cometadata/datacite-titles-descriptions-related-identifiers huggingface dataset:
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.746
title: Undergraduate students’ perceptions of the English for vocational skills course offered by an automotive technology programme at a technical college in Thailand

description: This research explores the perceptions of vocational students towards the course "English for Vocational Skills" in four aspects: course content, materials, activities, and assessment. A quantitative method was used to collect data from the participants; a questionnaire is employed as an instrument for data collection. This instrument has been developed and adapted from course evaluation question examples provided by Marymount University (2025), the UW-Madison Testing & Evaluation Service (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2025), and sample survey questions for course evaluation from University College London (2025). The participants of this research comprise 55 first-year undergraduate students in the Automotive Technology Continuing Program who enrolled in the course "English for Vocational Skills" during the second semester of the 2024 academic year at a technical college in Thailand. As most participants worked full-time at automotive dealers, the classes were offered in the evenings on weekdays and on Sundays. The results indicate that the majority of the participants have favorable perceptions of the course across all four aspects: course content, materials, activities, and assessment. These findings highlight the critical importance of customizing course content to align with students' specific needs and backgrounds such as activities that reflect professional scenarios, enhancing the relevance and practicality of learning. This authenticity enables students to directly apply their knowledge and skills.
DOI: 10.15468/dl.q2pqnk
title: Occurrence Download

description: A dataset containing 2 species occurrences available in GBIF matching the query:
{
 "and" : [
 "TaxonKey is one of (Bryconamericus novae)",
 "BasisOfRecord is one of (Specimen, Literature Occurrence, Human Observation, Observation)",
 "HasCoordinate is true",
 "HasGeospatialIssue is false",
 "Year is greater than or equal to 1991",
 "Year is less than or equal to 2025"
 ]
}

 The dataset includes 2 records from 1 constituent datasets; see https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/download/0052134-250827131500795/datasets/export for details.
 
Data from some individual datasets included in this download may be licensed under less restrictive terms.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.747
title: An analysis of the pragmatic content and global Englishes orientation in Thai ELT textbooks

description: As English serves a function of a global lingua franca, pragmatic awareness and sensitivity to linguistic diversity are essential for effective intercultural communication. This study investigated how commercial English Language Teaching (ELT) textbooks used in Thai upper-secondary education represent pragmatic competence and global Englishes (GE) perspectives. Drawing on Searle’s speech act framework, the study analyzed the types and distributions of direct and indirect speech acts found in selected textbooks. It also examines how four aspects of GE, including ownership of English, target interlocutors, models and norms, and cultural depictions—are integrated into textbook dialogues. Findings revealed limited representation of speech acts, with directive and expressive acts being most common, often presented in decontextualized or formulaic formats. The GE orientation was rarely found, as most dialogues conformed to native-speaker norms and primarily depicted cultures from inner-circle English-speaking countries. This lack of diverse pragmatic and cultural input suggests a disagreement with the communicative goals of the Thai Basic Education Core Curriculum. The study highlights the need for more inclusive materials that reflect the realities of English as used in global contexts. Implications are discussed for teachers, material developers, and policymakers aiming to foster pragmatic competence.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.748
title: A corpus-based study of English synonyms: fault, mistake, and error

description: This study investigated the semantic distinctions among the English synonyms fault, mistake, and error through a corpus-based analysis. As these words differ in nuance, the study aims to support English learners, particularly Thai learners to use these words appropriately based on context. To accomplish this goal, definitions were first examined using the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE), followed by an analysis of authentic usage in the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) across eight genres. The study focused on noun and adjective collocates for each term, identifying their frequency and mutual information (MI) scores to determine typical usage patterns and semantic preferences. The findings revealed that fault typically implies responsibility or blame and was often associated with technical issues, geology, and moral judgment. Mistake related to human error, poor judgment, or imperfection, frequently appearing in informal or personal contexts. In contrast, error was more formal and technical, commonly used in academic, scientific, or professional discourse. The analysis also indicates distinct collocational behavior: fault aligns with geological and behavioral terms, mistake with human actions and decisions, and error with mathematical or grammatical concepts. This study highlights the value of integrating corpus data in teaching synonym distinctions, promoting more precise and context-appropriate language use.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.749
title: Cultural representation in ELT textbooks: an analysis of reading passages in super minds 5-6

description: The integration of cultural content in English Language Teaching (ELT) materials plays a vital role in raising learners’ intercultural awareness. This study investigated how cultural representations are embedded in the reading passages of Super Minds 5 and Super Minds 6, primary-level English textbooks published by Cambridge University Press. A total of 36 reading texts from the “Reading for Pleasure” and “Skills” sections were examined using a content analysis approach. Using Moran's (2001) 4P framework, cultural elements were initially analyzed. All identified elements were further classified by cultural origin as source culture, target culture, or international culture, based on Cortazzi and Jin’s (1999) model. Findings revealed a strong emphasis on cultural products, while perspectives and persons are significantly underrepresented. The texts predominantly reflect target cultures, particularly British and American contexts, with limited references to learners’ own cultural backgrounds or broader international perspectives. Overall, the results suggest that while cultural content is present, it remains largely Western-centric, potentially restricting opportunities for learners to engage with diverse cultural essences. The study highlights the importance of broadening cultural representation in ELT materials, providing a foundation for further dialogue on the role of cultural context in language education and the development of more inclusive and globally aware teaching resources.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.750
title: Thai teachers' perceptions of the prescribed English textbooks in the secondary schools in Ratchaburi

description: This research study was intended to examine teachers' perceptions towards the English textbooks that were selected from a list prescribed by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) and used in public secondary schools within Ratchaburi province. It also aims to identify the factors influencing the decision-making process and to explore how teachers adapt or supplement the prescribed textbooks to meet students’ learning needs. The data was collected from a sample of 31 Thai secondary school English teachers utilizing questionnaires and open-ended questions. The data was calculated for descriptive statistics using MS Excel in order to see the frequency and the percentage of the responses. The open-ended answers were analyzed for themes. The results revealed that overall, most of the teachers have good opinions on the textbooks used in their school, especially for the design, content, and alignment with the curriculum. They also highlighted that they appreciated the supplementary materials for lesson planning and student learning. However, there are limitations such as a lack of real-life activities, communicative tasks, and challenging grammar content, which can be challenging for students’ understanding. Factors which influenced textbook selection include content relevance, ease of follow-up, and supplementary resources. Teachers also reported adapting the textbooks to meet students’ learning needs through additional exercises, multimedia, and interactive activities. While teachers considered textbooks effective classroom material, their usage varied. Overall, teachers found the prescribed textbooks useful. However, there are areas for improvements to better support effective teaching and learning.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.751
title: The impact of English proficiency on vocational students' motivation to work overseas

description: This study investigates the relationship between English proficiency and vocational students’ motivation to work overseas by exploring how students’ self-perceived proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing influences their motivation and identifying key factors that drive their intention to seek international employment. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods strategy was employed. A self-assessment English proficiency test and a motivation questionnaire based on Self-Determination Theory were used to obtain quantitative data from 30 students at a vocational college who were engaged in the Hotel & Hospitality and Marketing programs. The findings showed that students were more confident in their reading (M = 3.43) and listening (M = 3.17) skills but less confident in their speaking (M = 2.77) and writing (M = 2.93) skills. Even with these challenges, students were still very eager to work abroad, mostly because they wanted to earn money, advance in their careers, or support their families. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews further revealed that students viewed English as an important—though challenging—tool for both personal and career development. Despite facing language barriers, they demonstrated strong external motivation and confidence in their ability to improve. These findings highlight the importance of teaching English in ways that build students’ confidence and interpersonal skills through real-life, practical contexts.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.752
title: A corpus-based study of English synonyms: calm, peaceful, soothing

description: This study explores the semantic similarities and differences among the English adjectives calm, peaceful, and soothing through a corpus-based analysis. The research draws on data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) anddefinitions from two widely used online learner dictionaries: the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. The aim is to gain a clearer understanding of how these near-synonyms differ in meaning and usage despite sharing a core sense related to tranquility. The analysis begins with a comparison of dictionary definitions and usage notes to establish the basic semanticproperties of each adjective. It then examines their noun and adverb collocations, as found in COCA, to uncover patterns of use in authentic language. The results show that calm is frequently associated with emotional states and behavior, peaceful tends to describe external settings or the absence of conflict, and soothing is often linked to effects that provide comfort or relief. These findings illustrate how the three adjectivesfunction differently in context and highlight the importance of collocational behavior in distinguishing near-synonymous words. This research offers valuable insights into the nature of synonymy in English and provides practical implications for vocabularylearning, language teaching, and lexicography.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.753
title: A corpus-based study of the near-synonyms: loyal, faithful, and devoted

description: The application of synonyms in written or spoken contexts has always been challenging for all levels of L2 learners. Therefore, this study was conducted to 1) examine the similarities and differences among the three synonyms loyal, faithful, and devoted in terms of meanings, 2) explore how loyal, faithful, and devoted are distributed in different genres in relation to their frequency of occurrence and degree of formality, and 3) study the similarities and differences among loyal, faithful, and devoted in terms of noun and adverb collocations. The primary sources of data are the two online dictionaries; the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and Cambridge Dictionary and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). The results from the two online dictionaries showed that the three target synonyms share the same core meanings, but each synonym carries unique connotations. The results from the frequency of distribution across genres suggested that devoted occurs most frequently in formal contexts i.e. academic texts. In terms of the common noun and adverb collocates, the top-thirty noun and adverb collocates were categorized into themes based on their semantic preference. The analysis revealed clear thematic differences among the three synonyms. As a result, loyal, faithful, and devoted cannot be used interchangeably in all contexts due to the distinctions of connotations, formality degree, and semantic preference of the noun and adverb collocates.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.754
title: Motivation and strategic language learning: a study of Thai EFL students

description: In English language learning, Thai students often struggle with grammar, vocabulary, and language skills. One vital factor that can contribute to their success is motivation, which is widely recognized as a key element in language learning. To better understand learners, examining their levels and types of motivation, as well as the correlation between motivation and learning strategies, can help enhance instructional practices and contribute to improved academic outcomes. The participants were Grade 11 students from a public school in Thailand, and data were gathered through an online survey utilizing Google Forms, employing a structured questionnaire adapted from the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) as part of a quantitative approach to fulfill objectives of the study. The findings revealed strong links between motivational factors and preferred learning strategies, providing deeper insights into how these elements contribute to academic performance and practical benefits in learning English. This study provides guidance for English teachers in boosting student motivation using of effective learning strategies to enhance academic achievement. Furthermore, the research highlights that motivation and learning are key to success in English acquisition.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.755
title: English coursebook evaluation: the analysis of vocational English coursebook based on teachers' perspectives

description: This research study aims to evaluate an English coursebook designed for vocational students in terms of its effectiveness based on teachers’ perspectives. The findings could be beneficial for teachers when they choose a coursebook in the future. Five Vocational English teachers who have had experience using the target coursebook responded to the questionnaire and two of them also gave an interview. It was found that the participating teachers had positive opinions towards the target vocational English coursebook. They reported that the coursebook was effective and beneficial for both teachers and students. In addition, the most positive aspect of this coursebook was its layout and physical make-up. The size was convenient for students to handle and the price was also affordable for most students. As for the subjects and contents, the book provided various exercises and activities which are related to real-life situations. All teachers agreed that this coursebook adequately provided extra online materials where students could practice more by themselves. However, the teachers suggested that some of the contents in this coursebook did not provide scaffolding. As a result, they emphasized that they needed to work more in order to prepare the lesson. For example, they had to find extra handouts or exercises to supplement the content that was missing. This study could be beneficial for teachers. They can be sure that the coursebook they select will be effective and they could adopt these research tools for further coursebook selection. As for the publisher and author, the results reveal teachers’ expectation of an effective coursebook.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.756
title: A corpus-based study of English synonyms: resident, inhabitant, and population

description: This corpus-based study investigates the distinctions between the near-synonymous nouns resident, inhabitant, and population in terms of frequency,formality, semantic preference, and collocations. Based on evidence from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), this study examines the distribution of three near-synonymous nouns across genres, their lexical patterns through collocationalpartners, and the semantic fields in which they typically occur. The findings reveal that population is the most frequent term, particularly dominant in institutional andacademic genres, where it functions as an abstract, collective, and statistical noun. Resident occurs with moderate frequency and is widely used in semi-formal to formal contexts, especially in legal, civic, and medical discourse. Inhabitant is the leastfrequent of the three and appears primarily in formal, literary, or descriptive contexts—often relating to ethnicity, origin, or fictional settings. Collocational analysis shows that each word tends to pair with distinct sets of adjective and noun collocates, drawn from different semantic fields such as legality, continuity, geography, or vulnerability. Thesepatterns suggest that while the three terms share a core denotative meaning, their usage is highly context-dependent and influenced by genre and register.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.757
title: A corpus-based study of English synonyms: tool, instrument, and device

description: Even though synonyms share core meanings, they differ in connotations and collocational patterns. Different synonymous words are often used in varying contexts, making their usage challenging for learners of English. This corpus-based study aims to investigate the degree of formality and distribution across eight different genres of the target nouns tool, instrument, and device, and to examine their adjective and verb collocates, which are classified into themes based on semantic preference. Data retrieved from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) were used to analyze the three selected synonymous nouns. The results of frequency and distribution across genres demonstrate that tool and instrument occur most frequently in academic texts, while device appears most commonly on webpages, particularly in instructional sections. It can therefore be concluded that tool and instrument are more formal than device. Regarding their collocates, the top thirty verb and adjective collocates with a significant Mutual Information (MI) score of ≥ 3 were ranked and categorized into semantically related themes. The findings indicate that the three target nouns are near- synonyms, as they share only a few identical adjective and verb collocates. Although these collocates can be grouped into similar semantic themes, the specific collocations provided by COCA differ. This variation in collocational patterns reveals that these synonyms are not always interchangeable in all contexts, highlighting the importance for learners to carefully consider the appropriate usage of each near-synonym.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.758
title: A corpus-based analysis of English synonyms cheap, inexpensive and affordable

description: This corpus-based study investigates the similarities and differences among the three synonymous adjectives cheap, inexpensive, and affordable, with a focus on two primary linguistic terms, which are degree of formality and noun collocations in association with semantic preference. Definitions and sample usages were extracted from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary (OAAD) and the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE), while real-world language data were collected from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), which provides genre based distribution across eight different genres. The findings present major differences both in terms of frequency of usage and use context. Cheap, for example, occurs in informal genres, such as blogs, web content, and spoken language, often with negative implications of low quality or unrespectability. On the other hand, inexpensive and affordable are more frequent in formal genres, such as academic writing and news articles, with inexpensive typically appearing in neutral or positively evaluated contexts and affordable conveying in the domain of financial affordability, especially in housing, medicine, and education. Semantic and collocational analyses further reveal that these adjectives belong to distinct thematic domains. Therefore, although all three adjectives broadly convey the idea of low cost, their nuanced connotations, collocational patterns, and levels of formality indicate that they are not fully interchangeable. Careful selection based on context and communicative intent is essential.
DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2024.759
title: A corpus-based study of English synonyms: hard, tough, and difficult

description: This corpus-based study investigates the similarities and differences among the English adjectives “hard”, “tough”, and “difficult” by analyzing their noun collocations and semantic preferences. Using data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), and online dictionaries, the study identified the top 30 noun collocates for each adjective, which were then analyzed and categorized into semantic fields. The findings revealed that while all three adjectives commonly collocate with nouns “time/s”, “decisions”, “choices”, “questions”, and “situations”, each adjective also exhibits different collocational patterns that reflect its unique usage. “Hard” shows the highest frequency of noun collocates, whereas “tough” and “difficult” have lower frequencies but form strong associations with specific nouns. For semantic preference, “hard” is mainly associated with physical and technical terms, "tough" strongly connects with descriptions of people and struggle, and "difficult" is preferred in cognitive and formal domains. Nonetheless, all three adjectives share certain semantic categories related to Abstract Concepts and Time. These collocational patterns and semantic preferences offer valuable insights that can enhance synonym selection and usage accuracy.