THE USE AND THE PROBLEMS OF ENGLISH AND

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF

THAI TOURIST POLICE OFFICERS

MISS SARINYA TIPMONTREE

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Master of Arts Department of

English for Business and Technology

Graduate School

University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce

2007 © Copyright by University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce

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การใชและปญหาของการใชทักษะภาษาอังกฤษและการสื่อสารระหวางวัฒนธรรมของตํารวจทองเที่ยวไทย

นางสาว สรินยา ทิพยมนตรี

วิทยานิพนธนี้เปนสวนหนึ่งของการศึกษาตามหลักสูตรปริญญาศิลปศาสตรมหาบัณฑิต สาขาวิชาภาษาอังกฤษเพื่อธุรกิจและการสื่อสาร บัณฑิตวิทยาลัย มหาวิทยาลัยหอการคาไทย

พ.ศ. 2550 ลิขสิทธิ์ของมหาวิทยาลัยหอการคาไทย

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THESIS APPROVAL

GRADUATE SCHOOL

Master of Arts

Degree English for Business and Technology

Major Field

Title The Use and the Problems of English and Intercultural Communication Skills of Thai Tourist Police Officers

Sarinya Tipmontree 2007 Name Graduation Year

Accepted by the Graduate School, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master’s Degree.

………………………………………………………………… Dean, Graduate School (Dr. Ekkachai Apisakkul)

Thesis Committee:

………………………………………………………………… Chairperson (Dr. Wanida Ploysangwal)

………………………………………………………………… Thesis Advisor (Dr. Parichat Wongsuwan)

………………………………………………………………… External Committee (Associate Professor Dr. Damrong Attaprechakul)

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Thesis Title: The Use and the Problems of English and Intercultural

Communication Skills of Thai Tourist Police Officers

Name: Ms. Sarinya Tipmontree

Degree: Master of Arts

Major Field: English for Business and Technology

Thesis Advisor: Dr.Parichat Wongsuwan

Year: 2007

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use and the problems of English

speaking, listening and intercultural communication skills of Thai tourist police officers.

The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire administered to 40 Thai tourist

police who contacted directly with foreign tourist. The data obtained were analyzed with

SPSS and were tested for significant differences of English use in the two groups. Then

the post hoc comparison was applied to identify the differences.

The result were as follow: Thai tourist police had problems with grammar and

understanding foreign tourists’ accent. They at times could not understand and could not

reply either. The most common problems they encountered were losing belonging, being

robbed and fighting with local people. They seek assistant mostly from foreign

volunteer and using non verbal communication. They often used eye contact, body

language & facial expressions, space, and had problems with the proper use of distance

and paralanguage.

Thai tourist police, especially at the Patrol and Bangkok Service Airport, clearly

need to improve their speaking and overall English skills.

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หัวขอวิทยานิพนธ การใชและปญหาของการใชทักษะภาษาอังกฤษและการสื่อสารระหวาง

วัฒนธรรมของตํารวจทองเที่ยวไทย

ชื่อนักศึกษา นางสาว สรินยา ทิพยมนตรี

ปริญญา ศิลปศาสตรมหาบัณฑิต

สาขาวิชา ภาษาอังกฤษเพ่ือธุรกิจ และเทคโนโลย ี

อาจารยที่ปรึกษา ดร. ปาริฉัฐษร วงศสุวรรณ

ปที่สําเร็จการศึกษา 2550

บทคัดยอ

การศึกษาวิจัยเรื่องนี้มีจุดประสงคเพ่ือสํารวจการใช และปญหาในการใชทักษะการพูด

การฟงภาษาอังกฤษ และการสื่อสารระหวางวัฒนธรรมของตํารวจทองเท่ียวไทย เคร่ืองมือในการ

วิจัยที่ใชในการศึกษาน้ี คือแบบสอบถามทีส่อบถามตํารวจทองเท่ียวทีป่ฏิบัติหนาทีต่ิดตอกับ

นักทองเท่ียวชาวตางชาติจํานวน 40 คน และไดทําการวิเคราะหขอมูลโดยใชโปรแกรม SPSS

ผลการวิจัยพบวา ตํารวจทองเท่ียวมีปญหาในการใชไวยากรณภาษาอังกฤษ และความ

เขาใจในสําเนียงของนักทองเท่ียวชาวตางชาติ มีปญหาในการเขาใจนักทองเท่ียวชาวตางชาตแิละ

ไมสามารถโตตอบได และยงัพบวาปญหาทั่วไปที่นักทักเที่ยวขอความชวยเหลือบอยคร้ังคือการแจง

ความของหาย การถูกขโมยของ และการมีปญหาทะเลาะกบัคนในทองถิ่น เม่ือตํารวจทองเที่ยวไม

สามารถสื่อสารโดยใชภาษาอังกฤษ ก็จะมีการใชภาษาทาทางชวยในการส่ือสาร มีการแสดงออก

ทางสายตาในการสื่อสาร แสดงความรูสึกทางสีหนา ระยะหางระหวางบุคคล (space and distance)

และมีปญหาในการใชระยะหาง และการใชเสียง (paralanguage) ตํารวจทองเท่ียวโดยเฉพาะผูที่

ปฏิบัติหนาทีท่ี่สนามบินดอนเมืองควรไดรับการปรับปรุงดานการพูด และทักษะการใชภาษาอังกฤษ

โดยรวม

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have had considerable help in turning this thesis from an idea into a reality. I

am deeply indebted to Dr. Parichat Wongsuwane, my thesis advisor, for her

encouragement and her expertise to me on this study. Her academic expertise and

encouragement, as well as her invaluable guidance given to me throughout my studies,

has contributed greatly to the completion of this thesis. My sincere appreciation is also

extended to Ajarn Patcharin, my thesis co-advisor, for her thoughtful comments and

insistence on accuracy.

Special thanks go to Dr. Norris Smith, Psychology Professor, for carefully and

precisely editing this thesis, and for his suggestions, willing to assist on short notice, and

frank critique.

My study could not have been completed without the cooperation of the Major

and all members of the tourist police working at both the Bangkok airport and radio

center who responded to the questionnaires and the structured interviews.

Above all, I am immensely grateful to my beloved parents and two younger

brothers. Their support, understanding, love, and patience inspired me to fulfill myself

through this undertaking.

Sarinya Tipmontree

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………. iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…..……………………………………………….…….. vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………. vii

LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………... ix

Chapter

I Introduction…………………………………………………………….…. 1

1.1 Background and Rationale of the Study………………………... 1

1.2 Objectives of Research………………………………………...... 7

1.3 Research Questions……………………………………………... 7

1.4 The Scope of the Study…………………………………………. 8

1.5 Limitations of the Study………………………………………… 8

1.6 Significance of the Study………………………………………... 8

1.7 Definition of Terms…….………………………………………... 9

II Review of Literature…………………………………………………….... 11

2.1 The Important of English…………………………………….…... 11

2.2 The Important of Listening and Speaking in Communication….... 13

2.3 English for Specific Purposes…………………………………… 17

2.4 History, Duties, and Responsibilities of Thai Tourist Police…… 22

2.5 Cross- cultural Communication…………………………………. 25

2.6 Previous Research Studies………………………………………... 34

III Research Methodology…………………………………………………… 40

3.1 Population and Sampling………………………………………... 40

3.2 Research Instrument…………………………….………………. 41

3.3 Data Collection………………………………………….……..... 43

3.4 Data Analysis…………………………………..……………..…. 43

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TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED)

Page

IV Findings………………………………………………………………….. 45

4.1 Demographic Data……………………………………….….…... 45

4.2 Quantity of English Use in Daily Work…………………………. 48

4.3 Problems with English Use…..………………………………….. 50

4.4 Nonverbal Communication and Expression of Nonverbal

Behaviors in a Cross-cultural Context……..……………………. 69

4.5 Problems in Using and Understanding Nonverbal

Communications………………………………………….…….... 71

V Discussions and Conclusions…………………….………………….……. 74

5.1 Summary of the Study…………………………………………... 74

5.2 Discussions of the Findings……..………………………………. 75

5.3 Conclusions……..………………………………………….……. 80

5.4 Recommendations for an English Training Course for

Thai Tourist Police……………………………………………… 83

5.5 Recommendations for Future Research…….………………….... 85

BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………. 87

APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………... 94

Appendix A. Questionnaire…………………………………………………... 95

Appendix B. Cover Letter…………………………………………..………... 106

Appendix C. Organizational Structure of Thai Tourist Police Division…..…. 107

BIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………….……….. 108

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. The Number of Tourists Visiting Thailand by Countries

of Residence in 2004 and 2005….…………………………………………... 2

2. Respondents’ Genders…..……………………………..……………………. 46

3. Respondents’ Age Groups……………………………………..……………. 46

4. Respondents’ Fields of Study………………………………………..……… 46

5. Respondents’ Work Sections…………………………….………………….. 47

6. Respondents’ Years of Work Experience…………………………………… 47

7. Taking an English Course for Tourist Police………………………………... 47

8. Knowledge of Other Languages……………………………………………... 48

9. The Use of English Speaking and Listening Skills in Daily Work………….. 48

10. The Use of English Listening Skills in Daily Work…………………………. 49

11. The Use of English Speaking Skills in Daily Work…………………………. 49

12. Problem with English Listening and Speaking Skills………………………... 50

13. Relationship between Fields of Study and Listening Skills…………………. 50

14. Relationship between Fields of Study and Speaking Skills…………………. 50

15. Relationship between Work Sections and Listening Skills………………….. 51

16. Relationship between Work Sections and Speaking Skills………………….. 51

17. Relationship between Years of Work Experience and Listening and

Speaking Skills……………………………………………………………….. 52

18. Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problems of

Speaking Skills……………………………………………………………….. 52

19. Problem with English Use in Daily Work…………………………………..... 53

20. Relationship between Fields of Study and Problems with English Use……… 54

21. Relationship between Work Sections and Problems with English Use……… 55

22. Relationship between Years of Work Experience and Problems with

English Use…………………………………………………………………… 56

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LIST OF TABLES (CONTINUED)

Table Page

23. Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of

Understanding Dialogs via Telephone Calls…………………………………. 57

24. Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of

Using Proper English Grammar……………………………………………… 58

25. Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of

Understanding Tourists’ Accents….…………………………………………. 58

26. Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and Feeling Embarrassed to

Speak English……………….………………………………………………... 59

27. Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of Not

Understanding and Not Being Able to Respond Foreign Tourists…………… 60

28. Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of

Understanding and Not Being Able to Respond Foreign Tourists…………… 60

29. Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of Responding

with Inappropriate Words……………………………………………………. 61

30. Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem that Foreign

Tourists Do not Understand When Thai Tourist Police Speak English……... 62

31. Ranking of Problems that Foreign Tourists Ask for Assistant for………….. 63

32. Ability in Solving Problems of Foreign Tourists……………………………. 64

33. Dealing with Problems of Foreign Tourists…………………………………. 64

34. The Problems that Thai Tourist Police Cannot Solve……………………….. 65

35. Number of Interaction Per Day……………………………………………… 65

36. Negative Feeling Towards Foreign Tourists………………………………… 66

37. Relationship between Fields of Study and Negative Feeling Towards

Foreign Tourists’ Use of English and Intercultural Communication Skills…. 66 38. Relationship between Work Sections and Negative Feeling Towards

Foreign Tourists’ Use of English and Intercultural Communication Skills…. 67

39. Relationship between Years of Work Experience and Negative Feeling

Towards Foreign Tourists’ Use of English and Intercultural

Communication Skills……………………………………………………….. 67

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LIST OF TABLES (CONTINUED)

Table Page

40. English Self-improvement…………………………………………………… 68

41. The Use of Nonverbal Communication and Expression of Nonverbal

Behaviors…………………………………………………………………….. 69

42. Problems in Using and Understanding Nonverbal Communications………... 71

43. Relationship between Fields of Study and the Problems in Using and

Understanding Paralanguage and Time………………………………………. 71

44. Relationship between Work Sections and the Problems in Using and

Understanding Nonverbal Communication…………………………………... 72

45. Relationship between Years of Experience and the Problem in Using and

Understanding Nonverbal Communications………………………………….. 73

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background and Rationale for the Study

Thailand is one of the fastest growing countries in the world in terms of

tourism. Up until the present, the travel industry in the country has enjoyed rapid

growth, and the number of travelers from every corner of the world has continued to

increase. This has generated a large income which in turn helps promote a state of

economic expansion. At present, earnings collected from the tourism industry are used

to pay the country’s expenses, particularly in the situation when the nation has

encountered an economic slump. This source of income is considered a significant

return for the country’s economy. Therefore, it is undeniable that the tourism industry in

Thailand has played a significant role in generating income that the government uses to

reduce deficits in other areas. It has also initiated production and the fullest use of the

country’s natural resources, helped promote the preservation of culture and traditions,

contributed to the safety and security in local areas, and even helped to facilitate

increased understanding among people of various nations.

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Table 1: The Number of Tourists Visiting Thailand by Countries of Residence in 2004

and 2005:

Country of 2005 2004

Residence Number % Share Number % Share

East Asia 6,711,602 58.02 7,070,994 60.24 - 5.08

ASEAN 3,104,340 26.84 2,936,673 25.02 + 5.71

Brunei 15,419 0.13 14,352 0.12 + 7.43

Cambodia 112,594 0.97 99,013 0.84 + 13.72

Indonesia 186,797 1.61 201,630 1.72 - 7.36

Laos 208,132 1.80 116,495 0.99 + 78.66

Malaysia 1,342,988 11.61 1,391,379 11.85 - 3.48

Myanmar 56,518 0.49 46,195 0.39 + 22.35

Philippines 188,518 1.63 173,618 1.48 + 8.58

Singapore 797,782 6.90 737,677 6.28 + 8.15

Vietnam 195,592 1.69 156,314 1.33 + 25.13

China 762,388 6.59 780,050 6.65 - 2.26

Hong Kong 441,458 3.82 664,988 5.67 - 33.61

Japan 1,188,871 10.28 1,194,480 10.18 - 0.47

Korea 816,501 7.06 910,891 7.76 - 10.36

Taiwan 378,047 3.27 560,198 4.77 - 32.52

Others 19,997 0.17 23,714 0.20 - 15.67

Europe 2,708,102 23.41 2,647,682 22.56 + 2.28

Austria 54,335 0.47 52,066 0.44 + 4.36

Belgium 55,881 0.48 53,565 0.46 + 4.32

Denmark 99,939 0.86 89,672 0.76 + 11.45

Finland 80,945 0.70 72,230 0.62 + 12.07

France 261,672 2.26 252,458 2.15 + 3.65

Germany 445,155 3.85 449,765 3.83 - 1.02

Italy 114,457 0.99 119,639 1.02 - 4.33

Netherlands 146,692 1.27 137,582 1.17 + 6.62

Norway 84,799 0.73 77,684 0.66 + 9.16

Russia 107,055 0.93 118,966 1.01 - 10.01

Spain 52,361 0.45 52,386 0.45 - 0.05

Sweden 223,484 1.93 223,031 1.90 + 0.20

Switzerland 127,369 1.10 129,347 1.10 - 1.53

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United Kingdom 685,077 5.92 634,750 5.41 + 7.93

East Europe 65,072 0.56 70,413 0.60 - 7.59

Others 103,809 0.90 114,128 0.97 - 9.04

The Americas 745,494 6.44 702,675 5.99 + 6.09

Argentina 2,691 0.02 3,018 0.03 - 10.83

Brazil 6,609 0.06 6,275 0.05 + 5.32

Canada 125,454 1.08 107,505 0.92 + 16.70

USA 591,114 5.11 566,726 4.83 + 4.30

Others 19,626 0.17 19,151 0.16 + 2.48

South Asia 519,174 4.49 469,101 4.00 + 10.67

Bangladesh 46,222 0.40 59,549 0.51 - 22.38

India 352,965 3.05 300,634 2.56 + 17.41

Nepal 24,550 0.21 23,557 0.20 + 4.22

Pakistan 41,020 0.35 37,686 0.32 + 8.85

Sri Lanka 39,380 0.34 34,295 0.29 + 14.83

Others 15,037 0.13 13,380 0.11 + 12.38

Oceania 504,487 4.36 471,493 4.02 + 7.00

Australia 423,825 3.66 396,959 3.38 + 6.77

New Zealand 77,717 0.67 71,612 0.61 + 8.53

Others 2,945 0.03 2,922 0.02 + 0.79

Middle East 305,566 2.64 292,680 2.49 + 4.40

Egypt 7,825 0.07 8,717 0.07 - 10.23

Israel 92,179 0.80 89,804 0.77 + 2.64

Kuwait 32,020 0.28 33,358 0.28 - 4.01

Saudi Arabia 13,219 0.11 11,839 0.10 + 11.66

U.A.E. 65,885 0.57 62,628 0.53 + 5.20

Others 94,438 0.82 86,334 0.74 + 9.39

Africa 72,916 0.63 82,788 0.71 - 11.92

South Africa 33,137 0.29 40,745 0.35 - 18.67

Others 39,779 0.34 42,043 0.36 - 5.38

Grand Total 11,567,341 100.00 11,737,413 100.00 - 1.45

Source of Data: Immigration Bureau, Police Department.

Note : International Tourist Arrivals included Overseas Thais

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Overview

The World Tourism Organization (WTO) estimated that the average growth of

international tourists in 2005 would be 5.5% (lower than that in 2004, when the growth

of world tourism experienced a 10% expansion), with 808 million international tourists.

However, the tourism industry saw a slowdown, as a result of the world economic

downturn. The region which was expected to grow at a higher rate was the Asia Pacific

(+10%) because tourists paid more attention to finding new attractions in this region,

especially in Cambodia, Vietnam, India and China, where there was high growth in the

number of visitors. Other regions at the lower ranks were Africa (+7%), the Americas

(+6%), Europe (+4%), and the Middle East (+3%), respectively.

The tsunami disaster, political disturbance in the 3 southern provinces, and

increased market competition in new destinations (Vietnam, China, India) were key

factors in Thailand’s steady tourism growth in 2005, with 11.52 million inbound visitors,

a 1.15 % decrease from the previous year. This slowdown, however, was not that severe

because of the efforts of public and private sectors to stimulate and renovate the markets

and improve the attractions affected by the disaster as fast as possible.

During the crisis, the Americas and Oceania were the only 2 main regions that

visited Thailand continuously in each quarter because the affected areas were not popular

destinations among Americans, who preferred cultural tourism. Oceania was stimulated

by a successful sales promotion to bring the tourist market back to the Andaman rapidly.

However, East Asia, which was the largest market for Thailand, was quite sensitive to

the crisis and experienced a sharp drop. Although there was a rebound in the last quarter,

it increased only 1%. Therefore, the overview of the Asian market in this year

experienced a rate of -5%, and this was the key factor in the slowdown of the Thai

tourism situation.

The total number of inbound visitors from East Asia was 6,692,569 million,

with a 5% decrease in the growth rate. The key markets were China, Korea, Japan, Hong

Kong, Taiwan, and Malaysia, all of which were affected by the tsunami disaster on 26

December, 2004, especially in the first quarter of 2005. In 2006, East Asia began to

recover from the tsunami, with more visitors than in 2004, particularly in the first quarter

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when the Chinese New Year Festival stimulated more inbound Chinese tourists. Besides,

many airlines such as Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Air China, and charter flights that

used to cancel flights to Phuket resumed their flights to the province. However, other

factors such as the political chaos in the southern provinces should be taken into

consideration because they might be important factors for some groups of tourists when

deciding whether to travel to Thailand, especially in the first visit.

The American and Canadian markets for the Thai tourist industry were key,

driven by the economic growth of both countries. The stronger Canadian dollar appeared

to be a main factor encouraging more long haul Canadian travelers. Both markets were

affected very little by the tsunami, as most travelers often came to cultural attractions,

mostly visiting Bangkok and Chiang Mai, while travelers who preferred visiting the

Andaman coast changed their destinations to other places. In addition, market growth

was driven by Thai Airways’ opening of nonstop flights from Bangkok to Los Angeles

and New York City. Furthermore, other factors such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita did

not affect the tourism market much because the affected states were not the major zones

of departure for travelers to Thailand. Finally, Thailand’s attractions are ranked highly

among American voters in travel magazines, promoting a good image of Thailand.

(Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2007).

Thai Tourist Police

While the tourism industry has grown rapidly both in terms of the increasing

numbers and widespread attractions all over the country, it is undeniable that problems

of crime and manipulation of tourists have been rising at the same time as well. The

Thai Tourist Police Division is one of the organizations that has been set up to provide

the utmost safety for tourists as well as offering general services in addition to specific

ones administered by the local police organization. Initially, in 1976, the private sector

along with the former Tourism Authority of Thailand (called the Tourism Organization

of Thailand) requested that The Royal Thai Police set up a new unit. Consisting of 60

policemen, the staff of the Tourist Safety and Convenience Center (TSCC) working

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under the Crime Suppression Division provided protection and safety for tourists at

various attractions in Bangkok.

Then, in 1980, The Royal Thai Police and the Tourism Authority of Thailand

subsequently made some adjustments and changed the Tourist Safety and Convenience

Center (TSCC) to provide service for tourists regarding their complaints about crime and

manipulation in both Bangkok and outlying regions where there are popular tourist

attractions like Chiangmai, Pattaya, Phuket, and Hatyai.

Later, in 1982, realizing the importance of the organization, the government

established a permanent tourist police organization under the Crime Suppression

Division. However, with the rapid growth of the tourism industry, the structure of the

tourist police organization at this level was not in line with its responsibility to provide

tourists with safety and general service. The government, therefore, finally promoted the

tourist police organization to the Tourist Police Division, under the Central Investigation

Bureau in 1991.

The functions and responsibilities of the Tourist Police Division are to suppress

crime and to prevent criminal problems from endangering any foreign tourists; to

facilitate and provide both Thai and international tourists with the security, assistance,

and convenience; to protect tourists’ interests; to promote the Thai tourism industry, and

to join the authorities or to support any activities concerned.

According to the functions and responsibilities of the tourist police, it can be

seen that knowledge of the English language as an international language plays an

important role. This is because English is considered the most important medium of

communicating information among people all over the world. As Richards (1985) points

out, “English is needed for people who work and will work in the future in tourism,

business, and the civil services.” If tourist police can use English fluently, they will be

able to communicate and investigate crime endangering foreign tourists effectively. It

means that foreign tourists will receive the protection and justice they deserve.

Furthermore, the good image of Thailand will be further enhanced because foreign

tourists will feel more safe and sure that their well-being and their interest will always be

protected when being in the country.

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According to a preliminary interview, however, before working, most tourist

police have to pass an English test, though some do not. Thus, the levels of English

proficiency of tourist police officers are different. Training has become necessary to

improve the language ability, especially English, which is regarded as the international

language for those tourist police. In practice, the Tourist Police Division has set up

English training courses, entitled English for Specific Purposes (or ESP), which are held

one or two times a year.

At present, (officers in the Thai tourist police radio center and those working at

the airport) are trained by instructors from Chulalongkorn University Language Institute

(CULI), and they perform self study at a private E-Learning Center in order to ensure

standardization of teaching and learning.

1.2 Objectives of Research

This study was conducted to assess English language use in Thai tourist

police’s everyday jobs, and also to examine issues and potential problems faced by those

tourist police. Moreover, what the biggest problems are and what attitudes they hold

towards tourists visiting them were also investigated. These included body language,

facial expressions, effective use of extra-verbal communications, and related cross-

cultural factors.

1.3 Research Questions

The following 6 questions give an idea of the overview of this study and what

we can expect to answer:

1.3.1 In what tasks do most Thai tourist police have to speak and listen to

English?

1.3.2 What problems do most Thai tourist police often have when using

English?

1.3.3 What nonverbal communications do most Thai tourist police often use

with foreign tourists?

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1.3.4 What problems in using and understanding nonverbal communications

do Thai tourist police often have?

1.3.5 Do Thai tourist police with different backgrounds have different

problems with English use?

1.3.6 Do Thai tourist police with different backgrounds have different

problems with inter-cultural communication?

1.4 Scope of the Study

This study concentrates on studying English with 2 skills, namely speaking and

listening skills. The participants in this study were selected from the Thai tourist police

who work in the airport and the Radio Center (call center).

1.5 Limitations of the Study

This study is quantitative, and only focuses on the aforementioned groups of

Thai tourist police. Data are obtained from questionnaires. The results of this study are

based on the opinions of the participants who responded to the questions provided.

Problems included the questionnaires that were filled out incompletely or incorrectly or

both. Because this is a new questionnaire, it must be considered a preliminary tool and is

not necessarily valid in other contexts.

Another limitation of the present study concerns the measurement of listening

and speaking abilities only, leaving out reading and writing. Of course, these skills are

relevant to total English ability and effective communication, and they influence and are

influenced by other verbal and extraverbal skills. For the purposes of this study, though,

we are only interested in the quality of interactions with foreign tourists in terms of

speaking and listening and associated paraverbal and other variables.

1.6 Significance of the Study

Willingness to participate in this study resulted in increasing our understanding

of the areas of strength and weakness for the Thai tourist police communicating in

English. For both the Thai tourist police working in the 2 sections and those in

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government who have responsibility for assisting foreign tourists in the best way, this

study shows what steps we need to take to improve the training and maximize the

abilities of the persons having direct contact with foreigners in need. The results of the

present study provide suggestions on where to focus attention with respect to both new

and continuing training.

1.7 Definition of Terms

To ensure understanding of particular terms used in this project, the researcher

wishes to clarify the following definitions:

Tourist police A group of Thai police who work under the Tourist Police Division,

Central Investigation Bureau of The Royal Thai Police, and who are

responsible for taking care of the well-being of both Thai and foreign

tourists all over the country

Tourist A person who travels to destinations outside his/her residence and

working place, and stays for at least 24 hours for the purpose of

leisure or business.

Local tourists Tourists who are Thai citizens and reside permanently in the kingdom

Foreign tourists The foreigners who are temporarily in Thailand for various purposes

such as traveling, visiting friends and relatives, conducting a

ceremony, or doing business within one to sixty days at a time with no

pay or wage

Translation The activity to change or express a text or word into another language

precisely

Interpretation The action or process of hearing something in one language and

making clear one’s ideas about its meaning before immediately

translating it aloud into another language

Communication skills

The ability in communication, both verbally and extra-verbally,

according to the situation, with the requisite degree of accuracy and

fluency. These abilities include listening, speaking and reading

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Cross-cultural context

A situation in which people of different cultures communicate

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter presents a review of the literature on the following topics:

(1) The importance of English

(2) Communication problems when using Speaking and Listening skills: The

importance of listening and speaking

(3) English for specific purposes

(4) History, Duties, and Responsibilities of Thai Tourist Police

(5) Intercultural communication & nonverbal communication in a cross-cultural

context

(6) Previous research studies

2.1. The Important of English

English is currently the most widespread language in the world, second only to

Mandarin Chinese in terms of the amount of people who speak it, but second to none in

terms of the number of people learning it. It is currently the primary language used on

the World Wide Web, in the political and business arenas, and in aviation and medicine.

It has even become the language of today's pop culture.

According to the British Council, by the end of the year 2000, the number of

people with English as a second language overtook the number of people for whom the

language is their mother tongue. More than 750 million people already speak English

well enough to use it for business or computing. A billion are in the process of learning

the language.

English has grown to dominate in the areas of science, technology, commerce,

tourism, diplomacy, and pop culture. Some 80% of the world’s electronic databases and

communications networks are in English. Approximately 82% of home pages on the

internet are in English. In addition, CNN international and MTV broadcast

internationally in English. (Jandt, 2002, p.149)

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History of the English Language

The figure below shows the timeline of the history of the English language. The

earliest known residents of the British Isles were the Celts, who spoke Celtic

languages—a separate branch of the Indo-European language family tree. Over the

centuries the British Isles were invaded and conquered by various peoples who brought

their languages and customs with them as they settled in their new lives. There is now

very little Celtic influence left in English. The earliest time when we can say that English

was spoken was in the 5th century CE (Common Era—a politically correct term used to

replace AD).

In case you hadn’t made the connection, “England” comes from “Engla Land”

and “Angle Land” (Land of the Angles, a people of northern old Germany). Their name

lives on in the district of England named East Anglia, and also in the Anglican Church.

In the present day, there is still a region of Germany known as Angeln, which is likely

the same area from which the original Angles came. Angeln lies in Schleswig-Holstein

on the eastern side of the Jutland peninsula near the cities of Flensburg and Schleswig.

Indo-European language family tree

2.2. The Importance of Listening and Speaking in Communication

2.2. The Importance of Listening and Speaking in Communication

Source of Data: Daniel M. Short, 2003.

2.2 The Importance of Listening and Speaking in Communication

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Communication is a two-way process consisting of sending a message and

receiving a message. The sending device may be written words (written communication)

or spoken words (oral communication). In written communication, the writer is the

sender, and the reader is the receiver. In oral communication, the speaker is the sender,

and the listener is the receiver. The effectiveness of every oral communication depends

first on the proper functioning of the sending process and second, on the proper

functioning of the receiving process (Stewart, Zimmer, and Clark, 1985).

According to Stewart, Lanham, Zimmer, and Clark (1972), in both

written and oral communication, there will not be communication if a message that

has been sent is not received. A letter that has been lost in the mail does not

communicate. The speech does not communicate if there is no listening. The

messages lost will result in lost benefits.

All people make some use of communicating—reading, writing, listening,

and speaking. However, they spend most of their time in communicating with their

voices. For example, in school students ask and answer questions, they contribute

to discussions, participate in debates, and give oral presentations. Those who are most

successful in extracurricular activities often depend upon their ability to express ideas

orally. In one’s relationships with friends and family, social conversation plays an

important role as everyone talks about the events of the day and plans for the future.

Whether they work in an office or a store, they certainly spend much time in talking-

giving instructions or explanations, asking questions or answering them, promoting good

business relations, setting ideas, or selling personal qualities.

Since most people talk much more than they write, they are judged more by

their speech than by their writing. Speech is individual and reflects individuals'

personalities. The words they use, the way they put them together, the sound of their

voice (tone, pitch, volume, and rate) and their pronunciation all add up to that which

others hear. They cannot separate their voices from their personalities. They contribute

to each other in many ways. On the telephone, for example, an individual’s voice

represents his or her entire personality. Therefore, improving speech can result in

improving the personality. (Clark, Zimmer, Tinervia, 1988)

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Stewart and others (1985) state that too often, people think that listening and

hearing are the same thing, but there is a big difference. Hearing depends upon the

ears, but listening uses the mind as well, and may even require the eyes. The ears

enable listeners to hear sounds; the mind enables them to interpret these sounds, to

recognize some of them as words, and to form the words into thoughts or ideas. With

the mind, listeners are able to determine that an oral message is important, interpret

the message, and react to it. Interpreting the message is a thinking process. It is dependent

on both a listener’s vocabulary and attitude. The listener must want to grasp the meaning of

the words.

People may not have considered the eye to be an important tool in listening. Yet,

what a person sees when a someone is speaking is sometimes as important as what is

heard, A smite, a quizzical glance, the expression of boring or cheering—all the

facial expressions and manners of a speaker have an effect on the meaning of the

message.

The problem of improving listening is not only on improving the physical tools,

but rather on improving the use of these tools, so they become more effective in

receiving messages. Certain surveys have shown that listening occupies more time than any

other communication activity. People spend more time on listening than they do on talking,

reading, or writing. Then, they can improve their ability to receive messages by

improving their listening skills.

According to Stewart and others (1985, 519), "the rewards of listening are great.

They include increased knowledge, broadened experience, more friendship, increased job

opportunities and promotions, development of facility in using language, and an increased

appreciation of spoken words.” Conversely, ineffective listening will have a negative

effect in any of these areas, with disappointment and failure often being the results.

Frequently, a student fails in his studies, not because he can't learn, but because he

does not know how to listen. He has not mastered the listening requirements in

successful social relations. In the same way, an employee may be fired. It is not

because he is unable to perform his job well, but because he does not know how to

listen to instructions.

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Improved listening certainly contributes to a healthy social life. People

should listen attentively to others so that they can understand what the speaker is

saying and why. In this way, good listeners gain a lot of new friends and deepen their

existing friendships. In school, many class hours concern lectures and discussions, so

increasing listening effectiveness would greatly increase learning productivity.

Effective listening that results in improved teaming and remembering would also give

students more time for other subjects and for extracurricular activities.

The rewards of improved listening are more tangible when people have a job.

It is often that the rewards are money. Beginning employees must listen to

instructions and directions from their supervisors and co-workers. They must listen to

suggestions and criticisms in order to improve their job performance. To advance in a

job, they must know what is going on in their department and in the company. It is said

that improved listening can enhance the chance of success in business. Chastain (1976)

indicates that each medium of communication can reinforce other media to advance at a

higher level of learning. For example, listening can be reinforced with reading, speaking

and writing to help understanding and memory.

Listening, like reading, is a message-receiving skill, but listening is more

difficult than reading because in general, listeners cannot re-listen to a spoken message

as they can re-read a written message. They must get the message right the first time, or

they lose it. Reading about a topic in advance will enable listeners to listen more

effectively to the speaker’s message because they have more knowledge to the topic,

and thus can derive more benefits from it. When planning to attend an important

committee meeting, if attendants examine the agenda and re-read the minute of previous

meetings beforehand, they will be able to listen much more effectively during the

meeting.

Speaking reinforces listening in various ways. Good listeners repeat to

themselves the speaker’s important points, and then they rephrase them to their own

words. This process adds to their understanding. Frequently, good listeners speak up

(ask questions) in an effort to clarify what is meant. Speaking is often and aid to

memory, this aiding listening retention. When we are introduced to another person, for

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example, we will be more likely to remember his/her name if we repeat it orally and use

it in talking with him/her or in talking with others about him/her.

Writing contributes to good listening, perhaps reinforcing listening more than

any other communication skill. Frequently, listeners must take written notes in order to

retain for future reference the information they hear. Students attending a lecture,

secretaries taking a telephone message, and accountants receiving oral instructions from

a supervisor always write notes to reinforce their listening. However, note taking should

be done carefully. Listeners who spend too much time taking detailed notes may miss

the important points of the message.

Stewart (1972) states that habits of efficient communication contribute greatly

to individuals’ success in all areas of life, but particularly in business and industry. So

important are habits of good listening that many large corporations, namely American

Telephone and Telegraph, General Electric, and General Motors, provide listening

training for many of their executives and supervisory personnel. These corporations

know that administrators must be able to listen properly if they want to be effective.

They know that successful supervisors or managers do not just give orders; they also do

a lot of listening. They listen to their employees to find out what their employees think

so that they can help to settle grievances and establish relations. They also listen to

their employees because they know that the employees often contribute time and

money-saving ideas when they have a sympathetic and appreciative audience.

Listening is also extremely important to those below the management level.

Many workers in business and industry rely on listening skills in order to carry out

their daily assignments. Telephone operators must listen carefully so that they can

handle the requests from hundreds of callers daily. Sales representatives must listen

carefully to determine the desires of their customers.

A large retailing organization found that two out of every three former

customers had taken their business elsewhere because its sales personnel were

indifferent to customers' needs. Moreover, the organization found that much of the

indifference was expressed through poor listening (Cooper, 1991).

Crosling and Ward (2002) state that oral communication covers a wide area,

ranging from formal presentations to participation in teams and meetings. For

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university courses to be focused appropriately, more detailed information on the spoken

interactions is recommended. They also indicate that oral communication is an

important aspect of the workplace, and the business graduate employees require

effective skills in this area if they want to be successful in their careers.

One instance of this idea comes from Australia, in which a recent government

Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) study looked into

employer satisfaction. For new graduate skills, oral communication skills were three

out of the seven sought in recent graduates (ACNeilson, 1998). In the United States, a

report on a survey of employers in New Jersey claimed that oral communication was

seen by employers as vital, but, interestingly, was an area for which graduates lacked

preparation (Van Horn, 1995). The changing nature of business further underscores the

importance of oral communication skills. With the increasing use of technology, issues

of quality, innovation and competitiveness takes on a higher workplace focus (Camavale,

Gainer and Meltzer, 1990). Indeed, communication and social interaction are the means

for achieving in careers, enabling employees to team up and acquire new skills that

facilitate the development of problem solutions (Mellinger, 1992).

2.3. English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

Previously, the reasons for learning English (or any other language) had not been

well defined. Having knowledge of a foreign language had been seen as having a good

education, but it had not been defined why it was necessary. However, after English was

accepted as an international language of technology and commerce, it was the time when a

new generation of learners specifically knew why they were studying English, such as

business people who wanted to sell their products, mechanics who had to read instruction

manuals, doctors who needed to keep up with developments in their field, and students who

had to read textbooks written in English (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). All these and many

others needed English, and, most important, they knew why they needed it.

This development was driven by the oil crises of the early 1970s, which

resulted in a massive flow of funds and Western expertise into oil-rich countries.

Suddenly, English learning and teaching became a big business and had a strong

influence on commercial fields.

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At the same time, as the demand for English courses was defined to specific

needs, new ideas began to emerge in the study of language. Traditionally, the aim of

linguistics had been to describe the rules of English usage, that is, the grammar.

However, new studies tend to move away from defining the formal features of language

usage to discovering the ways in which language is actually used in real communication

(Widdowson, 1978). They reveal that the language we speak and write varies

considerably and in different ways from one context to another. In English language

teaching, this suggests the view that there are significant differences between the

English of commerce and that of engineering. These ideas result in the development

of English courses for specific groups of learners. The idea is simple: if language

varies from one situation of use to another, it should be possible to determine the

features of specific situations and then make these features the basis of a particular

learner’s course (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987).

In early 1970s, there was a great expansion of research in specific

English, such as descriptions of written scientific and technical English by Ewer and

Latorre (1969), Swales (1971), Selinker and Trimble (1976) and others. Most of the

work was in the area of English for Science and Technology (EST). Back then, English

for Specific Purposes (ESP) and EST were seen as almost the same area. There were

studies in other fields too, such as the study of doctor-patient communication by

Candlin, Bruton and Leather (1976). From the point of ESP, the English language

needed by a particular group of learners could be identified by analyzing the language

characteristics of their specific area.

Another group of researchers (Hess & Ghawi, 1997) found that the demands

of the students who entered the academic community were different from the survival

requirements and social skills of everyday life. Cummins' (1997) most recent language

proficiency model differentiates between two types of language, conversational

language skills and academic language skills. The first one refers to everyday

interactions which are not cognitively demanding and there are a lot of contexts

with clues to the intended meaning, while the second one refers to school language

which is cognitively demanding and contexts are reduced. Cummins (1997) argues that

what students need to succeed in school is "academic language proficiency". They need to

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have ability to read and write critically in various contents without the supporting contexts

provided in face-to-face interactions.

New development in educational psychology also contributed to the rise of English

for specific purposes (ESP) by emphasizing the importance of the learners and their

attitudes to teaming (Rodgers, 1969). Learners were seen to have different needs and

interests, which would have important influence on their motivation to learn and therefore

on the effectiveness of their learning. This view supports the development of courses in

which relevance to the learners' needs and interests was most important. The way to

achieve this was to use texts relevant to the learners' interested area—texts about biology

for biology students, etc. The assumption underlying this approach is that the clear

relevance of the English course to their needs will improve the learners' motivation, and

thereby make learning better and faster.

ESP is a major activity around the world today. It is an enterprise involving

education, training, and practice, drawing upon three major realms of knowledge:

language, pedagogy and the students’/participants’ areas of special interest (Robinson,

1991). ESP is an approach to language learning that is based on the learner’s needs. All

decisions as to contents and methods are based on the learner’s reason for learning in the

first place.

Munby (1978) divides ESP into two broad areas: (1) English for occupational

purposes (EOP), where the participants need English to perform all or part of their

occupational duties, and (2) English for academic purposes (EAP) where the participants

need English to pursue part or all of their educational studies. The courses in such areas

as business and commerce are largely concerned with EOP, whereas English for science

and technology (EST) is concerned with EAP.

Pakett (1986, cited in Boon-Long, 1993:3) acknowledges Business English

(BE) as ESP but writes that it is a lot nearer to everyday language spoken by the general

public than many other segments of ESP. English for science and technology (EST) is

the senior branch of ESP because it has been around longer, and is more widely

published and used by more practitioners. EST has always set and continues to set the

trend in theoretical discussion, in the ways of analyzing the language, and in the variety

of actual teaching materials.

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2.3.1 The Origins of ESP

Notably, there are three reasons common to the emergence of all ESP: the

demands of postwar Brave New World, a revolution in linguistics, and a shifting focus

on the learner (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987).

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) note that two key historical periods breathed life

into ESP. First, the end of the Second World War brought with it an " ... age of enormous

and unprecedented expansion in scientific, technical and economic activity on an

international scale. For various reasons, most notably the economic power of the United

States in the post-war world, the role [of international language] fell to English" (p. 6).

Second, the oil crisis of the early 1970s resulted in Western money and knowledge

flowing into the oil-rich countries, and the language of this knowledge became English.

The general effect of all this development was to exert pressure on the language

teaching profession to deliver the required goods. Whereas English had previously

decided its own destiny, it now became subject to the wishes, needs and demands of

people other than language teachers (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987).

The second key reason cited as having a tremendous impact on the emergence

of ESP was a revolution in linguistics. Whereas traditional linguists set out to describe

the features of language, revolutionary pioneers in linguistics began to focus on the ways

in which language is used in real communication. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) point

out that one significant discovery was in the ways that spoken and written English vary.

In other words, given the particular context in which English is used, the variant of

English will change. This idea was then taken one step farther. If language in different

situations varies, then tailoring language instruction to meet the needs of learners in

specific contexts is also possible. Hence, in the late 1960s and the early 1970s there were

many attempts to describe English for Science and Technology (EST). Hutchinson and

Waters (1987) identify Ewer and Latorre, Swales, Selinker and Trimble as a few of the

prominent descriptive EST pioneers.

The final reason Hutchinson and Waters (1987) cite as having influenced the

emergence of ESP has less to do with linguistics and more to do with psychology. Rather

than simply focus on the method of language delivery, more attention was given to the

ways in which learners acquire language and the differences in the ways language is

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acquired. Learners were seen to employ different learning strategies, use different skills,

enter with different learning schemata, and be motivated by different needs and interests.

Therefore, focusing on the learners' needs became equally paramount as the methods

employed to disseminate linguistic knowledge. Designing specific courses to meet more

effectively these individual needs was a natural extension of this thinking. To this day,

the catchword in ESL circles is learner-centered or learning-centered.

2.3.2 Types of ESP

David Carter (1983) identifies three types of ESP:

1. English as a restricted language

2. English for Academic and Occupational Purposes

3. English with specific topics.

First, the language used by air traffic controllers or by waiters is an example of

English as a restricted language. Mackay and Mountford (1978) clearly illustrate the

difference between restricted language and language with this statement: the language of

international air-traffic control could be regarded as 'special', in the sense that the

repertoire required by the controller is strictly limited and can be accurately determined

situational, as might be the linguistic needs of a dining-room waiter or air-hostess.

However, such restricted repertoires are not languages, just as a tourist phrase book is

not grammar. Knowing a restricted 'language' would not allow the speaker to

communicate effectively in novel situation, or in contexts outside the vocational

environment.

The second type of ESP identified by Carter (1983) is English for Academic

and Occupational Purposes. In the 'Tree of ELT' (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987), ESP is

broken down into three branches: a) English for Science and Technology (EST), b)

English for Business and Economics (EBE), and c) English for Social Studies (ESS).

Each of these subject areas is further divided into two branches: English for Academic

Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP). An example of EOP for

the EST branch is 'English for Technicians' whereas an example of EAP for the EST

branch is 'English for Medical Studies'.

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Hutchinson and Waters (1987, 16) do note that there is not a clear-cut

distinction between EAP and EOP: " people can work and study simultaneously; it is

also likely that in many cases the language learned for immediate use in a study

environment will be used later when the student takes up, or returns to, a job". Perhaps

this explains Carter's (1983) rationale for categorizing EAP and EOP under the same

type of ESP. It appears that Carter is implying that the end purpose of both EAP and

EOP are one and the same: employment. However, despite the end purpose being

identical, the means taken to achieve the end is very different indeed. However, EAP

and EOP are different in terms of focus on Cummins' (1979) notions of cognitive

academic proficiency versus basic interpersonal skills.

The third and final type of ESP identified by Carter (1983) is English with

specific topics. Carter notes that it is only here where the emphasis shifts from purpose to

topic. This type of ESP is uniquely concerned with anticipated future English needs of,

for example, scientists requiring English for postgraduate reading studies, attending

conferences or working in foreign institutions. However, it is argued that this is not a

separate type of ESP. Rather it is an integral component of ESP courses or programs that

focus on situational language. This situational language has been determined based on

the interpretation of results from needs analysis of authentic language used in target

workplace settings.

2.4. History, Duties, and Responsibilities of the Thai Tourist Police

During the previous 3 decades, the tourism industry of Thailand has grown

quickly. The number of foreign tourists was increasing every year, which resulted in

more income for the country, but crime and taking advantage of tourists were also

increasing as a consequence. The Thai government then set up an organization aside

from local police to be responsible for supporting comfortableness and maintaining the

security especially for tourists.(Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2003)

Beginning in 1976, the private business sector with the co-operation of The

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) submitted to the Police Department a request to

consider and protect and maintaining the security for tourists in this special case.

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Therefore, the Police Department set up a “Tourist Security Support and Help Center”

which was under the Suppression Division consisting of a force of 60 who would receive

complaints from tourists, inspect, protect and maintain the security for the tourists in the

community and various tourist places in Bangkok. The private business sector had

donated vehicles and communication equipment for the mission. In the meantime, the

Police Department requested to set up The Tourist Police Division as a permanent

organization that would take responsibility for supporting comfortableness and

maintaining the security for the tourists. The cabinet had mutual agreement and approved

this principle on November 24, 1976, but they had a problem about the budget.

Later, the government announced the year 1980 as The Year of Tourism by

assigning the Police Department and The Ministry of Interior to take responsibility for

supporting comfortableness and maintaining the security for tourists continuously and

seriously. The Police Department and The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) then

co-operated to improve the Tourist Security Support and Help Center to serve the tourists

for various complaints about crime and being taken advantage of by expanding

responsibility to the popular provincial tourist places including Chiangmai, Pattaya,

Phuket and Had yai. Later in 1982, the government realized the importance of the

mentioned specific organization, so it set up the 8th Headquarters under the Suppression

Division to be the Permanent Tourist Police Organization as per Royal Decree.

Because of the quick growth of the tourism industry and increasing numbers of

tourists going all over the country, the structure of The Tourist Police at the

Headquarters Level was insufficient to operate the mission to support comfortableness

and maintain security for the tourists. Therefore, the government upgraded The Tourist

Police Headquarters to be The Tourist Police Bureau which was under Central

Investigation Bureau as per Royal Decree, dividing the Police Department and The

Ministry of Interior (The 17th Issue) in 1991.

After it was upgraded to become The Tourist Police Bureau, it faced the

problem of a lack of police force needed to operate the mission all over the country. The

Police Department later was transferred and named the Royal Thai Police on October 17,

1998 as per Royal Decree.

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Later, as per the resolution of police official sub-committee 19th/2546 on

October 14, 2003, the resolution of police official committee 15th/2546 on October 24,

2003 and a resolution of the cabinet on November 25, 2003, a change took effect about

the structure of the internal governance. This change by The Tourist Police as per Royal

Decree of 1996, the Police Department, and The Ministry of Interior 1996 divided The

Tourist Police Bureau into 3 divisions and police regulations on job assignments of

official police (The 10th Issue) 1992 were canceled. The new structure of The Tourist

Police Bureau was settled again, effective on December 18, 2003.

Tourist Police Division (2003, 17) points out that :

The Tourist Police Division's main missions are to help, serve, and provide safety for the security of both Thai and foreign tourists. The Division collaborates with concerned organizations of both the government and private sectors in order to strengthen the tourist industry of the country.

In the past, the travel industry in the country had rapid growth and the number

of new travelers from every corner of the world continued to grow. This has created a

large income which has promoted a state of economic expansion. At present, earnings

collected from the tourist industry are to be used to pay the country's expenses,

particularly in situations when the nation has encountered an economic slump. This

source of income is considered as a significant return for the country's economy. At the

same time, the problems concerned with the security of tourists are increasing as well

(Tourist Police Division, 2003).

Duties and Responsibilities of the Tourist Police Division

Functions and responsibilities of the Tourist Police Division are as follows:

1. To suppress and to protect the criminal problems happening to international

tourists.

2. To facilitate and to provide both Thai and international tourists with the

security and the protection of their interests.

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3. To promote the Thai tourism industry.

4. To join with or to support any activities of the authorities concerned.

5. For a history and other information see the Tourist Police Website at

http://www.police.go.th/touristpolice/index.htm)

Tourist Police Division has its abbreviation as BorKor or ThorThor. Its duties

and authorities are:

1. To facilitate and provide both Thai and foreign tourists with security and

protection.

2. To suppress criminals and maintain peace for all tourists throughout the

Kingdom of Thailand.

3. To coordinate with relevant organizations or other sectors.

4. To operate jointly with or support the operations of any relevant or assigned

Tourist Police unit, divided in to the following sub-divisions:

Radio Center: responsible for the radio communication work of the Tourist

Police Division, acting as the control center and giving orders by radio, telephone,

internal and external fax, reporting emergencies and special events by radio, telephone,

fax, and Tourist Police Division security work.

Patrol and Service: responsible for crime prevention and suppression providing

safety, assistance, and convenience for tourists as well as protecting both local and

foreign tourists (Tourist Police Division, 2003).

2.5 Cross-cultural Communication

2.5.1. Cultural Communication

Brooks (1968: 218-221) emphasizes that:

Culture relating to patterns of living) refers to an individual’s role in the unending kaleidoscope of life situations of every kind and the rules or models for attitudes and conduct in them. By reference to these models as human

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beings, from infancy onward, we justify the world to ourselves as best we can, associate with those around us, and relate to the social order to which we are attached. What is important in culture is what one is expected to think, believe, say, do, eat, wear, pay, ensure, resent, honor, laugh at, fight for, and worship in typical life situations.

The famous metaphor of the “cultural iceberg” (Hall & Hall, 1990; Oxford,

1995) indicates that many aspects of culture, such as certain beliefs, perceptions, and

values, are below the surface of consciousness (in the submerged part of the iceberg).

Other aspects of culture, like clothing and TV-watching habits, are in the

conscious area (above the waterline). The less conscious cultural aspects often influence

how people learn languages. Research by Yang (1992) suggests that culture clearly

includes beliefs, perceptions, and values which affect language learning, including

general learning styles and specific leaning strategies (the particular behaviors and steps

learners use to improve their learning such as note-taking, finding conversation partners,

and analyzing words). Oxford, Holloway, and Horton-Murillo (1992, 441) emphasize,

“Although culture is not the single determinant, and although many other influences

intervene, culture often does play a significant role in the leaning styles and strategies

adopted by many participants in the culture.”

The importance of culture is found in the concept of “situated cognition,”

which holds that the setting and the activity in which knowledge is developed are not

separable from learning, nor are they neutral: they are an integral part of the learning

(Brown, 1991, Collins & Duguid, 1989; Geertz, 1983)

Cross-Culturalism (Banks & Banks, 1993) deals with a dynamic system of

understandings across cultures or subcultures. Comprehending cross-cultural similarities

and differences involves carefully considering crucial aspects of culture, such as

concepts of time, personal space, body language, worship, relationships, hatred,

prejudice, love, and respect.

Reisinger and Turner (2004, 29) described :

Cross-cultural differences are not only limited to language, food or dance, but are also experienced in a

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variety of human interactions between international tourists and local hosts, including their non-verbal behavior, religious beliefs, time, orientation, attitude to privacy, their manners, customs, forms of address, body language or gestures. These cultural elements are potential grounds for cultural misunderstanding and conflict between international tourists and locals. They can induce fear often accompanied by stress and generate tourist dissatisfaction with a tourism product. These experiences and feelings are culturally conditioned, subjective and dependent upon time and space.

Spencer-Oatey (2000, 4) extends the concept of culture. She introduces a

number of additional factors apart from values and resultant behavior/artifacts, including

a description of the functions that “culture” performs: “Culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes,

beliefs, behavioral norms, and basic assumptions and values that are shared by a group of

people, and that influence each member's behavior and his/her interpretations of the

‘meaning’ of other people's behavior”.

Philosophers in the twentieth century came to realize the great influence of an

erroneous conception of communication and language.

In his Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein (2001: 363) writes:

We are so much accustomed to communication through language, in conversation, that it looks to us as if the whole point of communication lay in this: someone else grasps the sense of my words – which is something mental: he as it were takes it into his own mind.

2.5.2 Nonverbal Communication in a Cross-Cultural Context

Tourism involves a large amount of communication between people of different

cultures. The communication that takes place between two people of different cultures is

called intercultural communication. Intercultural communication is difficult because

people from different cultures make use of different verbal and nonverbal codes in

communication and they have different communication styles. Nonverbal

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communication is employed by parties in the process of communication and is affected

by their sex, age, relationship and culture (Travel and Tourism, 2003).

As a result, miscommunication often happens. The following findings are the

different nonverbal codes of intercultural communication. The categories of nonverbal

communication to be discussed are: (1) paralanguage (vocalics) - rate, pitch, volume,

quality and vocal fillers, (2) body language and facial expression (kinesics) - emblems.

illustrators, regulators, display of feeling and adaptors, (3) eye contact (oculesics), (4)

attractiveness and physical appearance, (5) clothing, (6) touch (haptics), (7) space and

distance (proximics), and (8) time (chronemies).

2.5.2.1 Paralanguage (Vocalics) is composed of several features

including rate, pitch, volume, quality and vocal filler. Vocal characteristics transmit

many messages. The way we speak can tell others about our background, gender, age,

socioeconomic status, where we grew up, and a variety of other demographic data.

Vocal characteristics play an important role in regulating our interactions with another.

Not only do we control the flow of conversation with our body movements and eye

behavior, but also we can signal to listeners with our voices.

Several researchers studied this topic and reported that the speaker using a

higher and varied pitch was perceived to be a competent communicator (Ray, 1986). On

the other hand, an attractive voice was perceived as sounding dominant, likable, and

achievement oriented (Zunckeman & Driver, 1989) and seen as more powerful, more

competent, and more honest (Berry, 1992). However, faster speech and the loudness of

a speaker's response can reflect the confidence of a speaker (Kimble & Seidel, 1991).

In intercultural communication, the North American culture generally

respects talkativeness. Talkative people are evaluated more positively than quiet

people. On the contrary, Asian culture respects quietness. The Japanese are very silent

when they are listening to someone they respect. Silence can have a variety of functions,

such as creating interpersonal distance, showing respect for others, punishing others,

and avoiding embarrassment for others (Richmond & McCroskey, 1995).

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2.5.2.2 Body language and facial expression (Kinesics)

Ekman & Friesen (1972) theorize that people communicate

emotions, reinforce, and even intuitively contradict what others have said through

body motion. Kinesics has been separated into five different types: Emblems,

illustrators, regulators, affect displays and adaptors.

Asian cultures show less kinesics when compared to western cultures. A

certain amount of kinesics used by communicators of different cultures often causes a

miscommunication of kinesics signs (Schmidt, 1997). Many scholars who studied this

topic stated that North Americans use the OK hand sign to mean that everything is all

right, but Japanese mean it is money. Therefore, one instance could create many

misunderstandings across cultures (Axtell, 1991). Americans try to remain calm and

somewhat neutral, while Japanese and Thais mask their sorrow completely by covering

it with a smile and laughter when they face a depressing situation (Wolfgang, 1979).

Americans point to objects and even at people with the index finger. For most people of

Asian countries, pointing with the index finger is considered rude (Samovar &

Porter, 1985). Particularly, a typical mistake in a business agreement between

Americans and Japanese, the Japanese nod their heads to show their attention or

comprehension during a business negotiation, but the Americans interpret that sign to

mean approval (Maclachlan, 1989).

2.5.2.3 Eye contact (Oculesics)

People often use eye contact for their initial contact.

(Richmond & McCrosky, 1995) state our eye behaviors provide emotion, attitudes and

relationships. It has been defined many ways depending on the particular type of eye

behavior. These definitions are as follows:

• A mutual look or mutual gaze is two people looking in the

direction of one another's faces. A one-sided look is a gaze of one individual in the

direction of another person's face. Gaze aversion occurs when someone intends to avoid

keeping on interpersonal communication and doesn't want the other to read something in

his or her eyes.

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• Gaze omission is a situation where one person does not

look at the other but is not intentionally avoiding eye contact. Many scholars

have been interested in the function of eye behaviors. They noted that our eyes

serve four primary functions.

1) Eye behavior functions to establish and define the nature of

interpersonal relationships. Interpersonal encounters usually begin with the two

parties mutually gazing and establishing eye contact, so eye contact often obliges us to

interact with others.

2) The type and amount of eye behaviors can reveal the nature

of a relationship. Two different status interactants usually engage in different types of

eye behaviors and lengths of time during a conversation.

3) Eye behavior functions to express emotions. The eyes

provide a great deal of information about the emotions of fear, disgust, anger,

happiness, and sadness (Ekman & Friesen, 1972).

4) Eye behavior functions to regulate and coordinate our

interactions with others. The eyes are effective in regulating the back-and–forth

interaction between interactants among other nonverbal signals. It has also found that a

listener usually looks at the speaker more than a speaker does while a conversation is taking

place.

The scholars who studied in this area also stated that in American culture meeting

another's eyes is a sign of honesty and credibility (Hybels & Weaver, 1998). The use of

direct eye contact symbolizes listening and attention (Fast, 1991). However, direct eye

contact is seen as unfavorable for most Asian cultures. The length and frequency of the eye

contact is also a cultural variable as it might extend to become perceived as aggression when

used for too long or as uninterested when perceived as too short (Nolan, 1999). In addition,

age gender, status and contextual difference also need to be considered.

2.5.2.4 Touch (Haptics)

Touch is very important to interpersonal relationships because it is

the most effective means by which we communicate our feelings and emotions. Many

researchers have found that when people who did not even know each other began

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interacting, if one person touched the other, he or she was seen as affectionate, relaxed

and informal (Burgoon & Others, 1992). Our touch behavior functions in many ways. It

depends on our interpersonal relationships with others and the way and amount we touch

serves different functions. Touch behavior is used to indicate the degree of intimacy

which is classified into five levels (Heslin & Alper, 1983).

- Professional – Functional Touch

This kind of touch is impersonal and businesslike; for example, when you

are touched for a specific reason by a doctor or nurse in a physical examination.

- Social – Polite Touch

This type of touch is used to acknowledge someone else. In American

culture, the handshake is the most common from to acknowledge others.

- Friendship – Warmth Touch

This from of touch involves hugs and casual kisses between friends. In

American culture, touch that signals friendship and warmth is handled with great care.

- Love – Intimacy Touch

This is used to communicate love and closeness, and it may include

caressing the cheek, holding another around the waist, hugging, embracing, kissing, and

other forms that signal a particular closeness and relationship. For example, parents

stroke their children and lovers and spouses kiss each other.

- Sexual – Arousal Touch

This kind of touch is used to express physical attraction. In general, many

oriental cultures are non-contact oriented cultures. The Japanese use less touch than any

other culture, whereas Southern Europeans, Latin Americans, and Arabs are more

contact oriented cultures (Montagu, 1978).

It is clear that we need to understand and accept the touch norm of other

cultures. Touch behavior also differs between males and females. American females

usually are seen as more touch oriented than males (Anderson & Leibowitz, 1978).

Particularly, Americans use handholding and hand shakes expressing the least

dominance among acquaintances, and the hand shake also conveys the most formality

but receptivity and trust (Burgoon, 1991).

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2.5.2.5 Space and distance (Proximics)

Proximics concerns the way we use the space around us as well as

the distance we stand or sit from others. Use of space and distance is highly related to

culture. Personal space is an invisible bubble that surrounds us and that expands or

contracts depending on personalities, situations, and types of relationship. In general,

Asians, North Americans and Northern Europeans use greater distances when they are

talking than Southern Europeans, Arabs, and South Americans (Jones, 1971).

Hall (1968) indicated that North Americans use four distance zones when

they are communicating with others: intimate distance, personal distance, social distance,

and public distance.

- Intimate distance

This ranges from touching to a distance of eighteen inches. This

distance usually is reserved for the very special people in our lives, such as lovers, very

close friends and intimate family members.

- Personal distance

This ranges from eighteen inches to about four feet. This distance is used

for conversations with close friends and relatives, and long-rime business associates

are sometimes permitted into this distance as friends.

- Social distance

We are most likely to maintain a social distance from four to eight feet.

Impersonal business, social gatherings, and interviews are examples of situations where we

use social distance.

- Public distance

This distance begins at eight feet and more. It is typically used for public

speaking. It has thousand of people present and because of broadcast systems, they

could all be within the zone. Many researches suggest that age, gender, and

personality also influence the use of personal space.

2.5.2.6 Time (Chronemics)

The study of chronemics is a significant area of nonverbal communication

because we generally perceive our actions and reactions as a time sequence. American

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culture is very time-oriented. They hate to be kept waiting and like people to be on

time. They especially judge people by how punctual or late they are. Furthermore, they

place great value on time and how it is used and spent and also consider time a valuable

commodity that should be used wisely, and they are very scheduled people (Hall, 1976).

The American believes that people can do only one thing at a time. It is considered an

insult by Americans when you do several things at one time. Arabs and Latin Americans

can perceive the American as demanding and selfish (Richmond & McCroskey, 1995)

2.5.3 Relationship Between Nonverbal Communication of Senders and

Positive Outcome of Recipients in Their Workplaces

Immediacy is the most powerful dimensions of nonverbal communication and

has been one of the most researched (Shane & Leak, 1979). Immediacy is the degree of

perceived physical or psychological closeness between people (Mehrabian, 1966).

Mehrabian also explained that people are drawn toward persons and things they like,

evaluate positively or prefer, and they avoid or move away from things they dislike,

evaluate negatively or do not prefer. Actually, we can not physically approach or move

away from people or things that we like or dislike, but we can communicate our feelings

most of the time by our nonverbal behaviors. Therefore, we use forms of approach or

avoidance behavior. These forms of nonverbal behavior imply the degree of

psychological closeness between people. The more forms of approach-like nonverbal

behavior we use, the more we are perceived as having nonverbal immediacy. The more

we use avoidance-like behavior, the more we are perceived as having nonverbal non-

immediacy.

Nonverbal behaviors denoting immediacy are those that improve and

encourage interpersonal encounters and communication. Scholars suggest some

common immediacy behaviors are smiling, touching, moving close to another,

making eye contact, facing another using warm vocalics, and leaning forward

someone (Richmond & McCroskey, 1995).

Immediacy and liking are two sides of the same coin. Liking encourages

greater immediacy and immediacy produces more liking (Mehrabian, 1981). He also

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stated that people normally communicate with persons who have a positive effect and

communicate more with people they like, so the use of immediacy can improve the effect.

Many studies of this issue clearly indicate that the more a person likes another, the more

he will use affirmative cues, such as leaning closer, touching, mutual gaze, smiling,

and nodding. On the other side of the coin, if one wants to be liked by another, one

should use the immediacy behaviors that are likely to increase liking.

Researchers who have studied nonverbal immediacy in an intercultural context

found different results from culture to culture, but there was a significant correlation

between affective learning (favorable and unfavorable attitude) toward content and

nonverbal immediacy (McCroskey, Richmond et-al., 1996). The following findings also

reveal the correlation between nonverbal immediacy of senders and its positive outcome

on recipients. The use of nonverbal immediacy can increase the willingness of

recipient members to take another course with the same teacher (McCroskey,

Barraclough, et-al., 1995), increase positive attitude toward the subject (Rodriguez, Plax

& Kearney, 1996), try to spend more time with those who they like (Baringer &

McCroskey, 2000). and also engage in continuing contact outside of the classroom setting

(Albers, 2001).

Successful nonverbal communication in a cross-cultural context plays an

important role in competitive and dynamic global business communications. Many

business communicators fail to deliver their messages because they do not realize how

useful nonverbal communication is. It is better if nonverbal communication is focused on

as much as other communication skills. Hence, it is interesting to investigate Thai tourist

police to determine what their nonverbal communication strengths and weaknesses are it

would also be advantageous to find out whether those with different educational

background and work experience of have different problem in a cross-cultural context.

2.6 Previous Research Studies

Novak (1996) studied knowledge of foreign languages in police dealings with

foreigners in Slovenia. This study analyzed the requirement of proficiency in foreign

languages in some fields of police work. It was established that most police dealings with

foreigners are in the spheres of border control, traffic safety, investigating crime, and

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peace and order. The analysis also showed that the languages most needed by police

officers working in the mentioned spheres were German, Italian and English. According

to the findings, the police deal mostly with foreigners in the sphere of border control, less

in the sphere of traffic safety and even less in investigating crime.

Saengchantr (1999) conducted a general overview of intercultural

communication research in Thailand from 1983 to 1999. The term intercultural

communication defined in this study covers 4 levels, i.e. intercultural communication,

cross-cultural communication, international communication, and comparative mass

communication. By employing the documentary research technique, the researcher

examined 39 theses on intercultural communication conducted by graduate students from

public and private universities in Bangkok and the surrounding vicinity.

The results were as follows: (1) Intercultural communication's theories and

concepts mostly used by Thai scholars were cultural influences on intercultural

communication, i.e. cultural variability and values; (2) Of all the four levels of the study

defined by the researcher, intercultural communication was most applied. The issues of

study mostly focused on psychological and cultural influences on intercultural

communication. In addition, most researchers placed their attention on interactions

between superiors and subordinates as well as coworkers from different cultures; (3)

Most studies were qualitative using documentary research and content analysis

techniques, but many quantitative studies employing questionnaires were also carried

out. Few were conducted both qualitatively and quantitatively, and only one was pursued

experimentally. Purposive sampling techniques were used more than others. Variables

related to this study could be categorized according to demographic characteristics,

communication behaviors, cultural and psychological influences, adaptation,

communication competence as well as attitudes and actions; (4) The problem mostly

found in intercultural communication studies was with methodological issues, including

problems related to sampling, research tools research setting and data collection.

Sukpradij (1999) examined the needs for using English by Thai secretaries in

communication and telecommunication Companies. The purposes of this study were (1)

to investigate problems as well as tasks needs for skill training, focusing on integrated

language skills to suit their everyday work. (2) To ascertain the current amount of

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English used in their daily work; (3) to determine which English skills needed to be

improved, and (4) to study how English in business communication played an important

role in their work. 86 secretaries were selected randomly from twenty communication

and telecommunication companies based on the Nation Business Review Magazine

(1997). The data were collected with the use of a questionnaire. There were four major

findings: First, reading was the biggest problem in using English. Ranked second and

third were speaking and listening, whereas writing was the smallest problem when using

English. Second, listening was the task most needed when using English. The second

task was reading while speaking and writing were about the same. Third, Thai

secretaries’ perception towards the importance of English in business communication

was at the highest level. They found that English is very important for success in their

careers. In addition, they revealed that the role of English language significantly

influences their daily work. Fourth, education level and frequency of English used for

business communication in the companies played a significant role with English

problems.

Bunyapatipak (2000) studied communication strategies employed by Thai

tourist officers in the process of interviewing foreigners. This research also investigated

whether the officers were competent in difficult situations and whether there could by

any improvements. The results showed that foreigners and Thai officers solve

communicative problem by employing strategies with remarkable consistency. The use

of strategies is apparently dependent on many factors, including English knowledge and

competence, experience and skill, and cultural groups. Therefore, the strategic choice is

predictable from the situation, the seriousness of the legal case, and the English ability

level of both parties. The finding from this study also suggests that the Thai officers may

need to take into consideration when preparing to taking on the responsibility of

interviewing or interrogating foreign tourists. These factors are the understanding of non-

verbal communication in depth, rapport and personality.

Li (2000) reported on the third stage of a longitudinal study into lecturing in

English to non-English speaking students conducted at a university in Hong Kong. The

first stage of this project (Flowerdew and Miller, 1992) focused on the perceptions,

problems and strategies of non-native speaking students receiving lectures in English

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from native-speaking lecturers. In the second stage of the project (Flowerdew and Miller,

1996) the lecture situation was considered from the other side of the lecture equation, that

of the lecturers. In the third stage of the project, which is reported here, the ESL lecture is

again investigated from the lecturer's point of view, but this time the focus is not on

expatriate native-speaking lecturers, but on local Chinese lecturers who share the same

language of their students and for whom English is also therefore a second language.

After presenting the findings of this third stage of the project, the results of the three

studies were compared and contrasted. Finally, the implications of the three studies when

viewed collectively were considered and recommendations made for each of the three

groups of subjects: NNS students, NS lecturers and NNS lecturers.

Meemak (2002) investigated the needs and problems of English for tourist

police. The findings indicate that all sections of the tourist police strongly need all four

macro English language skills. Listening is considered the most important. As for

specific English courses, most tourist police agree that they need English training

courses. Based on the finding, it is recommended that for English training courses,

listening and speaking skills, together with vocabulary, should be emphasized. The

implications of these results may provide the guidelines for organizing an English

syllabus, which would bring about improvements for all responsible tourist police.

Pichayathanaporn (2003) studied of western tourists’ perception of nonverbal

behaviors used by Thai tourist guides. The subject were ninety western tourists who have

communicate with Thai tourist guides in a Thai tourism context. The results showed the

two most effective nonverbal categories were time and eye contact. The tourists’

impression of the use of nonverbal communication of Thai tourist guides was fairly high.

There were only three factors that affected tourists’ perception significantly; sex, age and

experience in traveling in Thailand.

Wongrianthong (2003) studied problems in speaking English of supervisor-

level personnel at Ferro Thailand Co., Ltd. The subjects were ten supervisors from ten

departments who took on different responsibilities. Particular problems those ten subjects

were encountering when they interacted with their foreign colleagues and customers

were examined. The findings showed that problems arising in speaking English with

their foreign staff and customers were found when they used English in discussions and

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everyday conversations. The aforementioned problems were from their insufficient

linguistic competence in the first place, not from their knowledge of speech acts of

communication.

Pruegsasin (2005) studied the requirements of improving English content and

skills of tourist police, and to compare English skills according to educational

background, tenure and English training experiences. The participants in this research

were twenty-seven tourist police of section 11, Sub-Division 3 of the Tourist Police

Division in the lower north region of Thailand. The Study revealed (1) The Tourist

Police required a high development of their abilities in English contents and skills. (2)

Members of the Tourist Police with different educational backgrounds were no different

in the development of their overall English abilities. There was, however, a significant

difference in English content with regard to answering phone calls (3) The Tourist Police

with different working periods showed no difference in the development of their overall

English abilities. As for English skills, they also revealed no difference in writing at the

0.05 level of significance. However, there was a significant difference in listening,

speaking, and reading. (4) The tourist police, who underwent different English lessons

during their tenure, showed no difference in the development of their overall English

abilities. They also showed no difference in English content. As for English skills, there

was a significant difference in speaking, but no difference in listening, reading, and

writing; (5) The English content that had already been developed, will continue to be

developed, and have to include these important contents.

Sritoklin (2006) studied the development of training programs in English for

tourism and for the local police in Petchaburi province. The purpose of this research was

to develop the training program in English for local police in Phechaburi. The results of

the training curriculum revealed that the trainees were interested in all sessions of

training, and that they were actively involved in the activities by asking questions,

practicing and participating in discussion. It was revealed that before and after the

training, the trainees’ ability towards English for tourism were statistically significant at

the p≤ .05 level. The training program in all topics was approximately at a high level.

The results of the follow-up observation of using English for tourism revealed that the

trainees were able to apply the knowledge from the training program to improve their

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skills. The contents of the training program were revised and adjusted to have only the

most important parts trainees needed to know and use in their daily work.

Sköld (2008) investigated pupils’ attitudes towards spoken English and towards

speaking in front of their friends, and how these attitudes appeared to be related to their

oral communication and communicative behavior in the classroom. The material was

collected by video taping two classes, a questionnaire in these two classes and by

interviewing their teacher. The results show that motivation and anxiety are

psychological factors that play a significant role in the learning process. Attitudes, both

towards the target language and towards their own production affect pupils’ willingness

to communicate, and consequently their oral production in different tasks. The larger the

group is, the more anxious they became. Thus, in order to motivate pupils, a variety of

exercises is needed, where the topic is of great importance to awaken their interest for

communication. The teacher also needs to circulate in the classroom to avoid a situation

where pupils switch to their first language. Otherwise, pupils appear to code-switch as

soon as an opportunity presents itself, which was observed in the analyses of recorded

lessons.

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study consisted of a survey. The purpose was to look at the use of English

and problems in both verbal and extra-verbal communication by two groups of Thai

tourist police. A questionnaire consisting of 5 parts was the specific instrument used in

this study. This chapter contains information about the population and sampling, the

content and development of the questionnaire, the collection of data, and the data

analysis.

3.1 Population and Sampling

The population in this study consisted of two groups of Thai tourist police

working in Sub-Divisions 2 in Bangkok as identified in the organizational structure of

Tourist Police Division (Appendix C).

Sub-Division 2: This group of Thai tourist police is responsible for working

under the Criminal Procedure Code and other laws relating to criminal offences where

the aggrieved parties are foreign tourists or aliens abiding temporarily in the kingdom

without home or residence here. They are also responsible for providing safety,

assistance, and convenience for tourists as well as protecting both local and foreign

tourists in Bangkok.

Radio Center: The Thai tourist police in this group are responsible for

providing safety, assistance, and convenience for tourists as well as protecting both local

and foreign tourists in Bangkok. In particular, tourist police who work in these sections

having less direct contact use more listening and speaking and less writing and reading.

They must always increase their language abilities in order to work efficiently with the

steadily increasing number of foreign tourists. The more they use English, the more they

are aware of their needs and problems.

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Service Bangkok Airport Sections: Thai tourist police who work in this section

have to use English all 4 skills more often than those in the Radio Center section. They

must always increase their language abilities in order to work efficiently.

One can see from the organizational structure of the Tourist Police Division

mentioned above that Thai tourist police working in Radio Center have jobs that do not

require direct contact with foreign tourists, whereas tourist police working in Service

Bangkok Airport Sections have to contact foreign tourists directly. Consequently, the

researcher decided to select Thai tourist police working in Radio Center and Service

Bangkok Airport Sections to answer questions related to English language use and

problems as well as extra-verbal and paraverbal factors in a cross-cultural context.

The rational for the selection of these two groups of participants was based on a

table used for determining a sample size from a given population (Krejcie & Morgan

1970). For the present study, these particular groups were selected because they deal

directly with tourists from all over the world. To provide room for unusable

questionnaires, 79 copies were distributed at the Radio Center and the airport. Of these,

only 40 were filled out completely and hence acceptable.

3.2 Research Instrument

The questionnaire was the instrument used to gather data concerning basic

information about and issues with English use by the Thai tourist police. The

questionnaire constructed was based on a review of relevant research, along with the

functions and responsibilities of Thai tourist police. The complete 5-part questionnaire is

in the appendix. The following is a description of the 5 portions.

Part 1: Demographic Data

7 questions addressed demographic data – the participant’s gender, age,

education, work experience, language skills and background, acquisition of English, and

means of language improvement.

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Part 2: Quantity of English Use in Daily Work

This section contained 3 questions eliciting information about the quantity and

importance of English communication used in their daily work. The subjects were asked

to rate these on a 5-point Likert scale. The criteria used for scoring were:

Always = 5 (Using English 76% - 100%)

Usually = 4 (Using English 51% - 75%)

Frequently = 3 (Using English 26% - 50%)

Sometimes = 2 (Using English 1% - 25%)

Never = 1 (Using English 0%)

Part 3: Problems with English Use

There were 9 questions focusing on problems in English use that Thai tourist

police encountered. The questions asked about kinds of communication, felt negative

towards foreign tourist and how often improve English listening and speaking. The

subjects were asked to rate these on a 5-point Likert scale. The criteria used in scoring

for the closed questions were as follows:

Always = 5 (Using English 76% - 100%)

Usually = 4 (Using English 51% - 75%)

Frequently = 3 (Using English 26% - 50%)

Sometimes = 2 (Using English 1% - 25%)

Never = 1 (Using English 0%)

Part 4: Nonverbal Communication and Expression of Nonverbal Behaviors in a

Cross-cultural Context

There were 6 questions examined various extra-verbal behavior when dealing

with individuals from other cultures. These included body language, facial expressions,

characteristics of one’s voice, eye contact, time, touch, and personal distance/space.

Furthermore, a more detailed inquiry into voice was asked of the respondents, namely

the speed, pitch, volume, and quality of speech. Scoring in this section consisted of

answering 1 of 5 choices: always, usually, frequently, sometime, never.

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Part 5: Problems in Using and Understanding Nonverbal Communications

The final section contained 6 questions and involved the effective use of

extraverbal communication on the part of foreign tourists. The point here was to

ascertain the participants’ evaluation in terms of various nonverbal means of

communicating and impression formation, such as handshakes and punctuality and other

less-direct forms of interaction. The 5-point scale here consisted of the same choices

among never, sometimes, frequently, usually, and always, as well as the same criteria for

quantity of English use in daily work and problem with English use.

3.3 Data Collection

The data collection was conducted as follows:

1. The researcher first asked for information from the Thai tourist police

division (TPD).

2. The researcher next requested a recommendation letter from the Graduate

School for cooperation with the TPD and permission to collect data. The letter stated the

purposes of this study and sought permission for data collection.

3. The researcher then provided the questionnaire to willing participants,

explaining the purposes of the study and asking the subjects to complete the

questionnaire.

4. The researcher collected all the completed questionnaires one week later

and examined them for accuracy and completion, discarding any of them that did not

meet the standards.

3.4 Data Analysis

After checking the completion of each returned questionnaire, the Statistical

Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. Statistical

procedures included 5-point Likert scale, used to score the levels of English

communication, problems that arise, and related issues. Frequency distributions and

percentages were calculated for each of the possible responses on the questionnaire.

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Other descriptive statistics such as the mean and standard deviation were computed,

along with a comparison of means using a t-test.

The arithmetic mean and standard deviation were used in the calculation of the

average level of English use and associated problems of Thai tourist police. The higher

mean score of each activity reflected the more use of and problems with English by the

tourist police when doing a particular activity. By the same token, the lower mean score

illustrated the lower use of and any problems with that activity. The standard deviation

showed the spread or dispersion of the scores of the respondents.

A decision was made concerning methodology to focus on speaking and

listening and not reading and writing; therefore any questions having to do with reading

and writing were eliminated. “Body language and facial expressions” was originally in

Part 4 of the questionnaire, but it was omitted for workers in the call center since these

persons have contact with tourists over the phone only. Furthermore, 2 sections asking

about attractiveness and clothing were left out of both sets of questionnaires. This was

because the original 2 questions asked for opinions of the expression and importance of

attractiveness and clothing in general, and not specifically about any tourists.

The following guide shows the degree of ability and so on of the respondents

for the 5-point scales, along with a verbal description of the numerical values. While

characterizations such as “occasionally” and “often” can be vague, there is a certain

amount of separation among the choices and any differences in the means will show up

when a sufficient number of questionnaires are collected and then analyzed.

Data interpretation:

Poor Never Mean = 1.00 – 1.49

Fair Sometimes Mean = 1.50 – 2.49

Good Frequently Mean = 2.50 – 3.49

Very Good Usually Mean = 3.50 – 4.49

Excellent Always Mean = 4.50 – 5.00

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CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS

This chapter reports the results of the analysis of data collected from the Thai

tourist police working in the Radio Center and in Patrol and Service at the Bangkok

Airport. Each answer was obtained by using the questionnaire administered to the

sampled Thai tourist police in August 2006. The research questions served as the

framework for the presentation of the findings. In addition, the information collected

from the questionnaires was coded and analyzed using the SPSS Program version 16.0

for data processing and hypothesis testing.

The analyses are presented in 5 parts as follows:

4.1 Demographic data

4.2 Quantity of English use in daily work

4.3 Problems with English use

4.4 Nonverbal communication and expression of nonverbal behaviors in a

cross-cultural context

4.5 Problems in using and understanding nonverbal communications

4.1 Part I : Demographic Data

The results in this section indicate the general information concerning

demographic data of the participants' gender, age, educational level, duration of work,

and time spent in the current position. These data were from Part I of the questionnaire

and the results are presented in the following 8 tables:

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Table 2: Respondents’ Genders

Genders Frequency Percentage (%)

Female 27 67.5

Male 13 32.5

Total 40 100.0

As shown in Table 2, the sample was composed of 67.5% female and 32.5%

male participants.

Table 3: Respondents’ Age Groups

Age Groups Frequency Percentage (%)

20-25 years 13 32.5

26-30 years 7 17.5

31-35 years 9 22.5

36-40 years 8 20.0

46-50 years 3 7.5

Total 40 100.0

As shown in Table 3, those between 20-25 years of age was the largest group,

being 32.5% of the total number of respondents. Next age range was 31-35 years

(22.5%). Those between 46-50 years formed the smallest group (7.5%) of the total.

Table 4: Respondents’ Fields of Study

Fields of Study Frequency Percentage (%)

Non-English major 22 55.0

English major 18 45.0

Total 40 100.0

As shown in Table 4, 45% of the respondents possess English major, and 55%

had some other majors.

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Table 5: Respondents’ Work Sections

Work Sections Frequency Percentage (%)

Patrol and Service Bangkok Airport 20 50.0

Radio Centre 20 50.0

Total 40 100.0

As shown in Table 5, 50% of respondents worked at Patrol and Service

Bangkok Airport, and the same amount worked at the Radio Center.

Table 6: Respondents’ Years of Work Experience

Years of Work Experience Frequency Percentage (%)

less than 1 year 20 50.0

1-5years 3 7.5

6-10 years 8 20.0

11-15 years 6 15.0

15-20 years 3 7.5

Total 40 100.0

As shown in Table 6, 50% of the respondents had less than 1 year of work

experience. 20% had 6-10 years of work experience. Those who have worked between

1-5 years and 15-20 years formed the smallest groups (7.5%)

Table 7: Taking an English Course for Tourist Police

Taking and English Course for

Tourist Police

Frequency Percentage (%)

Yes 40 100.0

No - -

Total 40 100.0

As shown in Table 7, all the respondents (100%) used to take an English course

for tourist police.

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Table 8: Knowledge of Other Languages

Knowledge of Other Languages Frequency Percentage (%)

No 32 80.0

Yes

- Chinese

- French

- Germany

- Japanese

8

(3)

(2)

(2)

(1)

20.0

(7.5)

(5.0)

(5.0)

(2.5)

Total 40 100.0

As shown in Table 8, 20% of the respondents were able to communicate in

other languages; 7.5% of the respondents were able to communicate in Chinese; 5% in

French and German, and 2.5% in Japanese. 80% of the respondents were not able to

communicate in other languages.

4.2 Part II : Quantity of English Use in Daily Work

This part of the questionnaire presents the quantity of English use in daily work

and presented in Tables 9-11.

Table 9: The Use of English Speaking and Listening Skills in Daily Work

Skills X S.D. Meaning

English listening skills 4.3 0.5 Usually

English speaking skills 4.2 0.5 Usually

As shown in Table 9, most of the Thai tourist police “usually” used listening

skill ( X = 4.3) and also “usually” used speaking skill ( X = 4.2).

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Table 10: The Use of English Listening Skills in Daily Work

Daily Work X S.D. Meaning

Listening to general information 4.8 0.4 Always

Listening to complaints 4.5 0.6 Always

Listening to reports 4.0 0.3 Always

Listening to telephone calls 3.1 1.9 Frequently

Listening to identification described 3.1 1.1 Frequently

Listening to seminars / training 2.8 1.3 Frequently

As seen in Table 10, the Thai tourist police officers “always” used listening

skills to general information ( X = 4.8), complaints and report ( X = 4.5), and

“frequently” listened to telephone calls, identification described ( X = 3.1) and listened

to seminars and trainings ( X = 2.8).

Table 11: The Use of English Speaking Skills in Daily Work

Daily Work X S.D. Meaning

Having general conversations 4.8 0.4 Always

Giving information about tourist

attractions

4.5 0.6 Always

Giving directions 4.5 0.6 Always

Offering help 3.8 1.3 Usually

Answering telephone calls 3.1 2.0 Frequently

Conducting inquiries 2.1 1.0 Sometimes

As shown in Table 11, the Thai tourist police officers “always” had general

conversations ( X = 4.8), “always” gave information about tourist attractions ( X = 4.5)

and gave directions, and “usually” offered help ( X = 3.8).

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4.3 Part III : Problems With English Use

This part illustrates the data relevant to the problems with English use

encountered by the Thai tourist police when communicating with foreign tourists; the

results are presented in Tables 12.

Table 12: Problems with English Listening and Speaking Skills

Skills X S.D. Meaning

1. English Listening skills 2.9 0.3 Frequently

2. English Speaking skills 2.5 0.6 Frequently

From Table 12, when the Thai tourist police were at work, they “frequently”

had problems with both listening ( X = 2.9), and speaking ( X = 2.5) skills.

Table 13: Relationship between Fields of Study and Listening Skills

Fields of Study n X S.D. t-value p-value

English major 18 2.8 0.4

Non-English major 22 3.0 0.2

-1.20 0.24

As shown in Table 13, the group having an English major in college scored an

average of 2.8 on the variable of listening problems, and the group having another major

scored an average of 3.0. There was no significant difference, though, between the two

groups at a 0.05 probability level when a t-test was performed.

Table 14: Relationship between Fields of Study and Speaking Skills

Fields of Study n X S.D. t-value p-value

English major 18 2.0 0.3

Non-English major 22 2.9 0.4

-7.82 0.00**

**p ≤ 0.01

As shown in Table 14, the group having Non-English major in college scored

an average of 2.9 on the variable of speaking problems, and the group having English

major scored an average of 2.0. There was a significant difference between the two

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groups at the 0.01 level, demonstrating that most of the Thai tourist police who had a

non-English major had speaking problems when working more than those with an

English major.

Table 15: Relationship between Work Sections and Listening Skills

Work Sections N X S.D. t-value p-value

Patrol and Service

Bangkok Airport

20 3.0 0.0

Radio Centre 20 2.8 0.4

2.18

0.40

As shown in Table 15, the group of Thai tourist police who worked for patrol

and service Bangkok airport scored an average of 3.0 on the variable of listening

problems, and the group working at the radio center scored an average of 2.8. There was

no significant difference, though, between the two groups at a 0.05 probability level.

Table 16: Relationship between Work Sections and Speaking Skills Work Sections n X S.D. t-value p-value

Patrol and Service

Bangkok Airport

20 3.0 0.0

Radio Centre 20 2.0 0.2

21.00

0.00**

**p ≤ 0.01

As shown in table 16, the group of Thai tourist police who worked for patrol

and service Bangkok airport scored an average of 3.0 on the variable of speaking

problems, and the group working at radio center scored an average of 2.0. There was a

significant difference, though, between the two groups at a 0.05 probability level. Those

Thai tourist police who worked at patrol and service Bangkok airport had speaking

problems when working more than those who worked at the radio center.

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Table 17: Relationship between Years of Work Experience and Listening and

Speaking Skills

Translation of variable df SS MS F F-prob

Listening is a problem when

working.

Between groups

Internal groups

4

35

0.4

3.2

0.1

0.1

1.09

0.37

Total 39 3.6

Speaking is a problem when

working.

Between groups

Internal groups

4

35

8.4

3.6

2.09

0.10

20.22

0.00**

Total 39 12.0

**p ≤ 0.01

As shown in Table 17, a one way ANOVA found that there was no relationship

between years of work experience and listening problems at the 0.01 probability level.

But for speaking skills, there was a significant difference at the 0.01 probably level.

Next, a Scheffe-test shows there were problems in speaking skills when tourist

police were working, as shown in Table 43.

Table 18: Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of Speaking

Skills

Years working in this

career

less than

1 years

1-5

years

6-10

years

11-15

years

15-20

years

less than 1 year - -0.28 -0.95** -0.95** -0.95**

1-5years - -0.67 -0.67 -0.67

6-10 years - 0.00 0.00

11-15 years - 0.00

15-20 years -

**p ≤ 0.01

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From Table 18, most of the respondents the results from the Scheffe test at the

0.01 probability level found that those working in this career for a longer time had

significantly fewer language problems compared with those working less than 1 year.

This is also the case, more specifically, for those working from 6-10 years, 11-15 years,

and from 15-20 years in comparison with those working under 1 year.

Table 19: Problems With English Use in Daily Work

Problems X S.D. Meaning

1. Having trouble using proper English

grammar

2.5 0.6 Frequently

2. Having trouble understanding dialogs

via telephone calls

2.4 0.5 Sometimes

3. Having trouble understanding accents

of tourists

2.4 0.5 Sometimes

4. Responding with inappropriate words 2.4 0.5 Sometimes

5. Foreign tourists do not understand

when you speak English

2.4 0.5 Sometimes

6. Being unable to understand and

respond

2.1 0.5 Sometimes

7. Being able to understand but unable to

respond

1.8 0.8 Never

8. Feeling embarrassed to speak English 1.5 0.7 Never

As shown in Table 19, the Thai tourist police “frequently” had trouble using

proper English grammar ( X = 2.5); “sometimes” had trouble understanding dialogs via

telephone calls, and accents of tourists; “sometimes” responded with inappropriate

words, were not understood by foreign tourists ( X = 2.4) and did not understand and

could not respond ( X = 2.1).

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Table 20: Relationship between Fields of Study and Problems with English Use

Problems Fields of study N X S.D. t-value p-value

Non-English major 22 2.7 0.4 Having trouble

understanding dialogs via

telephone calls English major

18 2.1 0.4 -4.43 0.00**

Non-English major 22 2.9 0.4 Having trouble using

proper English grammar English major 18 2.1 0.4 -6.22

0.00**

Non-English major 22 2.7 0.5 Having trouble

understanding accents

of tourists English major

18 2.1 0.4 -4.43

0.00**

Non-English major 22 1.9 0.7 Feeling embarrassed to

speak English English major 18 1.1 0.2 -5.01

0.00**

Non-English major 22 2.4 0.5 Being unable to

understand and respond English major 18 1.8 0.4 -3.82

0.00**

Non-English major 22 2.2 0.7 Being able to understand

but unable to respond English major 18 1.8 0.4 -6.17

0.00**

Non-English major 22 2.6 0.6 Responding with

inappropriate words English major 18 2.1 0.2 -4.28

0.00**

Non-English major 22 2.7 0.5 Foreign tourists do not

understand when you

speak English English major

18 2.1 0.4 -4.43

0.00**

**p ≤ 0.01

As shown in Table 20, the Thai tourist police with different fields of study had

all the problems with English use differently at the 0.01 significance level. It was found

that those with the non-English major background more often had all the problems with

English use.

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Table 21: Relationship between Work Sections and Problems with English Use

Problems Work Section n X S.D. t-value p-value

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 2.8 0.4

Having trouble

understanding dialogs

via telephone calls Radio Centre 20 2.0 0.3

-4.43 0.00**

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 3.1 0.2

Having trouble using

proper English

grammar Radio Centre 20 2.0 0.4

-6.22

0.00**

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 2.8 0.4

Having trouble

understanding accents

of tourists Radio Centre 20 2.0 0.3

-4.43

0.00**

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 2.0 0.7

Feeling embarrassed

to speak English

Radio Centre 20 1.0 0.0

-5.01

0.00**

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 2.4 0.5

Being unable to

understand and

respond Radio Centre 20 1.9 0.4

-3.82

0.00**

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 2.4 0.5

Being able to

understand but unable

to respond Radio Centre 20 1.1 0.3

-6.17

0.00**

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 2.8 0.4

Responding with

inappropriate words

Radio Centre 20 2.0 0.2

-4.28

0.00**

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 2.8 0.4

Foreign tourists do not

understand when you

speak English Radio Centre 20 2.0 0.3

-4.43

0.00**

**p ≤ 0.01

As shown in Table 21, the Thai tourist police in different work section had all

the problems with English use differently at the 0.01 significance level. It was found that

those who worked in the patrol and Bangkok service airport more often had all the

problems with English use.

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Table 22: Relationship between Years of Work Experience and Problems with English Use

Problems df SS MS F F-prob

Having trouble understanding dialogs via

telephone calls

Between groups

With in groups

4

35

5.8

5.8

1.5

0.2

8.75 0.00**

Total 39 (n-1) 11.6

Having trouble using proper English

grammar

Between groups

With in groups

4

35

9.5

6.5

2.4

0.2

12.90 0.00**

Total 39 (n-1) 16.0

Having trouble understanding accents of

tourists

Between groups

With in groups

4

35

5.8

5.8

1.5

0.2

8.75 0.00**

Total 39 (n-1) 11.6

Feeling embarrassed to speak English

Between groups

With in groups

4

35

8.0

10.1

2.0

0.3

6.92 0.00**

Total 39 (n-1) 18.0

Being unable to understand and respond

Between groups

With in groups

4

35

3.9

6.5

1.0

0.2

5.33 0.00**

Total 39 (n-1) 10.4

Being able to understand but unable to

respond

Between groups

With in groups

4

35

14.8

8.7

3.7

0.2

14.89 0.00**

Total 39 (n-1) 23.5

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Responding with inappropriate words

Between groups

With in groups

4

35

6.4

5.0

1.6

0.1

11.36 0.00**

Total 39 (n-1) 11.4

Foreign tourists do not understand when

you speak English.

Between groups

With in groups

4

35

5.8

5.8

1.5

0.2

8.75

0.00**

Total 39 (n-1) 11.6

As shown in Table 22, the Thai tourist police with different years of work

experience had all the problems with English use differently at the 0.01 significance

level. The researcher tested the above results pair by pair by Scheffe Test for years of

work experience and problems of English use. The results are shown as follows:

Table 23: Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of

Understanding Dialogs via Telephone Calls

Years of Work

Experience

less than

1 years

1-5

years

6-10

years

11-15

years

16-20 years

less than 1 year - 0.93 0.00** 0.82 0.03*

1-5years - 0.23 1.00 0.42

6-10 years - 0.78 1.00

11-15 years - 0.27

16-20 years -

**p ≤ 0.01 *p ≤ 0.05

Table 23, shows that by Scheffe Test, years of work experience in this career

affect understanding of dialogs via telephone calls.

It was found that the respondents with less than 1 year and those with 6-10

years of work experience had trouble understanding dialogs via telephone calls

**p ≤ 0.01

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differently at the 0.01 significance level. The respondents with less than 1 year and those

with 16-20 years of work experience also had this problem differently at the 0.05

significance level.

Table 24: Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of Using

Proper English Grammar

Years of Work

Experience

less than

1 years

1-5

years

6-10

years

11-15

years

16-20 years

less than 1 year - 1.00 0.01** 0.03* 0.02*

1-5years - 0.03* 0.05* 0.02*

6-10 years - 1.00 0.86

11-15 years - 0.88

16-20 years -

**p ≤ 0.01 *p ≤ 0.05

Table 24, shows that by Scheffe Test, years of work experience in this career

affect the use of proper English grammar.

It was found that the respondents with less than 1 year and those with 6-10

years of work experience had trouble using proper English grammar differently at the

0.01 significance level; the respondents with less than 1 year and those with 11-15 as

well as 16-20 years of work experience had trouble using proper English grammar

differently at the 0.05 significance level. Moreover the respondents with 1-5 years of

work experience and those with 6-10,11-15 as well as 16-20 years of work experience

also had trouble using proper English grammar differently at the 0.05 significance level.

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Table 25 Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of

Understanding Tourists’ Accents

Years of Work

Experience

less than

1 years

1-5

years

6-10

years

11-15

years

16-20 years

less than 1 year - 0.93 0.00** 0.82 0.25*

1-5years - 0.23 1.00 0.42

6-10 years - 0.08 1.00

11-15 years - 0.27

16-20 years -

**p ≤ 0.01 *p ≤ 0.05

Table 25 shows that by Scheffe Test, years of work experience in this career

affect understanding of tourist accents.

It was found that the respondents with less than 1 year and those with 6-10

years of work experience had trouble understanding tourists’ accents differently at the

0.01 significance level. The respondents with less than 1 year and those with 16-20 years

of work experience also had this problem differently at the 0.05 significance level.

Table 26: Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and Feeling Embarrassed to

Speak English

Years of Work

Experience

less than

1 years

1-5

years

6-10

years

11-15

years

16-20 years

less than 1 year - 0.66 0.00** 0.97 0.19

1-5years - .63 0.94 0.97

6-10 years - 0.06 0.98

11-15 years - 0.55

16-20 years -

**p ≤ 0.01

Table 26 shows that by Scheffe Test, years of work experience in this career

affect the problem of feeling embarrassed to speak English.

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It was found that the respondents with less than 1 year and those with 6-10

years of work experience felt embarrassed to speak English differently at the 0.01

significance level.

Table 27: Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of Not

Understanding and Not Being Able to Respond Foreign Tourists

Don’t understand and

can’t respond

less than

1 years

1-5

years

6-10

years

11-15

years

16-20 years

less than 1 year - 1.00 0.00** 1.00 1.00

1-5years - 0.18 1.00 1.00

6-10 years - 0.06 0.18

11-15 years - 1.00

16-20 years -

**p ≤ 0.01

From Table 27, shows that by Scheffe Test, years of working in this career

affect the understanding and responding to foreign tourist.

It was found that the respondents with less than 1 year and those with 6-10

years of work experience had the problem of not understanding and not being able to

respond foreign tourists differently at the 0.01 significance level.

Table 28: Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of

Understanding But Not Being Able to Respond Foreign Tourists

Understand but can’t

respond

less than

1 years

1-5

years

6-10

years

11-15

years

16-20 years

less than 1 year - 0.18 0.00** 0.03* 0.18

1-5years - 0.31 1.00 1.00

6-10 years - 0.13 0.31

11-15 years - 1.00

16-20 years -

**p ≤ 0.01 *p ≤ 0.05

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Table 28 shows that by Scheffe Test, years of work experience in this career

affect the problem of understanding but not being able to respond foreign tourist.

It was found that the respondents with less than 1 year and those with 6-10

years of work experience had the problem understand tourist but cannot respond

differently at the 0.01 significance level. The respondents with less than 1 year and those

with 11-15 years of work experience had this problem differently at the 0.05 significance

level.

Table 29: Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem of

Responding with Inappropriate Words

Respond with

inappropriate words

less than

1 years

1-5

years

6-10

years

11-15

years

16-20 years

less than 1 year - 0.83 0.00** 0.63 0.01**

1-5years - 0.17 1.00 0.34

6-10 years - 0.05* 1.00

11-15 years - 0.20

16-20 years -

**p ≤ 0.01 *p ≤ 0.05

Table 29 shows that by Scheffe Test, years of work experience in this career

affect the problem of responding with inappropriate words.

It was found that the respondents with less than 1 year and those with 6-10

years of work experience had the problem of responding with inappropriate words

differently at the 0.01 significance level. The respondents with less than 1 year and those

with 16-20 years of work experience also had this problem differently at the 0.01

significance level. Moreover, the respondents with 6-10 years and those with 11-15 years

of work experience had this problem differently at the 0.05 significance level.

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Table 30: Scheffe Test for Years of Work Experience and the Problem That

Foreign Tourists Do not Understand When Thai Tourist Police Speak

English

Foreigners don’t

understand

less than

1 years

1-5

years

6-10

years

11-15

years

16-20 years

less than 1 year - 0.93 0.00** 0.82 0.25*

1-5years - 0.23 1.00 0.42

6-10 years - 0.08 1.00

11-15 years - 0.27

15-20 years -

**p ≤ 0.01 *p ≤ 0.05

Table 30 shows that by Scheffe Test, years of work experience in this career

affect the problem that foreign tourists do not understand when Thai tourist police speak

English.

It was found that the respondents with less than 1 year and those with 6-10

years of work experience had the problem that foreign tourists did not understand their

English differently at the 0.01 significance level. The respondents with less than 1 year

and those with 16-20 years of work experience had this problem differently at the 0.05

significance level.

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Table 31: Ranking of Problems that Foreign Tourists Ask for Assistance for

Choice rank selection Problems

1 2 3 4 5

Rank

Losing belongings 32 5 1 2 - 1

Being Robbed. 7 15 - - - 2

Fighting with local people 1 2 23 1 - 3

Complaining about a shop owner - - 2 14 - 4

Having no money - - 1 2 15 5

Asking for information for

attractions.

1 10 2 3 -

Translating language for taxis - 4 1 - -

Asking for general information - 1 3 1 1

Asking for directions - - 3 2 1

Being cheated into buying fake

jewelry

- 2 13 1 -

Being drunk and asking for help - - - - 11

Missing persons - - - - 5

As shown in Table 31, the Thai tourist police were most commonly asked for

assistance from foreign tourists for losing belongings (Rank 1), followed by being

robbed (Rank 2), fighting with local people (Rank 3), complaining about a shop owner

(Rank 4), and having no money to pay the airport tax at rank number 5.

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Table 32: Ability in Solving Problems of Foreign Tourists

Always Usually Frequently Sometimes Rarely Never Topics Percentage

(%)

(Frequency)

Percentage

(%)

(Frequency)

Percentage

(%)

(Frequency)

Percentage

(%)

(Frequency)

Percentage

(%)

(Frequency)

Percentage

(%)

(Frequency)

Ability in

Solving

Problem

of Foreign

Tourists

7.5

(4)

0

0

55.0

(22)

27.5

(11)

10.0

(4)

As shown in Table 32, most of the Thai tourist police (55%)“sometimes” were

not be able to solve the problem when foreign tourists request assistance. Some of them

(27.5%) “rarely” were not able to solve the problem when foreign tourists requested

assistance, and fortunately the smallest number of the respondents (7.5%) stated that they

“always” could not solve the problem.

Table 33: Dealing with Problems of Foreign Tourists

Dealing with Problems of Foreign Tourists Frequency Percentage (%)

Asking for assistance from a foreign volunteer 33 82.5

Using non-verbal language such as body language 20 50.0

Writing on paper 15 37.5

Asking for assistance from a colleague 4 10.0

As shown in Table 33, most of the Thai tourist police (82.5%) asked for

assistance from a foreign volunteer when they were not able to communicate with a

foreigner. 20% of them used non verbal language such as body language; 15% of them

wrote on paper, and only 4% of them asked for assistance from a colleague if they were

not able to communicate with a foreign tourist in English.

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Table 34: The Problems that Thai Tourist Police Cannot Solve

Solutions Frequency Percentage (%)

Money problem 24 60.0

Family problem 11 27.5

Being drunk 5 12.5

Total 40 100.0

As shown in Table 34, 60% of the respondents stated that money problems

were the most difficult that they could not help with, followed by family issues (27.5%),

and 12.5% of the respondents said they could not help when tourists were drunk.

Table 35: Number of Interactions Per Day

Number of Interactions Frequency Percentage (%)

1-5 tourists 13 32.5

6-10 tourists 20 50.0

11-15 tourists 7 17.5

16-20 tourists - -

More than 20 tourists - -

Total 40 100.0

As shown in Table 35, half of the respondents (50%) helped between 6-10

tourists per day, followed by 32.5% of the respondents helping between 1-5 tourists per

day, and 17.5% of the respondents helped between 11-15 tourists per day.

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Table 36: Negative Feeling towards Foreign Tourists

Never Rarely

Topic Percentage (%)

(Frequency)

Percentage (%)

(Frequency)

Negative feeling towards foreign tourists. 37.5

(15)

62.5

(25)

As shown in Table 36, 62.5% of the respondents had not felt negative towards

foreign tourists in terms of the use of English and intercultural communication skills, and

37.5% of the respondents had felt negative towards foreign tourists.

Table 37: Relationship between Fields of Study and Negative Feeling towards

Foreign Tourists’ Use of English and Intercultural Communication

Skills

Percentage (%) Fields of study n

Yes No

Chi-square

value

P-value

English major 18 14

(77.8)

4

(22.2)

Non-English major 22 8

(36.4)

14

(63.6)

6.86

0.000**

**p ≤ 0.01

As shown in Table 37, most of the Thai tourist police who had an English

major (77.8%) felt negative towards foreign tourists’ English use and intercultural

communication skills; this was significant at the 0.01 probability level. On the contrary,

most of the Thai tourist police who had a non-English major (63.6%) felt negative

toward foreign tourist in term of the use of English and intercultural communications

skills at the 0.01 significance level. This means that fields of study do not have an effect

on the negative feeling towards foreign tourists’ use of English and intercultural

communication skills.

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Table 38: Relationship between Work Sections and Negative Feeling towards

Foreign Tourists’ Use of English and Intercultural Communication

Skills

Percentage (%) Work Section n Yes No

Chi-square

value

P-value

Patrol and Service

Bangkok Airport

20 5

(25%)

15

(75%)

Radio Center 20 17

(85%)

3

(15%)

14.55

0.009**

**p ≤ 0.01

As shown in Table 38, most of the Thai tourist police who work at Radio

Center (85%) felt negative towards foreign tourists’ English use and intercultural

communication skills; this was significant at the 0.01 probability level. On the contrary,

most of the Thai tourist police who work at Patrol and Service Bangkok Airport (75%)

did not felt negative toward foreign tourist in term of the use of English and intercultural

communications skills. This means that work section do have an effect on the negative

feeling towards foreign tourists’ use of English and intercultural communication skills at

the 0.01 probability level.

Table 39: Relationship between Years of Work Experience and Negative Feeling

towards Foreign Tourists’ Use of English and Intercultural

Communication Skills

Percentage (%) Years of Work

Experience

n Yes No

Chi-square

value

P-value

Less than 1 year 20 16

(80%)

4

(20%)

1-5 years 3 2

(66.7%)

1

(33.3%)

6-10 years 8 1

(12.5%)

7

(87.5%)

11-15 years 6 1

(16.7%)

5

(83.3%)

15-20 years 3 2

(66.7%)

1

(33.3%)

14.78

0.005**

**p ≤ 0.01

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As shown in Table 39, most of the Thai tourist police who had years of work

experience less than 1 year (80%) felt negative towards foreign tourists’ English use and

intercultural communication skills; this was significant at the 0.01 probability level. On

the contrary, most of the Thai tourist police who had years of work experience between

6-10 years (87.5%) did not feel negative toward foreign tourists in term of the use of

English and intercultural communications skills. This means that years of work

experience do have an effect on the negative feeling towards foreign tourists’ use of

English and intercultural communication skills at the 0.01 probability level.

Table 40: English Self-improvement

English Self-improvement X S.D. Meaning

1. By listening to multimedia such as CDs or

cassettes

2.6 0.6 Frequently

2. By taking training courses 2.3 0.5 Sometimes

3. By studying in English speaking countries 2.1 0.8 Sometimes

As shown in Table 40, the Thai tourist police “frequently” improved their

English by listening to multimedia such as CDs or cassettes ( X = 2.6), and “sometimes”

improved their English by taking training courses ( X = 2.3) and studying in English

speaking countries ( X = 2.1).

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4.4 Part IV : Nonverbal Communication and Expression of Nonverbal Behaviors

in a Cross-cultural Context

Table 41: The Use of Nonverbal Communication and Expression of Nonverbal

Behaviors

Nonverbal Behaviors X S.D. Meaning

1. The use of eye contact

e.g., making eye contact while talking

4.8

0.4

Always

2. The use of space and distance

e.g., using social distance for interaction.

(Approximately 4 – 8 feet; 12 inches = 1 foot)

4.5 0.6 Always

3. The use of body language and facial expression

- Facial expression (display of feeling)

e.g., giving friendly smile while talking

- Regulators (body language that maintains and

regulates the back and forth interaction between two

people)

e.g., pointing with finger to a person whom he/she

wants to speak with

- Illustrators (body language that helps to illustrate

what is being said)

e.g., describing something and illustrate the shape

with your hands

- Emblems (body language with a short direct verbal

translation).

e.g., nodding his/her head up and down when saying "

yes " and shaking it right and left when saying " no."

- Adapters (body language that has a meaning

contrasting from its purpose)

e.g., talking with an irregular manner (playing with

ornaments or scratches his/her body while talking)

3.6

(4.8)

(4.5)

(4.2)

(3.4)

(1.6)

0.7

(0.4)

(0.8)

(0.6)

(0.7)

(0.8)

Usually

Always

Always

Usually

Frequently

Sometimes

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4. The use of time

e.g., spending time strictly punctual as the

schedule provide.

2.6 0.5 Frequently

5. The use of touch

e.g., using handshakes and handholding for greetings,

farewells and thanking

2.5

0.5

Frequently

6. The use of paralanguage (vocal cues)

- Vocal fillers (using sounds we use to fill out our

speech such as “er” or “um”)

- Pitch (using a high and varied pitch)

- Volume (using a loud voice)

- Rate/Speed (using a fast speed)

- Quality (using an attractive sound)

2.3

(2.6)

(2.4)

(2.4)

(2.3)

(1.6)

0.5

(0.7)

(0.6)

(0.7)

(0.5)

(0.8)

Sometimes

Frequently

Sometimes

Sometimes

Sometimes

Sometimes

As shown in Table 41, most of the Thai tourist police always used eye contact

( X = 4.8), followed by space and distance ( X = 4.5), but usually used body language

and facial expression ( X = 3.6).

Regarding the use of body language and facial expression, most of the

respondents always used facial expression ( X = 4.8), followed by regulators ( X = 4.5),

but usually used illustrator ( X = 4.2).

In terms of the use of paralanguage, most of the respondents frequently used

vocal fillers ( X = 2.6), but sometimes used a high and varied pitch as well as a loud

voice ( X = 2.4).

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4.5 Part V : Problems in Using and Understanding Nonverbal Communications

Table 42: Problems in Using and Understanding Nonverbal Communications

Problems X S.D. Meaning

1 Time (punctual) 2.2 0.8 Sometimes

2 Paralanguage (rate/speed, pitch, volume,

quality and vocal fillers)

2.0 0.6 Sometimes

3 Space and distance

(comfortable distance)

2.0 0.6 Sometimes

4 Body language and facial expression

(emblems, illustrators, regulators, display

of feeling and adapters)

1.4 0.5 Never

5 Eye contact (making direct eye contact) 1.3 0.5 Never

6 Touch (hand shake, hand holding, etc) 1.2 0.4 Never

As shown in Table 42, most of the Thai tourist police sometimes had the

problem with time (punctual) ( X = 2.2), and paralanguage ( X = 2.0), and never had the

problem with touch ( X = 1.2).

Table 43: Relationship between Fields of Study and the Problems in Using and

Understanding Communications Paralanguage and Time

Problems Fields of study n X S.D. t-value p-value

Non-English major 22 5.0 0.0

English major 18 4.8 0.4

Paralanguage

(rate/speed,pich,volume,

quality and volume fillers) English major 18 0.3 1.2

-1.84 0.08

Non-English major 22 4.1 0.0 Time (punctal)

English major 18 4.0 0.6 0.37

0.72

As shown in Table 43, used t-test, in term of the problem in using and

understanding nonverbal communications (paralanguage and time), the results show that

there are no significant difference, though, between the two groups.

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Table 44: Relationship between Work Sections and the Problems in Using and

Understanding Nonverbal Communications

Problems Fields of study n X S.D. t-value p-value

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 5.0 .000

Paralanguage

(rate/speed,pich,volume,

quality and volume fillers) Radio Centre 20 4.8 .366

1.83 0.08

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 4.0 .000a

Body language and facial

expression (emblems,

illustrators, regulators,

display of feeling and

adapters)

Radio Centre

20 0.0 .000a

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 4.0 .000a

Eye contact (making

direct eye contact)

Radio Centre 20 0.0 .000a

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 4.0 .000a

Touch (hand shake, hand

holding or etc.)

Radio Centre 20 0.0 .000a

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 5.0 .000a

Space and distance

(comfortable distance)

Radio Centre 20 0.0 .000a

Radio Center 20 4.1 .000 Time (punctual)

Patrol and Airport

Service 20 4.0 .605

-0.37

0.72

**p ≤ 0.01 Note : a cannot be computed because the standard deviations of both groups are 0.

As shown in Table 44, used t-test, regarding the problem in using and

understanding nonverbal communications, the results show that there was no significant

difference, though, between the two groups.

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Table 45: Relationship between Years of Experience and the Problems in Using

and Understanding Nonverbal Communications

Problems df SS MS F F-prob

Paralanguage (rate/speed, pitch, volume,

quality and volume fillers)

Between groups

With in groups

4

35

0.23

2.55

0.06

0.07

0.77 0.55

Total 39 (n-1) 2.78

Time (punctual)

Between groups

With in groups

4

35

0.26

6.96

0.01

0.20

0.03 1.0

Total 39 (n-1) 6.98

As show in Table 45, in term of the problems in using and understanding

nonverbal communication, there was no significant difference among the respondents

having different years of work experience and paralanguage and also time (punctual).

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CHAPTER V

DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

This chapter summarizes and discusses the findings of the study. The

relationship of the 6 initial questions posed to the answers to these questions found in

the results is also looked at. In addition, implications and recommendations for

additional studies are discussed based on what is clear from the present study.

5.1 Summary of the Study

This study was conducted to assess English language use in the participants’

everyday jobs, and also to examine issues and potential problems faced by those Thai

tourist police who have either face to face or telephone contact with international

tourists. Moreover, what the biggest problems are were investigated. This includes body

language, facial expressions, effective use of extra-verbal communication, and related

cross-cultural factors. The results can be considered for designing and implementing a

training course.

The subjects of this study were 40 Thai tourist police working at the Radio Call

Center (Tel. 1155) and at the Patrol and Bangkok Airport Service. The subjects were

selected from the pool of workers who have as their job duty direct contact with tourists,

either by face to face or via telephone. The instrument was a questionnaire that consisted

of 5 parts: demographic data, quantity of English use in daily work, problems with

English use, nonverbal communication and expression of nonverbal behaviors in the

cross cultural context, and problems with using and understanding nonverbal

communication. The questionnaires were distributed and collected by hand from the

work departments both at the Radio Call Center and at Patrol and Bangkok Airport

Service. Half of those participating came from the Radio Center department while the

other 50% came from the Patrol and Bangkok Airport Service department. The findings

were used to answer the research questions of the study. An SPSS computer program

was employed to analyze the data.

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5.2 Discussions of the Findings

The findings of this study are as follows:

From the personal data section of the subjects of this study, the 40 subjects

consisted of 67.5% female and 32.5% male respondents. In addition, 32.5% of the

subjects were 20-25 years old, 20% were 36-40 years old, and 17.5% of the subjects

were 26-30 years old. The majority of the subjects (55%) earned their Bachelor’s Degree

in a non-English major and other 45% of the subject earned a Bachelor’s Degree in an

English major. 50% of the subjects had less then 1 year of work experience, followed by

20% of the subjects having between 6-10 years of work experience. All of the subjects

(100%) have took an English course for the Thai tourist police.

Research Question 1: In what daily work do most Thai tourist police have to speak and

listen to English?

There were many daily work tasks for which the respondents of this study used

English. The results show that the Thai tourist police almost always listened to general

information, complaints and reports, and they frequently listened to telephone calls,

identification described and to seminars or training. They almost always used speaking

skills when having general conversations, giving information about tourist attractions

and giving directions, and they usually used speaking skills when offering help,

frequently used them when answering telephone calls, and sometimes used them when

conducting inquires. Communication by definition is a two-way process, as mentioned

in the literature by Stewart, Zimmer, and Clark (1985). Another study found that the

Thai tourist police in their daily work offered assistance, introduced tourist attractions,

and gave directions or other necessary information (Meemak, 2002).

Research Question 2: What problems do most Thai tourist police often have when using

English to help foreign tourists?

The answers cover a wide range, frequently reporting trouble using proper

English grammar, which was the most common. They sometimes had trouble

understanding dialogs via telephone calls, understanding accents of tourists, responding

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with inappropriate words, being understood when speaking English, and not

understanding so not being able to reply. Not responding because they did not

understand in the first place, and feeling embarrassed to speak English were both seldom

reported. The effectiveness of every oral communication depends first on the proper

functioning of the sending process and second, on the proper functioning of the receiving

process (Stewart, Zimmer, and Clark, 1985). Meemak (2002) found that Thai tourist

police had problems with listening to foreigners more than speaking, writing, or reading.

Also, they used inappropriate words, did not know enough vocabulary, and could not

understand some accents, mostly because foreign tourists were often not native speakers.

The findings of the 2 studies are similar. Another study found problems in speaking

English on the part of supervisors at a Thai company when discussing everyday matters

with foreign staff and customers (Wongrianthong 2003), which would support the idea of

more training.

I most found that the most common problem that foreign tourists ask for

assistance with is losing belongings, followed by being robbed, then fighting with local

people, complaining about shop owners, and having no money.

However, the Thai tourist police sometimes were not be able to solve a problem

when tourists requested assistance. They frequently asked for assistance from a foreign

volunteer and sometimes used nonverbal language such as body language when they

could not deal with problems of foreign tourists. Most of the Thai tourist police stated

that the most difficult problem they could not help with was when foreign tourists had

money problems, followed by family problems. Some of them could not help when

foreign tourists were drunk, and half them helped between 6-10 foreign tourist per day.

Regarding the feeling towards foreign tourists, most of the Thai tourist police

did not feel negative towards their use of English.

Furthermore, the Thai tourist police frequently improved their English by

listening to multimedia such as CDs or cassettes, and sometimes improved their English

by taking training courses and studying in English speaking countries.

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Research Question 3: What nonverbal communication do most Thai tourist police often

use with foreign tourists?

The Thai tourist police used a wide range of nonverbal and extraverbal

communication in their interactions. They almost always used eye contact, body

language, facial expressions, and made use of space and distance. Facial displays of

feeling, body language including nodding or shaking one’s head, eye contact, use of

touch and personal space, and the perception of time were often used. Vocal cues -

including using a high pitch or a fast speed, controlling the volume, and using an

attractive sound - were sometimes used. Several studies (Ray, 1986; Berry, 1992;

Zunckeman & Driver, 1989) have shown that using vocal cues well results in a positive

evaluation by listeners, so this is one area in which the tourist police seem to be

effectively conveying a message of concern and attentiveness.

Pichayathanaporn (2003) found that Thai tour guides paid attention to

punctuality, and also used eye contact, proper personal space/distance, clothing, body

language & facial expressions, attractiveness, paralanguage, and touch when interacting

with persons on a tour, which again matches the finds of the present study. In agreement

with Richmond & McCrosky (1995) is the use of eye contact. Eye behaviors provide

information about emotions and attitudes, and the use of direct eye contact symbolizes

listening and attention (Fast, 1991), so it is no surprise that this nonverbal behavior was

employed so frequently.

Research Question 4: What problems in using and understanding nonverbal

communication do Thai tourist police often have?

Issues that sometimes arose when the Thai tourist police attempted to

communicate with foreign tourists occurred when using the above means of extraverbal

communication. Specifically, there were problems with time, paralanguage, and

space/distance cues. Body language/facial expressions, eye contact, and touch all

occurred considerably less often, and problems with touch almost never happened.

Much of the research in this area focuses on intercultural communication. The main

problem seems to be miscommunication based on misunderstandings of culturally-

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constructed gestures, ideas, and norms. For instance, meeting another’s eyes is a sign of

honesty and credibility in American culture (Hybels & Weaver, 1998), so it is easy to see

how this could become problematic in another social context. Another variable is the

length of eye contact; its perception can change to aggression when used too long and as

showing a lack of interest when used too short (Nolan, 1999). Similarly, the perception

and relevance of time is subject to problems since American culture, for example, is very

time-oriented. Time is something valuable and is often scheduled (Hall, 1976), so if

others do not place the same degree of importance on it, issues will arise.

As applied to Thai tourist police, according to Saengchantr (1999),

psychological and cultural influences on intercultural communication was the most

common area of research in Thailand. Methodological problems, however, plagued

many of the theses. Studies of travel often reveal similar issues involving problems of

fear, danger, culture, and excitement; for example, Smith (2002) found that a personal

connection with others was a main theme of the experience of travel. For the present

study, it needs to be pointed out that only those Thai tourist police working at the airport

are interacting with foreign tourists in terms of nonverbal behavior. For paraverbal and

time factors, no difference was found between the groups at the 2 locations.

Research Question 5: Do Thai tourist police with different backgrounds have different

problems with English use?

Most of the Thai Tourist police having an English language-related major in

college reported fewer problems with all aspects of English and across all measures in

the study. All the individuals working at the call center had an English-related major in

college, so this contributes to the relative success of the call center when dealing with

foreign tourists on the phone compared to those working at the airport. All of the

problems with English use measured by the present study were found to be significantly

higher in the airport group.

It was expected that those having more experience would have fewer problems

in several areas, but the results show that the number of years of experience was not

related to the number of listening problems encountered. But there were different

problems with speaking skills. The Thai tourist police who had less than 1 year of work

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experience had fewer problems in speaking English than those who had more experience.

An explanation is that those who had under 1 year of work experience all had English

majors, and thus assumed to have better English skills. For the Thai tourist police

working at the airport specifically, those having 6-10 of work years experience reported

fewer problems in understanding than those working from 1-5 years. An explanation of

this finding is that the most important factor is whether the persons had a major in

college requiring the use of English, and if they have longer work experience, then they

improve their skills by interacting at work. One study found that foreigners and tourist

guides were able to solve problems in communication by employing consistent strategies

(Bunyapatipak, 2000), consistent with the results of this study, but another reported that

Thai tourist police with different educational backgrounds did not differ in the

development of their overall English abilities, except for one variable of answering

phone calls (Pruegsasin, 2005). The results in this case clearly do not match.

In addition, the Thai tourist police who had different backgrounds in fields of

study, work sections and years of work experience have different feelings towards

foreign tourists’ English use. Most of the Thai tourist police who had an English major,

worked at the Radio Center and had less than 1 year of work experience felt negative

towards foreign tourists’ English use. Perhaps their lack of training contributes to their

negative attitudes, so a training program would seem to be a welcome solution.

Research Question 6: Do Thai tourist police with different backgrounds have different

problems with inter cultural communication?

Having or not having an English major resulted in no difference in the number

and kinds of problems with intercultural communication in terms of both paralanguage

and punctuality. For body language & facial expressions, eye contact, touch, and space

& distance, though, there were extremely large differences between the two groups; it

was a remarkable full 4 point difference for space & distance. It must be pointed out that

all the participants at the radio call center had only phone contact, so there was no chance

for them to interact in person, and there were only 3 English majors at the airport. For

the other 2 factors included in the “backgrounds”, there was no difference between the

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groups at different locations or in terms of the number of years of work experience for

the factors of paralanguage and punctuality/time.

Other studies have mentioned the relevance of nonverbal behavior; for

example, Pichayathanaporn (2003) looked at tourist guides and found that the use of

time and eye contact were the most important in impression formation on and

communication with foreign tourists.

Furthermore, the Thai tourist police who had different backgrounds in fields of

study, work sections and years of work experience had different feelings towards foreign

tourists’ use of intercultural communication skills. More of the Thai tourist police who

had an English major felt negative towards foreign tourists’ use of intercultural

communication skills, compared with those who had a non-English major those working

at the Radio Center also felt negative towards foreign tourists’ use of intercultural

communication skills, at the airport. In addition, the Thai tourist police having less than

1 year of work experience felt negative towards foreign tourists’ use of intercultural

communications skills, contrasted with those who had longer work experience. Those

having over 6 years of work experience did not report feeling negative towards foreign

tourist. It appears that more familiarity with situations involving language and culture

improves the attitudes and service of Thai tourist police. As mentioned previously, a

training program including different accents would likely greatly improve the

performance and job satisfaction of all tourist police.

5.3 Conclusions

The proportion of the subjects in terms of gender was about one third male and

two thirds female. The majority of the Thai tourist police are 26-35 years old. In

addition, most of them graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and have been working as

tourist police for more than 10 years if working at the airport, but under 1 year at the call

center because they are contract workers.

In terms of English proficiency, the Patrol and Service Bangkok Airport tourist

police perceived their own English proficiency as average. They ranked listening skills

higher than speaking skills. Moreover, although most of them had attended some

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English training courses, they thought that their English knowledge was not sufficient for

their work. Radio Center individuals perceived their own English proficiency as above

average, and they thought that their English knowledge was sufficient for their work.

There were no differences in the 2 groups when it comes to English language

use. The Thai tourist police who worked in the Radio Center and the Patrol and Service

Bangkok Airport Section frequently used all skills of English, especially listening and

speaking. In terms of specific problems of English use by the Thai tourist police,

listening was indicated as the most problematic, followed by speaking. Besides, the

majority of the Thai tourist police regarded telephone conversations as a problem that

they frequently encountered in routine work, followed by giving directions and listening

to complaints, respectively. The problems the Thai tourist police frequently encountered

when communicating with foreign tourists were that they often used inappropriate

words, did not know the meaning of the vocabulary, and did not understand foreign

accents. The solutions they frequently used to cope with the problems were to gesture,

followed by asking for help from interpreters, volunteers and colleagues.

The most common feature beyond the verbal that the participants mentioned

themselves employing, for both of the groups, was using an attractive voice. At the

airport, body language was used to describe something when attempts were made to get

something across to foreign tourists. Other findings for the airport group included the

observation that they would smile when talking. This was under the category of a

display of feeling of facial expression. One other result of note is that men would use

touch substantially more often than women. These findings clearly answer one of the

main inquiries of the study.

For the examination into problems with paraverbal and other factors lying

outside the direct verbal, the results indicated that for the call center group, they were

upset when tourists would speak with loud voices. For the airport group, there were no

main problems given. Speculating into this interesting finding, perhaps they are more

familiar with dealing with foreign tourists from their longer history, and have gained a

degree of experience in conveying important information and understanding the points

made from tourists. In addition, training in this area could also contribute to their lack of

problems when encountering any tourists and their possible complaints. It seems

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reasonable that if they are practicing all the time, they would be able to get to the point of

the matter and not have to spend an excessive amount of time on basic communication or

trying to understand what someone means when he is moving his arms, for instance.

They apparently have become used to the standard issues that arise and are able to

converse more directly, even if their language skills are not great.

In order to achieve the objectives of the Tourist Police Division, which state

that Thai tourist police officers must communicate in English more efficiently and

effectively, workers clearly need to improve their English. It is interesting to note that

Patrol and Airport Service Police of different age, field of study, work experience,

background, and responsibility, whether they have to deal with foreign tourists or not, all

perceived that their English proficiency is frequently a problem for their work and that

they needed to improve their skills, both listening and speaking. The Radio Center

employees had less problem in English communication skills than Patrol and Airport

Service Police, likely because of their education background - the Radio Center workers

typically graduated with an English major, whereas Patrol and Airport Service Police

graduated with a degree from a Thai language-based program. Also, the call center

workers have been mostly working for under a year, and the airport group consists of

individuals working 10 years or more.

In conclusion, this study was carried out in order to provide an insight into the

needs and problems of English use for Thai tourist police. It was expected to provide a

mechanism for obtaining a range of data regarding verbal, paraverbal, and extraverbal

factors. Although the present study does not intend to represent all Thai tourist police,

the researcher believes that the sampling frame might give a good representation of Thai

tourist police working in the country. It is anticipated that the conclusions of the present

study might be useful to those responsible for policy and planning as well as related

organizations in order to have a clearer understanding of the diverse English needs of

Thai tourist police.

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5.4 Recommendations for an English Training Course for Thai Tourist Police

5.4.1 English use

Since Thai tourist police are responsible for the safety and security of the lives

and property of foreign tourists, they have to use English as the medium of

communication, usually including both listening and speaking skills.

As for listening skills, the Thai tourist police who work in both the Radio

Center and Patrol and Service Bangkok Airport frequently use listening skills in their

duties. In particular, those in the Inquiry Section are responsible for conducting an

inquiry; therefore, they have to use listening skills very frequently to listen to specific

information and understand what is being said to them.

In fact, speaking and listening need to be considered together (Stewart,

Lanham, Zimmer, and Clark, 1972) as the Thai tourist police speak to foreign tourists as

much as they listen to them. At tourist attractions, Thai tourist police who work in the

Patrol and Service section must provide safety and assistance to tourists; therefore, they

often use English to converse with those foreign tourists seeking help of some sort,

offering their services and introducing various attractions and providing information.

5.4.2 Problems

In Thailand, English is regarded as a foreign language. It is thought that

English is learned at school for communication with speakers of the language

(Phillipson, 1992). Nevertheless, most Thai people rarely use English in their daily lives,

especially in listening and speaking, which is a very serious problem. They cannot

understand and speak English well, both face-to-face and on the telephone. As

Tubtimtong (1993) states, these interactive and productive skills are difficult to fulfill

because the medium of instruction of all subjects at all levels is the Thai language, which

is not conductive to the development of foreign language competence and capacity.

In conclusion, listening is regarded as the main problem of the majority of Thai

tourist police, followed by speaking. Similar to the finding of Meemak (2002), it was

discovered that the Thai tourist police working in Patrol and Service at Bangkok Airport

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Section had problems in listening to foreign tourists more, compared with speaking, and

the Radio Call Center employees had fewer listening and speaking problems than those

at Patrol and Service at Bangkok Airport.

Also, the main problem of the majority of Thai tourist police is using

inappropriate words, not knowing the vocabulary, and being unable to understand

foreign accents. This is probably because not all foreign tourists use English well –

some are native speakers, whereas others can use English a little or even not at all. It is

possible and even very likely that the Thai tourist police cannot understand a variety of

persons and their accents.

Thai tourist police working in the Radio Center and Patrol and Service

Bangkok Airport Section have contact with foreign tourists every day. Especially at the

Radio Center, workers assist many foreign tourists, likely because it is easier to contact.

Foreign tourists can call from anywhere, and it seems to be convenient compared to

traveling to the airport to ask for assistance there.

The Thai tourist police have been trained to set their attitudes and directions in

preparation for work in a new era; that is, to be ready to serve and assist foreign tourists

with a service-oriented mind, hospitality, generosity, forgiveness, and fairness. They can

adapt themselves easily to get along with other nationalities. As Sucompa (1998)

mentions, because Thai people are generous, modest, peaceful, and helpful, whenever

Thai tourist police encounter problems concerning communication with foreigners, they

themselves must seek ways to solve the problems by using gestures first followed by

asking foreigners to write down what they need. Unless mutual understanding is

achieved, they will have to ask for help from interpreters. In addition, Thai tourist police

will not avoid answering any questions or will not refuse to help tourists. Consequently,

they will have to attempt to assist foreign tourists with whatever language resources they

have.

5.4.3 Implications

Based on the findings of the study, it is suggested that English courses for Thai

tourist police be revised in accordance with actual needs of Thai tourist police who have

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to use English in their lines of duty, communicating with foreign tourists who seek a

certain form of assistance from them.

Thai tourist police need to have a good command of English communication

skills, especially conversations. The content of courses should emphasize listening and

speaking skills related to the Thai tourist police’s daily work, e.g., giving general

information or listening to complaints. The content of listening should focus on several

different accents of foreigners around the world. This can be accomplished by letting

them listen to tape cassettes or CDs of different accents.

Also, this study has lead to consideration of designing a training course that can

enhance and improve cultural understanding and awareness of effective intercultural

communication for Thai tourist police. The issues of training should include principle

communication, cross-cultural communication and nonverbal communication. In the

training program, the trainers should emphasize the importance and positive outcome in

effective intercultural communication, including nonverbal aspects. Moreover, the

trainers should provide ample practice in different contexts during or after finishing the

course work for real-world application. Other studies have concluded the same.

Meemak (2003) recommended a priority of listening and improving accents along with

all sections of Thai tourist police practicing all 4 language skills. Other instances of

studies emphasizing the importance of training programs include Wongrianthong

(2003), Pruegsasin (2005), Sritoklin (2006) and Sköld (2008). The researcher hopes that

these suggestions will prove valuable in shaping future English courses. Finally, the

findings and the ideas will help to improve the communication competence of the Thai

tourist police and will help to create goodwill for the Thai tourism industry.

5.5 Recommendations for Future Research

First, as the present study was conducted with Thai tourist police working in

Sub-division 2 in the Bangkok area only, the findings cannot be generalized to those

working in other parts of the country. Therefore, additional studies could be conducted

with Thai tourist police from other regions to expand the results.

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Second, if future studies intend to specify the needs of Thai tourist police

working in different sections, other data gathering techniques may be employed based on

the nature of the data needed. This could include interviews or observations to gain

more accurate and detailed information about their needs.

Third, English is not the only foreign language used by foreign tourists,

although almost all of the tourists all over the world need to use English to communicate

with speakers of other languages. Hence, future research might extend some aspects of

the present research and apply them with research on needs analysis of Thai tourist

police using other languages, although there would be considerably less direct

application to the 2 groups in the present study.

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APPENDIX A

QUESTIONNAIRE

The Use and the Problems of English and Intercultural Communication Skills of

Thai Tourist Police Officers

Part I : Demographic Data

Direction: Please answer all the questions below by marking for your answer.

1. What is your gender?

( ) Male ( ) Female

2. What age group you are in?

( ) 20-25 years ( ) 26-30 years ( ) 31-35 years

( ) 36-40 years ( ) 41-45 ( ) More than 45 years

3. What is your field of study?

( ) English major ( ) Non-English major

4. What work section are you currently working in?

( ) Patrol and Service Bangkok Airport ( ) Radio Centre

5. How long have you been working in this career?

( ) 1 – 5 years ( ) 6- 10 years ( ) 11 - 15 years

( ) 16-20 years ( ) more than 20 years

6. Have you ever taken an English course for tourist police?

( ) Yes ( ) No

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7. Can you communicate in any other languages?

( ) Yes ( ) No

If yes, please specify:

( ) Chinese

( ) Japanese

( ) French

( ) German

( ) Others (Please specify.)…………………………………………..

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Part II : Quantity of English Use in Daily Work

Direction: Please answer all the questions below by marking for your answer.

The criteria used in scoring are as follows:

Always = 5 (Using English 76% - 100%)

Usually = 4 (Using English 51% - 75%)

Frequently = 3 (Using English 26% - 50%)

Sometimes = 2 (Using English 1% - 25%)

Never = 1 (Using English 0%)

1 In your daily work, how often do you use the following skills?

Skills Always Usually Frequently Sometimes Never

English Speaking Skills

English listening Skills

2 For the daily work listed below, while you are at work, how often do you have to

listen to what is said to you in English?

The criteria used in scoring are as follows:

Always = 5 (Using English 76% - 100%)

Usually = 4 (Using English 51% - 75%)

Frequently = 3 (Using English 26% - 50%)

Sometimes = 2 (Using English 1% - 25%)

Never = 1 (Using English 0%)

Daily Work Always Usually Frequently Sometimes Never

Listening to general information

Listening to complaints

Listening to reports

Listening to telephone calls

Listening to identification

described

Listening to seminars / trainings

Others (please specify.)

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3 While you are at work, how often do you have to speak English in the following

daily work?

Daily Work Always Usually Frequently Sometimes Never

Having general

conversations

Giving information about

tourist attractions

Giving directions

Conducting inquiries

Offering help

Answering telephone calls

Others (Please specify.)

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Part III : Problems with English Use

Direction: Please answer all the questions below by marking for your answer.

The criteria used in scoring are as follows:

Always = 5 (Using English 76% - 100%)

Usually = 4 (Using English 51% - 75%)

Frequently = 3 (Using English 26% - 50%)

Sometimes = 2 (Using English 1% - 25%)

Never = 1 (Using English 0%)

1. When you are working, how often do you have problems with the following skills?

Skills Always Usually Frequently Sometimes Never

English Listening skills

English Speaking skills

2. How often do you have problems with daily English use at work?

Problems Always Usually Frequently Sometimes Never

1.Having trouble understanding

dialogs via telephone calls

2.Having trouble using proper English

grammar

3.Having trouble understanding

accents of foreign tourists

4.Feeling embarrassed to speak

English

5.Being unable to understand and

respond

6. Understanding but being unable to

respond

7. Respond with inappropriate words

8. Foreign tourist do not understand

when you speak English

9. Others (Please specify.)

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3. How often do you improve your English in the following way?

Topic Always Usually Frequently Sometimes Never

1. By listening to multimedia such as

CDs or cassettes

2. By taking training courses

3. By studying in English speaking

countries

Direction : Rank the following problems from the biggest to the smallest?

(1 the biggest 5 the smallest)

4. What are the most common problems that foreign tourists ask for assistance for?

___ Losing belongings ___ Being robbed

___ Translating language for taxis ___ Asking for general information

___ Asking for information for attractions ___ Asking for directions

___ Complaining about a shop owner ___ Fighting with local people

___ Being cheated into buying fake jewelry ___ Missing persons

___ Having no money ___ Being drunk and asking for help

___ Others (Please specify.) ………………………………

5. How often can you NOT solve the problem when foreign tourists request assistance?

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently

( ) Sometimes ( ) Rarely ( ) Never

6. Have you ever felt negative towards foreign tourists in terms of their use of English

and intercultural communication skills?

( ) Yes ( ) No

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7. In case you cannot communicate with a foreign tourist in English, what do you do?

(You can select more than one answer.)

Asking for assistance from a foreign volunteer

Asking for assistance from a colleague

Using non-verbal language such as body language

Writing on paper

Others (Please specify.)………………………………………………

8. Which is the most difficult problem or the one that you cannot help with?

( ) Money problem ( ) Family problem

( ) Drunk tourists ( ) Others (Please specify.)……………………

9. Approximately, how many tourists ask for your assistance in a day?

( ) 1-5 tourists ( ) 6-10 tourists ( ) 11-15 tourists

( ) 16-20 tourists ( ) more than 20 tourists

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Part IV : Nonverbal Communication and Expression of Nonverbal Behaviors in

a Cross-cultural Context

Direction: Please answer all the questions below by marking for your answer.

The criteria used in scoring are as follows:

Always = 5 (Using English 76% - 100%)

Usually = 4 (Using English 51% - 75%)

Frequently = 3 (Using English 26% - 50%)

Sometimes = 2 (Using English 1% - 25%)

Never = 1 (Using English 0%)

Paralanguage (vocal cues)

1) How often do you express each of the following to foreign tourists?

1.1. Rate/Speed (Use a fast speed.)

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

1.2. Pitch (Use a high and varied pitch.)

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

1.3. Volume (Use a loud voice.)

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

1.4. Quality (Use an attractive sound.)

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

1.5. Vocal Fillers (Use sounds to fill out our a speech, such as “er” or “um”)

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

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Body language and facial expression

2). How often do you use of body language with foreign tourists?

2.1.Emblems (Body language with a short, direct verbal translation)

e.g., nodding your head up and down when saying " yes " and shaking it right and

left when saying "no"

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

2.2.Illustrators (Body language that helps to illustrate what is being said)

e.g., describing something and illustrating the shape with your hands

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

2.3.Regulators (Body language that maintains and regulates the back and forth

interaction between two persons)

e.g., pointing with a finger at a person he/she wants to speak with

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

2.4.Adapters (Body language having a meaning contrasting from its purpose)

e.g., talking with an irregular manner (plays with ornaments or scratches his/her

body while talking)

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

2.5. Facial expression (Display of feeling)

e.g., giving a friendly smile while talking

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

Eye contact

3). How often do you use eye contact with foreign tourists?

e.g., making eye contact while talking

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

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Touch

4). How often do you use touch to foreign tourists?

e.g., using handshakes and handholding for greetings, farewells, and thanking

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

Space and distance

5). How often do you use space and distance while talking to foreign tourists?

e.g., using social distance for interaction (Approximately 4 - 8feet. 12 inches = 1 foot)

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

Time

6). How often are you strict with spending time assisting foreign tourist?

e.g., spending time strictly punctual as the schedule provided.

( ) Always ( ) Usually ( ) Frequently ( ) Sometimes ( ) Never

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Part V : Problems in Using and Understanding Nonverbal Communications

Direction: Please answer all the questions below by marking for your answer.

The criteria used in scoring are as follows:

Always = 5 (Using English 76% - 100%)

Usually = 4 (Using English 51% - 75%)

Frequently = 3 (Using English 26% - 50%)

Sometimes = 2 (Using English 1% - 25%)

Never = 1 (Using English 0%)

How often do you have problems with the following nonverbal communications?

Always Usually Frequently Sometimes Never

1 Paralanguage (rate/speed, pitch,

volume,

quality and vocal fillers)

2 Body language and facial

expression (emblems,

illustrators, regulators, display

of feeling and adapters)

3 Eye contact (making direct eye

contact)

4 Touch (handshakes, hand

holding, etc.)

5 Space and distance

(a comfortable distance)

6 Time (being punctual)

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APPENDIX C ORGANIZTIONAL STRUCTURE OF THAI TOURIST POLICE DIVISION

Tourist Police Division

Sub-Division 1

Section 1 General

Section 2 Personnel

Section 3 Finance

Section 4 Manpower

Section 5 Policy and

Sub-Division 2

Section 6 Public

Section 1 General

Section 2 Radio Center

Section 3 patrol and

Section 4 Investigation

Section 5 Inquiry

Section 6 Patrol and

Service Bangkok Airport

Sub-Division 3

Section 1 General

Section 2 Ayutthaya

Section 4 Kanchana-

Section 6 Ubonrat-

Section 7 Khonkaen

Section 3 Pattaya

Section 5 Nakhonrat-

Section 8 Chiangmai

Section 11 Pitsanulok

Section 12 Nakornsaw

Section 13 Ko Samui

Section 14 Phuket

Section 9 Chiangrai

Section 10 Maehongson

Section 15 Hatyai 107

Source: Police Tourist Division (2003)

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BIOGRAPHY

NAME Miss Sarinya Tipmontree

DATE OF BIRTH 6 July 1974

PLACE OF BIRTH Suratthani, Thailand

INSTITUTIONS ATTENDED University of the Thai Chamber of

Commerce, 1994 – 1998: Bachelor of

Business Administration

University of the Thai Chamber of

Commerce, 2003-2007: Master of Arts

(English for Business and Technology)

WORKPLACE PeopleSource (Thailand) Co.,Ltd.,

Director

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