Purpose This research aims to examine the multilingual experiences and the critical language awareness (CLA) of Thai and international university students who were enrolled in English programs at universities in Bangkok, Thailand. Design/methodology/approach In total, 45 student participants who were attending either public universities or private universities in Bangkok, Thailand, were involved in the present research. The participants had six nationalities, including Thai, Chinese, Burmese, Indonesian, Cambodian and Indian. They were separated into five groups for the group discussions as the data collection. A qualitative thematic analysis was used for the analysis. Findings The results revealed that both Thai and international student participants had sufficient multilingual ability to use different languages in different situational contexts. Although Thai participants had sufficient awareness to suggest that international participants should learn Thai language, this suggestion reflected the hegemonic position of the use of Thai language in the Thai context, hindering the use of English as a lingua franca in intercultural communication. However, some Thai participants had CLA to concern with the language issues experienced by non-Thai people who live in Thailand. In addition, the CLA of international participants indicated that they understood the monolingual Thai policy and its impact on the local Thai people. Originality/value This research revealed both Thai and international university students’ multilingual experiences and CLA. It contributes to the exposure of multilingualism and CLA in Thailand as a Southeast Asian country in the Global South.
Zhaoyi Pan (Mon,) studied this question.