A survey of written business English email problems among Thai employees in a steel company

The purpose of the study was to investigate the significant business English email writing problems among Thai employees in a steel company. The participants were 30 Thai employees who were working in three departments selected by the quota random sampling method. The data were collected through a questionnaire with the close-ended statements and an open-ended question. The data were analyzed and reported in frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, and degree of agreement. The results indicated that the Thai employees most significant problems were writing a well-organized business English email, confidence when writing an English email and writing a clear message. In regard to problems with grammatical structure, word choice, and vocabulary, the biggest problems were the inability to use correct grammar, followed by the problem of arranging words in a grammatically correct order and writing difficult or unusual words without a dictionary or Google translate. For the needs of Thai employees with respect to improving business English written email, the participants need to attend an English training course taught by a professional in a language institute, need the company to provide in-house or external business English writing training, and need to improve their business English writing skill to communicate effectively in the workplace.