A Situated english vocabulary and conversation learning system (SEVCLS) for Thai rural residents

As English has become a crucial international language, many ministerial and educational organizations have agreed that there is a need to improve the competence of Thai people in using English for communicating within the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and with other global nations. While there is significant research devoted to developing software tools to support the teaching of English as a second language, they are mostly concerned with the formal learning in school. This project focuses on addressing the need to improve the learning of English as a second language to the beginner for Thai rural residents that have never learned English. The target groups of this study were students from primary 4 to primary 6 who were just beginning to learn English. This paper presents the development of an educational software tool which is referred to as situated learning. The tool supports learners in the acquisition and retention of new English vocabulary and conversation knowledge, which is called as situated English vocabulary and conversation learning system (SEVCLS). A sequence of experiments were undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of SEVCLS in improving vocabulary acquisition. Early results are capable with increased learner engagement and performance with the pretest and posttest improvement scores. The initial investigation showed positive user satisfaction. The study believes that individuals learning through their interests will decrease tension and increase attention. Overall, this approach for using SEVCLS in improving vocabulary cognition actually motivates the learner to learn that can be able to improve the learning skill of Thai rural residents.