FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AND STUDY SKILLS AMONG INDONESIAN AND THAI GRADUATE STUDENTS OF EDUCATION STUDIES
ABSTRACT: The research was aimed
at identifying Indonesian and Thai graduate students’ competence in foreign
language, English or other foreign languages, describing their study skills by
documenting their foreign language learning strategies, and documenting the
ways in which they use their competence in English or other foreign languages
to facilitate their learning processes. Participants of the study possessed
different foreign language skills other than English. Some Indonesian students
could speak French and Japanese, and Thai students were able to speak Chinese
and Laos. However, their foreign language skills were mostly poor. Only a few
students claimed that they were good foreign language speakers. It is believed
that when individuals do not practice their foreign language skills frequently,
they will lose their skills acquisition as they are not able to keep their
language knowledge in their memory. In terms of language use, they speak
foreign language(s) for academic, professional, economic, and cultural
purposes. In sum, both Indonesian and Thai graduate students are mostly
classified into receptive type of learners as they tend to improve receptive
language skills rather than productive ones because for their academic
purposes, which only require them to read and listen. It is recommended that
the students improve their academic writing skills.
Author: Riswanda Setiadi,
Araya Pirakun
Journal Code: jppendidikangg150192
