Nguyen Minh Trang | BDU (original) (raw)

Papers by Nguyen Minh Trang

International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 2020

This paper investigates research done on academic listening for the past 30 years from published ... more This paper investigates research done on academic listening for the past 30 years from published research articles found available online. It includes an introduction emphasizing the critical role listening skills have in academic settings. The paper then reviews the three models of listening comprehension processes, namely the bottom-up processing, the top-down processing, and the interactive model that illustrate how information is processed while language learners listen to spoken language. Key factors will also be analyzed. The linguistics factors, the cognitive factors and the affective factors greatly affect learners' listening comprehension processing. From a deep analysis of literature review, the paper concludes with suggested research perspectives related to brain functions, stress and anxiety in listening studies as well as pedagogical implications which help researchers and teachers find the right paths for their research implementation in the future. One listening model that suits students of all levels while doing academic activities seems unworkable, the paper suggests a rhizomatic approach to help language learners construct their own rhizomatic personal learning environments to resolve any individual challenges and develop their listening skills at their own pace and for their own taste. Contribution/ Originality: The paper is the first logical analysis of listening comprehension processing. Looking into the challenges students encounter while performing academic listening, it proposes research perspectives scholars and teachers can refer to for their future studies related to English listening skills. Findings from this article have pertinent pedagogical implications because an understanding of factors affecting listening can significantly help teachers' select appropriate methods in teaching various listening skills and thus enhance a student's motivation towards academic listening. 1. INTRODUCTION Listening has long been considered one of the most important skills that a language learner needs to master in order to use a language competently (

Indian Journal of Language and Linguistics

This paper attempts to summarize what is known about the nature and process of listening. It also... more This paper attempts to summarize what is known about the nature and process of listening. It also tries to relate theoretical issues to classroom practices. Teaching L2 listening in EFL large classes is not a passive process but an active one which assists students construct meaning in their mind. The paper then introduces listening types and different strategies that teachers can select to suit their listening teaching at language schools in general and in university in particular in which activities viewed from top-down, bottom-up, and interactive approaches are recommended. The paper focuses on activities and strategies such as lecturing, teacher talks and student talks that mainly occur at university settings. Web-based resources, online listening training with technology, and online assessment tools are also introduced. The paper ends with limitations and conclusion that encourage teachers and educators to further investigate related issues of this listening topic.

This mixed methods study investigated the difficulties and the causes of difficulties Thai studen... more This mixed methods study investigated the difficulties and the causes of difficulties Thai students at Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) faced while taking content-based instruction (CBI) courses taught by native speakers of English. The study also explores strategies employed by these students in coping with the difficulties. Two lecturers and 37 students from two classes participated in the study. Based on their previous academic achievements in English and subject content courses, the students were classified into three different groups: high achievers, moderate achievers, and low achievers. Three sets of data from a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and class observations were collected and analyzed. The results indicate that students’ low proficiency in English caused the most problems with comprehension during lectures. As for their strategy use, paying attention to the lecture and using keywords were employed most by the students in class. Reviewing lessons was a common strategy used outside of class to gain understanding of the lesson content. There were no significant differences in strategy use among students to deal with difficulties that stemmed from CBI courses. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Asian Research Association, 2022

This paper reviews gender differences in listening. The paper focuses on three main questions for... more This paper reviews gender differences in listening. The paper focuses on three main questions for reviewing related studies published previously: (1) Between boys and girls, who listen better? (2) Reasons males or females listen better? and (3) Which method(s) researchers mainly used to explore gender differences in listening? Two major fields of research in listening were investigated: cognitive and metacognitive studies. The review reveals that male and female students have used different brain hemispheres for their listening comprehension although there are still debates and discussions on this issue. The reasons males seem listen more attentively than females are due to that fact that males are likely to pay attention to facts while females on the contrary like to listen to information. Surprisingly, there is no clear indication or conclusion to the question "Between males and females, who listen better?", but this review recognizes that metacognitive instruction helps raise learners' metacognitive awareness and assists them in their listening comprehension improvement. Three research methods mostly used for investigating gender differences in listening are recognized which are dichotic listening, brain-dominance inventory, and Metacognitive Awareness of Listening Questionnaire (MALQ) focusing on raising listeners' cognitive and metacognitive awareness when students perform their listening tasks.

International Journal of Research in English Education

The study analyzed a corpus of 40 emails of requests composed by Vietnamese students to their uni... more The study analyzed a corpus of 40 emails of requests composed by Vietnamese students to their university lecturers. The study purpose was to identify politeness strategies composed by Vietnamese students using Brown and Levinson's model and Blum-Kulka, House and Kasper's framework as guidelines. To obtain the results, a discourse analysis was implemented. The AnConc software was used as a research tool for the study. 40 emails from 80 students were collected and divided into three types of requestive emails: assistance, confirmation and consideration, and recommendation for data analysis. Syntactical and lexical modifiers were examined and politeness markers were identified manually by the assistance of the AnConc software. The results indicated that Vietnamese students often used status-stating, deferent and solidary politeness strategies to approach their professors for personal requests. While using these three strategies, the target students had to use syntactical and lexical devices such as modals, interrogatives, please, and hedges as speech acts or supportive moves to gain their requestive purposes. The study also identified a common pattern that Vietnamese students liked to use the email corpus in the direction of salutation, selfintroduction, requests, reasons for request, and thank compliments. The study has pedagogical implications for language teachers and learners; e.g. email writing should be taught to students, especially ESP students as these students do not know the format and the appropriate language they should use in email composition. Language students should also pay attention to the correct formal form and cultural differences when composing requestive emails delivered to their professors.

Theory and Practice in Language Studies

YouTube videos play a vital role as powerful educational resources for language learning and cult... more YouTube videos play a vital role as powerful educational resources for language learning and cultural understanding. Using authentic YouTube videos to develop students’ writing skills is not often applied, especially at tertiary level. The paper discusses the reasons YouTube should be used as inside and outside of classroom writing activities. Then the research design offers a review of literature relating to the use of YouTube videos in various fields of language education. Methods to implement the research including research tools and steps taken for data analysis are also recommended. The article ends with limitation of the use of YouTube videos and suggestions for further studies of the topic.

Theory and Practice in Language Studies (TPLS), 2022

YouTube videos play a vital role as powerful educational resources for language learning and cult... more YouTube videos play a vital role as powerful educational resources for language learning and cultural understanding. Using authentic YouTube videos to develop students' writing skills is not often applied, especially at tertiary level. The paper discusses the reasons YouTube should be used as inside and outside of classroom writing activities. Then the research design offers a review of literature relating to the use of YouTube videos in various fields of language education. Methods to implement the research including research tools and steps taken for data analysis are also recommended. The article ends with limitation of the use of YouTube videos and suggestions for further studies of the topic.

International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies

Article History The paper proposes principles and a theoretical framework for the construction of... more Article History The paper proposes principles and a theoretical framework for the construction of an online personal learning environment model named the PLERN model, aiming to assist university students to improve their academic listening comprehension skills, and to apply the suggested model to investigate the targeted students' perception of online learning. The paper describes the importance of listening comprehension at tertiary level, and the principles employed to construct the PLERN model. It presents the theoretical and intellectual framework used to construct the model, and a suggested research methodology to effectively implement this online learning model in the digital age. The paper also includes research design, research settings, and participants, instruments to implement the PLERN model, and the data collection methods of data analysis procedures which bring out research findings as well as the recommendations of the future study. The paper ends by indicating the weaknesses and strengths of the model which help researchers maximize the model strengths and minimize its weaknesses. Contribution/Originality: The primary contribution of this paper is to construct a rhizomatic online PLERN model to assist university students improve their academic listening skills using resources completely free online, easily-accessed, and available online anytime and anywhere. This rhizomatic model aims to raise language learners' awareness of their great potentials that if used properly will lead to desired academic achievements.

International Journal of Research in English Education (IJREE), 2019

The study analyzed a corpus of 40 emails of requests composed by Vietnamese students to their uni... more The study analyzed a corpus of 40 emails of requests composed by Vietnamese students to their university lecturers. The study purpose was to identify politeness strategies composed by Vietnamese students using Brown and Levinson's model and Blum-Kulka, House and Kasper's framework as guidelines. To obtain the results, a discourse analysis was implemented. The AnConc software was used as a research tool for the study. 40 emails from 80 students were collected and divided into three types of requestive emails: assistance, confirmation and consideration, and recommendation for data analysis. Syntactical and lexical modifiers were examined and politeness markers were identified manually by the assistance of the AnConc software. The results indicated that Vietnamese students often used status-stating, deferent and solidary politeness strategies to approach their professors for personal requests. While using these three strategies, the target students had to use syntactical and le...

International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 2020

Article History Keywords Academic listening Listening processing Factors affecting listening comp... more Article History Keywords Academic listening Listening processing Factors affecting listening comprehension Listening problems Listening research. This paper investigates research done on academic listening for the past 30 years from published research articles found available online. It includes an introduction emphasizing the critical role listening skills have in academic settings. The paper then reviews the three models of listening comprehension processes, namely the bottom-up processing, the top-down processing, and the interactive model that illustrate how information is processed while language learners listen to spoken language. Key factors will also be analyzed. The linguistics factors, the cognitive factors and the affective factors greatly affect learners' listening comprehension processing. From a deep analysis of literature review, the paper concludes with suggested research perspectives related to brain functions, stress and anxiety in listening studies as well as ...

Langlit, 2019

It is undeniable that technology has been using extensively and being penetrated into our daily l... more It is undeniable that technology has been using extensively and being penetrated into our daily lives, including education. In ELT field, technology has transformed the ways teachers teach and the ways students learn. One of the technologies applied in education is the online Google Translate-an automatic machine introduced to ELT education in great extent, and it has influenced our ELT teaching methods. In this article, I will introduce some practical exercises that Google Translate can be widely used in teaching English pronunciation at a very basic level of language learning.

ELTMagazine, Apr 2018

The net generation With the rapid development of the Internet, the current generation of studen... more The net generation

With the rapid development of the Internet, the current generation of students is called “net generation students” or “digital students”. Also, with the rapid spread of technology, a number of textbook publishers are predicting that traditional textbooks used today will become obsolete as more and more schools adopt digital textbooks for their digital curriculum and for use by students on their netbook computers (Shell, Gunter & Gunter, 2010, p. 501). Scholars and researchers have predicted that traditional textbooks will fade into history as all areas of education create increasingly interactive and extensive Web- and video-enhanced digital textbooks. Furthermore, students can now access several sources more easily than the previous generation of students; therefore, traditional teaching methods mostly based on school textbooks do not really satisfy the needs of this generation of students. In fact, students, if they wish, are now able to access information from a multiplicity of highly reputable sources, not just from text books or lectures provided by their home institutions (Lian 2011, p. 6).

This study aims to investigate difficulties Vietnamese students faced when using commercial textb... more This study aims to investigate difficulties Vietnamese students faced when using commercial textbooks. A qualitative research method using classroom observations and a follow-up, semi-structured informal interviews were used to seek answers to the research questions. Research findings revealed among difficulties faced by Vietnamese students, language skills, textbook contents, cultural knowledge and professional terminology used in commercial textbooks are the biggest problems that the target students faced. These major problems were analyzed in depth and suggestions based on the research subjects " interviews and the researcher " s classroom practices and observations were made. The research also pointed out limitations of the study, suggested topics for future action research relating to discovered textbook problematic areas.

This paper is discussing the most common teaching and classroom management techniques or strategi... more This paper is discussing the most common teaching and classroom management techniques or strategies that classroom teachers used to cope with multilevel large classes. Firstly, the paper defines the terms 'large classes' as the terms are viewed differently from culture to culture. Then the paper finds out problems that teachers faced when teaching such large classes. Solutions to these problems are recommended in hope of assisting teachers, especially novice teachers to deal with the problems in their real situations. Practical classroom management strategies such as establishing classroom rules, learning student names and organizing seating plans, creating a friendly classroom atmosphere, and using student leaders are also introduced, aiming to help teachers, particularly Western teachers working in Asia, successfully run their large classes and avoid 'culture shocks' when they face such multilevel large classes in the region.

This mixed methods study investigated the difficulties and the causes of difficulties Thai studen... more This mixed methods study investigated the difficulties and the causes
of difficulties Thai students at Suranaree University of Technology
(SUT) faced while taking content-based instruction (CBI) courses
taught by native speakers of English. The study also explores
strategies employed by these students in coping with the difficulties.
Two lecturers and 37 students from two classes participated in the
study. Based on their previous academic achievements in English and
subject content courses, the students were classified into three
different groups: high achievers, moderate achievers, and low
achievers. Three sets of data from a questionnaire, semi-structured
interviews, and class observations were collected and analyzed. The
results indicate that students’ low proficiency in English caused the
most problems with comprehension during lectures. As for their
strategy use, paying attention to the lecture and using keywords were
employed most by the students in class. Reviewing lessons was a
common strategy used outside of class to gain understanding of the
lesson content. There were no significant differences in strategy use
among students to deal with difficulties that stemmed from CBI
courses. Limitations and recommendations for future research are
discussed.

International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 2020

This paper investigates research done on academic listening for the past 30 years from published ... more This paper investigates research done on academic listening for the past 30 years from published research articles found available online. It includes an introduction emphasizing the critical role listening skills have in academic settings. The paper then reviews the three models of listening comprehension processes, namely the bottom-up processing, the top-down processing, and the interactive model that illustrate how information is processed while language learners listen to spoken language. Key factors will also be analyzed. The linguistics factors, the cognitive factors and the affective factors greatly affect learners' listening comprehension processing. From a deep analysis of literature review, the paper concludes with suggested research perspectives related to brain functions, stress and anxiety in listening studies as well as pedagogical implications which help researchers and teachers find the right paths for their research implementation in the future. One listening model that suits students of all levels while doing academic activities seems unworkable, the paper suggests a rhizomatic approach to help language learners construct their own rhizomatic personal learning environments to resolve any individual challenges and develop their listening skills at their own pace and for their own taste. Contribution/ Originality: The paper is the first logical analysis of listening comprehension processing. Looking into the challenges students encounter while performing academic listening, it proposes research perspectives scholars and teachers can refer to for their future studies related to English listening skills. Findings from this article have pertinent pedagogical implications because an understanding of factors affecting listening can significantly help teachers' select appropriate methods in teaching various listening skills and thus enhance a student's motivation towards academic listening. 1. INTRODUCTION Listening has long been considered one of the most important skills that a language learner needs to master in order to use a language competently (

Indian Journal of Language and Linguistics

This paper attempts to summarize what is known about the nature and process of listening. It also... more This paper attempts to summarize what is known about the nature and process of listening. It also tries to relate theoretical issues to classroom practices. Teaching L2 listening in EFL large classes is not a passive process but an active one which assists students construct meaning in their mind. The paper then introduces listening types and different strategies that teachers can select to suit their listening teaching at language schools in general and in university in particular in which activities viewed from top-down, bottom-up, and interactive approaches are recommended. The paper focuses on activities and strategies such as lecturing, teacher talks and student talks that mainly occur at university settings. Web-based resources, online listening training with technology, and online assessment tools are also introduced. The paper ends with limitations and conclusion that encourage teachers and educators to further investigate related issues of this listening topic.

This mixed methods study investigated the difficulties and the causes of difficulties Thai studen... more This mixed methods study investigated the difficulties and the causes of difficulties Thai students at Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) faced while taking content-based instruction (CBI) courses taught by native speakers of English. The study also explores strategies employed by these students in coping with the difficulties. Two lecturers and 37 students from two classes participated in the study. Based on their previous academic achievements in English and subject content courses, the students were classified into three different groups: high achievers, moderate achievers, and low achievers. Three sets of data from a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and class observations were collected and analyzed. The results indicate that students’ low proficiency in English caused the most problems with comprehension during lectures. As for their strategy use, paying attention to the lecture and using keywords were employed most by the students in class. Reviewing lessons was a common strategy used outside of class to gain understanding of the lesson content. There were no significant differences in strategy use among students to deal with difficulties that stemmed from CBI courses. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Asian Research Association, 2022

This paper reviews gender differences in listening. The paper focuses on three main questions for... more This paper reviews gender differences in listening. The paper focuses on three main questions for reviewing related studies published previously: (1) Between boys and girls, who listen better? (2) Reasons males or females listen better? and (3) Which method(s) researchers mainly used to explore gender differences in listening? Two major fields of research in listening were investigated: cognitive and metacognitive studies. The review reveals that male and female students have used different brain hemispheres for their listening comprehension although there are still debates and discussions on this issue. The reasons males seem listen more attentively than females are due to that fact that males are likely to pay attention to facts while females on the contrary like to listen to information. Surprisingly, there is no clear indication or conclusion to the question "Between males and females, who listen better?", but this review recognizes that metacognitive instruction helps raise learners' metacognitive awareness and assists them in their listening comprehension improvement. Three research methods mostly used for investigating gender differences in listening are recognized which are dichotic listening, brain-dominance inventory, and Metacognitive Awareness of Listening Questionnaire (MALQ) focusing on raising listeners' cognitive and metacognitive awareness when students perform their listening tasks.

International Journal of Research in English Education

The study analyzed a corpus of 40 emails of requests composed by Vietnamese students to their uni... more The study analyzed a corpus of 40 emails of requests composed by Vietnamese students to their university lecturers. The study purpose was to identify politeness strategies composed by Vietnamese students using Brown and Levinson's model and Blum-Kulka, House and Kasper's framework as guidelines. To obtain the results, a discourse analysis was implemented. The AnConc software was used as a research tool for the study. 40 emails from 80 students were collected and divided into three types of requestive emails: assistance, confirmation and consideration, and recommendation for data analysis. Syntactical and lexical modifiers were examined and politeness markers were identified manually by the assistance of the AnConc software. The results indicated that Vietnamese students often used status-stating, deferent and solidary politeness strategies to approach their professors for personal requests. While using these three strategies, the target students had to use syntactical and lexical devices such as modals, interrogatives, please, and hedges as speech acts or supportive moves to gain their requestive purposes. The study also identified a common pattern that Vietnamese students liked to use the email corpus in the direction of salutation, selfintroduction, requests, reasons for request, and thank compliments. The study has pedagogical implications for language teachers and learners; e.g. email writing should be taught to students, especially ESP students as these students do not know the format and the appropriate language they should use in email composition. Language students should also pay attention to the correct formal form and cultural differences when composing requestive emails delivered to their professors.

Theory and Practice in Language Studies

YouTube videos play a vital role as powerful educational resources for language learning and cult... more YouTube videos play a vital role as powerful educational resources for language learning and cultural understanding. Using authentic YouTube videos to develop students’ writing skills is not often applied, especially at tertiary level. The paper discusses the reasons YouTube should be used as inside and outside of classroom writing activities. Then the research design offers a review of literature relating to the use of YouTube videos in various fields of language education. Methods to implement the research including research tools and steps taken for data analysis are also recommended. The article ends with limitation of the use of YouTube videos and suggestions for further studies of the topic.

Theory and Practice in Language Studies (TPLS), 2022

YouTube videos play a vital role as powerful educational resources for language learning and cult... more YouTube videos play a vital role as powerful educational resources for language learning and cultural understanding. Using authentic YouTube videos to develop students' writing skills is not often applied, especially at tertiary level. The paper discusses the reasons YouTube should be used as inside and outside of classroom writing activities. Then the research design offers a review of literature relating to the use of YouTube videos in various fields of language education. Methods to implement the research including research tools and steps taken for data analysis are also recommended. The article ends with limitation of the use of YouTube videos and suggestions for further studies of the topic.

International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies

Article History The paper proposes principles and a theoretical framework for the construction of... more Article History The paper proposes principles and a theoretical framework for the construction of an online personal learning environment model named the PLERN model, aiming to assist university students to improve their academic listening comprehension skills, and to apply the suggested model to investigate the targeted students' perception of online learning. The paper describes the importance of listening comprehension at tertiary level, and the principles employed to construct the PLERN model. It presents the theoretical and intellectual framework used to construct the model, and a suggested research methodology to effectively implement this online learning model in the digital age. The paper also includes research design, research settings, and participants, instruments to implement the PLERN model, and the data collection methods of data analysis procedures which bring out research findings as well as the recommendations of the future study. The paper ends by indicating the weaknesses and strengths of the model which help researchers maximize the model strengths and minimize its weaknesses. Contribution/Originality: The primary contribution of this paper is to construct a rhizomatic online PLERN model to assist university students improve their academic listening skills using resources completely free online, easily-accessed, and available online anytime and anywhere. This rhizomatic model aims to raise language learners' awareness of their great potentials that if used properly will lead to desired academic achievements.

International Journal of Research in English Education (IJREE), 2019

The study analyzed a corpus of 40 emails of requests composed by Vietnamese students to their uni... more The study analyzed a corpus of 40 emails of requests composed by Vietnamese students to their university lecturers. The study purpose was to identify politeness strategies composed by Vietnamese students using Brown and Levinson's model and Blum-Kulka, House and Kasper's framework as guidelines. To obtain the results, a discourse analysis was implemented. The AnConc software was used as a research tool for the study. 40 emails from 80 students were collected and divided into three types of requestive emails: assistance, confirmation and consideration, and recommendation for data analysis. Syntactical and lexical modifiers were examined and politeness markers were identified manually by the assistance of the AnConc software. The results indicated that Vietnamese students often used status-stating, deferent and solidary politeness strategies to approach their professors for personal requests. While using these three strategies, the target students had to use syntactical and le...

International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 2020

Article History Keywords Academic listening Listening processing Factors affecting listening comp... more Article History Keywords Academic listening Listening processing Factors affecting listening comprehension Listening problems Listening research. This paper investigates research done on academic listening for the past 30 years from published research articles found available online. It includes an introduction emphasizing the critical role listening skills have in academic settings. The paper then reviews the three models of listening comprehension processes, namely the bottom-up processing, the top-down processing, and the interactive model that illustrate how information is processed while language learners listen to spoken language. Key factors will also be analyzed. The linguistics factors, the cognitive factors and the affective factors greatly affect learners' listening comprehension processing. From a deep analysis of literature review, the paper concludes with suggested research perspectives related to brain functions, stress and anxiety in listening studies as well as ...

Langlit, 2019

It is undeniable that technology has been using extensively and being penetrated into our daily l... more It is undeniable that technology has been using extensively and being penetrated into our daily lives, including education. In ELT field, technology has transformed the ways teachers teach and the ways students learn. One of the technologies applied in education is the online Google Translate-an automatic machine introduced to ELT education in great extent, and it has influenced our ELT teaching methods. In this article, I will introduce some practical exercises that Google Translate can be widely used in teaching English pronunciation at a very basic level of language learning.

ELTMagazine, Apr 2018

The net generation With the rapid development of the Internet, the current generation of studen... more The net generation

With the rapid development of the Internet, the current generation of students is called “net generation students” or “digital students”. Also, with the rapid spread of technology, a number of textbook publishers are predicting that traditional textbooks used today will become obsolete as more and more schools adopt digital textbooks for their digital curriculum and for use by students on their netbook computers (Shell, Gunter & Gunter, 2010, p. 501). Scholars and researchers have predicted that traditional textbooks will fade into history as all areas of education create increasingly interactive and extensive Web- and video-enhanced digital textbooks. Furthermore, students can now access several sources more easily than the previous generation of students; therefore, traditional teaching methods mostly based on school textbooks do not really satisfy the needs of this generation of students. In fact, students, if they wish, are now able to access information from a multiplicity of highly reputable sources, not just from text books or lectures provided by their home institutions (Lian 2011, p. 6).

This study aims to investigate difficulties Vietnamese students faced when using commercial textb... more This study aims to investigate difficulties Vietnamese students faced when using commercial textbooks. A qualitative research method using classroom observations and a follow-up, semi-structured informal interviews were used to seek answers to the research questions. Research findings revealed among difficulties faced by Vietnamese students, language skills, textbook contents, cultural knowledge and professional terminology used in commercial textbooks are the biggest problems that the target students faced. These major problems were analyzed in depth and suggestions based on the research subjects " interviews and the researcher " s classroom practices and observations were made. The research also pointed out limitations of the study, suggested topics for future action research relating to discovered textbook problematic areas.

This paper is discussing the most common teaching and classroom management techniques or strategi... more This paper is discussing the most common teaching and classroom management techniques or strategies that classroom teachers used to cope with multilevel large classes. Firstly, the paper defines the terms 'large classes' as the terms are viewed differently from culture to culture. Then the paper finds out problems that teachers faced when teaching such large classes. Solutions to these problems are recommended in hope of assisting teachers, especially novice teachers to deal with the problems in their real situations. Practical classroom management strategies such as establishing classroom rules, learning student names and organizing seating plans, creating a friendly classroom atmosphere, and using student leaders are also introduced, aiming to help teachers, particularly Western teachers working in Asia, successfully run their large classes and avoid 'culture shocks' when they face such multilevel large classes in the region.

This mixed methods study investigated the difficulties and the causes of difficulties Thai studen... more This mixed methods study investigated the difficulties and the causes
of difficulties Thai students at Suranaree University of Technology
(SUT) faced while taking content-based instruction (CBI) courses
taught by native speakers of English. The study also explores
strategies employed by these students in coping with the difficulties.
Two lecturers and 37 students from two classes participated in the
study. Based on their previous academic achievements in English and
subject content courses, the students were classified into three
different groups: high achievers, moderate achievers, and low
achievers. Three sets of data from a questionnaire, semi-structured
interviews, and class observations were collected and analyzed. The
results indicate that students’ low proficiency in English caused the
most problems with comprehension during lectures. As for their
strategy use, paying attention to the lecture and using keywords were
employed most by the students in class. Reviewing lessons was a
common strategy used outside of class to gain understanding of the
lesson content. There were no significant differences in strategy use
among students to deal with difficulties that stemmed from CBI
courses. Limitations and recommendations for future research are
discussed.