THE CHALLENGES FACED BY THAILAND STUDENTS AT ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM IN LEARNING ENGLISH

Abstract

The spread role of english can be utilized by EFL students in nonative speaking countries in the language learning process. The consequence of this situation is that allows ASEAN students to study english in Indonesia. Many EFL students who study English in Indonesia come from ASEAN countries, one of which is Thailand student who registered as English learners at Muhammadiyah University of Muara Bungo. The purpose of this study is to explore the challenges faced by foreign students from Thailand in learning English, particularly in listening and speaking. In conducting this study, the researcher used a phenomenological approach to design a method that could provide rich data sources about individual experiences. There were two participants in this study, and they met the inclusion criteria for the research. In data collection, the researcher used semi- structured interviews. The data was then analyzed using thematic analysis. The results of the study indicate that there are two subtheme in the challenges of speaking, namely linguistic (limited vocabulary, limited grammar, and pronunciation) and non-linguistic (fear of making mistakes, anxiety, lack of confidence, lack of motivation, and use of the mother tongue). There were also two subtheme in listening challenges, namely linguistic (accent and speaking speed, limited vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure) and non-linguistic (environmental disturbances and Cultural Differences).