Listening skills
The findings showed that having a face to face conversation with foreign
Customers especially Singaporean, Philippines, Indian, and Chinese were
tremendously difficult. In these cases, they were not native English speakers, so it is
possible that they were unfamiliar with English the accent. They were always
assimilating English pronunciation with their own native pronunciation. Various
studies indicated that different English accents were the major cause resulting in
listening problems. Chenaksara (2005), for example, conducted needs analysis for
English communication skills of Thai Airways International cabin crew. The results
showed that accents were the first cause of English listening communication
problems. Also, Tangniam (2006) studied the English language needs for Thai
Airways ground staff. The findings revealed that the ground staff faced difficulties in
listening to various accents.