Word Spacing, Audio Support, and Cultural Content in Digital Thai Reading Instruction: A Case Study of the Easy Thai Read Application, with a Thematic Analysis of Learner Discourse
Keywords:
Thai language acquisition, word spacing, scriptio continua, dual coding theory, cognitive load theory, netnography, Manee series, computer-assisted language learningAbstract
Thai orthography poses distinct challenges for beginning readers, most notably its absence of interword spacing and its layered tonal marking system. This paper reports a two-strand qualitative study examining how a mobile application, Easy Thai Read, which digitises the widely used Manee primer series, supports beginning level reading acquisition through three design features: interword spacing, synchronised audio narration, and culturally embedded content. The study is underpinned by an integrated conceptual framework combining Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1988), Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1986), and Sociocultural Theory (Vygotsky, 1978), which together explain why segmentation support, audio-text pairing, and culturally authentic content might be expected to aid acquisition. Data were drawn from two sources: a structured case study of a single anonymised false-beginner learner's engagement with the application, and a netnographic thematic analysis of publicly available, anonymised discussion threads from Thai-learning online communities. Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase thematic analysis procedure was applied across both datasets to identify convergent themes. Five themes emerged: segmentation as the primary barrier to fluency; the limits of visual literacy without auditory grounding; consonant class and tone-rule memorisation as a discrete sub-skill; cultural and motivational engagement with authentic content; and the role of structured retrieval practice in consolidation. The findings indicate that the application's design features map closely onto challenges independently reported across a wider learner population, lending the case study findings greater credibility than a single-participant design would otherwise support. The paper concludes with a revised conceptual model and design recommendations for computer-assisted language learning (CALL) tools targeting Thai and related unspaced scripts.
Keywords: Thai language acquisition, word spacing, scriptio continua, dual coding theory, cognitive load theory, Manee series, computer-assisted language learning
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