A Study On Thai Students' Chinese Learning Strategies

In the "Chinese fever" background, Ministry of Education of Thailand have paid more attention to promote Chinese language teaching. Therefore, people who learning Chinese in Thailand has become more and more but in the current situation, Thai students’ Chinese learning efficiency is not very high. Many Thai students have learning Chinese for a long time but their Chinese skills level is still low. Their Chinese learning efficiency can be influenced by teachers’ teaching skills and on the other side can be influenced by the learners’ learning methods and learning strategies.In view of the above situation, this paper selects Thai students who studying in University in Thailand and China as research population. First we investigate and assemble their basic information including the use of Chinese learning strategies and Chinese characters learning strategies. On the basis of the research, this paper selects a case study on the part of the students in Thailand as a successful learner. In this paper we divided into three parts, the first part is the use of Thai students using Chinese learning strategies in Thailand and using Chinese learning strategies in Beijing, the second part is the use of Thai students using Chinese Characters learning strategies in Thailand and using Chinese Characters learning strategies in Beijing, the third part is the study of the Successful Chinese learners using Chinese learning strategies. In addition, this paper also analyzed gender, family background (whether oversea Chinese), Chinese level (HSK), learning Chinese time and also analyzed the relations between Chinese learning strategies’ effective conditions and Chinese learning strategies between relations and explores the factors that could be influence Thai students’ using Chinese learning strategies, the fourth part of this paper is based on the research results, put forward suggestions for teaching Chinese students in Thailand.On the basis of "Rebecca Oxford" (1990) strategy inventory for language learning (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning, referred to SILL) and combined with the specific situations of Thai students learning Chinese, develop Chinese learning strategy questionnaire. The main source of the research materials come from 6 universities in Thailand and China. The 6 universities are Khon Kaen University, Chiang Mai University, Udon Thani Rajabhat University, Minzu University of China, Capital Normal University and Peking University, altogether have 386 students were investigated.The research results are (1) Thai students use learning Chinese in Thailand is in generally level which means sometimes they use Chinese language learning strategies but not frequently using it. There are some differences in the use of Chinese learning strategies among students in different language environments in Thailand. The use of learning strategies more frequently in Thailand than in Beijing. When Thai students learn Chinese in Thailand, they using the highest frequency of Chinese learning strategies is Affective strategy, the lowest frequency is Cognitive strategy. When Thai students learn Chinese in Beijing, they using the highest frequency of Chinese learning strategies is Social strategy, the lowest frequency is Cognitive strategy. (2) Through the analysis of the influence factors of using Chinese learning strategies found gender, learning Chinese time, Chinese level and family background factors and Chinese learning strategies has a certain relationship, learning Chinese for less than 24 months students use Chinese learning strategies more frequently than learning Chinese more than for 24 months students; HSK 3-4 students use Chinese learning strategies more frequently than HSK 5-6 students; non oversea Chinese students use Chinese learning strategies more frequently than oversea Chinese students; female students use Chinese learning strategies more frequently than male students. (3) Thai students in learning Chinese characters, the highest frequency of using Chinese characters learning strategies is Stroke strategy, the lowest frequency of using is Application strategy. The highest frequency of use is "Figure strategy", the lowest frequency of using is strategy of "Strokes strategy". According to the overall results of the use of Chinese characters learning strategies shows that students in Thailand use Chinese characters learning strategies in a high level which means they often use Chinese characters learning strategies but the overall situation in Beijing is generally level which means they sometimes use Chinese characters learning strategies but not very frequent. (4) Through the analysis of the influence factors of using Chinese characters learning strategies founds learning Chinese for more than 24 months students use Chinese characters learning strategies more frequently than learning Chinese less than 24 months students; HSK 5-6 level students use Chinese character learning strategies more frequently than HSK 3-4 students; non oversea Chinese students used Chinese characters learning strategies more frequently than oversea Chinese students; male students use Chinese character learning strategies more than female students. (5) Thai successful Chinese learners in Thailand the highest frequency of using Chinese learning language is Affective strategy, the lowest frequency is Compensation strategies. In Beijing, the highest frequency of using is Social strategy. The lowest frequently is Memory strategy. The overall of using Chinese characters learning strategy shows that the students use Chinese character learning strategy in Thailand is in high level which means they often use Chinese characters learning strategies, while in Beijing the overall of using strategies are in generally level which means they sometimes use learning strategies but not very frequently. For the case of the analysis of successful Chinese learners use Chinese language learning strategies shows that the frequency of using Chinese learning strategies of these two interviewees are different, female and male interviewees use Chinese learning strategies in Thailand more frequently than using in Beijing. Female interviewee use highest frequency is Affective strategy both in Thailand and Beijing, male interviewee use highest frequency is Compensation strategy both in Thailand and Beijing.In these recent years, in both China and Thailand’s Chinese teaching world, we rarely found a specifically research about Thai student using Chinese learning strategies, it is even more rare about the research which based on the field of investigation. I as a student from Thailand is really looking forward to analyze this phenomenon from the perspective of the people of Thailand. In view of this, I hope that through this investigation, interviews and analysis, summed up Thai students using Chinese language learning strategies, found the similarities and differences and to provide a useful reference for the other learners who is interested in Chinese learning strategies.