Students' lived experiences in English program in a Thai primary school: a phenomenological study

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of the primary school students who have had studied in the English program (EP) in one university demonstration school in Bangkok. A phenomenological approach was used to explore the students’ lived experiences (n = 10). Semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using Moustakas (1994)’s phenomenological analysis steps. The findings revealed the essence of the phenomenon, studying in English Program (EP). It consisted of nine themes under four dimensions as follows: Academic Dimension; 1) Teachers, 2) Instructional Practices, 3) Learning Materials, Social Dimension; 4) Social Group Mentality, 5) Social Relationships in EP classroom, Emotional Dimension; 6) Problems and Setbacks, 7) Solutions, 8) Expectation, and Personal Dimension; 9) Improvement. The participants shared the same perspectives of the phenomenon that; it was a privilege to study in this program and they were proud of being EP students; it was a good decision that they joined the program since primary 2 and they are committed and devoted to stay in the program until they graduate from secondary school; they were provided abundant of opportunities to practice English at school especially during science and math classes where the language of instruction was in English and everyday conversation is communicated through English which they believe it is their comfort zone, therefore their exposed time to the target language is more than what other regular Thai students received; they were academic-oriented and goal-driven individuals who were motivated to learn and passionate in language learning and; they formed a strong friendship bond that has imprinted in their memory because everyone stayed together the whole class throughout their primary school years. The overall experiences that these EP students recalled during primary school years prepared them in terms of academic and social aspects when they have to transit to the secondary school. For future recommendations, the researcher will explore a larger population of EP students in different settings, different level (secondary education) and different geographical locations that could provide diverse students’ experiences.