The The Innovation to Develop Business English Communication Skills of Students at Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna: Lampang Campus

Abstract

The research article consisted of the following objectives: 1) to promote and develop the business English communication skills of students at Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, Lampang Campus, and 2) to propose the innovation on business English communication skills of students at Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, Lampang Campus. The study applied a qualitative research and action research methods. The research instruments were 1) structured questionnaire; 2) a questionnaire on social factors; and 3) an assessment on the guideline to develop business English communication skills. The key informants included 1) 10 community entrepreneurs; 2) 10 students; and 3) 5 faculty members; together in a total of 25 persons. From the study, the following results are found: 1) The entrepreneurs, students, and faculty members all have opinion in the same direction, that is, there should be a development in English communication skills. The entrepreneurs view that the English communication skill will provide them more opportunities with their own businesses. While students view that they have basic English communication skills but still not enough to use. They also lack confidence in their knowledge, which prevents them from progressing as they should have. This may cause them to lose opportunities in the future; 2) When studying and analyzing the problems of English communication with the community entrepreneurs in a participatory manner, it is found that there should be a space to practice English communication skills, including the learning resources to improve English communication skills for students. Furthermore, for the learning to be successful and achieve the objectives, it relies on the application of the Dhamma such as Saṅgahavatthu (the 4 bases of social solidarity) which is the doctrine aiming for the generosity and hospitality of people. The data that has been analyzed and designed as the learning innovation to develop the English communication skills has resulted in the 8 learning units that can help students with their English communication skills, including those who are interested, as well as their readiness to use their own knowledge effectively.