Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine Thai pronunciation problems among ethnic minority students at Lampang Rajabhat University, and to develop and validate instructional guidelines to enhance their pronunciation ability. The sample consisted of 16 ethnic minority students enrolled in a Thai language program at the university, derived from simple random sampling. Research instruments included a Thai pronunciation problem analysis form, a scale measuring the appropriateness and feasibility of the guidelines, and a Thai pronunciation ability assessment. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a t-test. The findings revealed that the students experienced several pronunciation difficulties, including sound substitution and consonant reduction in initial positions, inability to articulate final consonants, confusion between monophthongs with similar phonetic properties, incomplete production of diphthongs, and inaccurate tonal realisation. The developed guidelines consisted of four key components: problem identification, the establishment of a supportive learning environment, the implementation of developmental instructional activities, and follow-up evaluation. The results indicated that the guidelines were rated highly in terms of both appropriateness and feasibility. Furthermore, students’ post-test scores in Thai pronunciation were significantly higher than their pre-test scores at the .05 level that demonstrating an improvement of 18.33%.

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