English Reading Needs and Problems of Gradate Students of Business, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Burapha University

Abstract

This research examined types of English reading skills that graduate of business need. In addition, it tried to identify their English reading problems. The researcher used questionnaires to collect the data from 154 subjects who were graduate students in the Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Burapha University. The questionnaire consisted of three sections: The demographic data, the frequency of English reading, and the self-identification of English reading problems. The statistical analyses used to describe the data were frequency, mean, standard deviation, and one-way ANOVA. The research found that most of the graduate students of business were female, aged between 20 and 35, holding a bachelor’s degree in business, humanities/social sciences, and sciences/engineering, respectively. Almost all of them were employed, with about 10% in an executive position, 35% in supervising positions, and about 50% in operational positions. They graded themselves C fir their English language ability. Types of materials they read most often were e-mails, website contents, short notes, product details, academic texts, manuals, and reports, respectively. Students with executive positions read English documents more significantly often than students with supervising positions and operation positions. Student’s English reading problems rank from moderate to high level. They had a high level of problems in limited vocabulary. They had a moderate level of problems in inability to interpret idioms and expressions, slow reading, find main ideas and supporting details, understand the author’s viewpoints, and understand the English structure, etc. The hypothesis testing found that students who had been trained abroad still have the same level of English reading problem as those who had not. The research findings indicate that an English course for graduate students of business should contain materials such as, e-mails, website contents, short notes, etc. In addition, the course should aim to seriously develop students’ reading ability and reduce their reading problems because their levels of reading problem were obvious. Further research should be an experimental research studying the effectiveness of instruction used to improve students’ reading ability.