5 1 2 1 0 3 0 2 0 8

A SURVEY OF PROBLEMS IN ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS

WHEN DEALING WITH ENGLISH SPEAKING CLIENTS:

A CASE STUDY OF EMPLOYEES AT ONE OF THE BIG 4 AUDIT FIRMS

IN THAILAND

PARIMA VERAPORNVANICHKUL

Adviser: Asst. Prof. Supansiri Vathakanon

A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

IN

ENGLISH FOR CAREERS

LANGUAGE INSTITUTE, THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

BANGKOK, THAILAND

MARCH 2011
 A SURVEY OF PROBLEMS IN ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS

WHEN DEALING WITH ENGLISH SPEAKING CLIENTS:

A CASE STUDY OF EMPLOYEES AT ONE OF THE BIG 4 AUDIT FIRMS

IN THAILAND

PARIMA VERAPORNVANICHKUL

Adviser: Asst. Prof. Supansiri Vathakanon

A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

IN

ENGLISH FOR CAREERS

LANGUAGE INSTITUTE, THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

BANGKOK, THAILAND

MARCH 2011
 ABSTRACT

Due to the establishment of multinational firms all over the world, people
from different countries have more opportunity to work together. The selected firm,
one of the big four auditing firms in Thailand, is one of the multinational firms with a
global network of more than 150 countries. Even if the important factor in the
working environment for auditors is communication skills, many employees in the
firm face problems in English speaking due to various reasons. This study’s purposes
are to understand the causes of English speaking problems for employees when
dealing with English speaking clients in order to find the proper solutions. Forty-six
employees answered a questionnaire and six interviews were conducted to gather the
information. In this study, the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version
number 15.0 was used to analyze the data, the frequency, percentage, mean and
standard deviations. The results of the study indicated that inadequate English skills
and communication apprehensions were the main problems for employees. These
problems were caused by infrequent usage of English in daily life resulting in nervous
feelings when speaking a second language. The suggested solution was job rotation to
increase the chance to communicate with foreign clients and English speaking courses
with native speakers. Also, in order to provide more useful recommendations, the data
obtained from management level requires further research.

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This independent study has been completed with assistance from many people.
Firstly, I would like to show my gratitude to my advisor, Asst. Prof. Supansiri
Vathakanon for her kind guidance and encouragement for this study. I also would like
to thank the professors and employees at the Language Institute, Thammasat
University, who have supported me with many kinds of useful information throughout
my study in this program.

In addition, this independent study would not have been possible without the
support from all respondents in both the questionnaires and interviews. All opinions
are the valuable information needed to finish the research study.

Lastly, I would further like to thank all of my classmates, my family and

colleagues for their cooperation and support.

Thammasat University Parima Veraporvanichkul

Bangkok, Thailand March, 2011

iii
 CONTENTS

PAGE

ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………… ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………….. iii

CONTENTS ……………………………………………………………………… iv

CHAPTER

1. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………….……...1

1.1 Background ……………………………………………………..........1

1.2 Statement of the Problem …………………………………….………3

1.3 Purposes of the Study ………...………………………………….….. 3

1.4 Definitions of Terms …………………………………………….…...4

1.5 Scope of the Study………………………………….………………...5

1.6 Significance of the Study ………………………………………….....5

1.7 Organization of the Study ………………………………..………......5

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ………………………………………....… 7

2.1 The Importance of English at the Workplace………………………... 7

2.2 Factors Contributing to Oral Communication Problems

When Dealing with Foreign Clients……………………….……..….. 8

2.2.1 Oral Communications ……….……….…….……..….…...…. 8

2.2.2 Communication Apprehension……….…….……..….….……9

 2.2.3 Cross Cultural Communication …………………………..… 11

2.2.4 Motivation to Learn and Speak a Second Language.……..… 13

3. METHODOLOGY ………………………………………..………........ 16

3.1 Subjects …………………………………………………….….…… 16

3.2 Materials …………………………………………………….…...… 16

3.3 Procedures …………………………………………………..……… 18

3.4 Data Analysis …………………………………………….……..…...19

3.5 Project Timetable …..…………………………………….……..…...19

4. RESULTS ………………………………………………………...…..… 20

4.1 Personal Data ..……………………...………………………........… 20

4.2 Attitude towards English Speaking Skills at Workplace …….……... 22

4.3 Causes of the Problems in Oral Communication with

English-Speaking Clients……………………..…………..……….... 24

4.4 Reasons for Problems in English Speaking Skills ……………….…. 29

5. CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ……. 30

5.1 Summary of the Study ………………………………………...……. 30

5.2 Summary of the Findings ………………………………………..…. 31

5.3 Discussion and Conclusions….…………….…………..…..………. 32

5.4 Recommendations for Further Research ……………………..…..… 33

v
REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………….…...... 34

APPENDIX …….……………………………………………………………..….… 37

A. Questionnaire in English……...…………………………...…….……….37

vi
 1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

These days, we can clearly see that communication is an important aspect for
business success. People who have appropriate levels of communication skills and
high levels of interpersonal skills are more likely to reach their career goal. Crosling
and Ward (2001) claimed that effective oral communication skills and social
interaction could lead to occupational achievement. This is because good
communication skills would contribute to the process of acquiring new skills;
resulting in continuous learning and rapid solutions to problems.

Due to the effect of international business and investments from other

countries, many international firms have been established in Thailand. It is
impossible to avoid communication in English with people from different countries.
Employees considered as having good communication skills are able to not only
communicate well in normal situations, such as greeting and small talk, but also able
pursue higher levels of English speaking such as negotiations and presentations.

The selected accounting firm is one of the biggest audit firms in Thailand. The
company is one of the multinational corporations offering many kinds of services
ranging from assurance services, legal services, and advisory services. Due to the
global network for more than 150 countries, the employees are required to
communicate well in English for speaking with the co-workers in different countries
and clients who come from multinational firms. The basic skill needed is English
writing for documentation of detailed work and reports with clear and concise
meaning. Also, with the effect of globalization and various clients from different
countries, such as the United States, Australia, Japan, Singapore, an ability to
communicate in English is increasingly important.

However, most of the employees are Thai people who graduated from non-
international programs. Even if most of them have studied English for a long period,
most lessons learnt during their study focused only on reading skills and writing
 2

skills. As a result, the students had rare occasions to practice their speaking skills
while studying. This results in problems when they have to speak English with
English speaking clients at their workplace. In particular, people are required to
have a higher level of oral communication skills than they do while they are learning
due to a variety of communication styles needed for each business situations
(Crosling&Ward, 2001).

The factors contributing to the problems come from various reasons. Four
general problems have been summarized from articles and other research findings.
The first problem is language skill. As cited by Kidsom in Cheep-Aranai (2006),
language skills are important and problematic as they could lead to misinterpretation
in meaning and cultural misunderstanding. People who have a low level of English
speaking skills could have inaccurate pronunciations and intonations, leading to loss
in communication.

The second problem and third problem are communication apprehension and
intercultural communication differences, respectively. According to the research
done by Duangkamon Punyasirikul about the communication problems of Thai
airways international in-flight managers and air purser with English speaking
passengers in 2006, communication apprehension was selected as one of the causes
of communication failure. Also, as cited by Littlejohn in Duangkamon Punyasirikul
(2006), communication anxiety could create lower development of basic speech
skills and the social learning environment. In terms of intercultural communication,
as cited by Tanya Glaser in Duangkamon Punyasirikul (2006), anxiety results from
confronting uncertainty and a high possibility of a negative outcome. Therefore,
understanding of the other’s culture, including rules and norms, could lead to better
cross-cultural communication.

The last problem is motivation. Following the study done by Gardner and
Lambert (1972), attitude towards language learning is the main cause of overall
learning success and achievement. The study showed that people who have a desire
to learn a language for their own personal willingness are more likely to succeed in
 3

language learning than people who learn a language for a specific reason such as
high scores in the examination.

This study’s purpose is to survey the main obstacles contributing to ineffective

English speaking skill at the firm. The researcher has identified the main factors
causing English speaking skills problems. These factors are a low level of English
proficiency, a lack of motivation to speak English, unawareness of intercultural
communication and communication apprehension.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

This study aims to answer the following questions:

- What are the causes of problems concerning English speaking at the

workplace?

- What are the levels of importance in problems related to English speaking

with foreign clients? Such problems are basically identified as follows:

- Low level of English proficiency

- Communication apprehension

- Intercultural communication

- Lack of motivation to speak English at the workplace

1.3 PURPOSES OF THE STUDY

The main purpose is to understand the causes of identified problems of

English speaking skills for people working at the firm. Such identified causes of the
problems are the key factors contributing to low level of English speaking skills. The
main identified problems are low level of intercultural communication awareness,
 4

communication apprehension, low level of English proficiency, and lack of

motivation to speak English.

1.4 DEFINITION OF TERMS

The definition of the terms of this study is as follows:

Oral communication is one type of communication which is presented by

word of mouth (The free dictionary by farlex, n.d.). Oral communication
includes a variety of communication ranging from formal presentation to
participation in teams and meetings (Crosling&Ward, 2001).

Motivation is the act or desire to do something. It can be referred to as the

forces acting on or within an organism to initiate and direct behavior (Petri,
1991).

Intercultural communication refers to communication between people who

come from different cultures. To illustrate, this term usually refers to different
communication issues created by individuals from various religious, social,
ethic, and education backgrounds (US Legal, n.d.).

Communication apprehension means the individual’s level of anxiety related

to both real and anticipated communication with others (McCroskey, 1984).

Multinational company refers to a company or corporation operating in more

than two countries (The Free Dictionary by Farlex, n.d.) or a firm that
operates businesses in many different countries and has people who have
different backgrounds, nationality, language, and culture working together
(Jonathan, Kathryn, & Michael, 1995 as cited in Pacharin Siritipong, 2008).
 5

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study is limited to investigation of the causes of English speaking

problems of Thai employees working in an international accounting firm in the
Sathorn area. The number of target samples is 46 including all levels of employees
ranging from associate to director.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Speaking English is considered a crucial factor for communication for

employees working at multinational corporations, especially one of the big four
auditing firms. The understanding of the current problems in English speaking will
be useful to develop English speaking skill for employees. The research findings will
illustrate the major problems of English speaking and will be useful information for
people working in the firm and requiring an improvement of English speaking skill.
Once the employees are able to improve their English speaking skills, there are more
chances to be promoted to a higher management level and expose themselves to
work in another country via secondment programs. Also, they would be able to
communicate with clients more effectively, resulting in greater quality of services
given.

In addition to the benefits provided for employees at the firm, the research
findings will also be utilized for further research about the factors contributing to
English speaking skills development at work.

1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

The study in this paper is divided into five chapters.

Chapter one presents the background of the study, statement of the problems
and purpose of the study. The significance of the study and definitions of key terms
 6

also are given and research questions are clearly identified. Also, the content
contains limitations, delimitations and the organization of the study.

Chapter two offers relevant literature reviews focusing on four key related
theories which are motivation to learn a language, intercultural communication,
communication apprehension, and effective oral communication skills.

Chapter three includes the methodology applied in this study. The content
starts with the type of research used for this study. Then, the detailed information
about the subjects are described ranging from population, sample selection criteria
and sample size. Next, the instrumentation and procedures chosen are discussed
before ending with the method of data analysis.

Chapter four provides the details of the findings including interviewing results
and survey results through the questionnaire given to participants.

Chapter five includes a summary of the study, discussions and conclusions

before ending with recommendations for further study.
 7

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Due to the effect of foreign investments and globalization, people from

different countries have to work together. One of the most important factors in a
working environment is communication skills. This chapter will describe more
information about the four main causes of English speaking problems according to
four related theories. The key concepts reviewed in this chapter included
communication apprehension, intercultural differences, motivation to develop
English at the workplace, and major skills needed to improve English speaking
skills.

2.1 THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH AT THE WORKPLACE

As English learning content for students in Thailand focuses only on grammar

and reading, many students lack chances to practise their English speaking skill.
When these students enter the working environment they could face problems in a
variety of areas. In the working environment, one of the most effective
communications is speaking as it can convey not only interactive communication but
also other types of meanings through tone of voice and emotions. Receiver and
sender have chances to understand each other faster than other modes of
communication. As cited by Zaremba in Boonkit (2009), one study showed that for
new employees, speaking skills or communication skill were usually more important
than work experience, motivation, and academic credentials. Nevertheless, many
people still struggle with their communication skills, especially in English speaking
skills, due to numerous reasons such as fear of speaking other languages and lack of
understanding of pronunciations.
 8

2.2 FACTORS CONTRIBUITING TO ORAL COMMUNICAION

PROBLEMS WHEN DEALING WITH FOREIGN CLIENTS

2.2.1 Oral Communication

There are various factors that can affect oral communication skills. These
factors are intonation, pronunciation, and semantics.

Intonation refers to the pitch, length and loudness. It is an important factor for
understanding of the message conveyed through speaking. Some people claim that
intonation also reflects specific emotion. Therefore, people can understand other
people’s emotions through their intonation.

Pronunciation means a way of speaking a word, especially a way that is

accepted or generally understood. People from different countries could have
different pronunciation and this can cause confusion for interpretation. Pronunciation
is one of the important factors for effective communication as mispronunciation can
cause a negative image of a speaker (Panyajirawut, 2009).

Semantics refers to the study of the meaning of linguistic expressions apart

from consideration of the effect of pragmatic factors. Pragmatic refers to the use of
the language in real life. Roberts C., Davies E., Jupp T. (1992) described that
pragmatics are different from semantics in two ways. Firstly, for pragmatics, the
meaning was linked in the context and secondly, speaker and listener intention was
illustrated. As a result, pragmatics covers both the literal meaning of words and the
meaning intended by the speaker and understood by the listener.

One research finding by Kamonpan Boonkit in 2009 showed that even if

confidence and creative topics were important factors attributed to English speaking
improvement, speaking competence was also essential for general communication.
Her research findings were to find the factors that help learners to improve their
speaking skills, including strengths and weaknesses of speaking, by selecting
students enrolled in “Listening and Speaking for special communication class” at
Silpakorn University to answer questionnaires and questions through interviews.
 9

The results showed that proper preparation and frequent practice through a variety
of media such as music and movies are the practical method to enhance speaking
skills.

Also, the main weaknesses for most students are pronunciation and the
grammatical structure of the sentence. The word stress and final sounds such as /z/
and /s/ were the common problems for Thai students.

2.2.2 Communication apprehension

Employees are not only required to be competent in English skills but also
have to have confidence in English speaking. As a result, they can develop their
English speaking skills (Boonkit, 2010). According to this theory, people who have a
high level of communication apprehension are those who are afraid of
communication with others. They will feel nervous and unable to communicate with
others effectively. The major cause of communication apprehension identified is a
low level of self-esteem (McCroskey, 1984). In the former studies about
communication apprehension, people believed that communication fear came from a
personal trait. However, after further research in the later decade, the concept of
situational communication apprehension came across. According to McCroskey’s
theory, communication anxiety has been divided into five categories as follows;

1) Traitlike CA

This type of CA is viewed as a personality-type variable (McCroskey,1984). It

is the result of a speaker’s personal feelings and is not related to situation
(Panyajirawut, 2009). This kind of CA is consistent and can be seen through various
types of communication such as oral communication, writing and singing.
 10

2) Generalized – context CA

This type of CA is viewed in general situations. There are some situations that
people in general would have a high level of apprehension such as public speaking,
speaking in meetings or classes and small group discussion.

3) Person-Group CA

Person-Group CA refers to different level of communication apprehension

among each person or group. For example, a person has a high level of apprehension
while talking to his or her boss but a low level of apprehension while discussing with
their friends.

4) Situational CA

This type of CA shows the various modes of communication anxiety in

different times or situations. The level of apprehension fluctuates as situations
change.

5) Pathological CA

This type of CA is considered an abnormal cause of CA. It refers to an

extremely high level of CA or a very low level of CA.

Causes of CA normally are heredity and environment (McCroskey, 1984).

Children are born with different predispositions and tendencies. As a result, they will
react differently to the same environmental conditions. However, environment
during the childhood is also the important factor. If the parents encourage their child
to speak at an early age, they are more likely to speak more often.

One study done by Khan and Ali from Institute of Education and Research
(IER), University of Peshawar, Pakistan in 2009 found that even if most students like
English (47.5% for female and 42.5% for male), the majority of them (40% for
female and 45% for male) are still shy in speaking due to being afraid of the laughter
of the classmates. From the study, it clearly showed that most of the people studying
a second language have to face shyness when speaking their second language.
 11

2.2.3 Cross Cultural Communication

This theory is concerned with the differences between people from different
cultures. As people in each area have different mindsets and behaviours, problems
could arise when people from diverse culture have not understood such cultural
differences. Also, mistakes made by unintentional action can be viewed as rude and
conflicting, resulting in an inappropriate relationship. According to the theory of
Hofstede (1994), five dimensions have been identified for cultural differences. The
five dimensions are as below;

1) Power distance

This concept refers to inequality of power between people. While, people in

the small power distance society believe that hierarchy presents inequality of roles
and subordinates are expected to consult with their boss, people who are in large
power distance groups think that hierarchy refers to the appropriate system and the
boss should give orders to their subordinates. The research found that high power
distance is in Latin countries and Asian counties, whereas low power distance is
found in western countries such as Austria, Denmark and New Zealand.

2) Individualism and Collectivism

While people who have high individualism tend to concentrate on their own
ideas, people in the opposite view or collectivism focus on the safe physical and
emotional environment. People from western countries who have low level of power
distance are more likely to be in individualism group and people from eastern
countries who have high level of power distance are prone to prefer collectivism.
Even if Thais are considered in the eastern countries, Embree as cited in
Rojjanaprapayon (1997), claimed that Thais lack social commitment as they have a
weak sense of duty and social discipline. Also, Brummelhuis as cited in
Rojjanaprapayon (1997), understood that Thai individualism is a negative
individualism as Thai individualism refers to oneself or ego-self not the social-self in
the Western sense.
 12

3) Masculinity versus femininity

This idea explains the distribution of roles between the sexes. Some people,
such as people in Asia, believe that gender is one of the main factors to identify the
appropriate role in the workplace and males should be the dominant sex. Kabilsingh
as cited in Rojjanaprapayon (1997) understood that Thai women’s’ roles and image
have been regarded poorly. Thai women were never encouraged to exercise
independent critical thought. Women are the hind legs of the elephant. Thai
masculinity refers to leadership and being domineering, aggressive, decisive, work-
oriented, nonverbal oriented and less sensitive. Thai femininity refers to being
submissive, nurturing, supportive, emotional-oriented, verbal oriented, and sensitive.

4) Uncertainty avoidance

It refers to how people feel when they have to face uncertainty. Some people
may minimize the opportunity to encounter such situations by setting strict laws and
rules including safety and security measures. Also, uncertainty avoidance can be
explained through a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. People who
have high uncertainty avoidance are in Latin countries and Japan, while people who
have low uncertainty avoidance are in China.

5) Long-term and Short term orientation

It refers to the importance between personal dignity which is considered short-

term orientation and social order which is viewed as long-term orientation. King and
Bond’s study as cited in Hofstede (1994) explained that characteristics in long term
orientation are perseverance and thrift while that of short term orientation are related
to social obligations and respect.

Also, apart from Hofstede’s theory as above, Metta as cited in Pacharin

Siritipong (2008), found that there are three main causes of cross-cultural problems
as below;
 13

1) The barriers of cognition: This refers to people who lack commonly used
language and do not understand the ways to use appropriate levels of
language.

2) The barriers of attitude and feeling: This represents stereotyping,

jumping to conclusion, bias, and ethnocentrism.

3) The barriers of behavior: These obstacles are related to the lack of

intention to learn and absorb cultural surroundings and avoid adjusting oneself
in different cultures.

2.2.4 Motivation to Learn and Speak a Second Language

Motivation refers to the forces acting on or within an organism to initiate and

direct behaviour (Petri, 1991). People are motivated to learn language for various
reasons. According to the theory by Gardner and Lambert (Gardner & Lambert,
1972), and Gardner’s socio-educational model, there are two types of motivation as
below;

Instrumental motivation: This motive comes from functional reasons. People

who have been motivated by instrumental motivation will be encouraged to learn
language for specific purposes such as gaining a higher position in the workplace or
getting a high score in the examination.

Integrative motivation: This motivation refers to a positive viewpoint toward

the target language group. The objective of the learning is to socialize in the target
language’s society. The learner aims to be accustomed to the culture of the target
language.

Gardner indicated that people who have been motivated through integrative
motivation are more likely to be successful in language learning and have a stronger
intention to continue studying the language. However, apart from Gardner’s theory,
there are also other types of motivation that contribute to effective language learning.
 14

Some researchers argued that Gardner’s work has not involved the relationship
between social environment and the learner’s attitude. This is because even a person
who has a personal desire to study a second language may not succeed in his or her
learning if he or she does not have chances to practice their language usage in his or
her real life (Peirce,1995). Also, Wang (1999) as cited in Rice et al.(2008), studied
about the female adult Mandarin speakers in Canada and claimed that, apart from the
learners’ high motivation, learners who cannot access the environment of the learned
language could feel frustrated as they can not apply what is learnt to real practice.
Wang has the same idea as Peirce that limited opportunities for language learning
were not included in Gardner’s socio-education model.

Another researcher has different viewpoints. Dornyei (1994) illustrated that

there are three dimension of motivation which are the language level, the learner
level and the learning situation level

The language level refers to basic learning goals for each language learner. It
has been described in Gardner’s model which is integrative and instrumental
motivation. The learner level involves the influence of individual behaviour. The
motivation level depends on the learner’s needs for achievement and self-
confidence. The last level is the learning situation level which can be influenced by
a number of intrinsic and extrinsic motives such as course specific, teacher specific
and group specific motives. As a result, comparing with Gardner’s model, these
three levels of motivation cover almost all areas related to language learning.

Another perspective to view motivation to speak a language is to consider both

internal factors and external factors (Panyajirawut, 2009). The internal factor is
associated with people’s attitude towards English speaking. Kelly and Watson (1980,
cited in Panyajirawut, 2009) explained that self-acceptance is the essential factor as
people who understand their own English proficiency level will have a positive
viewpoint for what they can do and speak English more often than others. While
Sihera (2007) mentioned that another important characteristic is self-confidence as it
would bring other good perceptions such as optimism, enthusiasm, and pride,
leading to a positive perception of their own capability.
 15

The external factors represent occasions in an English speaking environment.

People should expose themselves to encounter situations that require English
speaking, such as conversation with English speaking tourists.
 16

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

This chapter provides four main ideas which are subjects, materials,
procedures used for data collection, and data analysis.

3.1 SUBJECTS
The subject of this study were the employees of the firm at all levels. This is
because all members in the team have opportunities to communicate with clients
who come from different countries. The sampling population was around 200
permanent employees working at both the assurance department and the advisory
department. The sample group was 46 employees for the questionnaire and 6
employees for the interview.

3.2 MATERIALS
For the triangulation purpose, the research instruments in the study were both
quantitative method through a questionnaire and qualitative method through
interviews.

Questionnaire
The questionnaire’s source was from an independent study on the topic: a
study of factors affecting the English proficiency of non-native English speaking
students at Asian Institute of Technology, by Wantana Sa-adpan in 2008, with an
adaptation of a survey studying the needs and problems of English usage at work of
the big 4’s auditors regarding English training courses by Karuna Naphon in 2008.
The three parts of the questionnaire are as follows;

Part I: Demographic data including general information of the participants

The respondents were required to answer questions such as gender, age,
education backgrounds, years of working experience, and current position in the
company.
 17

Part II: Attitude towards the importance of oral communication in English at

the workplace
The respondents answered questions about the frequency of English usage at
their workplace, provided problem ranking and their feelings towards English
speaking.
Part III: Causes of oral communication problems
1) The impact of English proficiency level on oral communication
The respondents were questioned to give his/her viewpoints about the effect
of their English proficiency, focusing on oral communication with English-speaking
clients.
2) The effect of communication anxiety on oral communication
The respondents were asked to decide whether anxiety has influenced
effective oral communication with foreigners.
3) The influence of intercultural communication on oral communication
The participants were asked to judge whether the understanding of
intercultural communication, including culture differences, has a significant impact
on oral communication.
4) The effect of motivation to oral communication
The participants were asked to give opinions on whether the oral
communication problems were caused by lack of motivation to speak English at the
workplace.

A four –point Likert scale was used to identify the opinion of the participants.
The ranking criteria were as follows;
Rate of opinion Interpretation of the scale

4 Strongly agree

3 Agree

2 Disagree

1 Strongly disagree
 18

Interviews

Six employees were interviewed one by one with the researcher. The interview
questions were determined from four main theories which were communication
anxiety, intercultural communication, motivation and oral communication.

The participants gave detailed reasons for each problem and identified the
problem ranking in their opinion. Most of questions were open questions.

3.3 PROCEDURES

The section describes the procedure for obtain the data for the analysis.

3.3.1 Research Design

This research study is a survey to identify the oral communication problems

with clients from different countries for employees working at the firm.

3.3.2 Data collection

The questionnaire was reviewed by the advisor by October 31, 2010 before
being piloted with ten employees to identify any misunderstanding of the questions
in the first week of November, 2010.

The questionnaire was given to participants via a link by e-mail during

November 15, 2010 to December 15, 2010. Also, face to face interview for 10
minutes with open questions were conducted during December 16, 2010 to
December 30, 2010.
 19

3.4 DATA ANALYSIS

Data collected was analyzed via the Statistic Package for Social Science
(SPSS). The data derived from part 1-2 was analyzed in terms of frequency and
percentages while the data in part 3 was analyzed by frequency, percentages, means
and S.D.

3.5 PROJECT TIMETABLE

November December January February

Monthly/Year 2010 2010 2011 2011
Week Activities 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1. Planning Phase
Pre-test questionnaire
Revise questions
2. Data collection
Phase
Data collection
Interview
3. Data analysis Phase
Data analysis method
selection
Data verification
Data Processing
Data analysis
4.Reporting Phase
Report writing
 20

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS

This chapter reports the results from the study and summarizes findings found
from 46 answered questionnaires and the results of the six employees interviewed.
Findings are divided into four topics which are as below;

4.1 Personal data

4.2 Attitude towards the usage of oral communication in English at workplace

4.3 Causes of the problems in oral communication with English-speaking

clients

4.4 Reasons for problems in English speaking skills

4.1 PERSONAL DATA

Table 1. Age Group of Employees

Age Frequency Percentage

25-27 16 35%
28-30 21 46%
31-33 6 13%
34-36 3 7%
Total 46 100%

The table above shows that the majority of respondents are people at the age
of 28-30 who have worked at the firm for more than 5-6 years. The following
majority of the group belongs to the age of 25-27 who are new joiners and have only
1-2 years experience of working.
 21

Table 2. Education Background

Education Background Frequency Percentage

International program 12 26%
Regular program 34 74%
Total 46 100%
Bachelor Degree 31 67%
Master Degree 15 33%
Total 46 100%

In terms of the education background of respondents, most of respondents

graduated from a regular program or a Thai program. Only a quarter of the
employees graduated from an international program. Also, 67 percent of them
graduated in the level of a Bachelor degree and 33 percent of them have graduated
in a Master degree level.

Table 3. Position of Respondents

Position Frequency Percentage

Associate 5 11%
Senior Associate 30 65%
Manager 9 20%
Senior Manager 1 2%
Director 1 2%
Total 46 100%

The position of respondents is in line with the information about the age. Most
of respondents are senior associates who have worked at the firm for more than 3-5
years, followed by Manager level at 20 percent and Associate at 11%.
 22

4.2 ATTITUDE TOWARDS ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS AT

WORKPLACE

Table 4. Percent of English Usage in Working Experiences

Percentage of English usage 20% 40% 50% 70% Total

Associate 4 1 - - 5
Senior Associate 18 2 6 4 30
Manager 2 2 4 1 9
Senior Manager 1 - - - 1
Director - - 1 - 1
Total 25 5 11 5 46
Percentage 57% 11% 25% 11% 100%

According to the results as above, most of the respondents believe that

speaking in English has been used at work only 20% compared to other types of
English usage.
 23

Table 5. Ranking of Problems in oral communication skills

Communication Apprehension (CA)

Inadequate level of English skills (IE)

Insufficient motive for English speaking at the workplace (IM)

Lack of knowledge about cultural differences (IK)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

No. % No. % No. % No. %
CA 12 26% 11 24% 8 17% 14 30%
IE 18 39% 10 22% 11 24% 9 20%
IM 5 11% 16 35% 11 24% 14 30%
IK 11 24% 9 20% 16 35% 9 20%
Total 46 100% 46 100% 46 100% 46 100%

According to the results of ranking as above, a majority of people understand

that “Inadequate level of English skills” is the most problematic, followed by
insufficient motive for English speaking at the workplace at 35%, ranked number 2,
and lack of knowledge about cultural differences ranked number 3. However, even
if “communication apprehension” is the most chosen one for the ranking number 4,
26% of all respondents selected communication apprehension as the most important
one.
 24

Table 6. Attitude toward English Speaking at workplace

Attitude toward English Speaking

Frequency Percentage
: I like speaking English with clients at my workplace
Strongly Agree 6 13%
Agree 24 52%
Disagree 14 30%
Strongly Disagree 2 4%
Total 46 100%

However, after summarizing the attitude toward English speaking at the

workplace, 65% of respondents like speaking English at the workplace. This result
shows positive attitudes towards English speaking.

4.3 CAUSES OF THE PROBLEMS IN ORAL COMMUNICATION WITH

ENGLISH-SPEAKING CLIENTS

In this part, the respondents identified the level of English speaking problems
in 4 areas. The data has been summarized in the form of means and standard
deviations in the tables below.
 25

Table 7. Oral communication skills

Mean SD
1) Lack of understanding in accurate pronunciation
1.913 1.033
usually brings about misunderstanding and
communication problems.
2) Incorrect word stress and final sounds result in 2.174 0.953
miscommunication with clients
3) Inaccurate intonations create confusion in oral 2.152 0.970
communications.
4) Inadequate understanding of grammar highly impedes 2.413 1.093
effective communication with clients.
5) Lack of knowledge about informal words used in real
2.000 0.978
business communication results in communication
problems.
6) Unknown word meanings in conversations often 1.978 0.929
contribute to problems while speaking with clients.

According to the results, with the mean at around 1.913 to 2.413, respondents
agreed that low level of oral communication skills are one of the main factors
contributing to communication problems. The table above shows that pronunciation
and word meanings are the most important elements identified as obstacles to oral
communication skills with the mean of 1.913 and 1.978, respectively. Informal word
usage and intonations were ranked as the 3rd and the 4th essential skills with the
mean of 2.000 – 2.174. However, respondents believed that grammar is the lowest
crucial factor in oral communication with the mean of 2.413.
 26

Table 8. Intercultural communication

Mean SD
7) Insufficient understanding of cultural differences
could lessen courage to speak with English speaking 2.370 1.045
clients.

8) Large gaps between positions at the workplace create

2.217 1.006
discomfort and block oral communication with clients.

9) Different communication styles from different

2.174 0.788
nationality obstruct effective communication results.

10) Lack of intention to learn cultural differences

2.370 0.981
discourages communication with clients.

11) Lack of ability to adapt to different culture limits

frequency of communication and information obtained 2.304 1.002
from clients.

12) Different attitudes towards rules and behaviours from

2.217 1.128
different cultures blocks smooth oral communication.

Table 8 shows that intercultural differences were considered one of the

obstacles in English speaking in the working environment in moderate level with the
mean of 2.174 – 2.370. Respondents agreed that different styles of communication
are the main reason for communication problems with the mean of 2.174, followed
by large gaps between positions at the workplace and different attitude towards rules
and behavior with the mean of 2.217. However, views on the understanding of
cultural differences was ranked in the lowest areas of the causes of the problems
with the mean at the range of 2.304 to 2.370.
 27

Table 9. Communication apprehension

Mean SD
13) Nervous feelings often contribute to communication
1.870 0.722
avoidance with English speaking clients.

14) Low level of self-esteem is one of the important

factors contributing to anxiety while speaking in 1.935 0.727
English.

15) Lack of proper practice for English speaking leads to

1.717 0.974
discomfort while speaking English.

16) My own personal trait to avoid communication with

2.543 1.308
others results in communication problems with clients.

17) Shyness is the cause of communication avoidance

2.500 1.405
with clients.

18) Formal English communication with clients creates

1.978 0.929
stress and communication anxiety.

As can be seen in table 9 about communication apprehension, respondents

agreed that a lack of English speaking practicing and nervous feelings were the
highest causes contributing to English speaking problems with the mean of 1.717 to
1.870. This was followed by low level of self-esteem and unfamiliar usage of formal
English speaking with the mean of 1.935 and 1.978, respectively. However, the
mean of 2.500-2.543 in personal traits and shyness indicated that some respondents
believed that fears in communication might not result from personal characteristics.
 28

Table 10. Motivation for English speaking development

Mean SD
19) Career advancement and promotions are effective
driving factors contributing to motivation in English 1.826 0.955
speaking skills development.

20) Time limits together with a lot of work

requirements lessen my motivation to develop English 2.152 0.940
speaking skills.

21) Inadequate employee’s English level testing

discourages employee’s motivation to develop English 2.304 0.971
speaking skills.

22) No specific requirement for English skills

development in each position causes delay in English 2.261 1.084
improvement.

23) Rare occasions in English speaking with clients

lower employee’s encouragement to develop English 1.826 0.760
speaking skills.

24) Availability to switch to writing and sending e-mail

instead of speaking with clients lessens the motive to 1.891 0.987
speak English.

With regards to Motivation in English speaking, respondents thought that rare

occasions in English speaking with clients was the most important factors leading to
low level of motivation to develop English speaking skills. While they supported
that the current promotions criteria to pass the specified English skills proficiency
tests is the appropriate method to motivate staff to develop English skills with the
mean of 1.826.
 29

One important problem is the type of communication with English speaking

clients. Respondents agreed that writing e-mail is much easier than speaking with
the mean of 1.891. Respondents believed that time limits, inadequate English skill
testing and no specific requirement for English skill development was ranked as
lower problematic causes with the mean of 2.152 -2.304.

4.4 REASONS FOR PROBLEMS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS

After the interview of six current employees from different positions in the
firm, the results of interview gave clearer reasons for each problem. For the
conclusions of the interviewing, most of interviewees agreed that communication
anxiety is the main problem that obstructs effective communication with clients,
which is in line with the findings from questionnaire. They reasoned that such fears
of communication came from the natural characteristic of Thais who are afraid of
speaking with English-speaking people. They claimed that they feel nervous when
they have to confront face to face communication with unfamiliar language in their
daily life. They are concerned with the usage of words in the conversations as it
could be improper words usage, leading to miscommunication. Also, other options
available such as writing an e-mail or discussing it with Thais who have the same
information as the English speaking clients enhances the ability to avoid English
speaking.

As the tasks of the auditors are to visit clients at their workplace to review and
obtain information and documents, most of auditors are familiar with speaking with
clients who are considered new acquaintances. As a result, trait communication
anxiety is not the main problem. Most interviewees believed that the more
opportunities the person has for English speaking, the more development she/he
could have on English speaking.

The findings of the study will be summarized and discussed in the next
chapter.
 30

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter reports a summary of the study, a summary of the findings,

discussion of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations for the further study.

5.1 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY

The section summarizes the main issues identified in each problem.

5.1.1 Objectives of the Study

The main purpose is to understand the causes of identified problems of

English speaking skills for people working at the firm. Such identified causes of the
problems are the key factors contributing to low levels of English speaking skills.
The main identified problems are low level of intercultural communication
awareness, communication apprehension, low level of English proficiency, and lack
of motivation to speak English.

5.1.2 Subjects, Materials, and Procedures

Subject: The subjects of this study were the employees of the firm at all
levels. This is because all members in the team have opportunities to communicate
with clients who come from different countries. The sample group was 46
employees for the questionnaire and 6 employees for an interview.
Materials: The research method combines both quantitative method through
questionnaire and qualitative method through interviews. The questionnaire
consisted of three parts which are personal data, attitude towards the usage of
English speaking at work, and main areas in each identified problem.
Procedures: This research study is a survey to identify the causes of oral
communication problems with clients. The questionnaire was reviewed by the
advisor by October 31, 2010 before being piloted with ten employees to identify any
 31

misunderstanding of the questions in the first week of November, 2010. The

questionnaire was given to participants via a link by e-mail during November 15,
2010 to December 15, 2010. Also, face to face interview for 10 minutes with open
questions were conducted during December 16, 2010 to December 30, 2010.

5.2 SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS

The results of the study can be summarized as follows:

5.2.1 General Information: Most of the respondents’ ages are in the range of
28-30, indicating working experience at around 4-5 years at senior associate level.
In addition, most of them graduated from a Thai program with a Bachelor degree.

5.2.2 Attitude towards English speaking at work: Most of the respondents

believed that they used English at work at around 20% compared with the Thai
language. Even if the percentage of English usage is quite limited, most of them
showed their positive attitudes towards English speaking as more than 60% of the
total number of respondents agreed that they like speaking English at work.

5.2.3 Causes of the problems in oral communication with English-speaking

clients: In terms of ranking for the four identified causes of the problems, the first
one and the second one are quite close, as a result the percentages have been
grouped to ensure the accuracy of interpretation of the findings. Most respondents
believed that inadequate level of English skills is the most essential barrier in
English speaking skills, followed by communication apprehension, insufficient
motive to develop English speaking at the workplace, and lack of knowledge about
cultural differences. Compared with the results from each cause of the problem in
the following section, the results are in the same trend. Most respondents agreed that
communication apprehension and inadequate English speaking skills are the most
essential factors contributing to English speaking problems.

Most people supported the statement that lack of practicing English speaking
is the main cause leading to communication apprehension. Also, this situation
 32

caused them to feel nervous leading to communication avoidance. This cause was
also supported by the inadequate English speaking skills especially in terms of
pronunciation and vocabulary.

5.3 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The section is concerned with essential research findings.

5.3.1 English Speaking Skills and the Effective Communication in Auditor’s

Life

According to the results shown in Table 4, Percentage of English usage in

working experiences, most respondents believe that they have to speak English in
their daily life at only 20% compared with other languages. From the interview, the
interviewees reasoned that this is because the employees are randomly selected for
tasks that require English speaking skills. Also, most of clients, more than 50%, are
Thais. However, they agreed that effective English speaking skills would increase
the speed of communication with clients, leading to early task completion.

5.3.2 The most essential problems and recommendations

The most important causes of the problems identified are communication

apprehension and inadequate English speaking skills.

However, from the interviews, the respondents recommended that job rotation
should be required in order to let employees have chances to interact with English
speaking clients. Also, the company should open channels for staff who want to
strengthen their English skills and give them an opportunity to practice their English
with English speaking clients. Organizing the course with an English speaking
teacher with the role-play games was also recommended in order to increase the
familiarity of English usage.
 33

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

For further research, the following recommendations are as below.

Since the majority of respondents are at the level of senior associates and
associates, it would be more convincing to get more viewpoints from higher level
employees such as senior managers, directors, and partners. As a result, the research
findings and recommendation would have boarder scope and more information.
 34

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 37

APPENDIX

Questionnaire in English

A survey of problems in oral communication skills when dealing with English speaking
clients: A case study of employees at one of the big 4 audit firms in Thailand

This questionnaire is a part of a survey for the Independent Study in order to

understand problems in oral communications with English speaking clients. It is divided into
two parts as follows:

Part I: Personal information

Part II: Attitudes towards the importance of oral communication in English at the workplace

Part III: Sources of the problems in oral communication

The data collected from the survey will be kept confidential and be used only for academic
purposes. Thank you for your cooperation.

Part I: Personal information

Please mark (/) in the brackets or fill in the information.

1. Age
( ) 25-27 ( ) 28-30 ( ) 31-33 ( ) 34-36

2. Education Background
2.1 ( ) Regular program ( ) International program
2.2 ( ) Bachelor Degree ( ) Master Degree ( ) Doctoral Degree

3. Position
( ) Senior Associate ( ) Manager
( ) Senior Manager ( ) Director

4. Area of services
( ) Consumer Industrial Products ( ) Services Energy and Mining
( ) Telecommunication and Entertainment ( ) Financial Services
 38

Part II: Attitude towards the usage of oral communication in English at the workplace

1. What is the percentage of English speaking occasions compared with all types of
communication in English?

( ) 20% ( ) 40%

( ) 50% ( ) 70% ( ) 90%

2. In your opinion, what is the most important barrier in oral communication with
English speaking clients? (Please rank from number 1 to number 4)

( ) Inadequate level of English skills such as vocabulary, grammar

( ) Lack of knowledge about intercultural communication and cultural differences

( ) Insufficient motive for English speaking at the workplace

( ) Fear to communicate with people who come from different cultures and speak
different languages

3. I like speaking English with clients at my workplace.

( ) Strongly disagree ( ) Agree

( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly agree

Part III: Causes of the problems in oral communication with English-speaking clients

Please mark (/) in the bracket that corresponds to your answer and is relevant to your
opinion.

1: Strongly disagree

2: Disagree

3: Agree

4: Strongly agree
 39

No. Topic 1 2 3 4

Oral communication skills

1. Lack of understanding in accurate pronunciation usually brings

about misunderstanding and communication problems.

2. Incorrect word stress and final sounds result in

miscommunication with clients.

3. Inaccurate intonations create confusions in oral communications.

4. Inadequate understanding of grammar highly impedes effective

communication with clients.

5. Lack of knowledge about informal words used in real business

communication results in communication problems.

6. Unknown word meanings in conversations often contribute to

problems while speaking with clients.

Intercultural communication

7. Insufficient understanding of cultural differences could lessen

courage to speak with English speaking clients.

8. Large gaps between positions at the workplace create discomfort

and block oral communication with clients.

9. Different communication styles from different nationalities

obstruct effective communication results.

10. Lack of intention to learn cultural differences discourages

communication with clients.
 40

No. Topic 1 2 3 4

11. Lack of ability to adapt to different cultures limits frequency of

communication and information obtained from clients.

12. Different attitudes towards rules and behaviors from different

cultures block smooth oral communication.

Communication apprehension

13. Nervous feelings often contribute to communication avoidance

with English speaking clients.

14. Low levels of self-esteem is one of the important factors

contributing to anxiety while speaking in English.

15. Lack of proper practice for English speaking leads to discomfort

while speaking English.

16. My own personal trait to avoid communication with others results

in communication problems with clients.

17. Shyness is the cause of communication avoidance with clients.

18. Formal English communication with clients creates stress and

communication anxiety.

Motivation for English speaking

19. Career advancement and promotions are effective driving factors

contributing to motivation in English speaking skills
development.

20. Time limits together with a lot of work requirements lessen my

motivation to develop English speaking skills.
 41

No. Topic 1 2 3 4

21. Inadequate employee English level testing discourages employee

motivation to develop English speaking skills.

22. No specific requirement for English skills development in each

position causes delay in English improvement.

23. Rare occasions for English speaking with clients lowers

employee’s encouragement to develop English speaking skills.

24. Availability to switch to writing and sending e-mails instead of

speaking with clients lessen the motive to speak English.

Thank you