Investigating the Impact of American Movies on Undergraduate Students’ Vocabulary Development at RMUTL Tak

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to investigate the methods of vocabulary acquisition and the ability to identify parts of speech among second- and third-year students in the English for International Communication (EIC) program at Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, Tak. The participants consisted of 30 undergraduate students enrolled in the first semester of the 2024 academic year. A questionnaire was employed as the research instrument, and the data were analyzed using percentages, means, and standard deviations with Microsoft Excel. The findings revealed that most EIC students acquired English vocabulary through American movies, particularly by inferring meaning from context, subtitles, and visual cues, with the highest mean score (M = 3.53). Regarding the analysis of parts of speech, the students’ ability was generally at a medium level. Among the categories, interjections were the most successfully identified, with the highest mean score (M = 3.40). These results highlight the potential of American movies as an effective supplementary tool for vocabulary acquisition and grammatical awareness. They suggest that integrating authentic multimedia materials into English language instruction can enhance learners’ ability to acquire vocabulary and analyze linguistic features in a more engaging and meaningful way. The findings can serve as a guide for students who want to learn how to acquire vocabulary through movies, as well as for teachers who aim to improve their instructional methods in related courses. Additionally, the study provides insights for future researchers interested in this area. Future research could address existing gaps by increasing the sample size for more reliable results, selecting movies in different formats, and incorporating a wider variety of methods for vocabulary acquisition.