Needs analysis for English skills of train conductors and guards working at the State Railway of Thailand (SRT)

This research study was conducted to explore English skills needed by the train conductors and guards from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) during their daily work and to investigate problems they had encountered when using English to communicate with foreign passengers while working on the trains. There were 268 participants in this study, which consisted of 176 train conductors and 92 guards who worked under the Traffic Operation Department at the State Railway of Thailand. Three instruments were applied to collect data from the participants; observations, questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The data from the questionnaire was analysed by using statistical techniques, including frequency and percentage, mean and standard deviation. The content analysis technique was used to interpret data from the observations and the semi-structured interviews. The results from the observations indicated that listening and speaking were the predominant skills frequently used by the SRT train conductors and guards. The findings from the questionnaire revealed that the English language was perceived by nearly all of the respondents as important in their current job. The findings from the questionnaire and interviews pointed out that listening, speaking and vocabulary related to tourism and providing services on the train were the greatest needs for the SRT train conductors and guards’ jobs. Listening, speaking, vocabulary related to tourism and providing services on the train, and proper pronunciation were reported as the skills which the SRT train conductors and guards deemed most problematic. Based on this study, English training courses and appropriate teaching and learning materials are highly recommended for the SRT train conductors and guards. The findings from the interviews also suggested that such English training courses should focus predominantly on listening, speaking and job-related vocabulary.