ERIC Number: EJ1401609
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2630-0672
EISSN: EISSN-2672-9431
How to Express Gratitude in the Acknowledgement Section: the Case of Thai EFL Graduate Students
Nasalingkhan, Mewika; Siriganjanavong, Vanlee
LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, v16 n2 p703-717 Jul-Dec 2023
Completing a postgraduate dissertation requires various types of support, whether it be academic, moral, or financial. One way to express gratitude towards those who contribute is through the acknowledgement section. However, the guidelines provided by universities appear to be inadequate to support students, which poses challenges for those who are non-native English speakers. The present study, therefore, aims to examine the generic structure of the move patterns and the frequency of moves in the acknowledgement sections written by Thai EFL graduate students in applied linguistics. A corpus of 60 acknowledgements from the e-databases of two public universities was compiled. Hyland's (2004) framework of dissertation acknowledgements, consisting of three moves with their sub-units, was adopted as the analytical framework. The findings revealed that the thanking move appeared in every acknowledgement and was thus regarded as an obligatory move. However, both the reflecting and announcing moves were considered optional moves. Interestingly, one new move was found, suggesting a specific characteristic of Thai EFL graduate students in composing this section. The findings have pedagogical implications for both English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers and students in terms of raising their awareness of the diverse acknowledgement patterns that they can utilise.
Descriptors: English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Guidelines, Applied Linguistics, Pragmatics, Foreign Countries, English for Academic Purposes, Language Patterns, Metalinguistics, Masters Theses, Graduate Students
Language Institute of Thammasat University. The Prachan Campus, 2 Prachan Road, Bangkok 10200 Thailand. e-mail: learnjournal@gmail.com; Web site: https://www.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/learn
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Thailand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A