Exploring the Factors Leading to Thai Students’ Problems in Learning English Elements

<table width="662" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="393"><p>Learning English as a foreign language abroad can be challenging. This phenomenon occurred in Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Purwokerto where seven Thai students studied in the English Language Teaching Department. The students faced difficulties in learning English especially English sub-skills such as vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. This study aims to explore the causes of Thai students’ problems in learning English components. The method employed was a case study with a qualitative approach. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, then analysed using some phases namely familiarizing and organizing, coding and reducing, and interpreting and representing. The result revealed several essential findings. Firstly, the causes leading to pronunciation problems were anxiety, accent confusion, classroom environment, and L1 interference. Secondly, difficulties in learning vocabulary were caused by lack of motivation, learners' peer group, language learner ability, and unfamiliar vocabulary. Thirdly, the factors causing difficulty in mastering grammar were many English grammar formulas, negative attitudes toward grammar, and lack of motivation. Thus, the Thai students’ problems in learning English language components were caused by several different factors.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>