Difficulties in Learning Katakana and Learning Strategies of Thai Japanese Learners A Case Study of Thai Undergraduate Students Majoring in Japanese

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze ability to use katakana vocabulary and the factors affecting the difficulties in learning katakana and to survey the opinions of learners about katakana learning strategies. The participants of this study were 126 Thai undergraduate students majoring in Japanese. The research instruments included the 4-point rating scale, the open-ended questionnaire, and the katakana vocabulary test. The analysis results of the katakana vocabulary test indicated that the students had difficulties in understanding katakana vocabulary composed of Japanese words (Wasei-Eigo) and foreign words (Gairaigo), possibly due to familiarity with the use of English loanwords, which is different from the use of Gairaigo. Moreover, the meaning and use of some words have changed from the original language, making the students unable to apply their English knowledge to katakana learning. Regarding the opinions about katakana learning strategies, it was found that the students’ opinions and use of learning strategies were related to the difficulties in katakana learning mentioned above. The research results also suggested other learning difficulties, including unique spelling and pronunciation of katakana words.