Investigating English Personal Experience Narrative Texts of Thai Learners of English as a Foreign Language

This study explores English personal experience narrative texts produced by Thai EFL learners across proficiency levels and compares their narrative elements. 45 Thai EFL learners at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels wrote 250-word English narrative texts on their selected topics. Using Labov and Waletzky’s (1967) and Labov’s (1972) framework of narrative structures, six elements were found: abstract, orientation, complicating action, evaluation, resolution, and coda. Among the participants, the evaluation was the most prominent element across all groups, while abstract and coda were the least frequently used among Thai EFL learners. The use of evaluation highlights the credibility of English narrative writing, that the events narrated occurred. The least frequently used abstract and coda among the Thai EFL learners suggests a not complex narrative storyline across the sample groups. The highlight of the evaluation element underscores how Thai EFL learners would use narrative structure for academic writing or online posts and produce a more effective narrative writing or a more popular post.