students’ Writing Competency
Kredsai Woottipong..................................................................................35
Teaching Young Children to Read Involves More than Phonics to Enhance
University Students’ Writing Competency
Yaowaluk Suwannakhae............................................................................67
I Still Call Thailand Home : A Study of Thai Migrants in Melbourne, Australia
Sansanee Chanarnupa...............................................................................81
Cross-Border Migration Pattern of People from Southern Border Provinces
of Thailand to Malaysia
Nisakorn Klanarong and Sirirat Sinprajakpol.................................................103
Mental Health of Thai Female Migrants Working in Food Shops on Langkawi
Island, Malaysia
Nisakorn Klanarong , Anchalee Singhanetra-Renard and Pechdau Tohmeena
............................................................................................................121

An Investigation of the Errors Made in
Thai-Chinese Translation by Thaksin
University Students Majoring in Chinese
and Remedial Methods
Katematu Duangmanee
บทความนี้ปรับปรุงจากบทความ เรื่อง An Investigation of the Errors
Made in Thai-Chinese Translation by Thaksin University Students
Majoring in Chineseand Remedial Methods ตีพิมพ์ครั้งแรกใน “The 2014
WEI International Academic Conference Proceeding Veinna, Austria.”

An Investigation of the Errors Made in Thai-Chinese Translation
by Thaksin University Students Majoring in Chinese and
Remedial Methods
Katematu Duangmanee
Eastern Language Department
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to investigate what mistakes are
frequently made in Chinese grammar and word use by 40 second-year
students majoring in Chinese at Thaksin University. This was done by making
a comparison of their pre- and post-course translation skills and assessing
their errors in the translation process and their causes. The course data were
compiled by applying two kinds of research methodologies, specifically
a unit of translation exercises and an identical test prior to and following
the course. A statistical t-test was used as a tool in the data analysis
process. This study showed that there are four main reasons for the common
mistakes made by Thai students. First, Thai students tend to apply the structures
to which they are accustomed in their mother tongue. Second, they do not
categorize Chinese words correctly. Third, there is a difference between
the grammatical structures of the two languages. The final factor is the students’
carelessness in translating. In addition, it is found that there are five teaching
methods to deal with students’ translation problems.
Keywords :
Errors in Chinese Words, Grammar Usage, Chinese Major
Students, Teaching Methods
Language and Cross Border Migration 3

Introduction
As societies in the world have become subject to globalization, there
have been many major developments that have moved the world forward.
In the context of the expansion of cooperation for the purposes of trade
liberalization, regional economic competition in global markets is intensifying,
leading to the establishment of ties between countries, such as economic,
social, political, technological, trade and investment opportunities opening up
for traders. With the rapid growth of communication and data acces
languages are coming to play a key role. Among these is Chinese, which
is one of the crucial languages in Asia alongside English. Recently China has
joined the Asia-Europe Economic Meeting (ASEM), the World Trade
Organization (WTO), and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (ASPEC). In Thailand
Chinese businessmen have been investing in various market sectors. Hence, nowadays
Chinese education is of considerable interest, especially in terms of communication
using correct vocabulary and grammar.
To achieve successful communication, translation skills - which cannot be
separated from other proficiencies - are vital. In daily life people need to apply
such skills in their quest for knowledge and for entertainment when reading books,
magazines, newspapers, and other publications.
River (1970) discusses translation skills. When teaching language
so that students can use it as a communication tool, the ability to translate
needs to be imparted as an integral part of their instruction. Thus, teachers
should have the knowledge, capability and experiences to organize appropriate
and suitable teaching and learning activities. In other words, teachers can
scarcely develop students’ translation skills if they themselves lack knowledge
and experience of translation procedures since translation skills are
the most difficult competencies to achieve. Phensri Rangsiyagul (1980)
claims that there are various skills that are relevant to translation and they are
interrelated in a particular sequence, i.e. eye dexterity, knowledge of grammar
4
Language and Cross Border Migration

and vocabulary, pronunciation, the spelling of words, and understanding of
the context. Hafner (1977) suggests how the process of translation works.
Translation involves not simply seeing characters or words and not only
understanding the details. The translator must also be able to interpret what
we know and rely on previous experience, and be able to process a concept or
thought being considered and reach the appropriate conclusion.
With respect to teaching a new second language, Prapasri Tangbanjedsuk
(1983) states that making an appropriate and relevant translation is an
important skill, as well as listening, speaking, reading, and writing because
effective communication requires documents or publications which can help users
translate and impart the knowledge to be gained and to understand the thoughts
and concepts of others.
In our efforts to enhance knowledge and promulgate humans’ ideas
and development, translation is a tool that assists people to effectively
recognize, understand and solve problems in society. Studies for any course at any
level are considered to play an important role in overall education.
The researcher when studying students learning Chinese observed
that the differences between the mother tongue, in this case the Thai
language, and the second language, Chinese, is a major cause of errors in
the language use of students, especially in the use of words and grammar. Montana
Duangrat (1980) states that the major problem encountered in teaching Chinese
word use and grammar is that learners often prefer to transcribe verbatim from the
original manuscript because of insufficient knowledge of vocabulary, and specifically
because of the fact that words can have multiple meanings within the contextual
use of structural and cultural expressions in the new language.
According to Sanchawee Saibuo (1982), the problem, which is evident
among readers, can be summarized by stating that the language used in the translation
lacks the elegance and the natural language of the material read in the original language.
Simple word-for-word translation cannot deal with these problems caused by
Language and Cross Border Migration 5

an unclear understanding of the terminology and transcription, which is often
incorrectly applied by the student.
A second major error is the construction of incorrect sentences.
Because of the ambiguity in the syntax, as Voranat Wimonchalao (1986) states,
learners often have difficulties in properly interpreting the fact that elements
deriving from English grammar do not exist in the Thai language, and such issues
are often found among students who are learning Chinese as well.
Analyzing the research regarding all various errors, it seems as though
teachers’ shortcuts for allowing students to learn and understand the Chinese
language more quickly involve responsive learning of knowledge and skills in terms
of intellectual thought processes using systematic analysis, critical thinking and
creative thinking to solve problems and to make decisions rationally. Moreover,
this is allowing the various health sciences to integrate various applications to make
improvements among practitioners and society at large as well. It means students
can apply their knowledge and skills to solve various problems in their future
employment. It also aims to develop students’ characteristics under the National
Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (Thai Qualifications Framework
for Higher Education (TQF: HEd)) of the National Commission on Higher
Education so that they can achieve the desired learning outcomes.
Research Methodology
This study adopts the following methodology.
1. Population and sample
The target population for this research was a group of learners with
a basic knowledge of Chinese higher education, at least for the first year,
and who have made errors and experienced problems as learners. Therefore,
this study uses 40 second year students majoring in Chinese who took
the Fundamental Chinese Translation course in the second semester of the 2012
academic year.
6
Language and Cross Border Migration

2. Research instruments
Tools used in the study were a unit of translation exercises related to
nouns, pronouns, units of measurement, conjunctions, prepositions, attributes,
adverbials, complements and phrases used for students to practice their translation
skills - this was called Workshop Translation Lesson “Technically Conquering
Thai - Chinese Translation” - and an identical test on 30 items before and after
the course.
3. Procedures for data creation and collection
3.1 Studying the Fundamental Chinese Translation course description and
creation of the translation exercises and an identical test before and after the course
that was checked and approved by the professor of Chinese.
3.2 Taking an identical test before and after the course to test students’
abilities to translate prior to learning to determine the student’s initial knowledge
as a baseline indicator.
3.3 Teaching by the researcher of the students for one semester for
four-week periods of 50 minutes’ duration for a total of 16 sessions through the
use of nine translation exercises.
3.4 Collecting students’ exercises to analyze their errors and finally
conducting a test of students’ translation skills by using the identical pre-study
learning test after the period of instruction.
4. Data analysis and statistics
Analyzing the data to prove the hypothesis of this research,
the researcher examined the data and statistics as follows:
4.1 Analysis of the quality of the test. The contents’ validity
was analyzed for confidence throughout the development of the results of
the test assessing the translation skills.
4.2 Analysis of innovation performance. The workshop was
assessed by means of E1/E2.
4.3 Analysis of errors in the translation of each student with a descriptive
analysis. Issues are defined as follows :
Language and Cross Border Migration 7

4.3.1 Translation of nouns
4.3.2 Translation of pronouns
4.3.3 Translation of units of measurement
4.3.4 Translation of conjunctions
4.3.5 Translation of prepositions
4.3.6 Translation of attributes
4.3.7 Translation of adverbials
4.3.8 Translation of complements
4.3.9 Translation of phrases.
4.4 Analysis of teaching methods applied in the case study.
Analysis and Assessment
The researcher reports on translation errors in three sections: the first is
translation skills, the second is the results regarding the analysis of translation
errors, and the last one is remedial teaching approaches to deal with these errors.
Translation Skills
The learners’ translation skills from the analyses of the identical tests before
and after the course are shown in Table 1 :
Table 1 Basic statistics regarding the students’ abilities to translate from an identical
translation test before and after the course (n = 40 people)
Identical test
before and after the course
Mean SD % Sum(D) Sum(D 2 ) t-value
Before the course 42.18 4.19 57.50 79 387 32.05
After the course 44.15 4.07 75.00
From Table 1, it can be observed that before the course (pre-course) the
learners had an average score of 42.18 and that after the course (post-course) they
obtained an average score of 44.15. After completion of the course, it was found
8
Language and Cross Border Migration

that students had improved their translation proficiency at a significance level of
0.01, especially with regard to aspects of Chinese word use and syntax.
The analysis of Translation Errors
As regards the analyses of the results of translation errors, the researcher
analyzed the results of the identical translation tests before and after the course and
found that the learners seem to only have issues in word and grammar use. Some
examples are presented below.
Sentence 1 : มหาวิทยาลัยของพวกเรามีทั้งหมด 9 คณะ (Thai)
The correct sentence is 我 们 大 学 一 共 有 九 所 学 院 。 (Chinese)
The learners’ pre-course translation mistakes were:
1. 大 学 我 们 有 九 个 系 。
2. 大 学 的 我 们 有 九 所 学 院 。
3. 大 学 的 我 们 有 九 个 地 方 。
The learners’ post-course translation mistakes were:
1. 我 们 大 学 一 供 有 九 所 学 院 。
2. 我 们 大 学 都 有 九 所 系 。
In the above error sample for Sentence 1, we found that students tend to
apply the structures to which they are accustomed in their mother tongue.
Moreover, the students are likely to use word-for-word translation and do not pay
attention to the contextual meaning.
Sentence 2 : ฉันรู้สึกว่ามาตรฐานภาษาจีนของฉันไม่ดีพอ (Thai)
The correct sentence is 我 觉 得 我 的 汉 语 水 平 不 够 高 。(Chinese)
The learners’ pre-course translation mistakes were:
1. 我 想 出 水 平 汉 语 的 我 不 好 购 。
2. 我 感 觉 的 汉 语 水 平 的 我 不 够 好 。
3. 我 觉 得 我 的 汉 语 不 好 。
Language and Cross Border Migration 9

The learners’ post-course translation mistakes were:
1. 我 觉 得 我 的 汉 语 水 平 不 好 。
2. 我 觉 得 我 的 汉 语 水 平 不 够 好 。
3. 我 觉 得 我 的 汉 语 水 平 不 够 多 。
The above error sample for Sentence 2 shows that students do not categorize
Chinese words correctly, thereby causing them to use incorrect types of words.
It was also found that students are quite careless in translating.
Sentence 3 : ฉันเคยมีโอกาสทำงานชั่วคราวสามเดือนที่โรงเรียนที่มีชื่อ
แห่งหนึ่ง (Thai)
The correct sentence is 我 曾 经 有 机 会 在 一 所 著 名 的 学 校 工 作 过 三 个 月 。
(Chinese)
The learners’ pre-course translation mistakes were:
1. 我 有 机 会 工 作 三 个 月 又 名 的 学 校 。
2. 我 有 机 会 在 三 个 月 著 名 学 校 工 作 了 。
3. 我 有 机 会 在 有 名 学 校 工 作 过 三 个 月 了 。
The learners’ post-course translation mistakes were:
1. 我 曾 经 有 机 会 在 所 著 名 的 学 校 工 作 过 了 三 个 月 。
2. 我 有 机 会 在 一 所 大 学 工 作 了 三 个 月 。
3. 我 曾 经 有 机 会 三 个 月 在 著 名 一 所 大 学 工 作 了 。
The above error sample for Sentence 3 shows that the students have
grammatical structure problems. This appears to stem from differences
between the Thai and Chinese languages.
It was found that a unit of translation exercises covering nouns,
pronouns, units of measurement, conjunctions, prepositions, attributes,
adverbials, complements and phrases allow the students to practice their
translation skills. This took the form of a translation workshop lesson
entitled “Technically Conquering Thai - Chinese Translation” and was
efficient in teaching Thai students to translate Chinese phrases and
sentences. The effectiveness of the results (E1/E2) is 70/74. It showed a level
of effectiveness compared to the standard score of 70/70. Moreover, the average
10
Language and Cross Border Migration

score for the test, at 44.15, was higher after the course than beforehand, when it
stood at 42.18, and the number of errors was lower than that made in the first test.
Remedial Teaching Approaches
Teaching can be best defined as the organization of learning.
Therefore, the problem to be mastered in successful teaching is how to organize
learning to achieve effective results. Teachers have started to understand how to
organize their teaching in terms of specific topics and settings, defined lists of
linguistic items, and the division of their teaching into Basic and Higher levels. To
deal with students’ translation problems, the researcher found that the system of
instruction for translation courses should be complemented by four steps: input,
process, output, and feedback. The feedback from teachers (Extrinsic Feedback)
contributed to students’ realization of knowledge (Intrinsic Feedback). Incidentally,
the researcher adopted five teaching methods to improve students’ translation skills.
The first was the grammar-translation method. It was invented as a new, insightful way
of approaching language learning that was right in tune with the times. There was much
sense in having a system of language learning and language manipulation using a set
of grammar rules that brought logic and as far as possible universal applicability
to the fore. The relationship between translation and linguistics has never
been easy. Support for an interactive view of texts preceded the development
of fully-fledged text-linguistic models of the translation process. If second language
acquisition were to operate in exactly the same way as first language acquisition,
then all second language learners, given sufficient time, should develop bilingual
competence in the second language. This, of course, does not materialize in reality.
What direct translation is intended to achieve may be seen against
the backdrop of a perennial question in the study of translation : can
assumptions intended specifically for a particular audience ever be
optimally communicated to a different audience, and if so, how? In mainstream
translation studies, this is often dismissed as an issue, on the grounds that, at least
Language and Cross Border Migration 11

in principle, any message or interpretation can be communicated to any audience.
Assuming that the contextual problem can somehow be circumvented, the question
which needs to be addressed next relates to translation situations where, within
certain limits, the students are interested not only in what is said but also in how
it is said. It is this area of language use which has often led the students of sacred
and sensitive texts to prefer a literal approach, with the predictable consequences.
The translation model of relevance insists that the cognitive feat of inference and
related mechanisms described above can take place without recourse to typologies
of the text, communicative acts and the like (Gutt, 1991).
The second method was the transposition method. It involved
replacing one word class with another without changing the meaning of
the message. Besides being a special translation procedure, transposition can also
be applied within a language.
The third method was the equivalence method. It stressed that one
and the same situation can be rendered by two texts using completely
different stylistic and structural methods.
The fourth method was the practice method. The researcher gave the students
practice with differing levels of assistance: highly structured, semi-independent or
guided, and independent. This practice procedure was designed to provide appropriate
support until students achieved independence. When students are able to practice their
skills accurately, they are ready for independent practice, that is, for practice under
conditions when assistance is not available in the environment. Homework is an example
of independent practice. This is the mastery level in the practice procedure: students use
the skill independently with minimal errors. At the same time, a variety
of tensions and problems remain, which mean that changes in classroom
practices will continue for the foreseeable future.
The fifth method was the nondirective teaching model. The idea
behind this approach was to keep the students’ frames of reference in mind, maintain
their personal growth as a central feature, and help them solve learning problems.
This method nurtures students rather than controlling the sequence of learning.
12
Language and Cross Border Migration

The emphases are more on the development of effective long-term learning styles
and of strong, well-directed individual personalities than on short-term instructional
or content-related objectives.
In addition, the researcher mixed up the activities in the classroom to
produce a recognizable communicative methodology. While many different views
have been expressed on this matter, most commentators would agree on the following :
1. Classroom activities should maximize opportunities for the students
to use the target language for a meaningful purpose, with their attention
being focused on the messages they are creating and the task they are completing
rather than on the correctness of the form and structure of the language.
2. The students trying their best to use the target language creatively
and unpredictably are bound to make errors; this is a normal part of
language learning, and constant correction is unnecessary, and even
counterproductive.
3. Language analysis and explanations of grammar may help
some students, but extensive experience of target language use helps
everyone!
The relationship between language teaching and translation teaching
has thus proved problematic. The researcher, by directly looking at the subject
of translation errors, raises the important issue of what is and what is not
a translation. Students’ success in learning the new material has much to do
with the thoroughness and quality of the teacher’s initial explanation. Following
the explanation comes the discussion, in which the teacher checks students’
understanding of the new concept or skill. A common error is simply
to ask students if they understand or have any questions and then to assume
that if no-one answers or only a few students respond, everyone
understands well enough to move on to putting the knowledge into practice.
Language and Cross Border Migration 13

Because language is a habit, and not an area in which students can get by
through simply understanding the general gist of the subject, students must do the
things that are needed when learning habits. In general, these boil down to practice.
Students also learn from simulations by training and self-training. These are,
however, two aspects of practice. One is initiating, while the other is memorizing.
Conclusion and Discussion
This study has attempted to assess the effectiveness of Thai-Chinese translations
made by students majoring in the Chinese language. The cases analyzed were a unit
of translation exercises and an identical test administered before and after the course.
This research resulted in the development of a better understanding of the errors
made in Thai-Chinese translations, the reasons for the most common mistakes and
the efficiency of the “Technically Conquering Thai - Chinese Translation” course.
In summary, before taking the course, the students scored an average
of 42.18 out of the total of 60 for translation skills, while after taking the course
they achieved an average of 44.15. Translation accuracy improved, but
there continued to be some errors in the examination after the course
was taken that were the same as had been made before the course.
The students made a considerable number of vocabulary-related errors
where the translator had seemingly misinterpreted the meaning of the material
being translated and therefore made an inappropriate selection for
the unknown word. Minor translation errors consisted of incorrect syntax in Chinese,
particularly in translation and the use of predicate verbs.
Furthermore, analyses of the operational performance of the lesson were
conducted in a workshop using E1/E2. Based on the effective standard of
70/70, with the performance of the process (E1) accounting for 70 percent
of the results and the efficiency (E2) representing 74 percent, an E1/E2 ratio
of 70/74 emerged for the performance of practical lessons in this study.
It was found that 30 out of the total of 40 students passed the test after
14
Language and Cross Border Migration

the course. Comparing this to previous studies, it was found that 23 students
passed a quiz before the class, representing 57.50% of the 40 students in
all, with an average of 42.18 points out of the total score of 60 points.
The number of students who passed the test after the course was 30, or
75.00% of all the students. The average review score was 44.15 points.
This is consistent with the findings of Duangden On-nuam (1993) that
exercises can help develop the learning skills of the students.
We found that there were four main reasons for the common mistakes
made by Thai students. First, Thai students tend to apply the structures to
which they are accustomed in their mother tongue. Second, Thai students
do not categorize Chinese words correctly. Third, there are differences
between the grammatical structures of the two languages. The fourth and
final factor is the students’ carelessness in translating. In addition, from
the above, the instruction of translation courses consists of four steps.
These are input, process, output, and feedback. Five teaching methods,
indicating that the process starts with the grammar-translation method using
explanation and discussion (a method that was applied together with
the transposition method and the equivalence method), are mentioned
in the paper. Therefore, when the students understand basic translation
skills and know about grammar use, following application of the practice
method and the nondirective teaching model to evaluate students’ translation efficiency,
their proficiency increases. In conclusion, this approach can be applied for not only
Chinese translation courses but also other aspects of learning Chinese in future.
Language and Cross Border Migration 15

References
On-nuam, D. (1993). Knowledge for computer teachers. Bangkok : Thailand
Wattanapanich.
Gutt, E. (1991). Translation and Relevance : Cognition and Context. Oxford :
Blackwell.
Hafner, L.E. (1977). Development Reading in Middle and Secondary School.
New York : Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
Duangrat, M. (1989). Thai-English translation guide book. Bangkok :
Chulalongkorn University.
Rangsiyagul, P. (1980). Strategies for Teaching English. Ramkhamhaeng,
7(1), 181-182.
Tangbanjedsuk, P. (1983). The ability of English interpretation
reading of English program grade 3 students in Chainat Province.
Kasetsart University : Bangkok.
River, W.M. (1970). Teaching Foreign-Language Skills. London: The University
of Chicago Press, Ltd.
Saibua, S. (1982). Principles of Translation. Bangkok : Thammasat
University Press.
Wimonchalao, V. (1986). Translation teaching guide for the beginner
(2nd ed). Bangkok : Chulalongkorn University Printing House.
16
Language and Cross Border Migration

First, Second and Foreign Language
Listening : Similarities and Differences
Pairote Bennui
บทความนี้ปรับปรุงจากบทความ เรื่อง First, Second and Foreign Language
Listening : Similarities and Differences ตีพิมพ์ครั้งแรกใน
วารสารมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยทักษิณ ปีที่ 2 ฉบับที่ 2
(ตุลาคม 2550 - มีนาคม 2551) หน้า 185-201

First, Second and Foreign Language Listening : Similarities
and Differences
Pairote Bennui
Western Language Department
Abstract
This paper provides a comparison and contrast of first, second and foreign
language listening through four factors : speech perception, interpretation of spoken
texts, a set of stereotypical knowledge, and listening strategies. Apparently, similarities
between L1 listening and L2/FL listening are found in a small point of
the two factors. Under a set of stereotypical knowledge, at the early age of
acquiring listening, L1 and L2/FL listeners have insufficient linguistic knowledge
to interact with adult speakers of the target language. Moreover, some listening
strategies used by L1 listeners are also employed by L2/FL listeners such as
recognizing words as well as hearing the words and meaning of sentences. On
the other hand, differences among these listeners arise into a wide range of
all factors. First, L2/FL listeners perceive only the speech sound of the target
language while L1 listeners understand the meaning of the speech sound due to
possession of categorical perception and perceptive constancy during their infancy.
Furthermore, when interpreting spoken texts, L2/FL listeners expend much effort
regarding linguistic, paralinguistic and extra-linguistic messages but L1 listeners
have developed their top-down and bottom-up levels of listening comprehension.
Besides, a set of stereotypical knowledge belongs to L1 listeners in
the infant period ; however, it will emerge in L2/FL listeners if they become
‘intake’ via ‘comprehension input’. In addition, different types of listening
strategies must be trained to L2/FL listeners : nonetheless, they are
automatically and spontaneously used by L1 listeners. Overall, L2/FL listeners
Language and Cross Border Migration 19

have a great number of differences from L1 listeners due to linguistic
constraints. However, such a difference reflects the attention L2/FL listeners
have to pay for enhancing their listening comprehension and competence,
not for discouraging their motivation due to being non-native listeners.
Keywords : Foreign Language, Listening, First Language, Second Language.
Introduction
With the occurrence of low performance of listening to spoken
messages of the target language, many second and foreign language listeners may
blame their being non-native listeners as a cause of listening problems, and think
that it is difficult, if at all possible, for them to reach the competency of second and
foreign language listening. In fact, if they understand the relationship of listening
among first, second, and foreign languages, they will have a better way to rethink
about their own listening background in order to solve their listening problems.
Hence, this paper is intended to provide an insightful account into the concept
of first, second and foreign language listening in aspects of similarities and
differences so that learners of second and foreign language listening skills will
realize their listening ability compared to first language listeners. This comparison
will be discussed by examining four factors: speech perception, interpretatio
of spoken texts, a set of stereotypical knowledge, and listening strategies.
Prior to the comparison, the term ‘fist, second and foreign language listening’
needs to be described for this paper to be clearly understood. In using the target language
which a certain language learner attempts to acquire or use, this term
is applicable which can be divided into three sub-terms : first language
(L1) listening, second language (1-2) listening, and oreign language (FL)
listening. These terms are different. L1 listening refers to the listening ability
of native language speakers. Meanwhile, L2 listening involves the listening
ability in the target language of second language speakers, and FL listening
20
Language and Cross Border Migration

concerns the ability in listening of the target language of foreign language speakers.
Using English as the target language, these terms can become “Native English
listening, English as a Second Language (ESL) listening, and English as a Foreign
Language (EFL) listening.” Hence, native English listening involves the highest
hierarchy of listening proficiency in various functions by users of English such as
British, American, Canadian, Australian and New Zealander listeners. Meanwhile,
ESL listening is regarded with the extent of the listening ability in both intra-national
and international contexts of English, especially listeners who have more
experiences and opportunities in hearing and interpreting spoken texts such as
Singaporeans, Indians and Filipinos. However, EFL listening falls into the degree
of the ability in listening in only an international context of English, particularly
listeners who have limited chances In response to spoken texts such as Japanese,
Koreans and Thais. In this paper, however, L2 and FL listening shares
many characteristics but very few differences due to the listening
ability of non-native speakers. Therefore, this term is always referred to as “L2/
FL listening”. Only native listening has its unique characteristics. A sufficient
description of those terms above may enrich an insight into the comparison
and contrast among L1, L2 and FL listening types through the following
four factors.
Speech Perception
With respect to perceiving speech, native listeners seem to show
more differences than similarities compared to second and foreign language
listeners. In fact, native listeners’ speech perception starts at the early
development of listening or at the infant level, especially regarding two main
characteristics: categorical perception and perceptual constancy. First of all, ‘categorical
perception’ refers to the ability of native listeners to discriminate speech sound
differences from their First language in a number of different phonetic dimensions,
and to develop ‘continuous perception’ that concerns the capacity to hear continuous
speech as combination of sound sequences. Last, ‘perceptual constancy’ is related
Language and Cross Border Migration 21

to the ability of native infant listeners to tolerate the type of acoustic variability
that is included in changes in rates of speech or differences in speakers’ voice.
This ability is to relate ‘variable input’ with ‘sound differences’ to changes in
meaning (Rost, 2002). These features seem not to occur in second and foreign
language listeners when perceiving speech sounds of the target language.
It seems unfair to compare native listeners and L2 or FL listeners by
considering the first year of listening development of the target language.
This comparison is not clear cut. It is very difficult that L2/FL listeners
can perceive speech sounds of the target language during their infancy,
by concerning the two features mentioned above; otherwise, they are
bilinguals who have been exposed to the first and target languages through
their caretakers or learning environments. If so, the comparison and contrast
by speech perception among native, L2 and FL adult listeners can be quite
obvious.
In general, native listeners focus more on the meaning of spoken messages, no matter
the rate of speed, than the linguistic elements of the Spoken messages. However,
they sometimes focus on phonological elements of the spoken messages in some
problematic cases, e.g., in a noisy background or when conversing with a speaker
with strong or unfamiliar accents. Importantly, they do not perceive speech phoneme
by phoneme or word by word as foreign language listeners do. Instead, they use their
subconscious knowledge of the phonological regularities of L1 as well as lexicon,
syntactic and semantic properties of the L1 to compensate for the shortcomings of
the acoustic signals. Becoming competent listeners, they exploit all the information
such as the linguistic components of the speech and some listening strategies to help
them to listen successfully and effectively (Anderson & Lynch, 1988). That is to
say, native listeners perceive speech sounds via the simultaneous and spontaneous
use of information from different sources: from linguistic elements of the spoken
messages and their global knowledge in unison.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

On the other hand, second and foreign language listeners perceive speech
sounds of the target language in different ways than native listeners. L2 listeners
use higher-level information, e.g., their expectations about meaning to supplement
the degree of opacity of the phonological information rather than solely relying on
identifying sound by sound or word by word. However, foreign language listeners
understand speech sounds by discriminating FL phonemes with minimal pairs and
identifying sounds and words Solely step by step (Anderson & Lynch, 1988).
Overall L2 and FL listeners also possess the categorical perception and
perceptual constancy when they perceive utterances of their native language at
their infancy. However, they do not have these features when acquiring the target
language. Moreover, they are not mature to employ their subconscious knowledge
of phonological elements of the target language to understand spoken texts as native
listeners are able. This is because they are inter-language listeners. These reflect
on a large gap of the listening ability between native and L2/FL listeners.
Interpretation of Spoken Texts
When interpreting spoken texts, native listeners never try to hear all
the information in spoken texts and they do not need to hear fully spoken messages.
Their proficiency in listening comprehension is similar to the ability to till in the
gap and to create an understanding that meets one’s listening purpose (Peterson,
2001). In other words, native listeners understand spoken messages by linking
some information they have heard and interpreting or using their own knowledge.
This is different from the way second and foreign language listeners
interpret spoken texts. They strive to understand the full mechanics of the spoken
texts due to insufficient linguistic competence. This is because L2 and FL listeners
have developed their top-down and bottom-up levels of listening comprehension
differently from Li listeners. In this respect, Peterson (2001) claims that native
listeners have adequate listening proficiency on top-down level, e.g., their ability
in expecting and understanding the context, topic as well as the nature of a spoken
text and of the world and on bottom-up level, e.g., their ability in decoding the
sounds, words, phrases and sentences of spoken messages.
Language and Cross Border Migration 23

However, L2 and FL listeners are slower in bottom-up processing skills.
They cannot readily segment speech streams into word units to tell where one word
begins and another ends. Furthermore, they perceive the stress patterns of word
differently than native listeners. Besides, both L2 and FL listeners are not yet to be
fluent in phonological rules. In addition, they are less familiar with rules for word
formation, inflection or word order.
Morley (2001) suggests that second and foreign language listeners can
interpret spoken texts in both two-way and one-way oral communication. L2
listeners learn listening through messages conveyed in three ways as follows:
(I) Linguistic messages which involve the ability to analyze grammati
cal structure and interpret the meaning of words, sounds, phrases and
sentences.
(ii) Paralinguistic messages which concern the ability to interpret the
vocal features, e.g. intonation, prosody, stress, pitch and discourse
patterns which transmit the speaker’s attitude.
(iii) Extra-linguistic messages which are regarded as the ability to inter
pret the meaning of body language, e.g. body postures, body gestures,
facial expression and eye contact, etc. which is conveyed by the
speaker.
To understand the relationship among the three channels, Harris (2003)
illustrates the following dialogues of a three-turn exchange.
Situation : A teenage girl is standing at the door of her parents’ house
waving goodbye to an adolescent boy, her boyfriend who is sitting on his motor
scooter at the bottom of the drive late at night.
Turn 1 : Girl (in a loud whisper) Give me a ring on Thursday at 6.’
Turn 2 : Boy (no answer but sounds the horn twice, smiles, and puts the
scooter into gear).
Turn 3 : Girl “John!” (stares in mock anger, waves and goes in).
24
Language and Cross Border Migration

This three-turn exchange seems to be more one-way communication
than two-way communication between the two speakers. This is because
of the boy’s (listener) failure in interpreting spoken messages conveyed
by the girt (speaker). In Turn 1, the linguistic and paralinguistic channels
are used by the girl. She expresses the actual words to communicate to
the boy. Moreover, she is seen cupping a hand around her mouth to lessen
the noise carrying effect of what she is vocalizing. In Turn 2, the linguistic
channel seems not to appear because no words are spoken. Nor can
it be considered the paralinguistic channel since the sound of horn is not a humanly
produced sound. It can thus be regarded as the extra-linguistic way, non-verbal
act. This means the boy’s act does not show whether he understands the spoken
messages conveyed by the girl. In Turn 3, the three channels are apparent through
the boy’s interpretation after his listening to the girl’s utterance. In other words,
the girl expresses the word “John” and I uses a rise-fall intonation” as well as a
gesture ‘stares in mock anger. Only this turn displays the two-way communication
of the speaker and listener.
The above example of the three channels reflects on ineffectiveness of
interpretability of more L2/FL listeners than native listeners. FL listeners
perceive listening by relying on only linguistic and paralinguistic information
because the visual cues of extra-linguistic information might be missing.
That is to say, there is no physical information conveyed by the speaker if L2
or FL listeners are listening via one-way oral communication approach.
Totally L2/FL listeners face many linguistic problems when interpreting
spoken messages expressed by L1 speakers due to lack of one from the
three channels of two-way communication when conversing in the target
language : they may misinterpret grammatical, lexical and phonological
structures as well as non-verbal language patterns of spoken texts. However, native
listeners may not encounter or have a few chances to such a problem since they
possess full bottom-up and top-down skills in listening.
Language and Cross Border Migration 25

A Set of Stereotypical Knowledge
The third factor, a set of stereotypical knowledge of the target
language has been acquired by native listeners from infancy. Such knowledge consists
of seven components: speaker, listener, place, time, genre, topic and co-text
(Brown & Yule, 1999). They are described as follows :
(i) Speaker : Native listeners experience the knowledge of what
speakers have said. The speaker factor includes kinds of speaker
in different contexts. In fact, native listeners can even judge
the speakers’ attitudes and intention in speaking.
(ii) Listener : Native listeners know how to use formal and informal
titles to address the speaker on special occasions in relation to
the situation and the speakers’ role.
(iii) Place : Native listeners are experienced in producing different
styles of language when listening or talking to certain speakers in
formal or informal places through the norm of appropriateness of
language. Moreover, they know how to use expressions in relation to
the location of the speaker.
(iv) Time : Native listeners are experienced in using particular expressions
of time when speaking to speakers.
(v) Genre : Native listeners can anticipate the language use or
the events of language in particular texts in different contexts from
their experiences.
(vi) Topic : Native listeners can choose specific vocabulary items
according to specific topics when talking to speakers.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

(vii) Co-text : While listening to a speaker, a native listener can anticipate
The context or situation about the background of what the speaker is
talking about
Although such a set of stereotypical knowledge is more often not absent in
second and foreign language listeners, there are still two main features of native
listening acquisition shared by L2 and FL listeners. First of all, young L2 and
FL children have a silent period. They are not expected to produce adult-like
language in response to what adult speakers address. In addition, after they have
begun to attempt linguistic production, they clearly understand more than they can
say (Anderson & Lynch, 1988). In other words, like native listeners at the early
stage of acquiring listening, second and foreign language listeners have inadequate
linguistic knowledge to interact with adult speakers. Furthermore, having tried to
produce linguistic items of the target language, they can better comprehend the
speaker’s speaking than they can speak themselves. indeed, at the early stage, of
their learning, they feel that having to speak the target language is a burden.
Comprehension Input’ is a vital factor required for L2 and FL listeners
to develop listening comprehension skills during the stage of inter-language
development. It includes the listeners’ linguistic elements (lexis, morphology and
syntax) and their current knowledge. It will become ‘intake’ when the listeners’
linguistic information is assimilated and used to promote further L2/FL development.
Through this process, the listeners are able to understand speech sounds of the target
language (1-2 acquisition: the role of listening, n.d.).
However, it seems uneasy for ‘input’ in the L2/FL to become
‘intake’. Only a small subset of ‘input’ ever becomes ‘intake’ that has a permanent
effect on 12/FL listeners’ listening acquisition. When ‘input’ becomes ‘intake’,
the listener ‘restructures’ his or her internal knowledge of the language, and this
change results in a permanent development in L2/FL listeners.
In order for ‘input’ to become intake’, 1-21FL listeners need to
address the issue of cognitive capacity for processing information. If this
Language and Cross Border Migration 27

capacity increases, the L2/FL listening acquisition will remain stagnant.
Although the listener may understand more of the L2/FL through strategic
compensation such as inferring meanings from situational cues, his or her ability
to process information from linguistic cues in real time remains the same (Rost,
2002).
There also appears to be other aspects of the importance of
comprehension input for L2/FL listening acquisition. First, [2/FL
isteners understand the meaning and structure of spoken messages in order to
master the form and usage of speech patterns. Further development of L2 abilities
depends on learners being exposed to language input which contains structures
a bit beyond their competence level. Last, they are able to produce speech
of the target language after building up sufficient competence in input
(Morley, 1984).
What is potential comprehensible input for L2/FL listeners is much
different from that of Li listeners. L2 / FL listeners’ memory span for
the target language is shorter than for native language input. Hence, they
face difficulty in understanding complicated spoken texts because these
texts require their combination of parsed segments during comprehension
by placing an additional burden on short-term memory which may be
loaded with un-encoded elements of the target language (0’ Melley et al., 1995).
To gain listening comprehension, native listeners can employ
the system of stereotypical knowledge that has been set up in their cognitive process.
In contrast, [2/FL listening comprehension needs to pass the stage changing
from ‘input’ to ‘intake’. Indeed, this stage takes much time for the continuous
development of linguistic elements of spoken texts and cognitive capacity in the
target language.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

Listening Strategies
To attain effective listening comprehension, both Li and [2/FL listeners are
necessary to apply strategies to interpret spoken texts. There are different strategies
used by L2/FL listeners. Brown & Yule (1999) suggest six types of the strategies
Li listeners employ as follows :
(I) Features of context : Native listeners understand certain situations
before anyone speaks.
(ii) Time : They know when they are going to join the conversation
which has been going on.
(iii) The incoming cues : They can use real-time cues to determine
the speakers and purposes in the Conversation.
(iv) Types of discourse : They can identify a discourse containing a particular
type of language used by the speakers in the conversation.
(v) (rice’s maxims of the cooperative conversation: They are aware of
quality, quantity, relevance and manner to assume what speakers of
spoken texts say.
(vi) Selection : They do not expect to remember everything they hear,
but they will select from important points they hear in order to develop
a coherent mental model for understanding.
Those listening strategies, however, are rarely used by second and foreign
language listeners. Indeed, these non-native listeners always employ some
strategies such as recognizing words, hearing the words and meaning of sentences,
and using their linguistic knowledge to guess the meaning of speech (Anderson &
Lynch, 1988).
Language and Cross Border Migration 29

Other listening strategies used by second and foreign language learners are
described. Vandergrift (1999) suggests three types of listening strategies widely
employed by ESL and EFL learners as follows :
(i) Meta-cognitive strategies include thinking about the learning
process, e.g. planning, monitoring and evaluating listening tasks.
(ii) Cognitive strategies concern manipulating the material to be learnt
and applying a specific technique to listening tasks.
(iii) Socio-affective strategies involve cooperating with classmates,
questioning the teacher for clarification and applying specific tech
niques to lower the anxiety level.
Those types of listening strategies have already been emerged in native
learners, but have to be explicitly practiced by second and foreign language learners.
In this way, Field (1998) suggests some methods of training listening strategies
for ESLIEFL teachers as follows :
(i) Write as many words as possible from the speech you and your
learners hear, and choose certain words in relation to certain speech.
(ii) Share your guesses with your learners on the meaning of spoken
messages by using background knowledge, the text topic, speech
events and the speaker.
(iii) Check your guesses when the selection of the text is replayed.
(iv) Check your guesses against the next selection of the text.
In addition, there are many other strategies teachers can use to teach
listening in L2/FL classroom. In this way, Rost (2002) suggests a variety of
30
Language and Cross Border Migration

listening strategies that can be applied for instructional activities as follows :
(i) grouping-associating-etaborating,(ii) crating mental linkages, (iii) using imaginary
semantic mapping, (iv) representing sounds in memory, (v) repeating,
(vi) analyzing expressions, (vii) taking notes and summarizing, (viii) using
progressive relaxation, deep breathing and meditation, (ix) listening to your body,
and (x) using physical response or sensation.
Those sequent methods will provide ESLIEFL learners with insights into
how to achieve listening tasks effectively.
Listening strategies used by native listeners seem more complicated for L2/
FL listeners, so many strategies and instructional techniques in listening that are more
appropriate have gradually been created by many scholars for L2/FL listeners.
To examine if those strategies for non-native listeners are efficient, teachers must
have a trial in their classroom.
Conclusion
As a whole, it is found that L2 and FL listeners have lower listening
ability in the target language than Li listeners due to different factors regarding
the perception of listening. L2 and FL listeners have limited linguistic and global
knowledge of the target language, so they spend too much time to perceiving
speech sounds only. Moreover, 12 and FL listeners employ rote memory as well as
linguistic, paralinguistic and extra-linguistic messages to interpret the spoken text
while Li listeners interpret it concept by concept. Furthermore, 12 and FL childhood
listeners have less sufficient linguistic knowledge to communicate with adult
speakers than Li listeners do. Besides, different types of listening strategies seem
to be automatically put to use by Li listeners. Meanwhile, for L2 and FL listeners,
these strategies need to be explicitly taught. In addition, there appears to be more
perspectives of differences between Li and L2/FL listeners than of similarities.
However, this does not result in difficulty in enhancing listening comprehension
among [2 and FL listeners. Their listening proficiency can be higher if they have
been trained through an appropriate method Therefore this theoretical account
Language and Cross Border Migration 31

on how first, second and foreign language listeners acquire spoken messages of
the target language can be applied by teachers and researchers in the ESL/EFL
context for solving students’ listening problems. For example, when planning a
lesson and designing materials for listening activities, teachers should consider
this theoretical concept in order to have better understanding of students’ listening
problems for further solution. Likewise, researchers of teaching and learning of
listening skills should perceive this concept as a main literature review before
designing instruments for, e.g., experimental research in order to measure
the effectiveness of students’ listening competence or to investigate particular
factors affecting their listening performance, and to evaluate teachers’ teaching
method by a particular innovative method for listening. All in all, this concept will be
practically useful if it is proved by other academicians to determine whether
the tour criteria used for comparing first, second and foreign language listeners
in this paper can be an enduring concept of listening skills.
32
Language and Cross Border Migration

References
Anderson, A. & Lynch, T. (1988). Listening. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Brown, G. & Yule, G. (1999). Teaching the spoken language (12th ed.). Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press.
Field. J. (1998). Skills and strategies : Towards a new methodology for listening. ELT
Journal. 52 (2), 1107118,
Harris, T. (2003). Listening with your eyes: The importance of speech related gestures
in the language classroom. Foreign language annals. 36 (2), 180-187.
L2 acquisition : The role of listening[(n.d.). .Retnie.vod..April 20, 2008
from http:/twww.latcomm.com/articles/121iteningacquisition.html.
Morley, J. (1984). Listening and language learning ESL: Developing self-study
activities for listening comprehension. Florida: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Morley, J. (2001). Aural comprehension instruction; Principles and practices.
In Marianne Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign
languag (Third ed.) (pp.69-85). Boston, MA: Heinle&Heinle.
O’Melley, J.M., Chaniot, AU., & Kupper, L. (1995). Listening comprehension
strategies In H. Douglas Brown & Susan Gonzo. (Eds.), Readings on second
language acquisition (pp. 138-160). New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents.
Peterson, P.W. (2001). Skills and strategies of proficient listening. In Marianne
Celce-Murcia. (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language
(Third ed.) (pp.87-100). Boston, MA : Heinle&Heinle.
Rost, M. (2002). Teaching and researching listening. London: Pearson Education.
Vandergrift, L. (1999). Facilitating second language listening comprehension :
Acquiring successful strategies. ELT Journal. 53 (3), 168-176.
Language and Cross Border Migration 33

The Study of Achievement Motivation in
Using Weblogs to Enhance University
Students’ Writing Competency
Kredsai Woottipong
บทความนี้ปรับปรุงจากบทความ เรื่อง The Study of Achievement Motivation
in Using Weblogs to Enhance University Students’ Writing Competency
ตีพิมพ์ครั้งแรกใน วารสารมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยทักษิณ
ปีที่ 5 ฉบับที่ 1 (เมษายน - กันยายน 2553) หน้า 79-107

The Study of Achievement Motivation in Using Weblogs to
Enhance University Students’ Writing Competency
Kredsai Woottipong
western Language Department
Abstract
The purposes of this study were to compare English writing competency of
the samples before and after using weblogs in the instruction of the process-oriented
approach in writing and to compare students’ achievement motivation before and
after the instruction. The target group in this research was forty first year students
taking English II in academic year 2009 at Thaksin University, Songkhla. Research
instruments were 4 lesson plans of teaching writing using weblogs. The instruments
used for collecting data were writing assessment and questionnaire concerning
students’ achievement motivation toward the use of weblogs in the instruction of
the process-oriented approach in writing. Mean score and standard deviation and
t-test were employed to analyze the data. The result revealed that the score of
post-teaching test was higher than pre-teaching test and students’ achievement
motivation is at moderate level after the instruction.
Keywords : Weblogs, Writing Competency, Motivation
Introduction
Writing proficiency has always been an important component of Thai
EFL and today it has become increasingly important. Students need to master
the writing skills essential for general benefits, such as writing resumes,
application letters, etc. It will be of future professional or educational
benefits as well. For example, they have to write business English letters
in the workplace and they have a need to write for academic purposes to
pursue higher educational levels or to write in EFL examinations.
Language and Cross Border Migration 37

Writing is a complex process and viewed as a language skill which is difficult
to acquire. This is particularly true for writing in foreign languages. Few Thai
students are proficient in this skill. Lakkunaprasit and Kannasoot (2005 : 25)
note that when Thai students are given topics for writing assignments, they have
difficulties in generating ideas, planning writing and organizing ideas in a proper
sequence on their own. This is because they are rarely taught a writing process and they
are provided with a writing framework on an assigned topic prior to a writing
assignment. The framework provides information on structure, content and
organization of the written work so they don’t have to think about it before writing.
Therefore, students should receive more practice in these writing strategies.
There seem to be several factors which interfere with the instruction of
the writing process to Thai students. One factor is that many writing activities,
in a traditional writing classroom, provide writing models in which students can
make only minor changes and substitutions. Students are taught to copy a writing
framework and are hardly encouraged to think or create their own writing. According
to Tribble (1996), many classrooms focus on the use of written products as models.
Teachers provide students with authoritative texts to imitate or adapt and they often
use textbooks which give a wide range of writing models for students to write.
For example, writing activities include constructing paragraphs from frameworks,
tables, and other guides. Ideas are given before the students write. Consequently,
most students do not understand how to do free writing and they don’t possess
the strategies for writing texts independently. Moreover, most of them don’t enjoy
writing and lack confidence in writing on their own.
The second factor is that class time spent on writing practice is limited.
Practice is essential for writing development because students gain more
confidence and become more fluent in writing experience (Scarcella and
Oxford, 1992). However, in a university curriculum, writing skill constitutes
only one of many objectives for learning English. For example, in English
38
Language and Cross Border Migration

I and II courses at Thaksin University, most students spend three periods
of fifty minutes each per week learning English in the classroom while
the percentage of class time spent on writing activities is shared between reading,
speaking and listening skills. Only 10 percent of the time is allocated to developing
writing skill. And, most students have no further chance to write anything in English
outside of the classroom.
The third factor is that in many traditional writing activities, students
do not write for real audiences (peers). Sometimes, they can’t compose
because they can’t imagine an audience that they are going to write to. Thus,
students are not motivated to focus on the content and organization of
their writing and grammar. This is problematic for students’ writing
practice because they are not able to predict the audience’s general knowledge,
cultural schemata and how specific words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs are
going to be interpreted (Scarcella and Oxford, 1992).
With electronic journals, weblogs can be designed to train students in
the writing practice process. Using weblogs can help students practice
the writing process and teachers can create a writing course that solves
the problems of class time limitation and individual differences in learning styles
and paces in a large class.
The capacity of weblogs can help in facilitating and motivating the writing
process. In the evaluating / structuring and editing activities, students can add,
cut, paste, delete the notes written in the pre-writing activities and organize them
easily by using the categories provided in the weblog. In peer editing and proof-reading
activities, the first draft can be posted or edited in the weblog and peers can respond,
make comments or ask questions by using the categories such as commenting,
publishing, etc. provided in the weblog. Moreover, individual feedback can be given to
individual student’s weblog entries. They can access the internet at home or
Language and Cross Border Migration 39

a university computer center. Moreover, students who are more motivated do not
get bored as they can create their own layout for their weblogs by adding color,
images or sound to enhance their attractiveness.
As for the problem of diverse ranges of learning styles and paces, students who
are shy or do not like to exchange ideas or offer feedback in a classroom can feel
more comfortable writing in the weblog. In addition, it is not possible for teachers
to increase the writing ability of all students at the same time. Neither can they
do it with individual students in a large classroom. However, students can access
to weblog individually according to their needs, at their own paces and at their
own convenience. This can help students overcome their fear of making errors
in the classroom and enhance their confidence.
The Purposes of the Study
The purposes of the study were as follows:
1. To compare English writing competency of the samples before and
after using weblogs in the instruction of the process-oriented
approach in writing
2. To compare students’ achievement motivation before and after
using weblogs in the instruction of the process-oriented approach
in writing
Hypothesis of the Study
1. Using the process-oriented approach in teaching writing through
the use of weblogs increases students’ writing competency.
2. Using the process-oriented approach in teaching writing through
the use of weblogs increases students’ achievement motivation.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

Scope of the Study
This study aimed at using weblogs as a foundation of an English
language classroom to teach the process-oriented approach in writing
at Thaksin University. The class was an integrated-skill class. There were
approximately 40 first-year students per class. The study variables were as
follows :
1. The independent variable was lesson plans focusing on
the process-oriented approach in writing and weblogs.
2. The dependent variables were a writing ability assessment and
a writing achievement motivation questionnaire adapted from
Vongnititham (2009).
3. Contents used in this study were selected based on students’
interest, from the internet and the text books used for teaching
English II. Topics included: favorite celebrities, holidays, students’
future plans and “cool” websites. They were used to construct
lesson plans that aligned with the course syllabus and
the process-oriented approach in writing.
Expectations
It is hoped that the findings will provide instructors with insight into methods
and effectiveness in using weblogs in a language classroom. It is hoped
that similar types of research on using weblogs in teaching writing skills will
be carried out in more Thai universities. As a result, the benefits of using
weblogs in teaching writing skills can be empirically generalized.
Language and Cross Border Migration 41

Literature Review
Weblog
A blog is a shorthand term that means “Weblog”. It is an online,
chronological collection of personal comments and links. Blogs have
become communication tools which are easy to create and use from
anywhere with an internet connection (Coghlan et al., 2009). A blog
can be thought of as an online journal, maintaining a weblog is as simple as
using an online e-mail program. Bloggers enter posts into a blogging application,
add formatting or hyperlinks, and save the post. The application adds
the entry to the blog, making the content available online and alerting
users who have subscribed to that blog’s content. Entries can include text,
hyperlinks, images, or multimedia. Visitors can read postings, submit comments,
find blog entries by date, and search the site by keywords. Readers can
provide feedback by leaving comments on the blog page.
Wu (2005) notes that language learners can publish the blog online and
have the opportunity of writing for real audiences (readers). Readers in turn can
comment on what they have read.
Bollati (2002) suggests several reasons for using blogs to enhance
the writing process. For example, it provides a real audience for students writing
because they realize that they are writing for the whole class in addition to
the instructors. Thus, they choose topics that are of interest to classmates and
encourage their peers to generate many responses. Using weblogs also increase
the sense of the learning community in the class as students feel closer to each other
by sharing the writing experience. In addition, the categories provided in weblogs
can be used to create the online portfolio of students’ written work and students
can track the progress of their writing assignments.
Godwin-Jones (2006) notes several benefits of using blogs as a writing
tool. It can encourage feedback for both writing and reading activities, as well as
stimulate debate, critical analysis, ideas and opinion. Moreover, it provides the
chances for collaborative learning. This helps create a student-centered learning
environment which students can develop skills of persuasion and argumentation.
42 Language and Cross Border Migration

The Process-oriented Approach in Writing
There have been several approaches to the teaching of writing in the history of
language teaching. These have evolved with the development of different
approaches to teaching in general, leading to the changing role of writing within
English language syllabuses and the English as a Foreign Language classroom.
In spite of other general methodological changes, however, writing is viewed as one
of the most difficult areas for the teacher and learner of English to learn to master.
Murray (1982) summarized the characteristics of the process-oriented
approach in writing, stating that it trains students to learn and understand that
writing occurs through processes more than focusing only on what the students need
to gain from teaching. The teacher is the facilitator who believes that students are
competent to write or communicate their ideas to the audience. Moreover, it is the
activity to exchange knowledge and experience through sharing their classmate’s
writing tasks so that other students can learn from the mistakes and use them
as samples to develop their own writing tasks. In this model, the teacher avoids
evaluating students’ tasks in terms of grammar but focuses only on content.
The criteria for evaluating are the readers’ understanding and the objective of
the writing task. This is because this model aimed at training students how to
prepare their ideas prior to using them for writing, drafting, editing and revising.
The characteristics of this model can be illustrated as follows :
Language and Cross Border Migration 43

Figure 1 Writing process
Flower & Hayes (1980) described this model as the process of creating
ideas that employ students’ background knowledge. This model
required students to consider carefully prior to selecting the information, revising
and editing language and content to produce effective writing.
Stages in Process-Oriented Approach in Writing
Several scholars and experts have conducted research concerning
the writing process and have recognized that writing is a complex,
recursive, dynamic nonlinear process. (Cotton, 2005 : Website). Thus, experts
in this field (Hillocks 1986 ; Wesdorp 1983 ; Applebee 1981) have developed
and tested instructional methods more in keeping with the true nature of the act
of writing. Their findings regarding the five stages of the writing process can be
stated as follows :
1. Prewriting
The writer gathers information and plays with ideas during the prewriting
stage. Prewriting activities may include drawing, talking, thinking,
reading, listening to tapes and records, discussion, role playing,
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Language and Cross Border Migration

interviews, problem-solving and decision-making activities, conducting
library research, and so on. Research shows that students who are
encouraged to engage in an array of prewriting experiences evidence greater writing
achievement than those enjoined to “get to work” on their writing without this
kind of preparation (Holdzkom, et al. 1982 ; Glatthorn 1981 ; Wesdorp 1983 ;
Parson 1985).
2. Drafting
The writer develops his/her topic on paper (or a computer screen)
during the drafting stage. Beginning may be painful and difficult,
producing false starts and frustration in the writer. In the process-oriented
approach, the focus is on content, not the mechanics of writing.
3. Revising
During this stage, the writer makes whatever changes he/she feels
are necessary. Revision may involve additions and deletions; changes in syntax,
sentence structure,and organization; and in some cases, starting over completely.
According to Glatthorn (1981), Wesdorp (1983) and other researchers,
the revision stage is most productive of superior final products if it includes input
from teachers or fellow students.
4. Editing
Polishing of the draft takes place in the editing stage. The writer gives
attention to mechanics such as spelling, punctuation, grammar, and handwriting,
and may also make minor lexical and syntactic changes.
5. Publication
Publication refers to the delivery of the writing to its intended
audience. Smith (1982), Glatthorn (1981), Wesdorp (1983) and other investigators
have found that student motivation and achievement are enhanced
when student work is “published” for a larger audience than the teacher. Classmates,
Language and Cross Border Migration 45

other students, parents and community members are among the potential audiences
for students’ written work.
According to the writing process above, it can be concluded that the writing process
can help train learners and provide opportunity for them to write according to
the process. It consists of planning, writing, revising and editing the writing task.
The five stages in this process will occur continuously and develop and increase
learners’ writing competence. The stages in the process-oriented approach in writing
an be summarized as follows :
1. Prewriting is the planning of writing or preparing information
for writing.
2. Writing is the stage that uses the prepared data from the first
stage to write a draft to organize the content. At this stage,
the learners will pay attention to only content not the accuracy
of language use to minimize their anxiety.
3. Feedback is the stage for providing comments to learners so
they understand the strong and weak points of their writing
and use this knowledge for improving their compositions.
4. Rewriting is the stage that occurs after learners understand
their weak points in composition and revise the content and
language more appropriately. The learners have to rewrite
their drafts.
5. Evaluation is the stage that helps the learners to recognize
the quality of their work after they have improved and
rewritten.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

Related Research on Using Weblogs in Teaching Writing
There are several studies regarding the use of weblogs in
the language classroom to enhance students’ learning competencies, to
encourage them to be self-learners, and to participate more actively in
the learning process
Simsek (2009) investigated the effects of weblogs integrated into
writing instruction in terms of undergraduate students’ writing performance
and their perceptions toward the weblog used in their writing courses.
Seventy students in the Department of Primary Education at Marmara
University participated in this study. Data were collected based on students’ writing
performance and questionnaires. The findings indicated that using weblogs in
teaching writing improved students’ writing performance and that students had
a positive perception towards weblog use.
Wu (2005) conducted a research using weblogs to teach
writing in an English classroom in Taiwan. The sample group was 51 first-year
university students who were divided into 2 groups. The first group was
35 students majoring in English. They attended the class 4 hours per week
and the second group, of non-majors, attended 2 hours per week.
The results revealed that both groups agreed that using weblogs in teaching
and learning was new to them and it would be employed much
more in the future. Even though they didn’t make entries to their
weblogs everyday, their weblogs were always online so their friends could read
them and make comments at any time.
Armstrong & Retterer (2008) examined the use of a weblog in an
intermediate-level Spanish class and its effect on students. By the end
of the semester, students had written 375 postings. 81.25% of the class
reported posting to the community blog at least twice a week. 100% of them responded
that they felt more comfortable writing in Spanish and indicated that they felt more
confident in their ability to manipulate verbs forms in Spanish and writing in a foreign
language. Overall, they become more actively immersed in a foreign language over
the course of a semester.
Language and Cross Border Migration 47

Wilder, H. & Merritt, T. (2004) conducted a study about
using weblogs in teaching students in Grade 12. The aim of this
research was to elicit discussion about the benefits of using weblogs to enhance
students’ writing performance. The participants were students in grade
12. The students were assigned to write their own blogs and then to
discuss benefits gained from using weblogs. The results revealed that
students’ motivation to practice their writing was higher on a weblog than on
paper.
According to the results of the studies above, it can be concluded
that using weblogs to teach English language can enhance learners’
writing competencies and their perception of writing, as their work was effectively
improved as a result of drafting, editing and their classmates’ comments.
Achievement Motivation
Taylor (2008) described achievement motivation as something that
causes a personto make an effort to become successful and be goal oriented.
She further explained that staying motivated keeps a person active and gives
a feeling of being in control. People who are motivated by achievement often
identify fairly difficult but realistic targets that ensure that they achieve their
goals. Achievement-motivated persons typically do not set goals that are that
too easy because they look forward to challenges and winning them. Nor do
they aim for goals that are too difficult because they want to make sure that
they only perform tasks that they can honestly handle. In addition, it makes
people work on a specific problem rather than just wait for outcomes. This
is a very positive way to deal with difficult situations in achieving the targets.
Achievement motivated persons are a lot more interested in their actual
accomplishments rather than whatever incentive they get from their success.
To them, the accomplishment itself is the reward.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

In conclusion, achievement motivation means the driving force to motivate a person
to work successfully or to handle difficult situations according to the goals or
objectives. People who have achievement motivation have a higher opportunity of
progressing in their work when compared to other people. Achievement motivation
can help people accomplish their goals in their lives.
Research Methodology
Research design
The single group pre-post design was employed in this research.
Subject of the Study
The target group in this research was forty first-year students at Thaksin
University, Songkhla, studying English II during the 2009 academic year.
Instrument of the Study
The research instruments in this study were :
1. Four lesson plans for teaching writing using weblogs. The procedure
of how to construct the lesson plans was described as the following :
1.1 Identify the terminal objectives and enabling objectives
through studying course description and scope of the content
of English II
1.2 Study the method of how to teach the process-oriented ap
proach in writing through weblogs
1.3 Select appropriate and interesting content for the learn
ers’ level from several sources such as textbooks and
the internet. The content-such as students’ favorite celebrities,
holidays, “cool” websites and students’ future plans—were
in line with the curriculum and the process-oriented approach
in writing through weblogs. The selected content was checked
by the expert for its accuracy and appropriateness. Two lesson
Language and Cross Border Migration 49

plans were tried with another group of students that was
similar to the target group to check whether they were
a ppropriate for the teaching period. It was found that the lesson
plans weren’t appropriate for the classroom activities in terms
of time used so the lesson plans were improved to be more
appropriate for time spent teaching with the target group.
1.4 Determine the enabling objectives by considering the terminal
objective and the selected content.
1.5 Determine activities used in teaching and learning and media,
evaluation in each period that is in line with the content and
objectives.
1.6 Construct lesson plan by employing the process-oriented
approach in writing through weblogs. The detail of the lesson
plan was described as the following:
Pre-writing
The students searched for the information and prepared them for their
own writing tasks. The information they were assigned to search for were their
favorite celebrities, “cool” websites, their future plans and their holidays.
At this step, the students were free to search for the topics and contents they
preferred.
Writing
The students started writing a first draft. They transferred their ideas or
information prepared through their writing. At this stage, they were told to
emphasize content and not to worry about language accuracy.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

Post-writing
The students were able to revise, improve, edit, or add any information ;
or they could also return to the first and second stages so that they could
revise their tasks according to suggestions or feedback from the readers
which might be about the content or language accuracy. They were able
to revise their tasks twice until they got the final or complete writing.
The activities conducted in this stage consisted of :
1. The first draft was shown on the weblog so that their friends were able
to read and provide feedback in terms of content. The instructors distributed content
checklists for them to use while reading their friends’ writing assignments.
2. The writing was revised according to the feedback.
3. The second draft was handed in to the instructor in the form of
a hard copy so that the instructor could give feedback about their writing in terms
of language accuracy. The instructor employed a grammar checklist while checking
the students’ writing.
4. The students revised their work accordingly.
5. The final writing was posted on the weblog and their friends
or other people were encouraged to read the complete work and make comments.
Procedure of the Study
1. Students’ English writing competency and their achievement
motivation in English writing were measured through the use of
a pre-teaching test and questionnaire for measuring achievement
motivation in English writing.
2. The instruction of the process-oriented approach in writing and
blogging were conducted.
3. Students’ English writing competency and their achievement
motivation in English writing were measured through the use of
a post-teaching test and questionnaire for measuring achievement
motivation in English writing. They were similar to that of
the pre-teaching test and questionnaire.
Language and Cross Border Migration 51

4. The scores of both pre- and post-teaching tests and questionnaires
were analyzed for mean and standard deviation. T-Test dependent
was employed to analyze the data.
Technique of Data Collection and Data Analysis
Data Collection
To gather necessary data, writing performance tasks and questionnaires were
employed. In the following section, the instruments used for collecting data are
further explained. The instruments used for collecting data were writing assessments
and questionnaires concerning students’ attitude toward writing.
As for the writing evaluation instrument, the rating was carried out using a
scale adapted from Jacobs et al. (1981). This adapted scale assesses writing ability
on 5 dimensions:
Table 1 Scale assessment for writing adapted from Jacobs et al (1981)
Writing aspects
Scores
1. Content 10
2. Organization 20
3. Language use (Grammar) 10
4. Vocabulary 5
5. Punctuation 5
Total 50
The researcher adjusted the scale for writing assessment developed by
Jacob et al (1981) which incorporates five aspects that were content,
organization, language use, vocabulary and punctuation.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

Students’ pre- and post-teaching test scores were compared after instruction of the
process-oriented approach in writing through weblogs.
Pre- and post-teaching questionnaires for measuring achievement
motivation in English writing consisted of 2 parts. The first part was five-point
Likert rating scale consisted of 18 questions about the students’ opinions toward
English writing and weblog. The second part was an open-ended question to allow
students to express their opinions.
Data Analysis
T-Test dependent was employed to analyze the data in order to:
1. Compare students’ English writing competency before and after
the instruction of the process-oriented approach in writing and
blogging in terms of mean and standard deviation.
2. Compare students’ achievement motivation in English writing
before and after the instruction of the process-oriented approach in
writing and blogging in terms of mean and standard deviation.
Results of the Study
1. Students have higher scores in the writing competency test after
receiving the instruction of the process-oriented approach in
writing and blogging.
2. Students’ achievement motivation toward the instruction is in
the moderate level overall after the instruction with no significant
level of statistics.
Language and Cross Border Migration 53

The results of students’ English writing competency before and after the instruction
of the process-oriented approach in writing and weblog are described below :
Table 2 Results of students’ English writing competency test
Writing
competency
test
1. Pre-test
2. Post-test
X S.D. D SD D t Sig
20.50
30.35
2.428
2.190
9.85 2.392 26.046 .000***
Note : ***** Sig < 0.001
Table 2 shows that the mean score of the pre-test was 20.50 and
the standard deviation was 2.428. After the instruction the mean score of
their post-test was higher: the mean score was 30.35 and the standard
deviation was 2.190. It can be concluded, therefore, that the instruction
of the process-oriented approach in writing and blogging can help learners
learn writing effectively. In other words, the instruction of the process-oriented
approach in writing and blogging is an effective means of increasing students’
English proficiency.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

The results of students’ achievement motivation before and after
the instruction of the process-oriented approach in writing and blogging is
described below :
Table 3 Result of students’ achievement motivation toward the instruction
of the process-oriented approach in writing and blogging
Questions
1. I like writing
because it is fun
2. I think writing is
difficult.
3. I have never
practiced writing
outside class.
4. I am satisfied
when I received
teacher and friends’
comments.
5. I think that
reading my friends’
written work helps
me to understand
weak and strong
points of my own
written work.
6. Readers’
comments help me
have more confidence
in writing.
7. Comments made
through the weblog
encourage me to
develop my writing
skill.
Pre-questionnaire
Post-questionnaire
X S.D. Level X S.D. Level
2.75 .670 Moderate 3.65 .670 high
3.88 .966 high 3.03 .966 Moderate
3.67 .944 high 2.97 .944 Moderate
3.27 .877 Moderate 4.00 .877 high
3.15 1.027 Moderate 4.15 1.027 high
3.10 .841 Moderate 2.75 .841 Moderate
3.48 .784 Moderate 3.90 .784 high
Language and Cross Border Migration 55

Questions
8. Reading peer
comments discourage
me from improving
written work.
9. Presenting my
written work through
the weblog encourages
me to write more
effectively.
10. Editing and
improving the written
work through
computer are convenient,
encouraging me to
develop higher
quality written work
11. I don’t think that
I can develop my
writing skill when it is
continuously
improving.
12. I think that reading
the written work
repeatedly is boring.
13. Reading the
written work through
the weblog is difficult
and discourages me to
write.
14. Readers’ comments
discourage me from
writing.
15. Using the weblog
to help develop
writing skill is difficult.
Pre-questionnaire
Post-questionnaire
X S.D. Level X S.D. Level
2.67
3.08
3.03
2.53
3.00
3.00
2.88
2.85
.829
.730
.768
.933
.751
.877
.966
1.051
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
2.25
3.65
3.72
2.40
2.07
2.20
2.28
2.05
.829
.730
.768
.933
.751
.648
.716
.677
Low
high
high
Low
Low
Low
Low
Low
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Language and Cross Border Migration

Questions
16. Presenting
written work in the
weblog is easy and
convenient.
17. If I have an
opportunity to write,
I will try my best to
write and continually
develop my writing
skill.
18. Writing activities
in the classroom and
presenting my written
work through the
weblog make
me proud as it is
the most effective
method to show my
writing competency.
Pre-questionnaire
Post-questionnaire
X S.D. Level X S.D. Level
3.40
3.23
3.48
.871
.733
.816
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
3.95
3.90
4.15
.749
.810
.662
high
high
high
Total 3.13 .200 Moderate 3.17 .212 Moderate
Table 3 shows that subjects’ achievement motivation toward the instruction of
the process-oriented approach in writing and blogging overall was in the moderate
level. For pre-questionnaire, when considering each positive item, it was
found that items 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 and 18 (I like writing
because it is fun, I am satisfied when I received teacher and friends’
comments, I think that reading my friends’ written work helps me to understand
weak and strong points of my own written work, Comments made through
the weblog encourage me to develop my writing skill, Presenting my
written work through the weblog encourage me to write more effectively,
Editing and improving the written work through the weblog are convenient,
Language and Cross Border Migration 57

encouraging me to develop better quality written work, Presenting written work in
the weblog is easy and convenient, If I have an opportunity to write, I will try
my best to write and continually develop my writing skill and Writing activities in
the classroom and presenting my written work through the weblog make me proud as it
is the most effective method to show my writing competency) were at the moderate
level. When considering each negative item, it was items 2, 3, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13,
14 and 15 (I think writing is difficult, I have never practiced writing outside class,
Readers’ comments help me have more confidence in writing, Reading peer comments
discourages me from improving written work, I don’t think that I can develop my
writing skill when it is continuously improving, I think that reading the written work
repeatedly is boring, Reading the written work through the weblog is difficult and
discourages me to write, Readers’ comments discourage me from writing and Using
the weblog to help develop writing skill is difficult) that were at the moderate level.
For post-questionnaire, when considering each positive item, it was found
that items 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 16, 17 and 18 (I like writing because it is fun, I am
satisfied when I received teacher and friends’ comments, I think that reading my
friends’ written work helps me to understand weak and strong points of my own
written work, Comments made through the weblog encourage me to develop my
writing skill, Presenting my written work through the weblog encourages me to write more
effectively, Editing and improving the written work through the weblog are convenient,
encouraging me to develop better quality of written work, Presenting written work
in the weblog is easy and convenient, If I have an opportunity to write, I will try
my best to write and continually develop my writing skill and Writing activities in
the classroom and presenting my written work through the weblog make me proud as
it is the most effective method to show my writing competency) were at
the high level.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

When considering each negative item, it was found that items 2, 3, 6, 8,
11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 (I think writing is difficult, I have never practiced writing
outside class, Readers’ comments help me have more confidence in
writing, Reading peer comments discourages me from improving written work,
I don’t think that I can develop my writing skill when it is continuously improving,
I think that reading the written work repeatedly is boring, Reading the written work
through the weblog is difficult and discourages me from writing, Readers’ comments
discourage me from writing and Using the weblog to help develop writing skill is
difficult) were at the low level.
The finding of the negative items reveals that after the instruction,
the subjects felt more positive toward the instruction.
Table 4 The students’ achievement motivation toward the instruction
of the process-oriented approach in writing and blogging overall
Writing
competency
test
1. Pre questionnaire
2. Post questionnaire
X S.D. D SD D t Sig
3.1347
3.1708
.20007
.21216
.0361 .26764 .853 .399
Table 4 shows that the mean score (X) of the pre questionnaire was3.1347
and the standard deviation was.20007. After the instruction the mean score of their
post questionnaire was3.1708 and the standard deviation was.21216.
The “before and after” findings reveal that there were no significant
differences at the.399 level in the subject’s achievement motivation toward the
instruction.
Language and Cross Border Migration 59

Discussion
The results can be discussed as follows :
1. Students have higher scores in the writing competency test after
receiving the instruction of the process-oriented approach in writing
and weblogs blogging due to the following reasons :
The first step is pre-writing. The researcher used several methods
in this stage such as free-writing, clustering, discussing, and
brainstorming before allowing them to start writing their own
drafts. According to the observation, students were able to
employ these methods to plan their drafts. They were more
motivated to create ideas, find additional information and collect
data for their drafts. This enabled them to organize their ideas and
provide more details in writing.
Moreover, students had to write their own drafts in the second
step. In this step, they focused only on content so that they could
communicate their idea effectively. It was found that by focusing
only on the content, they were able to write freely as they did not
have to worry about grammar and they knew what they were going
to write and where to start.
In the post writing step, the students were able to revise, edit
and add any information. They could return to the first and second
stages until they felt satisfied with their written work. At this step,
the weblog was introduced. Students had to present their own
tasks on the weblog. The internet was employed to benefit
students in terms of providing opportunities for their friends or
other people who were interested to read and add comments.
Prior to showing their work on the weblog, students were taught
how to use the weblog. When they were informed that they had
to present their work on the weblog, they showed greater eagerness
to create and develop their written work as they knew that their
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Language and Cross Border Migration

friends and teacher were going to read their work and made
comments. The advantages of using the weblog were that
students, teachers or people who were interested in reading their
work were able to read it anytime at anyplace and with an unlimited
number of readers. The readers were able to read the written
work and make comments at the same time, while the writers
could read the readers’ comments or suggestions in the weblog.
The second advantage was that the feedback helped improve
their work and develop their writing competency.
2. Students’ achievement motivation toward the instruction was in
moderate level after the instruction with no significant level of
statistics. The results revealed that students felt that the time used
for this instruction was too short as activities in each step in
the process-oriented approach in writing need time in order to
produce good written work. Moreover, most students have no
confidence in their friends’ comments as they think that some
comments are not correct or if they make changes based on these
comments, they will end up with using incorrect grammar or
vocabulary. In addition, most of them have rarely practiced writing
English outside class as they feel that writing English is difficult so
that it is difficult for them to gain much confidence in the practice
of writing in a short period of time.
However, the findings regarding the negative items in
the questionnaire reveal that after the instruction, the subjects felt
more positive toward the instruction of the process-oriented
approach in writing and blogging. Students had to present their
written work in the weblog so they were more motivated and
enthusiastic about submitting their work by computer than about
sharing their written work with their friends in the classroom.
Presenting their work on the weblog was new to them and they tried
Language and Cross Border Migration 61

to do their best, trying to make their work as interesting as possible
because they knew that their classmates or other people were
going to read their writing.
Moreover, the results show that students would be more
interested in learning with computer when they are provided at
the accessible places. Internet speed is also one of the major
problems for them as they used the internet provided by
the university and it was often interrupted while they were posting
their written work or comments in the weblog.
Recommendations
The researcher proposes the following suggestions that may be beneficial for
teaching and learning and conducting research :
1. Time spent on this activity should be at least a semester or more
so that the results of the study can be more clearly shown. This
activity requires time as it is the process-oriented approach.
Students need to spend time to draft their writing and then
reorganize their content and ideas. When they finish this step
and have their first drafts, they have to present their writing in
the weblog so that their classmates and teacher can provide
feedback and comments which will be used for improving and
editing their work. Thus, sufficient time should be arranged to
facilitate this activity so that students can create good written work
and feel relaxed. There should be time for students to prepare
themselves in the first period of introducing the activity.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

2. The teacher should understand that students have different levels
of writing skill and that the teacher will act as a facilitator to
identify and select the suitable approach to the teaching of writing
for each of the students in different contexts and apply these
approaches in order to help students engage in the thinking
process of writing.
3. According to this study, the students were able to edit some
corrections that could be done by the teacher. The students also
showed that they trusted their classmates’ corrections by incorporating
them into their revisions. When some of them were reluctant
to follow their classmates’ corrections, those students would wait
for the teacher to review their work again. Thus, the teacher should
spend more time training students how to revise and edit several
types of texts and incorporate their classmates’ comments into
their writing.
4. The study should be conducted with learners in other levels. For
example, it can be conducted with students taking an English
writing class. Moreover, further study can be conducted by com
paring such students with those who were taught in a normal class.
5. There were several repeated grammatical mistakes. These mistakes
should be shown in class to prevent them from recurring. For example,
this can be done through making a classroom blog and posting
the most common mistakes found in their writing on this blog.
Language and Cross Border Migration 63

References
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Simsek, O. (2009). “The effect of weblog integrated writing instruction on
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Language and Cross Border Migration 65

Teaching Young Children to Read Involves
More than Phonics
Yaowaluk Suwannakhae
บทความนี้ปรับปรุงจากบทความ เรื่อง Teaching Young Children to Read
Involves More than Phonics ตีพิมพ์ครั้งแรกใน วารสารมนุษยศษสตร์และ
สังคมศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยทักษิณ ปีที่ 5 ฉบับที่ 1 (เมษายน - กันยายน 2553)
หน้า 79-107

Teaching Young Children to Read Involves More than Phonics
Yaowaluk Suwannakhae
School of Library and Information Science
Abstract
This review of literature was guided by two main objectives. The first objective
was to review and synthesize current literature focusing upon one of the debatable
issues in early childhood education on whether or not learning to read involves
more than phonics. The second objective was to express a different view which
expresses that there are other significant factors that could impact a first graders’
reading learning besides phonics by using findings from research articles, practitioner
articles, and interviews with experienced teachers as supportive evidence. In term
of phonics instruction, the findings demonstrated that teaching phonics is necessary
in elementary school because it is a foundation for children to develop reading
skills in later years. Based upon evidence from research articles and personal
communication, the indication is that there are other dynamics besides
phonics involved in teaching first graders to read including good children’s’
literature, other teaching approaches, and technology. Instead of absolutely agreeing
or disagreeing with the debate in this issue, findings from literature provides
a balance between the utilization of phonics instruction and other teaching
approaches/teaching materials to teach young children to read.
Keywords :
Phonics Instruction, Reading, Teaching Pedagogy, Young Children,
Language Development
Language and Cross Border Migration 69

Introduction
Similar to the nature and nurture debate, teaching phonics or not teaching
phonics in elementary school is another debatable topic among early childhood
educators. A lot of literature that debates about phonics instruction and the first
graders’ classroom were found. Dahl and Scharer (2000) described the continuing
argument about phonics instruction in the primary grades with these questions: 1)
Was phonics taught in the whole language first grade classroom?; 2) Did children
learn phonics in the whole language classroom? Willis (2007) argued that
learning to read is more than phonics; teaching must combine the art of teaching
and the science of how the brain works. Willis also spotlighted that
the enjoyment and understanding of the reading process is more important than
phonics. Conversely, members of the National Reading Panel emphasized that young
children need a strong foundation in systematic phonics instruction. Among these
polar opposites of the debate, the question of what literature tells us about phonetics
instruction and teaching first graders to read primarily frame the review of this
particular issue.
Phonics Instruction and Teaching Young Children to Read
Learning to read has been the foundation of education for a hundred years
(Paciorek, 2008). A significant amount of literature highlighted the importance of
phonics instruction and the association between phonics and first graders
reading skills development. Glazer (2005) stated that one school proves
that the young children must learn phonics in order to learn to read; another
insisted that whole words need to be learned first. She also mentioned that
reading poems, singing songs, and telling stories with repetitive language are
essential steps in helping children recognize for themselves that letters have
interesting sounds. The National Reading
Panel performed a literature search to identify studies published since 1970
that compare phonics instruction to other forms of instruction for young
children’s reading ability. The meta-analysis findings confirmed that
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Language and Cross Border Migration

systematic phonics instruction enhances children’s success in learning
to read (Paciorek, 2008).
A number of studies and a national report focusing upon the importance
of phonics instruction in the first grade classroom and in early reading
programs were conducted in both Europe and North America. Dahl, Scharer,
Lawson and Grogan (1999) conducted a study by using questions of what
was taught during phonics instruction, and where phonics instruction was
situated in the first grade program from the teachers, parents, and
members of the research community. Findings indicated that phonics
instruction were foundation skills essential for literacy achievement,
the essential letter-sound relations and the connections with other
cueing systems, and language resources that children needed in their work as
readers and writers. They also pointed out that across teaching and learning
events, instruction in phonics were woven into daily whole language
activities. The phonics instruction helped the first graders or young
children to develop their reading skills which is one of the most important skills of
literacy.
In the United States, Schmidgall and Joseph (2007) examined
the instructional effectiveness and efficiency ofa phonic analysis (word boxes),
an interspersal, and a traditional drill procedure on first graders’ cumulative
word-reading performance. Six general education first grade students who
got a low score in the phoneme segmentation, fluency, nonsense word
fluency, and oral reading fluency measures of the Dynamic Indicators of
Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) participated in this study. As a result
of the research, all instructional methods produced increased word reading
performance. Four out of six student’s cumulative word-reading performances
were greater under the phonic analysis condition. All students’ cumulative
rate of reading words was greater under the traditional drill and practice condition.
In the experimental research design, Roberts and Meiring (2006) conducted
a study focusing on teaching phonics in the context of children’s literature or
Language and Cross Border Migration 71

spelling influences on first-grade reading, spelling, and writing and fifth-grade
comprehension. Sixty-one children were recruited from two first-grade
classrooms. Eighteen of the participants were identified as English
language learners. Two treatments consisting of a spelling treatment which
focused on learning phonics through experiences with individual words,
and a literature treatment which concentrated on learning phonics skills in
connected text were utilized in this study. The findings revealed that
instructional context influenced literacy outcomes. Teaching phonics in
the context of spelling was more effective than teaching phonics in
the context of children’s literature on measures of reading and spelling
phonetically regular pseudowords and spelling phonetically regular real words.
Netherland researchers presented the benefits of phonics for young
children learning to read. Graaff, Bosman, Hasselman and Verhoeven
(2009) specifically compared the differential effects of a systematic phonics
approach and a nonsystematic phonics approach of sixty-seven children
who were Native Dutch, and 26 children who were immigrants. They found
that the performanceof children on the productive letter-sound test
in both the systematic phonics training and the unsystematic phonics
training increased significantly more than those children in the controlled
condition. The performance on the free sound-isolation test of children
in the systematic phonics training increased significantly more than those
children in both the unsystematic phonics training and the controlled
condition.
In England, the Rose Report originated after the government
announced a review of the teaching of early reading by an ex-inspector
and education consultant, Jim Rose. The interim report was released in
December 2005 and the final report was published at the end of March 2006.
This report emphasized that “for most children, it is highly worthwhile and
appropriate to begin a systematic program of phonic work by the age of five” (p. 37).
In addition, it was recommended that for the reading instruction from this report
must include synthetic phonics (Wyse & Styles, 2007).
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Teaching Young Children to Read Involves More than Phonics
As mentioned earlier, some current empirical research articles have
indicated the significance of phonics instruction for early reading programs;
however, Goswami & Ziegler (2006) mentioned that reading is not simple;
in fact, it is one of the most complex achievements of the human brain.
Similarly, Willis (2007) argued that learning to read is more than phonics;
teachingmust combine the art of teaching and the science of how the brain works.
The agreement is with the idea thatbesides phonics, other factors or variablesinvolved
in teaching young children to read are based upon the respect of different point of
view and experience of individual in early childhood education.
Drawing evidence from documents and experienced elementary school
teachers interviews, other factors combined with phonics instruction, such as good
children books, other teaching approaches, and technology could help create a solid
foundation for young children’s reading development, especially young learners
with reading difficulties. Two experienced elementary school teachers in Texas
expressed that learning to read involves more than phonics, and there are other
good factors that will enhance a child’s ability to read.
A :
T :
Does learning to read involve more than phonics?
...it simply involves more than phonics, is what you are asking
on reading? I totally believe yes..but it involves more than
phonics. I think phonics is important too definitely making sure
they’ve mastered their phonetics, and the phonetics
awareness but I think in addition to that they have to have
good quality literatures.
(T. Brindle, personal communication, July 20, 2010).
Language and Cross Border Migration 73

There are several factors that could impact young children’s ability
to learn to read including: phonics approach activities and reading
programs, good children literature, and technology, the first factor is phonics
instruction activities and reading program. Morgan and Moni (2005) demonstrated
a variety of activities that may be used to teach phonics for those with learning
difficulties such as concrete cuisine themes, sound-scene settings, sound
signs, phonics files tactile letters, phonic keyboard cards, phonics picture
cards, physical phonics mazes, etc. For struggling readers, schools should
provide them a program for improving their reading ability. For instance,
the Reading Recovery Program has been used to improve learning for young
children who had reading difficulties.
A : Is there a student who has a reading difficulty in your class?
T : If they had reading difficulty in First grade when I was teaching
at Argyle ISD, we would get them going to reading recovery.
The Reading Recovery Program would take one student at
a time but those that qualified as being our lower readers
would go and get one-on-one instruction with the reading
recovery teacher. And then that was an awesome program to
really work on their weaknesses and what they were try
to improve to get them up to par on that reading level where
they needed to be, First grade . But me personally, as a teacher
if I had some struggling readers, I would try to start them first
on the reading groups because you may not have time to get
to all of your students in the reading group each day. So you
might have time with them two to three times with their
reading groups each week but with the slow struggling readers
it was important to get them in first and make sure they have
that small group instruction as well, and plenty of practice so
a lot of extra timeis spent with them as much as you can
get in.
(T. Brindle, personal communication, July 20, 2010).
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As evidencedby the experience shared in the first grade teachers’ interview,
a collection of good quality children’s literature would enhance young learners
ability to read.
...They need lots of great children books, plenty of literature,
as well as fluency making sure that they are not just getting
a long A, rake, lake, make but also making sure they’re also
getting the whole picture and the fluency as they’re reading,
that it’s going smoothly and that they’re understanding, that
hey get comprehension in there as well and understand what
they’re reading instead of just focusing on the sounds and
phonics of it.
(T. Brindle, personal communication, July 20, 2010).
Goswan (2005) reviewed literature relevant to reading across
languages. The author concluded that children who are learning to read less
orthographically consistent languages, other teaching approaches and methods
of phonics need to be considered which was similar to the ideas expressed by an
experienced second grade classroom teacher.
...I said before, phonics really helps the child when they get to
a word that is not a familiar word. They are able to use
the sounds either to put with that letter or to put the sounds
together into a word. And so that gives them that great
background but that repetition and that familiarity of reading
the high frequency words, learning sight words that way
when they are reading a book or reading any material, they’re
not having to stop. They don’t rely only on sounding out every
single word because they lose comprehension when they’re
having to work so hard on the advanced sounds so I think
phonics is a great base knowledge but I think frequency,
high frequency sight words learning and that by doing things
in repetition learning is why every single word doesn’t have to
Language and Cross Border Migration 75

e sounded out. And so I think the combination of both is
really important.
(M. Glasschroeder, personal communication, July 20, 2010).
Finally, technology provides a benefit for teaching beginning
reading and a supplement for children learning to read. Chambers et al. (2008)
conducted an experimental research to evaluate the combined effects of
the Reading Reel embedded multimedia content and the Alphie’s Alley
computer-assisted tutoring model. One hundred and fifty-nine first graders
were selected to participate in this study. They were randomly assigned to either
technology or nontechnology conditions. The findings showed that
the embedded technology in the classroom and tutorial instruction can
improve the reading performance of at-risk first graders. Macaruso, Hook, and
McCabe (2006) examined the benefit of computer programs designed to
supplement regular instruction in an urban public school system.
Ten first grade classes were selected from five urban elementary schools
in the greater Boston area school district. The computer program provides
systematic and structured exercises for mastering phonic word-attack strategies.
Findings revealed that first graders who participated in the programs made
significant reading gains over the school year.
Implications
Findings of this literature review are beneficial for elementary schools,
teachers, and researchers. Elementary schools would be able to design an
early reading program for their curriculum, as well as teaching pedagogy.
The first grade teachers could apply the practical findings to the classroom;
for example, using the mixed method of phonics instruction and
other teaching strategies, providing good children’s literature to inspire young
children to read, and using technology as necessary to support young
children learning to read. In order to be successful teaching, teachers must
be very knowledgeable, and spend time and effort to find appropriate
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Language and Cross Border Migration

children’s literature that fits the teaching approach. Researchers
recommended that further studies which focusing on phonics instruction
should be conducted. The anticipated research result could provide new
theories of teaching young children to read, distribute new knowledge, and offer
new solutions for teachers to teach, and administrators to develop their curriculum.
Conclusion
Findings of this review of literature achieve two objectives which
are to review, synthesize current literatures focusing on learning to read
involve more than phonics,and to present the different views of the issue by
using findings from research articles, practitioner articles, and interviews from
experienced teachers as supportive evidence. Providing practical and
creative solutions for first grade teachers to teach children to read and
preparing them for higher grade levels is the primary expectation of this
report, instead of absolutely agreeing or disagreeingwith the debate over this issue.
Language and Cross Border Migration 77

References
Brindle, T. (2010). Teaching Children to Read : Does Learning to Read Involve
More Than/Interviewer : Yaowaluk Suwannakhae, the Children’s Place, St.
Andrew Presbyterian Church, Denton.
Chambers, B., Slavin, R. E., Madden, N. A., Abrami, P. C., Tucker, B. J., Cheung,
A., and Gifford, R. G. (2008). Technology infusion in success for all:
reading outcomes for first Graders. The Elementary School Journal,
109(1), 1-15.
Dahl, K. L., Scharer, P. L., Lawson L. P., and Grogan, P. R. (1999). Phonics
instruction and student achievement in whole language first grade
classroom. Reading Research Quarterly, 34(3), 312-341.
Glasschoeder, M. (2010).Teaching Children to Read: Does Learning to
Read Involve More Than/ Interviewer: Yaowaluk Suwannakhae,
the Children’s Place, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Denton.
Glazer, S. M. (2005).To phonic or not to phonic. Retrieved from :
www. Teachingk-8.com
Graaff, S. D., Bosman, A. M. T., Hasselman, F., and Verhoeven, L. (2009). Benefits
of systematic phonics instruction. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13(4),
318-333.
Goswami, U. (2005). Synthetic phonics and learning to read: A cross-language
perspective. Education Psychology in Practice, 21(4), 273-282.
Goswami, U. (2006). Fluency, phonology and morphology: a response to
the commentaries on becoming literate in different languages.
Developmental Science, 9(5), 451-453.
Macaruso, P., Hook P. E., and McCabe R. (2006). The efficacy of computer-based
supplementary phonics programs for advancing reading skills in at risk
elementary students. Journal of Research in Reading, 29 (2), 162-172.
Morgan, M., and Moni, K. B. (2005). Use phonics activities to motivate learners
with difficulties. Intervention in School and Clinic, 41(1), 42-45.
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Paciorek, K.M. (2008). Taking sides : clashing views in early childhood
education, Second ed. Hightstown, NJ : McGraw-Hill.
Roberts, T. A., and Meiring, A. (2006). Teaching phonics in the context of
children’s Literature or spelling influences on first-grade reading,
spelling, and writing and Fifth-grade comprehension. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 98(4), 690-713.
Schmidgall, M., and Joseph, L. M. (2007). Comparison of phonic analysis and
whole word reading on first graders’ cumulative words read and
cumulative reading rate : An extension in examining instructional
effectiveness and efficiency. Psychology in the Schools, 44(4), 319-332.
Wyse, D., and Styles, M. (2007). Synthetic phonics and the teaching of reading :
the debate Surrounding England’s “Rose Report”. Literacy, 41(1), 35-42.
Language and Cross Border Migration 79

I Still Call Thailand Home : A Study of Thai
Migrants in Melbourne, Australia
Sansanee Chanarnupap
บทความนี้ปรับปรุงจากบทความ เรื่อง I Still Call Thailand Home : A Study
of Thai Migrants in Melbourne, Australia ตีพิมพ์ครั้งแรกในวารสาร
International Journal of Studies in Thai Business, Society and Culture.
1(1), 1-16

I Still Call Thailand Home : A Study of Thai Migrants
in Melbourne, Australia
Sansanee Chanarnupap
Social Sciences Department
Abstract
This paper is based on an anthropological and sociological study of
Thai migration experience focusing on the transition period during which
Thai overseas students become skilled migrants, as well as the way that Thai
skilled migrants live in Australia. The research employs a qualitative methodology
and engages primarily with ethnographic perspectives. The researcher
employed two major qualitative research techniques in the fieldwork :
participant observation and in-depth interviewing. Twenty-five Thai skilled migrants
in Melbourne who initially came to Australia for further education and then
applied for Australian permanent residence after graduating generated the core data for
the study. Findings confirm new ideas on the transnational transformation and ties
among Thai migrants in Melbourne.
While living far away from Thailand, Thai skilled migrants continue
to maintain Thai sociality throughout their migration experiences. Thai migrants
retained a strong bond of emotion, loyalty and affiliation with Thailand,
especially towards their significant others through advances in technology,
as well as broader affordability of telecommunications, media and not least
mass travel opportunities. Integration into Australian-Thai community
networks as well as ties to the homeland was central to the migration,
settlement, and adjustment that provided opportunities for meaningful social
engagement and identity development. These Thai transmigrants live dual lives;
speaking two languages, having homes in two countries, and continuing to have
Language and Cross Border Migration 83

egular contact across international borders and between different cultures and
social systems.
Keywords : Transnational ties, Transmigrants, Migration, Skilled Migrant
Introduction
The 1996, 2001 and 2006 Australian Census of Population and Housing
reveals that Thai community in Australia has been increasing significantly
(see Table 1).
Table 1 Persons born in Thailand in Melbourne and Australia: 2011, 2006, 2001
and 1996 Census
2011 Census
(Persons)
2006 Census
(Persons)
2001 Census
(Persons)
1996 Census
(Persons)
Melbourne 9,519 6,433 5,045 4,011
Total Australia 45,494 30,550 23,600 18,936
Source : Community Profiles 2011 Census (CP-30)
According to the 2011 census, Thai migrants in Victoria are accommodated
throughout metropolitan Melbourne. However, there was no particular Thai residential
enclave or commercial focus area. I argue that the residential decentralisation of Thai
migrants has shaped the character of Thai community in Melbourne. The defining
criterion of Thai community is focused on what Thai people do to, for and with
each other, not where they live. I conceive of Thai community as a dynamic
meta-network, an ongoing process of social networking ranging from interpersonal
to organisation ties, from virtual encounters to real-life interactions. Participants
have portfolios of Thai social networks that could be used to connect them with
others for various reasons at various times. They have used these networks to
construct their personal world and livelihood. Although networks of many participants
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might be concentrated among other Thais, they also have external contacts that
could connect them to broader Australian society. Thai community is neither
a closed nor exclusive community. Participants engage with other Thais through
the networks that exist to access accommodation, jobs, place of worship, and many
other resources they need. Thai community can be seen as a gateway or access to
considerable social and economic resources in Australian society.
Thai community is seen as a part of an Australian multicultural
society. Australian multiculturalism has meant that Thai communities feel
a sense of belonging in Australia. This has led to a positive sense of
belonging among Thai community in Australia. The positive internal social
cohesion and cultural coherence that Thai community networks provide enable
members to present Thai-ness in Australia.
In Australia a range of different ethnic communities can readily
be seen. Australia society appears to these participants as a collection of
ethnic communities attempting to unite around a set of core values: the Constitution,
parliamentary democracy, freedom of speech and religion, English as
the national language, the rule of law, tolerance, acceptance and equality
including equality of the sexes. Officially, it has no government-approved
national identity and all cultures are described as equal. In this diverse
society, the populations have different traditions but also share a common space
together. The conceptualisation and operationalisation of the balance unity and
diversity seem to be an ongoing process. However, at least, it could be said that
the development of Australian multiculturalism created the space for Thai-ness and
Thai community networks in Australia.
Language and Cross Border Migration 85

Methodology
This paper is based on an sociological study of Thai skilled migration in
Australia. I employed two major qualitative research techniques in my
fieldwork : participant observation and in-depth interviewing. Twenty-five
Thai skilled migrants in Melbourne who initially came to Australia for further
education and then applied for Australian permanent residence after
graduating generated the core data for the study. Participants of diverse age
(26 – 41 years of age), gender (male and female), place of birth (Bangkok and
four regions of Thailand), marital status (single, married, widow), and
occupation were involved. Almost all participants (twenty cases) hold
Bachelor degrees from Thailand before arriving to Australia. The majority
(seventeen cases) had worked in Thailand while the others (eight cases) were
newly graduated and unemployed before seeking for international
education in Australia. All participants were overseas Thai students for at least two
years before migrating to Australia.
Thai people in Australia constitute a mixture of students, working
people, housewives, and various other smaller demographic groupings, and
I have found that general observation and social interaction with these groups
can help to contribute a much greater understanding of migration experiences
in the broader Thai community in Australia. In addition to the Australian-based
research I also undertook interviews of seven families of key informants
in Thailand to investigate the migration experience across the geographic
range of this diasporic sociality.
Theoretical Orientation
In investigating transnational ties to homeland, my theoretical approach
is framed around the notion of ‘transnationalism’ (Basch et al., 1994).
The transnational perspective used in this paper focuses on two issues.
First, transnational activities involve the flows of ideas, information, people
and culture that transcend one or more nation-states. Participants maintain
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trans-border connections through networks of families and friends, and continue to
consume cultural artifacts produced from across the international borders, making
their home and host societies a single arena of social action. Majority continue
to travel back and forth between Thailand and Australia. However, this does not
mean that transnational practices such as flows of Thai people and culture can
be construed as if they were free from the constraints and opportunities that
the Australian context influences. Transnational processes, while connecting
collectivities located in more than one national territory, are built within the confines
of specific socio-cultural, economic, and political relations at historically determined
times (Guarnizo & Smith, 1998).
Second, international migration transnationalises both sending and
receiving societies by extending relevant forms of membership beyond
the boundaries of territories. The concept of transnationalism points to
a growing and ever more routinised recognition of people’s multiple
attachments (Faist, 2000). The assumption that a person will live his or her life
in one place, according to one set of national and cultural norms, in countries
with impermeable national borders, no longer holds (Levitt, 2004). When
settling in a new city, participants rely on mutual links and sustain strong
ethnic networks across borders, while establishing ties with their local
community. Participants end up belonging simultaneously to two societies
as ‘transmigrants’. This has led Thai transmigrants to live dual lives
(dual belonging), speak two languages (Thai and English), having homes in
two countries (Thailand and Australia), and maintain regular contact across
international borders and between different cultures and social systems.
Language and Cross Border Migration 87

Modes of Transnational Contacts
Homeland attachment can take many forms. In this section I explore four major
types of transnational contacts that assist in the implementation of trans-participation.
It focuses mainly on the interests of participants and their transnational networks in
economic, political, religious and social engagements, investigating how participants
maintained their relationships to Thailand.
Economic Engagements
The majority of participants did not seem to regularly send money back
home. Economic remittances seemed to be not a major mode of transnationalism
for these young Thai skilled migrants. According to Thai traditions, Thai
children are expected to look after their parents when the parents are in
their old age. However, only a few participants sent money on a regular
basis to financially assist family members such as parents or siblings.
This was not because the majority of participants were free from family obligations,
but mainly because of the comfortable financial status of their families.
Their families had other sources of financial support, especially
from their Thailand-based children. Regardless, most participants occasionally
sent money as a ‘gift’ to show their love and loyalty to their families.
The main use of money they earned in Australia tended to be for
building their own lives in Australia, rather than supporting the lives of those who
remained behind.
In some cases, money flowed the other way and participants
received financial support from their families. For example, Somjit (33, female)
received financial support from her parents when she wanted to buy
a house in Australia. Phanid (30, female) received financial support from her
mother when she wanted to buy a car in Australia. It could be said that these
participants contributed more to the Australian economy, rather than the economy
of Thailand.
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Language and Cross Border Migration

Political Engagements
Another interesting pattern that emerged is that almost all participants had
diminished political engagements across borders even though they held dual
citizenship. A Thai voter who resides outside the Kingdom of Thailand has the right
to cast a ballot in an election. However, almost all participants had never registered
as overseas voters to exercise their political rights across borders.
Participants received news about what was happening in Thailand,
particularly the recent political movements around ‘the red shirt’ camp who
supports the former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra, and ‘the yellow
shirt’ camp who do not. Almost all participants had discussed this issue with
their families in Thailand as well as with Thai people in Australia. Their friends
and families in Thailand may favour one camp but almost all of their contacts in
Thailand were uninvolved in the aggressive activities organised by these political
movements. Participants were regularly asked by their non-Thai contacts in Australia
about the current political situation in Thailand and whether they supported the
‘red shirt’ or ‘yellow shirt’ camp. They mostly replied they did not take any side.
The political conflict in Thailand seemed to be a Thailand-based situation;
it was not a transnational phenomenon that brought social conflict to Thai
community in Australia. Only one participant (Saran, 35, male) mentioned that
he had a desire to be a politician in Thailand. He asked, “If Samak Sundaravej
(a well-known television chef) can be a Prime Minister of Thailand, why can’t I,
the owner of the restaurant, be a politician?” It was clear that there was no strong
political division in Thai community in Australia, particularly Melbourne. Almost
all the participants wanted to see a ‘living in harmony’ philosophy adopted both
in Thailand and Australia.
Language and Cross Border Migration 89

Religious Engagements
In terms of religious engagements, most participants revealed that they
had diverse religious associations with both Thai and non-Thai people in Australia.
Participants were open to and respected religious diversity as appropriate in
a multicultural society. However, there were no cases of any participants changing
their religious beliefs after migration to Australia even though some were
approached by missionaries or were married to a partner who had different religious
beliefs. Almost all participants found a place of worship and continued their religious
beliefs in Australia no matter if they were Buddhist, Muslim, or Christian.
In many cases the religious institutions with which participants
associated in Australia tended to have a network which linked them to
corresponding religious institutions in Thailand. It can be argued that religion
is something that plays an important role in maintaining the links
between Thai people who share the same beliefs while they are in the Australian-
Thai community. In contrast to this, religion may have some influence, but not
a strong impact on, promoting the transnational link between these Thai Australians
and their homeland.
Social Engagements
Participants revealed two the most important elements of transnational social
engagements: ongoing connections to family and continued reverence for the Thai
King.
The monarchy of Thailand
The monarchy of Thailand was arguably a strong bond of emotion,
loyalty and affiliation between participants and their home country.
Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, ruled since 1946 by the greatly revered
King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The intensity of respect felt by Thai people for the
King stems in a large part from the distinctive form that the modern Thai monarchy
has taken under his leadership, one that involves a remarkable degree of personal
contact. This respect is rooted in attitudes that can be traced to
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Language and Cross Border Migration

the earliest days of the Thai nation and in some of the past rulers who
continued to serve as positive models of kingship. The monarchy in Thailand
is powerful in that it provides a focal point for Thai people of all
backgrounds, unifying the diverse elements of the country.
Participants agreed that there are most likely two main motivations
for Thai migrants to join in on the public and community events in Australia.
One of these motivations was for religious purposes; the other was for
honouring the King. Buddhist festivals and the King’s birthday were considered as the
more important gathering days for Thai people in Australia.
The monarchy of Thailand continued to provide for these participants
a powerful focal point bringing them together even while overseas. Some
participants gave honour to the King during His birthday celebrations via the
websites of organisations in Thailand. Some continued to show the pictures of the
King in their Australian accommodation in the same way that many Thais normally
do in Thailand. Unsurprisingly, one of my participants (Namtip, 32, female) told
me that when their Australian friends asked her about which of the Thai political
movements – ‘red shirt’ or ‘yellow shirt’ – she supported, she replied that she would
never trust politicians, but she would trust the King. She took the King’s side and
supported the King in order to see a ‘living in harmony’ approach in Thailand.
However, the location of the Thai community in Australia tested
the Thai bonds of emotion, loyalty and affiliation with the monarchy of
Thailand. The ABC television program Foreign Correspondent (Campbell,
broadcast Tuesday 13 April 2010) raised some issues about the Thai monarchy.
This included the future kingship, and it discussed the lèse majesté law that
restricts criticism of the King. In spite of this being a very sensitive matter for
Thai nationals, the Thai community in Victoria did not raise strong opposition
to the television program. A protest letter from Royal Thai embassy to the
ABC can be viewed or downloaded from the ANTS website (a Thai newsmagazine
published in Victoria), but this did not lead to a major controversy in
the broader Victorian Thai community.
Language and Cross Border Migration 91

At this stage I have come to a question; If Thai migrants have such
a strong bond to Thailand and the King (as participants revealed), why
do they respond to the hyper-sensitive situations like the political crisis in
Thailand and an Australian TV programme on the Thai King in such a
passive way? My argument is that the freedom of expression to be a Thai
in Australia may need to be balanced against behaving in a way deemed
acceptable to other Australians. The sustainability of the Australian-Thai
community is joined to determine if actions are desirable or undesirable.
To me, it seems to be clear that participants do not want to place
themselves at risk of offending Australian norms and they do not want to be seen
as a ‘trouble makers’ in Australian society.
Family members in Thailand
Facilitated by improved transportation, technology and telecommunications,
globalisation has entailed the increasing extent, intensity, velocity and
impact of global interconnectedness across international borders (Vertovec,
2009). The advance in communication and telephony technologies, especially
mobile phones and the internet, has allowed participants to have
continuous and real time communication within transnational networks. Even
though this mode of intermittent communication could not bridge all the gaps in
information and expression endemic to long distance separation, cheap international
telephone calls joined participants in Australia with their significant others in Thailand
in ways that were deeply meaningful to people on both ends of the line.
It was found that when experiencing some difficulties in life participants
routinely asked their family for advice and counselling. For example, both
Prakitch (38, male) and Apanchanij (32, female) had discussed their marriage
issues through international telephone calls with their parents in Thailand.
Phanid (30, female) made an international telephone call to ask her
mother for permission to get married to a Muslim non-Thai man
in Australia. Some participants also gave advice to their family members in
Thailand too.
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Low cost and frequent plane travel between Thailand and Australia
is also readily available. Almost all of my participants made regular visits
to Thailand. Although no participants actually lived in two countries in
the course of their routine daily activities, back-and-forth movements
by participants was a constant aspect of their lives. The majority regularly
visited their family in Thailand once a year. Some others visited Thailand once
every few years. It was common for them to stay in Thailand for around two weeks
to one month each time. The return airfare from Australia to Thailand, and the
return airfare from Thailand to Australia, was not very different, so in principle
either the participants or their family could make the trip to their loved ones.
However, in practice it was my participants who were most likely to travel to
their family in Thailand. Their family members in Thailand did not visit Australia
so frequently because travel from Australia to Thailand was simpler and more
convenient. A visa to Thailand was not required as most participants had both
Thai and Australian passports. From my interviews, participants entered and left
Thailand on the Thai passport and entered and exited Australia on the Australian
passport.
Many participants such as Leela (32, female), Prakitch (38, male),
and Sureeporn (30, female) also said that their parents were getting old.
It was not easy for their parents to travel long distances, and the plane trip
from Bangkok to Melbourne takes around nine hours. Some participants
such as Namtip (32, female), and Pitak (32, male) also said that it was
difficult to find accommodation for their parents in Australia due to limited
space in their own accommodation. Extra accommodation costs and the currency
exchange rate could make it more difficult for their families to visit
them in Australia. The family members of some participants such as Bimra
(38, female) and Pimporn (26, female) had never travelled to Australia.
Interestingly, participants did not report that language was an issue preventing family
members from visiting them in Australia.
In the few circumstances where migrant’s family members did visit them in
Language and Cross Border Migration 93

Australia, they would show their family around the new environment, teaching them
such things as how to use public transport ticketing systems, how to get to the local
market, shopping centre, and other places of daily importance. Participants would
continue their daily employment while their family members took care of themselves.
Participants would join their family on weekends, spending time together and
exploring Australia.
The activities that participants usually became involved in when visiting
their family in Thailand included spending time with their family members, visiting
their respected cousins, visiting places of worship that accorded with their beliefs,
visiting some attractive places in Thailand, and catching up with their old friends.
Besides these things, participants highlighted the two necessary things to do in
Thailand : enjoy Thai food and shop. Most of the time participants brought Australian
souvenirs to their significant others in Thailand. These included products unique to
Australia’s culture and lifestyle ranging from Aboriginal art, traditional souvenirs,
gourmet foodstuff, and skincare and cosmetics. Also, participants brought Thai
souvenirs back to their significant others in Australia.
Transnational Transformation
As participants maintained regular contact across international borders and
between different cultures and social systems, everyday messages and regular visits
between participants and their family back home have led to, at least, the one major
transformation which is the perception of having two homes.
Where is home?
“Where are you from?” was a question frequently asked of participants.
When participants were asked this question most did not have
a difficulty in giving a straightforward answer about their origins and
affiliation. It can be argued that Thailand is culturally relevant to people who
still call themselves Thai. But when participants were asked, “Where is home?”
most replied that they, “have two homes.” Participants held dual orientations : to
Australia where most were citizens and in which all were permanent residents, and
94
Language and Cross Border Migration

to Thailand, where they maintained familial and social ties. All participants have
multiple attachments to both Australia and Thailand.
Participants felt that in some sense they belonged to both Thailand and
Australia. Their attitude toward Thailand as their primary home was hard to change
and Thailand remained, if you like, their ‘eternal home.’ When participants were
going to Thailand, they always said in interviews, “I am going baan (home).”
Likewise, when they asked other Thais whether or not they planned to visit
Thailand they often said, “Are you going back home this year?” They tended to
use the word “home” to refer to Thailand and they together understood that the
term “home” used in their conversation signified Thailand. Nevertheless, it does
not necessarily follow that Australia was less important for them or they did not
have a commitment to their place of settlement. Australia was seen as a ‘second
home’, a home of residence where they lived their lives independently.
After participants have lived independently in Australia and become
attached to it, they began to see Australia as more than just the place where they
studied and worked. For them, their Australian home has offered shelter, security,
and a stable environment as well as the privacy to establish and control personal
boundaries. Their Australian homes also provided a space for Thai culture to be
presented in Australian multicultural society. By this time, participants had built
an independent household outside their family dwelling.
The argument for this is that belonging, loyalty, and sense of attachment are
not parts of a zero-sum game based on a single place. Home is not necessarily a
singular place. Identifying a new place as a ‘second home’ beyond just a house one
lives in takes time. Home may be lived in the tension between the given (where
they were born) and the chosen (where they migrated), then and now, here and
there.
It is worth noting that there were no instances of participants discussing their
home as a ‘home of ancestors’. This was apparent when I visited or talked to some of
my participants’ families in Thailand that their ancestors were not Thais but Chinese.
Their family members in Thailand have practiced some of Chinese traditional ways
Language and Cross Border Migration 95

in their daily lives. Many spoke Chinese at home. These participants tended to have
no business or attachment to their ancestral homeland. In addition, participants were
not thinking of the globe as home when the question of “Where is home?” was
discussed. The way my participants thought about home was appealing to fixed
notions of society or culture.
Return to Homeland
When asked about their future plan, whether or not they planned to return
to Thailand permanently at the time of their interview, most answered
that they were not sure about their future, but for now they had no plans to
move back to Thailand, they preferred to live in Australia as their new
independent life was now very much valued. Some participants such as Leele (32,
female) and Nimit (37, male) revealed that their lives were now settled and they
did not want to restart their professional life in Thailand. Others such as Kamra
(38, female) and Phanid (30, female) have married, built a house and made their
own families in Australia.
In some cases, my participants had been seriously tempted to
return to Thailand permanently. For example, when mother of Natwadee (33,
female) was very sick, Natwadee was depressed. She went back to Thailand
to nurse her mother where she had time to think about moving back to
Thailand. After her mother passed away she finally decided to return to
Australia and live her life there. Nattawut (29, male) went back to
Thailand for a period of time after resigning from his fulltime job in Australia.
He searched for an opportunity to be an entrepreneur in Thailand and he thought
that, if things went well, he would move his family back to Thailand and rent
out his house in Australia. However, his wife got a job promotion and her career
seemed to be going well in Australia. Recently, he returned to Australia. In another
situation, a beloved niece of Somjit (33, female) was killed in a car accident in
Thailand. Her parents and siblings deeply mourned the death of their child. Somjit
was sad and felt guilty that she could not stay beside her family and comfort them.
96
Language and Cross Border Migration

She mentioned to her Thai husband about moving back to Thailand permanently but
her husband discouraged her from making a big decision when her emotions were
not stable. Somjit and her husband are now still living in Australia.
Initially, almost all participants revealed at the time of interviews
that they had no plans to return to Thailand permanently. Two participants,
however, finally moved from Australia and went back to settle again in Thailand.
Sureeporn (30, female) returned to Thailand to assist her family business. Her parents
came to Australia and talked to her seriously about her life and her future. At that time
she had just resigned from her casual job and was looking for a new job. She reported
that she could not convince her parents that she had a better life in Australia, so her
parents persisted and eventually she decided to return to Thailand. She packed some of her
belongings to go to Thailand, but left most of her stuff with her Thai
housemate in Australia. She expected that if things in Thailand were not going well,
she could come back to Australia again. After six months, she reported to me that
her life in Thailand was satisfactory; her life in Thailand was neither perfect nor was
it miserable. As a middle class person in Thailand she had access to considerable
social and economic resources and could enjoy a high standard of living. However,
in Australia she was able to enjoy a substantial degree of independence which most
participants found to be a highly precious aspect of their Australian experience.
Indeed, this participant was searching for an opportunity to set up her own
business in Thailand; she was thinking of establishing an educational and tour
agency to bring Thai tourists to Australia. It can be argued that seeking to have her
own business rather than remaining within her family business shows her desire to
retain the independence that she discovered while she was in Australia.
Another case was Pitak (32, male). He resigned from his fulltime job
as a room manager in an Australian factory and then returned to Thailand with
his non-Thai wife and a baby daughter. He stated that after having a baby he
had changed his mind about staying in Australia and he expressed concern
about his baby daughter’s future. In Australia there were no other sources of
support so his wife needed to resign from her job in order to take care of the baby.
Language and Cross Border Migration 97

She took on almost all the responsibilities of the home single-handedly.
He and his wife had to manage all their issues by themselves. Also,
he believed that there were limited opportunities to become an entrepreneur in
Australia. Meanwhile, in Thailand childrearing is shared among members of
the extended family and others such as neighbours. His parents could
support him and his family financially, emotionally and socially; he could have a
healthy family life in Thailand. He told his parents about his plan to move. His parents
prepared and provided some land and a house to welcome him and his family. His
parents were able to speak English with his non-Thai wife as they had previously
graduated overseas. After moving back to Thailand, within six months he got a job as
a senior staff member in a big international company in Thailand. His non-Thai wife
also got a part-time job from her ethnic community networks in Thailand. From these
community networks she was able to build up some new friendships in Thailand too.
Interestingly, his non-Thai wife actually secured her job in Thailand before him.
In both Sureeporn and Pitak’s cases, they could enter to Australia
at any time as they were also Australian citizens, even though they had
permanently moved back to Thailand. However, their travels between
Thailand and Australia, as well as their international telephone calls, had greatly
decreased. While they retained a right to enter Australia at any time, Australia was
no longer seen as their actual country of residence. If home is grounded less in
the place but more in the activity that occurs in the place, it can be assumed that
in the near future Sureeporn and Pitak will not feel attached to Australia anymore.
Also, Sureeporn and Pitak may no longer be transmigrants as they do not maintain
multiple relations that span international borders.
For participants who still remained in Australia, almost all reported they
were not sure about their future, whether or not they would stay in Australia
for the rest of their lives. A common response to the question “Will you stay in
Australia?” was “I’m not sure; who knows?” When pressed further, participants
made statements such as “I really don’t know, but at the moment I have no plans to
go back.” Such tentative ideas about the future only gradually resolved themselves
98
Language and Cross Border Migration

in the lives of my participants, some returning to Thailand to live and some continuing
to live in Australia. As has been explored here, so long as they continue to retain
strong bonds with their significant others in Thailand it seems highly probable that
many of them will continue their transnational participation, moving back-and-forth
across the international borders between Thailand and Australia.
Conclusion
In this paper, the examination of the connections and relationships that
continue between Thai participants and their significant others in Thailand has
suggested that Thai migrants continue to retain strong bonds of emotion, loyalty and
affiliation with their homeland. Ties to Thailand have led these Thai transmigrants
to live dual lives (dual belonging), speak two languages (Thai and English), have
homes in two countries (Thailand and Australia). Thailand still remains an ‘eternal
home’. Meanwhile, Australia is seen as a ‘second home’, a home of residence
where they live their lives independently.
When migrants live their lives across national borders, they may challenge a
long-held assumption about membership and belonging. Some might ask; if people
stay active in their homeland, how will these migrants contribute to the country where
they settle? The lived experiences of participants suggest that migrants will not simply
cut their ties to their eternal home, nor does it take away from migrants’ ability to
contribute to and be loyal to their host country. Participants have multiple attachments
that modern technology has facilitated. Rather than a problematic dual loyalty,
this paper proposes that multiple attachments tend to not hamper integration in
the country of settlement. Participants accept core values of the land - speaking
English, wearing modern clothes, paying tax, obeying the law of the land,
and respecting the elected parliamentary representatives, democratic political
structures and traditional values of mutual tolerance and concern - to integrate themselves
to mainstream society. In addition to this, the main use of money participants earned in
Australia contributes more to the economy of Australia, rather than using for supporting
the lives of those who remain behind in Thailand. The freedom of expression
Language and Cross Border Migration 99

to be a Thai is balanced against behaving in a way deemed acceptable to
the other Australians. These participants prefer to be seen as peaceful Australian
citizens, as they believe that they are welcome in this pluralistic society.
The integration of participants into Australian society, while
maintaining their ties to Thailand, is a salutary corrective to the calls for
a ‘one nation, one culture, one language, one state, and one citizenship’. These
migrants do not arguably pose a category of risk or crisis for Australia. In the
politics of social integration, I suggest that Australia can continue to move towards
more robust anti-discrimination policies, and develop policies that tend to see
multiculturalism as a condition of social order and security. Calling for improving
opportunity and greater interaction between people of different backgrounds as
the strategy would lead us towards an Australia where our ethnic origin does not
determine our destiny.
100 Language and Cross Border Migration

Refferences
Basch, L., Schiller, N. G., and Blanc, C. S. (1994). Nations unbound. USA:
Gordon and Breach Science.
Guarnizo, L. E., and Smith, M. P. 1(998). The locations of transnationalism.
In Guarnizo and Smith (Ed.), Transnationalism from below (3-34).
London : Lawrence and Wishart.
Guarnizo, L. E., and Smith, M. P. (1998). Cultural identity and diaspora.
In J. Rutherford (Ed.), Identity : community, culture, difference
(222-237). London : Lawrence and Wishart.
Vertovec, S. (1997). Three meanings of ‘diaspora’, exemplified among South Asian
religions. Diaspora, 6(3), 277-299.
Vectovec, S. (2005). The political importance of diasporas [Electronic Version].
Retrieved 7 September 2010, from http://www.migrationinformation.
org/Feature/display. cfm?ID=313
Vertovec, S. (2009). Transnationalism. London: Routledge.
Vertovec, S. (2010). Anthropology of migration and multiculturalism
new directions. The USA and Canada: Routledge.
Language and Cross Border Migration 101

Cross-Border Migration Pattern of People
from Southern Border Provinces of
Thailand to Malaysia
Nisakorn Klanarong
Sirirat Sinprajakpol
บทความนี้ปรับปรุงจากบทความ เรื่อง Cross-Border Migration Pattern
of People From Southern Border Provinces of Thailand to Malaysia
ตีพิมพ์ครั้งแรกในวารสาร Journal of US-China Public Administration,
February 2013, Vol. 10, No. 2, 157-164

Cross-Border Migration Pattern of People from Southern
Border Provinces of Thailand to Malaysia
Nisakorn Klanarong
Geography Department
Sirirat Sinprajakpol
Western Language Department
Abstract
Temporary labour migration is predominant among migrant workers from
southern border provinces (Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Satun)
to Malaysia and they are mainly semi-skilled or unskilled workers.
The cross-border migration in this area can be divided into three patterns:
seasonal labour migration, commuting labour migration, and circular
labour migration. A majority of seasonal migrant workers are Thai Muslims. They
mostly work in Kelantan, Perak, and Kedah by using a border pass but do not have
a work permit. They can work because of their language fluency, similar religion
and culture, and relationships with relatives who have settled in Malaysi a.
Commuting migrants are mainly people who live adjacent to the border and for
whom it is easy to cross each day. Some commuting migrants go to work by crossing
the Sungai Kolok River without any official documents. This group of workers
holds two identity cards and they have relatives who live in Malaysia along the
border or the river. The last pattern of labour migration that migrant workers in this
area are involved in is circular labour migration. The time when they go to work
in Malaysia is not governed by agricultural seasons. This group of migrant workers
mainly works in the service sector in food shops or restaurants in jobs such as cooks
or waitresses. However, the patterns of cross-border migration of people from the
southern border provinces of Thailand to Malaysia have changed through time.
Keywords : cross-border migration, migration pattern, southern border provinces of
Thailand, Malaysia
Language and Cross Border Migration 105

Introduction
This paper is based predominantly on a detailed investigation of
five southern border provinces of Thailand : Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat,
and Satun, which are located in the lower southern part of Thailand. Songkhla,
Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat are located on the east coast of the Malay
Peninsula, while Satun is located on the western side of the Peninsula.
The southern border provinces share a border with the four northern states of
Malaysia, namely Perlis, Kedah, Perak, and Kelantan (see Figure 1). The population
in the southern border provinces is mostly engaged in agriculture. The main
occupations of people in this area are rice cultivation, working on rubber
gardens, growing coconuts, fruits, fishing and cultivating aquatic animals
(Satun Provincial Office, 2012; Songkhla Provincial Office, 2012; Pattani
Provincial Office, 2012; Yala Provincial Office, 2012; Narathiwat Provincial
Office, 2012). An investigation into the employment and unemployment
situation in the Muslim communities of the southern border provinces
by A. Lanui, Chema, and K. Lanui (1997) found that most households
in this region were agricultural and the level of employment was low.
Among those who were employed, there were underemployment and seasonal
unemployment. There was a high degree of labour mobility in the rural Muslim area
of Pattani Province, especially migration to work in Malaysia (Thaweesit, 1986 ;
Wittayapreechakul, 1990 ; Klanarong, 2003).
106 Language and Cross Border Migration

Figure 1 Location of the five southern border provinces of Thailand
As shown in Table 1, the number of clients of employment service
offices in southern border provinces is higher than job vacancies. To make
a living, a number of the household has had to migrate to work as hired labour in
outside communities and also in other countries.
Table 1 Number of Job Applicants, Clients, Job Vacancies by Sex, Southern
Border Provinces (2011)
Province
Job applicants (persons) Clients Job vacancies (positions)
Total Male Female
Total Male Female
Times Persons Times Persons Times Persons
Source : Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour (2012).
Total Male Female
Songkhla 10,208 3,849 6,359 73,201 50,079 27,061 18,845 46,140 32,204 9,280 883 1,007 7,390
Satun 1,741 669 1,072 9,327 6,626 3,691 2,666 5,636 3,960 2,060 201 119 1,740
Pattani 2,613 1,121 1,492 15,194 8,523 6,032 3,470 9,162 5,053 2,533 557 336 1,610
Yala 1,678 572 1,106 9,277 6,880 3,122 2,351 6,155 4,529 5,922 827 284 4,766
Narathiwat 2,116 865 1,251 13,293 7,318 5,167 2,831 8,126 4,487 2,719 562 313 1844
Not
specific
Language and Cross Border Migration 107

This paper seeks to contribute to the understanding of the cross-border
migration by focusing on movement between southern border provinces
of Thailand and Malaysia. It will investigate the pattern of cross-border migration
of people from the southern border provinces of Thailand to Malaysia.
It then examines the main changes which have occurred in the flow of people between
southern Thailand and Malaysia, especially in the last two decades.
Pattern of Labour Migration from Southern Border Provinces of Thailand
to Malaysia
Malaysia is the most significant migration destination for people
from southern border provinces. Temporary labour migration is predominant
among semi-skilled or unskilled workers in these areas. Labour migration
from the southern border provinces takes three forms: seasonal labour
migration, commuting labour migration, and circular labour migration.
Seasonal Labour Migration
Blisborrow, Hugo, Oberai, and Zlotnik (1997, p. 43) defined seasonal
migrant workers as “persons who are employed in a State other than their own
for only part of a year because the work that they perform depends on seasonal
conditions”. In the context of migration from the southern border provinces
of Thailand to Malaysia, migration of seasonal migrant workers
depends on the agricultural seasons in both countries. Workers migrate
to Malaysia when labour is needed for planting or harvesting agricultural
production or when they are unemployed or underemployed while waiting for the
agricultural season in Thailand to commence.
This type of seasonal labour migration is traditional in this region and
there is a long history of people from the southern border provinces moving
to work in Malaysia. This traditional migration goes back more than half
a century. It was reported that “During the 1954-1955 harvest season,
108 Language and Cross Border Migration

there were more than 7,000 Pattanis and some 7,000 Kelantanese entered
Kedah-Perlis” (Gosling, 1963, p. 185). At the present time, there are still
a large number of workers from the southern border provinces who go to
work in paddy fields and also in rubber plantations, oil palm plantations, and
sugarcane plantation, as seasonal migrant workers.
A majority of seasonal migrant workers are Thai Muslims from Yala,
Pattani, and Narathiwat. They migrate to work as hired labour in rubber and
oil palm plantations, planting forests, paddy fields, construction and food
shops. They mostly work in Kelantan, Perak, and Kedah by using a border
pass or passport to travel but do not have a work permit. They can work
because of their language fluency, similar religion and culture, and relationships
with relatives who have settled in Malaysia. A large number of people
in Satun also migrate seasonally to Malaysia. It has been reported that
the population of Satun who migrated to work in Malaysia each year
numbered 2,000-3,000 (Rithapirom, 1990). The works that seasonal migrant
workers engage in are transplanting, rice harvesting, and cutting sugarcane
(Prasompong & Songmuang, 1990).
Commuting Labour Migration
In addition to seasonal migration, it is common for people who live
near the border to cross it daily to work in Malaysia. A person who goes to
work in Malaysia and comes back to Thailand on the same day without
staying overnight in Malaysia is classified as a “commuting” migrant.
Commuting migrants are mainly people who live adjacent to the border and
for whom it is easy to cross each day. Commuting migrants use a border pass
to leave and come back to Thailand. Malaysia Immigration issues Documen
Kemudahan Laluan (Regular Traveler Documents) for them to use with a border
pass. Some commuting migrants go to work by crossing the Sungai Kolok
River without any official documents (see Figure 2). This group of workers
Language and Cross Border Migration 109

typically holds two identity cards: One is Thai and the other is Malaysian
and they have relatives who live in Malaysia along the border or the river.
This makes traveling in and out of the two countries very easy.
Figure 2 Sungai Kolok River, natural border between Thailand and Malaysia
Extensive observation in the area indicates that some workers cross
the border through Immigration without any documents without problems since
both Thailand and Malaysia Immigration are not strict with local people, particular
Muslims. Thai officers allow these workers to go through since they go to work to
make a living for their family and no serious problems occur with these workers
while they work in Malaysia. In addition, Malaysia Immigration offices are also
not strict since they know that these workers will be in Malaysia just for work and
will go back to Thailand and they have similar religious and cultural backgrounds to
Malaysians so they are not likely to cause any problems while they are in Malaysia.
110 Language and Cross Border Migration

Figure 3 Thai Muslim female traders in Pasir Mas market, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Commuting migrants work mostly as employees in shops (such
as food shops, grocery shops, and clothing shops) or as construction workers, or
they work in the informal sector (selling fruit and vegetables and as food hawkers).
These workers work near border areas such as in Rantau Panjang market, Ka Yang
market, and Pasir Mas market in Kelantan State without a work permit
(see Figure 3).
Circular Labour Migration
The last pattern of labour migration that migrant workers in this area
are involved in is circular labour migration. The time when they go to work
in Malaysia is not governed by agricultural seasons and the work that they
engage in is not in the agricultural sector. This group of migrant workers mainly
works in the service sector in food shops, restaurants or hotels in jobs such as cooks
or waitresses, in the industrial sector, as well as in similar kinds of occupations as
commuting migrant workers. Instead of going and coming back daily, they stay in
Language and Cross Border Migration 111

Malaysia for one month or up to a year to work and their work places are not only
near the border areas but also in other places such as Langkawi Island, Penang,
Pahang, or as far away as Johore.
Circular migrant workers will go back and forth between Thailand and
Malaysia while they are working. In the case of workers who use a border pass
to travel, they have to come back to get a stamp at Immigration every month and
obtain a new one after they have used it for three months. Thus workers can come
to visit or bring some money back to other members of their family who remain in
Thailand. Circular migrant workers mainly go to work in Malaysia as individual
migrants but some travel with family. They may have a passport or a border pass
for traveling into Malaysia, but the majority of them work without a work permit or
work contract. They will work for a certain time but do not set limits on the period
of employment. The time they spend in Malaysia depends on the migrant workers
themselves. If they are not satisfied with their employment, they either go back to
Thailand or look for new employment.
It is clear that migration patterns, especially in relation to the seasonal,
commuting, and circular migration, are specific to this area of southern Thailand
and differ from patterns in the rest of the country. For Thai people who want to
work overseas, whether they are commuting, seasonal, or circular migrants, there
are five ways Thai workers can go to work in other countries legally by the process
of the Department of Employment Service:
(1) Workers arrange migration by themselves;
(2) They are sent by private recruitment agencies;
(3) They are sent by the Department of Employment Services;
(4) They are sent by employers;
(5) Workers are sent overseas as “Trainees”.
112 Language and Cross Border Migration

The Changing of Labour Migration Patterns from Southern Border
Provinces of Thailand to Malaysia
In the last 20 years, the patterns of labour migration of workers from
southern border provinces to Malaysia have been changed from seasonal
labour migration to circular labour migration. Consequently, the types of work and
characteristics of migrants have also changed.
A study of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (1985)
found that migrant workers from Pattani and Narathiwat Provinces mainly engaged
in construction (nearly all of them being from Narathiwat) and rice planting and
harvesting (all from Pattani). Some of them also worked as general hired labour,
shop helpers, baby sitters, and on rubber and oil palm plantations. In their study,
Lukngam, Baka, and Kaimuk (1985) found that the destinations of workers from
Pattani were Kedah, followed by Kelantan and Trengganu. Workers from Narathiwat
mainly went to work in Kedah and Kelantan and some small numbers in other
states, namely Trengganu, Selangor, and Pahang. It has been reported that Kedah,
Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, Pahang, and Perak were the states that had a large
number of illegal workers from the southern border provinces of Thailand. These
states of Malaysia have become the main destinations of migrant workers from the
border provinces because :
(1) They have a large area of agricultural lan d;
(2) They are close to the border of Thailand so workers are easy to reach ;
(3) They require a large number of labourers ;
(4) It is easy to find a job and have jobs available all year round ;
(5) Labour migration between the southern border provinces of Thailand and the
northern states of Malaysia has continued over many decades (Office of Labour
Affairs, Malaysia, 1997, p. 5).
Language and Cross Border Migration 113

However, a study of Klanarong (2003) that conducted a field survey in
eight villages of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Satun in 1999-2000, found that
Kelantan was the main destination of migrant workers from Narathiwat, Kelantan
and Kedah were the main destination areas of migrant workers from both Pattani
and Yala, while migrant workers from Satun mainly worked in Langkawi Island and
Perlis. Work that migrant workers from the survey villages engaged in at destination
areas was mainly in services, followed by agriculture and factory work (see Table
2).
Table 2 Occupations in Which Migrant Workers From the Eight Survey Villages
Were Engaged in Malaysia
Occupations
Male migrant workers
Female migrant workers
Frequency Percent Frequency Percent
Total
Services work 32 20 195 51.3 227 (42.0)
Agriculture work 39 24.4 111 29.2 150 (27.8)
Factory work 7 4.4 41 10.8 48 (8.9)
Trader 7 4.4 30 7.9 37 (6.9)
Construction work 37 23.1 3 0.8 40 (7.4)
Fishery crew 38 23.7 - - 38 (7.0)
Total 160 100.0 380 100.0 540 (100.0)
Source : Klanarong (2003).
From the data collection of the fieldwork in Perlis by researchers
(March 2008), Mr. Won Khunsritani, a 57-year-old farmer who used to
hire labourers from Thailand, told that 20-30 years ago, he used to get
the labourers from Songkhla. All of the labourers were male who came to
bat the rice. The labourers came 4-5 people at a time from Ban Kuan So,
Ban Bo Daeng, and Sathing Phra district and the labourers who came to transplant
rice seedlings were from Satun and most of the labourers were married
females. They were approximately 30-40 years old. Most of them
114 Language and Cross Border Migration

were from Ban Kuan, Ban Kuan Don, and Thung Nui. They would stay
30-45 days each entrance. However, he did not hire any Thai labor for
10 years. This might be due to the changes of using machines to plough,
sow, and harvest. The seasonal migrants from the southern Thai border
provinces are still employed to work in the areas where the machines cannot be
operated in the fields in Kedah, Alor Setar and near border, but this case
is not found much.
From the fieldwork data collection in Kedah (December 2008),
the research team had a talk with Kama Bt Lah, aged 66 and Raziah Ishak,
aged 47 who are a farming family which hired labourers from Pattani
to work in the paddy fields. Kama Bt Lah narrated that labour migration from
Pattani existed 20 years ago. First, most of them came to visit their relatives
who lived in the village and helped them to work in the paddy field. Later,
neighbors requested to help in the paddy fields as well. This became labour
migration to work in the paddy fields in later years. Formerly, Kama Bt Lah
used to hire the labour from Pattani to transplant rice seedlings and harvest.
However, at present they hire Thai labour once a year, who work for
1-3 months only for transplanting rice seedlings. The majority of labours were at
the age of 35. There were both male and female. There were around
15-40 workers going to work each time.
Seasonal labour migration from the southern Thai border provinces
traditionally used to be employed in paddy fields in Malaysia to transplant
rice seedlings, harvest, and bat rice four times a year. At present, labourers
can work only once a year and work for 1-3 months. This may due to
the changes of cultivation from transplanting rice seedlings to sowing
rice and the use of machines to replace human labour. However, Malaysia
still needs foreign labour to replace local labour. This is because the policy
of Malaysia upgrades the country from agriculture to industry and trade
investment center especially service and high technology in industry, health,
education, tourism and finance. This causes Malaysia’s labour market to expand
Language and Cross Border Migration 115

continually (Klanarong, Pinsuwan, & Sinprajakpol, 2010). The statistics of Office
of Labour Affairs at the Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur showed that
the amount of Thai workforce in Malaysia increased in the service sector
from 10,947 people in 2006 to 15,532 people in 2007. Meanwhile,
the labour in cultivation decreased from 62 people in 2006 to 53 people in 2007
(see Table 3).
Table 3 Occupations of Thai Migrant Workers in Malaysia in 2006 and 2007
Occupation March 1, 2006 December 30, 2007
Domestic work 432 426
Construction work 1,122 1,122
Factory work 824 793
Services work 10,947 15,532
Cultivation 62 53
Agricultural work 424 530
Source : Office of Labour Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur (2008).
When the work of people from the southern Thai border provinces
going to work in Malaysia changes from working in paddy fields to working
in industrial and service sectors, the migration pattern to work in Malaysia
also changes from seasonal labour migration to circular labour migration or
commuting labour migration. Groups of migrant workers change from married
and elderly people to single adolescents. The number of single female
labour has increased. Moreover, the destination is not limited to only Kelantan,
Perlis, Kedah, and Perak but also includes work in other states such as Penang,
Pahang, Selangor, Terengganu and Johor and the work places are located
in the city more than the rural area. Since there are trends of reducing work
in rice fields in Malaysia which most of the people from the southern border
provinces have practiced for a long time, training people for working in
service sector would open up the range of jobs to them in Malaysia.
116 Language and Cross Border Migration

Conclusion
Seasonal labour migration that had been practiced has tended to
decrease due to the changes of paddy field working patterns of Malaysia
from transplanting rice seedlings to sowing rice seedlings and the bringing-in
of machines to work in the paddy field. However, in Thailand, especially
border southern border provinces, the employment and job availability
are locally limited. The sole dependence on the agricultural sector is
insufficient to support family. Those people still need supplementary
income by migrating to work in Malaysia. However, to minimize the cost of
migrants, it will be helpful if the Thai government could negotiate with the Malaysian
government to establish that people from southern border provinces who hold
a border pass can work legally in Malaysia. There is also little formal structure to
protect Thai workers in Malaysia and this needs to be addressed.
Language and Cross Border Migration 117

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Language and Cross Border Migration 119

Mental Health of Thai Female Migrants
Working in Food Shops on
Langkawi Island, Malaysia
Nisakorn Klanarong
Anchalee Singhanetra-Renard
Pechdau Tohmeena
บทความนี้ปรับปรุงจากบทความ เรื่อง Mental Health of Thai Female
Migrants Working in Food Shops on Langkawi Island, Malaysia
ตีพิมพ์ครั้งแรกในวารสาร China-USA Business Review, February 2011,
Vol.10 No.2

Mental Health of Thai Female Migrants Working in Food Shops
on Langkawi Island, Malaysia
Nisakorn Klanarong
Geography Department
Anchalee Singhanetra-Renard
Independent Researcher
Pechdau Tohmeena
Center of Mental Health, Pattani
Abstract
Female migrant workers from southern border provinces of Thailand
who go to work in Malaysia suffer less when compared with female
migrants from other regions of Thailand. Due to shared religious, linguistic,
and cultural similarities between their home places and Langkawi, the former
appear to be more satisfied with their working and living conditions.
Despite these, since many of these workers go to Langkawi without
a work permit results in their feeling stress over their working environment
which negatively affects their psychological well-being. Moreover,
while some female migrants try to better their situation by marrying local
Malaysians, they end up facing more problems particular because they
are often unable to obtain Malaysian citizenship. This has resulted in
divorce and in their not receiving any support from their Malaysian ex-husbands either
for themselves or for the children. This causes serious and negative consequences
for many female migrants working in Malaysia that needs to be addressed at
the government level in both countries.
Keywords : mental health, Thai female migrant, food shop, southern border
provinces of Thailand, Langkawi Island
Language and Cross Border Migration 123

Introduction
Female migrant workers from southern border provinces of
Thailand, namely Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Satun, who go to
work in Malaysia are reported to suffer less when compared with female migrants
coming from other regions of Thailand who go to work in Singapore,
Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan (Chantavanich, Germershausen, &
Beesey, 2000; Kang, 2000; Laodumrongchai, Chantavanich, Germershausen, &
Warmsingh, 2000; Sek-Hong & Lee, 2000; Sobieszczyk, 2000). Klanarong
(2008) found that Thai female migrant workers in food shops on Langkawi Island
were satisfied with their working and living conditions, with their employers and,
especially, with their income. An important factor supporting this is that there are
religious, linguistic, and cultural similarities between Muslim people in southern
Thailand and in Malaysia. Furthermore, since these migrants mainly work with
other movers from southern Thailand, they can get on well with their co-workers.
Most knew each other before going to work in Langkawi helping them be generally
cooperative and supportive to each other. Such relationship extends to their
Malaysian and Indonesian co-workers.
However, even though entering Malaysia legally by using border passes,
most Thai female migrants working in food shops in Langkawi Island or elsewhere
in Malaysia do not have work permits and are illegally employed. They are at risk
of being abused, and heavily fined or subject to other penalties if caught. They are
in constant fear of being caught and have to look out for and hide from police or
immigration officers who might come to check and round up illegal migrants and
illegal workers. Despite the favorable working and living conditions, the Thai food
shops workers in Malaysia are in constant fear of being caught. This paper is the
result of a pilot study on the working and living environments of Thai workers from
Satun province who move to work in food shops in Langkawi Island. The purpose
of this study is to determine the extent to which the stressfulness of being illegally
employed affects their psychological well-being.
124 Language and Cross Border Migration

Thai Migrant Workers in Malaysia
Bordering Southern Thailand, Malaysia has a large number of Thai
migrant workers. Statistic from Malaysia Immigration Office as quoted by
the Office of Labour Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur (2010)
reported that there were 18,456 Thai migrant legally working in Malaysia in 2007
with the majority ( 84%) of them in the service sector (See Table 1).
Table 1 Thai Migrant Worker in Malaysia by Occupation in 2007
Occupation December 2007 Percent
Housework 426 2.3
Construction 1,122 6.1
Industry 793 4.3
Service sector 15,532 84.1
Planting 53 0.3
Agriculture 530 2.9
Total 18,456 100.0
Source : Office of Labour Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, 2010.
It is believed that there are about 100,000 Thai people illegally
working in Malaysia. Most of them are from five southern border provinces
(Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Satun). They enter Malaysia using either
a tourist visa or a border pass. They work in agriculture, fishery, housekeeping,
stores and restaurants (Office of Labour Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala
Lumpur, 2010). Customarily, people who live near the border go to work in
Malaysia without a passport or work permit; they only need a border pass to get
into Malaysia (Lukngam, Baka and Kaimuk, 1985). The reason they give when
crossing the border is that they want to visit a relative or just to visit Malaysian
states that border Thailand. They do not say that, in reality, their purpose is to go
work in Malaysia to earn a higher income than they would get working in Thailand.
Language and Cross Border Migration 125

According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, people from the southern
border provinces using border passes are not defined as “migrant workers” so they
are not included in the records and reports of The overseas Employment
Administration Office (OEAO).
Petchprasomkool (2002) states that there will be more and more
people from southern border provinces seeking employment in Malaysia due to the
following reasons:
(1) Economic situation: The low demand for labor in industry and agriculture
sectors in the southern provinces leads to high unemployment. Since the people of
southern Thailand, especially those who are Muslim, are unlikely to work in other
parts of the country, they often travel to work in Malaysia.
(2) Geographic location: The border between the southern provinces of
Thailand and the northern Malaysian states have many crossings through which
many transportation facilities are available making it easy for crossing the border
(both legally and illegally).
(3) Religious, linguistic and cultural linkages: People living along the
borders of both countries have long close relationships with each other. They have
normally been able to cross the border to visit each other. They both are Muslim,
use a similar language, and practice similar local traditions and culture.
(4) Labor shortages in Malaysia: Malaysia has promoted
development in the fields of agriculture, industry and tourism, with
the result that there is a high demand for labor. Increasing numbers of
unskilled and semi-skill foreign labors are hired to work in the agricultural,
construction and service sectors.
(5) Higher wages in Malaysia: The higher wage and a better chance of
finding a job in Malaysia compared to Thailand are important factors encouraging Thai
people in the southern border provinces to go work in Malaysia.
126 Language and Cross Border Migration

There are five official channels for Thai people to go work in other
countries legally by the process of the Department of Employment Service:
(1) Workers arrange migration by themselves, (2) They are sent by private
recruitment agencies, (3) They are sent by the Department of Employment
Services, (4) They are sent by employers and (5) Workers are sent overseas
as “Trainees”. People from the southern border provinces who go to work
in Malaysia mostly arrange their own travel and employments rather than
depending on the services of private recruitment agencies or the Department of
Employment Services. Travelling to work in Malaysia from southern border provinces
is convenient both by land and sea. Moreover, they can use a border pass get into
the four States that border Thailand (Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Kelantan). In their
study, Laodumrongchai et al. (2000) found that, among workers from Pattani and
Satun who returned from working in Malaysia, the highest percentage (91.8%)
arranged their own traveling. In contrast, workers from northern and northeastern
Thailand who mostly went to work in Japan, Taiwan and Singapore used the service
of private agencies (59.7%, 81.5% and 64.8% respectively).
Patterns of Labor Migration from Southern Border Provinces of Thailand
into Malaysia
Temporary labor migration is a predominant form of population movement
among semi-skilled or unskilled workers from the southern border provinces into
Malaysia. The character of their migratory behavior is carried out in three patterns:
seasonal migration, commuting and circulation (Klanarong, 2003).
Seasonal Migrants
Seasonal cross border migration is a traditional pattern of movement among
Thai migrant workers going to Malaysia as well as their movement elsewhere in the
country. Their migration follows closely the agricultural cycles in Malaysia and/
or in Thailand. These migrants cross the border when there is a demand for labor
during the planting or harvesting seasons in Malaysia or when they are unemployed
Language and Cross Border Migration 127

or underemployed while waiting for planting, harvesting, and other periods of high
labor demand in the agricultural season in Thailand.
This traditional migration has been practiced for more than half a century
(Suwannathat-Pian, 1993; Ariffin, 1993). At present, there are still a large
number of workers from southern border provinces who go to work in paddy
fields, and also in rubber plantations, oil palm plantations and sugarcane
plantations as seasonal migrant workers. The majority of seasonal migrant are Thai
Muslims from Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces working as hired labor in
rubber and oil palm plantations, planting forests and paddy fields, mostly in the
States of Kelantan, Perak and Kedah. In recent years, seasonal migrants are also
found working in construction industry and food shops.
Commuting
In addition to seasonal migrant workers, there are people who
cross the border daily to work in Malaysia. These commuters mostly live
adjacent to the border and can easily move daily to work across the border.
For example, Thai Muslims in Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat province and
other border districts, such as Tak Bai, Waeng and Sukirin districts, can easily
go through the Sungai Kolok Labor Control to get into Malaysia. Others
simply cross the Sungai Kolok River without any official documents.
Commuters hold two identity cards: one is Thai and the other is Malaysian. They
usually have relatives who live in Malaysia along the border or the river. They say
that traveling to and from the two countries to work on a daily basis is easier than
going to work other districts in the same province.
Commuters work mostly as employees in food shops, grocery stores,
and clothing shops, or else in construction or in the informal sector such as
selling fruit and vegetables. Their usually work in border areas such as the
Rantau Panjang and Pasir Mas markets in Kelantan (Klanarong, 2003).
Commuters from Satun province go through the Wangprachan Labour
Control in Kuan Doan district for trading along the border Perlis and the Satun Labour
128 Language and Cross Border Migration

Control in Muang district by boat for trading on Langkawi Island and in Kuala
Perlis in Perlis state. They can go and come in one day since the distance is not
far (Klanarong, 2008).
Circulation
The third pattern of labor migration into Malaysia is that of circular migration.
The time that they go to work in Malaysia does not correspond with agricultural
seasons and the work that they engage in is not in the agricultural sector. This group
of migrant workers mainly works in the service sector in food shops, restaurants
or hotels in jobs such as cooks or waitresses, in the industrial sector, as well as
in occupations similar to that undertaken by the commuters. Instead of going and
coming daily, they stay in Malaysia for periods of one month up to a year and
their work places are not only around the border areas but also in places such as
Langkawi Islands, Penang, Pahang or as far away as Kuala Lumpur and Johor.
All three patterns of migration across the border between Thailand and
Malaysia facilitate workers going back and forth between Thailand and Malaysia to
work while at the same time encourage some of them to risk working in Malaysia
illegally.
Migrant Workers from Satun Province
Satun is one of the border provinces that has a large number of
migrant workers in Malaysia. In the last 10 years, the numbers of people from
Satun province who have gone to work in Langkawi Island has increases by
in Langkawi. The number has increased significantly in the past decade.
In 2009, the head of the Provincial Employment Service Office in Satun,
estimated that there were about 10,000 people from Satun working
on Langkawi. They held jobs on fishing boats, wharf workers, cooks and
waitresses, and rubber trappers (News office of the Thai Muslim, 2009).
Another study found that there were large number of people in Satun
who migrated seasonally to work in Malaysia as hired agricultural laborers,
particularly transplanting and harvesting rice and cutting sugarcane
Language and Cross Border Migration 129

(Prasompong & Songmuang, 1990). Each month there are at least 2,000
Satun people who apply for border passes. Provincial statistics showed that as many
as 33, 362 people applied for passes in 2006 (see Table 2).
Table 2 Number of People Applying for Border Passes, Satun Province, 2006
District
Number of People Who Applied for a border Pass (person/month)
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Muang Satun 1,440 1,184 1,508 1,320 1,188 1,080 977 1,342 1,028 1,091 1,024 832
La-ngu 763 469 760 637 571 480 491 461 502 59 408 432
Tha Phae 643 431 561 515 461 503 363 429 407 575 331 349
Thung Wa 32 41 39 40 37 23 30 42 26 56 34 20
Khuan Don 160 104 232 178 166 144 134 188 146 177 223 124
Khuan Kalong 34 27 58 37 45 51 26 37 32 163 55 43
Manang 25 12 41 12 28 23 23 17 22 29 15 13
Provincial Admin. 259 59 346 432 353 450 325 242 296 493 402 289
Total 3,356 2,327 3,545 3,171 2,849 2,754 2,369 2,758 2,459 3,180 2,492 2,102
Source : Klanarong and Pinsuwan (2009).
According to a study by Arun Chaiyarn (2002), among 264 Satun migrants
working in Langkawi Island who had crossed into Malaysia via either the Satun
Labour Control or the Wangprachan Labour Control between March and May,
2002, most were female (63.83% female, 36.17% male), were under 30 years
old and had come from seven districts in Satun province. They were employed in a
wide range of jobs. The highest numbers were wharf workers (38.6%), followed
by laborers (15.9%), shop assistants (10.6%), hotel employees (9.8%), food
shop workers or cooks (10.0%). The rest worked in construction work or a variety
of other jobs. The study also found that every one of them had arranged their
own travel by using border passes with the help of their relatives to find work in
Langkawi Island.
130 Language and Cross Border Migration

Working and Living Conditions of Satun Migrant Workers in Food
Shops in Langkawi
As a result of the Malaysian Government’s policy to develop Langkawi
Island for industrial investment and tourism, the island now has become one of
the main tourist destinations, domestic and international. It is accessible by air from
Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Singapore and Bangkok or by sea from Kuala Perlis, Kuala
Kedah, Penang and Satun. There are a regular ferries service which runs between
Satun and Langkawi 3 rounds; 09:30 a.m.., 13:30 a.m., and 16:00 p.m.. It takes
about one-hour from Satun to Langkawi and costs 300 baht (about 9 US dollar).
A recent boom in construction has resulted in many new restaurants and
hotels. Thai tourists had formerly traveled to Langkawi in order to bring back
electrical goods which were available there at a lower price than the same goods
in Thailand. This situation, however, has changed since the Thai government has
lowered the high tax it had formerly imposed on electrical goods. Langkawi now
promotes a new range of attractions to bring both Thai and Malaysian tourists to
the island. Hotels and eating places are booming for all level of budgets and Thai
food, as elsewhere in the world, is quite popular for locals, tourists (both Thai and
Malaysian) and also the large number of Thai migrant workers.
Thai food shops in Malaysia are of two types. One is restaurants that offer
common Thai food and are located in the business area and in areas around shopping
malls. The other is known locally as Tom Yam food shops which offer southern
Thai dishes which are usually extremely hot and spicy and which are popular among
local Malaysians. Tom Yam food shops are located in several local Malaysian
communities.
The Office of Labour Affairs of Malaysia estimates that there are at least
6,000 Thai food shops all over Malaysia (Office of Labour Affairs Royal Thai
Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, 2010) and that the nature of their operations fall into
three categories :
Language and Cross Border Migration 131

(1) The entrepreneur is Malaysian and the workers are Malaysians or from
other nations. There are approximately 3,000 shops all over the country.
(2) The entrepreneur is Malaysian but the workers are Thai. There are
approximately 2,000 such shops.
(3) The entrepreneur is Thai or has dual citizenship and the workers are
Thai. There are approximately 1,000 of these kinds of shops.
The Office of Labour Affairs in the Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur
(2010) estimates that there are approximately 50,000 Thai workers working in
Tom Yam food shops. These are mainly family businesses as most of the entrepreneurs
and customers are Malaysian.
As a result, many Muslim people from Satun and other border provinces
who can speak Malay set up food shops in Malaysia and hire either legal or illegal
workers/waitresses, who are also Muslims from southern Thailand. Although they
can legally enter and leave Malaysia using border pass or tourist visas, they are
illegally employed because they have not applied for work permits because they
say it is expensive to get one.
A survey of Thai workers working in Langkawi by the Office of Satun
Provincial Employment Service (3 May 2001) found that there were approximately
2,000-2,500 immigrants from Satun province working on Langkawi Island and
that 400-500, mostly females, worked as cooks and waitresses in food shops,
restaurants and hotels (Klanarong, 2003; Klanarong, 2008). They worked in the
restaurants or big food shops as cooks, waitresses, or bartenders. Their working
hours and holidays were clearly defined. This differed from the small food shops
in villages with one or two workers where the tasks were not clearly defined. They
had to do everything and there were no days off. They were, however, allowed to
take leave for 2-3 days when they had to go back to Thailand to apply for a visa
stamp every month.
The opening and closing time of food shops differed but their working hours
were almost always more than eight hours per day. For example, the Thai B.B.Q.
Seafood opens from 07:00 a.m.-01:00 a.m., the Zaiton Seafood opens from
132 Language and Cross Border Migration

15:00 a.m.-02:00 a.m., the Restoran Wan Thai opens from 10:00 a.m.-16:00
p.m. and from 18:00-22:30 p.m., and the Thai-Malay opens from 09:00 a.m-
20:00 p.m.
Klanarong (2008) found that Thai female migrants working in food shops
had no problem adjusting to their new living and working environment in Langkawi.
They got along well with their co-workers and did not feel that their employers
are taking advantage of them. Their accommodations and meals (three per day)
were provided for. They reported that they were looked after well when they were
sick. Although they might have some trouble communicating in English with tourist
customers, most of the time they only had to use Malay to communicate with the
customers.
Thai workers in food shops generally have a good relationship with their
co-workers because most are from the same and/or other villages in southern
Thailand. Many have known each other before coming to work in Langkawi.
Some are brothers and sisters or relatives and many are persuaded
by friends to come to work together in Malaysia. Even though some
co-workers are Malaysians and Indonesians, they do not find that a problem
because there is no language barrier between them. They are able to use either
the local Malay dialect or Standard Malay when communicating with each other.
Thai female migrant in Langkawi are proud that they are able to earn
a living by themselves and send money back to Thailand to support their parents and
families. They are happy with their wages. The wage is higher compared to similar
types of work in Thailand. The wage they receive depends upon the types of work.
Those working in food shops and responsible for serving food, mixing drinks,
or taking orders from customers earn between 500-700 ringgits (about 156-218
US dollar) per month. This does not include the percentage from the total sales
and extra money that the employers will give in addition to their salaries.
Cook assistants earn 700-750 ringgit (about 218-234 US dollar) while cooks
earn no less than 800 ringgits (about 250 US dollar) per month but, they will
normally earn more than that. Some will earn as much as 1,600-2,500 ringgit
(about 500-781 US dollar) per month.
Language and Cross Border Migration 133

Thai workers in food shops do not have to spend money on accommodations
or meals while working in Langkawi since this is provided by their employers.
Some live on the upper floor of the shops, some live with the employers, and some
live in other accommodations provided by the employers. But there are some who
prefer to rent a house with their friends or stay with relatives.
No work-related accidents or serious illnesses were reported by the workers.
General medicines were usually provided for in the workplace, especially in the
large restaurants. Due to the nature of work that requires walking or standing for
long periods of time, the workers experienced sore feet, back pain, and body aches,
especially when there were a lot of customers. Sometimes, they had to take painkillers
or rest when they pain became too intense.
In case they had to see a doctor (usually at a clinic), the employers paid
the medical expenses. In case of serious illness or if the symptoms did not go away
within 2-3 days, the employers sent the workers back to Thailand, while paying
their travel and medical expenses. For those working in small food shops, however,
they had to pay their own medical expenses. In most cases, they went back for
treatment in Thailand because it is cheaper than in Malaysia.
Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being of Thai Female Migrants
Working in Langkawi Food Shops
Problem faced by the Thai female migrants working illegally in Langkawi
food shops relate to their mental and psychological well-being because their illegal
employment status puts them at risk of being arrested, fined, jailed or sent back to
Thailand.
There were relatively few workers whose employers took their border
pass to apply for a temporary work visa and get them work permits. Even when
the employer was willing to do so, some workers did not want to do so because
it involved paying a high fee (see Table 3) and they were obliged
to work until they can pay off for the fee or were required to stay on
Langkawi until the work permit expired. For those working in small food
134 Language and Cross Border Migration

shops using border passes issued for tourists or visiting relatives almost always
worked without permits. They only had to take 2-3 days off every
month to return to Thailand in order to get a stamp called by workers as
“cop” (chop) at an immigration checkpoint. If they stayed longer than
30 days, they were considered as an over-stayer and were subject to being
fined of up to 2,000 ringgits (about 625 US dollar) or jailed for up to
6 months or both and sent back to Thailand after being released from the prison
(The Star, 2010).
Malaysian officials strictly searched for and arrested illegal Thai
laborers without work permit in Tom Yam food shops (Public Relations
Department, 2009). In June 2006, 121 Thai workers (78 men and 43 women)
were arrested and handed over to Sadao Immigration authorities in Songkhla province.
Most of them were from the five southernmost Thai provinces (Rattanarak, 2007).
Another 100 Thai laborers were sent back to Thailand in February 2009 as illegal
immigrants and/or for using the wrong type of visa; of these 70 were from southern
Thailand.
Table 3 The Cost of Applying for Work Permits in Malaysia for Overseas Workers
Types of
work
Levy
Health
examination
Work permit
Deposit for
safety
Total cost
(in ringgit)
Agricultural M/W 360 M 180/W 190 M/W 10 M/W 250 M 800/W 810
sector
Planting M/W 540 M 180/W 190 M/W 10 M/W 250 M 980/W 990
Industrial sector M/W 1,200 M 180/W 190 M/W 10 M/W 250 M 1,640/
W 1,650
Construction
sector
M/W 1,200 M 180/W 190 M/W 10 M/W 250 M 1,640/
W 1,650
Services sector M/W 1,800 M 180/W 190 M/W 10 M/W 250 M 2,240/
W 2,250
Source : For men (M), For women (W). Office of Labour Affairs Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, 2010
Language and Cross Border Migration 135

Although there have been reports of illegal Thai workers in Malaysia being
cheated by job agencies (Wittayakorn Boonrueng, 2008), the Thai female workers
in Langkawi food shops do not face the problem of being cheated by employment
agencies because most of them arrange their own travel and find their own jobs.
However, being illegally employed puts them in constant fear of being arrested,
jailed, fined and/or sent back to Thailand and this has affected their mental health.
To solve their illegal employment status, some workers marry
Malaysian men so they can open and operate their own food shops to earn
more and so they do not have to hide or fear being arrested. Women workers
in food shops, especially those who are young and single or who are widows,
sometimes get married with Malaysian men after working there a few months.
Most of their husbands are customers of the food shops. If they marry Malaysians,
they can open and operate their own shops on behalf of their husbands from which
they can gain more income than if they were working as employees. This leaves
more money for them to send back home. This allows them to better support their
families in Thailand and also leads them to persuade their relatives and friends to
work as employees in their shops as well. They have become a model for others
to migrate for work in Malaysia where they hope to marry the Malaysians not
just to escape the illegal employment status but also to become rich by being able
to run their own shops. However not all such marriages are successful. Several
workers had their marriage fail and they had to return to Thailand with their
children born with Malaysian husbands, without any support from their
Malaysian husbands or ex-husbands.
Following is the experience of a female worker from Satun who divorced
her Malaysian husband but still lives in Langkawi. She has to take care of four
children without support from her husband. She runs a food shop in the village and
pays the tuition fees of her children by herself. The children help her at the food
shop after school. She wants to go back to her home in Satun but she is concerned
about her children and mother-in-law who would like her and the children to stay in
Langkawi Island. Her mother-in-law gives her and her children a house and some
136 Language and Cross Border Migration

land on which to live. She said that she considered herself lucky as some women
who had worked at the food shop for just 2 or 3 months and then got married with
Malaysian. After getting pregnant, their husband left her with the babies. Some
cannot stay in Malaysia and need to go back to Satun. Some did not go back as
they need to earn a living for their children but they sent their children to stay with
grandparents in Satun. Then, they send their money home. Some got married again
to find someone to take care of them.
The study of Horstmann (2009) confirms the hardship of women
workers who get married with Malaysians and do not receive the rights
similarly to that of general Malaysians.
“Habibah is among 2,400 Thai women from Muslim communities
in southern Thailand who are married to Malaysian men and registered
with the Islamic office in Kuah, Langkawi. Habibah use a border pass
as an inhabitant of one of the five border provinces in southern
Thailand (Satun). She has been applying for a Malaysian passport,
in vain so far. She is therefore forced to return to Thailand to
renew her border pass. Without an identity card, Habibah has to
live a migrant’s life with irregular employment and lower wage.
Her movements in Langkawi and in Malaysia are very careful,
restricted, and vulnerable. She is even subject to occasional control or
harassment by border police. Habibah is eligible for Malaysian
citizenship after five years of residence and employment”.
The problems of Thai migrants working in Malaysia are well known
to the responsible governmental organizations in Thailand and Malaysia.
They are aware of the overall picture, particularly related to the issues that
workers are being cheated, illegally employed, and that those who have no work
permits are subject to being jailed, fined, and being sent back to Thailand. These
issues are being discussed and solutions sought. They also know in principle that
the problems of the Thai female migrant working in food shops are different from
the male migrants. However, government officials from both countries have not
provided serious or concrete help.
Language and Cross Border Migration 137

Some of the attempts have been as follows:
The Thailand Research Fund (Sor Kor Wor) requested the Thai
government to try to find solutions several times for those who are from the
three southern provinces of Thailand working in Malaysia. But this request has
been largely ignored. On 31 March 2005, Mr. Piyawat Boonlong, a director
of Sor Kor Wor together with labour officials from Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat,
met Mr. Aoom Maolanon, the Thai Ambassador in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
to discuss solutions to help Thai workers in Malaysia especially those who
worked in food shops as they were from the three southernmost Thai
provinces. This was done to help the government quickly solve the problem. They
wanted to invite representatives of Thai workers in food shops to discuss the situation
and also to provide information regarding the increase of the work permit fee to
5,000 ringgits (about 1,562 US dollar). There were some workers who had illegally
moved to work in Malaysia and were apprehended and fined by Malaysian officials
(The Thailand Research Fund, 2005).
The Satun and Songkhla provincial employment offices reminded
Thai workers to be more careful when they entered Malaysia to look for
work since the Malaysian government was changing its policy in order
to reduce the number of alien workers. They planned to do this by arresting
illegal workers and those who had no work permits. The Malaysian Government
felt it had to do this because of problems related to the economic downturn.
Several factories were closed and there was a high level of
unemployment in Malaysia. Besides the arrests, the Malaysian Government
planned to stop granting new work permit for aliens. Although they planned
to renew work permit for the existing workers, they would also expedite
the process of arresting illegal workers who had no work permits. Moreover,
the Malaysian Government made it a requirement that employers could not accept
alien workers to work in their shops and to persuade them to accept local Malaysian
people to work instead (Public Relations Department, 2009; Rammasood, 2009).
138 Language and Cross Border Migration

Conclusion
Although female workers in food shops on Langkawi Island satisfy with
the working and living condition, workfare and especially income, helping
them have better lives, earning sufficient money to make a living and having
some savings. However, traveling to work in Langkawi Island by using
a border pass and work without work permit cost the female migrants
to some extent. That is female migrants have to hide Malaysia officials,
work with fear that they will be arrest. They stress, worry and this affects
their health and they have to get permit stamp at customs in Thailand and
Malaysia every month that cost time and money. To save them money and work
more, Thai government unit should discuss with Malaysia government to expand
the working period from 30 days to 3 months or 6 months or the workers can get
a visa stamp at Malaysia port of entry and don’t have to go back to Thailand to do
this. In addition, a fee for applying for a work permit can be reduced so that Thai
workers can entry the country legally and don’t have to worry or fear of being
arrested.
Moreover, some female migrants who got married with Malaysians also got
problems when they were unable to obtain Malaysian citizenship. This means that
they still had to enter and exit the country to get a visa stamp regularly and hide
from the officials just like the alien workers who were working without a visa.
Some even got divorced and were left without their Malaysian husbands’ care
and responsibility for their children. In this case, and especially when the parents
had not notified the government of the child’s birth, the child was left stateless.
Rectifying this situation had to be done with officials from both governments.
Language and Cross Border Migration 139

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