Phonological and Writing Systems of English and Thai

In the second language and foreign language (FL) classroom literature, it has been claimed that several variables related to the interface between L1 and L2/ FL, i.e. psychological aspects, contribute to language learners’ perception and production of a foreign language. A study of these variables could have important implications for the teaching of foreign languages. More recently, the role of spoken and written L2 input (e.g. Bassetti, 2008; Moyer, 2009) has been studied in greater detail, and there is an abundance of such studies. In this chapter, the relevant literature will be illustrated and critiqued, with particular attention to the works on phonological systems and writing systems across languages and the interaction between the two systems. In addition, the influence of affective factors on the productive skills of Thai learners is reviewed. The first section of the chapter is a discussion of the relevant literature on the differences between phonological and writing systems across languages and the resulting language learner output, followed by a review of the framework to be used in this study. The final section is a review of the effects of the affective factors on the learners’ language achievement and language performance as well as on language learning.

1. The related literature

The findings reported in the literature that the majority of Thai learners of English demonstrate a low degree of proficiency, especially in the productive skills (speaking and writing) reflect the fact that “English language pedagogy in Thailand … is still in its infancy” (Wongsothorn, A., Hiranburana, K. & Chinnawongs, S., 2002; Laopongharn & Sercombe, 2009, among others). As reported in the national survey (1999) conducted by the Office of Educational Testing of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction (in Khamkhien, 2010), “high school students’ productive skills were generally below 50 per cent, i.e. below average, leading to the recommendation in