ENGLISH SKILLS NEEDED BY HEALTH SERVICE

PROFESSIONALS OF THE ASEAN ECONOMIC

COMMUNITY: A STUDY IN PRACHUABKIRIKHAN

BY

SUPAKARN SOOKHOM

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE INSTITUTE

THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2018

COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

ENGLISH SKILLS NEEDED BY HEALTH SERVICE

PROFESSIONALS OF THE ASEAN ECONOMIC

COMMUNITY: A STUDY IN PRACHUABKIRIKHAN

BY

SUPAKARN SOOKHOM

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE INSTITUTE

THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2018

COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

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Thesis Title ENGLISH SKILLS NEEDED BY HEALTH

SERVICE PROFESSIONALS OF THE ASEAN

ECONOMIC COMMUNITY: A STUDY IN

PRACHUABKIRIKHAN

Author Miss Supakarn Sookhom

Degree Master of Arts

Major Field/Faculty/University Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Language Institute

Thammasat University

Thesis Advisor

Academic Year

Associate Professor Sripathum Noom-ura

2018

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ABSTRACT

The study focuses on English language functional skills needed for health

service professionals involved in three ASEAN occupations that are associated with

mobility in the labor market: medical, dental, and nursing services. The participants,

selected by stratified random sampling, comprised 30 doctors, 11 dentists, and 210

nurses (251 health services professionals in total) from eight governmental hospitals

in Prachuabkirikhan, Thailand: Hua Hin Hospital, Pranburi Hospital, Samroiyod

Hospital, Kuiburi Hospital, Prachuabkirikhan Hospital, Thapsakae Hospital,

Bangsaphan Hospital, and Bangsaphan Noi Hospital. The instrument used in this

study was a self-administered questionnaire which included authentic tasks from

medical setting. The participants were required to rate their current proficiency and

needs of four English skills in performing each medical task. The finding revealed

that the language proficiency of the doctors and dentists ranged from moderate to high

and nurses rated their ability as low and moderate. The majority had highest ability in

reading and writing; nevertheless, four English skills were highly demanded in every

medical task. For doctors, reading skill was ranked the highest; for dentists, the four

English skills were equally rated as high and for nurses, listening, speaking, and

reading skills were rated the highest. Recommendations given to researchers and

curriculum developers were to further the study with health services professionals in

various health facilities in different areas to enrich the current literature, design ESP

courses regarding particular needs and interests of learners, and promote professional

communication among Thai health services workers as a preparation for the

integration of the ASEAN Economic Community.

Keywords: English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Needs Analysis (NA), English for

Occupational Purposes (EOP)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my greatest appreciation and sincere gratitude to

those who have contributed to the completion of my master’s thesis. First and

foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Associate Professor Sripathum Noom-ura,

for her devotion, attention, constant encouragement, kindness, expert guidance, and

invaluable advice throughout this study. Without her, this study would never have

been completed.

I am particularly grateful to Alisa Ratanapruks, Ph.D., the chairman of the

committee, for her valuable time, advice, and dedication; moreover, I would like to

extend my thankfulness to my thesis committee, Ratikorn Sirisatit, Ph.D., for her

useful and constructive recommendations on my study. Without their support, the

completion of my thesis would not have been possible.

My special thanks go to hospital directors, doctors, dentists, and nurses of

eight governmental hospitals in Prachuabkirikhan who contributed their time and

assistance to the collection of my data.

Next, I would like to offer my appreciation to all the instructors and

academic staff of the Language Institute, Thammasat University who devoted time,

knowledge, and assistance for all M.A. students.

Finally, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to my family for their

tremendous support and encouragement throughout my study.

Supakarn Sookhom

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT (2)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (3)

LIST OF TABLES (8)

LIST OF FIGURES (10)

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Objective of the study 6

1.3 Research questions 6

1.4 Scope of the study 7

1.5 Definition of terms 7

1.6 Significance of the study 8

1.7 Organization of the study 8

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 9

2.1 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) 9

2.1.1 Definitions of English for Specific Purposes 9

2.1.2 Characteristics of English for Specific Purposes 12

2.1.3 Objectives of ESP teaching 14

2.2 Needs Analysis (NA) 16

2.2.1 Definitions of Needs Analysis 16

2.2.2 Types of Needs and Needs Analysis 17

2.2.3 Data gathering options for Needs Analysis 18

2.2.3.1 Munby’s Communicative Need Processor 18

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2.2.3.2 Hutchinson and Waters’ Checklists 19

2.2.3.3 Robinson’s seven techniques 20

2.2.4 Steps in Needs Analysis 21

2.3 English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) 23

2.3.1 Definitions and classification of EOP 23

2.3.2 English for Medical Purposes (EMP) 27

2.4 Previous related studies 28

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 36

3.1 Participants 36

3.1.1 Population 36

3.1.2 Sample size 36

3.1.3 Sampling Procedure 36

3.2 Materials 41

3.3 Procedures 41

3.3.1 Research design 41

3.3.2 Data collection 42

3.4 Data analysis 42

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS 44

4.1 General background information of the participants 44

4.2 Linguistic profile of the participants 46

4.3 English ability of the participants 48

4.3.1 Listening ability of the participants 48

4.3.1.1 Listening ability of the participants in each medical task 49

4.3.2 Speaking ability of the participants 51

4.3.2.1 Speaking ability of the participants in each medical task 51

4.3.3 Reading ability of the participants 55

4.3.3.1 Reading ability of the participants in each medical task 55

4.3.4 Writing ability of the participants 58

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4.3.4.1 Writing ability of the participants in each medical task 59

4.4 English needs of the participants 63

4.4.1 Needs in listening skill of the participants 63

4.4.1.1 Needs in listening skill of the participants in each

medical task 64

4.4.2 Needs in speaking skill of the participants 65

4.4.2.1 Needs in speaking skill of the participants in each

medical task 66

4.4.3 Needs in reading skill of the participants 69

4.4.3.1 Needs in reading skill of the participants in each

medical task 70

4.4.4 Needs in writing skill of the participants 72

4.4.4.1 Needs in writing skill of the participants in each

medical task 73

4.5 Correlation between background and English proficiency

of the participants 79

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 85

5.1 Summary of the study 85

5.1.1 Objective of the study 85

5.1.2 Research questions 86

5.1.3 Participants 86

5.1.4 Research instrument 86

5.1.5 Data analysis 87

5.2 Summary of the findings 87

5.2.1 General background information of the participants 87

5.2.2 Linguistic profile of the participants 87

5.2.3 English abilities of the participants 87

5.2.4 English needs of the participants 88

5.2.5 Correlation between background and English proficiency

of the participants 88

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5.3 Discussion of the findings 89

5.4 Conclusions 93

5.5 Recommendations for further research 93

REFERENCES 95

APPENDICES 100

APPENDIX A Questionnaire 101

APPENDIX B Letter of Consent 114

BIOGRAPHY 115

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1.1 Mutual Recognition Arrangements in services 3

2.1 Steps in Needs Analysis 22

2.2 Classification of EOP courses 24

3.1 Proportions of healthcare professionals of each hospital 37

3.2 Number of samples from each hospital 38

3.3 Number of samples of each profession from each hospital 38

4.1 General background information of the participants 45

4.2 Linguistic profile of the participants 47

4.3 Listening ability of all participants 48

4.4 Listening ability of each profession 49

4.5 Listening ability of the participants in each medical task 50

4.6 Speaking ability of all participants 51

4.7 Speaking ability of each profession 51

4.8 Speaking ability of the participants in each medical task 53

4.9 Reading ability of all participants 55

4.10 Reading ability of each profession 55

4.11 Reading ability of the participants in each medical task 57

4.12 Writing ability of all participants 59

4.13 Writing ability of each profession 59

4.14 Writing ability of the participants in each medical task 60

4.15 Needs in listening skill of all participants 63

4.16 Needs in listening skill of each profession 64

4.17 Needs in listening skill of the participants in each medical task 65

4.18 Needs in speaking skill of all participants 66

4.19 Needs in speaking skill of each profession 66

4.20 Needs in speaking skill of the participants in each medical task 67

4.21 Needs in reading skill of all participants 69

4.22 Needs in reading skill of each profession 70

4.23 Needs in reading skill of the participants in each medical task 71

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4.24 Needs in writing skill of all participants 73

4.25 Needs in writing skill of each profession 73

4.26 Needs in writing skill of the participants in each medical task 74

4.27 Correlation between background and English proficiency

of the participants 80

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

2.1 Classification of EOP courses 24

2.2 The tree of ELT 25

2.3 ESP classification by professional area 27

4.1 Listening ability of each profession 62

4.2 Speaking ability of each profession 62

4.3 Reading ability of each profession 62

4.4 Writing ability of each profession 62

4.5 Needs in listening skill of each profession 76

4.6 Needs in speaking skill of each profession 76

4.7 Needs in reading skill of each profession 76

4.8 Needs in writing skill of each profession 76

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was officially

initiated in August 8, 1967 by five member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,

Singapore, and Thailand and was enlarged when Brunei Darussalam joined the

membership in 1984, Viet Nam in 1995, Lao PDR in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999,

making up today ten member states for the ASEAN. The community was established

upon three main pillars: the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), ASEAN

Economic Community (AEC), and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) (Das

et al., 2013).

The economic cooperation projects were in the best interest of ASEAN

during the second decade of ASEAN and continued to prosper after the agreement to

establish the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) was signed in 1992 (Chia & Pacini,

1997). After the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint was adopted in 2007, the

overall structure of ASEAN economies changed significantly. To accelerate the

national and economic development of ASEAN member states, the AEC was

established upon four pillars: the Single Market and Production Base; the Competitive

Economic Region; Equitable Economic Development; and ASEAN’s Integration into

the Global Economy (Chia, 2013).

The formation of ASEAN’s single market was based on five major

elements: free flow of goods, free flow of services, free flow of investment, freer flow

of capital, and free flow of skilled labor. According to the ASEAN Economic

Community Blueprint (2008), the free flow of goods would grant the elimination of

tariffs and the removal of non-tariff barriers. With the free flow of trade in services,

ASEAN services suppliers would be able to provide services and establish companies

across national borders within the region. All restrictions on the services sectors,

namely, air transport, healthcare, tourism, logistic services, and other services sectors,

would be removed by 2015. The free flow of investment would enhance member

countries’ competitiveness in attracting foreign and intra-ASEAN investments and

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develop the overall ASEAN economies. Likewise, the freer flow of capital would

promote ASEAN capital market integration, agreement on the recognition of

qualification, education, and experience of professionals, including greater mobility of

capital and labor.

The movement of labor and challenges resulting from labor market

integration were unavoidable.Thus, the free flow of skilled labor was determined to

manage mobility for students, staff, professionals, and skilled labor within the region

through enhancing cooperation among universities, promoting job opportunities,

qualifications and occupational skills required in each service sector, as well as

facilitating entry and employment pass for those who were engaged in trades and

investments within ASEAN.

To accelerate the establishment of an integrated market and increase the

economic competitiveness of ASEAN, at the 9th

ASEAN Summit, a meeting in

October 2003 in Bali, Indonesia, the leaders of the member states affirmed an

agreement on facilitating mobility for skilled labor engaged in eight service sectors:

(1) engineering services

(2) nursing services

(3) architectural services

(4) surveying qualification

(5) accountancy services

(6) dental services

(7) medical services

(8) hotel services and tourism

According to Thailand’s Ministry of Labor (2012), skilled labor in the

eight ASEAN occupations must possess qualifications stated in Mutual Recognition

Arrangements (MRAs) in order to be accepted into an ASEAN integrated market.

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Table 1.1

Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) in services

Professions Qualifications

Engineering Services - 7 years work experience;

- Recognized work experience for 2 years;

- Work with engineers in the destination country

Nursing Services - 3 years experience

Architectural Services - Bachelor’s Degree (5 years);

- 10 years work experience

- Working consecutively for 5 years;

- Recognized work experience for 2 years;

- Working independently or with architects in the

destination country

Surveying Qualification - 2 years work experience

Accountancy Services - Work experience as set out by the destination

country

Dental Services - 5 years work experience

Medical Services - 5 years work experience

Hotel Services and

Tourism - The standards set out by the ASEAN

The International Labor Organization (2014) suggested that the

stakeholders involved in the ASEAN integration process should prepare themselves

for the free flow of goods and services and understand the directions of change in

employment patterns around the region. The rise of employment standards and

increasing competitiveness in workplaces of the ASEAN integrated market could

possibly be primary issues that skilled labor needed to take into consideration.

Significantly, according to a survey which included hundreds of professionals from

enterprises and business associations across ten ASEAN countries, another major

issue that was immensely emphasized was language barriers within member

countries. Respondents from countries where English is not an official language, such

as Thailand and Cambodia, even expressed their concern over language barriers

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before mentioning about cross-cultural working skills or management skills. The

researchers from the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and Bureau for

Employers’ Activities (2014) reported that language barrier within the ASEAN region

and the increasing internationalization of the labor market made English language

fluency even more necessary, and thus promoting the use of English language should

be another key issue of the ASEAN Economic Community.

As a matter of fact, to be able to compete with skilled labor from other

member countries for positions in foreign industries, merely having professional skills

and years of work experience may not be sufficient. Skilled workers who also have

language skills and are able to demonstrate them when required in their work fields

certainly have greater career opportunities in ASEAN integrated market. However, as

mentioned earlier, countries where English is not an official language usually

encounter the problems of language barriers.

Thailand is considered one of the countries where readiness of skilled

labor in terms of English language fluency is still questionable. To begin with,

English learning in Thailand is not very successful. Although the English language is

one of the compulsory subjects and Thai learners spend more than a decade studying

it, their English abilities are still minimal. Causes of the problem are mainly the lack

of exposure to English language, especially inadequate opportunity to practice using

English in and outside the classroom, the lack of skilled teachers, well-equipped

classrooms and practical learning materials, and the lack of confidence from the

learners themselves when communicating in English (Wiriyachitra, 2003).

Since many fundamental problems of English learning in Thailand are still

unsettled, a great number of Thai learners and workers are potentially at a

disadvantage when joining the ASEAN labor market and foreign industries.

The country’s problem in English proficiency also can be seen in the

annual survey of Education First English Proficiency Index (EF EPI). Since 2011,

Education First has provided the ranking of countries by English skills, including

countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, and has

categorized those countries into five groups: very high, high, moderate, low, and very

low proficiency. Among Asian countries, Thailand was one of a few countries that

have been continually ranked in the group of very low proficiency. In the fifth year,

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the index again showed a decline in the English proficiency of the country. Thai

participants still exhibited poor English skills and thus the country was ranked 62nd

out of 70 nations and was the third-worst country in Asia (EF EPI, 2015).

Furthermore, recent test and score data summary of TOEFL tests revealed

that Thai test takers only got an average score of 77, which was much less than scores

that test takers from other ASEAN member countries such as Singapore, Philippines,

Malaysia, and Indonesia received. Nevertheless, the fact that Thailand was ranked

behind those four countries was not as surprising as the fact that now the country also

falls behind Myanmar and Vietnam since their test takers already passed the

international standardized test score of 80 (Test and Score Data Summary for TOEFL,

2016). When examining previous reports on scores and ranking of countries by

English proficiency, it can be seen that while other ASEAN member countries have

made some progress, Thailand has not really made its advancement manifest.

As the country is one of the founding fathers of ASEAN and a member of

the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), it is necessary that Thai people, especially

the skilled labor of the eight listed ASEAN occupations, are aware of the challenges

from the free flow of goods, services, and labor and the importance of language skills.

According to the Thailand Board of Investment (2016), among the eight listed

ASEAN occupations, medical services and occupations involved in healthcare

industry are currently in the spotlight as the government spends 14% of its total

budget on the healthcare industry, which is considered to be the highest in ASEAN.

The immense support from the government in the field of health services

is due to the fact that a large number of foreign patients and visitors, especially from

the United States and Western Europe, who need medical treatment and related

services choose Thailand over other countries in the region as their healthcare

destination. Since the early 2000s, the number of foreign patients has continually risen

as medical services in Thailand conformed to internationally accepted standards;

besides, the price, package service, and tourist places in Thailand were found more

attractive. Seeing that the country had potential to be a medical hub and the income

from medical services to foreign patients increased steadily every year, the

government set a vision for Thailand as ‘World Class Healthcare Destination and

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Academic Medical Hub of Asia’ in 2004 and has been pushing for the continued

development of medical tourism ever since (Ministry of Tourism and Sports, 2010).

Since Thai medical workers have to encounter not only challenges from

the integration of the ASEAN Economic Community but also from the goal of the

country being the ‘Medical Hub’ of Asia, it is even more necessary to emphasize the

importance and the development of English language skills among workers in the

healthcare industry.

Therefore, in this study a needs analysis on English functional skills was

specifically conducted with Thai workers involved in three ASEAN occupations: (1)

medical services, (2) dental services, and (3) nursing services. Targeted participants

were selected from eight governmental hospitals in Prachuabkirikhan: (1) Hua Hin

Hospital, (2) Pranburi Hospital, (3) Samroiyod Hospital, (4) Kuiburi Hospital, (5)

Prachuabkirikhan Hospital, (6) Thapsakae Hospital, (7) Bangsaphan Hospital, and (8)

Bangsaphan Noi Hospital. Considering that Prachuabkirikhan has been one of the

most popular tourist destinations in Thailand and its attractions were number one in

top searches of the TAT official website (Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2016),

health care workers in Prachuabkirikhan, therefore, can be considered important

subjects for the study.

1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of this study is to investigate English functional skills

needed for three ASEAN health-related occupations: medical services, dental services,

and nursing services.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Regarding the objective, the study seeks answers to the following

questions:

1.3.1 What are the English skills needed for Thai skilled labor involved in

medical services?

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1.3.2 What are the English skills needed for Thai skilled labor involved in

dental services?

1.3.3 What are the English skills needed for Thai skilled labor involved in

nursing services?

1.3.4 What background factors correlate with English proficiency of the

skilled labor?

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study focuses on needs for English skills of Thai skilled labor of

three ASEAN health-related occupations: medical services, dental services, and

nursing services. The participants in this study comprised 251 healthcare

professionals from eight governmental hospitals in Prachuabkirikhan:

(1) Hua Hin Hospital

(2) Pranburi Hospital

(3) Samroiyod Hospital

(4) Kuiburi Hospital

(5) Prachuabkirikhan Hospital

(6) Thapsakae Hospital

(7) Bangsaphan Hospital

(8) Bangsaphan Noi Hospital

1.5 DEFINITION OF TERMS

The definitions of key terms of this study are as follows:

1.5.1 English skills refers to English functional skills in listening,

speaking, reading, and writing that health services professionals use in medical

settings.

1.5.2 Health services professionals of AEC refers to skilled workers of

three healthcare occupations—medical, dental, and nursing services—that are granted

mobility in the labor market of the ASEAN Economic community.

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1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

1.6.1 The study enhances understanding about English functional skills

needed for three ASEAN occupations: medical services, dental services, and nursing

services, and provides insights into the analysis of English needs of Thai healthcare

workers.

1.6.2 The study provides implications for course design of English for

Medical Purposes (EMP) for curriculum designers and those involved in ELT.

1.6.3 The study enriches the current literature on English for Specific

Purposes (ESP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) in the Southeast Asian

context.

1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research paper is divided into five chapters as follows:

1.7.1 Chapter one introduces the research paper which involves

background, objective of the study, research questions, scope of the study, definition

of terms and significance of the study.

1.7.2 Chapter two reviews research and literature that are relevant to the

study.

1.7.3 Chapter three describes the methodology of the study which

includes the participants (population, sample size, and sampling procedure), research

instrument, procedures of data collection and data analysis.

1.7.4 Chapter four reports the result of the study.

1.7.5 Chapter five provides conclusion, discussion, and recommendations

for further study.

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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter reviews the literature in four areas: (1) English for Specific

Purposes (ESP), (2) Needs Analysis (NA), (3) English for Occupational Purposes

(EOP) and (4) previous related studies.

2.1 ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

2.1.1 Definitions of English for Specific Purposes

The term English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been defined by a

number of scholars and practitioners. According to Kennedy and Bolitho (1984), ESP

is one particular aspect of English Language Teaching (ELT) that emerges due to the

growth in demands of English language speaking as a common medium of

communication. These demands come from groups of learners with specific purposes

or particular reasons connected with their studies or their jobs. ESP courses are thus

based on the needs of learners in their situations. Their purposes of learning, needs,

and interests are key information that can be used as a guideline for the content of a

course.

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) define English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

as the type of language teaching that has its focus on aspects of language used in a

particular discipline and interest in learner-centered approaches in which learners’

reasons for learning are considered an important factor that affects all decisions

related to language teaching and syllabus content. They explain further that the

emergence of ESP was considered as a phenomenon that grew out of trends in the

1940s. The new generation of learners in that period of time did not learn English for

the pleasure or in order to be regarded as educated people, instead they learned

English for their specific purposes, for example, learners who were businessmen

wanted to learn English in order to be able to sell their products in international

markets and learners who were mechanics needed English in order to be able to read

instruction manuals and work with foreign companies. Given that there was a wide

variety of language usage in each context, language instruction shifted its attention

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from defining the formal features of the language and describing its usage to finding

the ways in which language was actually used in real situation. Due to this new

interest in English language learning, ESP courses were developed and designed

according to linguistic characteristics of learners’ area of work and study and what

they need the language for.

Streven (1988) offers a definition of ESP by identifying its characteristics:

(1) The absolute characteristics are that ESP consists of English language

teaching which is:

designed to meet specified needs of the learner;

related in content, i.e., in its themes and topics to particular disciplines,

occupations, and activities;

centered on the language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis,

discourse, semantics and so on, and analysis of the discourse;

in contrast with ‘General English’.

(2) The variable characteristics are that ESP may be:

restricted as to the language skills to be learned (e.g. reading only);

not taught according to any pre-ordained methodology (pp.1-2).

Robinson (1991), unlike other scholars, states that a simple, absolute

definition of ESP is not easy to produce as the full term ‘English for Specific

Purposes’ itself can be interpreted as 'what is specific and appropriate in one part of

the globe may well not be elsewhere’. Nevertheless, she points out that ESP is

basically goal-directed since students study English not because they are interested in

the language but because they need the language for their academic or career

purposes. Thus, ESP courses are designed based on needs analysis which identifies

aims and goals of learners and what exactly they need English language for. Usually,

ESP courses have a specified time period for the course, so it is necessary that

objectives of learning are clearly specified from the beginning and stakeholders of the

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course, i.e., organizers, planners, teachers, and students collaborate during the process

in order to design the course according to time available.

Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) view ESP as a separate activity within

English Language Teaching (ELT) and part of a more general movement of teaching

Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) which has its focus on teaching languages, i.e.,

French and German for specific purposes as well. Although ESP is often seen as

lacking an underlying theory, they believe that the theory of ESP can be outlined

based on “the specific nature of the texts that learners require knowledge of, or on the

basis of the needs-related nature of teaching”. Thus, in their definition ESP teaching

has its own methodology and the interaction between the teachers and the learners in

ESP class may be very different from that in a general English class.

Instead of providing a simple definition of ESP, Dudley-Evans and St.

John clarify the term by presenting its features and categorizing them into two

groups:

(1) Absolute characteristics:

ESP is designed to meet specific needs of the learner;

ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the

disciplines it serves;

ESP is centered on the language (grammar, lexis, register), skills,

discourse, and genres appropriate to these activities.

(2) Variable characteristics:

ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines;

ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology

from that of general English;

ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level

institution or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be used

for learners at secondary school level;

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ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students. Most ESP

courses assume basic knowledge of the language system, but it can be used

with beginners (pp. 4-5).

Anthony (1997) points out that Streven’s (1988) theory had considerable

influence on Dudley-Evans’ definition of ESP. In Dudley-Evans and St. John’s (1998)

version, it is obvious that they modify Streven’s (1988) by removing one absolute

characteristic that says ESP is in contrast with ‘General English’ and including two

more variable characteristics. In their view, ESP should be seen as a simple approach

to teaching that is not necessarily concerned with a specific age group or ability range.

Anthony (1997) adds that when it comes to arguments about what is and what is not

ESP, Dudley-Evans and St. John’s modified version of ESP characteristics can be

very helpful in making a distinction between those that are concerned with ESP and

those that are not.

2.1.2 Characteristics of English for Specific Purposes

Carver (1983) stated that there are three main characteristics of ESP:

authentic materials, purpose-related orientation, and self-direction. ESP usually makes

use of authentic learning materials and simulation of communicative tasks required of

the target setting (purpose-related orientation). Learners of ESP will get to practice

their target language in various functional tasks, for example, in a simulation of a

conference in an English for Medical Science program, the first group of students are

assigned to give presentations on case studies of patients while the second group have

to do research on the topic and prepare for discussion; in English for business courses,

students have to design presentations of company products, create a logo, and do

market research.

As for self-direction, ESP course design is often influenced by learners.

However, in order for it to occur, the cooperation between learners and planners also

needs to be encouraged. In other words, planners and teachers may design the

learning strategies and teach the learners how to learn but they also have to give the

learners a certain degree of freedom to decide what, when and how they will study.

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According to Widdowson (1983), many discussions on the characteristics

of ESP also involve the comparative relationship between ESP and EGP (or English

for General Purposes). Widdowson states that the distinctive difference between ESP

and EGP lies in their focuses: the main focus of ESP is on training while in EGP, the

main focus is often on education. English taught in ESP is intended to be used in a

specific context, for example, in business, legal, medical, or any other context

depending on what learners need the language for. On the contrary, English for

General Purposes is usually considered as one of a school’s compulsory subjects in

which English is taught along with other subjects for educational purposes. The

selection of contents for an ESP course thus tends to be easier than the selection of

contents for an EGP course since the language context and objectives of learning are

clearly specified from the beginning.

Fiorito (2006) points out that the difference between ESP and EGP is also

in the aims of instruction. In EGP all four English skills: listening, reading, speaking,

and writing are stressed equally. However, in ESP it depends on an assessment of

purposes and needs of the learners and the functions for which English is required; for

example, an ESP course for learners who study English in order to work in the

tourism industry may center on the development in speaking skill while an ESP

course for learners who study English in order to work in business administration may

emphasize reading skill more than the three other skills.

Furthermore, Fiorito adds that ESP covers a wider range of subjects than

EGP. The context varies from accounting, engineering and medical to business

management, hotel and tourism. ESP focuses more on language skills and the context

in which they will be used than grammar or sentence structures. In an ESP classroom,

English language will be integrated into subject matters that are important to the

learners so that they can study the language through a field that is relevant to them.

This relevance, in turn, will enhance learners’ interest in language learning and

motivate them to interact with speakers and texts.

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2.1.3 Objectives of ESP teaching

According to Stern (1992), objectives of ESP teaching can be

distinguished into four types:

(1) Proficiency objectives—mastery of skills, i.e., listening, speaking,

reading, and writing;

(2) Knowledge objectives—the acquisition of linguistic and cultural

information;

(3) Affective objectives—the development of positive feelings toward the

subject of study;

(4) Transfer objectives—the ability to generalize from what has been

learnt in one situation to other situations.

Based on Stern (1992)’s concept, Basturkmen (2006) develops her

categorization, comprising five broad objectives of ESP teaching:

(1) To reveal subject-specific language use

ESP teaching with this objective is linked to Stern’s knowledge objective

(linguistic and cultural knowledge). The learners will be taught to understand how

English is used in the target environment. The instruction oriented to this objective

involves language analysis and language with socio-cultural rules (e.g. norms, values,

what is acceptable and what is not).

(2) To develop target performance competencies

This objective is linked to Stern’s proficiency objectives. The emphasis of

the instruction is oriented toward the operation of language, for instance, what people

do with the language and the skills they need to do it. Courses are built around core

English skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and micro-skills in term of

competencies. The construction of the courses is basically based on the needs analysis

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which identifies what expectations of the target situation are and how the teacher can

help the learners meet those demands or the level of competency expected.

(3) To teach underlying knowledge

ESP teaching with this objective emphasizes on both linguistic

proficiency and knowledge and knowledge and understanding of disciplinary

concepts. To teach underlying knowledge is to impart to students the knowledge

about linguistic and cultural information which means that the learners will study

content areas related to their professions or disciplines alongside the language use in

their specific contexts, i.e., teaching medical students about cases of early-stage

cancer while teaching language use for describing processes of treatment to the

patients.

(4) To develop strategic competence

Strategic competence can be defined as the means that enables language

knowledge and content knowledge to be used in communication. ESP teaching with

this objective focuses on the link between context of situation and language

knowledge from which appropriate teaching approach can be identified and assigned

to the course. For example, in order to deliver a successful ESP course to the class of

postgraduate students from highly specialized fields, a team teaching strategic, which

involves three parties: the ESP teacher, the subject specialist, and the students, is

developed and applied to the course.

(5) To foster critical awareness

ESP teaching with this objective aims to point out that not all norms and

practices in English language teaching are necessarily desirable. The learners will be

taught to understand how norms and communicative practices in the target

environments become established, raise their critical awareness of the negative

aspects, and discuss the way to change or modify the situation so that a more sensible

relation between their circumstances and the norms can be established.

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2.2 NEEDS ANALYSIS

2.2.1 Definitions of Needs Analysis

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) regard the term ‘needs analysis’ as the

basis of any course design in a sphere of teaching English for Specific Purposes. An

awareness of the needs can determine what is and what is not acceptable as reasonable

content in the language course and what potential can be exploited. Although on the

surface ESP courses are likely to be categorized by their content, for example,

medicine, commerce, and tourism, it is, in fact, only a secondary consequence of the

primary matter of being able to specify why the learners need English.

In detailed explanation of ‘needs’, they add that in the language-centered

approach, the term can be referred to as “the ability to comprehend and/ or produce

the linguistic features of the target situation”.

Robinson (1991) states that ‘needs’ refers to what learners would like to

gain from the language course. Learners themselves may have personal aims in

addition to, or even opposite to, the requirements of their studies or jobs. In other

senses, the term may be interpreted differently, for instance, in a goal-oriented

definition, the term ‘needs’ can refer to what learners have to be able to do at the end

of their language course. Needs in this sense can be regarded as objective needs. In

process-oriented definition, however, the term refers to what learners need to do to

actually acquire the language. Furthermore, ‘needs’ can also be considered as lacks

which means what the learners do not know or cannot do in English.

Brown (1995) notes that naturally, in education programs, needs analysis

focuses on the learning needs of the students. Their needs then will be translated into

learning objectives which serve as the basis for further development in the

curriculum, for example, development in teaching materials, learning activities, and

evaluation strategies. Thus, needs analysis can be considered one of the main

components of a language learning program.

Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) considered needs analysis as the

process of establishing the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of a course. Their concept of needs

analysis in ESP includes consideration of the following aspects:

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(1) Professional information about the learners

(2) Personal information about the learners

(3) English language information about the learners

(4) The learners’ lacks

(5) Language learning information

(6) Professional communication information

(7) What is wanted from the course

(8) Information about the environment in which the course will be run.

2.2.2 Types of Needs and Needs Analysis

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) divide needs into two main types: target

needs and learning needs.

Target needs refers to what the learners need to do in the target situation.

These types of needs can be further divided into three forms:

(1) Necessities: what the learners have to know in the target situation.

(2) Lacks: the gap between learners’ present abilities and what the

learners have to know in the target situation.

(3) Wants: the learners’ image of their own needs.

Learning needs refers to what the learners need to do in order to learn.

Long and Doughty (2011) provided a combination of West’s (1994; 1997)

and Jordan’s (1997) lists of different types of needs analysis which includes the

following nine types of language needs analysis:

(1) Target-situation analysis seeks information on the language

requirements learners face in learning a language.

(2) Deficiency analysis seeks learners’ current wants, needs, and their

lacks.

(3) Present-situation analysis focuses on the students’ proficiencies at the

beginning of instruction.

(4) Learning-oriented analysis takes the view that needs (in terms of

syllabus, content, teaching, methods, materials, etc.) should be negotiated between

learners and other stakeholders.

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(5) Strategy analysis investigates learners’ preferences in terms of

learning strategies, error correction, class sizes, etc.

(6) Mean analysis focuses on the learning situation, with as few

preconceptions as possible in terms of practicality, logistics, cultural appropriateness,

etc.

(7) Language audits focuses on a large-scale view of needs analysis in

terms of strategic language policies for companies, professional sectors, governmental

departments, countries, etc.

(8) Set menu analysis sets out to create a menu of main courses from

which the sponsors or learners can select.

(9) Computer-based analysis is done by computer to match perceived

needs to a database of materials, from which the course content can be negotiated

between learners and teachers.

2.2.3 Data gathering options for Needs Analysis

2.2.3.1 Munby’s (1978) Communication Needs Processor (CNP)

To find target situation needs, Munby (1978, cited in Hutchinson and

Waters, 1987) created a highly-detailed set of procedures that consisted of a range of

questions about variables that affect communication needs called the Communication

Needs Processor (CNP).

Learners’ needs can be identified after their information is examined

and sorted into the following categories (Munby, 1978, cited in Gillett, 1989):

- Participant (e.g. age, sex, nationality, present ability)

- Purposive Domain (type of ESP, e.g., commerce, law, tourism)

- Setting (time and place)

- Intersection (the role of participants, including status, social

relationship etc.)

- Instrumentality

I. Medium of communication (e.g. spoken: receptive and

productive)

II. Channel of communication (e.g. face to face, print)

- Dialect (e.g. British or American accents and dialects)

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- Target level (level of linguistic proficiency)

- Communicative event (what learners have to do with English,

e.g., attend lectures or participate in seminar)

- Communicative key (e.g. formal/ informal, a range of attitudes)

- Profile (what learners need to be able to do)

The comprehensive data banks are regarded as a ‘profile of needs’ which

simply means a description of what the learner will be expected to do with language

at the end of the course (Gillett, 1989). Once learners’ target situation is completely

plotted, the insight can be used as checklists for a resultant syllabus and the stage at

which ‘good enough’ competence for learners’ goals can be determined (Robinson,

1991).

2.2.3.2 Hutchinson and Waters’ (1987) checklists

Hutchinson and Waters state that there are a number of ways to gather

the data for needs analysis. The analyst may choose to use a questionnaire, conduct an

interview, observation, or any other options that they consider desirable and in

accordance with the time and resources available. The most important thing is that the

chosen method must cover all the points stated in the following frameworks:

Target needs framework

1. Why is the language needed?

2. How will the language be used?

3. What will the content areas be?

4. Who will the learner use the language with?

5. Where will the language be used?

6. When will the language be used?

Learning needs framework

1. Why are the learners taking the course?

2. How do the learners learn?

3. What resources are available?

4. Who are the learners?

5. Where will the ESP course take place?

6. When will the ESP course take place?

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2.2.3.3 Robinson (1991)’s seven techniques

To investigate learners’ needs, Robinson suggests the following

techniques:

(1) Questionnaires

Questionnaires can be beneficial when there are a large number of

people involved in the analysis of needs; however, the need analyst may not be able to

fully take control of the method since there is no guarantee that all respondents will

complete and return the questionnaires. Nevertheless, if one decides to use

questionnaires, Robinson suggests that he or she should prepare a pilot version and try

it out on a few respondents first in order to check if the questions are comprehensible

and the answers can be easily analyzed and compared.

(2) Interviews

The structured interview is highly recommended in the analysis of

learners’ needs since the interviewer can plan an agenda beforehand, guide the

interviewees through the questionnaires and pursue any interesting new line of

enquiry that develops.

(3) Observation

Observation can be a supplement to the analysis of needs. The analyst

may gather respondents’ opinion by using questionnaires and interview; however, it is

best to have a direct observation so that learners’ target-level behavior and their actual

performance can be identified. In conducting an observation, it is essential that the

observer establish good relations with the participants. The process may be time-

consuming; thus, the observer has to be patient and at the same time be careful of any

interference he or she may cause during the observation.

(4) Case studies

A case study approach is similar to observation but the method gives

more in-depth information about the person being observed. It provides the

opportunity for the observer to closely examine learners’ difficulties and needs in

more detail than in the oral interview or the questionnaires and for the course planner

to gain more insights into learners’ methods of learning. The disadvantages, however,

are that the method may consume even more time than the simple observation and

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since it does not involve a large number of participants, the result may not be

generalizable.

(5) Tests

The test allows the analyst and the course designer to have some idea

of learners’ present ability. Since it requires the learners to perform target-level tasks,

learners will have to show what they are capable of and what their deficiencies are. It

is essential that the test is reliable and validated so that the result can be used in the

course design.

(6) Authentic data collection

Authentic data collection refers to the making of audio or video

recordings in situations where the language is used, for example, in a business

meeting, university seminar, or lecture room, and to the collection of print material,

for example, samples of students’ examinations, books and journal articles that they

have to read. The records will show what kind of linguistic component, actions, and

gestures are involved in such situation. The analyst and the course designer have to

decide which one of them are useful and need to be included in the course.

(7) Participatory needs analysis

This method involves the learners more actively. Apart from using

questionnaires to investigate learners’ opinion, there are also discussions about their

needs between learners and course designer. Moreover, learners will be encouraged to

make recommendations as to what happens in the resultant course and about the needs

that emerge during learning process.

As this study focuses on English skills needed for professionals of

medical, dental, and nursing services in Prachuabkirikhan, Thailand, a large number

of participants were involved in the study. Thus, the best option was to apply a

quantitative approach such as questionnaires to collect the data. Regarding

Robinson’s suggest, the questionnaires would be piloted with a few respondents to

confirm its comprehensibility before distributing to a focus group for this study.

2.2.4 Steps in Needs Analysis

Long and Doughty (2011) stated that there are many scholars who

propose sets of steps in the needs analysis process, for example, Schutz and

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Derwing’s (1981) eight steps, Jordan’s (1997) ten steps, and Graves’s (2000) seven

steps. Noticing some overlap in previous three sets, they combined and sorted the

steps into three general stages:

(1) Get ready to do NA;

(2) Do the NA research;

(3) Use the NA results.

Table 2.1

Steps in Needs Analysis (adapted from Long & Doughty, 2011)

Stages Steps

Get ready to do NA 1. Define the purpose of the NA

2. Delimit the learner population

3. Decide upon approach(es) and

syllabus(es)

4. Recognize constraints

5. Select data collection procedures

Do the NA research 6. Collect data

7. Analyze data

8. Interpret results

Use the NA results 9. Determine objectives (Implement

decisions, i.e., assessments,

materials, teaching strategies, etc.)

10. Evaluate the report on the NA

project

The selection of data collection methods for the study can be outlined

based on the steps suggested by Long and Doughty (2011). Considering that the

purpose of this study was to identify English needs of Thai skilled labor of the AEC,

the subjects of this study thus should be those involved in the eight occupations that

are granted mobility in the AEC, which includes engineers, nurses, architects,

accountants, doctors, and dentists. However, nowadays, medical tourism in Thailand

is booming and the country is now striving to be the ‘Medical Hub’ of Asia, so more

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studies on the English proficiency of Thai healthcare workers and their ability to deal

with language barriers are necessary at the moment. Thus, the emphasis of this study

was placed on the English needs of Thai skilled labor involved in three ASEAN

occupations: medical, dental, and nursing services.

As Robinson (1991) suggested, the questionnaire is considered a suitable

method for data collection when there are a large number of people involved in the

analysis of needs. Other advantages are that the questionnaire provides researchers

with standardized data since it can produce large amounts of data and so increase the

reliability and validity of findings. Also, generalizations are consequently much easier

to draw from the larger databases that this method makes possible. When compared to

the use of interviews, there is also a lower risk of manipulation of the data on the part

of the interviewer, and so interviewer bias is minimized. A further advantage of the

questionnaire is that they tend to be completed by respondents and returned to the

researchers in complete anonymity. Anonymous informants may feel less inhibited

about answering questions on certain kinds of topics, allowing the researcher to

access information on an individual or organization that might be considered sensitive

(Huhta, Vogt, Johnson, Tulkki, & Hall, 2013).

In designing questionnaires, Munby’s (1987) framework can be beneficial

for plotting participants’ target situation needs and Hutchinson and Waters’ (1987)

checklists can help cover points that should be asked in questionnaires. The data

collected from the participants can show not only what English skills are necessary in

their working conditions but also their present abilities and their lacks as well.

2.3 ENGLISH FOR OCCUPATIONAL PURPOSES

2.3.1 Definitions and classifications of English for Occupational

Purposes

According to Kennedy and Bolitho (1984), English for Occupational

Purposes (EOP) is one of English for Specific Purposes (ESP)’s main divisions. EOP

is generally taught in a situation in which learners need to use English as part of their

work or profession. For example, an intermediate course in secretarial services for

company secretaries who need English practical skills and theoretical knowledge and

an advanced course for ones who are already qualified secretaries but now need to

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operate in English. Each EOP course is different depending on whether the learners

are learning English before, during or after the time they are being trained in their job

or profession. Citing Stevens (1977), subdivisions of EOP are as follows:

Figure 2.1 Classification of EOP Courses (adapted from Stevens, 1977)

Robinson’s (1991) classification of EOP is also similar to Kennedy and

Bolitho’s (1984). She makes a distinction between EOP and EAP, stating that EOP is

involved with work-related needs and training only while EAP is concerned with

academic study needs. She divides EOP courses into three types: (1) pre-experience,

(2) simultaneous/ in-service, and (3) post-experience. The classification and the

components of the course are determined by learners’ professional stages whether

they are newcomers to the field of work, on the way to become expert, or already

expert.

Table 2.2

Classification of EOP Courses (adapted from Robinson, 1991)

Types of learners Components of EOP course

Newcomers (pre-experience) Instruction in the concepts

Practices of that field

Experienced learners (simultaneous/ in-

service and post-experience)

Operational materials (that boost

the ability to function in English)

Experienced learners (simultaneous/ in-

service and post-experience)

Application of knowledge and

concept in authentic tasks

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Robinson (1991) points out that the important distinction is between English

which is instructional and English which is operational. The key elements that EOP

teachers need to take into consideration are learners’ stages and situation since they

will determine the kind of content knowledge and the degree of generality or

specificity of the course.

Another famous classification of ESP is presented by Hutchinson and

Waters (1987). They created a chart called ‘The Tree of ELT’ in order to clarify the

relationship between ELT and ESP, and their divisions, which include EOP and EAP:

Figure 2.2 The Tree of ELT (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987)

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Hutchinson and Waters (1987) stated that ESP can be categorized into two

main types depending on the purposes of the learners:

(1) English for Academic Purposes (EAP) which is for learners who

require English for academic study;

(2) English for Occupational Purposes/ English for Vocational Purposes/

Vocational English as a Second Language (EOP/ EVP/ VESL) which is for learners

who require English for work or training.

However, when considering the bigger picture and taking the general

nature of the learners’ specialties into consideration, ESP courses are divided into

three categories: English for Science and Technology (EST), English for Business and

Economics (EBE), and English for Social Studies (ESS) of which EAP and EOP are

two main subdivisions.

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) explained that although EAP and EOP are

two different branches, there is actually no clear-cut distinction between them since

people can work and study simultaneously and in many cases the language they learn

in a study environment can be used later in a vocational environment as well.

Gatehouse (2001) notes that Hutchinson and Waters (1987) classification of ESP and

Carver’s (1983) share some similarities since Carver categorizes EAP and EOP under

the same division. Gatehouse (2001) notes that Carver believed that the purposes of

EAP and EOP are the same since both are concerned with employment. Although the

means to achieve is very different, the end purpose is still identical.

Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) regarded the term EOP as English that

is for professional purposes in administration, medicine, law and business, and

vocational purposes for non-professionals in work or pre-work situations.

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Figure 2.3 ESP Classification by Professional Area (Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998)

In their classification, Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) give further

explanation on EOP and its subdivisions as follows:

English for Business Purposes (EBP): EBP is a large and important

category; thus, it is usually seen as separate from EOP. However, EBP is

still concerned with occupational purposes. It is thus logical to classify

EBP as an EOP subdivision.

English for Vocational Purposes (EVP): Pre-Vocational English is

concerned with finding a job and interview skills while Vocational

English is centered on the language of training for specific trades or

occupations.

Language and discourse in EOP courses are designed for functional

purposes. For example, a course for occupational (professional) purposes

is likely to be designed for learners who are in the work field, i.e.,

practicing doctors, while a course for academic purposes is more

appropriate for learners who still need instruction on concepts and

training, i.e., medical students.

2.3.2. English for Medical Purposes (EMP)

English for Medical Purposes (EMP) is considered a branch of English for

Occupational Purposes. The teaching of English in EMP is closely related to ESP,

however, EMP has its emphasis on linguistic aspects of biomedical communication

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(e.g. grammatical problems in modern medical writing, styles of medical writing,

public speaking) and a specific set of medical discourse which involves particular

terminology that personnel in the medical profession employ to effectively and

accurately achieve a communicative purpose in healthcare settings (Gylys &

Wedding, 1983).

Shi (2009, as cited in Hoekje & Tipton, 2011) explains that the teaching

of English in EMP on the macro level is either professional or educational; the former

is for medical learners who already use English in their job, and the latter is for those

who enter education programs to prepare for professional medical and health careers.

On the micro level, EMP can be subcategorized into specializations or different

communication tasks that the medical learners perform in healthcare settings. Bosher

and Smalkowski (2002) noted that in order to attain the optimum effectiveness of the

teaching in EMP, a needs analysis for EMP courses should be conducted with extreme

care. The key to success also involves the effective selection of the instrument for the

needs analysis. They suggest that a needs analysis should be based on questionnaires

about the complexities of the healthcare language from the medical learner,

interviews, and/ or observations of different EMP classes.

Shi, Corcos, and Storey (2001) state that there are various types of needs

analyses that can be used to determine EMP course selection and delivery. One of

those that they found effective and recommend is the ‘deficiency needs analysis’

which identifies gaps between the proficiency required to be successful at the targeted

task and current student performance. Their long-period study in Hong Kong Hospital

revealed for researchers and course designers of EMP the authentic language used in

medical contexts, topics and types of interactions, and also the importance of bilingual

competence in mother tongue and technical English for successful provider-patient

communication.

2.4 PREVIOUS RELATED STUDIES

In recent years ESP has developed into one of the most influential

approaches to English teaching due to the effects of globalization within industry and

academia. In the industrial context, workers, especially those involved in

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collaboration with foreign industry, need strong English skills to succeed in their jobs

while in academia, students need English skills not only for achievement in academic

goals but also for future career prospects. The greater interest in ESP thus has resulted

in increased pressure on ESP planners and teachers to create and deliver successful

ESP courses with effective teaching methods and materials to their classes (Anthony,

2015).

In Asian societies, the status of English is rapidly changing. For example,

in China, Japan, and Korea, English is required in most business meetings and all

sorts of communication in workplaces (e.g. telephone calls, emails, letters) and is also

widely used as a medium in classes at tertiary level (Anthony, 2013). Due to the

globalization of economic and academia in Asia and many other parts of the world

and the increasing necessity of English language, a wider range of subject matters in

ESP has been investigated.

For example, Shi, Corcos, and Storey (2001) analyzed and identified the

communicative skills and needs of medical students who were expected to work in

hospitals as doctors. By observing and videotaping, they clearly identified the specific

authentic talks those participants needed and thus suggested those tasks that should be

employed to develop a syllabus that provides the necessary content areas related to

medical discourse. Situations such as doctor-patient consultation and more specific

discourse functions such as reporting case histories, giving an explanation of an

illness, and explaining the procedures of physical examinations require the application

of authentic materials, role-playing, and simulations.

Orr (2002) examined an EMP course designed for non-native student

nurses at an Australian university. The main focus of the course was English for

admission and registration. The course materials were designed by both a nursing

instructor and English teacher. The results indicated that an EMP course needed by

the students was one that covered both linguistic and communicative features of the

topic and the content areas related to medical topics such as conversations among

patients, doctors and nurses.

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Tongvivat (2008) investigated the needs of nurses in the Cardiac Intensive

Care Unit (ICCU) of a private hospital in Bangkok in order to develop an English

course specifically for ICCU nurses. In the study, a questionnaire was developed

based on authentic medical discourse, related linguistic features and characteristics of

provider-patient interactions (e.g. asking for patients’ histories, giving advice or

instructions to patients, explaining drug interactions, administering medication,

communicating on the phone). This was distributed to 22 nurses who worked in the

Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. The findings revealed that among the four principal

English language skills, listening and speaking skills were most essential and should

be the major focus of the course and the course subject matter should deal with both

general English and English for nurses that is applicable for nurses’ working

situations.

Patel (2015) studied engineering undergraduates in India who have little

English for the technical part of their academic and professional purposes and their

need of ESP. Through surveying the students’ communicative competence and

reviewing profession needs among engineers and employers of engineers in industry,

it was found that most students only learned English to pass their examinations but

when they started working on a professional platform, they were not able to meet the

corporate requirements. Patel suggested that an ESP course for engineering students

should be relevant to the industry and thus incorporate a variety of professional

competencies in both academic disciplines and knowledge concerned with

professional communication.

In literature on a holistic approach to ESP, Huhta, Vogt, Johnson, Tulkki,

and Hall (2013) addressed the significance of needs analysis on language course

design for business and industry and provided guidelines for a syllabus focusing on

various forms and uses of language in relevant communication situations, for

instance, social situations (introductions, small talks), client contacts, meetings and

negotiations, explaining a process or a working method, discussions concerning

deliveries, installations, and maintenance, giving a presentation (company profile,

product presentation), reading manuals and instructions, and writing emails, reports,

and documents.

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With the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community, the role of

English language became even more important as it was formally adopted as an

official language of the ASEAN Community (Kirkpatrick, 2008). The development in

English proficiency, particularly in English communication skills, will benefit both

the workforce and agencies in moving forward sustainably towards the AEC

(Ministry of Labor, 2014). Within this circumstance, it is not surprising that in recent

years literature and studies on English for Specific Purposes and English teaching and

learning as a preparation for AEC have increased substantially, especially in Asian

contexts.

For example, Gass’s (2012) research on Needs Analysis and Situational

Analysis of Thai Nurses was conducted due to the expanding medical tourism

industry in Thailand. The researcher investigated and identified what English skills

were most needed by Thai nurses to design a learner-centered specialized English

curriculum to improve their communicative skills. The subjects of this study were

eight nurses with an average age of 28 – 43. Besides nurses, the data was collected

from foreign patients, the hospital director, TESOL experts, and a nursing expert. The

instruments used to collect data included a questionnaire, an observation, experts’

evaluations, curriculum evaluation, and pre-test/post-test. The results showed that

cultural differences, a different background knowledge, shyness and lack of

confidence were some of the conditions that were preventing the nurses from

interacting with foreign patients. Nevertheless, they had an urgent need for English in

this service. Listening and speaking skills and vocabulary related to the field were

vital for Thai nurses and they needed a course that covered topics related to medical

discourse, such as giving an explanation of an illness, giving instructions on medical

care, explaining drug interactions and administering medication.

Purwanto’s (2014) research on Needs Analysis of English for Specific

Purposes (ESP) for the students of Business and Economic Faculty (FEB)

UNISBANK Semarang (Indonesia) investigated a possible reconstruction of ESP for

the students of FEB through the analysis of their needs in English for the ASEAN

Economic Community (AEC) 2015. The subjects of this study were four faculty

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officers and one ex-officer, three ESP lecturers and 124 randomly selected students.

The survey was conducted online through MonkeySurvey Software in which the

respondents expressed their opinion about the proposed ESP program. The analysis,

automatically done by the software, indicated that the majority of respondents

expressed positive response to the course constructed under the criteria of Cambridge

University’s Certificate of Proficiency in English (B2 level) which formulated:

(1) Reading Competency Standards—understanding of written texts of

various genres and the use of technical terms;

(2) Listening Competency Standards—understanding of spoken texts of

various genres and the use of technical terms;

(3) Speaking Competency Standards—interacting with native speakers

skilled orally either initiating or responding to spoken text without difficulty on both

sides;

(4) Writing Competency Standard—interacting with native speakers

skilled in writing either initiating or responding to written text without difficulty on

both sides and describing in detail an opinion containing pros and cons of various

things in coverage.

The participants agreed that the proposed ESP program satisfied their

English needs toward the AEC and that it should be offered in the syllabus of the

university.

Prommeechai’s (2014) study looked at the needs of English preparation

for Thai undergraduate students in the Faculty of Architecture in response to the AEC

and opinions on (1) English courses that are currently provided by the Faculty of

Architecture and (2) English language skills that would meet the expectations of the

AEC. The study was conducted with 300 undergraduate architecture students, ten

instructors, and five stakeholders in the architectural field. By means of

questionnaires and interviews, the findings revealed that the participants were aware

of the expansion of labor market in ASEAN and undergraduate students needed to

improve their English language proficiency in order to be competitive in the job

market. Therefore, the participants proposed that the approach of English for Specific

Purposes (ESP) and language content that is practical for working situations should be

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integrated into English language courses offered by the subject Faculty of

Architecture.

Araminta and Halimi’s (2015) research on the ASEAN Economic

Community 2015: Needs Analysis of Universitas Indonesia’s engineering students

involved 111 alumni and 150 students from the Faculty of Engineering. The

instruments used in this study were questionnaires and semi-structured interviews.

The findings revealed that students’ needs for English language learning were

considered not as high as their needs for English language use. The authors

recommended that the Faculty of Engineering should incorporate an optional course

on English for Professional Purposes into the curriculum and the course should be

collaboratively taught by English professional teachers and lecturers from the Faculty

of Engineering.

Nguyen and Ngo’s (2015) article on English Language Teaching and

Learning in ASEAN Countries and Preparatory Steps to Integrate into the ASEAN

Economic Community (AEC) 2015 provided information and recommendations for

English Language Teaching (ELT) in Vietnam and in other ASEAN Countries. The

authors reviewed studies and literature on issues of ELT in ASEAN countries and

presented eight preparatory steps in ELT to policy makers, researchers, and English

language educators in Vietnam and other countries. These included step (1) having an

English-speaking year and using English (reading and writing) on a particular day;

step (2) having bilingual educational programs; step (3) designing curriculums for the

ASEAN countries and setting up projects on ASEAN studies; step (4) using English

as a medium of instruction in different disciplines at tertiary level; step (5) teaching

English to workers and enhancing teaching English for specific purposes (ESP); step

(6) raising students’ awareness of the importance of the AEC; step (7) giving students

encouragement to learn ASEAN languages and study ASEAN cultures; step (8)

giving students encouragement to take part in English proficiency examinations

before graduation. The article ended with implications for ELT in Vietnam and other

ASEAN countries, stating that the emphasis of ELT should be placed on

communicative purposes and the use of a variety of Englishes in ASEAN region

should be encouraged. Four language skills should be incorporated in language

assessment, and collaboration between ASEAN member countries in raising

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awareness of the importance of English in the context of the AEC should be

promoted.

Chen, Chang and Chang’s (2016) research on Needs Analysis of English

learning in Taiwan investigated the needs of English learning from the viewpoints of

students and the real needs of employers regarding English usage at the workplace.

The study involved 60 participants comprising 30 senior students from a technology

college in Central Taiwan and 30 employers working in service, tourism, banking,

insurance, construction, manufacturing, and media communications. The results from

the study showed that student and employer perceptions toward English skills needed

in workplaces were very different. The majority of students did not have skills that the

employers needed, such as social communication skills (for overseas exhibition,

hosting VIPs, and socializing with clients) and writing skills for specific tasks (e.g.

minutes and notices). To help students transition successfully to their future careers

after graduation, the researchers thus recommended that students and teachers should

know the skills expected for the workplace and pay more attention to textbook

selection, material compilation, and course design; besides, textbook designers should

survey what the market needs and provide more realistic and adequate materials for

English teachers and learners.

Studies reviewed above support the proposition that to enrich current

studies on English for Specific Purposes in a Thai context and promote English

language development for Thai skilled workers of the AEC, investigation into the

operation of language and competency expected in the target situation needs to be

conducted. Considering that Thailand is also striving to be the ‘Medical Hub’ of Asia

at present, it is necessary that Thai medical workers are able to deal with language

barriers and have a certain level of proficiency in English. Thus, in this study, the

emphasis is placed on Thai workers involved in three ASEAN occupations—medical,

dental, and nursing services—in terms of what they do with the language and the

skills they need to do it. Based on the theory of needs analysis, a research instrument

was developed to investigate English needs of medical workers which involve core

English skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and micro-skills in terms of

medical-related competencies. The content of the questionnaire used in the study

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includes topics of medical discourse and authentic communication tasks that the

medical workers perform in healthcare settings:

Listening activities: listening to patients’ histories, medical needs, and

inquiries, listening to diagnosis and symptom management, listening to

lectures, talks in conferences, podcast and video instructions, and listening

to various dialects and accents;

Speaking activities: greeting, making general conversation, asking for

patients’ histories, describing symptoms and diagnosis, explaining

medication and treatment, giving medical advice and response to patients’

inquiries, communicating on the telephone, giving presentation, lectures,

and talks at the seminar or international conference;

Reading activities: reading patients’ medical records, reading medical

diagnoses, examination results, medical prescriptions, and manuals or

instructions about medical equipment, reading medical journals, research

articles, textbooks, and general publications;

Writing activities: writing medical records, medical notes, prescriptions,

medical research and articles for medical journals, writing a letter, email,

memo, and resumes.

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CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the methodology used in this study. It consists of

(1) the participants, (2) the materials, (3) the procedures used in the data collection,

and (4) the data analysis.

3.1 PARTICIPANTS

3.1.1 Population

The target population of this study was 1,019 Thai male and female

doctors, dentists, and nurses from eight governmental hospitals in Prachuabkirikhan:

(1) Hua Hin hospital, (2) Pranburi hospital, (3) Samroiyod hospital, (4) Kuiburi

hospital, (5) Prachuabkirikhan hospital, (6) Thapsakae hospital, (7) Bangsaphan

hospital, and (8) Bangsaphan Noi hospital.

3.1.2 Sample size

The sample size of this research, which was calculated by using the Taro

Yamane formula (Yamane, 1973) with 95% confidence level, was 251 people.

The calculation formula of Taro Yamane is as follows:

* n = the sample size

N = the population size

e = the acceptable sampling error

3.1.3 Sampling procedure

Participants in this study were selected by stratified random sampling:

(1) Combine numbers of doctors, dentists, and nurses of each hospital

together and apply the rule of three to find the proportion of samples out of total

population (1,019 people).

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Table 3.1

Proportions of Healthcare Professionals of Each Hospital

Hospitals in

Prachuabkirikhan

Healthcare professionals Proportions (out of total

population) Doctor Dentist Nurse

Hua Hin hospital 50 12 281 0.34

Total = 343

Pranburi hospital 6 3 54 0.06

Total = 63

Samroiyod hospital 7 4 53 0.06

Total = 64

Kuiburi hospital 4 3 44 0.05

Total = 51

Prachuabkirikhan

hospital

31 7 235 0.27

Total = 273

Thapsakae hospital 7 5 52 0.06

Total = 64

Bangsaphan hospital

13 4 102 0.12

Total = 119

Bangsaphan Noi

hospital

4 2 36 0.04

Total = 42

Prachuabkirikhan Public Health Office (2016)

(2) Find the number of samples that should be drawn from each hospital

by multiplying the number of total sample size (251) with each proportion from the

previous table.

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Table 3.2

Number of Samples from Each Hospital

Sample size = 251

Hospitals in Prachuabkirikhan Number of samples

Hua Hin hospital 85

Pranburi hospital 15

Samroiyod hospital 15

Kuiburi hospital 13

Prachuabkirikhan hospital 68

Thapsakae hospital

15

Bangsaphan hospital 30

Bangsaphan Noi hospital 10

(3) Find the number of samples of each occupation that should be drawn

from each hospital by applying the rule of three with the number of healthcare

professionals of each occupation and the total number of healthcare professionals in

each hospital to find the proportions, then multiply each proportion with the number

of sample size of each hospital from the previous table.

Table 3.3

Number of Samples of Each Occupation from Each Hospital

Hospitals in

Prachuabkirikhan

Healthcare professionals

Doctor Dentist Nurse

Hua Hin Hospital

Total = 343

Sample size = 85

50 12 281

Proportions 0.146 0.035 0.819

Number of samples 12 3 70

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Table 3.3 (continued)

Hospitals in

Prachuabkirikhan

Healthcare professionals

Doctor Dentist Nurse

Pranburi Hospital

Total = 63

Sample size = 15

6 3 54

Proportions 0.095 0.063 0.857

Number of samples 1 1 13

Samroiyod Hospital

Total = 64

Sample size = 15

7 4 53

Proportions 0.109 0.063 0.828

Number of samples 2 1 12

Kuiburi Hospital

Total = 51

Sample size = 13

4 3 44

Proportions 0.078 0.059 0.863

Number of samples 1 1 11

Prachuabkirikhan Hospital

Total = 273

Sample size = 68

31 7 235

Proportions 0.114 0.026 0.861

Number of samples 8 2 58

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Table 3.3 (continued)

Hospitals in

Prachuabkirikhan

Healthcare professionals

Doctor Dentist Nurse

Thapsakae Hospital

Total = 64

Sample size = 15

7 5 52

Proportions 0.109 0.078 0.813

Number of samples 2 1 12

Bangsaphan Hospital

Total = 119

Sample size = 30

13 4 102

Proportions 0.109 0.034 0.857

Number of samples 3 1 26

Bangsaphan Noi Hospital

Total = 42

Sample size = 10

4 2 36

Proportions 0.095 0.048 0.857

Number of samples 1 1 8

In conclusion, the participants of this study were as follows:

12 doctors, 3 dentists, and 70 nurses from Hua Hin hospital

1 doctor, 1 dentist, and 13 nurses from Pranburi hospital

2 doctors, 1 dentist, and 12 nurses from Samroiyod hospital

1 doctor, 1 dentist, and 11 nurses from Kuiburi hospital

8 doctors, 2 dentists, and 58 nurses from Prachuabkirikhan hospital

2 doctors, 1 dentist, and 12 nurses from Thapsakae hospital

3 doctors, 1 dentist, and 26 nurses from Bangsaphan hospital

1 doctor, 1 dentist, and 8 nurses from Bangsaphan Noi hospital

The total number of participants in this study = 251

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3.2 MATERIALS

The instrument used in this study was a set of self-administered

questionnaires (see Appendix A), developed by evidence from the literature review.

Initially, the questionnaire was designed in English, and then Thai-translations were

inserted in parentheses. The first version of the questionnaire was administered to 10

participants in order to pretest the questionnaire, verify its validity, and extract

specific responses from the participants. The results from the pilot study confirmed

the comprehensibility of the questionnaires.

The questionnaire in this study used a 5-point Likert scale and was

comprised of three sections of questions formulated both in closed-ended and open-

ended formats:

Part 1: Demographics—the first section of the questionnaire was

designed to gather general background information of the participants.

Part 2: Linguistic profile—the second section required the participants

to evaluate their experiences with English skills.

Part 3: English abilities and needs of English skills for the AEC —the

third section required the participants to rate their abilities and needs of English skills

for the AEC. In this part, the 5-point Likert scale was used with the following criteria:

5 = very extensive necessity/ ability

4 = extensive necessity/ ability

3 = moderate necessity/ ability

2 = little necessity/ ability

1 = very little necessity/ ability

3.3 PROCEDURES

3.3.1 Research design

The research was considered as descriptive research. It was aimed to

describe the needs of English skills of Thai health services professionals involved in

three ASEAN occupations: medical, dental, and nursing services. After reviewing

literature and studies in related fields, the quantitative approach was adopted and the

self-administered questionnaire comprising sections of proficiency and needs of

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listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in medical setting was developed and

distributed to the participants. The data collected was analyzed and then the

conclusions were drawn and presented.

3.3.2 Data collection

The questionnaire developed from the review of literature was pretested

with 10 participants (three doctors, two dentists, and five nurses who worked and

resided in Prachuabkirikhan) to confirm the comprehensibility of the questionnaire

and extract specific responses from the participants. After receiving feedback from the

participants, the format and language use of the questionnaire was adjusted. To verify

the validity of the instrument, the Index of Item Objective Congruence (IOC) was

conducted by three experts: a physician, Weerawit Wateetip, M.D., a dentist,

Unchalee Wongpanich, D.D.S., and an English lecturer who was a former nurse,

Chalong Rattanapong, Ph.D. The result for each item in the questionnaire was higher

than 0.50 which confirmed the validity of the questionnaire. To collect the data from

doctors, dentists, and nurses, the consent form (Appendix B) was sent to the director

of each hospital in advance. After receiving permission, the researcher distributed

questionnaires to the participants of eight governmental hospitals in

Prachuabkirikhan. Due to the tight schedules of the participants, the completed

questionnaire was collected 1-2 weeks later and the analysis of data was carried out.

3.4 DATA ANALYSIS

The data obtained was statistically analyzed using the Statistical Package

for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version number 21.

3.4.1 Results from Part One of the questionnaire

The data collected from part one of the questionnaire was analyzed by

using frequency distribution and percentage. The first part of the questionnaire

includes general information about the participants: genders, age, education,

profession, and years of work experience.

3.4.2 Results from Part Two of the questionnaire

The data collected from part two of the questionnaire was also analyzed

by using frequency distribution and percentage. The second part of the questionnaire

includes linguistic profile of the participants: frequency of use of English in the job,

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experience of participating in international conferences, experience of studying and

working abroad, and English proficiency test-taking experience.

3.4.3 Results from Part Three of the questionnaire

In the final part of the questionnaire, the participants were required to rate

their abilities and needs of English skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing

skills in performing medical tasks for the AEC. The data collected from part three of

the questionnaire was analyzed by using the form of frequency and percentage. Then,

a Chi-squared test was used to find relations between the data collected from part one,

part two and part three.

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CHAPTER 4

RESULTS

In this chapter, the results reveal the abilities and needs of English

language functional skills for doctors, dentists, and nurses of eight governmental

hospitals in Prachuabkirikhan, Thailand. The data, obtained through the use of self-

administered questionnaires, was analyzed and processed by the Statistical Package

for the Social Science (SPSS) version number 21. The objective of the research was to

seek answers to the following questions:

1. What are the English skills needed for Thai skilled labor involved in

medical services?

2. What are the English skills needed for Thai skilled labor involved in

dental services?

3. What are the English skills needed for Thai skilled labor involved in

nursing services?

4. What background factors correlate with English proficiency of the

skilled labor?

The findings of the study are reported in literature, tables, and figures. The

results of the data analysis are described in five main topics as follows:

4.1 General background information of the participants

4.2 Linguistic profile of the participants

4.3 English ability of the participants

4.4 English needs of the participants

4.5 Correlation between background and English proficiency of the

participants

4.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF THE PARTICIPANTS

This part of the data was intended to describe demographic variables of

the sample and to assess for any influence on the research findings. The demographic

section consisted questions on gender, age, education, profession, and working

experience. The subject of this study comprised 251 doctors, dentists, and nurses from

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eight governmental hospitals in Prachuabkirikhan, Thailand. Of the total number of

respondents in this study, 91.20 percent were women and 8.80 percent were men. The

biggest age group was 21-30; the majority were Bachelor degree holders. The detailed

information is presented in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1

General background information of the participants (N=251)

General Background

Information

Frequency Percentage

Gender

Female

Male

229

22

91.20

8.80

Age

Below 20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

1

88

67

71

24

0.40

35.10

26.70

28.30

9.60

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree

175

76

69.72

30.28

Profession

Doctor

Dentist

Nurse

30

11

210

12.00

4.40

83.70

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Table 4.1 (continued)

General Background

Information

Frequency Percentage

Work Experience

Below 10 years

11-20 years

21-30 years

31-40 years

102

74

58

17

40.60

29.50

23.10

6.8

4.2 LINGUISTIC PROFILE OF THE PARTICIPANTS

This part of the data was intended to describe variations in experience

with English skills of the sample and to assess for any influence on the research

findings. The section of linguistic profiles consisted of questions on frequency of

using English in the workplace, experience with international conference, training in

medical facilities abroad, working abroad, and taking standardized tests of English

proficiency.

The majority of the participants in this study were found to be using

English in their workplace (83.30 percent). About 16 percent of them indicated that

they had participated in international conferences in the United States of America,

Germany, New Zealand, Australia, or Japan, while the rest of them had never been to

such a conference due to limited opportunity, tight schedule of work, or their field of

work that did not relate to any program of a conference. However, only a few of them

had experience with training and working abroad and surprisingly, a large number of

them had never taken any standardized test of English proficiency (e.g. TOEFL,

IELT, and TOEIC). The detailed information is presented in Table 4.2.

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Table 4.2

Linguistic profile of the participants (N=251)

Linguistic Profile Frequency Percentage

Frequency of using English in

workplaces

Frequently

Occasionally

Never

36

209

6

14.30

83.30

2.40

Experience with international

conference

Yes

No

42

209

16.70

83.30

Experience in training in

medical facility abroad

Yes

No

10

241

4.00

96.00

Experience with working abroad

Yes

No

1

250

0.40

99.60

Experience with taking

standardized tests

Yes

No

12

239

4.80

95.20

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4.3 ENGLISH ABILITIES OF THE PARTICIPANTS

In this part, the data analysis of the English abilities of the sample is

presented. The respondents were expected to rate their level of English proficiency in

listening, speaking, reading, and writing and then rate themselves in each task under

the four skills of language. The questionnaire included a Likert-scale providing five

choices: very little, little, moderate, extensive and very extensive. In the following

discussions of findings and tables, answers with ‘very little’ and ‘little’ were

categorized as ‘low proficiency’ and those reported as ‘extensive’ and ‘very

extensive’ were considered as ‘high proficiency’ while ‘moderate’ remained as

‘moderate proficiency’.

4.3.1 Listening ability of the participants

In terms of proficiency in listening skill, 55 percent of the respondents

rate their ability as ‘low proficiency’ while 39 percent considered themselves having

‘moderate proficiency’ in listening skills and only 6 percent rate their ability as ‘high

proficiency’. The detailed information is presented in Table 4.3.

Table 4.3

Listening ability of all participants (N=251)

Levels of Proficiency Frequency Percentage

Low 138 55.00

Moderate 98 39.00

High 15 6.00

Total 251 100

Of the three professions, dentists were found to be the biggest group of

‘high proficiency’ participants (27.30 percent), the next were doctors (26.70 percent),

and nurses (1.90 percent) respectively. The detailed information is presented in Table

4.4.

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Table 4.4

Listening ability of each profession (N=251)

Levels

of

Proficiency

Professions

Doctor Dentist Nurse

F % F % F %

Low

Moderate

High

2

20

8

6.70

66.70

26.70

1

7

3

9.10

63.60

27.30

135

71

4

64.30

33.80

1.90

Total 30 100 11 100 210 100

4.3.1.1 Listening ability of the participants in each medical task

To provide more insight into listening ability of Thai health services

professionals, listening ability was clarified with more detail through specifying each

task involved in medical settings. There were seven medical tasks in which listening

skill was essential included in the questionnaire:

(1) Listening to patients’ histories

(2) Listening to patients’ inquiries

(3) Listening to diagnosis and symptom

(4) Listening to lectures

(5) Listening to talks in conferences

(6) Listening to podcasts or video instructions

(7) Listening to a variety of dialects and accents

For Listening Task 1-listening to patients’ histories, it was found that the

majority of the doctors and dentists rated their abilities as high and moderate, while

most nurses rated themselves as moderate and low. Task 2 (listening to patient’s

inquiries) and Task 3 (listening to diagnosis and symptom management) were rated by

the three groups in a similar manner. Surprisingly, the majority of the doctors and

dentists rated their ability to do Task 4 - 5 - 6 (listening to lectures, talks in

conferences, and talks in podcasts/video instructions) as moderate. For Task 7

(listening to a variety of dialects and accents), more than half of the doctors rated

themselves as moderate and the number of high and low rating was almost equal. Less

than half of the dentists rated themselves moderate, while the number of low ratings

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was double the high rating. Nurses consistently rated their ability as low and

moderate. The detailed information is presented in Table 4.5.

Table 4.5

Listening ability of the participants in each medical task (N=251)

Task

Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of

Ability/ % L M H L M H L M H

1 Listening to

patients’

histories

6.70 30.00 63.30 9.10 45.50 45.50 48.60 43.30 8.10

2 Listening to

patients’

inquiries

10.00 33.30 56.70 9.10 45.50 45.50 58.60 35.70 5.70

3 Listening to

diagnosis and

symptom

6.70 30.00 63.30 9.10 36.40 54.50 43.80 46.20 10.00

4 Listening to

lectures 10.00 66.70 23.30 18.20 72.70 9.10 73.80 23.80 2.40

5 Listening to

talks in

conferences

10.00 73.30 16.70 27.30 63.30 10.00 77.60 20.50 1.90

6 Listening to

podcasts or

video

instructions

10.00 73.30 16.70 18.20 54.50 27.30 69.50 28.10 2.40

7 Listening to a

variety of

dialects and

accents

23.30 56.70 20.00 36.40 45.50 18.20 73.80 23.80 2.40

Note: When the participant response was ‘little’ and ‘very little’, the level of

proficiency was categorized as ‘low’; ‘moderate’ was at ‘moderate’; and

‘extensive’ and ‘very extensive’ was at the ‘high proficiency level’.

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4.3.2 Speaking ability of the participants

In terms of proficiency in speaking skill, 60.60 percent of the respondents

rated their ability as ‘low proficiency’ while 33.90 percent considered themselves

having ‘moderate proficiency’ in listening skills and only 5.60 percent rated their

ability as ‘high proficiency’. The detailed information is presented in table 4.6.

Table 4.6

Speaking ability of all participants (N=251)

Levels of Proficiency Frequency Percentage

Low 152 60.60

Moderate 85 33.90

High 14 5.60

Total 251 100

Of the three professions, dentists were found to be the biggest group of

‘high proficiency’participants (27.30 percent), the next were doctors (23.30 percent),

and nurses (1.90 percent) respectively. The detailed information is presented in Table

4.7.

Table 4.7

Speaking ability of each profession (N=251)

Levels

of

Proficiency

Professions

Doctor Dentist Nurses

F % F % F %

Low

Moderate

High

2

21

7

6.70

70.00

23.30

4

4

3

36.40

36.40

27.30

146

60

4

69.50

28.60

1.90

Total 30 100 11 100 210 100

4.3.2.1 Speaking ability of the participants in each medical task

To provide more insight into the speaking ability of the Thai health

service professionals, speaking ability was clarified with more detail through

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responses to specific tasks involved in medical settings. There were fourteen medical

tasks in which speaking skill was essential included in the questionnaire:

(1) Greeting and making small talk/ general conversations

(2) Asking for patients’ histories

(3) Describing symptoms and diagnosis

(4) Explaining steps of treatment and medication

(5) Explaining care plan and follow-up

(6) Giving medical advice/ instructions

(7) Giving response to patients’ inquiries

(8) Applying non-technical terms/language to develop a better

understanding of patients

(9) Providing encouragement and comfort to patients

(10) Delivering bad news to patients

(11) Communicating on telephone

(12) Giving presentation

(13) Giving lectures

(14) Giving speech or talk (e.g. at the seminar, international conference)

According to the findings, the majority of the doctors and dentists rated

their abilities as moderate and high, while most nurses rated themselves as moderate

and low in Tasks 1 - 2 - 3 (greeting and making small talk or general conversations,

asking for patients’ histories, describing symptoms and diagnosis). It was also found

that the majority of doctors, dentists, and nurses rated their ability to do Tasks 4 - 5

(explaining steps of treatment and medication, explaining care plan and follow-up) in

a similar manner. For Tasks 6 - 7 (giving medical advice or instructions, giving

response to patients’ inquiries), most doctors and nurses still rated their proficiency as

moderate and low, while most dentists rated their ability to do these tasks as

moderate. The majority of dentists, doctors, and nurses rated their abilities as high,

moderate, and low in Task 8 (applying non-technical terms or language to develop a

better understanding of patients), respectively. Nurses consistently rated their ability

as low in Tasks 9 - 10 - 11 (providing encouragement and comfort to patients,

delivering bad news to patients, and communicating on the telephone), while doctors

and dentists rated themselves as moderately proficient. Task 12 (giving a

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presentation) and Task 13 (giving lectures) were rated by the three groups in a similar

manner. Interestingly, most doctors, dentists, and nurses considered their ability to do

Task 14 (giving a speech or talk) as low. The detailed information is presented in

Table 4.8.

Table 4.8

Speaking ability of the participants in each medical task (N=251)

Task

Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of

Ability/ % L M H L M H L M H

1 Greeting and

making small

talk/ general

conversations

3.30 53.30 43.30 27.30 9.10 63.6 51.40 41.40 7.10

2 Asking for

patients’

histories

3.30 56.70 40.00 9.10 27.30 63.60 55.20 40.50 4.30

3 Describing

symptoms and

diagnosis

3.30 60.00 36.70 18.20 18.20 63.60 57.60 36.60 3.80

4 Explaining

steps of

treatment and

medication

3.30 63.30 33.30 18.20 36.40 45.50 61.00 35.70 3.30

5 Explaining

care plan and

follow-up

6.70 53.30 40.00 9.10 27.30 63.60 61.40 35.20 3.30

6 Giving

medical

advice/

instructions

10.00 50.00 40.00 18.20 54.50 27.30 65.70 31.40 2.90

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Table 4.8 (continued)

Task

Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of

Ability/ % L M H L M H L M H

7 Giving

response to

patients’

inquiries

6.70 66.70 26.70 27.30 36.40 36.40 35.20 31.90 2.90

8 Applying non-

technical terms/

language to

develop a better

understanding

of patients

13.30 63.30 23.30 36.40 9.10 54.50 60.50 35.20 4.30

9 Providing

encouragement

and comfort to

patients

10.00 46.70 30.00 36.40 45.50 18.20 70.50 26.20 3.30

10 Delivering bad

news to patients 26.70 46.70 26.70 63.60 18.20 18.20 77.60 21.00 1.40

11 Communicating

on telephone 26.70 50.00 23.30 36.40 45.50 18.20 76.70 21.00 2.40

12 Giving

presentation 13.30 73.30 13.30 27.30 54.50 18.20 80.00 17.60 2.40

13 Giving lectures 33.30 56.70 10.00 45.50 45.50 9.10 81.00 17.10 1.90

14 Giving speech

or talk (e.g. at

the seminar,

international

conference)

46.70 46.70 6.70 54.50 36.40 9.10 81.90 16.70 1.40

Note: When the participant response was ‘little’ and ‘very little’, the level of

proficiency was categorized as ‘low’; ‘moderate’ was at ‘moderate’; and

‘extensive’ and ‘very extensive’ was at the ‘high proficiency level’.

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4.3.3 Reading ability of the participants

In terms of proficiency in reading skill, 36.70 percent of the respondents

rate their ability as ‘low proficiency’ while 47.40 percent considered themselves

having ‘moderate proficiency’ and 15.90 percent had ‘high proficiency’ in reading

skills. The detailed information is presented in Table 4.9.

Table 4.9

Reading ability of all participants (N=251)

Levels of Proficiency Frequency Percentage

Low 92 36.70

Moderate 119 47.40

High 40 15.90

Total 251 100

Of the three professions, doctors were found to be the biggest group of

‘high proficiency’ participants (90.00 percent), the next were dentists (63.60 percent),

and nurses (2.90 percent) respectively. The detailed information is presented in Table

4.10.

Table 4.10

Reading ability of each profession (N=251)

Levels

of

Proficiency

Professions

Doctor Dentist Nurses

F % F % F %

Low

Moderate

High

1

2

27

3.30

6.70

90.00

0

4

7

00.00

36.40

63.60

91

113

6

43.30

53.80

2.90

Total 30 100 11 100 210 100

4.3.3.1 Reading ability of the participants in each medical task

To provide more insight into the reading ability of the Thai health services

professionals, reading ability was clarified with more detail given through specific

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tasks involved in medical settings. There were nine medical tasks in which reading

skill was essential included in the questionnaire:

(1) Reading patients’ medical records

(2) Reading medical diagnosis/ examination results

(3) Reading medical prescriptions

(4) Reading referral letters

(5) Reading medical textbooks

(6) Reading/ understanding medical terminology and abbreviations

(7) Reading medical journals/ research articles

(8) Reading general publications (e.g. newspaper, journals, novels)

(9) Reading manuals/ instructions about medical equipment

For Reading Task 1 (reading patients’ medical records), it was found that

the majority of the doctors and dentists rated their abilities as high, while most nurses

rated themselves as moderately proficient. Task 2 (reading medical diagnosis/

examination results) and Task 3 (reading medical prescriptions) were rated by the

three groups in a similar manner. For Task 4 and 5 (reading referral letters and

reading medical textbooks), more than 80 percent of the doctors and dentists rated

themselves as highly proficient, while nurses consistently rated their abilities as low.

Task 6 (reading/ understanding medical terminology and abbreviations) was rated by

doctors and dentists in a similar manner. Nurses, however, rated their ability to do this

task as moderate. For Task 7 (reading medical journals/ research articles), Task 8

(reading general publications), and Task 9 (reading manuals/ instructions about

medical equipment), the majority of doctors and dentists rated their ability as high,

while nurses rated themselves as low in proficiency. The detailed information is

presented in Table 4.11.

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Table 4.11

Reading ability of the participants in each medical task (N=251)

Task

Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of

Ability/ % L M H L M H L M H

1 Reading

patients’

medical

records

3.30 6.70 90.00 0.00 18.20 81.80 45.72 47.14 7.14

2 Reading

medical

diagnosis/

examination

results

3.30 3.30 93.30 0.00 18.20 81.80 38.10 47.10 14.80

3 Reading

medical

prescriptions

3.30 6.70 90.00 0.00 27.30 72.70 29.00 44.80 26.20

4 Reading

referral letters 3.30 10.00 86.70 0.00 36.40 63.60 45.70 41.00 13.30

5 Reading

medical

textbooks

3.30 6.70 90.00 0.00 45.50 54.50 54.30 41.90 3.80

6 Reading/

understanding

medical

terminology

and

abbreviations

3.30 3.30 93.30 18.20 36.40 45.50 39.00 46.20 14.80

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Table 4.11 (continued)

Task

Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of

Ability/ % L M H L M H L M H

7 Reading

medical

journals/

research

articles

3.30 26.70 70.00 0.00 45.50 54.50 65.20 31.90 2.90

8 Reading

general

publications

6.70 46.70 46.70 27.30 36.40 36.40 68.10 29.00 2.90

9 Reading

manuals/

instructions

about medical

equipment

3.30 16.70 80.00 0.00 45.50 54.50 48.60 46.20 5.20

Note: When the participant response was ‘little’ and ‘very little’, the level of

proficiency was categorized as ‘low’; ‘moderate’ was at ‘moderate’; and

‘extensive’ and ‘very extensive’ was at the ‘high proficiency level’.

4.3.4 Writing ability of the participants

In terms of proficiency in writing skill, 67.30 percent of the respondents

rated their ability as ‘low proficiency’ while 26.30 percent considered their

proficiency as ‘moderate’ and 6.40 percent had ‘high proficiency’ in writing skills.

The detailed information is presented in Table 4.12.

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Table 4.12

Writing ability of all participants (N=251)

Levels of Proficiency Frequency Percentage

Low 169 67.30

Moderate 66 26.30

High 16 6.40

Total 251 100

Of the three professions, doctors were found to be the biggest group of

‘high proficiency’ participants (40.00 percent), the next were dentists (18.20 percent),

and nurses (1.00 percent) respectively. The detailed information is presented in Table

4.13.

Table 4.13

Writing ability of each profession (N=251)

Levels

of

Proficiency

Professions

Doctor Dentist Nurses

F % F % F %

Low

Moderate

High

4

14

12

13.30

46.70

40.00

4

5

2

36.40

45.50

18.20

161

47

2

76.70

22.40

1.00

Total 30 100 11 100 210 100

4.3.4.1 Writing ability of the participants in each medical task

To provide more insight into the writing ability of the Thai health services

professionals, writing ability was investigated with more details from specific tasks

involved in medical setting. There were eleven medical tasks in which writing skill

was essential included in the questionnaire:

(1) Writing medical records

(2) Writing medical notes

(3) Writing medical prescriptions

(4) Writing medical terminology and abbreviations

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(5) Writing referral letter

(6) Writing medical research

(7) Writing articles for medical journals

(8) Writing letters

(9) Writing emails

(10) Writing memo

(11) Writing resumes

For Writing Task 1 (writing patients’ medical records), it was found that

the majority of the doctors and dentists rated their abilities as moderate, while most

nurses rated themselves as low in proficiency. The majority of doctors and dentists

rated their abilities to do Task 2 (writing medical notes) as high, while most nurses

rated their ability as low. Tasks 3 - 4 - 5 (writing medical prescriptions, writing

medical terminology and abbreviations, and writing referral letter), were rated by the

three groups in a similar manner. Doctors and nurses consistently rated their ability as

high and low, while the number of dentists who rated their ability as high and

moderate was equal. Interestingly, the majority of dentists rated their ability to do

Tasks 6 - 7 - 8 (writing medical research, writing articles for medical journals, and

writing letters) as low, while doctors and nurses considered themselves as moderate

and low in proficiency, respectively. Nurses consistently rated their ability to do Task

9 - 10 - 11 as low, while the majority of doctors rated their ability as high and

moderate. The majority of dentists, however, rated their ability to do these tasks as

moderate and low. The detailed information is presented in Table 4.14.

Table 4.14

Writing ability of the participants in each medical task (N=251)

Task Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of Ability/ % L M H L M H L M H

1 Writing medical

records 13.30 46.70 40.00 18.20 54.50 27.30 62.40 33.30 4.30

2 Writing medical notes 10.00 23.30 66.70 36.40 18.20 45.50 76.70 21.00 2.30

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Table 4.14 (continued)

Task

Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of Ability/

% L M H L M H L M H

3 Writing medical

prescriptions 6.70 26.70 66.60 36.40 36.40 27.20 59.50 34.30 6.20

4 Writing medical

terminology and

abbreviations

3.30 16.70 80.00 36.40 36.40 27.20 44.30 44.70 11.00

5 Writing referral

letter 13.30 36.70 50.00 36.40 36.40 27.30 77.60 20.50 1.90

6 Writing medical

research 33.30 43.40 23.30 54.50 45.50 0.00 80.00 18.10 1.90

7 Writing articles for

medical journals 36.70 46.70 16.70 54.50 36.40 9.10 83.30 15.20 1.40

8 Writing letters 26.70 43.30 30.00 45.50 27.30 27.30 80.50 18.60 1.00

9 Writing emails 23.30 33.30 43.30 36.40 36.40 27.30 76.20 19.50 4.30

10 Writing memo 33.30 43.40 23.30 45.50 45.50 9.10 76.20 21.40 2.40

11 Writing resumes 26.70 30.00 43.30 54.50 36.40 9.10 74.30 22.40 3.30

Note: When the participant response was ‘little’ and ‘very little’, the level of

proficiency was categorized as ‘low’; ‘moderate was at ‘moderate’; and

‘extensive’ and ‘very extensive’ was at the ‘high proficiency level’.

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Figures 4.1-4.4 show level of proficiency of each skill rated by the three professionals

groups.

Figure 4.1 Listening ability of each

profession

Figure 4.2 Speaking ability of each

profession

Figure 4.3 Reading ability of each

profession

Figure 4.4 Writing ability of each

profession

According to the findings, the majority of doctors and dentists rated their

listening ability as moderate, while nurses rated themselves as low in proficiency. In

terms of speaking ability, doctors and dentists were found the most in the group of

moderate proficiency and nurses were found the most in the group of low proficiency. For

reading and writing skills, doctors and dentists considered themselves as highly

proficient, while nurses rated themselves as moderately proficient.

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4.4 ENGLISH NEEDS OF THE PARTICIPANTS

In this part data analysis of English needs of the sample are presented. The

respondents were expected to rate their level of English needs in listening, speaking,

reading, and writing skills and then rate themselves in each task under the four skills

of language. The questionnaire included a Likert-scale providing five choices: very

little, little, moderate, extensive and very extensive. In the following discussions of

findings and tables, answers ‘very little’ and ‘little’ were categorized as ‘low need’

and those given as ‘extensive’ and ‘very extensive’ were considered as ‘high need’

while ‘moderate’ remained as ‘moderate need’.

4.4.1 Needs in listening skill of the participants

In terms of needs in listening skill, 64.50 percent of the respondents rated

their level of English language needs as ‘high’ while 23.50 percent and 12 percent

considered their level of needs in listening skills as ‘moderate’ and ‘low’,

respectively. The detailed information is presented in Table 4.15.

Table 4.15

Needs in listening skill of all participants (N=251)

Levels of Needs Frequency Percentage

Low 30 12.00

Moderate 59 23.50

High 162 64.50

Total 251 100

Of the three professions, doctors were found having the highest needs in

listening skill (90 percent), the next were dentists (81.80 percent), and nurses (60.00

percent), respectively. The detailed information is presented in Table 4.16.

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Table 4.16

Needs in listening skill of each profession (N=251)

Levels

of

Needs

Professions

Doctor Dentist Nurses

F % F % F %

Low

Moderate

High

0

3

27

0.00

10.00

90.00

1

1

9

9.10

9.10

81.80

29

55

126

13.80

29.20

60.00

Total 30 100 11 100 210 100

4.4.1.1 Needs in listening skill of the participants in each medical task

To provide more insight into needs in listening skill of the Thai health

service professionals, needs in listening skill were clarified with more detail gathered

through ranking tasks involved in medical settings. There were seven medical tasks in

which listening skill was needed included in the questionnaire:

(1) Listening to patients’ histories

(2) Listening to patients’ inquiries

(3) Listening to diagnosis and symptom

(4) Listening to lectures

(5) Listening to talks in conferences

(6) Listening to podcasts or video instructions

(7) Listening to a variety of dialects and accents

The findings in these categories revealed that the majority of the

respondents had ‘high need’ of listening skill in most of listening tasks. For Listening

Tasks 1- 2 - 3 (listening to patients’ histories, listening to patient’s inquiries, and

listening to diagnosis and symptom management) the majority of the doctors, dentists,

and nurses rated their needs as high. The number of nurses who rated their needs as

low and moderate were almost equal. For Task 4 (listening to lectures), it was found

that the majority of doctors and dentists rated their need in listening skill as moderate,

while nurses rated their needs as low. For Tasks 5 - 6 - 7 (talks in conferences, and

talks in podcasts/video instructions, and listening to a variety of dialects and accents)

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the results were similar to the results from Tasks 1 - 2 - 3. The detailed information is

presented in Table 4.17.

Table 4.17

Needs in listening skill of the participants in each medical task (N=251)

Task Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of Needs/ % L M H L M H L M H

1 Listening to

patients’ histories 0.00 6.70 93.30 9.10 18.20 72.70 12.90 18.60 68.60

2 Listening to

patients’ inquiries 0.00 6.70 93.30 9.10 9.10 81.80 14.30 16.70 69.00

3 Listening to

diagnosis and

symptom

0.00 10.00 90.00 9.10 9.10 81.80 12.90 18.10 69.00

4 Listening to lectures 10.00 66.70 23.30 18.20 72.70 9.10 73.80 23.80 2.40

5 Listening to talks in

conferences 3.30 6.70 90.00 9.10 9.10 81.80 23.60 21.00 55.20

6 Listening to

podcasts or video

instructions

00.00 16.70 83.30 9.10 9.10 81.80 21.40 21.40 57.20

7 Listening to a

variety of dialects

and accents

3.30 20.00 76.70 9.10 9.10 81.80 20.50 22.40 57.10

Note: When the participant response was ‘little’ and ‘very little’, the level of need was

categorized as ‘low’; ‘moderate was at ‘moderate’; and ‘extensive’ and ‘very

extensive’ was at the ‘high’.

4.4.2 Needs in speaking skill of the participants

In terms of needs in speaking skill, 61.40 percent of the respondents rated

their level of needs as ‘high’ while 22.70 percent and 15.90 percent considered their

level of needs in speaking skills as ‘moderate’ and ‘low’, respectively. The detailed

information is presented in Table 4.18.

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Table 4.18

Needs in speaking skill of all participants (N=251)

Levels of Needs Frequency Percentage

Low 40 15.90

Moderate 57 22.70

High 154 61.40

Total 251 100

Of the three professions, dentists were found having the highest needs in

listening skill (81.80 percent), the next were doctors (73.30 percent), and nurses

(58.60 percent), respectively. The detailed information is presented in Table 4.19.

Table 4.19

Needs in speaking skill of each profession (N=251)

Levels

of

Needs

Professions

Doctor Dentist Nurses

F % F % F %

Low

Moderate

High

0

8

22

0.00

26.70

73.30

1

1

9

9.10

9.10

81.80

39

48

123

13.80

29.20

60.00

Total 30 100 11 100 210 100

4.4.2.1 Needs in speaking skill of the participants in each medical task

To provide more insight into needs in speaking skill of the Thai health

services professionals, needs in English speaking skills were clarified with more detail

gathered through tasks involved with medical settings. There were fourteen medical

tasks in which speaking skill was needed included in the questionnaire:

(1) Greeting and making small talks/ general conversations

(2) Asking for patients’ histories

(3) Describing symptoms and diagnosis

(4) Explaining steps of treatment and medication

(5) Explaining care plan and follow-up

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(6) Giving medical advice/ instructions

(7) Giving response to patients’ inquiries

(8) Applying non-technical terms/ language to develop a better

understanding of patients

(9) Providing encouragement and comfort to patients

(10) Delivering bad news to patients

(11) Communicating on telephone

(12) Giving presentation

(13) Giving lectures

(14) Giving speech or talk (e.g. at the seminar, international conference)

The findings in this category revealed that more than 80 percent of doctors

and dentists and more than 60 percent of nurses agreed that speaking skill was

essential for Tasks 1 – 8 (greeting and making small talks/ general conversations,

asking for patients’ histories, describing symptoms and diagnosis, explaining steps of

treatment and medication, explaining care plan and follow-up, giving medical advice/

instructions, giving response to patients’ inquiries, and applying non-technical terms/

language to develop a better understanding of patients) and thus rated their need in

speaking skill for these tasks as high. Similar results were found in Tasks 9 - 14

(providing encouragement and comfort to patients, delivering bad news to patients,

communicating on telephone, giving presentation, giving lectures, and giving speech

or talk); however, the number of high ratings among the groups of doctors and nurses

were distinctively lower than the eight previous tasks. The detailed information is

presented in Table 4.20.

Table 4.20

Needs in speaking skill of the participants in each medical task (N=251)

Task Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of Needs/ % L M H L M H L M H

1 Greeting and making

small talks/ general

conversations

3.30 6.70 90.00 9.10 9.10 81.80 17.10 19.50 63.30

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Table 4.20 (continued)

Task Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of Needs/ % L M H L M H L M H

2 Asking for patients’

histories 0.00 10.00 90.00 9.10 9.10 81.80 15.70 18.60 65.70

3 Describing symptoms

and diagnosis 0.00 10.00 90.00 9.10 9.10 81.80 17.60 17.10 65.20

4 Explaining steps of

treatment and

medication

0.00 10.00 90.00 9.10 9.10 81.80 15.70 19.50 64.80

5 Explaining care plan

and follow-up 0.00 10.00 90.00 9.10 9.10 81.80 15.70 17.60 66.70

6 Giving medical

advice/ instructions 0.00 6.70 93.30 9.10 9.10 81.80 16.70 18.10 65.20

7 Giving response to

patients’ inquiries 0.00 6.70 93.30 9.10 9.10 81.80 16.70 18.10 65.20

8 Applying non-

technical terms/

language to develop a

better understanding

of patients

3.30 6.70 90.00 9.10 9.10 81.80 15.70 22.90 64.10

9 Providing

encouragement and

comfort to patients

3.30 20.00 76.70 9.10 9.10 81.80 20.00 19.00 61.00

10 Delivering bad news

to patients 3.30 20.00 76.70 9.10 9.10 81.80 21.40 19.00 59.50

11 Communicating on

telephone 10.00 23.30 66.70 18.20 0.00 81.80 21.40 21.40 57.10

12 Giving presentation 13.30 23.30 63.30 18.20 0.00 81.80 25.20 26.20 48.60

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

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Table 4.20 (continued)

Note: When the participant response was ‘little’ and ‘very little’, the level of need was

categorized as ‘low’; ‘moderate was at ‘moderate’; and ‘extensive’ and ‘very

extensive’ was at ‘high’.

4.4.3 Needs in reading skill of the participants

In terms of needs in English language reading skill, 65.30 percent of the

respondents rated their level of needs as ‘high’ while 23.10 percent and 11.60 percent

considered their level of needs in reading skills as ‘moderate’ and ‘low’, respectively.

The detailed information is presented in Table 4.21.

Table 4.21

Needs in reading skill of all participants (N=251)

Levels of Needs Frequency Percentage

Low 29 11.60

Moderate 58 23.10

High 164 65.30

Total 251 100

Of the three professions, doctors were found having highest needs in

reading skill (96.70 percent), the next were dentists (81.80 percent), and nurses (60.00

percent), respectively. The detailed information is presented in Table 4.22.

Task Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of Needs/ % L M H L M H L M H

13 Giving lectures 13.30 30.00 56.70 27.30 9.10 63.60 25.20 25.20 49.60

14 Giving speech or talk

(e.g. at the seminar,

international

conference)

20.00 26.70 53.30 27.30 9.10 63.60 28.60 26.70 44.80

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

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Table 4.22

Needs in reading skill of each profession (N=251)

Levels

of

Needs

Professions

Doctor Dentist Nurses

F % F % F %

Low

Moderate

High

0

1

29

0.00

3.33

96.70

0

2

9

0.00

18.20

81.80

29

55

126

13.80

26.20

60.00

Total 30 100 11 100 210 100

4.4.3.1 Needs in reading skill of the participants in each medical task

To provide more insight into the needs in reading skill of the Thai health

services professionals, needs in reading skill were collected in more detail through

investigating tasks involved in medical settings. There were nine medical tasks in

which reading skill was needed included in the questionnaire:

(1) Reading patients’ medical records

(2) Reading medical diagnosis/ examination results

(3) Reading medical prescriptions

(4) Reading referral letter

(5) Reading medical textbooks

(6) Reading/ understanding medical terminology and abbreviations

(7) Reading medical journals/ research articles

(8) Reading general publications (e.g. newspaper, journals, novels)

(9) Reading manuals/ instructions about medical equipment

The findings revealed that the receptive skill was highly needed in each

medical task. The majority of dentists rated their need in reading skill as high for

every task and, interestingly, the number of high ratings was also equal in every task

except Task 8 (reading general publications), which was slightly lower than the eight

other tasks. Almost all doctors rated their need in reading skill as high for Tasks 1 - 4

(reading patients’ medical records, reading medical diagnosis/ examination results,

reading medical prescriptions, and reading referral letter) and the number of high

ratings in each task was also equal. Similar to the dentists’rankings, needs in reading

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

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skill for the rest of the medical tasks were rated as high. The number of high ratings in

Task 8 was, however, lower than other tasks. More than half of the nurses rated their

need in reading skill as high in every medical task. The highest rating was found in

Task 3 - Reading medical prescriptions and Task 6 - Reading/ understanding medical

terminology and abbreviations, while other tasks were rated in a similar manner. The

detailed information is presented in Table 4.23.

Table 4.23

Needs in reading skill of the participants in each medical task (N=251)

Task

Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of

Needs/ % L M H L M H L M H

1 Reading

patients’

medical

records

0.00 3.30 96.70 00.00 18.20 81.80 16.70 21.90 61.40

2 Reading

medical

diagnosis/

examination

results

0.00 3.30 96.70 0.00 18.20 81.80 14.30 21.10 64.80

3 Reading

medical

prescriptions

0.00 3.30 96.70 0.00 18.20 81.80 10.00 22.90 67.10

4 Reading

referral letter 0.00 3.30 96.70 0.00 18.20 81.80 19.00 16.70 64.30

5 Reading

medical

textbooks

0.00 6.70 93.30 0.00 18.20 81.80 17.60 23.80 58.60

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Table 4.23 (continued)

Task

Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of

Needs/ % L M H L M H L M H

6 Reading/

understanding

medical

terminology

and

abbreviations

0.00 3.30 96.70 0.00 18.20 81.80 12.40 21.00 66.60

7 Reading

medical

journals/

research

articles

0.00 6.70 93.30 0.00 18.20 81.80 20.00 24.30 55.70

8 Reading

general

publications

0.00 26.70 73.30 0.00 27.30 72.70 21.40 24.80 53.80

9 Reading

manuals/

instructions

about medical

equipment

0.00 10.00 90.00 0.00 18.20 81.80 11.90 25.70 62.40

Note: When the participant response was ‘little’ and ‘very little’, the level of need was

categorized as ‘low’; ‘moderate was at ‘moderate’; and ‘extensive’ and ‘very

extensive’ was at ‘high’.

4.4.4 Needs in writing skill of the participants

In terms of needs in English writing skill, 53.00 percent of the respondents rated their

level of needs as ‘high’ while 25.50 percent and 21.50 percent considered their level

of needs in writing skills as ‘moderate’ and ‘low’, respectively. The detailed

information is presented in Table 4.24.

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Table 4.24

Needs in writing skill of all participants (N=251)

Levels of Needs Frequency Percentage

Low 54 21.50

Moderate 64 25.50

High 133 53.00

Total 251 100

Of the three professions, dentists were found having highest needs in

writing skill (81.80 percent), the next were doctors (73.30 percent), and nurses (48.60

percent), respectively. The detailed information is presented in Table 4.25.

Table 4.25

Needs in writing skill of each profession (N=251)

Levels

of

Needs

Professions

Doctor Dentist Nurses

F % F % F %

Low

Moderate

High

0

8

22

0.00

26.70

73.30

1

1

9

9.10

9.10

81.80

53

55

102

25.20

26.20

48.60

Total 30 100 11 100 210 100

4.4.4.1 Needs in writing skill of the participants in each medical task

To provide more insight into needs in writing skill of Thai health service

professionals, needs in writing skill were clarified with more detail gathered through

investigating tasks involved in medical settings. There were nine medical tasks in

which writing skill was needed included in the questionnaire:

(1) Writing medical records

(2) Writing medical notes

(3) Writing medical prescriptions

(4) Writing medical terminology and abbreviations

(5) Writing referral letter

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(6) Writing medical research

(7) Writing articles for medical journals

(8) Writing letters

(9) Writing emails

(10) Writing memo

(11) Writing resumes

The findings revealed that the majority of doctors and dentists rated their

need in writing skill as high for Tasks 1 - 2 - 3 (writing medical records, writing

medical notes, and writing medical prescriptions), especially for Task 3 where a

hundred percent of doctors agreed the writing skill was highly important. Likewise,

about half of the nurses rated their need in writing as high for the three tasks. For

Tasks 4 and 5 (writing medical terminology and abbreviations and writing referral

letter) the three groups rated their need in a similar manner. Interestingly, fewer than

half of the nurses rated their need as high for Tasks 6 - 7 - 8 (writing medical

research, writing articles for medical journals, and writing letters). The majority of the

participants consistently rated their need in writing skill as high for the last three tasks

(writing emails, writing memo, and writing resumes); however, the number of high

ratings in Task 10 was lower than the other tasks and only half of the nurses

considered writing skill was significant regarding Tasks 9 and 11. The detailed

information is presented in Table 4.26.

Table 4.26

Needs in writing skill of the participants in each medical task (N=251)

Task

Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of Needs/ % L M H L M H L M H

1 Writing medical records 3.30 0.00 96.70 9.10 9.10 81.80 20.00 23.80 56.20

2 Writing medical notes 3.30 3.30 93.30 9.10 9.10 81.80 28.10 22.40 49.50

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Table 4.26 (continued)

Task

Professions Doctor (n=30) Dentist (n=11) Nurse (n=210)

Levels of Needs/

% L M H L M H L M H

3 Writing medical

prescriptions

0.00 0.00 100.00 9.10 9.10 81.80 22.40 24.30 53.30

4 Writing medical

terminology and

abbreviations

0.00 3.30 96.70 9.10 18.20 72.70 13.30 23.80 62.90

5 Writing referral

letter

0.00 10.00 90.00 9.10 9.10 81.80 29.00 19.00 51.90

6 Writing medical

research

10.00 20.00 70.00 9.10 18.20 72.70 31.00 22.40 46.70

7 Writing articles for

medical journals

10.00 23.30 66.70 9.10 18.20 72.70 31.00 22.40 46.70

8 Writing letters 10.00 16.70 73.30 9.10 9.10 81.80 29.50 21.90 48.60

9 Writing emails 6.70 16.70 76.70 9.10 9.10 81.80 27.10 22.40 50.50

10 Writing memo 10.00 40.00 50.00 9.10 27.30 63.60 30.50 22.40 47.10

11 Writing resumes 13.30 20.00 66.70 18.20 9.10 72.70 29.50 20.00 50.50

Note: When the participant response was ‘little’ and ‘very little’, the level of need was

categorized as ‘low’; ‘moderate was at ‘moderate’; and ‘extensive’ and ‘very

extensive’ was at ‘high’.

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Figures 4.5-4.8 show level of need of each skill rated by the three professional groups.

Figure 4.5 Needs in listening skill of

each profession

Figure 4.6 Needs in speaking skill of

each profession

Figure 4.7 Needs in reading skill of

each profession

Figure 4.8 Needs in writing skill of

each profession

Overall, the majority of doctors, dentists, and nurses rated their needs in

English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills as high. Doctors rated their need

in reading skill the highest, while dentists’ and nurses’ highest needs were found in the

four English skills equally.

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To better illustrate the findings, the following is a comparison between

self-rated proficiency and self-rated needs in the listening, speaking, reading, and

writing skills of the participants.

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Level of Proficiency

Listening skill

Speaking skill

Reading skill

Writing skill

Level of Needs

Listening skill

Speaking skill

Reading skill

Writing skill

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The summary of the ratings from each profession is as follows:

The majority of doctors rated their English ability as high and moderate. They

had highest ability in reading and writing and highest need in reading skill.

The majority of dentists rated their English ability as high and moderate. They

had highest ability in reading and writing and highest need in all English skills.

The majority of nurses rated their English ability as moderate and low. They

had highest ability in reading and writing and highest need in listening, speaking, and

reading skills.

To study whether participants’ background had any influence on their

proficiency, all variables involved in the general background information section were

statistically analyzed. The detailed information is presented in 4.5

4.5 CORRELATION BETWEEN BACKGROUND AND ENGLISH

PROFICIENCY OF THE PARTICIPANTS

This part of the data was intended to describe correlations between

variables in background and the English proficiency of the participants. All the

variables involved in the general background information section were analyzed by

using Chi-squared ( ). The following were variables that were found correlated with

the proficiency of the participants:

Gender

Gender correlated with the proficiency of the participants; the variable

was found statistically significant at the 0.05 level with = 37.016

Profession

Profession correlated with the proficiency of the participants; the

variable was found statistically significant at the 0.05 level with =

91.387

Education

Education correlated with the proficiency of the participants; the

variable was found statistically significant at the 0.05 level with =

94.057

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Work experience

Work experience correlated with the proficiency of the participants;

the variable was found statistically significant at the 0.05 level with

= 12.921

Frequency of using English in the workplace

Frequency of using English in the workplace correlated with the

proficiency of the participants; the variable was found statistically

significant at the 0.05 level with = 11.090

Experience with training in medical facility abroad

Experience with training in a medical facility abroad correlated with

the proficiency of the participants; the variable was found statistically

significant at the 0.05 level with = 9.624

Experience with working abroad

Experience with working abroad correlated with the proficiency of the

participants; the variable was found statistically significant at the 0.05

level with = 10.451

The detailed information is presented in Table 4.27.

Table 4.27

Correlation between background and English proficiency of the participants (N=251)

Background

English Proficiency

2

df

P -

value

Low Moderate High

F % F % F %

Gender 37.016 2 0.00*

Male 2 1.60 11 10.70 9 40.90

Female 124 98.40 92 89.30 13 59.10

Total 126 100 103 100 22 100

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Table 4.27 (continued)

Background

English Proficiency

2

df

P -

value

Low Moderate High

F % F % F %

Age 8.292 8 0.406

Below 20 yrs 1 0.80 0 0.00 0 0.00

21 – 30 yrs 36 28.60 42 40.80 10 45.50

31 – 40 yrs 35 27.80 25 24.30 7 31.80

41 – 50 yrs 38 30.20 29 28.20 4 18.20

Above 60 yrs 16 12.70 7 6.80 1 4.50

Total 126 100 103 100 22 100

Profession 91.387 4 0.00*

Doctor 1 0.80 15 14.60 14 63.60

Dentist 1 0.80 6 5.80 4 18.20

Nurse 124 98.40 82 79.60 4 18.20

Total 126 100 103 100 22 100

Education 94.057 2 0.00*

Bachelor’s

Degree

124 98.40 78 31.10 3 1.20

Master’s

Degree and

above

2 1.60 25 10.00 19 7.60

Total 126 100 103 100 22 100

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Table 4.27 (continued)

Background

English Proficiency

2

df

P -

value

Low Moderate High

F % F % F %

Work

experience

12.921 6 0.04*

Below 10 yrs 41 32.50 47 45.60 14 63.60

11-20 yrs 38 30.20 32 31.10 4 18.20

21-30 yrs 38 30.20 18 17.50 2 9.10

Above 40 yrs 9 7.10 6 5.80 2 9.10

Total 126 100 103 100 22 100

Frequency of

using English

in the

workplace

11.090 2 0.04*

Occasionally 116 92.10 84 81.60 15 68.20

Frequently 10 7.90 19 18.40 7 31.80

Total 126 100 103 100 22 100

Experience

with

international

conference

9.624 2 0.08

Yes 6 4.80 22 21.40 14 63.60

No 120 95.20 81 78.60 8 36.40

Total 126 100 103 100 22 100

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Table 4.27 (continued)

Background

English Proficiency

2

df

P -

value

Low Moderate High

F % F % F %

Experience

with training

in medical

facility

abroad

9.624 2 0.008*

Yes 1 0.80 6 5.80 3 13.60

No 125 99.20 97 94.20 19 86.40

Total 126 100 103 100 22 100

Experience

with working

abroad

10.451 1 0.005*

Yes 0 0.00 0 0.00 1 0.04

No 126 100 103 100 21 95.50

Total 126 100 103 100 22 100

Experience

with taking

standardized

tests

5.738 2 0.057

Yes 2 1.60 8 7.80 2 9.10

No 124 98.40 95 92.20 20 90.90

Total 126 100 103 100 22 100

According to the findings, gender, profession, education, work

experience, frequency of using English in the workplace, experience with training in

medical facility abroad, and experience with working abroad correlated with the

proficiency of the participants, while age, experience with international conferences,

and experience with taking standardized tests had no correlation with the proficiency

of the participants.

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To summarize the study procedure here, a needs analysis was conducted

with 251 health services professionals of eight governmental hospitals in

Prachuabkirikhan, Thailand. The instrument used in this study was a self-administered

questionnaire which included authentic tasks from medical settings. The participants

were required to rate their current proficiency and needs of four English skills in

performing each medical task. The findings revealed that the proficiency of the

participants ranged from low to moderate and that the four English skills were highly

demanded in every medical task. Among the four skills, needs in reading skill was

ranked the highest, followed by needs in listening skill, speaking skill, and writing

skill, respectively. To study whether participants’ background had any influence on

their proficiency, all variables involved in the general background information section

were analyzed by using a Chi-squared ( ) test. The variables that were found

correlated with the proficiency of the participants were gender, profession, education,

work experience, frequency of using English in the workplace, experience with

training in a medical facility abroad, and experience with working abroad; on the

contrary, age, experience with international conferences, and experience with taking

standardized tests (e.g. TOEFL, IELT, and TOEIC) were variables that had no

correlation with the proficiency of the participants.

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents a summary of the study, summary of the findings,

discussion of the findings, conclusion and recommendations for further research.

5.1 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY

The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community, followed by the

free flow of goods, services, and labor requires the awareness of the direction of

changes in employment patterns and standards, including preparation for the

challenges from the increasing internationalization of the labor market from the

stakeholders involved in the ASEAN integration process. However, when compared

to other member countries, English abilities of Thai people, on the whole, are rather

minimal. Thus, the readiness for the AEC of Thai skilled labor in terms of English

language proficiency is still questionable.

Based on the problem statement, in this study a needs analysis of English

functional skills and an investigation into English proficiency of Thai skilled labor

involved in eight ASEAN occupations were conducted. Considering the fact that the

importance of the healthcare industry in Thailand has risen and the country is striving

to be the World Class Healthcare Destination and Academic Medical Hub of Asia, the

focus group of the study was the healthcare workers.

The objective of the study, research questions, participants, research

instrument, and data analysis are summarized as follows:

5.1.1 Objective of the study

The objective of this study is to investigate English functional skills

needed for three ASEAN health-related occupations: medical services, dental services,

and nursing services.

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5.1.2 Research questions

1. What are the English skills needed for Thai skilled labor involved in

medical services?

2. What are the English skills needed for Thai skilled labor involved in

dental services?

3. What are the English skills needed for Thai skilled labor involved in

nursing services?

4. What background factors correlate with English proficiency of the

skilled labor?

5.1.3 Participants

Selected by stratified random sampling, the participants of this study are

30 doctors, 11 dentists, and 210 nurses (251 health services professionals in total)

from eight governmental hospitals in Prachuabkirikhan, Thailand: Hua Hin Hospital,

Pranburi Hospital, Samroiyod Hospital, Kuiburi Hospital, Prachuabkirikhan Hospital,

Thapsakae Hospital, Bangsaphan Hospital, and Bangsaphan Noi Hospital.

5.1.4 Research instrument

The instrument used in this study was a set of self-administered

questionnaire, comprising three parts of questions: (1) general background

information, (2) linguistic profile, and (3) English abilities and needs of English skills

for the AEC. The participants were required to provide their background information,

including gender, age, education, profession, and work experience in the first part and

frequency of using English in the workplace, experience with international

conferences, experience with training in medical facilities abroad, experience with

working abroad, and experience with taking standardized tests (e.g. TOEFL, IELT,

and TOEIC) in the second part. In the third part, the participants had to rate their

proficiency and needs in listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through a 5-

point Likert scale.

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5.1.5 Data analysis

After 251 questionnaires were completed and returned, the data obtained

was analyzed by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version

number 21, using the form of frequency and percentage to determine the results of

self-rated proficiency and self-rated needs in four English skills of the participants.

Moreover, to study whether participants’ background had any influence on their

proficiency, all variables involved in the general background information section were

analyzed by using a Chi-squared ( ) test to find correlations between the data.

5.2 SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS

The detailed findings in Chapter 4 can be summarized as follows:

5.2.1 General background information of the participants

91.20 percent of the participants were female and 8.80 percent were male.

The largest age group was 31-50 years old (55.00 percent) and the next was between

21-30 years old (35.10 percent). 83.70 percent of the participants were nurses,

followed by doctors (12.00 percent) and dentists (4.40 percent), respectively. Most of

the three groups had a Bachelor’s Degree (81.70 percent) and had less than 10 years

of work experience (40.60 percent).

5.2.2 Linguistic profile of the participants

The majority of the participants occasionally use English language in their

workplaces (83.30 percent). 14.30 percent had experience with international

conferences and 4.80 percent had taken standardized tests (e.g. TOEFL, IELT, and

TOEIC). 4.00 percent had experience with training in a medical facility abroad, but

only 0.40 percent had ever worked abroad.

5.2.3 English abilities of the participants

Four English skills were presented in this study: listening, speaking,

reading, and writing. The participants were required to rate their proficiency in

various medical tasks involving the four English skills. According to the analysis of

251 questionnaires, it was found that the majority of the health services professionals

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had moderate and low ability. Doctors and dentists rated their ability as high and

moderate, while the majority of nurses rated themselves as moderate and low in

proficieny. When comparing between the four skills, it was found that reading skill

was ranked as the highest proficiency of the participants, the next was listening skill,

speaking skill, and writing skill, respectively.

5.2.4 English needs of the participants

English needs were divided into four types: needs in listening skill, needs

in speaking skill, needs in reading skill, and needs in writing skill. Overall, it was

found that all four skills were highly demanded by the majority of health services

professionals. Doctors, dentists, and nurses rated their need in listening, speaking,

reading, and writing skills as high in every medical task. When comparing between

needs in each skill, it was found that needs in reading skill was ranked the highest, the

next was needs in listening skill, speaking skill, and writing skill, respectively.

5.2.5 Correlation between background and English proficiency of the

participants

To study whether participants’ background had any influence on their

proficiency, all variables involved in the general background information section were

analyzed by using a Chi-squared ( ) test. The variables that were found correlated

with the proficiency of the participants were gender, profession, education, work

experience, frequency of using English in the workplace, experience with training in

medical facilities abroad, and experience with working abroad (the variables were

found statistically significant at the 0.05 level with = 37.016, 91.387, 94.057,

12.921, 11.090, 9.624, and 10.451, respectively). Age, experience with international

conferences, and experience with taking standardized tests (e.g. TOEFL, IELT, and

TOEIC), however, were variables that had no correlation with the proficiency of the

participants.

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5.3 DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS

The objective of this study was to investigate English functional skills

needed for three ASEAN occupations—medical, dental, and nursing services—thus,

the study seeks answers to the following questions:

What are the English functional skills needed for Thai skilled labor

involved in medical services?

The results revealed that the majority of the doctors rated their needs in

English skills as high in every medical task. Out of four categories of needs, reading

skill was ranked the highest. It was needed the most when they had to handle patients’

medical records, examination results, prescriptions, referral letters, and medical

terminology and abbreviations. The second was listening skill, which was needed

when they had to listen to patients’ history and inquiries. Need in speaking skill was

ranked third and was highlighted in giving medical advice and responding to patients’

inquiries, while writing skill was in the last place and was needed especially for

medical prescriptions, records, terminology and abbreviations writing.

What are the English functional skills needed for Thai skilled labor

involved in dental services?

According to the findings, needs in English skills of the dentists were

rated as high in every medical task. Similar to the group of doctors, the results showed

that needs in receptive skills of the dentists were higher than needs in productive

skills. The top rank was reading skill, which the majority agreed was essential to

every medical task except for general publications reading (e.g. English newspapers,

journals, novels) for which the rating was slightly lower than the others. The next was

needs in listening skill. The dentists specifically needed the skill for listening to

patients’ inquiries, diagnosis and symptoms, and in other situations such as listening

to talks in conferences, video instructions, and a variety of dialects and accents. Need

in speaking skill was ranked third, followed by need in writing skill. The former was

rated as high in almost every medical task, while the latter skill was needed for

medical records, medical notes, prescriptions, and referral letter writing, and a few

work-related tasks such as letters and emails writing.

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What are the English functional skills needed for Thai skilled labor

involved in nursing services?

Overall, the majority of nurses rated their needs in listening, speaking,

reading, and writing skills as high in every medical task. The findings revealed that

reading skill was needed the most, especially for medical prescriptions, terminology

and abbreviation reading. The second was listening skill which was intensively used

for listening to patients’ histories, inquiries, and diagnosis. Need in speaking and

writing skills were ranked the third and the fourth needs, respectively. Nurses needed

speaking skill mostly when they had to ask for patients’ histories and explain care

plan and follow-up to patients. For writing skill, although the demand was lower than

other categories, the majority agreed it was necessary for medical records,

terminology and abbreviations writing.

What background factors correlate with English proficiency of the

skilled labor?

Concerning the influence of personal background on English proficiency,

the results indicated that seven out of ten background factors correlated with level of

proficiency of the participants. These were gender, profession, education, work

experience, frequency of using English in the workplace, experience with training in

medical facility abroad, and experience with working abroad. The variables were

found statistically significant at the 0.05 level with = 37.016, 91.387, 94.057,

12.921, 11.090, 9.624, and 10.451, respectively. However, factors such as age,

experience with international conferences, and experience with taking standardized

tests had no correlation with the proficiency of the participants.

According to the findings, it can be concluded that health services

professionals—doctors, dentists, and nurses—from eight governmental hospitals in

Prachuabkirikhan agreed that receptive skills were first and foremost, while needs in

productive skills such as speaking and writing skills were lesser in their jobs.

Furthermore, the four skills were rather required in tasks that were work-related than

tasks that were not directly involved in medical settings such as listening to lectures,

giving speech, reading general publications, and writing memos.

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This confirmed Shi, Corcos, and Storey’s (2001) study on needs analysis

of medical students in the University of Hong Kong and the study on needs analysis

and situational analysis for designing an ESP curriculum for Thai nurses of Gass

(2012) which stated that among the topics related to medical and nursing fields and

that the participants needed and wanted the courses to cover were mostly medical

tasks, for example, reporting and discussing the case, educating the patients, giving

advices, giving instructions, checking understanding, explaining drugs interactions,

and administering medication, whereas only a few cultural topics were required.

However, the needs analysis results which, surprisingly, indicated that

receptive skills were rather prerequisite to medical workers were in contrast with the

findings from Shi, Corcos, and Storey’s (2001) and Gass’s (2012) which regarded

speaking and communicative skills (as well as listening) as predominant needs of

medical services personnel.

Gass (2012), nevertheless, explained that needs in communicative skills of

nurses and caregivers can vary, depending on various conditions, for example, the

amount of English exposure, characteristics of jobs, and their level of proficiency and

confidence in using English. Thus, for those whose jobs do not allow them much

opportunity to interact with patients (e.g. inpatient department) and those who are not

confident with using English, their needs in communicative skills may be moderate to

low. On the contrary, for those who position themselves or are positioned in the

context where English is very much used such as an outpatient department, which is a

sector that all patients are required to go through, communicative skills are demanded

for developing a higher quality of their services.

In addition, in a Thailand context, especially where the participants of the

study were governmental employees who resided and worked in Prachuabkirikhan,

the chances to have conversations with foreign patients were quite limited. Although

it is known that many foreigners flood into this province for long-term stays due to

the natural beauty of many tourist attractions, the daily life of the participants was

rather confined to their workplace, and the opportunity to be exposed to English or

improve their language skill was limited. The language barrier in hospital seems to be

the point that foreigners are aware of, evidenced from the advice (Berthier, n.d.) in

expatbriefing.com as quoted:

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Healthcare standards in Thailand can be viewed as

good overall. All doctors in Thailand speak English to a more

or less acceptable degree, but language issues may arise for

everything else. This can be for anything like talking to

nurses, calling an emergency helpline, or looking for

information that is available in Thai only.

The comment was confirmed by the findings of this study because among

the 251 participants, doctors and dentists rated their ability as high and moderate,

while the majority of nurses rated themselves as moderate or low in proficiency.

However, language barriers do not occur only in Thailand. In a reverse

case, the study of Moreno, Odom Walker, and Grumbach (2010) stated that there has

been an increase in the adverse influence of language barriers on the quality of

medical care in the United States. As a lot of immigrants, for example, the Spanish,

Mexican, and Asian ethnic groups, reside in the US, an estimated 24 million people

speak English “less than very well” and are considered to have limited English

proficiency. These people are at risk of facing language barriers or experiencing

suboptimal doctor-patient communication. This may support the idea that, not only

the service providers alone, but also the patients need to equip themselves with the

language necessary to facilitate their stay, or else the use of interpreters is required,

and that involves more complicated procedures and outcomes.

As suggested by Shi, Corcos, and Storey (2001), Orr (2002), and Gass

(2012), to overcome the language barriers and cope with deficiency of English ability

of medical learners and healthcare workers, an English course developed from

particular needs and interests of learners would be an effective solution. They

conducted a needs analysis of English skills and found that an EMP course that

covered linguistic and communicative features of the medical topics and the content

areas related to the authentic use of language in medical settings was most needed by

medical learners and workers. Likewise, in this study, a needs analysis was conducted

in order to investigate current proficiency and needs of healthcare workers and

propose indications for EMP course development. Nevertheless, to study whether

personal background of the participants had any influence on their proficiency, the

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correlation between background factors and level of proficiency was further

investigated. The findings indicated that factors such as gender, profession, education,

work experience, frequency of using English in the workplace, experience with

training in medical facilities abroad, and experience with working abroad correlated

with the proficiency of the participants. Considering that an ESP and an EMP course

should be formulated based on professional information, personal information,

English language information, learners’ lacks, wants, and target situation (Dudley-

Evans & St. John, 1998), it would be appropriate to build a course upon findings from

a needs analysis and background information of the subjects.

5.4 CONCLUSIONS

This study was aimed at investigating English functional skills needed for

three ASEAN occupations—medical, dental, and nursing services. The study was

conducted with 251 doctors, dentists, and nurses from eight governmental hospitals in

Prachuabkirikhan, Thailand. The participants were required to rate their current

proficiency and needs in four English skills through a self-administered questionnaire

which included authentic tasks from medical settings. After the data was statistically

analyzed, the results revealed that among the four skills, needs in reading skill were

ranked the highest, followed by needs in listening skill, speaking skill, and writing

skill, respectively. Although the results were in contrast with findings from other

studies in similar fields, the matters being confirmed were that English functional

skills were rather more demanded in medical tasks than tasks that were not directly

involved with medical settings. In order to effectively develop an ESP course and

promote professional communication among Thai skilled labor of the AEC, giving

attention to their background, particular needs, and interests would be recommended.

5.5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Based on the findings and conclusion of this study, the following

recommendations are proposed for further research.

5.5.1 The study was based on quantitative approach. The results presented

were drawn from 251 self-administered questionnaires. To generate more perspectives

and comprehensive understanding in needs of English skills of personnel in medical,

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dental, and nursing services, further study might include qualitative methods such as

interviews and observations in medical settings.

5.5.2 The participants in this study were highly skilled practitioners

involved in medical, dental, and nursing services which are three out of eight

occupations that are granted mobility into ASEAN integrated market. To enrich

current studies on needs analysis of Thai skilled labor in the AEC context, researchers

might consider further studies in the other five services sectors which involve

engineering services, architectural services, accountancy services, hotel services and

tourism, and surveying qualifications.

5.5.3 The study was carried out in eight governmental hospitals in

Prachuabkirikhan: Hua Hin Hospital, Pranburi Hospital, Samroiyod Hospital, Kuiburi

Hospital, Prachuabkirikhan Hospital, Thapsakae Hospital, Bangsaphan Hospital, and

Bangsaphan Noi Hospital, all of which are located in the western part of Thailand.

Thus, further study could explore needs in English skills from healthcare

professionals in different areas, for instance, in the northern, southern, eastern, or

northeastern parts of Thailand, and not only in governmental hospitals but also in

private hospitals, sub-district health promoting hospitals, or other health facilities.

5.5.4 This study focused on needs analysis for English functional skills of

personnel involved in medical services. The results from the findings, thus, may be

used as part of a database for researchers and curriculum designers in developing

English for Medical Purposes (EMP) courses that serve the needs and interests of the

learners in medical contexts.

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APPENDICES

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APPENDIX A

QUESTIONNAIRE

ENGLISH SKILLS NEEDED BY HEALTH SERVICES PROFESSIONALS OF

ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY: A STUDY IN PRACHUABKIRIKHAN

แบบสอบถาม ความจ าเปนในการใชทกษะภาษาองกฤษของกลมบคลากรผใหบรการดานสขภาพเพอการท างาน

รองรบประชาคมเศรษฐกจอาเซยน: การศกษาในเขตพนทจงหวดประจวบครขนธ

____________________________________________________________________

This questionnaire is a part of research as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for

Master of Arts in Teaching English as Foreign Language, Language Institute,

Thammasat University. The information you contributed will be used only for the

survey of demand of English skills for Thai healthcare workers involved in three

ASEAN occupations: medical, dental, and nursing services. Please be assured that the

information will be treated with the highest confidentiality and used for research

purposes only. Your cooperation in answering this questionnaire is greatly

appreciated.

This questionnaire comprises three parts:

Part One: General background information of the respondent

Part Two: Linguistic profile of the respondent

Part Three: English abilities and needs of English skills for the AEC

_____________________________________________________________________

แบบสอบถามนเปนสวนหนงของงานวจยในระดบปรญญาโทดานการสอนภาษาองกฤษเปนภาษาตางประเทศ

สงกดสถาบนภาษา มหาวทยาลยธรรมศาสตร มจดประสงคเพอส ารวจความจ าเปนในการใชทกษะภาษาองกฤษ

ของบคลากรผใหบรการดานสขภาพ 3 วชาชพ คอ แพทย ทนตแพทย และพยาบาล ซงเปนวชาชพทสามารถ

เคลอนยายอยางเสรไดในประชาคมเศรษฐกจอาเซยน ผวจยเรยนขอความอนเคราะหใหผตอบแบบสอบถามตอบ

ตามความเปนจรง เนองจากค าตอบของทานมความส าคญตอการวเคราะหขอมลเปนอยางยง ขอรบรองวาขอมล

จากแบบสอบถามของทานจะถกเกบเปนความลบและน าไปใชเพอจดประสงคทางการศกษาเทานน ผวจยหวงเปน

อยางยงวาจะไดรบความรวมมอจากทานเปนอยางด และขอขอบพระคณอยางสงมา ณ โอกาสน แบบสอบถามน

ประกอบดวย 3 ตอน ดงน 1) ขอมลทวไปเกยวกบผตอบแบบสอบถาม 2) ประสบการณดานการใชภาษาองกฤษ

ของผตอบแบบสอบถาม และ 3) ความสามารถและความจ าเปนในการใชทกษะภาษาองกฤษของผตอบ

แบบสอบถามเพอการท างานรองรบประชาคมเศรษฐกจอาเซยน

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Part One: General Background Information (ขอมลทวไปเกยวกบผตอบแบบสอบถาม)

Directions: Please check (√) all that apply and write the answer in space provided.

(ค าชแจง: โปรดใสเครองหมาย √ ในกลองสเหลยมหนาตวเลอกทตรงกบทานมากทสด และเขยนค าตอบของทาน

ลงในชองวางทก าหนดให)

1. Gender (เพศ): □ male (ชาย) □ female (หญง)

2. Age (อาย) ………………………….

3. Education (วฒการศกษา):

□ Doctor of Medicine (แพทยศาสตรบณฑต)

□ Doctor of Dental Surgery (ทนตแพทยศาสตรบณฑต)

□ Bachelor of Nursing Science (พยาบาลศาสตรบณฑต)

□ Master of Nursing Science (พยาบาลศาสตรมหาบณฑต)

□ Doctor of Nursing Science (พยาบาลศาสตรดษฎบณฑต)

□ Other (อนๆ โปรดระบ) (please specify……………………................................)

4. Profession (อาชพ): □ Doctor (แพทย)

□ Dentist (ทนตแพทย)

□ Nurse (พยาบาล)

5. How many years have you been working in healthcare services? (ทานท างานดานการ

ใหบรการดานสขภาพมากป) ................................year(s) (ป)

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Part Two: Linguistic Profile (ประสบการณดานการใชภาษาองกฤษของผตอบแบบสอบถาม)

Directions: Please check (√) all that apply and write the answer in space provided.

(ค าชแจง: โปรดใสเครองหมาย √ ในกลองสเหลยมหนาตวเลอกทตรงกบทานมากทสด และเขยนค าตอบของทาน

ลงในชองวางทก าหนดให)

6. How often do you use English in your workplace? (ทานใชภาษาองกฤษในทท างานบอย

เพยงใด)

□ Frequently (บอยครง) □ Occasionally (บางโอกาส)

□ Rarely (นานๆครง) □ Never (ไมเลย)

7. Have you ever participated in an international conference? (ทานเคยเขารวมประชมสมมนา

วชาการระดบนานาชาตหรอไม)

□ Yes (please specify) (เคย โปรดระบ) …………………….. times (ครง)

□ No (ไมเคย)

8. Have you ever been trained/ observed work in medical facility abroad? (ทานเคยเขารบ

การอบรมหรอดงานในสถานพยาบาลตางประเทศหรอไม)

□ Yes (please specify) (หากเคย โปรดระบ ชอประเทศ ระยะเวลา ป/เดอน)

8.1 Country………………………………for……….year(s)……………..month(s)

8.2 Country………………………………for……….year(s)…………….month(s)

8.2 Country………………………………for……….year(s)…………….month(s)

□ No (ไมเคย)

9. Have you ever worked abroad? (ทานเคยท างานในตางประเทศหรอไม)

□ Yes (please specify) (หากเคย โปรดระบ ชอประเทศ ระยะเวลา ป/เดอน)

9.1 Country………………………………for……….year(s)……………..month(s)

9.2 Country………………………………for……….year(s)……………..month(s)

9.2 Country………………………………for……….year(s)……………..month(s)

□ No (ไมเคย)

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10. Have you ever taken any standardized test of English proficiency (TOEIC,

TOEFL, IELTS)? [ทานเคยสอบขอสอบมาตรฐานเพอวดความสามารถดานภาษาองกฤษหรอไม (โทอค/

โทเฟล/ ไอเอล)]

□ Yes (please specify) (หากเคย โปรดระบ ชอขอสอบ และคะแนนทได)

10.1 …………………………………………………score…………………………….

10.2………………………………………………….score…………………………….

10.3………………………………………………….score…………………………….

□ No (ไมเคย)

Part Three: English abilities and needs of English skills for the AEC (ความสามารถ

และความจ าเปนในการใชทกษะภาษาองกฤษของผตอบแบบสอบถามเพอการท างานรองรบประชาคมเศรษฐกจ

อาเซยน)

Directions: Please check (√) in the boxes on the left to rate your English proficiency

and check (√) in the boxes on the right to rate your English needs for the AEC.

(ค าชแจง: โปรดใสเครองหมาย √ ลงในชองทางซายมอเพอระบระดบความสามารถททานมในการใช

ภาษาองกฤษในสถานการณตางๆ และใสเครองหมาย √ ลงในชองทางขวามอเพอระบความจ าเปนในการใช

ภาษาองกฤษในสถานการณเหลานน เพอการท างานรองรบประชาคมเศรษฐกจอาเซยน)

11. To what extent do you rate your proficiency in English skills, and to what extent

do you need these skills for the AEC? (ทานมความสามารถในการใชภาษาองกฤษแตละทกษะมาก

นอยเพยงใด และทานมความจ าเปนตองใชภาษาองกฤษแตละทกษะเพอการท างานรองรบประชาคมเศรษฐกจ

อาเซยนมากนอยเพยงใด)

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Proficiency

(ระดบความสามารถในการใชภาษาองกฤษ)

Skills

(ทกษะ)

Needs

(ระดบความจ าเปนตองใชภาษาองกฤษในยค AEC)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

E

xte

nsi

ve

(มาก)

M

od

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

L

ittl

e

(นอย)

V

ery

lit

tle

(นอยทส

ด)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

E

xte

nsi

ve

(มาก)

Mod

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

Lit

tle

(นอย)

V

ery

lit

tle

(นอยทส

ด)

5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1

Listening

(การฟง)

Speaking

(การพด)

Reading

(การอาน)

Writing

(การเขยน)

12. To what extent do you rate your proficiency in listening skill, and to what extent

do you need this skill for the AEC? (ทานสามารถใชทกษะการฟงภาษาองกฤษในสถานการณเหลาน

มากนอยเพยงใด และทานมความจ าเปนตองใชทกษะการฟงภาษาองกฤษเหลานมากนอยเพยงใดเพอการท างาน

รองรบประชาคมเศรษฐกจอาเซยน)

Proficiency

(ระดบความสามารถในการใช

ภาษาองกฤษ) Listening skill

(ทกษะการฟง)

Needs

(ระดบความจ าเปนตองใช

ภาษาองกฤษในยค AEC)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

E

xte

nsi

ve

(มาก)

M

od

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

L

ittl

e

(นอย)

V

ery

lit

tle

(นอยทส

ด)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

Ex

tensi

ve

(มาก)

Mod

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

Lit

tle

(นอย)

Ver

y l

ittl

e

(นอยทส

ด)

5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1

1) Listening to patients

histories (e.g. their

symptoms, medical

needs) (ฟงประวตผปวยเปน

ภาษาองกฤษ เชน อาการโรค

ความตองการทางการแพทยของ

ผปวย เปนตน)

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

106

Proficiency

(ระดบความสามารถในการใช

ภาษาองกฤษ) Listening skill

(ทกษะการฟง)

Needs

(ระดบความจ าเปนตองใช

ภาษาองกฤษในยค AEC)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

E

xte

nsi

ve

(มาก)

M

od

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

L

ittl

e

(นอย)

V

ery

lit

tle

(นอยทส

ด)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

Ex

tensi

ve

(มาก)

Mod

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

Lit

tle

(นอย)

Ver

y l

ittl

e

(นอยทส

ด)

5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1

2) Listening to patients’

inquiries (ฟงขอซกถามจาก

ผปวยเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

3) Listening to diagnosis

and symptom

management (ฟงการตรวจ

วนจฉยและการรกษาอาการโรค

เปนภาษาองกฤษ)

4) Listening to lectures (ฟงการบรรยายภาษาองกฤษ)

5) Listening to talks in

conferences (ฟงการสมมนา

ภาษาองกฤษ)

6) Listening to podcasts/

video instructions (ฟงไฟล

เสยง วดโอ หรอสอการสอน

ภาษาองกฤษ)

7) Listening to a variety

of dialects and accents

(ฟงภาษาองกฤษส าเนยง

หลากหลาย)

8) Other (please specify

………………………..)

(อนๆ โปรดระบ)

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

107

13. To what extent do you rate your proficiency in speaking skill, and to what extent

do you need this skill for the AEC? (ทานสามารถใชทกษะการพดภาษาองกฤษในสถานการณเหลาน

มากนอยเพยงใด และทานมความจ าเปนตองใชทกษะการพดภาษาองกฤษเหลานมากนอยเพยงใดเพอการท างาน

รองรบประชาคมเศรษฐกจอาเซยน)

Proficiency

(ระดบความสามารถในการใช

ภาษาองกฤษ) Speaking skill

(ทกษะการพด)

Needs

(ระดบความจ าเปนตองใช

ภาษาองกฤษในยค AEC)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

E

xte

nsi

ve

(มาก)

M

od

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

L

ittl

e

(นอย)

V

ery

lit

tle

(นอยทส

ด)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

Ex

tensi

ve

(มาก)

Mod

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

Lit

tle

(นอย)

Ver

y l

ittl

e

(นอยทส

ด)

5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1

1) Greeting and making

small talks/ general

conversations (ทกทายและ

พดคยเรองทวไปเปน

ภาษาองกฤษ)

2) Asking for patients’

histories (ซกถามประวตผปวย

เปนภาษาองกฤษ)

3) Describing symptoms

and diagnosis (อธบายอาการ

และการตรวจวนจฉยโรคเปน

ภาษาองกฤษ)

4) Explaining steps of

treatment and medication

(อธบายขนตอนการรกษาและการ

ใชยาเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

5) Explaining care plan

and follow-up (อธบาย

แผนการรกษาและการนดหมาย

เปนภาษาองกฤษ)

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

108

Proficiency

(ระดบความสามารถในการใช

ภาษาองกฤษ) Speaking skill

(ทกษะการพด)

Needs

(ระดบความจ าเปนตองใช

ภาษาองกฤษในยค AEC)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

E

xte

nsi

ve

(มาก)

M

od

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

L

ittl

e

(นอย)

V

ery

lit

tle

(นอยทส

ด)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

Ex

tensi

ve

(มาก)

Mod

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

Lit

tle

(นอย)

Ver

y l

ittl

e

(นอยทส

ด)

5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1

6) Giving medical

advice/ instructions (ให

ค าแนะน าหรอขอชแนะทาง

การแพทยเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

7) Giving response to

patients’ inquiries (ตอบขอ

ซกถามของผปวยเปน

ภาษาองกฤษ)

8) Applying non-

technical terms/ language

to develop a better

understanding of patients

(ใชค าทไมใชศพทหรอภาษาทาง

การแพทยในการสอสารกบผปวย

เพอใหผปวยเขาใจไดดขน)

9) Providing

encouragement and

comfort to patients (ให

ก าลงใจผปวยเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

10) Delivering bad news

to patients (แจงขาวรายผปวย

เปนภาษาองกฤษ)

11) Communicating on

telephone (พดคยทาง

โทรศพทเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

109

Proficiency

(ระดบความสามารถในการใช

ภาษาองกฤษ) Speaking skill

(ทกษะการพด)

Needs

(ระดบความจ าเปนตองใช

ภาษาองกฤษในยค AEC)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

E

xte

nsi

ve

(มาก)

M

od

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

L

ittl

e

(นอย)

V

ery

lit

tle

(นอยทส

ด)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

Ex

tensi

ve

(มาก)

Mod

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

Lit

tle

(นอย)

Ver

y l

ittl

e

(นอยทส

ด)

5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1

12) Giving presentation

(น าเสนองานเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

13) Giving lectures (สอน

หรอบรรยายเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

14) Giving speech or talk

(e.g. at the seminar,

international conference)

(ปาฐกถาเปนภาษาองกฤษในท

ประชมหรองานสมมนาระดบ

นานาชาต)

15) Other (please specify

………………………..)

(อนๆ โปรดระบ)

14. To what extent do you rate your proficiency in reading skill, and to what extent do

you need this skill for the AEC? (ทานสามารถใชทกษะการอานภาษาองกฤษในสถานการณเหลานมาก

นอยเพยงใด และทานมความจ าเปนตองใชทกษะการอานภาษาองกฤษเหลานมากนอยเพยงใดเพอการท างาน

รองรบประชาคมเศรษฐกจอาเซยน)

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

110

Proficiency

(ระดบความสามารถในการใช

ภาษาองกฤษ) Reading skill

(ทกษะการอาน)

Needs

(ระดบความจ าเปนตองใช

ภาษาองกฤษในยค AEC)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

E

xte

nsi

ve

(มาก)

M

od

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

L

ittl

e

(นอย)

V

ery

lit

tle

(นอยทส

ด)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

Ex

tensi

ve

(มาก)

Mod

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

Lit

tle

(นอย)

Ver

y l

ittl

e

(นอยทส

ด)

5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1

1) Reading patients’

medical records (อานแฟม

ประวตผปวยเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

2) Reading medical

diagnosis/ examination

results (อานผลการตรวจ

วนจฉยเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

3) Reading medical

prescriptions (อานใบสง

แพทยเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

4) Reading referral letter

(อานจดหมายสงตวผปวยเปน

ภาษาองกฤษ)

5) Reading medical

textbooks (อานต าราการแพทย

ภาษาองกฤษ)

6) Reading/

understanding medical

terminology and

abbreviations (อาน/ เขาใจ

ศพทและตวยอทางการแพทย

ภาษาองกฤษ)

7) Reading medical

journals/ research articles

(อานวารสารทางการแพทยและ

บทความจากงานวจยภาษาองกฤษ)

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

111

Proficiency

(ระดบความสามารถในการใช

ภาษาองกฤษ) Reading skill

(ทกษะการอาน)

Needs

(ระดบความจ าเปนตองใช

ภาษาองกฤษในยค AEC)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

E

xte

nsi

ve

(มาก)

M

od

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

L

ittl

e

(นอย)

V

ery

lit

tle

(นอยทส

ด)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

Ex

tensi

ve

(มาก)

Mod

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

Lit

tle

(นอย)

Ver

y l

ittl

e

(นอยทส

ด)

5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1

8) Reading general

publications (e.g. English

newspaper, journals,

novels) (อานสอสงพมพ

ภาษาองกฤษทวไป เชน

หนงสอพมพ วารสาร นวนยาย

เปนตน)

9) Reading manuals/

instructions about

medical equipment (อาน

คมอหรอวธการใชเครองมอทาง

การแพทยภาษาองกฤษ)

10) Other (please specify

………………..………)

(อนๆ โปรดระบ)

15. To what extent do you rate your proficiency in writing skill, and to what extent do

you need this skill for the AEC? (ทานสามารถใชทกษะการเขยนภาษาองกฤษในสถานการณเหลาน

มากนอยเพยงใด และทานมความจ าเปนตองใชทกษะการเขยนภาษาองกฤษเหลานมากนอยเพยงใดเพอการท างาน

รองรบประชาคมเศรษฐกจอาเซยน)

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

112

Proficiency

(ระดบความสามารถในการใช

ภาษาองกฤษ) Writing skill

(ทกษะการเขยน)

Needs

(ระดบความจ าเปนตองใช

ภาษาองกฤษในยค AEC)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

E

xte

nsi

ve

(มาก)

M

od

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

L

ittl

e

(นอย)

V

ery

lit

tle

(นอยทส

ด)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

Ex

tensi

ve

(มาก)

Mod

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

Lit

tle

(นอย)

Ver

y l

ittl

e

(นอยทส

ด)

5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1

1) Writing medical

records (เขยนแฟมประวตทาง

การแพทยของผปวยเปน

ภาษาองกฤษ)

2) Writing medical notes

(เขยนใบรบรองแพทยเปน

ภาษาองกฤษ)

3) Writing medical

prescriptions (เขยนใบสง

แพทยเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

4) Writing medical

terminology and

abbreviations (เขยนศพท

และตวยอทางการแพทยเปน

ภาษาองกฤษ)

5) Writing referral letter

(เขยนจดหมายสงตวผปวยเปน

ภาษาองกฤษ)

6) Writing medical

research (เขยนงานวจยทางการ

แพทยเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

7) Writing articles for

medical journals (เขยน

บทความส าหรบวารสารทาง

การแพทยเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

113

Proficiency

(ระดบความสามารถในการใช

ภาษาองกฤษ) Writing skill

(ทกษะการเขยน)

Needs

(ระดบความจ าเปนตองใช

ภาษาองกฤษในยค AEC)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

E

xte

nsi

ve

(มาก)

M

od

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

L

ittl

e

(นอย)

V

ery

lit

tle

(นอยทส

ด)

Ver

y e

xte

nsi

ve

(มากทส

ด)

Ex

tensi

ve

(มาก)

Mod

erat

e

(ปาน

กลาง)

Lit

tle

(นอย)

Ver

y l

ittl

e

(นอยทส

ด)

5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1

8) Writing letters (เขยน

จดหมายเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

9) Writing emails (เขยน

อเมลเปนภาษาองกฤษ)

10) Writing memo (เขยน

บนทกสนหรอเรองแจงในองคกร

เปนภาษาองกฤษ)

11) Writing resumes (เขยน

จดหมายสมครงานเปน

ภาษาองกฤษ)

12) Other (please specify

………………...………)

(อนๆ โปรดระบ)

16. Do you have any other English needs or English skills that you find necessary for

your profession in the AEC? (ทานมความจ าเปนตองใชทกษะภาษาองกฤษในดานอนๆ หรอมทกษะ

ภาษาองกฤษนอกเหนอจากทไดกลาวมาททานเหนวามความจ าเปนตอวชาชพของทานในยคประชาคมเศรษฐกจ

อาเซยนหรอไม) …………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………

Thank you for your time and cooperation

(ขอบพระคณทสละเวลาตอบแบบสอบถามและใหความรวมมอ)

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

114

APPENDIX B LETTER OF CONSENT

ท ศธ 0516.40/24 สถาบนภาษา มหาวทยาลยธรรมศาสตร เลขท 2 แขวงพระบรมมหาราชวง เขตพระนคร กรงเทพฯ 10200

9 กมภาพนธ 2560 เรอง ขออนญาตเกบขอมลประกอบการท าวทยานพนธ เรยน ผอ านวยการโรงพยาบาล...........................................

ดวยนางสาวศภกานต สขหอม เลขทะเบยน 5721042223 นกศกษาหลกสตรศลปศาสตร-มหาบณฑต สาขาวชาการสอนภาษาองกฤษเปนภาษาตางประเทศ (ภาคภาษาองกฤษ) สถาบนภาษา มหาวทยาลยธรรมศาสตร ท าวทยานพนธ เรอง “English Skills Needed by Health Service Professionals of the ASEAN Economic Community: A Study in Prachuabkirikhan” ในการท าวจยเรองดงกลาวจะใชการเกบรวบรวมขอมลโดยใชแบบสอบถามกบแพทย จ านวน.........คน ทนตแพทย จ านวน.........คน และพยาบาล จ านวน.........คน โดยม รองศาสตราจารย ศรปทม นมอรา เปนอาจารยทปรกษาวทยานพนธ ซงการท าวทยานพนธเปนสวนหนงของการศกษาตามหลกสตร

จงเรยนมาเพอขอความอนเคราะหจากทานไดโปรดพจารณาอนญาตให นางสาวศภกานต สขหอม ไดด าเนนการเกบขอมล เพอประโยชนทางวชาการ และขอขอบพระคณเปนอยางสงมา ณ โอกาสน ขอแสดงความนบถอ ( รองศาสตราจารย ดร. พรศร สงหปรชา ) ผอ านวยการสถาบนภาษา ส านกงานโครงการบณฑตศกษา สถาบนภาษา มหาวทยาลยธรรมศาสตร ทาพระจนทร โทร. 0-2613-3106, โทรสาร 0-2623-5136

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND

115

BIOGRAPHY

Name Miss Supakarn Sookhom

Date of Birth April 15, 1992

Educational Attainment

Academic Year 2013:

Bachelor of Arts

Thammasat University

Work Position Teacher (2017-present)

Hua Hin School

Ref. code: 25615721042223AND