Journal of Liberal Arts Prince of Songkla University

Exploring Marginality in On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous: The Traumatic Letters from Queer Immigrants

Awiphawadee Chaisri — 2024-12-16

Receiving several literary awards and nominations, Ocean Vuong’s semi-autobiographical novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019), explores the themes of race, gender, immigrants, and marginality through the layered hardships of the protagonists - a Vietnamese immigrant and his family in America. The novel has been highly acclaimed by readers for its reflection on profound societal challenges and realistic portrayal of trauma endured by the protagonists. In fact, the critique of trauma in the story has been mostly concentrated on a single dimension, necessitating a multidimensional study of trauma and gender issues. This study centers on the traumatization faced by the protagonist regarding alienation and queerness or homosexuality through the immigrant narratives. The objectives are to investigate the protagonist’s traumatization caused by his marginalized status in society, to observe the inheritance of intergenerational trauma processes, and to examine the contradiction between queer identity and social norms. This study relies mostly on textual analysis and evidence regarding trauma and queerness. The results show that Vuong’s novel critiques challenges and difficulties that marginalized groups encounter. Although American society has frequently been described as welcoming of immigrants and gender diversity, these Vietnamese characters are not truly embraced, indicating a lack of inclusivity.

The Development of a Database for Tai Yai Cultural Tourism in the Border Area at Lak Taeng Checkpoint, Piang Luang Sub-District, Wiang Haeng District, Chiang Mai Province

Pattaragamol Ruksuan — 2024-12-11

The objective of this research was to gather information and knowledge pertaining to the beliefs, history, legends, and other relevant aspects of tourist attractions in the border area at Lak Taeng Checkpoint, Piang Luang Sub-district, Wiang Haeng District, Chiang Mai Province. The target group in this study consisted of nine community leaders and 46 local individuals. Data collection involved a questionnaire survey, unstructured interviews, and a focus group interview. The collected data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics, namely frequency distribution, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The content validity of the results were determined using the index of objective congruence (IOC). The findings of this research revealed that Tai Yai cultural tourist attractions, including architectures, fine arts, paintings or sculptures, reflect Tai Yai history, beliefs, roots, local wisdoms, and ways of life. Furthermore, this study unveiled the profound influence of Buddhism on local culture and traditions, as well as the community’s unique identity, potentials, and strengths. The IOC results suggested that all the items evaluated, including content, language, and appropriateness, achieved scores greater than 0.50, and therefore, deemed appropriate for dissemination. The findings were shared with Tai Yai cultural tourism authorities, and Piang Luang Sub-district Administrative Organization to inform their tourism strategies. This information has also been made available through thaitourstudy.com. The main finding implication is that a comprehensive database can be used to attract a broader audience. Moreover, community members should continuously share and develop the information to increase the visitors and create more jobs and careers in the community.

The Perception and Career Intention of Hospitality Students Towards a Career in the Industry

Piyanuch Limapan — 2024-11-28

Thailand is one of the most popular destinations in Southeast Asia. The growing tourism industry in Thailand creates a variety of job opportunities. Despite the popularity of Thailand’s tourist destinations, the country faces a human capital challenge in providing competent hospitality and tourism resources. Obtaining a comprehensive awareness of the perspectives of undergraduate students in hospitality management would significantly impact educational institutions, industry stakeholders, and policymakers in comprehending this situation. Using questionnaires, this survey-based research investigated students’ perception of their career intentions in the hotel business. The descriptive statistics were used, including mean, percentage, and standard deviations. The inferential statistics of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) indicated four factors, including Factor 1: compensation, benefit, and promotion opportunity; Factor 2: social factor; Factor 3: career path and personal development; and Factor 4: nature of work. Multiple regression was performed using the Enter Method to investigate the relationship between student perception and their intentions to pursue a career in the hotel industry. The findings revealed that social factors (β = 0.512, p < 0.001) had the strongest influence on career intention followed by compensation, benefit, and promotion opportunity (β=0.344, p<0.01), career path and personal development (β=0.293, p<0.01), and nature of work (β = 0.135, p = 0.15) to an intention to pursue a career in the hospitality industry. The model was explained by 59% of the variance in career intention (R² = 0.589). The study’s recommendations include prioritizing practical training over traditional classroom-based studies to enhance industry experience and perceptions, providing career guidance and counseling services that emphasize clear career paths, and adapting the working environment to meet the needs of the new generation of workers. Additionally, the establishment should ensure work-life balance and job security.

John Keats: The Enigmatic Poet’s Journey through Spirituality and Existence

Hakim Sudinpreeda — 2024-11-26

This paper explores the spiritual journey of the narrator in John Keats’s poems and shows how themes such as loss and illness make the narrator reflects on life, death, and spirituality. It examines Keats’s admiration for Shakespeare, particularly how the balance of good and evil influenced the narrator’s view of human experiences. By comparing the spiritual beliefs presented in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth with those in Keats’s poems, this study highlights the narrator’s evolving understanding of suffering and joy, especially in works like The Fall of Hyperion: A Dream. The narrator’s appreciation of the divine is also examined, particularly through the connection between beauty and philosophical truth, as illustrated in Ode on a Grecian Urn. Through an analysis of key poems like When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be, Bright Star, To Autumn, and Ode on Melancholy, this paper shows that Keats’s spiritual ideas are shaped initially by personal experiences and later by literary influences like Shakespeare. The study emphasizes how the narrator’s journey moves beyond traditional Christianity, reflecting a deeper search for meaning through beauty and truth. Although it is challenging to interpret Keats’s narrator from the perspective of Southeast Asian readers, this paper aims to offer a new perspective on how Keats’s spiritual themes resonate with a broader audience, transcending cultural and religious boundaries.

The Use of Home-based English Language Activities to Enhance Thai Parents’ Involvement in their Children’s English Learning: A Study of Thai Parents with Limited English Proficiency

Poowadol Srimalee — 2024-11-25

Parental involvement in promoting learning at home plays a crucial role in the English development of children learning English as a foreign language (EFL). However, parents with limited English proficiency (LEP) often face difficulties supporting their children, which may reduce their children’s opportunities to improve their English. This study aimed to enhance the involvement of Thai LEP parents in supporting their children’s English language learning at home through the use of home-based English language activities (HELAs). A mixed-methods design was utilized, incorporating a one-group pre-test and post-test approach. The participants, selected through purposive sampling, were 26 Thai LEP parents whose children were attending a preschool in northern Thailand. The research instruments consisted of four HELAs: using fable videos, using vocabulary teaching videos, using picture cards, and reading books with children. Additionally, pre- and post-questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to measure changes in parental involvement across three mechanisms: implicit instruction, encouragement, and reinforcement. The findings revealed significant increases in parental involvement. Two critical factors contributing to this improvement were identified: First, HELA participation raised parents’ awareness of the importance of their involvement and boosted their self-efficacy. Second, the practical design of the HELAs facilitated involvement for LEP parents. However, reading activities posed a significant challenge for some parents. This study offers valuable insights for using HELAs to better support LEP parents in facilitating their children’s English learning at home.

Designing Competency-Based Language Instruction to Teach Thai Culture for Chinese Teachers in Thailand

Apisara Pornrattananukul — 2024-11-12

This study investigates how undergraduate students in a Chinese language teacher education program developed intercultural communication competence through competency-based language instruction.
Intercultural communicative competence was defined in terms of three key components: (1) knowledge of local and global cultural contexts, (2) teaching skills for real-world tasks, and (3) attitudes, especially regarding Chinese teachers' perspectives on Thai culture. The research aimed to (1) create a competency-based Chinese language learning model focused on teaching Thai culture, (2) assess its effectiveness, and (3) evaluate the satisfaction of student teachers with the model. Seven Chinese language student teachers participated in the study, designing and practicing lessons that integrated Thai cultural content into Chinese language teaching during micro-teaching sessions in urban public schools. Data were collected using lesson plan evaluations, teaching evaluations, teacher supervision forms, and satisfaction survey on teaching using the competency-based language teaching model (CBLT).
Quantitative analysis, including mean and standard deviation, demonstrated strong alignment with CBLT principles, with an average score of 4.14 for lesson design and execution, and 4.09 for teaching competencies. Qualitative analysis of classroom observations identified key teaching strategies for promoting intercultural communicative competence. The overall satisfaction score of 4.40, gained from the satisfaction survey on teaching using the CBLT model, indicated that the model was highly effective and well-received by student teachers, further reinforcing the success of competency-based education in fostering intercultural competence in language teacher training.

Building Community, Driving Sales: The Influence of Solidarity in Online University Marketplace

Kittima Taibanguai — 2024-10-22

This research explores how solidarity promotes sales in a Thai online university marketplace and its influence on purchasing decisions. Initiated by alumni in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, this marketplace functions as a problem-solving community, enhancing member engagement. By employing Alharbi’s theory of solidarity discourse, the research revealed features of the discourse that reinforce community bonds and advance commercial success, as well as specific marketing strategies related to solidarity. Through a solidarity discourse analysis of 120 online selling captions and a survey of 400 community members on the influence of solidarity and seller status on purchasing decisions, this study delineated the mechanisms through which sellers foster group solidarity. The analysis identified five distinct acts of solidarity discourse (namely commissive, assertive, identifying, regrouping, and persuasive acts), assessed their perceived impacts on purchasing behaviors, and evaluated the influence of seller status. The results indicate varied levels of the influence of solidarity on consumer purchasing decisions, offering insights into the effectiveness of different solidarity strategies in promoting group cohesion and facilitating business objectives. This investigation contributes to the understanding of online community dynamics and their implications for marketing and consumer purchasing decisions on digital platforms.

A Model of Professional Learning Community of Teachers’ Learning Management by Using Digital Technology in Basic Educational Institutions

Titinan Panjapong — 2024-09-24

This research proposed a model of a professional learning community (PLC) of teachers’ learning management using digital technologies in basic educational institutions. The researchers divided the research study into four phases. Phase 1 studied current conditions and problems of professional learning community management of teachers’ learning management using digital technology in basic educational institutions.
The sample included 118 school administrators or academic professional teachers. For Phase 2, the researchers designed a model for digital technologies. Twelve specialists evaluated this model. Next, Phase 3 implemented the model. Finally, in Phase 4, twenty-one experts and participants evaluated the model. The research instruments consisted of a questionnaire, an interview form, and an evaluation form. Research statistics included mean and standard deviation. The research results revealed that the overall current conditions using technology in PLC were at a high level and the essential problems using technology in PLC were at a moderate level. The results of the design of a model using digital technologies consisted of five components. According to the experiment in the educational institution, it was found that administrators, teachers, and personnel could access the PLC conveniently and quickly from any location simultaneously and the overall satisfaction with the model was at the highest level. Moreover, the results of the overall evaluation of the model regarding suitability, possibility, and profitability of the model were at the highest level.

Collective Representations of the Thai Dating Community: Space and Power on Social Media

Areewan Hussadin — 2024-09-20

Online social networks serve as virtual platforms for people to connect over shared goals and interests, including the search for a partner. This study explored the self-presentation patterns of individuals actively seeking partners via social networks, particularly using representative images, and examined the implications of these patterns for understanding modern social and cultural dynamics. Using qualitative methods, the research analyzed content from partner-seeking groups on Facebook in Thailand, with data collected over four months, from August to December 2023. The analysis primarily utilized the concepts of representation and social phenomena as reflected through social media to interpret the data. Six distinct self-presentation patterns were identified, namely idealized personal scenarios, images evoking sympathy through perceived limitations, the portrayal of ordinary people seeking true love, provocative attire and poses, gender diversity, and cross-cultural representations. The reflection of social phenomena through dating group communication on Facebook revealed ten patterns: hope in 'true love online' is real, disbelief in the existence of 'true love online', love based on benefits and deception, equality in the virtual world, negotiation space, mutual vigilance and surveillance, spaces to alleviate loneliness, platforms for exchange, encouragement, and advice, sexual harassment, and media literacy phenomenon.

An Analysis of Sentence Structures Used in English Paragraphs Written by Thai Primary School Students

Kanchaya Thongkum — 2024-09-04

The purposes of this study were to examine sentence structures used in English paragraphs written by Grade 6 students and to compare the sentence structures used by the students with different English proficiency levels. The present study employed a quantitative study approach. The participants were 203 Grade 6 students at a primary school in northeast Thailand. Each was asked to take a proficiency test and write a descriptive paragraph. The frequency, mean, and S.D. were calculated to analyze the sentence structures used in paragraphs written by the students. The chi-square test was also used to compare the differences between the sentence structure occurrences of three groups of students with different proficiency scores. The results showed that the participants most frequently used coordinate main clauses. Moreover, no quotation was found in the paragraph written by the participants. Considering the production unit's length, the clauses’ mean length was 6.8. The mean length of sentence and T-unit were 16.24 and 11.15, respectively. The chi-square test revealed that the difference between these three proficiency levels and the performance in employing sentence structures of Grade 6 students is significant at the 0.05 level in terms of using correlative clauses, relative clauses, complement clauses, adverbial clauses, and mean length of clauses. The results proved that different proficiency levels affected the sentence structures employed in paragraph writing. This study can be helpful in EFL writing instruction and English writing teaching material development.

A Comparative Analysis of Rhetorical Moves in Research Article Discussions of Thai Undergraduates and Internationally Published Thai Writers

Thitirat Suwannasom — 2024-07-16

Writing academic research articles, especially the discussion sections, often poses significant challenges for novice authors since they are required to adhere to specific rhetorical conventions such as employing effective rhetorical moves to structure arguments and present research findings and implications. This study was conducted to: 1) investigate the rhetorical moves used in the research article (RA) discussions by Thai undergraduate student writers and internationally published Thai writers, and 2) analyze the patterns of rhetorical moves employed in the RA discussions by Thai undergraduate students and internationally published authors. The data were collected from a sample of 40 applied linguistics research articles, comprising 20 articles authored by Thai undergraduate writers published in national journals and conference proceedings, and 20 articles authored by Thai academics published in international journals. The findings revealed that both groups of writers employed all types of RA discussion moves, primarily when commenting on results. While undergraduate student writers mostly adhered to some of the obligatory moves when commenting on results and applied other moves to a limited extent, internationally published writers demonstrated a broader range of moves, most notably when comparing results to literature and showing examples of results. The differences in the use of rhetorical moves between undergraduate and internationally published writers suggest that learning and applying rhetorical moves and academic discourse structures could significantly improve the academic writing capabilities of both new and experienced writers, enabling them to effectively communicate ideas to international audiences.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Exploring the Wisdom about Content and Roles in the Chao Phraya Phraklang (Hon) Edition

Nutkritta Nammontree — 2024-07-05

This research article aims to explore the wisdom about content and roles within the literature of “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” particularly the Chao Phraya Phraklang (Hon) Edition. It utilizes the concept of content and analysis of the narrative; drawing upon data from “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” (hereinafter referred to as “RT3K,” as presented in this specific edition. The study found that the intellectual content in the literature of RT3K, Chao Phraya Phraklang (Hon) Edition, comprehensively covers various aspects of cultural life, including birth rituals, naming ceremonies, ordinations, marriages, funeral rites, teachings, beliefs, housing construction, occupations, the invention of tools, entertainment, and astrology. Furthermore, the responsibilities associated with this intellectual discourse include roles in education, the explaination of traditions, the impartation of moral lessons, and the promotion of tourism.