The knowledge of English tenses by Thai learners: the role of metalinguistic knowledge

A combination of English tenses is different from Thai language. To learn and comprehend both structure and meaning of English tenses for Thai EFL learners is very challenging. This study was conducted to investigate Thai EFL learners’ knowledge of English Tenses. Two major tests were applied in this study. First, Test of English Grammar for Teachers (T-EGT) was utilized to classify the participants, English-major undergrads in a public university, into six different proficiency groups, then they were arranged into four groups for data analysis. Second, Test of English Tense-Aspect System was delivered to the four groups. The findings revealed that overall, Thai EFL learners could better recognize and identify the basic usage of the structure and meaning of the first set of English tenses including present simple, present continuous, past simple, and present perfect continuous tenses. However, the lower proficiency groups (beginner and lower intermediate) could recognize past continuous preceding present perfect continuous tense. The findings are congruent to CEFR levels of English grammar profile that present simple, present continuous, and past simple tenses are in the CEFR level A1 and A2 for EFL learners while present perfect continuous firstly appears in the CEFR level B1. The study could be implemented for designing lesson plan and class activity for Thai EFL learners.