A STUDY OF ENGLISH NARRATIVE COMPOSITIONS OF THAI LEARNERS OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: MACROSTRUCTURAL AND MICROSTRUCTURAL LEVELS

Abstract

This study aimed (1) to explore the macrostructure and microstructure elements of English narrative compositions produced by Thai learners of English (Thai EFL learners) at different proficiency levels, and (2) to compare and contrast these elements. The sample included 45 Thai EFL learners (15 beginner, 15 intermediate, and 15 advanced) and three native English speakers. Participants wrote 250-word English narrative compositions on selected topics. Across the groups, 667 tokens were identified as macrostructure elements and 950 as microstructure elements. Using the Labov and Waletzky (1967) narrative framework, six macrostructure elements were identified: abstract, orientation, complicating action, evaluation, resolution, and coda. Evaluation was the most prominent element across all groups. While abstract and coda were least prominent among Thai EFL learners, native speakers produced resolution as the least prominent element. This contrasts with prior studies (e.g., Ramezanian & Allami, 2019; Zein et al., 2019), which suggested evaluation was often absent. The Thai EFL learners exhibited non-linear rhetorical patterns influenced by high-context circular writing, differing from the linear patterns typical of native speakers. At the microstructural level, based on Dulay et al.'s (1982) taxonomy, Thai EFL learners produced four error types: omission, addition, misformation, and misordering. Beginner learners most frequently omitted prepositions, while intermediate and advanced learners showed the highest misformation rates in regular and irregular past markers and past modal verbs. Misordering was the least prominent error across groups. No errors were identified in native speakers' compositions. These findings highlight cultural influences on Thai EFL learners’ narrative writing and suggest the need to revise English writing curricula and assessment rubrics, particularly for beginners.

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