Characteristics of Errors in Thai Writing among Students of Northeastern University

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study characteristics of errors in Thai writing among undergraduate students of Northeastern University. The sample group included 108 undergraduate students enrolling in Thai Language for Careers, Academic Year 2021, using purposive sampling. The research instrument was an essay writing test used to analyze three errors in Thai writing: spelling, word usage, and sentence usage.

The findings revealed that the students had errors in Thai language writing, in descending order as follows: the most common errors were in spelling, followed by word usage, and the least common errors were in sentence usage. The most common errors found in each aspect are as follows: 1) Regarding spelling, the most common error was the use of incorrect final consonants, followed by the use of incorrect spelling marks (the mark placed over the final consonant of a word in Thai called Ka-run), vowels, and intonation marks. However, the least frequent error was the use of incorrect initial consonants. 2) In terms of word usage, the most common errors were the use of spoken language instead of written language, followed by the misuse of words and verbosity, while the least common error was the use of foreign language words. And 3) as for the sentence usage, the most common error was the use of an incorrect punctuation mark, followed by the use of incomplete sentences and the use of idioms in foreign languages, while the least frequent error was the use of sentences with the wrong order.