A MODEL OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BELIEFS ABOUT LANGUAGE LEARNING, LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES, PROFICIENCY, GENDER, AND EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT OF THAI UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

The present study aimed to 1) investigate beliefs about language learning, language learning strategies, proficiency, gender, and educational context of Thai upper secondary school students and 2) propose the model of relationships between the five variables. The participants were 458 twelfth grade students in Bangkok, academic year 2013. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire. The data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the model of relationships. Findings revealed that Thai upper secondary school students hold beliefs about language learning in terms of the special ability for language learning in some individuals. They viewed English as moderately difficult and emphasized the cultures of the English-speakers, vocabulary learning, and good accent. They also believed that having good speaking skills leads to better job opportunities. The use of language learning strategies was at the moderate level. In this study, most of the participants had high proficiency. There were more female than male students. And the two educational contexts in focus were regular programs using Thai as a medium of instruction and English programs using English. The structural equation model revealed the statistically significant direct effect of educational context on beliefs about language learning and the direct effect of beliefs about language learning on proficiency. The following goodness of fit was achieved: CMIN/DF = 1.42, p = .012, CFI = .983, RMSEA = .031, GFI = .972, AGFI = .957, and Hoelter = 417.