Journal of Studies in the English Language

Editorial Team

Editorial JSEL — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

About the Journal

Editorial JSEL — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Note from the Editor-in-Chief

Neil Bowen — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Promoting Growth Language Mindsets and Willingness to Communicate: A Six-Step Instructional Model in a Thai EFL Course

Phakhawadee Chaisiri, Chayachon Chuanon — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This mixed-methods study investigated the effectiveness of a Growth Language Mindset (GLM) Instructional Model in enhancing learners’ GLM and willingness to communicate (WTC) in English. Participants were 42 students enrolled in an English for Communication course at a Thai university. The six-step GLM Instructional Model—(1) Mindset Check, (2) Activating a Growth Mindset, (3) Language Practice, (4) Feedforward, (5) Setting a Challenging Goal, and (6) Reflection—was implemented over four cycles during one semester. Data were collected via pre- and post-assessments and focus group interviews. Quantitative results showed a statistically significant increase in learners’ GLM, whereas the increase in WTC was not statistically significant. However, qualitative findings suggested that developing an understanding of a growth mindset may have supported learners’ engagement in learning, which appeared to positively influence their WTC both inside and outside the classroom. Participants reported that Steps 1 and 2 were useful for evaluating their mindset and clarifying their misconceptions about language learning. They also found Steps 3 and 4 meaningful in boosting learning engagement, whereas Steps 5 and 6 were valuable for enhancing their intrinsic motivation to continue their self-improvement journey beyond class. This study demonstrates practical pedagogical steps for promoting GLM and provides preliminary evidence of improvements in learning engagement, intrinsic motivation, and communicative confidence in using English. It also highlights the crucial role of teachers in cultivating growth-oriented beliefs and underscores the value of a positive language learning environment that supports sustained learner engagement and may contribute to more successful language learning outcomes.

Chinese Students’ Intercultural Academic Adaptation at a Thai University

Xinrui Wang, Sirirat Na Ranong — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

While previous research has mainly focused on the intercultural experiences of Chinese students in English-speaking countries, this mixed-methods study examines their academic adaptation at a Thai university. Employing the framework of material, social, and subjective culture, the study surveyed 290 students. The results indicated a high level of adaptation to material and social cultures. Students adapted well to aspects such as the campus environment, digital learning tools, and teacher–student relationships. However, their subjective adaptation was moderate. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve students to gain deeper insights. The thematic analysis revealed that students were confident in using digital tools and AI technologies. They continually managed interactions with teachers and peers and gradually changed their beliefs about learning. At the same time, they encountered minor challenges, such as discomfort with classroom facilities. The results offer a multidimensional understanding of academic adaptation and highlight the interconnectedness of the three cultural dimensions. Material and social cultures shape students’ academic practices, which in turn influence their developing subjective culture. This study extends theoretical frameworks of academic adaptation to a non-Western context and provides implications for teachers and administrators to develop targeted support mechanisms, such as collaborative learning programs and training in AI-supported learning, to improve students’ academic integration.

Translanguaging in Practice: Insights from a Thai University EFL Classroom

Warangrut Duangsaeng, Saneh Thongrin — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Translanguaging has been increasingly recognized as a useful pedagogical approach for supporting multilingual learners in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms. In Thailand, however, research has largely focused on perceptions rather than classroom practices. This study explores how a Thai EFL university teacher and his students implement translanguaging during instruction. Using a qualitative case study with supplementary quantitative data, we collected information from 16 classroom observations, online surveys with 77 students, interviews with the teacher and 12 students, the teacher’s reflective journal, and relevant documents. Qualitative data were examined using thematic analysis, and the survey data were analyzed using the SPSS software package. The findings reveal that translanguaging predominantly took weak forms, such as translation and spontaneous language shifts across classroom tasks. The teacher strategically used his native language to explain complex content, give directions, and support student learning. Meanwhile, students used translanguaging for classroom tasks, casual communication with peers, clarification, and note-taking. Overall, translanguaging was perceived as improving understanding, reducing anxiety, and encouraging participation. The findings suggest that teacher preparation, curriculum discussions, and broader institutional conversations should consider how flexible language use can support student learning and promote more inclusive language education.

Through Their Lenses: A Photovoice Exploration of Online and Home-Based ESL Teachers’ Pitfalls in the Philippines

Ariel Ramos — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Home-based and online English as a second language (ESL) work offers teachers welcome flexibility, but it also brings challenges that can wear them down over time. This study examines how those pressures shape teachers’ professional well-being and day-to-day work through a critical realist lens. Using a photovoice design, 10 home-based ESL teachers from Southern Cebu acted as co-investigators. They documented their experiences through photographs and group discussions guided by the SHOWED framework that represented the questions like what is seen, what is really happening, how it relates to our lives, why it exists, how it educates others, and what can be done. In addition, the visual and verbal data were analyzed to trace patterns shaping their working lives. Five recurring themes emerged: the digital divide, routine risks, income instability, disciplinary distraction, and physiological problems. Together, these themes show how uneven access to technology, long and fragmented workdays, unstable income, student distraction in home settings, and the physical strain of screen-based work intersect in teachers’ lives and affect how they teach. The findings point to the need to support educator resilience and strengthen institutional systems rather than leaving teachers to cope alone. In practical terms, the study invites ESL providers to rethink policies, technological support, workload expectations, and health provisions so they better reflect the everyday realities of home-based online teaching in the Philippine context.

English-Medium Instruction Motivation and Anxiety in Business Administration: A Mixed-Methods Study at a Vietnamese University

Nguyen Huu Hoang — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This mixed-methods study examined how English Medium Instruction (EMI) motivation and anxiety developed over one semester among Vietnamese business administration students. It also explored factors that may influence these psychological constructs. Using an explanatory sequential design, quantitative data were collected from 320 students at three points through questionnaires. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with 20 participants to elaborate on the survey findings. Analyses identified three motivational trajectories: declining immediate experiential motivation, stable future-oriented components, and growing international orientation. Anxiety patterns showed temporal complexity. Communication apprehension and fear of negative evaluation followed inverted U-shaped patterns, whereas test anxiety remained persistently high, especially for qualitative assignments. Hierarchical regression analysis suggested that linguistic competence, pedagogical approaches, and professional identity development were key predictors of both motivation and anxiety. These models explained 48% of the variance in motivation and 52% of the variance in anxiety. Professional aspirations functioned both as motivational resources and as sources of anxiety, creating complex psychological dynamics. Overall, the findings indicate that business education contexts may generate distinct EMI experiences compared with more general academic settings. They also suggest that EMI programs in professional education may require specialized support that addresses the intersection of language learning, content mastery, and career preparation. Uniform strategies across all disciplines may therefore be insufficient.

Exploring Literal Translation as a Source-Text Oriented Translation Strategy from the View of the Thai Target Language

Wiriya Inphen — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

Literal translation is considered a translation strategy that falls within the scope of source-text oriented translation. Most translation scholars interpret the strategy to mean ways in which translators adhere closely to source-text structures and meanings. Although most researchers in the Thai context classify the literal translation strategy as source-text oriented translation, their definitions remain quite loose; for example, they generally do not explicitly state the extent to which source-text meanings and linguistic structures can be adhered to in translations. The present study attempts to address this gap by investigating how ten scholars have used the term “literal translation strategy” in translations from English into Thai, paying attention to translations at the lexical level. The material includes previous studies in which translation strategies for translations of words and phrases from English into Thai are classified and defined. The concept of translation equivalence is used as a theoretical point of reference. The study employs a structured qualitative synthesis to identify three domains, namely (1) classifications of literal translation strategies, (2) definitions, and (3) applications in Thai translations. It is discovered that translation strategies that fall within the scope of literal translation reflect two main characteristics: adherence to source-text denotative meanings and adherence to source-text linguistic structures. The results show that literal translation strategies referring to denotative meanings of words and phrases can be sub-classified and later defined by taking characteristics of source-text words and phrases into account.

Incorporating Visualisation in Qualitative Retrospective Interviews to Elucidate Temporality: A Methodological Illustration of L2 Motivational Dynamics

Junlong Li, Heath Rose, Nana Jin — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0700

This paper illustrates the development of a visual-based qualitative retrospective approach to data collection that enables learners to reflect on and uncover developmental trajectories in language acquisition. Often, interviews are used in applied linguistics research to encourage participants to reflect retrospectively on their learning; however, they may be ineffective at capturing temporality because of recall bias. To address this limitation, art-based methods are claimed to enhance participants’ retrospection. We illustrate their use in a study designed to depict learners’ mental self-visions across motivational trajectories. With the dynamic turn in applied linguistics research, Dörnyei’s (2009) Second Language (L2) Motivational Self System opens up new possibilities for examining learners’ motivation as a temporally focused trajectory. To capture the temporal sensitivity of motivational dynamics, we designed visual imagery drawing tasks and integrated visual motivation graphs into narrative interviews to trace self-guide development and to collect L2 learning experiences retrospectively. This methodological design contributes to our understanding of how participants interpret the past and navigate their futures, while providing a methodological blueprint that researchers can use to adopt similar methods in retrospective interviewing. Although self-report data collection methods such as interviews offer participants sufficient freedom to express their experiences, incorporating referential visual aids alongside verbal accounts may enhance the overall trustworthiness of retrospective accounts of learning over time.