NOBPHAWAN SUKKLANG (SURANAREE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY)

I AM (NOT) AFRAID OF SPEAKING ENGLISH: THAI UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS' FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEAKING MINDSET : SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT

Existing literature suggests that students' language mindset could influence various aspects of their language learning. Few studies investigate language mindset in a specific domain. This study aimed to investigate the foreign language speaking mindset and the factors contributing to the development of this mindset among Thai undergraduate students. This study employed a mixed research method. The survey was distributed to 894 undergraduate students, with 19 students volunteering to participate in a semi-structured interview. The results suggested that Thai undergraduate students mostly adopt a growth foreign language speaking mindset. Gender, year of study, majors, and perceived English language proficiency show no correlation with students' foreign language speaking mindset. Moreover, Thai undergraduate students believe that effort plays a vital role in improving foreign language speaking skills. The semi-structured interview revealed that past language learning experiences affect Thai undergraduate students' attribution of their foreign language speaking abilities, which eventually leads to their current mindset. The results yielded insights into the sources of students' foreign language speaking mindset and pedagogical implications for teaching foreign language speaking.

Ms. Nobphawan Sukklang A PhD candidate School of Foreign Languages, Institute of Social Technology, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand Jeffrey Dawala Wilang An assistant professor at School of Foreign Languages, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand.