Developing Nonverbal Communication Competence in Requests and Refusals of Thai University Students: The Intercultural Interaction Model

Authors

  • Uraiwan Rattanapan Noonkong Ph.D. Candidate, Program of English as an International Language, The Graduate School, Kasetsart University, Thailand
  • Anamai Damnet Ph.D., Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen Campus, Thailand
  • Kanjana Charttrakul Asst.Prof.Dr., Program of English as an International Language, The Graduate School, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen Campus, Thailand

Keywords:

Nonverbal communication, requests, refusals, pragmatic consciousness- raising (PCR), metapragmatic discussion

Abstract

            This paper reports the results of an investigation of Thai EFL students’ nonverbal communication competence in making requests and refusals after using the Intercultural Interaction Model (IIM), and an examination of the students’ perceptions of the IIM were also examined. The teaching sessions lasted for 45 hours and they were conducted through the integration between pragmatic consciousness-raising activities (PCR) and metapragmatic discussion of movie sequences. Classroom action research was employed.  The participants were 45 engineering students at a higher vocational university in Nakhon Pathom. Data were gained from pre- and post-test role-play and a set of questionnaire. Three native raters applied a NVC rating sheet adapted from Damnet (2008) in evaluating the students’ use of eye contact, facial expressions, and touching. Means, percentages, and standard deviation were employed to analyze the quantitative data, while the raters’ comments were analyzed using a technique of summarizing (Marzano et al., 2004). Findings revealed improvement in the use of the three nonverbal cues and the students appeared to have positive perceptions of the IIM innovative program.

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Published

2019-12-27

How to Cite

Noonkong, U. R., Damnet, A., & Charttrakul, K. (2019). Developing Nonverbal Communication Competence in Requests and Refusals of Thai University Students: The Intercultural Interaction Model. Journal of Liberal Arts Prince of Songkla University, 11(2), 68–95. Retrieved from https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/journal-la/article/view/232656

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Research Articles