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This study investigates the implementation of self-assessment in writing by intermediate EFL students at a university in Thailand. The participants included 16 students who took English Course Level 5 at the university and two native speakers who rated the students' essays. The student participants were divided into two groups, control and experimental. The students in the control group were asked to self-assess, as an editing process, their essays but without using self-assessment checklists. They did not have self-assessment training. The students in the experimental group were asked to self- assess, also as an editing process, their first essays without any access to self-assessment checklists or training. Then they were trained to self-assess the second and third essays using the self-assessment checklists. Finally, they self-assessed the fourth essay using the checklists only. All four essays of the 16 student participants were graded by the two native speakers. Then the student participants and the ~o native speakers were interviewed. All of them also answered questions in the reflective journals. The results from the data collected from the interviews, reflective journals and the essay scores were triangulated to find out how each participant perceived the benefits of self- assessment in writing, what the differences were between the participants who had self- assessment training and those who did not, how was the students' writing affected by self-assessment, and what the common obstacles to students' self-assessment in writing were.

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This research aimed to investigate the complex interrelationship between Thai EFL teachers' identities and their pedagogical practices. Drawing on Wenger's (f998) theory of learning as a dual process of identity formation and negotiation of meanings, this study examines the lived experiences of Thai EFL teachers and explores the way in which these teachers' identities shape, and are shaped by their classroom practices. This study was conducted at an elite university in Thailand, and six Thai EFL teachers with different educational backgrounds and teaching experiences participated in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, stimulated recall, teachers' reflection notes/talks, field notes, research diaries and document review. Using a combination of Wenger's (1998) concept of communities of practice and Tajfel's (1981) notion of social identity, the data analysis uncovers several key factors affecting the Thai EFL teachers' identity formation. The findings firstly suggest that the participants' language learning trajectories and their English proficiency contribute significantly to their personal identity formation within the TESOL profession. Secondly, the reputation of the language institute, the status of university lecturers, and the fact that teachers are highly respected in Thai society play a pivotal role in the way in which these teachers construct their social identity. Finally, their qualifications, ELT knowledge and expertise, research experience, definition of teaching success, professional recognition, and involvement in the ELT professional organisations greatly influence their professional identity formation. These key findings are interrelated and context-specific, and reflect a complex nature of identity formation. It was also found that the Thai EFL teachers' beliefs and decision-making, their roles and positioning, their ELT knowledge and expertise, and their instructional strategies play a key part in informing their pedagogical practices. It became evident that the participants in this study enacted their identities as they engaged in practice. Since teaching is not an isolated activity, and practice does not exist in vacuum, there are many other factors influencing the participants' identities formation and their classroom practices. These include the Thai National Higher Education policies, KCLI curriculum and course syllabus, the assessment practice, students' English proficiency and their learning styles, and the changing nature of the ELT field. The insights gained from this study pose implications for professional development for in-service teachers and provide recommendations for SL TE for pre-service teachers.

Learning an additional language, either as a second or a foreign language, is complicated and requires extensive support. Learning English in Thailand is especially tough, as there is a lack of support in the wider social context as well as in schools and classrooms. This research study centres on the young children's achievement in learning English as a second or a foreign language. The theoretical framework of this study is based on claims about young learners' positive characteristics that facilitate language learning. It draws on Vygotsky and Bruner's concepts about children's learning, which are the reflections on Piaget's theory of development, especially in terms of sociocultural theory, as well as some relevant concepts on second language acquisition, task-based language teaching (TBLT), and interactions in learning. This study investigates the implementation of this EFL program instruction with English as the only medium of instruction delivered to these early-years learners in a late kindergarten level who are limited in capacity to communicate with other people even in their own first language. The focus is on language learning policy and language use. In the area of language learning policy, it explores how the formulated policy turns into the curricular focuses to promote English language acquisition. In the area of language use, it investigates the . classroom activities and how the teacher and the learners play roles in promoting or impeding the language learning in this classroom practice. This research study is conducted in interpretive/naturalistic paradigm to collect qualitative data authentically emerging during the instructional process in the 'natural setting' (Richards 2003: 10), through three major kinds of instruments: document reviews; observations; and interviews.

The current study investigates the L2 acquisition of epistemic modals e.g. MUST, WILL, and MAY/MIGHT by Thai-speaking children and adults. The most crucial differences between Thai and English regarding epistemic modality are the syntactic mechanisms which indicate the reference time of the modal complements. The reference time of the modal complements in English is indicated by certain syntactic patterns, while the reference time of the modal complements in Thai is indicated by temporal adverbials or the context. These differences were therefore assumed to be the most difficult aspects of the epistemic modals in English which the Thai L2 learners of English have to acquire. The fundamental research questions were addressed on the grounds of the Full Transfer, Full Access Hypothesis (Schwartz and Sprouse 1996) which acknowledges the role of Ll properties and the involvement of UG-constrained SLA. Child L2 acquisition was compared with both adult L2 acquisition, and child Ll acquisition. The motivation of the comparison comes from Schwartz (1992, 2003a, b) who argues that comparison of child L2 acquisition with adult L2 acquisition, and with child Ll acquisition potentially provides evidence in support or against theories of Ll and L2 acquisition. A truth value judgment task was conducted, whereby the subjects were asked to decide whether the statements given were temporally felicitous to the test stories. The results show that, in terms of Ll transfer, the Ll properties were observed in both child L2 acquisition and adult L2 acquisition. The L2 children and the L2 adults allowed the interpretations which are not possible for the modal statements in English, but whose counterparts are possible in Thai. In terms of the acquisition of the syntactic patterns which constrain reference time, the L2 children have not acquired the syntactic patterns which constrain the reference time of the modal complements. These results suggest no clear evidence to support that the L2 children have overcome the poverty of the stimulus. Some of the L2 adults, on the other hand, appear to have acquired some syntactic patterns. This finding leads to speculation about the role of cognitive development in the acquisition of epistemic modality.

This thesis investigates the current situation of pocket electronic dictionary use in Thailand. It explores the types of dictionary owned and used by Thai learners and their teachers, and the teachers’ attitudes towards the use of pocket electronic dictionaries (PEDs). It also explores how Thai learners use pocket electronic dictionaries to write a summary in English (production) and to write a summary in Thai (reception), and strategies that Thai students use to try to solve their reading and writing problems. The participants in my studies included 30 lecturers who taught basic English courses at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok. Data was collected using a questionnaire to obtain personal information, and information about access to and use of dictionaries, including knowledge about PEDs. Of the 30 teachers, 6 were interviewed in order to gain insights into teachers’ attitudes towards the use of PEDs. For my large-scale survey on dictionary use there were 1,211 first and second year undergraduate participants. These came from the Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Science, and Faculty of Industrial Education. Of these, 27 were selected to take part in my small scale survey of pocket electronic dictionary use. The first student survey was used to gain quantitative data about the students and their use of dictionaries, while the second student survey was used to gain more qualitative data regarding their use of PEDs. Finally, 13 out of the 27 participants were chosen to take part in the main experimental studies. Data was collected using think aloud, observation, and retrospective interviews. The first eight participants were asked to read two reading passages (one in English and the other one in Thai). Using dictionaries in their PEDs, the participants were asked to write a summary in Thai for the English passage (the Light Bulb I experiment) and to write a summary in English for the Thai passage (the Water I experiment). The remaining 5 participants followed the same procedures, but additionally after the two summary tasks were completed they were asked to review their summaries again using Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary, the English-English dictionary in their PEDs (the Light Bulb II and the Water II experiments). ii The data was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings revealed that the teachers used and preferred their students to use monolingual learners’ dictionaries. They noticed the presence of PEDs in the classroom but they were under-informed about the contents and capabilities of Thai PEDs. The student surveys showed that although most students possessed learners’ dictionaries in book form, only a few of those owning the learners’ dictionaries reported actually using them. In contrast, nearly half of the students owned PEDs and most of these students reported using them. A greater number of students also reported they would like to use or own a PED in the future. The findings also suggest that the teachers do not have much influence over their students’ choice of dictionaries. The experimental studies revealed how the participants tackled the reading passages and wrote summaries, the problems they encountered, and the strategies they used to solve these problems. Models of PED consultations were proposed. The use of the English-English dictionary in their PEDs helped participants to comprehend the reading text, and helped some participants when reviewing their English summaries. It was found that some participants failed to display knowledge of the PEDs they were using. The investigations reveal several factors that may hinder dictionary look up success as well as factors that may promote dictionary look up success. On the basis of this research, guidelines for buying PEDs and for teaching PED skills are proposed. This research makes a significant contribution to the field of dictionary use, especially regarding the use of pocket electronic dictionaries. Through the use of a combination of research methods it provides an account of what really happens when PEDs are used for reception and for production. It also investigates and assesses PED features in detail, something which no existing PED studies have done before.