NIDA Journal of Language and Communication

An Analysis of the Themes and Speech Acts in the Recent Inaugural Speeches by Leaders of the Countries with English as an Official Language

Salila Prasidya Hidayati, Sompatu Vungthong — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Inaugural speeches mark the beginning of a new leadership period and serve as powerful tools for leaders to convey their vision, goals, and aspirations to the public. Analyzing these speeches can reveal how leaders use language to communicate their political agendas, values, and visions. Focusing on recent inaugural speeches delivered by leaders of countries where English is an official language, this paper analyzed their predominant themes using the by Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework and Searle’s (1979) speech act theory. The data comprised 10 inaugural speeches from 10 countries, divided into five geographic groups: (1) North America, (2) Europe, (3) Africa, (4) Australia, and (5) Asia. To ensure inter-coder reliability, a second coder analyzed 20% of the data using Cohen’s Kappa statistics. The results revealed prominent themes found in the top five themes in each speech, as well as ideologies and values embedded in these speeches. Additionally, the analysis uncovered associations between specific types of speech acts and themes, such as the common association between future plans and commissive and assertive speech acts and the less common association between future plans and directives. The findings provide insights into the strategies employed in modern public speaking, shedding light on leaders’ use of themes, speech acts, and their underlying motivations.

Representation of Kathoey in Thai Song Discourse: A Comparative Analysis of Self-Representation and External Perceptions

Thanawut Sreejak — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This study examines the representation of kathoey identity in Thai song discourse,
comparing songs by kathoey and cisgender singers. Using a combination of corpus
linguistics and queer linguistics, this study concentrates on linguistic patterns and
thematic representations in two sub-corpora of Thai songs from 2004 to 2024. Key
findings reveal that while cisgender singers’ songs frequently rely on stereotypes and
external observations, kathoey-authored songs offer more nuanced portrayals of
community dynamics, identity struggles, and lived experiences. This study uncovers
novel themes such as intra-group discrimination, hierarchies within the kathoey
community, and ageism. Additionally, this study critiques the perpetuation of
cisgenderism in Thai song discourse, highlighting how language use can both challenge
and reinforce existing power structures. Moreover, the increased use of the term kathoey
in kathoey singers’ songs suggests an active linguistic reclamation process.

The Relationship between Parental Educational Involvement and Chinese Primary School Students’ English Proficiency

Yichun Hu, Sumalee Chinokul — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0700

At present, the influence of Chinese parental involvement on children’s English proficiency cannot be ignored; however, the relationship between Chinese parental involvement and their children’s English language proficiency remains underexplored. This topic is relevant and urgent, not merely for China but also in any context where children are learning English as a foreign language. This study explored two research questions: (1) What is the relationship between parental educational involvement—further divided into sub-categories of Home Literacy Environment (HLE) and school-based participation—and students’ English proficiency? (2) What kinds of parental educational involvement do Chinese parents engage in with their children, and how can these practices be improved? The data were collected from a questionnaire about the current state of parental educational involvement, distributed to 200 sixth-grade students and their parents, along with semi-structured interviews conducted with 12 students, their parents, and three English teachers from a primary school in Chenghua District, Chengdu City. The results showed a positive correlation between parental educational involvement and students’ English proficiency, with a correlation coefficient value of 0.489, p<0.05. Based on the interview data, five types of parental educational involvement were identified. These were categorized, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Investigating Persuasive Metadiscoursal Strategies in the Discussion Sections of Research Articles: A Contrastive Corpus Study

Pratabjai Tatsanajamsuk — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This study investigates the frequency and patterns of persuasive metadiscourse in the discussion sections of 107 research articles indexed by Scopus and the Thai-Journal Citation Index (TCI). Using an adapted version of Hyland’s (2005a) metadiscoursal markers, the study examined their roles in enhancing persuasiveness. The results show that Scopus journals use more persuasive metadiscoursal markers than TCI journals, especially in interactive markers (code glosses, transitions, frames, and endophoric markers) except evidentials. Scopus journals feature more hedges, self-mentions, attitude markers, and boosters in interactional markers, while TCI journals favor engagement markers. Persuasive patterns differ between the two corpora. Scopus journals prioritize concise references and empirical evidence, adhering to international standards and theoretical exploration. TCI journals, however, emphasize authors’ roles and explanatory content, reflecting regional standards. The study highlights disparities in audience expectations and academic traditions using ethos, pathos, and logos, revealing distinct academic conventions and standards and enriching the understanding of international research practices.

Leveraging L2 English Proficiency to Enhance Morphological Awareness and Reading Comprehension in L3 French: An Action Research Study with Thai Learners

Romain Benassaya — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This action research examines the potential of leveraging Thai learners’ proficiency in L2 English to enhance their morphological awareness and reading comprehension in L3 French. A total of 27 Thai learners with an intermediate level of English and a pre-intermediate level of French participated in the study. The research involved a pedagogical intervention aimed at increasing their awareness of morphological correspondences between French and English. It incorporated activities that highlighted crosslinguistic morphological patterns and utilized their English skills to facilitate the acquisition of French morphology. The intervention included a combination of guided observation techniques, such as input flood and textual enhancement, to emphasize morphological patterns common to both languages. A morphological awareness test comprising 48 items and a reading comprehension assessment consisting of 10 questions were administered before and after the intervention to measure its impact. The results revealed an improvement in both morphological awareness and reading comprehension in French and suggest that pedagogical interventions emphasizing morphological similarities between L2 English and L3 French have the potential to enhance morphological awareness and improve reading comprehension in L3 French.

Pride in Asia: Negotiating Ideologies, Localness, and Alternative Futures

Kosin Panyaatisin — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0700