RtICELT 2016 Conference Proceedings (Final.Ed.)

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Similarities and Differences in Perceptions of Teaching Styles as Identified by Thai and EuropeanStudent-Teachers Based on Demographic AttributesIn order to answer the second research question which addresses the issues ofsimilarities and/or differences in the types of teaching styles identified by the twogroups of participants, the following tables together with their comparative andcontrastive pictures and elaboration are established according to the relateddemographic attributes; that is, gender, age range, teaching experience, and degreesearned.Table 3Teaching Styles Identified by Thai Students-Teachers with Respect to the Attribute ‘GENDER’Teaching Style No. of Percent No. of PercentTypes Respondent(s) (%) Respondent(s) (%) GENDER MALE 50 FEMALEExpert 2 50 6 33.33Formal Authority 2 0 4 22.22Demonstrator 0 0 6 33.33Facilitator 0 0 2 11.11Delegator 0 100 00 4 18 100 TotalWith respect to this table, it is seen that no matter which gender, Thai student-teachers rated themselves as teachers teaching with teacher-centered style, with Expertand Formal Authority models fond of by Thai male student-teachers with thepercentage of 50 for both categories, whereas the Demonstrator teaching typereplaced the Formal Authority in the Thai female group with the same frequency of33.33% as the Expert style type. Interestingly, Thai female student-teachers seem tobe in favor of using personal examples while teaching, which is quite different fromThai male ones, who did not report using personal experience as models for studentsto follow. There were more varieties in Thai female group, as it was revealed that afew of the Thai female student-teachers also reported themselves as Facilitatorteachers, where Thai male participants did not at all. These results help show morevaried pictures among Thai female student-teacher participants.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 51

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Table 4Teaching Styles Identified by European Students-Teachers with Respect to the Attribute‘GENDER’Teaching Style No. of Percent No. of PercentTypes Respondent(s) (%) Respondent(s) (%) GENDER MALE 0 FEMALEExpert 0 0 00Formal Authority 0 50 2 16.67Demonstrator 2 50 00Facilitator 2 0 4 33.33Delegator 0 100 6 50 4 12 100 TotalFor the group of European student-teachers as separately analyzed according togender, it was contrastively found that most of them identified themselves as teacherswhose styles of teaching tend towards a more student-centered direction, even thoughthe Demonstrator type was identified by few of them. Most of the European femalestudent-teachers identified themselves as Delegator teachers and, secondarily, asFacilitator teachers, with the percentage of 50% and 33.33%, respectively, whereasEuropean male ones equally identified themselves as Demonstrator and Facilitatorteachers with the equivalent figure of percentage at 50.Similar to the Thai male group, none of the European male student-teachers identifiedthemselves as Delegator teachers, even though the Facilitator model did appear intheir rating. Moreover, most of the European female student-teachers, asaforementioned, contrastively rated themselves as teachers with the Delegator style ofteaching, while Thai female counterparts did not at all; none of them placedthemselves as Delegator teachers. Additionally, European female student-teachers didnot report themselves as teachers teaching with the Personal Model style, while Thaifemale counterparts did it quite a lot.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 52

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Tables 5 & 6Teaching Styles Identified by Thai Students-Teachers with Respect to the Attribute ‘LENGTHOF TIME’: ‘AGE RANGE’ & ‘TEACHING EXPERIENCE’Table 5Teaching Style No. of Percent (%) No. of Percent (%) Types Respondent(s) Respondent(s) AGE RANGE 25-30 30 ABOVE 30 100Expert 6 30 2 0Formal Authority 6 30 0 0Demonstrator 6 10 0 0Facilitator 2 0 0 0Delegator 0 100 0 100 20 2 TotalTable 6Teaching Style No. of Percent No. of Percen No. of Percent Types Respondent( (%) Respondent( t (%) Respondent( (%) s) s) s)EXPERIENCE 1-3 YEARS 3-5 YEARS ABOVE 5 YEARSExpert 6 50 00 2 100Formal Authority 00 6 75 00Demonstrator 4 33.33 2 25 00Facilitator 2 16.67 00 00Delegator 00 00 00 12 100 8 100 2 100 TotalPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 53

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”With respect to the data revealed in Tables 5 and 6, it can be verifiably said that Thaistudent-teachers overall identified themselves as teachers teaching in the didacticdirection; that is to say, no matter what attribute related to the length of time, eitherage range or years of teaching experience, the didactic end still clearly appears to befavored by Thai student-teachers. To be more specific, taking a look at Table 5, it isseen that the older the teacher, the higher teacher-centerness soars, as finally resultingin absolute 100 percent with the Expert style type as identified by student-teacherswhose ages are over 30. Likewise, but with more variety, the data in Table 6 alsorevealed that the more experience Thai student-teachers accumulate, the more theybecome didactic. This finding might possibly explained in that once time passes, Thaistudent-teachers become more knowledgeable, as their knowledge in terms of contentand teaching experience has been accrued enough to the extent that they are nowteachers with expertise in that subject content. Thus, the picture of stepping overfrom using personal experience and from teaching along with the predetermined goalsand objectives to a heavy focus on theories and content details where course goalsand uses of personal models are simultaneously underpinned is understandablyreasonable.Tables 7 & 8Teaching Styles Identified by European Students-Teachers with Respect to the Attribute‘LENGTH OF TIME’: ‘AGE RANGE’ & ‘TEACHING EXPERIENCE’Table 7Teaching Style No. of Percent (%) No. of Percent (%) Types Respondent(s) Respondent(s) AGE RANGE 25-30 0 ABOVE 30 0Expert 0 14.29 0 0Formal Authority 2 14.29 0 0Demonstrator 2 28.57 0 100Facilitator 4 42.86 2 0Delegator 6 100 0 100 14 2 TotalPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 54

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Table 8 No. of Percent No. of Percent No. of Percen Respondent( (%) Respondent( (%) Respondent( t (%) Teaching Style Types s) s) s)EXPERIENC 1-3 YEARS 3-5 YEARS ABOVE 5 YEARS E 00 00 00Expert 00 2 33.33 00FormalAuthority 2 50 00 00Demonstrator 2 50 2 33.33 2 33.33FacilitatorDelegator 0 0 2 33.33 4 66.67 Total 4 100 6 100 6 100Tables 7 and 8 reveal European student-teachers teach in a more student-centereddirection. No matter which age they are norh ow much years of teaching experiencethey have, European student-teachers hardly ever identified themselves as teachersteaching with the direction of teacher-centerness, except for very few of them whosebeing-accumulated experience was from 1 to 5 year and who may not yet ready toboast themselves as Delegator teachers, thereby slightly assessing themselves asteachers teaching with Formal Authority and Demonstrator styles of teaching. Moreostensibly, this direction of being teachers with student-centerness is unarguably moreapparent in Table 7. Even though those European student-teachers are stillconsidered quite young (when comparing their years of age with their students’ ages),they all explicitly rated themselves as confident teachers competent in monitoringtheir students in a consultative fashion while allowing their students to workindependently and autonomously with freedom to handle the assigned tasks.Extremely opposite with regards to the attribute of age range and teaching experience,none of the Thai student-teachers rated themselves as Delegator teachers. Likewise,no European student-teachers rated themselves as teachers with the style of Expert,both resulting in zero percent (0%). This conventional practice in teaching as far ascultural differences go might help clear-cut pin point the teaching directions wherePathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 55

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity” the two groups appear to go to with respect to the angle of ‘age’ and its associated angle ‘experience in teaching’. Table 9 Teaching Styles Identified by Thai Students-Teachers with Respect to the Attribute ‘DEGREE EARNED’Teaching Style Types No. of Respondent(s) Percent (%) No. of Respondent(s) Percent (%) DEGREE MA 40 MEd 0Expert 8 20 0 100Formal Authority 4 30 2 0Demonstrator 6 10 0 0Facilitator 2 0 0 0Delegator 0 100 0 100 20 2 Total Table 10 Teaching Styles Identified by European Students-Teachers with Respect to the Attribute ‘DEGREE EARNED’Teaching Style Types No. of Respondent(s) Percent (%) No. of Respondent(s) Percent (%) DEGREE MA 0 MEd 0Expert 0 20 0 0Formal Authority 2 20 0 0Demonstrator 2 20 0 66.67Facilitator 2 40 4 33.33Delegator 4 100 2 100 10 6 TotalPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 56

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Considering the data shown in Tables 9 and 10, it can be obviously seen that nomatter which degree types Thai and European student-teachers earned, they all havetheir clear preference to particular teaching directions. That is to say, Thai student-teachers with both MA and MEd degree types tend to be on the teacher-centeredcline, with the highest frequency and percentage of self-assessment falling upon theExpert style type for Thai participants holding MA degree calculated into 40%, andupon the type of Formal Authority as identified by the participants holding MEddegree presented with absolute 100 percent. In reverse, European student-teachersmostly assessed themselves with the student-centered teaching direction where 40percent is given to the style of Delegator and 66.67 percent to Facilitator style ofteaching, even though few of them who are holding MA degree might slightly placethemselves on the content-emphasis teaching path similar to those of Thai student-teachers with MA degree. Overall, again, there is a clear difference between the groupsof Thai student-teachers and European student-teachers. Their teaching stylepreference and self-assessment help clearly show the teaching characteristics and theteaching directions where these cross-cultural and cross-language groups appear toconventionally reside in and place their familiarity on.Other Points of Similarities and Differences: Understanding the Causing Roots➢ AbsolutenessIt is interesting to find out that the style of Delegator was completely neglected in Thaistudent-teachers’ self-assessment. The reason behind that result might possibly be dueto Thai students’ improper cognitive abilities and maturity. According to thedefinitions and specific characteristics given, delegator teaching style focuses ondeveloping students’ capacity to function autonomously. With respect to thisemphasis, student-teachers might see that their students’ abilities, adulthood, andresponsibility are still not high enough to teach them with the Delegator style. Thisresult is similar to that found in Shaari et al. (2014); they also found that delegatorstyle appeared as the lowest teaching style identified by lecturers in University UtaraMalaysia. This finding might be further explained that Delegator style of teaching isconsiderably good and contributory to students’ learning (Sand, 1994). However,using a style with more freedom to students needs careful attention and deepunderstanding of what is required and what is behind to successfully employ it.Potentially, teachers, particularly novice teachers, may need extensive and professionaltrainings before fully utilizing such teaching style of Delegator.In respect of absolute neglect to the style of Expert as identified by European student-teachers, this does not mean that they do not have expertise in their teaching, butPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 57

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”what it is reflected here is the fact that their ways of teaching and planning differ fromthe ways usually performed by Thai student-teachers. As the person who has had thechance to experience the nature of teaching over there, I can say that Europeanstudent-teachers mostly ask their students to read teaching and learning content athome reading what teachers have provided beforehand via their information system.Therefore, their face-to-face classes are used for practice and discussion. Transmittingtheoretical information is usually run by students’ own attempt and effort throughstudents’ own reading. Additionally, as presented at the beginning, the Expertteaching style, absolutely found to be the preferred teaching style type of Thai student-teachers, centers on delivering and explaining theories, principles, and concepts thatstudents needs to learn, usually through lectures. These ways of teaching and planningwhere content is believed to be able to be completely covered by teachers may triggerThai student-teachers’ common belief in their accrued traditional way of teaching.What I mean to say is that most of the Thai student-teachers might be used to beingtraditional teachers for quite a long time due to Thai norm of teaching orientation.Therefore, they might answer according to what they have been familiar to. Thiscorresponds to Stitt’s views towards teaching styles; that is, we usually teach in theways we had been taught (Stitt-Goheds, 2001). What’s more, it is noticeably truerwhen considering the teaching focus of Thai student-teachers. That is to say, weusually teach our general English courses for the purpose of preparing our studentsfor taking tests, particularly grammatical point tests which have always take up thelargest portion of exams in most of the general English courses. This is the completeopposite to what happened in Europe. That is to say, with respect to the nature ofteaching and learning over there, scores for grammatical-point-testing sections are lesspaid attention to compared to other aspects of testing such as world-relatedknowledge. However, the issue of course type can also sometimes be an exception.➢ Clear Preference for ‘Student-centered Approach’With regards to the overall results of the pedagogical styles and their correspondingteaching directions, it is obviously shown that most of the European student-teacherstend to be in favor of the student-centered approach, identifying themselves asteachers teaching with ‘Facilitator’ and ‘Delegator’ styles of teaching. This findingmight be due to their students’ maturity and proper cognitive abilities as a result ofhaving been independently and autonomously personalized so far as well as the needto conform to their societal norm. To elaborate, European student-teachers mightrecognize that their students are mature enough, that their students’ abilities inhandling tasks independently are sufficiently high enough, and that their students arehighly responsible to the extent that they can, with appropriate guidance fromPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 58

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”teachers, work on their own pace. Considering the ways they have been taught fordecades, they and their students need more flexibility in both teaching and learning.The results of European student-teachers’ self-assessment are similar to those foundin Grasha’s extensive study (1996). He also examined the perception of universitylecturers and high school teachers toward teaching styles they employed in theirclasses. He found out that for upper level classes, particularly at a graduate level, theFacilitator teaching style was the most extensively used among instructors. This resultshelps support the assumption the researcher made at the beginning that the‘Facilitator teaching style’ might be found to be used with mature and trained studentslike those of European student-teachers.➢ A Blend for Learning EfficacyTaking a close look at the answers given in the questionnaire, it is interesting to findthat figures shown in the process of calculating self-identification scores performed bythe two cultural and language groups appeared determining varied. That is to say, theiranswers toward all of the question items relating to how they behave and presentthemselves in the classroom actually fell upon more than one type of teaching style;other teaching style types were also significantly identified, secondarily in rank though,by each group of the participants. What is indicated here is that no absolute teachingstyle is always specifically used to deal with a particular learning problem, situation,and/or students. Some have to be sometimes mixed in order to handle theconfronting difficulties more effectively.ConclusionTo sum up, the data gained aided in obtaining all answers to the research questions setat the beginning: (1) The perception of Thai student-teachers toward their teachingstyles mostly fell upon the style of Expert; they go towards teacher-center end nomatter which demographics; (2) European student-teachers’ perceptions towards theirteaching styles overall lean towards the student-centered end regardless ofdemographics(3) Clearly, there is a big difference in the views of teaching styles asperceived by two different cultural and language groups.Limitations and Suggestions for Further StudiesThe results of this research study still fall short due to the limitation in the number ofparticipants. To elaborate, in case more sets of questionnaires had been sent back, theresults of this study would have been more complete. However, this study can beconsidered a starting point of investigating a difference across both cultures andPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 59

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”languages. In respect of this absence, future research attempts will certainly help fulfillthis deficient premise.References:Briesmaster, M. & Paredes, B.J. (2015). The Relationship between Teaching styles and NNPSETs’ Anxiety Levels. System: An International Journal of Educational Technology and Applied Linguistics, 49, 145-156.Botas, C. P. P. (2004). Students’ Perceptions of Teachers’ Pedagogical Styles in Higher Education. The Journal of Doctoral Research in Education, 4(1), 16-30.Bota, A. O. &Tulbure, C. (2015). Aspects Regarding the Relationship between Teaching Styles and School Results. Procedia-Social and Sciences, 203,285-290.Byrne, P.S. & long B.E.L. (1976). Doctors talking to Patients, RCGP Publications, London.Çakmak, M. (2011). What are Prospective Teachers’ Opinions about their Instructors’ Teaching Styles?. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 1960-1964.Cooper, T.C. (2001). Foreign Language Teaching Style and Personality. Foreign Language Annals, 34(30), 1-16.Conti, G. J. (1985). Assessing Teaching Style in Adult Education: How and Why?. Lifelong Learning: An Omnibus of Practice and Research, 8(8), 7-11.Fischer, B. B., & Fischer, L. (1979), Styles in Teaching and Learning. Educational leadership, 36, 251.Frunza, V. (2014). Implications of Teaching Styles on Learning Efficacy, Social and Behavioral Sciences Journal, 93(16), 18-23.Grasha, A. F. (1996). Teaching with Style: A Practical Guide to Enhance Learning by Understanding Learning and Teaching Style. College Teaching, 48, 1-12.Grasha, A. F. & Yangarber-Hicks, N. (2000). Intergrating Teaching Styles and Learning Styles with Instructional Technology. College Teaching. 48(1): 2-9.Gribbs, G. & Coffey, M. (2004). The Impact of Training of University Teachers on their Teaching Skills, their Approach to teaching and the Approach to Learning of their Students, Active Learning in Higher Education, 5(1), 87-100.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 60

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Koster, B., Brekelmans, M., Korthagen, F. & Wubbels, T. (2005). Quality Requirements for Teacher Educations, Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 157- 176Lippitt R. & White R.K. (1965), An Experimental Study of Leadership and Group Life in Newcob, TM & Hartley, R.L. (eds) Readings in Social Psychology, New York: Holt, Rinehart.Mazumder, Q. & Ahmed, K. (2014). The Effects of Teaching Style and Experience on Student Success in the U.S.A. and Bangladesh, 21st ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis: American Society for Engineering Education.Miner, L. C., Onwuegbuzie, A.J., & Witcher, A.E. (2002). Preservice Teachers’ Educational beliefs and their perceptions of Characteristics of Effective Teachers. The Journal of Educational Research, 96(2), 116-127.Onwuegbuzie, A.J., Witcher, A.E., Collins, K.M.T., Filer, J.D., Wiedmaier, C.D. & Moore, C.W. (2007). Students’ Perceptions of Characteristics of Effective College Teachers: A Validity Study of a Teaching Evaluation form Using a Mixed-method Analysis, American Educational Research Journal, 44(1), 113-160.Parpala, A. & Sarl, L. Y. (2007). University teachers’ Conceptions of Good Teaching in the Units of High-quality Education. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 33(3), 55-70.Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to Teach in Higher Education (2 ed.), Routledge-Falmer, London.Sand, J. (1994). Student Perceptions of Teaching Styles: Their Relationship Top Course Outcomes, Unpublished senior thesis, University of Cincinnati. pp. 137-151.Shaari, S. et al. (2014). The Relationship between Lecturers’ Teaching Style and Students’ Academic Engagement, Social and Behavioral Sciences Journal, 118, 10- 20.Stitt-Gohdes, W. L. (2001). Business Education Students' Preferred Learning Styles and their Teachers; Preferred Instructional Styles: Do for Hire Match?. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, 43, 137-151.Walls, R.T.; Nardi, A.H.; Minden, A.M. & Hofman, N. (2002). The Characteristics of Effective and Ineffective Teachers, Teacher Educational Quarterly, Winter, 39-48.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 61

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity” Assimilating Cross-cultural Effective and Successful Career Development in Thailand Manuel S. JuromayTriam Udom Suksa School, Thailand and Just Project International (JPI), TN 37069 U.S.A [email protected] Abstract Human cross cultural existence is not far compared to the existence of animals in the planet earth. Science introduces a lot of theories about survival and adaptation. The very common and popular observation is the migration of birds and other animals. “Animals are proven to have cross so may barriers and have shown physical and behavioral changes after migrating and breeding in a new habitat.” ( Spilsbury, Louise and Richard, 2013). In the book ‘Gregor Mendel: Friars Who Grew Peas’ it reads that “animals, plants, and people all inherited and passed down traits through the same process.” (Bardoe, 2015). It is for these parallel reasons that most foreigners have failed or succeeded in whatever careers and undertakings they explored in any foreign land. Cultural integration more often causes stress, tensions, and worries upon pursuing a career, and intentional or willful immigration efforts to another country. We hear complaints, stereotyping, culture shocks, attritions, and so much whining from foreign people. Some are expecting that the local residents should understand the expats’ culture powered by their own country of origin in one side hope to conveniently reside and work in a foreign country at a given period. This study is conducted to find a more workable ways towards productivity, effectivity, and perhaps convenience in successful career development. The following hypothesis then are proposed inspired by the results of the study. “Assimilating Cross-cultural Effective and Successful Career Development in in Thailand.” (Juromay, 2015): 1. First, we must learn the host culture. 2. Second, we must understand and appreciate the host culture. 3. Third, we must speak the Language of the host culture, and 4. Fourth, we must adapt the diet of the local people. Analysis from oral investigations draws favorable conclusions that cross cultural assimilations using those four facets mentioned above where a majority of the foreigners who lived and practice their professions in Thailand for longer period of time have applied them in both natural and intentional way. Local residents show their appreciations and acceptability to the kind of aliens mentioned above.Keywords: Assimilation, Cross-culture, Career development, Adaptation,convenience, OffensivePathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 62

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Background of the StudyFor years, it has been observed that foreigners into any host country struggle tointegrate and adapt, not to mention assimilate to the local people and their culture.Until foreigners are willing to set aside what has been practiced in the country of theirorigin, pursuing any career in foreign land is a challenge. Even up to this day,reverberating in the air are some very common complaints like; “in my country, itcan’t happen, we do it like these, people are not acting this way, it looks different, ittastes weird, etc..”, and hundreds of more whining statements.Scientifically, every organism is designed with features to adopt and survive amongclimate, environment, and geographical changes. From elementary science touniversity studies it is being learned and understood what it takes for plants andanimals to adopt and survive.Some organisms are adapted to extreme environments: for example, deep sea hydrothermal vents. ThePompeii worm is adapted to the high temperatures and pressures of the hydrothermal vents by: using athick layer of bacteria to protect it from heat hiding inside a papery tube to protect it from predators.(Bitesize, 2014)The scientific theory of adaptation and survival is the basis of my assumption andhypothesis that human must assimilate into the host culture as a pre-requisite tosurvival conveniently, effectively, and successfully inhabit a new and entirely differentcountry.The research questions of this study were as follows:What do foreigners commonly see in Thailand that caused them to journey backhome?What could make foreigners decide to stay longer and earn great success in theircareers?What do Thai nationals see as culturally offensive behaviors from foreigners?What gestures or actions of foreign people are considered pleasing to Thai nationals?Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 63

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”The definition of terms:Assimilation – making someone or something to be a part of a group, country, andsocietyCross-culture – dealing to or comparing between two or more different cultures orcountries.Career development – The process of managing your business or work experiences.Adaptation – the process of change to suit with different conditions or surroundings.Convenience – The quality of being suitable to one’s comfort, purposes, or needs.Offensive – causing anger, displeasure, or resentment.This paper proposed to provide guidelines for conveniently threading and thriving ina foreign land. Assimilation is then the key to live successfully with the host culture orpeople of the foreign country.MethodologyParticipantsThe inquiries were limited to 50 foreign respondents with various lengths of stay inThailand-from less than two (2) years up to twelve (12) years or more, and twohundred (200) local Thai nationals were randomly chosen to provide answers to theinquires. Local people that were consulted are residents of Suphanburi province,Nonthaburi province, Hatyai district, Minburi district and Saimai district respectively.Literary (published and unpublished) investigations were also used to compare literaryreviews to analytical interpretations from statistical data which support the claim andbasic assumptions.ProceduresThe randomly chosen two hundred (200) Thai people (see figure 1) checked at leastthree practices-out of 15 practices-which they thought were necessary for foreignersto observe if they wanted to assimilate with Thai culture. The result were: 89% requirethat foreigners should join Songkran festival, 82% think they should not wear shoesinside the house, and 64.5% say they should participate in Loy Krathong Festival,while only 43.5% think wearing Thai outfit (see figure 1) is necessary. Diet andspeaking the Thai language are practices which garnered high percentages as well.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 64

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”This study shows that foreigners’ acceptability are based on practices displayedtherein. These are the things foreigners have to seriously take into consideration ifthey are planning to succeed in their cross-cultural career development in ThailandFigure 1 Thai Nationals with their basis of acceptability for foreigners in theircommunityThe chart below (figure 2) shows that out of 50 foreign respondents we randomlyinterviewed, 14 people were those who stayed for less than 2 years, 11 people stayedbetween 2 to 4 years, 10 people stayed between 5 to 8 years, 8 people stayed between9 to 12 years, and finally 7 people stayed 13 years and over. The people who stayedfor less than 5 years, are those who openly complain about many things relative toculture, diet, and language more the others who stayed longer.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 65

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Figure 2 Foreign Nationals with their corresposnding length of stay in ThailandAnalysis, Assumptions, and PropositionsFrom all the data resulting from inquiries and literatures available for review, thispaper came up with the following assumptions and considerable propositions forforeign nationals aspiring to work and live in Thailand:Learning the Host CultureThe process of learnings the host culture is paralleled to the infants’ demonstrations ofhow they conveniently acquire their skills of assimilating themselves into this realworld from day 1 (birth) to maturity. Observe how they learn a new language fromground zero conveniently without any struggle. That is a product of natural learning.George Viewer in his article “communicating cross-culturally” mentioned that:“We have got to count on building relationships. Do you get on with people? Do you know how tolisten to people? How to let love cover differences when someone says something that you don’t like? Ifyou don’t, you are going to have difficulties, in your life. I don’t think that we can over emphasize theneed to learn how to relate to people and to communicate cross-culturally… For 25 years I have seenhumble people apply themselves in a foreign country…as a learner…and communicate effectivelycross-culturally…with the nationals.” (Viewer, 2008)The common reaction of people when they are ask about certain practices in aparticular culture is; ‘No, we don’t do that, I can’t do that. “Jesse Prinz argues that thesource of our moral inclinations is merely cultural” (Prinz, 2011). He further elaboratethat:Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 66

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”“Children begin to learn values when they are very young, before they can reason effectively…Childrenalso learn by emotional osmosis. They see their parents’ reactions to news broadcasts and storybooks.They hear hours of judgmental gossip about inconsiderate neighbors, unethical coworkers, disloyalfriends, and the black sheep in the family. Consummate imitators, children internalize the feelingsexpressed by their parents, and, when they are a bit older, their peers. It seems that we decide whethersomething is wrong by introspecting our feelings: if an action makes us feel bad, we conclude that it iswrong…people’s moral judgments shifted by altering their emotional states. (Prinz, 2011)It is believed that until we learn the host culture, we cannot expand our horizon oflooking at another group of people, their cultural conditioning and lifestyle. Like achild, we need to empty ourselves so that we can easily absorb what is ahead of us andbe able to understand things we are not used to. In the book Pagan Christianity, it iswritten that:“The practice of dressing up for church is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until the IndustrialRevolution, clothing was not cheap or readily available to all classes of people. However, with theinvention of “mass-textile manufacturing,” came the birth of the middle class, which began to fadeaway the extreme dividing line of the former two classes. “For the first time, the middle class coulddistinguish themselves from the peasants. To demonstrate their newly improved status, they could now‘dress up’ for social events just like the well-to-do.” Nevertheless, even with all the resistance from theclergy in the beginning, man creatively developed a logical reason to do what he wanted to do”. (Viola,Frank and Barna, George, 2008)Figure 3 The Evolution of Efficiency Page | 67Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”We were empty with our dressing code concept until we were told to do so orperhaps until we see and observed from our surroundings, then we followed. Wenever ask questions why we do what we do. We simply do it because everyone isdoing it. And there are no other options to choose from. We resist other practicesbecause our own practices preoccupy our thoughts. Our minds are closed tosomething different. We feel it is strange to do or practice something new. However,being open is the key to easily learn a foreign practices. After learning all what it takesto know why people do what they do, and why people cannot absorb new things. Letus go towards understand instead of condemning them.Understanding and Appreciating the Host CultureAlso, understanding and appreciating the host culture will only occur after intentionallearning. Until we learn and understood a foreign culture, we cannot appreciate it.What we do every day in Thailand displays an expression where the local people cantell if we like them or not. It is a natural tendency of every individual to compare oneculture to another culture. And the common reaction to comparison is making achoice of preference as to what culture is better and hence the un-favored one isperceived as weird.H. Richard Niebuhr published a book ‘Christ and Culture which included theadvocacy of John Calvin (following some of the work of the early church fatherAugustine).We must recognize three truths: first, that culture is a manifestation of God's good creation, anoutgrowth of human creativity and community; second, that sin deeply infects every part of the creation,including human culture; and third, that we can redeem culture… This redemption is atransformation of culture by seeking, enhancing, and celebrating the original good we find in culturalartifacts while identifying the effects of sin (and working to reduce those effects). The computer is acultural artifact that Calvin would treat no differently. It is an extension of God's good creation andthus has wondrous potential. However, it also exhibits the deep effects of sin. Christians are thuscalled to transform information technology… This book attempts to take just that approach,demonstrating the intrinsic, creational good that can be found in information technology, recognizingthe deep effects of sin, and suggesting ways to begin transforming this important aspect of our culture.(Niebuhr, 1951)Although, Calvin was referring to computer technologies as one of the culturalartifact, this idea can be applied to anything that we think is threatening to our culturaltransformations. It is important to understand where it started and why it started thatPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 68

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”way. Every matter is a tool. We can use it or abuse it. But for deciding whether it begood or bad is seeking “opposition and agreement” (both are extreme categories).Christians comfortably talk about and discuss the sacrifice of Jesus Christ focusing onits redemptive purpose. They tend to deny its cultural implications which is perhapsrelated to an ancient cultural expressions of tribal groups to preserve family or clanunity. Carolyn Marvin and David W. Ingle on their book Blood Sacrifice and the Nation:Totem Rituals and the American Flag relayed that our societies’ history has roots fromancient tribal religious and maybe political practices kept in secret. They noted that:“The necessity of this sacrifice in order to preserve the nation remains a secret, for the nation cannotacknowledge that it is willing to kill its own children in order to maintain the system.” Thus, Marvinand Ingle contend that the operation of the flag in society demonstrates “the power of the totem myth,the creation-sacrifice story…theory of totem ritual.” (Marvin,Carolyn and Ingle,David W. ,1999)Likewise, Christians are not aware of the possibility of being charged as practicingcannibalism for admitting the fact that Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 23wrote:For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he wasbetrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body,which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup,saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance ofme.” New International Version (NIV)This is very familiar to the culture of the ancient near east where Jesus was popular inHis time. And don’t forget to think about this truth before we pass judgments tosome tribes in the Asia Pacific and other regions about cannibalism. Jesus Himselfadmonished the ‘eating of his body and drinking of His blood’ to be re-in acted in thefuture gathering of Christians.In Totem and Taboo, published in 1913, Sigmund Freud analyzes the tendency of primitive tribes topromulgate rules against incest within groups named for totem animal and objects, and to createtaboos regarding actions, people and things. He notes that taboos still play a significant role inmodern society but that totemism \"has long been abandoned as an actuality and replaced by newerforms\". Freud believes that an original act of patricide—the killing and devouring of \"the violentprimal father\" was remembered and re-enacted as a \"totem meal...mankind's earliest festival\" whichwas \"the beginning of so many things—of social organization, of moral restrictions and of religion.In An Autobiographical Study Freud elaborated on the core idea of Totem and Taboo: \"This view ofreligion throws a particularly clear light upon the psychological basis of Christianity, in which, it mayPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 69

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”be added, the ceremony of the totem-feast still survives with but little distortion in the form ofCommunion.\" (Freud, 1913)Understanding will only occur after intentional learning. It is likewise very importantto understand a particular group of people if we are interested to mingle with them toavoid passing premature judgments based on behavioral patterns.Modern day Christians for examples who blatantly declare that they practice onlywhat the New Testament requires, are bounded to follow practices which are notactually noted from the Bible but from religious history 200 years after the death ofJesus Christ. The naming of the church for example, is not Biblical, the calling ofchurch clergy as Father or Reverend is nowhere to be found in the scriptures. Thearticle 10 Straw-Man Myths in the book ‘Pagan Christianity’ & ‘Reimagining Church’contains contradicting articles to answer criticism about what later published online. Tmentions that:“Barna and I argue against this idea in the beginning of Pagan Christianity, citing pile carpets,chairs, and our Western calendar as examples of things that were created by pagans, but are usefuland approved today. What we are arguing in the book is that many practices that countlessChristians deem to be biblical did not originate with Jesus or the apostles, but instead, with theGreco-Romans, thus they are not sacrosanct. Secondly, some of these practices contradicted theteachings of Jesus and the apostles…” (Viola, Frank and Barna, George, 2008)Let’s go ahead and establish the footing of this paper and see some appreciativeaccounts where inhabiting a place conveniently requires balance appreciations offestivities inspired by religions.In Thailand, we celebrate Buddhist New Year which is known by its famous culturalname Songkran festival. It is celebrated as the traditional “New Year's Day from 13 to15 of April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and SoutheastAsia.” It’s one of the famous religious festivals of Thailand and is declared as a longnon-working holiday for the entire country, public and private offices, regardless ofreligious beliefs.Songkran in Thai means to ‘move’ or ‘change place’. At some point in Thailand’s history,Songkran integrated with the Water Festival, which historically occurred on the day when the sunchanges position in the zodiac. The Thai people believe that water is spiritually purifying: it cleansesyou of any bad luck or grievances from the past year, and blesses you with fortune and happinessfor the year ahead. The festival originated with locals collecting water that had been poured overBuddha statues for cleansing. This was then used to bless village elders and family members bytrickling it over their shoulders. Since these somewhat genteel beginnings, Songkran has developed intoa kingdom-wide water fight, occurring in April, which luckily happens to be Thailand’s hottestPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 70

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”month. As with many historical and cultural festivals, the emphasis has shifted from the spiritual andreligious to enjoyment and joviality. (Eastman, n.d.)In this said festival, people are drawn to their religious understanding of giving merits,doing favors for fellowmen, and is expressing generosity. Joining them in splashing ofwater will not make you a Buddhist but instead a good fellow appreciating theirreligious practices. Foreigners are most of the time treated with special attention. It isthe glory of the local people seeing expats crowding along in the streets. That is anobvious appreciations of their festivities. This act leads to acceptability in their society.Loy Krathong is another noted religious festival. The traditional krathong is made froma cross-section of a banana tree trunk, which is then elaborately decorated with foldedbanana leaves and flowers in intricate towering designs. Often school children willmake their own krathongs in school or with their family. They will even havekrathong contests in school to see who can craft the most beautiful and artistic float.Today the banana trunk core is sometimes replaced by Styrofoam or bread (bakedinto the form of a traditional krathong or a cute floating turtle). The banana trunk andbread krathongs are obviously eco-friendly, so better choices for your family.Loi Krathong is probably one of the most meaningful and emotional festivals of the Thai Festivalyear! Various provinces in Thailand have their own localized customs on how to celebrate this ancientfestival, but the overriding theme is the same. To float away one's worries and problems and thereforelook to a better life in the future. It is not a selfish thought, for others can also be included in prayersfor the easing of problems.The festival of 'Loy Krathong' is normally associated with waterways events. Why not, for Thailandhas plenty of rivers, canals and other expanses of water. Light and water - or light on water - werealways an evocative mixture, even without the benefit of such a beautiful festival as Loy Krathong.(Smiling in Thailand, n.d.)The true meaning of Loy Krathong” gives enlightenments as to why and how thisfestival should be observed as follows:Loy Krathong, one of my favourite festivals during childhood, just passed. On the full-moon day of the12th lunar month, many Thais float their krathong down a river or even a pond to pay respects to theLord Buddha and seek forgiveness from the goddess of water for any misdeeds against her. What Ilove most about the festival is that it is the time for the reunion of family and friends.(TrueMeaning of Loy Krathong, 2013)This celebration of a Thai religious festival is not so different compared to the yearlycelebration of the Jewish Day of Atonement called ‘Yum Kippur’ (Kranz, n.d.).Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 71

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”“Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue usfrom this evil world in which we live.” (Galatians 1:4) is exactly what totemic cultureis all about; sacrifice for preservation or redemption of society. It is important notonly to know information about a certain culture but to further understand it fully incomparison to what we are already practicing to avoid imbalance and unfairtreatment. In Thailand therefore, it is equally important to understand throughhistorical digging, why do what they do and why they believe what they believe.As we attempt to understand the new culture, we have to be aware that we will gainthe benefits of connecting, getting comfortable, and assimilating as well as experiencepain to our feelings. As a result our fellow expats may tend to get offended, ourbrothers may charge us heretics, and our family members may feel some discomforts.Remember what the Apostle Paul in the New Testament scriptures once saidparticularly in his Epistle to the Romans “I am already under obligations alike toGreek-speaking races and to others, to cultured and to uncultured people.” (Romans1: 14).Understanding a new and foreign culture doesn’t mean giving up our own culture oranother contrasting culture. In this category of understanding we can be open to bothbecause in the long run we will see the connections that link one culture to another.We will see the relevance of each culture separately or perhaps in combination. Noculture therefore is inferior or superior to each other. Just find time to learn andunderstand, compare and be aware of its valuable historicity and relevant origin.In another online article Advocates for Youth, it is written that: “The journey towardscultural competence includes gaining knowledge about important components ofboth your own culture and the cultures you work with.” The following list of culturalcomponents is good to keep in mind, “first as you examine your own experience andbeliefs, and later as you focus on learning about different cultural backgrounds.” Theauthor of the above article wrote about components of cultures.The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inits Media Services online published an article that especially aims to empower youthand youth leaders from the two countries to share ideas, knowledge and experiencesabout understanding and appreciating the diversity of cultural expressions.In order to do so, the project will create digital contents; collect and share information about localintangible cultural heritage; contribute to fostering dialogue through exchange of cultural practices,ideas, materials; develop ICT and web-based platforms in order to share results and present voices ofyoung people; and, establish a network of youth and educators from The former Yugoslav Republic ofPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 72

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Macedonia and Albania that are cherishing values gained in this project and disseminate them tobroader community. (UNESCO, 2014)The UNESCO is pretty much aware and so thereby making information campaigns toknow the need of the host culture and how to go about in their daily lives tounderstand and appreciate other cultures.Speaking the Language of the Host CultureIn the book; Language Acquisition Made Practical (LAMP), Betty and Tom Brewster,popularized the method of language learning that focuses on relationship andinteraction, and bonding. The authors suggested some guidelines “to immediatelyimmerse themselves in the new language and culture in order to develop deeprelationships” (Brewster, Thomas and Elizabeth , 1976) like an infants.Then, speaking the language of the host culture is fun and enjoyable if not a challengingstage in effective cross cultural assimilation. This is the stage where one will becounted as someone who belongs and the local people will no longer treat a foreigneras an alien in their community. You just got adopted to a group of people in theircommunity and deeply in their culture. LAMP is popularizing a method of languagelearning that focuses on relationship and interaction, and bonding to encourage analien or a foreigner “to immediately immerse themselves in the new language andculture in order to develop deep relationships” (Brewster, Thomas and Elizabeth ,1976) like infants. Language and culture are woven together inseparably where onecannot exist without the other. Learning a new culture therefore is almostsynonymous to learning a new language.Culture provides the environment in which languages develop, even as it influences how they are usedand interpreted. For example, in many European cultures a “good day” is a sunny day, while inmany African cultures a “good day” is a rainy day. Different culturally shared values provide thecontext for interpreting the term for “good”. Those who wish to promote local languages have specialreason to examine how those languages and cultures work in the first place. Then more effective planscan be made for developing resources and competencies to maintain and even expand their use. (SIL,n.d.)On a scale of discomfort from 0-6, Language falls on 4.5 in the first five years of stayin Thailand if Thai language proficiency is not yet attained (see figure 3).Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 73

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Figure 4 Fading of DiscomfortIn this section, it implicates that to learn a new culture, one must then learn along thelanguage too. And then learn it like an infants. That is the reason why learning is sosimple. We then should simply imitate without resistance and comparison like howinfants learned their first language and culture.This study conducted a random inquiries about causes of discomfort among 50foreigners in Thailand. Using the categories of diet, language, and culture; therespondents were asked to rate them on a scale from 1 – 6. (See figure 3)Language, the orange bar, like the others indicates at fading away of discomfort in 12years compared to the first 5 years indicator.The chart below indicates the efficiency level of foreigners in Thailand using diet,language, and cultural indicators. This study found out that the longer they stay,assimilations cross-culturally is enhanced and thereby efficiencies in the work place,community, and family are improved.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 74

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Adapting the Local DietFinally, adapting the local diet is perhaps the most delightful stage-at least for me. 85% ofThai local people (figure 1) show acceptability to foreigners who can take their food.I was astonished when one time I asked some local Thai nationals how to cook “phatkhrapao moo krop” (stir fried crispy pork with basil leaves). Before they even told methe process, they clapped their hands in jubilance. That surprised me. It was a greatfeeling for them that I appreciate one of their dishes. Not surprisingly, 83% of LocalThai nationals take it as personal offense if we complain about their local food.Figure 5 Percentage of Thai national who felt Thai-ness are offended by foreignersactualtionDiet as the next and final considerations. Our palatals are used to enjoy the kind offood we always have on our dining tables. Most Westerners and Europeans are takingsome challenges of eating exotic food.In an article ‘It’s all about becoming human’: “The Chinese eat everything with fourlegs except tables—and everything that flies except airplanes” ( (It's all becominghuman, 2008). I’m sure when Chinese people go to Europe, they will be surprisedwhy people cannot eat the food that they eat. It is not possible to fill a glass of waterwith another liquid when it is already full or occupied. When we already have in mindhow food looks like, anything that doesn’t look like it is ridiculously called somethingelse. That is why some common steeple in Asia are called by Western people exotic.Our willingness to adopt is predominantly influenced by something we favorablyenjoy from our very own culture.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 75

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Food are always delicious especially when we are already starving before we get it.Diet is one of the very best component of any culture. I myself can also say “tell mewhat you want to eat and I will tell you where you are from.” I remembered, an Italianfriend who spent ample time in Thailand visited Malaysia but was not willing to trysome unfamiliar dishes said that: “I loved Thai food, we are crazy about tom yum. Sofar this is the best and the most authentic tom yum that you can find in Malaysia.” Asa new visitor to Malaysia, he was not willing to empty himself with what they haveenjoyed in Thailand. At least in Malaysia, Restaurant are keeping and adjusting totourists’ palatable choice for economic and tourism purposes. But, we must keep inmind that tourist are classified differently to migrants. It is hard to assimilate to a newculture without learning to open our dietary preferences as well.Unless we are willing to empty ourselves with the preferences we used to have in ourcountry of origin, we cannot get anything for simple survival in foreign land. We cantry to get along with whatever they have got, and what we used to get we are not,taking it for considerably new and enjoyable culture.My Thai friends were offended when a British guy commented that chili ruins thetaste of the food. That is contrary to Thai saying that goes’ “mai phet mai aroi” (notspicy, not delicious) It did not take so long before my family got adjusted to hot andspicy food.For me it is not about the tolerance to spicy food that really matters if one is willing tobe open to new dietary options. Nothing will really tickle Thai people to satisfactionthan to see a foreigner adopted their palatable diet. Eating their food expresses onesappreciations to their newly immersed culture.ConclusionIn closing, an online blog posted a photo with quotation from Happy LivingMagazine by Qoutesonly.net that reads; “If you don’t like where you are, move, youare not a tree.” (One inspiring quote..., n.d.). I pretty much agree on this. Likewise, itis written that “To prepare for the extremely taxing effort of migration, birds enter astate called hyperphagia, where they bulk up on food in the preceding weeks to storefat, which they’ll later use for energy on their long journeys.” (Lockhart, 9 AwesomeFacts About Bird Migration, 2012)The timing of migration must be determined by ones preparations and anticipationsof what lie ahead. This study finally suggests that whenever you think of developingyour career in Thailand, culture, language, and diet must be taken into considerations.These major factors caused foreigners to stay in or leave Thailand. AssimilatingPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 76

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”effectively cross-cultural and successful career development made it easy andconvenient for those who stayed and grew in in their career development in Thailand.As a recommendation, similar research may conducted in another country. But Iguess, it may have different result. So far this paper has applied workable data andanalysis to see if it worked in Thailand.References:Bardoe, C. (2015). Gregor Mendel: Friars who Grew Peas. Amazon.Bitesize. (2014). GCSE Bitesize/Variation. Retrieved from BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/edexcel/classification _inheritance/variationrev1.shtmlBrewster, Thomas and Elizabeth . (1976). Language Aquisition Made Practical.Eastman, E. (n.d.). The Culture Trip. Retrieved from theculturetrip.com: http://theculturetrip.com/asia/thailand/articles/songkran-thailand-s-water- festival/Freud, S. (1913). Sigmund Freud's views on religion. Retrieved from wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud%27s_views_on_religionIt's all becoming human. (2008, October 25). Retrieved from The talkalotoftalk Blog: https://verbalconstruct.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/the-chinese-eat- everything-with-four-legs-except-tables-and-everything-that-flies-except- airplanes/Juromay, M. (2015). Cross Cultural Assimilations. Bangkok.Kranz, S. (n.d.). Jewish Practice. Retrieved from Chabad.org: http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/1778 86/jewish/What-Is-Yom-Kippur.htmLockhart, J. (2012, October 14). 9 Awesome Facts About Bird Migration. Retrieved from Audubon: https://www.audubon.org/news/9-awesome-facts-about-bird- migrationMarvin,Carolyn and Ingle,David W. . (1999). Totem Rituals and American Flag. New York: Cambridge University Press.Niebuhr, H. R. (1951). Christ and Culture. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 77

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”One Inspiring quote… (n.d.) http://quotesonly.net/if-you-dont-like-where-you-are- right-now-move-you-are-not-a-tree/Prinz, J. (2011). Morality is a Culturally Conditioned Response. Retrieved from Philisophy Now: https://philosophynow.org/issues/82/Morality_is_a_Culturally_Condition ed_ResponseTrue Meaning of Loy Krathong. (2013, November 20). Bangkok Post.SIL. (n.d.). Language & Culture. Retrieved from SIL: http://www.sil.org/why- language-culture-studiesSmiling in Thailand. (n.d.). Retrieved from smilinginthailand.com: http://www.smilinginthailand.com/festivals_thailand/loy_krathong_festiva l.htm#Smith. (n.d.). If You Don't Like... Retrieved from www.penterest.com.Spilsbury, Louise and Richard. (2013). Adaptation and Survival. Amazon.UNESCO, V. O. (2014, March 28). Understanding and Appreciating Cultural Diversity. An Impetus for Cross-cultural Cooperation for and by Youth. Retrieved from UNESCO Media Services: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single- view/news/understanding_and_appreciating_cultural_diversity_an_impetus _for_cross_cultural_cooperation_for_and_by_youth/back/9597/#.VyHD hTB97IVViewer, G. (2008). Drops from a Leaking Tap. Secunderabad: Authentic Media.Viola, Frank and Barna, George. (2008). Pagan Christianity. Chicago: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 78

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity” Language Performance in Writing of Email Users Jeng jeng M. Bolintao [email protected] Karen A. Puguon [email protected] Eilene B. Bugnay [email protected] College of Education, Ifugao State University (IFSU), Main Campus Nayon, Lamut, Ifugao, PhilippinesAbstractWith the rapid development of technologies, computers have been playing anincreasingly important role in foreign language learning and teaching in recent years.Computer mediated communication demonstrates a number of features in theenhancement of foreign/second language learning, such as more language functions,greater levels of participation and more motivation and interest. Among the variousforms of computer mediated communication in language teaching, electronic mail(email) has been so far the most popular and useful tool for foreign language teachingand learning (Shang, 2007).This study aimed to find out the language performance in writing of selected e-mailsof English major freshman to junior students of the College of Education. Thewriting inventory was used in assessing the writing activities of the respondents andanalyzed on the different levels of language and lexical forms.Results revealed that the level of language used by the students in this study variedranging from inquiry to reactions, while organization, vocabulary, and mechanicsadopted to the hybrid form of communication. On the lexical forms in their writingoutputs, the students used short responses and code-switching.Keywords: Language performance, Writing, Electronic mails, Writing inventory,levels of language, Lexical formsPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 79

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”IntroductionWith the rapid development of technologies, computers have been playing anincreasingly important role in foreign language learning and teaching in recent years.Computer mediated communication demonstrates a number of features in theenhancement of foreign/second language learning, such as more language functions,greater levels of participation and more motivation and interest. Among the variousforms of computer mediated communication in language teaching, electronic mail(email) has been so far the most popular and useful tool for foreign language teachingand learning (Shang, 2007).Rokni (2013) posited that technologies like email promotes language learning andteaching. Accordingly, the following are the advantages for both teachers andstudents: first, when students use email in the classroom for language learning, theybecome familiar with the tool, especially how the tool would guide them to enhancetheir language learning; second, at more convenient times, a teacher could interactwith a student or a group of students working on a project; finally, email saves timefor some assignments. In the study of Price and Petre (1997), they identified a numberof advantages of electronic assignment handling as more efficient in administration,improved turnaround time, more environmentally friendly (paper less), and improvedaccountability and better assignment tracking and security. Furthermore, Barker,Fiedler, & Johnson (2008) confirmed in their study that students prefer a paperlessapproach to marking.Likewise, the use of emails requires diverse skills and allows students the opportunityto communicate, collaborate and inform. While using computer technology, thestudents would have the chance to use many senses during the learning process.Further, the learners are able to receive feedback more easily, thus, developing theirself-reliance skills (Hayati and Guran, 2014).As Noraien (2007) postulates that email can be used in many forms of communicationincluding informal discussions, dialogs, journal, and writing conferences.Communication with teachers or consulting with teachers is difficult because studentsare shy, however, through this medium, students may write more, ask more questionsand use more language functions.On the other hand, Gomaa (2010) posits that writing is an intricate and complex task,it is the most difficult of all the language abilities to acquire. The student’s firstlanguage affects the learning of the target language, hence, they make mistakes andPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 80

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”repeat them. Further, writing tasks require more elaboration and clarity compared toother skills.Many students are able to understand the language but most of the students face theproblem of communicating their ideas effectively (Flanegin & Rudd, 2000).Accordingly, the lack of adequate vocabulary and creativity in writing causescommunication breakdown.Pennington (1995) asserts that most Asian countries usually employ a traditionallyproduct-oriented, examination-centered approach with strong emphasis on grammar.Traditional teacher-centered approaches may reflect the teachers’ attempts to satisfythe needs and desires of students. However, the interest of the students for learningthe language is for them to be highly competitive in standardized examinations.Thus, there is a need to investigate and explore a new approach in writing that is awayfrom teacher-centered and that is the use of email. Hence, this study aimed to explorethe language performance in writing of selected emails of English major freshman tojunior of the College of Education. Specifically, it answered the questions: 1. What is the level of language used by the BSE freshman to junior English major students of IFSU Main Campus considering the following: content, organization, vocabulary, and mechanics? 2. What are observations on the lexical forms in the writing outputs of the students based on their interactive conversations?MethodologyResearch DesignThis was a qualitative-descriptive research. It made use of the writing inventory of thestudents as primary data.Participants and LocaleThe participants of the study consisted of 39 students ranging from freshman tojunior year in the Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSE) program majoring inEnglish of the College of Education. This institutional research was conducted atPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 81

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Ifugao State University, Main Campus, Nayon, Lamut, Ifugao during the SecondSemester 2015-2016.Research InstrumentsThe primary instrument used to gather the data was the screenshot copies of thestudents’ interactive conversation using their email. The writing inventory prepared bythe researchers was used to analyze the data. Areas considered in the writing inventorywere content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. The lexical formalso was observed focusing on grammar.ProceduresThe students enrolled for in semester were asked to voluntarily submit sample shotsof their email conversations. The conversations were sorted according to topic. Thesewere then analyzed based on their language level and lexical forms. Under levels oflanguage, the content, organization, vocabulary, and mechanics were analyzed. Inaddition, lexical forms included language use focusing on grammar.Result and DiscussionsLevel of language usedContentThe writing inventory of the students revealed that their topics were varied, however,the most dominant discourse revolved around three areas namely invitation, inquiryand reactions, hence, discourse often start either with a question, an experience, or aninspirational quote.Result complements Shen, et.al. (2007) statement that an email starting with a greetinghelps create a friendly tone and an email that ends politely has endings such as “bestregards”. Other email writers used smileys to convey emotional content such assarcasm, laughter and other feelings.This implies that students can write but are often constrained by language limitationsto include vocabulary and grammar but through emails, “the delay allows studentstime to think and compose a message”. According to Kupelian (2001) this delayreduces anxiety that students may otherwise feel if using other forms ofPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 82

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”communication, such as face-to-face encounters or conversations by telephone. AsShang (2007) revealed that through email tasks, students can have more practice inwriting, more social interaction and communication with peers and more vocabularyto learn and more self-monitoring.Hoffman as quoted by Shang mentioned that the “anonymous quality of networkcommunication can be face-saving as well, relieving that learners of the inhibitionsassociated with face-to-face communications are able to express themselves morefreely.OrganizationThe inventory revealed a hybrid form of communication exhibiting characteristics ofboth oral and written discourse. These attributes influence informal, causal structuredmessages sent via email with the permanence of a written document.Shen, et.al. (2007) stated that there are no mandatory formulas for writing emails. Notall social and business emails feature exactly one format since emails strike a balancebetween the conventional format and the writer’s own personal style. Crystal (2001)also posited that written materials mixed with oral elements included in email lead tomessages that are more spontaneous, less inhibited, and more carefree than traditionalwritten communication.VocabularyThe non-standard form of English manifested in discourse was often used. Since themanner of writing is imitated, the manner of conversations, words used during thecorrespondence was a combination of L1 or the mother tongue and L2 or English. Inaddition, the conjugation of words followed the conjugation rules in their L1 or inFilipino. Further, the discourse reflected the use of onomatopoeia like hahaha, hihihito imitate the act of laughing.MechanicsMechanics included rules on punctuation, capitalization, and abbreviation.Punctuation marks were used a lot; often, they were doubled e.g. double questionsmarks, double exclamation points and a combination of question and exclamationmark.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 83

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Lexical forms in the writing The writing inventory revealed short responses. Clauses and phrases were oftenused but punctuation marks were not used. Moreover, articles, prepositions and conjunction were omitted and weresubstituted with a series of dots. Evident also in the discourse was code switching; a discourse may start with L2and end with L1 or may begin with L1 and end with L2. Similar with short messagesending (SMS), the inventory revealed a series of discourse where words containingthe vowels were clipped- the vowels were omitted. It was also noted that writers are fond of using mixed language where part ofthe sentence was expressed using the L1 and the later part were written using their L2then vice versa. The length of their composition also depended on the prompt or thetopic they were discussing. Because e-medium reduces the intimidation factor (Leibowitz, 1999) and offersattractive features, it improves students attitudes towards writing and practicing thetarget language (Kupelian, 2001) and encourages students to produce more text(Trupe, 2002; Goldberg, et. al.,2003). In a study, Gonzalez and Perez (2001), theyfound that second language learners using e-mail for their dialogue journals generatedmore language than those who used pencil and paper.Conclusions Findings revealed that the level of language used by the students in this studyconsidering content varied ranging from inquiry to reactions, while organization,vocabulary, and mechanics adopted to the hybrid form of communication. On thelexical forms in their writing outputs, the students used short responses and code-switching. In writing pedagogy, email may be used as a means of conducting discussionsand assessment. However, topics should be selected or agreed upon between andamong students and with emphasis on academic writing. Also, short responses andcode switching may be adopted during the prewriting process so that the learnerswould be able to generate many ideas that could be polished for the writing stage.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 84

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”ReferencesAdas, Dana et.al. Writing Difficulties and new Solutions: Blended Learning as an Approach to Improve Writing Abilities. Retrieved May 5, 2016. http:// www.ijhssnet.com/journals/ Vol_3_No_9_May 2013.Crystal, D. (2001). Language and the internet. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.Ferris, Sharmila Pixy, Writing Electronically: The Effects of Computers on Traditional Writing Vol. 8, Issue 1: Adding to the Sum of Accurate Information in the World, August 2002, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/3336451.0008.104Flanegin, M. and Rudd, B. (2000). Integration communication skills and business education. Journal of Business Education.Foroutan, Maryam et.al Use of E-mail Dialogue Journal in Enhancing Writing Performance. Asian Social Science, Vol. 9,No. 7;2013Goldberg, A., Russell. M. & Cook, A. (2003). The effect of computers on student writing: A meta-analysis of studies from 1992 to 2002. The Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, 2(1). Retrieved December 15, 2003, from http://www.bc.edu/research/intasc/jtla/journal/pdf/v2n1_jtla.pdfGonzalez, B. M. & Perez, L. C. (2001). Electronic mail in foreign language learning revisited. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, St. Louis, MO. [ED 458 817]Hayati, M. & Gooran, M. (2014). Email and its effects on Iranian EFL learners’ writing ability. MEXTESOL Journal, Vol. 38 (1).Kupelian, M. (2001). The use of e-mail in the L2 classroom: An overview. Second Language Learning and Teaching, 1 (1).Leibowitz, W. R. (1999). Technology transforms writing and the teaching of writing. Chronicle of Higher Education, 46 (14).Mansor,Noraien, Collaborative Learning via Email Discussion: The impact on ESL Students Writing Performance- A case Study at Universiti Malaysia TerenganuPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 85

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity” (UMT), The International Journal of Language Society and Culture, www.educ.utas.edu.au/users/tle/JOURNAL/\Pennington, M. C. (1995). Sensitising bilingual teachers to the use of two languages in the English class. Paper presented at the Third International Conference on Teacher Education in Second Language Teaching, City University of Hong Kong.Rokni, S. (2013). Emailing and its effect on intermediate learners’ writing in and EFL context. International Journal of Language and Linguistics 1 (4).Shang, Hui-Fang, An Exploratory Study of E-mail Application on FL Writing Performance Vol.20, No. 1,February 2007,pp.79-96, ISSN 0958-8221 (print)?ISSN 1744-321009 (online)/07/010079-18,2007, Copyright Taylor & FrancisTrupe, A. (2002). Academic literacy in a wired world: Redefining genres for collegewriting courses. Retrievedhttp://www.bridgewater.edu/~atrupe/AcadLit/WiredWorld.htmPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 86

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity” Bridging Gerontological Sociolinguistics and Social Work:A Preliminary Study on Communication with Older Adults in Long-term Home Care Service Dr. Chin-Hui Chen [email protected] Dr. Hung-Yang [email protected] Pingtung University of Science and Technology, TaiwanThis paper mainly aims to present a research design which bridges social work andgerontological sociolinguistics by exploring how long-term home care giverscommunicate with older care recipients. The focus is to examine the associationbetween chosen communication strategies by care givers and the underlyingconsiderations. Communication accommodation theory serves as the starting point topredict possible dimensions of language adaptation/ attuning behaviours incommunication with elderly adults in long-term home care contexts in Taiwan. Thereis also an intention to observe how elderly adults’ conversational needs and personalfeatures impact care communication. In existing literature, systematic analysis of howand why certain communication strategies are employed by long-term home caregivers is absent, and this research lacuna will be filled in this preliminary study. Therationales of using a grounded theory approach and a questionnaire survey will alsobe discussed.Keywords: Long-term home care contexts, Older care receivers, Communicationstrategies, Grounded theory methodGerontological sociolinguistics: a trajectory to be developedThis research project follows a research trajectory called gerontologicalsociolinguistics. It represents a new research area of linguistics as introduced by theBritish sociolinguist, Nikolas Coupland and his colleagues (Coupland, 1997;Coupland, & Coupland, 1990; Coupland, & Coupland, 1993) and shows academicinterest in conducting language studies in relation to ageing and ageism. In Taiwan,such linguistic studies are still relatively overlooked. As opposed to gender and race, asclaimed by Coupland (Coupland, J., 2009:850), sociolinguists tend to “overlay issuesof ageing on their designs and questions”; hence, “ageing is still, in a general sense,Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 87

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”the unwritten chapter of sociolinguistics”.Gerontological sociolinguistics as led by Coupland and others has shown a trajectorythat is multidisciplinary in nature. As argued by Coupland et al. (1991), sociolinguisticsin the future can make an essential contribution to applied gerontological concerns.This present project is a response to such a research appeal and hopes to initiate aresearch program which combines perspectives from linguistics and other disciplines(e.g. social work in this project) and to explore diversity in the communication processamong people of different cultural backgrounds (i.e. Taiwan) or in differentoperational contexts (e.g. long-term home-care service in this project). Furthermore,as pointed out by Sugatani (2008), there are five main research subjects in languagestudies on ageing (also termed as Gerontolinguistics in Sugatani’s paper),and one ofwhich is to explore language accommodation in care communication involving olderadults. This topic will be explored in this two-year project which bridges care-givingservice as commonly discussed in social work research with insights from morebroadly defined sociolinguistics. The integration of social work and linguistics canhelp sociolinguistic studies as such bear more practical value and be more applicableto work areas that have direct impact on older people and their well-being. Sincelanguage accommodation in care communication is the focus in this project, itpresents the main theoretical framework that can be used as the starting point for theunderstanding of how long-term home care givers consider the choices ofcommunication strategies or accommodation when interacting with older serviceusers.Communication Accommodation TheoryThe original aim of developing communication accommodation theory (Giles, 1973;1984; Giles and Powesland, 1975) is to understand the ways in which speakers changetheir language styles to reduce or increase differences between them. Therefore, thegoal is to specify the strategies of convergence and divergence in intergroup orinterpersonal verbal interactions. As put by Williams and Harwood (2004:120),communication accommodation theory (CAT) “explores the ways in whichindividuals attune their speech to others based on a variety of interpersonal andPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 88

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”intergroup factors”. Coupland, Coupland, and Giles (1991:26) also argued that “thesociolinguistic heart of CAT is …the processes of communicative attuning, adaptiveand strategic moves made by interactants to increase and decrease social andsociolinguistic distance”. By blending the notion of communication accommodationinto applied sociolinguistic studies, an extended model (see Figure 1) illustrating thepossible address-focus dimensions and the sociolinguistic encodings was establishedby Coupland, Coupland, Giles and Henwood (1998) (also cited in Coupland, et al.,1991:29), and it is found appropriate to theoretically frame the study oncommunication with elderly adults in the context of long-term home-care service.Figure 1 indicates a number of attuning strategies (e.g. approximation, interpretability,discourse management, and interpersonal control strategies) that are driven by thefour sets of addressee-focused dimensions (addressee’s expressive competence, thereceptive competence, participants’ relation and role positions, and conversationalneeds). In terms of approximation strategies, a speaker may decide to converge,diverge, or maintain the communication styles. With regards to interpretabilitystrategies, possible language adaptation can occur by modifying complexity, clarity,and explicitness of language in conversations. Accommodation in terms of discoursemanagement takes field, tenor, and mode into consideration and can be realized in theforms of specific topic selection, face maintenance, and turn-taking mechanism.Finally, when a speaker’s role endows him/her power and control over the hearer,interpersonal control strategies could be observed in conversations, for instance,interruption, or limiting the hearer’s opportunities to start or develop a conversationaltopic. How the abovementioned dimensions are realized in selections ofcommunication strategies by care givers to older care users is the main researchinterest in this project.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 89

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Figure 1 An extended model of sociolinguistic processes in CATSource: N. Coupland, Coupland, Giles and Henwood, 1988:28, also cited in N.Coupland, Coupland, Giles, 1991:29Research questions and the significanceThis project proposal is intended as a preliminary attempt to explore the specificcommunication accommodation or language attuning behaviours shown by long-termhome care givers to older care receivers in an extensive manner. Even thoughelderspeak features or secondary baby balk have been documented in existingliterature (e.g. Caporael, 1981; Cohen & Faulkner, 1986; Kemper, 1994; Ryan,Hummert & Boisch, 1995;) as commonly used communication strategies in talks witholder adults, it does not automatically mean that they should be taken for granted intalks with older adults in all settings or cultural contexts or that new communicationpatterns cannot be expected in home care service in Taiwan. An inductive andgrounded theory approach will be employed at the initial stage of collecting data forthe main research inquiries (questions as specified later) so as to foster emergence ofunreported communication strategies in existing literature.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 90

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Furthermore, instead of simply describing what communication strategies are used inhome care communication with older adults, special attention will be given to thepossible cause-effect relationships between the various features or needs older peopleare perceived to have or show and the use of various corresponding communicationstrategies by the care givers. In existing literature, there is no systematic analysisconducted to conceptualize the various categories of determinants (which could besocial, psychological, physical, or others to be discovered) and the associations withthe corresponding communication accommodation (or non-accommodation) choicesin the process of delivering home care service (not even in other contexts) involvingolder adults. This new inquiry will be made to distinguish this present research fromprevious relevant studies on language and communion in care.To conclude, the following research questions are proposed:RQ 1: What are the communication strategies reported by long-term home care giversin talks with older care receivers?RQ 2: What are the considerations underlying the choices of communicationstrategies as reported in RQ1?RQ 3: How are the reported considerations related to the various communicationstrategies?RQ 4: In terms of the dimensions of considerations and the sociolinguistic encodingsof the communication accommodation, how do the findings in this project extend orsupport the communication accommodation model as developed by Coupland, et al.(1988)?MethodologyGiven the above research interests, it is advised that the first step taken to collectinformation as answers to the research questions should be qualitative data as derivedfrom focus group discussions; the sampling and data are handled under the principlesof the grounded theory method. The second part of the project will be aquestionnaire survey which intends to verify the generalizability of the findings asderived from the interviews. It is believed that the combination of the qualitative andquantitative research methods can bring a more complete picture of the topics understudy.The use of the grounded theory methodPathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 91

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”The grounded theory method was first introduced by Glaser and Strauss (1967) as analternative to the quantitative research paradigm, which emphasizes deductive researchrationales. In a deductive research design, hypotheses or predictions of results areformed on the basis of existing theories and tested so as to confirm or refute varioustheoretical tenets. The grounded theory method, on the other hand, is a methodemployed to generate new theories inductively from the original data. In short, thefundamental objective of a grounded theory study is to ‘discover’ new hypotheses andtheories, rather than to ‘verify or test’ them (such as in many quantitative studies)(Glaser, 1965:437).Researchers who employ the grounded theory method are those who would like todiscover concepts, properties, and a theory closely reflective of what is going on inthe examined research data. Given that in existing literature, there is little insight intocare-givers’ communication accommodation behaviours in relation to older carereceivers who are perceived to be heterogeneous in terms of their demographicfeatures and needs, it is appropriate to use the grounded theory method to develop atheoretical model to account for the research topics. The generated outcomes canwork, fit, and be relevant to the specific cultural (Taiwan) and institutional (home care)contexts, and the openness to modification can allow researchers to present diversityin communication strategies and dimensions that extend the existing theoreticalframework, such as the Communication Accommodation Model proposed byCoupland et al. (1988). Furthermore, this step of research can eventually arrive at anumber of hypothetical statements to explain the communication accommodationbehaviours shown by home care givers. They can also be further tested, following thedeductive research paradigm, in the second year of the project so as to verify theextent of the generalizability (see more details in section 2.2)The participants involved in the focus group discussion will be long term home caregivers mainly based in Pingtung and Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It is expected that there willbe approximately 100 care givers who can be approached within the researchers’personal social networking and may be invited to participate in the in-depthinterviews about how they operate their service via language. The questions fordiscussions will not be thoroughly structured but centre around some general interestson the characteristics of the older care receivers taken care of by the interviewees,characteristics of the interviewees, their self-reported ways of communication witholder receivers, challenges, and considerations. The focus group data will betranscribed and coded into conceptual categories.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 92

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”The questionnaire surveyThe research design to be employed in the second phase of this research project willbe quantitative and deductive in nature. The main purpose is to verify thegeneralizability of the findings in existing literature as well as in the first year of thestudy. The main research inquiry is similar to that in the first year. That is, long-termhome care givers are expected to report the communication strategies they use whentalking to older adults in the process of delivering their home care service. They arealso invited to share the rationales underlying the choices of communication strategiesand changes in their usual conversational styles to adapt to older adults’ needs andconditions. The participants in the second year will also be long-term home caregivers who are required to fill out one questionnaire for one particular case of oldercare receiver (aged 65 and older). Participants will be sampled and approached bycontacting those affiliated with long-term care giving institutes from different parts ofTaiwan, such as in the North, South, East, and Middle.The questionnaire will be developed to include at least the following parts: Part 1:addressee-focus considerations, Part 2: care-givers’ demographic features, and Part 3:communication strategies. The design of the questionnaire, to a certain extent,depends on the results obtained during the interview stage.Part 1: Addressee-focus considerations:In Coupland et al.’s (1988) model of communication accommodation theory,addressee-focus considerations are only limited to addressees’ language performance(expressive and receptive abilities), conversational needs, and perceived interactionalroles and relations.There could be other addressee-related factors (which to be suggested later) thatcould influence the decisions on care givers’ communication accommodationbehaviours and can be fostered to emerge in the process of interviews. They will betransformed into different operational variables in this questionnaire.However, it is advised that older care receivers’ demographic features should also betaken into account in the questionnaire, such as age and ethnic groups, which couldhave impact on the use of politeness strategies, or code selection. Furthermore, it isworthwhile to consider older adults’ degree of dependence in relation to the caregivers’ use of various communication strategies. The degree of dependence isbelieved to be highly relevant to the likelihood of using secondary baby talk.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 93

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”To assess the degree of dependence, the Lawton Instrumental Activities of DailyLiving Scale (IADLs) will be employed. In practice, before home care service is given,each service receiver is evaluated in terms of IADLs. Eight different aspects ofabilities required in a potential home care receiver’s daily life are examined. Thequestions in IADLs indicate the various degrees to which one can purchase groceries,leave home, prepare food, do domestic chores, do the laundry, make phone calls, takemedicine, and deal with financial matters.This Scale can be used in several ways. As Professor Lawton (Lawton, 1971; Lawton& Brody, 1969) suggested when he was developing the IADLs in the 1960s, it wasused for evaluators to simply point out which aspects of the examinees were disabled.The value is either 0 (disabled) or 1 (abled), and 1 stands for the functional level.Alternatively, the Scale can also be scored up to 24 according to the levels of function,and each aspect may be assigned with different full scores to reflect its importance tothe examinee’s daily living.Part 2: care-givers’ featuresThis part’s purpose is to document care givers’ demographic features, such as age,years of experiences as care givers, educational background, gender, ethnic group, andyears of service to one particular case (related to the degree of closeness). Thesedemographic features are expected to influence the complexity in the nature ofcommunications, relational perceptions, or choices of dialects.Part 3: communication strategiesCommunication strategies as a general constellation term of the dependent variablesin this questionnaire survey will include questions, for instance, as follows: 1) Do you simplify the content of talk with older care receivers (Y/N) 2) Do you change to speak the dialect or language spoken by older care receivers in talk with them (Y/N) 3) Do you repeat important messages in talk with older care receivers (Y/N) 4) Do you shorten sentences in talk with older care receivers (Y/N)5) Do you avoid certain topics in talk with older care receivers (Y/N) such as ____________ (categories for selection will be specified based on thePathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 94

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity” interview data) 6) Do you select certain topics in talk with older care receivers (Y/N) such as ___________ (categories for selection will be specified based on the interview data) 7) Do you exaggerate the intonation in talk with older care receivers (Y/N) 8) Do you always give compliments in talk with older care receivers (Y/N) The above questions reflect commonly observed elderspeak features as suggested in literature. However, there should be more communication strategies which appear to be interactionally salient in the interview data and will be included so that the hypothetical statements as consequences of using the grounded theory approach can be verified at this stage of the research.ReferencesBeveridge, W. H. (1942). Social Insurance and Allied Services. London: H.M.S.O.Carlson, L., & Kangun, N. (1988). Demographic Discontinuity: Another Explanation for Consumerism? Journal of Consumer Affairs, 22(1), 55-73.Caporael, L. R. (1981). The paralanguage of caregiving: Baby talk to the institutionalized aged. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40(5), 876-884.Caporael, L. R., Lukaszewski, M. P., & Culbertson, G. H. (1983). Secondary baby talk: Judgments by institutionalized elderly and their caregivers. Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 44(4), 746-754.Cohen, G., & Faulkner, D. (1986). Memory for proper names: Age differences in retrieval. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 4, 187–197Coupland, J. (2000). Past the “perfect kind of age”? styling selves and relationships in over-50s dating advertisements. Journal of Communication, 50(3), 9-30.Coupland, J. (2003). Ageist ideology and discourses of control in skincare product marketing. In J. Coupland, and R. Gwyn, (Eds.) Discourse, the body and identity, pp. 127-150. Basingstoke: Palgrave.Coupland, J. (2007). Gendered discourses on the ‘problem’ of ageing: consumerized solution. Discourse & Communication, 1(1), 37-61.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 95

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Coupland, J. (2009). Discourse, identity and change in mid to late life interdisciplinary perspectives on language and ageing. Ageing and Society, 29 (special issue 6), 849-861.Coupland, N. (1997). Language, ageing and ageism: a project for applied linguistics? International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(1): 26-48.Coupland, N. (2004). Age in social and sociolinguistic theory. In J. F. Nussbaum & J. Coupland. (eds.) Handbook of Communication and Aging Research (pp. 69-90). Mahwah, New Jersey: Routledge.Coupland, N. & Coupland, J. (1990). Language and later life. In H. Giles. & P. Robinson (eds.) Handbook of Language and social Psychology (pp. 451-468). London: Wiley.Coupland, N. & Coupland, J. (1993). Discourses of ageism and anti-ageism. Journal of Aging Studies, 7(3), 279-301.Coupland, N., Coupland, J., & Giles, H. (1989). Telling age in later life: identity and face implications. Text, 9(2), 129-51.Coupland, N., Coupland, J., & Giles, H. (1991). Language, Society & the Elderly. Oxford: Blackwell.Coupland, N., Coupland, J., Giles, H. and Henwood, K. (1991). Intergenerational talk: goal consonance and intergroup dissonance. In K. Tracy (ed.) Understanding Face-to-Face Interaction: Issues Linking Goals and Discourse (pp. 79-100). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Coupland, N., Nussbaum, J. (eds.) (1993). Discourse and Lifespan Identity. Newbury Park, CA: SageEsping-Andersen, G. (1990). The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Cambridge: Polity Press.Executive Yuan. (2007). The Plan on Ten Year Long-Term Care Services in Taiwan. Taipei City: Executive Yuan.Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 96

The 1st Rt International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 Proceedings “Diversity our Identity”Field, A. (2009). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (3rd ed.). London: SageGiannakouris, K. (2008). Ageing Characterises the Demographic Perspectives of the European Societies. Eurostat: Statistics in Focus, 72, 1-11.Giles, H. (1973). Accent mobility: a model and some data. Anthropological Linguistics, 15, 87-105.Giles, H. (ed.) (1984). The Dynamics of Speech Accommodation. Amsterdam: Mouton.Giles, H., Coupland, J. & Coupland, N. (Eds.) (1991). Contexts of Accommodation: Developments in Applied Sociolinguistics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Giles, H., Coupland, N. & Coupland, J. (eds.) (1991). Contexts of Accommodation: Developments in Applied Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: CUP.Giles, H., Mulac, A., Bradac, J. and Johnson, P. (1987). Speech accommodation theory: the first decade and beyond. In M. L. McLaughlin (ed.), Communication Yearbook 10 (pp.13-48). Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage.Giles, H. & Powesland, P. F. (1975). Speech style and social evaluation. London: Academic Press.Glaser, B. G. (1965). The constant comparative method of qualitative analysis. Social Problems, 12(4), 436-45.Glaser, B. G. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity. Mill Valley, Ca.: The Sociology Press.Glaser, B. G. (1992). Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis. Mill Valley, Ca: Sociology Press.Glaser, B. G. (1998). Doing Grounded Theory: Issues and Discussions. Mill Valley, Ca: Sociology Press.Glaser, B. G. (2002). Constructivist Grounded Theory? Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 3(3). [WWW] URL: http://www.qualitative- research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/825/1792 (accessed 21/October/2008)Pathumtani, Thailand, May 14, 2016 Page | 97

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