Reading comprehension, and attitude and behaviour, of students taught ESL by cooperative learning in Prathom (Grade)6 classrooms in Thailand
type: CreativeWork
description: A system-wide educational change has been implemented in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Thailand. One major aspect of the change was the requirement for all students from grade I onwards to study English as a second language (ESL). The change requires new methods of teaching and learning, such as cooperative learning, to be introduced in Thai ESL classrooms. This study aims to determine if cooperative learning improves English reading comprehension, and attitude and behaviour to learning ESL, compared to a Thai communicative methodology. The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 involved creating a linear scale of English reading comprehension and, separately, a joint scale of attitude and behaviour. Phase 2 involved an experiment group taught by cooperative learning and a control group taught by a Thai communicative group method. Phase 3 involved the trainee teachers keeping journal records of their attitude and behaviour towards cooperative learning. Reading comprehension was measured in three aspects: understanding the main facts, sequencing the order of ideas, and understanding the meaning from pictures. Data from 300 Prathom (grade) 6 students were analysed with a Rasch computer program to create a linear scale with 28 items from an initial group of 60 items. The data were shown to be valid and reliable, and to support the model behind the reading comprehension questions. Attitude and behaviour towards the ESL classroom were measured on the same scale from two aspects: teaching and learning activities, and classroom interaction tasks. Data from 300 Prathom 6 students were analysed with a Rasch computer program to create a linear scale with 24 items from an initial group of 60 items. The data were shown to be valid and reliable, and to support the model behind the attitude and behaviour questionnaire. In phase 2 of the study, the experiment involved 96 students from three primary schools in Ratchaburi, Thailand. The students from each school…
abstract: A system-wide educational change has been implemented in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Thailand. One major aspect of the change was the requirement for all students from grade I onwards to study English as a second language (ESL). The change requires new methods of teaching and learning, such as cooperative learning, to be introduced in Thai ESL classrooms. This study aims to determine if cooperative learning improves English reading comprehension, and attitude and behaviour to learning ESL, compared to a Thai communicative methodology. The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 involved creating a linear scale of English reading comprehension and, separately, a joint scale of attitude and behaviour. Phase 2 involved an experiment group taught by cooperative learning and a control group taught by a Thai communicative group method. Phase 3 involved the trainee teachers keeping journal records of their attitude and behaviour towards cooperative learning. Reading comprehension was measured in three aspects: understanding the main facts, sequencing the order of ideas, and understanding the meaning from pictures. Data from 300 Prathom (grade) 6 students were analysed with a Rasch computer program to create a linear scale with 28 items from an initial group of 60 items. The data were shown to be valid and reliable, and to support the model behind the reading comprehension questions. Attitude and behaviour towards the ESL classroom were measured on the same scale from two aspects: teaching and learning activities, and classroom interaction tasks. Data from 300 Prathom 6 students were analysed with a Rasch computer program to create a linear scale with 24 items from an initial group of 60 items. The data were shown to be valid and reliable, and to support the model behind the attitude and behaviour questionnaire. In phase 2 of the study, the experiment involved 96 students from three primary schools in Ratchaburi, Thailand. The students from each school…
author: Chayarathee, Sutaporn
keywords: English language, Study and teaching, Thai speakers, Group work in education, Thailand, Reading comprehension, Primary, Thailand., Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education
date published: 2003-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-27T19:23:15Z
provider: Edith Cowan University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia