an investigation on using activity-based learning to

AN INVESTIGATION ON USING ACTIVITY-BASED

LEARNING TO ENHANCE ENGLISH SPEAKING

ABILITY OF PRIMARY 3 STUDENTS IN A PRIVATE

BANGKOK SCHOOL

BY

MISS CHAMAIBHORN SUTTANON

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

LANGUAGE INSTITUTE

THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2018

COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

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AN INVESTIGATION ON USING ACTIVITY-BASED

LEARNING TO ENHANCE ENGLISH SPEAKING

ABILITY OF PRIMARY 3 STUDENTS IN A PRIVATE

BANGKOK SCHOOL

BY

MISS CHAMAIBHORN SUTTANON

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

LANGUAGE INSTITUTE

THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2018

COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

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Thesis Title AN INVESTIGATION ON USING

ACTIVITY-BASED LEARNING TO

ENHANCE ENGLISH SPEAKING ABILITY

OF PRIMARY 3 STUDENTS IN A PRIVATE

BANGKOK SCHOOL

Author Miss Chamaibhorn Suttanon

Degree Master of Arts

Major Field/Faculty/University English Language Teaching

Language Institute

Thammasat University

Thesis Advisor Alisa Rattanapruks, Ph.D.

Academic Years 2018

ABSTRACT

Despite the fact that many Thai students begin learning English at a very early

age, they still face many problems in using the language. One way to address this

problem is to introduce communicative teaching methodologies which use activities to

motivate students to speak English during their lessons. The two main purposes of this

study are to examine the speaking development of primary students after learning

through activities-based learning and to investigate students’ attitudes towards each

activity. Thirty-five Primary 3 students from a private school in Bangkok participated

in the study. The participants performed three different speaking activities. A survey

was then carried out to determine the extent to which students had improved their

speaking abilities and investigate their attitudes of the activity-based learning. The

participants were taught once a week in an English class which lasted 50 minutes. The

study was conducted over eight – week periods, the process included both pretest and

posttest. The findings confirmed a significant difference between the students’ scores

of their speaking ability for the pretest and posttest which showed in quantitative and

qualitative data. Furthermore, the finding showed that the students had positive

attitudes through each activity and students were less hesitant in using English and more

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relaxed when learning with the activities. Their satisfaction toward the three activities

were at the high levels. In addition, the attitudes from the open-ended questions showed

that most of the participants had positive attitudes, whereas, a few participants revealed

that they were afraid to speak English in public and preferred to work individually

rather than in a group.

Keywords: Activity -based learning, Communicative competence, Communicate

language teaching, English Activity, Attitude.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my thesis advisor, Alisa

Rattanapruks, Ph.D. for her invaluable help and encouragement throughout the course

of this research and her patience and immense knowledge. Without her guidance and

feedback, this thesis would not have been achievable.

Beside my advisor, I would like to thank my thesis committee: Preechaya

Mongkolhutthi. Ph.D. and Ratikorn Sirisatit, Ph.D. for their comments which suggested

I broaden my research from different perspectives. I appreciate the three experts who

checked the content of my research instruments and gave the helpful feedback. In

addition, I sincerely offer my appreciation to Mr. David Allen Young for proofreading

to improve the language in this thesis. Another person that I would like to thank to is

Ms. Jiraporn Petchathong, from the LITU who was always provided me with her

assistance throughout my thesis.

This thesis would not have been possible without the cooperation and support

extended by the raters, Miss Banyen Triyotee and Mr. Sean M Ulvihill who were the

raters for my thesis and my beloved thirty-five Primary 3 students in a private school

in Bangkok that were involved in my master’s study.

At last, I would like to say a very big thanks to my mother, my grandparents

and my friends, Miss Watcharaporn, Pol. Sub. Lt. Nikhom - Ms. Pattana Chinnapeng

and Sub. Lt. Panungkool Seedawong who always spiritually supported me throughout

my writing of this thesis and my life in general.

Miss Chamaibhorn Suttanon

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT (3)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (5)

LIST OF TABLES (9)

LIST OF FIGURES (11)

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS (12)

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 State of the problems 2

1.3 Objectives of the study 7

1.4 Research questions 8

1.5 Definition of terms 8

1.6 Scope of the study 10

1.7 Significance of the study 10

1.8 Organization of this study 11

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 12

2.1 The Origin and Definition of CLT

2.1.1 Origin of CLT

2.2 Principles of CLT

2.2.1 Roles of teachers and students in CLT classroom

2.3 Using CLT in the EFL Classroom

2.3.1 The role of Instructional Materials

2.3.2 Origin of activity-based learning (ABL)

12

12

15

16

16

17

18

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2.3.3 Activities typically implemented in the CLT classroom

2.4 Speaking Ability

2.4.1 Concept of speaking ability

2.4.2 Ways to improve speaking ability

2.4.3 Evaluation and assessment of speaking ability

2.4.4 Rubric of speaking ability

2.5 Concept of Attitude

2.6 Related Studies

2.6.1 Thai Studies

2.6.2 Foreign Studies

21

25

25

25

26

27

27

30

30

32

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research design

3.2 The context of the study

3.3 Participants

3.4 Research Instruments

3.4.1 Lesson Plan

3.4.2 English Speaking Ability

3.4.3 Rubric of Speaking Test

3.4.4 Student’s attitude towards the activities

3.5 Data Collection

3.6 Data Analysis

40

40

40

41

41

42

43

43

44

45

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 47

4.1 The Development of Students’ Speaking Ability

4.1.1 Statistical Data

47

4.1.2 Descriptive Data 49

4.2 Student’s Attitude towards Activity- Based Learning 56

4.2.1 The percentage and mean scores of students from their

rating the attitude questionnaire

56

4.2.2 Open-Ended Questions 64

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CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND DISSCUSSION

66

5.1 Research question 1 66

5.2 Research question 2 69

5.3 Pedagogical Implication 70

5.4 Academic and Practical Recommendations 71

5.5 Research Limitations 71

5.6 Recommendations for Future Research 71

REFERENCES 73

APPENDICES 80

BIOGRAPHY 113

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LIST OF TABLES

Tables Page

4.1 Paired sample t-test of overall mean scores 48

4.2 Paired sample t-test of information gap 49

4.3 Paired sample t-test of jigsaw game 49

4.4 Paired sample t-test of communicative game 49

4.5 Examples of utterances produced by the participants in the

improvement group

4.6 Examples of utterances produced by the participants in the stable

group


deterioration group


improvement group


deterioration group


improvement group


stable group


deterioration group

4.13 The percentage and mean scores of students’ attitudes towards

information gap (n=35)


jigsaw game (n=35)


communicative game (n=35)

51

52

52

53

54

55

56

56

57

59

61

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4.16 The overall percentage and mean scores of students’ attitudes

towards three activities (n=35)

4.17 Participants’ attitudes towards the ABL

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66

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figures Page

3.1 Flowchart of the research study 46

4.1 The difference of students’ speaking ability outcomes between pretest 50

and posttest of three activities

4.2 The difference students’ attitudes towards three activities 64

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Symbols/Abbreviations Terms

ABL

EFL

CLT

MEP

IEP

Activity-Based Learning

English Foreign Language

Communicative Language Teaching

Mini English Program

Intensive English Program

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

In the context of modern technology and science, people are more connected,

so communication plays a crucial role in the period of globalization. Globalization

influences people around the world to interact and integrate in many areas, including

company, trade, science, technology, politics and education. The more communication

among people occurs, the more languages are used in the world. Thus, when people live

in society, they have the tool for interaction between people that is communication.

Effective communication influences society because communication is fundamentally

needed for people to understand each other; that is, communication is a tool to

consolidate people. In the area of international relations, communication is a major

factor in developing technology because communication can help people in countries

around the world exchange information and ideas quickly and easily. Moreover,

effective communication deepens people’s connections with one another and improves

their companies and problem-solving abilities. In the field of education, effective

communication refers to a learner’s ability to use language to communicate

successfully, which is called “communicative competence.” Canale and Swain (1980)

explain communicative competence as “a synthesis of knowledge of basic grammatical

principles, knowledge of how language is used in social settings to perform

communicative functions, and knowledge of how utterances and communicative

functions can be combined according to the principles of discourse” (p. 20) . Thus, if

people are good communicators—not only in their first language but also in their

second language—they will succeed in their job.

According to the above statement, English has become the world’s top

language. People who can communicate well in English have advantages over those

who cannot. Ho ( 2014) states that providing explanations, justification and giving

reasons through problem-solving strategies are essential competencies for students in

the 21st century. Not only are first languages needed to communicate in each country

but also English as a second language, as it is used in most countries in the world.

According to oxford-royale.co.uk (2014), English is the language of diplomacy and the

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official language of the European Union, the United Nations and the North Atlantic

Treaty Organization. Moreover, English plays a role as a second language of people in

many countries, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Holland. In total,

around 1.5 billion people speak English worldwide, and another billion are in the

process of learning it. Therefore, every country takes an interest in English as a second

language because most people think being able to speak it provides greater

opportunities.

Similarly, Thailand identifies the need for speaking English. Specifically,

Thailand joins in ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) , people from the Association

of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and with governments from each associated

country in taking more interest in English. As such, unemployment in the country may

increase if the population cannot speak English. Nowadays, English is influential in the

selection of people for jobs. Therefore, the ability to speak English is important to each

ASEAN country’s participation in the AEC (AEC, 2015). Since the AEC was

established, the number of foreigners visiting Thailand has increased, for purposes such

as tourism, business and education. The more foreigners visiting Thailand, the more

demand for Thai people who can communicate in English is needed. Therefore, the

ability of Thai people to communicate in English needs to be realized. They should be

supported from a young age because education is important for all people, and those

with a good education will have better opportunities in life. The Thai curriculum

includes English as a subject for Thai students to learn from kindergarten through to

tertiary studies. Although the government tries to support English by providing it as a

subject in every school, Thai students are not able to communicate in English as well

as expected because schools are focusing on the wrong points. This has been a

significant issue for a long time and requires the government’s attention.

1.2 Statement of the Problems

As a primary school English teacher for two years, I observed that most students

have a low proficiency in English, especially speaking, as shown in their scores for the

final semester English oral test. The researcher identifies a central problem in the

primary student classroom in that that most students cannot speak enough English

during class and have no other opportunities to speak English. Therefore, students lack

confidence or feel nervous when speaking English in the classroom. Without the

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opportunity to practice in the classroom, their confidence to speak in real life is lost.

From the researcher’s experience, it was found that there are four problems that can be

identified as influencing the speaking proficiency of Thai students: environmental

problems, teaching methods, psychological problems, and assessment.

One important factor influencing the process of learning English is the

classroom environment. From the researcher’s experience as a primary English teacher

and a Thai student, it was found that the environmental problems are class size and

teaching methodology. The classroom is where students spent most of their time. It is

a place where students can acquire knowledges and show their skills and abilities before

going out into society. Classroom size in Thailand is one of the main problems for

schools struggling to provide quality education. Learning activities are difficult to

implement in large class sizes and teachers have difficulty managing their classes.

Consequently, the Thai learning style is passive learning, where the teacher provides

information to students, which they memorize but do not practice. This is especially the

case in an English-speaking class. When students feel bored in a passive learning style

their outcomes are low and this leads to low proficiency in speaking English. Thus,

class size is an important problem that directs the learning process in negative way. As

Monks and Schmidt (2010) , report, student outcomes will be improved if there is a

reduction in class size and a number of students become responsible for teaching in a

semester. However, active learning can still occur in large classes and students will join

in if the teacher provides appropriate activities for them. When students enjoy learning

to speak English, they will be motivated to speak and their outcomes will improve

accordingly. As the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (2010) states:

The concept of "active learning" applies in every discipline, in every

class size. The types of activities you choose to use, however, might be

more applicable in some types of courses than others. Some are

individual in nature, some involve groups, and some might progress

from individual activity to group activity (p. 1).

Hence, as part of this study, students will be provided with various activities

and their reactions in class learning to speak English will be judged by using pretest

and posttest after finishing the experiment.

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Another aspect of classroom environment is the teaching methodology

employed. This means interesting teaching methods that can lead students to have a

positive attitude toward learning English. However, a main problem with teaching

students to speak English is that English teachers lack an ability to speak English

themselves and only focus on the content in the textbook. Moreover, learning English

in Thailand is directed toward remembering grammatical structures and new

vocabularies on paper, without students having the chance to speak both inside and

outside the classroom. For example, when teaching students about giving directions in

English, the teacher only explains how to do so and lets students do an exercise on

paper. By not giving students the chance to practice by speaking aloud, the productive

process is lost. If English teachers give students more chances to speak English in the

classroom, they will have enough confidence to speak English with others in real life.

In practice, the only opportunity Thai students get to speak English is when the teacher

calls on them to answer questions in class. Thus, Thai students’ proficiency in speaking

English suffers. As Utawanit (1999 as cited in Phisutthangkoon, 2012) points out, there

is a clear problem with Thai students speaking English proficiently as most students

cannot speak English despite having learned English for many years. Wiriyachitra

( 2013 as cited in Noom Ura, 2013) confirms that speaking proficiency is related to

opportunities to speak:

The problems involving students who wished to speak English fluently

included challenging interference from Thai language, lack of

opportunity to use English in their daily lives, unchallenging English

lessons, being passive learners, being too shy to speak English with

classmates, being poorly-motivated and lack of responsibility for their

own learning (p. 140).

Therefore, if students are motivated by using games or activities in classroom

to reduce the problem above, it may encourage Thai students to speak English more.

The more students become familiar with speaking English, the more their fear of

speaking will be reduced. The European Journal of Language Studies ( 2015)

investigates how activity-based learning (ABL) has a meaningful effect not only on

students, but on teachers as well. They found that students are centered on learning and

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the activities affected students and teachers in a positive manner, both in and outside

the classroom environment. Thus, activity learning changes the perception of learning

as a whole and makes the learning broader and more colorful. In summary, the

classroom environment — class size and teaching method — are factors that have an

impact on learning English, especially on speaking English. When students feel

unhappy or lack motivation in learning English, their English proficiency will be low

and this outcome influences both teachers’ and students’ feelings.

Psychological problems such as a lack of confidence, shyness, fear of mistakes

and anxiety also impact learning English. According to the learning style in the Thai

culture, students always study grammar or memorize the conversations taught in

speaking class, thus the problem of not having the chance to speak in class has been a

convention for some time. For this reason, Thai students’ lack confidence when

pronouncing English words or sentences. Moreover, shyness and anxiety also influence

Thai students speaking English. When someone makes a mistake, another will ridicule

them for it, so this makes students fearful of mistakes and shy to speak more English.

These problems are linked with research by Juhana (2012) , whose study contends that

compared with other countries, Thai students fear mistakes more than others because

of their culture. Thus, this problem impacts the speaking ability of Thai students by

equating mistakes with failure. Also, the speaking ability of Thai students can be

impeded by shyness and anxiety because they lack opportunities to speak English.

Phisutthangkoon (2012) presents the factors that influence Thai students’ low rates of

speaking English proficiency:

First, for Thai students, English speaking or oral communication in

English is deemed to be difficult since English is not their native

language. Second, most of Thai learners need their English to sound as

native like as possible which is a prestige norm of spoken English even

though English is widely used in the region of South East Asia, creating

a great diversity of English e.g., Malaysian English, Singaporean

English, etc. This scenario seems to limit their choice of their exposure

to English. Next, since English in Thailand is a foreign language, the

exposure of English to authentic language input of learners of English

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in Thailand is limited. Lastly another dimension which should be taken

into account lies into English pronunciation of Thai teachers of English.

These serious problems are exclusively important, leading to a large

volume of studies focusing on speaking ability of Thai learners (p. 756).

A study by the English language department of the State Islamic Institute of

Tulungagung (2014) found that Thai students prefer to listen to teachers’ lecturing and

take notes rather than practicing the language, and that teachers require their students

to memorize the lesson rather than understand it. This teaching approach has a negative

effect on students’ self-confidence. Students find it difficult to communicate in English,

to ask questions or even give opinions. Students are afraid of making mistakes, shy to

speak out in English and lack responsibility for their own learning.

Such psychological problems should be resolved by motivating students to have

more confidence and providing chances for students to ask questions, give opinions

and/or speak English in the classroom. Thus, activities are good tools to enhance

students’ ability to speak English. When students frequently practice speaking instead

of trying to memorize English, psychological problems no longer impact students’

performance in both the classroom and at home. Being happy inspires them to

communicate in English.

The last important factor impacting students’ speaking proficiency is

assessment. For Walvoord ( 2004) , “Assessment means basing decisions about

curriculum, pedagogy, staffing, advising, and student support upon the best possible

data about student learning and the factors that affect it.” Assessment is a necessary

skill development that shows a student’s achievement at the end of each course, so it is

important to make a test relevant to the lessons. However, English assessment in

Thailand, especially in speaking skills, is not related to the lessons as students do a

written test instead of an oral test with the teachers. This contributes to Thai students

having low proficiency in speaking skill because the assessment undertaken is invalid.

The school is the best place to implement what students have learned and to correct

them, so if teachers provide appropriate tests for students, their English-speaking skills

will improve. As Matin (2013, p. 238) mentions, most teachers would accept Hughes’

(1989) statement: “if you want to encourage oral ability, then test oral ability” (p.44) .

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When students know they will have an English presentation or oral test, they will

concentrate on it and be serious enough to develop their speaking skills. Thus, effective

assessment impacts students’ learning and students’ outcome. Kulasegaram and

Rangachari (2017) also state that “we contend that assessments for meaningful learning

should prepare students not just to get good grades and meet the requirements of a

specific course, but to give them the training, the skills, and the enthusiasm for the long

haul” (p. 1).

According to the above reasons, proper assessment has an important role to play

in students’ success in speaking English, such as teachers providing an oral test in

speaking classes. Subsequently, this research will include an oral test for students in

order to evaluate and investigate their attitudes toward it.

Even though it is important, English for Thai education has not been successful,

especially in the field of communication. Thai people have low speaking proficiency

and the major cause of Thais’ low proficiency can certainly be attributed to the teaching

and learning of this language in schools and universities. Therefore, if students are

motivated by using games or communicative activities in the classroom to reduce the

problems outlined above, it may encourage Thai students to speak more English. The

more students are familiar with speaking English, the more they reduce their fear to

speak it.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The researcher found problems among the Primary 3 students in English

speaking ability. The four problems found (and stated above) are the environment in

the classroom, the teaching method, psychology of students and assessment. All these

problems are barriers to students proficiently speaking English, as although students

learn the dialogue of conversation, they do not have opportunities to speak in sentences

due to the high numbers of students in the classroom. Teaching speaking one by one or

as a group is difficult in the classroom, so instructors change the teaching method from

speaking dialogue to writing it instead. Moreover, assessment of speaking ability does

not conform to the skill, as students should be given an oral rather than written test to

evaluate their speaking ability. The researcher found all these problems in the primary

classroom and, realizing the importance of speaking English, designed this study. The

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study uses activities to develop the speaking ability of students by teaching in groups

of four to five students and supporting them to share ideas in each group, which allows

more interaction among the students. Moreover, students are made to feel comfortable

and more curious while speaking English through activities. The tools for motivating

students’ achievement in speaking ability include information gaps, group work and

jigsaw activities. Thus, students have more opportunities to speak English and use the

language in real life situations. According to Ngan (2013), in communicative activities,

the researcher sets up an activity in which students can talk and express ideas in a small

group, rather than the whole class, to alleviate their fear of making mistakes. Practice

communication through communicative activities is suggested for teaching in the field

of communicative language teaching (CLT) . It focuses on not only the grammatical

structure of the language, but also language use in real life situations.

The objectives of the study are as follows:

• To examine the speaking development of Primary 3 students after learning

through activities-based learning

• To investigate students’ attitudes toward each learning activity.

1.4 Research Questions

• Do the students perform better in their speaking abilities after learning through

activity-based learning?

• What are students’ attitudes towards the activities?

1.5 Definition of Terms

The following terms are related and frequently used in this study.

1.5.1 Communicative competence

Communicative competence refers to learners’ ability to use language to

successfully communicate with people. Communicative competence includes linguistic

competence, discourse, sociolinguistic and strategic competence. Linguistic

competence is the ability to use grammar, syntax and vocabulary to communicate

suitably. Discourse competence is the ability to construct language within the large and

extended context. Sociolinguistic competence is the ability to use language with people

appropriately. Strategic competence is the ability to organize and manage language that

breakdowns.

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1.5.2 Communicative language teaching (CLT)

CLT refers to activities that facilitate students speaking the instructed language

(in this case English) with other students in classroom. This study provides three such

activities to motivate students’ speaking — information gap, describing and drawing,

and a jigsaw activity — which are done in pairs or small groups.

1.5.3 Information gap

Information gap activity used in this study is related to the topic “asking for and

giving their personal information”. Students are motivated to use this activity in

individual tasks in which they must fill in their friends’ information following the

questions on worksheet.

1.5.4 Jigsaw activity

Jigsaw activity is related to the topic “describing people” which students must find the

missing piece of the picture to make it complete by describing their own pictures to

their friends.

1.5.5 Communicative game

This task is related to “asking for and giving directions”. Students are divided

into two groups, A and B. They must find the missing place by asking and giving

directions to their friends.

1.5.6 Students’ attitudes towards the activities

This term refers to the students’ satisfaction towards activities the teacher used

to motivate students’ speaking ability in the classroom. The data was collected by using

3-point Likert scale questionnaire.

1.5.7 English speaking ability

English speaking ability refers to the students’ ability to confidently speak

English with the researcher while doing the pretest and posttest using correct

vocabulary and clear pronunciation.

1.5.8 Rubric of Speaking

Rubric of speaking was adapted from Phisutthangkool (2012), Scanlon and

Zemach (2009), and Domesrifa (2008). It is used for rating student’s speaking ability

in this study. There are three main parts for giving the scores: fluency, grammar and

vocabulary, and communication strategy with five scales for rating.

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1.6 Scope of the Study

1.6.1 Population

The population for the study consisted of Primary 3 students at a private school

in Bangkok currently enrolled in English. The Primary students were categorized in

five classes which were one Mini English Program (MEP) classroom and four IEP

(Intensive English Program) classrooms. The IEP classrooms were classified based on

a ranking system between high and low performing students, according to the student’s

Grade Point Average from all subjects taken.

1.6.2 Sampling

The participants were 35 Primary 3 students at a private school in Bangkok,

enrolled in English in the second semester of 2017. The researcher was responsible in

teaching the subject. A single class of the participants was selected at random from the

mixed -performance classrooms to find out how their speaking ability develops after

using ABL and investigate the participants’ attitudes towards using the activities.

1.7 Significance of the Study

The findings of this study can be used by Thai teachers to implement activities

that enhance opportunities for primary students to speak English in the classroom. The

results of this study may provide insights into the field of English language teaching in

the following ways.

1. Classroom environment — activities from the study can be used as tools to

motivate students to speak English without anxiety or shyness in the classroom.

It is useful for the classroom environment and seeks to make learning English

fun. Students would not only study grammatical structure in class, but also have

chances to speak English using activities the teacher provides.

2. To share the experience of improving the primary students’ English-speaking

skills by using activities.

3. To provide the general public with information on in increasing knowledge of

classroom activities found by the research to improve speaking skills.

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1.8 Organization of this Study

This study has five chapters as follows:

Chapter One: The introduction presents the background of this study,

including discussion of the problems of Thais learning English, especially English-

speaking skills, and how this leads to the low English-speaking proficiency of Thai

students. It contends that if English teachers use activities to enhance their English

speaking, they will achieve positive outcomes.

Chapter Two: A literature review related to the study is presented as the

grounding theory of the research. Problems in this research will be discussed with

reference to relevant literatures: the origin and definition of CLT, principles of CLT,

using CLT in the EFL classroom, speaking ability, concept of attitude and related

previous studies.

Chapter Three: Research methodology is presented relating to the research

design and methodology used in this study. It also includes research instruments and

the collection of data. Moreover, this chapter explains data collection and data analysis.

Chapter Four: The findings on the development of students’ speaking skill

after using activities and details regarding students’ attitudes through activities are

presented

Chapter Five: The final chapter draws conclusions and discusses

recommendations for teachers, and further research.

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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter reviews the concepts and theories related to CLT and activity-

based learning that motivate students’ speaking ability. The goal of this literature

review is to investigate the potential of activity-based learning used in English

classrooms to motivate students’ speaking. The problems in this research will be

discussed with reference to relevant literature on the origins and definition of CLT, the

principles of CLT, the use of CLT in EFL classrooms, speaking ability, the concept of

attitude and related research.

2.1 The Origin and Definition of CLT

CLT is an approach of language teaching that aims to develop learners’

communicative competence based on a style of teaching called “the communicative

approach” (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). Thus, this topic presents theories related to the

origins and definitions of CLT.

2.1.1 Origin of CLT

Communicative Language teaching ( CLT) was developed in North America

and Europe in the 1970’s. The Council of Europe focuses on the importance of English

because there were several foreigners living in Europe at that time. Thus, all of

immigrants need to be able to speak the second language. In term of North America,

Hymes ( 1972) states that CLT is social interaction between interlocutors and defines

CLT as communicative competence. This is an ability to communicate with other people

in a social interaction without focusing on grammar but on the situation or context in

which sentences are used. Communicative competence is the purpose of language

teaching as it acknowledges the interdependence of language and communication

(Larsen & Freeman, 2002). Thus, it is important to clarify that language’s teachers use

CLT to enhance students’ communicative competence. CLT is linked to linguistic

knowledge, language skill and communicative ability. Since the 1990s, the

communicative approach has been widely implemented with a set of generally agreed

upon principles that can be applied in different ways, depending on the teaching

context, age of the learners, their level and their learning goals.

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Hyme ( 1972) further outlined the importance of communicative competence in

language development:

The importance of concern with the child is partly that it offers a

favorable vantage point for discovering the adult system, and that id

poses neatly one way in which the ethnography of communication is a

distinctive enterprise, i.e., an enterprise concerned with the abilities the

child must acquire beyond those of producing and interpreting

grammatical sentences, in order to be a competent member of its

community, not only what may be possibly be said, but also what should

and should not be said. (p. 26)

Thus, communicative competence refers to an ability to correctly use

grammatical sentences and know how to use those sentences appropriately.

Savignon (1983) gives five characteristics of communicative competence:

1. Communicative competence depends on the negotiation of meaning between

people who are talking with. It can be changed by the context or who a speaker

talks with.

2. Communicative competence can be applied in both areas of written and spoken

language with various symbolic systems.

3. Communicative competence takes place in variety of situations in a particular

role that depends on a person’s understanding of the context and on prior

experiences.

4. Communicative competence is defined as ability and performance as the overt

manifestation. Competence is what we know, and performance is what we do.

5. Communicative competence is related and depended on the cooperation of all

the participants involved.

All five characteristics of communicative competence outlined above shows that people

should consider both grammatical structures and context when they are talking. When

a speaker is talking with other people, they should realize that they need to adapt to the

level of language appropriate for the interlocutor.

Canale and Swain’s framework (1980) adopts these notions of communicative

competence and sums them up into four areas of knowledge and skills, as briefly noted

in Section 1.5.1. These are:

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• Grammatical competence, which refers to the ability of speakers to use different

functioning rules of the system of their language or linguistic codes, including

knowledge of “vocabulary and rules of word formation, pronunciation, spelling

and sentence formation” (p. 188).

• Sociolinguistic competence, which refers to the ability of speakers to produce

sentences according to the communicative situation; that is, speakers (usually)

know when, where and to whom to say things.

• Discourse competence, which involves the “mastery of how to combine

grammatical forms and meanings to achieve a unified or written text in a

different genre such as narrative, argumentative essay, scientific report or

business letter” (p. 188).

• Strategic competence refers to “the mastery of the communication strategies

that may be called into action either to enhance the effectiveness of

communication or to compensate for breakdowns in communication due to

limiting factors in actual communication or to insufficient competence in one

or more of the other components of communicative competence” (p. 189).

The definitions, characteristics and notions of communicative competence can

be summarized as a learner’s ability to use and understand languages appropriately in

order to communicate in the real world.

The components of CLT do not ignore grammar structures but rather recognize

that linguistic knowledge, fluency and accuracy are all important when people are

communicating. Since the 1960s, CLT has been used in teaching second languages in

various countries. In the Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

Richards (2006, p. 65) defines CLT as an approach to teaching second and foreign

languages, emphasizing interaction as both the means and ultimate goal of learning a

language. Moreover, Larsen and Freeman ( 2002) claim that CLT aims largely at the

theoretical perspective of a communicative approach by enabling communication. In

relation to this, Allwright (1983), Brufit (1980), Krashen and Terrell (1983) and Tayler

( 1983) also support CLT as providing opportunities to learners for direct interaction

with other people by focusing on the meaning of communication rather than accuracy.

For learning a second language, learners understand that what an interlocutor wants to

say in a real situation is more important than focusing on their errors. For teaching and

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learning this approach means error identification is less important than the meaning of

communication and the least possible mistakes should be corrected to allow for

continuous communication.

In the field of pedagogy, Ellis ( 1997) supports the idea that the use of a

communication approach to language learning in the classroom develops learners’

communication skills and that learner will contribute to develop their speaking in parts

of linguistics by themselves. Here, it can be stated that in relation to being

communicative, communication not only needs linguistic knowledge but also

communicative competence. CLT begins with a theory of language as communication

and its purpose is to develop learners’ communicative competence. Howatt (1984)

claims CLT has both “weak and strong” versions. The weak version is based on the

assumption that components of communicative competence can be identified and thus

systematically taught (Ellis, 2003). This weak point of CLT emphasizes the importance

of giving learners chances to use their English for communicative purposes in real

situations and attempts to integrate activities into a wider program of language teaching

( Howatt, 1984) . Moreover, Howatt ( 1984) describes the weak version of CLT as

“learning to use English.” In contrast, a strong version of CLT is based on the claim

that “language is acquired through communication” ( p. 279) . In other words, learners

will find grammatical structure by themselves while they are using language. This

version proposes that teachers provide opportunities to familiarize learners with how

language is used in real situation.

To sum up, CLT is an accepted approach to developing learners’

communication. For the purposes of this current study, the researcher adopts this origin

and definition of weak and strong versions of CLT.

2.2 Principles of CLT

CLT is a new approach adapted for the area of second language teaching to

enhance students’ speaking ability in the target language. CLT has become popular and

widespread in second language teaching ( Brown, 1994) . It is generally accepted that

proponents of CLT see it as an approach, not a method (Brown, 1994; Richards &

Rodgers, 1986; Savignon, 1991). Brown (1994) further maintains that the following

interconnected characteristics could be taken as a definition of CLT. CLT is focused on

all of four characteristic components of communicative competence and not restricted

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to grammatical competence. Language forms are not the central focus, but rather

aspects of language that sees the learner accomplish purposes. Moreover, fluency and

accuracy are seen as complementary principles underlying communicative techniques.

At times, fluency may take on more importance than accuracy to keep learners

meaningfully engaged in language use. CLT leads learners to show their languages both

in grammatical structure and context when they are communicating. Leaners are

motivated to talk and try to make their interlocutors understand what they want to

communicate within classroom procedures and activities (Richards & Rodgers, 1986).

2.2.1 Roles of teachers and students in CLT classroom

In the communicative classroom, students ultimately use language productively

and receptively in unrehearsed contexts (Brown, 1994). However, some second

language learners know grammatical structures but are unable to communicate. This

problem has led theorists and teachers to consider what activities might enable students

to develop communication skill. Thus, the role of teachers in the classroom is very

important because the teacher is an advisor, monitoring students’ performance, noting

their errors and serving as a co-communicator. Importantly, the teacher is not a model

for correct speech and writing, so they are not too strict about students’ errors when

producing a sentence ( Breshneh & Riasati, 2014) . Moreover, teachers should provide

group activities rather than individual activities to enhance students using real sentences

in real contexts in the classroom. The role of students is to participate in extended

discourse in real contexts and share their information with others in activities or in their

real lives. Students should not be nervous listening to their peers in group or pair work

tasks, only rely on the teacher as a model and take on more practical responsibility for

their own learning.

2.3 Using CLT in the EFL Classroom

Coinciding with the quick expansion in (EFL) is the implementation of CLT in

this field. It is important to know the fundamental difference between EFL and English

as a second language (ESL). EFL refers to the learning of English in the environment

of one’s native language; for example, Thai speakers who learn English in Thailand or

Laos speakers who learn English in Laos are EFL students. In contrast, ESL refers to

speakers learn that language because it is spoken as the primary language of

communication; for example, Thai speakers who need to live in America where English

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is the primary language learn English as a second language for interaction. As EFL

learning is linked with communication, CLT is adopted in learning and teaching English

in the classroom.

Traditionally, EFL teaching has focused on grammar structures rather than

communication. The grammar translation and audio-lingual methods are accepted and

used in English teaching. Nowadays, with increasing business and technology, English

plays an important role and people need to use English for communication purposes.

Thus, CLT plays an important role in motivating EFL learners instead of traditional

methods. Littlewood ( 2007) claims that national language education policies in EFL

countries use CLT as an approach to motivate learners’ speaking ability since 1990s.

2.3.1 The role of Instructional Materials

Several kinds of materials have been used to encourage CLT. There are three

kinds of materials currently used in CLT, (1) Text-based material (2) Task – Based

material (3) Realia ‘Authentic’.

(1) Text-based material

Teaching by using this material used a genre theory, text book, reports,

explanation, expositions and procedure as a central in learning (Rogers,

1959). Text–based learning helped the study of authentic models and

examples to link the contexts and encourage learners to use language and

analysis of the texts. (Rogers, 1959)

(2) Task–Based Material

Many games, role plays, simulations and communicative activities have

been used for encouragement in CLT classes. The forms of one-of-a-kind

items include: exercise handbooks, cue cards, activity cards, pair-

communication, practice materials and student-interaction practice

booklets. For pair-communication materials, the instructors have to set two

sets of the materials for students; each student is provided different kinds of

information and students will ask and give the information to each other

(e.g., information gap and jigsaw (Rogers, 1959).

(3) Realia ‘Authentic’

Realia means the use of “authentic” materials to encourage language

learning such as newspapers, graphic and visual sources, maps, pictures,

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symbols and charts. All of these materials can motivate communicative

exercise and CLT. (Roger, 1959)

This study focuses on task-based material; it uses activity learning in the

classroom to encourage students speaking ability and investigate students’ development

after studying by using task-based activity. Also, this study investigates students’

attitudes towards each activity. The following topic discusses the background of

activity-based learning.

2.3.2 Origin of activity-based learning (ABL)

Britain’s David Horsburgh is credited as the person who created ABL; a method

started in 1944 toward the end of World War II. Horsburgh developed a diverse

curriculum, which included music, carpentry, sewing, masonry and gardening, as well

as the usual school subjects of English, mathematics, Sanskrit, and Telugu. These

pedagogic materials were systematically planned with sketches and drawings, and an

occasional touch of humor. Later, Horsburgh created a magnificent library in Neel

Baugh that was accessible to teachers and students. Horsburgh's initiative has proven

to be a pioneering milestone in ABL. ABL has been a way of studying at the Chennai

Corporation School since 2003, which provides a special school for children freed from

bonded labor (www.wikipedia.com).

According to Wikipedia, ABL means “learning is acquiring new knowledge,

behavior, skills, values, preferences or understanding and may involve synthesizing

different types of information.” It is also a process that embraces emotional and

environmental influences and experiences in seeking to enhance or transform

knowledge, skills and global perspectives (Illeris, 2000; Ormorod, 1995). For upcoming

learning, it is essential students understand and are involved in the information to be

learned. It is also important for students to process information with higher levels of

thinking, such as understanding, analysis, synthesis, application and cognition. One

significant method to facilitate participation with information is through activity.

Activity means the work of a group or organization to achieve an aim

(Cambridge Dictionary). Moreover, Hariharan (2011) gives the definition of “activity”

especially for elementary school students as “work that involved direct experience by

the student rather than textbook study” ( p.19) . The concept of ABL is based on

constructivist educational theory and is a child-centered learning approach. ABL may

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be defined as a teaching method in which activities of various types that are appropriate

for and relevant to a particular subject, are integrated into content and normal teaching

methods so students participate in the learning process (Suydam & Higgins, 1977).

ABL allows students to learn at their own paces and participate in self-learning, group

learning and collaborative learning at a greater level. Traditional classroom practices

have many limitations, such as the ratio between students and teachers, the role of

teachers as informants rather than helpers in learning, the core fear of teachers, the

problem of a lack of students and school teacher, and the main role of the textbook as

an information source. In addition, many rural and urban schools work with only one

teacher, so all students have an ABL approach to integrate into their day. The ABL

methodology was developed by SchoolScape Research and the SSA (2008) has

provided feedback on the social and school environments. In this method, the textbook

is replaced by a set of cards. These cards are made up of units in the textbook. There

are cards for introducing, learning, reinforcing and testing units, and they include

individual and group activities (Anandalakshmi, 2007). ABL has various types of

activities in various subjects, for various styles and types of learning. For example,

science instruction at elementary level has been shown to involve direct experience and

observations and these have been called “activity” (Bredderman, 1983). The SSA-TN

(Prema, Subbiah, Ramnath, & Subramanian, 2009) conducted independent research

into ABL by examining the different aspects of ABL methodology that have been

investigated using percentage analysis from a questionnaire aimed at investigating the

overall impact of key dimensions of ABL methodology. This study found that students,

teachers and parents believed ABL makes the classroom more student-friendly and

reduces intimidation and dominance of the teacher.

In a language class, students should have opportunities to use the target

language for communication because the classroom is the best place to practice,

allowing students to decrease their anxiety and increase their confidence. Thus, there

are many classroom activities typically found in a communicative language classroom.

Paulston and Bruder ( 1976) classified the activity types they thought were useful in

attaining communicative competence into four categories:

1. Social formulas and dialogues are the way to negotiate, consult or simply

exchange views between two people such as representatives of employers, workers and

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governments. It may consist of relations between labor and management, with or

without direct government involvement. Thus, learners of a foreign language need to

learn about cultures and how to get along in those situations in an appropriate manner.

2. Community oriented tasks are activities that give students the opportunity

to interact with native speakers in real situations outside the classroom.

3. Problem-solving activities are those in which students face problems and

have to find their own or alternative solutions by themselves.

4. Role plays are when a teacher gives an assignment to students to make a

role and act out that roles themselves. Paulston and Bruder (1976) state that

the teacher should guide three important components of this activity: first,

the situation, where the teacher explains the scene and plot clearly; second,

the role is assigned by the teacher, such as a list of characters; and third,

provide useful expressions the part contains (the linguistic information).

From the classroom activities, students can practice their language

communication by speaking the target language out loud. They can solve the problems

in the real situation while they are speaking. If students practice the language as much

as they can, they will become confident, fluent and accurate. In Richards’ (2006) terms,

“fluency is the natural language use occurring when a speaker engages in meaningful

interaction and maintains comprehensible and ongoing communication despite

limitations in his or her communicative competence” ( p. 14) . He emphasizes that

teachers should develop classroom activities in which students need to negotiate

meaning and use communication strategies. Richards ( 2006) claims that activities

focusing on fluency have the following features:

• Students should use language naturally.

• Students focus on comprehensible communication.

• Students require meaningful use of language.

• Students require the use of communication strategies.

• Students produce the language without hesitation.

• Students can link the language with the appropriate situation. (p. 14)

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2.3.3 Activities typically implemented in the CLT classroom

The current study aims to investigate the use of activities to enhance primary students’

skills in speaking English. Thus, the following activities are related to this study and

can typically be implemented in a CLT classroom.

Information gap activities are any activity learners need to complete their

information by answering or asking people. The information is based on everyday facts.

This activity is useful for students in parts of listening and speaking skills as it provides

an opportunity for learners to practice speaking in real communication. If learners can

be involved in information gap activities to exchange unknown information in a

language classroom, more authentic communication is likely to occur in the classroom

(Ozswvik, 2010). Fernandes (2012) contends that teaching is successful when students

are able to speak English to communicate fluently, and one way to motivate them is the

information gap activity. Because this activity is significant in making students’

speaking ability a reality, it can facilitate students’ interest in learning any language.

According to Ismaili & Bajrami ( 2016) studies on this activity in elementary

level students found that their English-speaking competence is improved from the

beginning of the study when the researcher first met the students. Students knew a wider

vocabulary and felt more confident speaking English and answering questions with

their friends and teacher. The results of this study can be divided into three points. First,

pairs or groups work together in information gap activities, which give students more

opportunities to speak and share their information through the target language with

other friends. This activity requires students to use the target language to fill the

information in the gap. Second, students can understand what the teacher has said in

class. Third, the activity is useful for asking and giving information.

Fuquha ( 2015) adds more about the efficiency of information gap activities

from his study that collected information from the third-grade students of Man 1

( Madrasah Aliyah Negeri School) in Pamekasan. The study found that information

activities that are appropriate for students’ needs, interest and level improve their

speaking ability. He also recommended this activity as a strategy for teaching speaking

because it was very effective in motivating students to speak in the target language.

Moreover, “information gap activity could provide more opportunity to students to

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speak and practice with their friends joyfully that help their speaking skill improved”

(p. 80).

Another researcher, Putri (2014) studied the use of information gap activities to

improve the speaking skills of grade eight students. The findings show that students

have more opportunities to speak English by filling in blank passages in pairs and

completing a story in groups. The use of information gap activities increased students’

motivation and confidence to speak English and also required them to use the target

language to fill in the gap. Moreover, “the students got exposure that made them able

to get a lot of new vocabulary related to the materials they learnt” (p. 71). Hence, the

use of information gap activities in the speaking class is useful to students for asking

and giving the missing information, resulting in the students being more active in

speaking English.

All related studies discussed above found that opportunities to speak English

are very important while students are learning in language speaking classes. The more

students have opportunities to speak English, the more confident they will become.

Hence, using information gap activities can help students practice and improve their

English speaking.

Jigsaw activities are also based on the information – gap principle. Learners

need to find the missing pieces of information to complete the whole puzzle. Thus, they

need to use language to communicate effectively with each other and take part in

meaningful communication. Aronson’s (1971) study shows classroom learning is

successful after using jigsaw activities for a few weeks. The atmosphere while studying

is better than the conventional technique. When compared with classrooms not using

the jigsaw technique, he stated:

Students in the jigsaw classes expressed significantly less prejudice and

negative stereotyping, more self-confident, and liked school better when

tested objectively. Behavioral data supported these self-report measures.

Students in jigsaw classes were absent less frequently, they intermingled

more in the cafeteria and in the school yard, and they performed better

on objective exams of curricular material this was especially true for

minority students (p. 144).

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Through her study, Wa ( 2014) determines the use of jigsaw activities lead to

good improvements in students’ speaking skills, turn talking, pronunciation and, in

some cases, accuracy. Moreover, students became more active in participating in the

teaching and learning of English, and they had more motivation to practice speaking

English, especially students who were previously reluctant and hesitant speaking

English. The activity made students engage in more interaction and have more

confidence while talking with their friends.

Surakarta (2011) also confirms that jigsaw activities help students improve their

speaking English over the period of study. At the beginning, students were afraid to

speak English and lacked confidence. When the teacher used jigsaw activities in the

classroom, students improved in English speaking in terms of confidence, with students

more confident in their presentation. They become more active, were excited to join in

with the activity, and achieved good results in the final oral test: “Their attitude inside

the class during the English teaching and learning process is more cooperative. They

become more intensive in following and pay attention to the lesson” (p. 178). Rahayu

( 2012) conducted research on improving students’ speaking competence using the

jigsaw activity. Student obstacles ( being nervous, afraid to make mistakes and lacking

confidence) are decreased when using the jigsaw activity in class, and their motivation

and interest increased.

Based on the related studies above, the jigsaw activity is an appropriate

technique to improve students’ English-speaking ability. Thus, the purpose of this study

is to find out how the jigsaw technique improves students’ speaking ability.

Communicative games are intended to motivate communication in the

classroom. They take the form of puzzles, drawing pictures, putting things in the correct

order or giving directions. For example, the students may have a piece of information

that is part of a whole. What they need to do is to walk around the classroom to get

useful information so they can complete the information ( Ozswvik, 2010) . Students

feel it is a challenge to participate, so their nervousness and fears are removed when

they are using the language (Johnson & Morrow, 1981).

Uberman (1998) reveals that, “Games encourage, entertain, teach, and promote

fluency and communicative skills. If not for any of these reasons, they should be used

just because they help students see beauty in a foreign language and not just problems

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that at times seem overwhelming” (p. 87). In addition, an investigation by I-Jung (2005)

shows students feel less afraid of speaking English during game play; they use language

to ask and give information to their friends with confidence. Moreover, in

communication games, students practiced learned linguistic knowledge in real

situations and meaningful contexts. According to Nirmawati (2015), students become

more active and confident in speaking English; they speak English fluently and

accurately. Furthermore, they were able to learn new vocabularies and use expressions

correctly. All these things occur because students have opportunities to speak English

in the classroom.

Aberdeene (2013) writes in www.Livestrong.com about the advantages of

communication games for kids and how they help children interact with their peers and

classmates. Many games engage children’s imagination and critical thinking. They also

help children practice memorization and develop their confidence. Using

communication games, children can use language in real situations. Zhu (2012) reveals

that games motivate students’ communicative ability because a “game is a dynamic

process of communication in which students as thinking beings, emotional beings and

communicators instead of knowledge receptacles, try to get their ideas, concepts,

thoughts, emotions and feelings expressed, based on their own life experiences” ( p.

802)

All the studies above show that students are more joyful and interested in

speaking English when communication games are involved in the classroom.

Communication games give more opportunities for students to speak English in less

formal ways, so students have more confidence and are less nervous while speaking

English.

All of the noted studies about CLT show that CLT, information gap, jigsaw

activities and communication games lead students to succeed in speaking, partly due to

confidence and enjoyment. Students have more confidence and fluency after using CLT

in the classroom. Moreover, when using CLT they feel joyful speaking English with

their friends. Thus, this study will investigate the use of CLT in the three activities

discussed above with grade 3 students at Panchasap School, Dindaeng. As the use of

CLT in the classroom is related to speaking ability and there is a strong need to improve

Thai children’ English speaking ability, it is a very important topic to study.

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2.4 Speaking Ability

Speaking is a productive skill that plays an important role for humans in being

able to converse or express their thoughts and feelings in spoken language. Although

people can speak, it is not guaranteed that people have high speaking abilities. Thus, it

is important to understand the concept of speaking ability, the way to improve speaking

ability, and how to evaluate speaking ability to develop speaking ability to

communicate effectively.

2.4.1 Concept of speaking ability

People have their own languages to speak with others, so the ability to speak a

meaningful language is a very important and the basis of human communication (Celce

& Murcia, 2007) . Speakers need to pronounce words, sentences and use appropriate

stresses and intonation patterns correctly. Moreover, speakers of a language can use

appropriate language to convey their ideas clearly and use structure and vocabulary

correctly ( Phisutthangkoon, 2010) . Littlewood (1998) states that when speakers are

speaking, they should estimate the listener’s knowledge, choosing a level of language

that will be sent in accordance with the intended meaning. However, a good speaker

must produce utterances without hesitating, can speak a language in unpredictable

situations and should not be silent for a long period while speaking ( Davies & Pearse,

2000) . Hence, speakers who are able to speak a language, should have the ability to

speak fluently and correctly by using correct structure and vocabulary and know the

appropriate situation and function while they are speaking.

2.4.2 Ways to improve speaking ability

Although speaking is considered a simple process, it is useful when interacting

with others in many fields. Thus, it is very important to improve students’ speaking

ability, especially in English. At present, when learning English, or any subject,

students are at the center of learning, so they have opportunities to speak and share

ideas while they are learning. Accordingly, when learning to speak English in the

classroom, students can choose any topics they are interested in. Celce and Murcia

(2010) point out that the teacher should provide students with interesting environments,

objects, pictures and many activities. Students should be given opportunities to use

authentic communication rather than memorized sentences, and speaking on topics of

interest Thus, teachers can motivate students’ English speaking by providing them with

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opportunities to speak English in the classroom as much as possible. The teacher should

motivate students by providing appropriate activities to motivate them to use authentic

communication, as Pattison (1989) claims that activities should be created based on

communication in real life. Gower, Philips and Walter (2005) advise that providing

students with opportunities to speak English is the way to improve their English-

speaking abilities, because this opportunity can boost their confidence. Giving positive

feedback is also an important way to improve students’ speaking abilities because they

will not feel anxious and nervous while speaking in the next communicative activity.

Nunan (2003) also presents the principle for teachers to first understand the differences

between second language and foreign language leaning context; second, provide

students with practice in both fluency and accuracy; third, provide activities such as

group work, pair work and limit the amount the teacher talks; fourth, plan speaking

tasks that involve negotiating for meaning; and fifth, design classroom activities that

involve transactional and interactional speaking.

To improve students’ English speaking, the teacher should plan good activities

and motivate students to talk as much as possible. When students have opportunities to

authentically communicate in the classroom, they will be confident to use language in

real life situation. However, after teaching speaking skills, the teacher should also

evaluate students’ improvement in speaking ability to find out if they can improve

further.

2.4.3 Evaluation and assessment of speaking ability

Evaluation and assessment will be provided at the beginning and the end of

every course. Speaking classes also require both formal and informal testing to find the

improvement of students. In testing speaking there are many different criteria,

depending on different situations. An assessment of speaking ability is linked with

designing tasks, so the construct-related information that scores must deliver is the most

important factor when designing tasks ( Phisutthangkoon, 2012) . Moreover, Underhill

(2003) notes that clear instructions are very important because if students do not

understand the question or procedures, the teacher cannot measure their ability

successfully. Here, the researcher summarizes that to create effective speaking

assessment; the teacher should consider and create the test based on the task and activity

students use in the classroom. In this study, the researcher will evaluate students by

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using a pre-test and post-test with a rubric of speaking ability used to measure students’

English-speaking development from the first week until the end of course.

2.4.4 Rubric of speaking ability

Rubrics are a popular tool used by teachers to evaluate the improvement of

students after learning and providing focused feedback on tasks and grading the result

(Andrade, 2000; Goodrich, 1997; Moskal, 2000; Popham, 1997). In relation to testing

students’ English abilities, rubrics are an easy tool to rate students’ abilities based on

certain criteria. According to Thornbury (2008), there are two types of rubrics in scoring

students’ performance. First, holistic rubrics are the quick scoring types for providing

a single scored based on an overall impression of a student’s performance on a task.

However, holistic rubrics should have more than one person involved to evaluate any

significant differences. Second, analytic rubrics are scored by giving a separate grade

for different aspects of the task ( Thornbury, 2008) . This type can show students

weaknesses and strengths. It is also great to use if the teacher wants to give detailed

feedback on the student’s performance, although it takes more time to complete than a

holistic rubric. It is very important to choose the appropriate criteria to evaluate

students’ speaking ability.

Brown (2005) suggests “five core characteristics for designing a communicative

language test. These include meaningful communication, authentic situation,

unpredictable language input, creative language output, and integrated language skills”

(p. 21). Scanlon and Zemach ( 2009) also propose five categories including fluency,

pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and gestures for measuring speaking ability. In

summary, the teacher should design rubrics that can evaluate the student’s ability in

each language feature of speaking skills. In this study, there are three main parts of the

rubric used to assess students’ speaking ability: fluency, grammar and vocabulary, and

communication strategy with the scale of 1 to 5 points for each part of the assessment.

2.5 Concept of Attitude

This study will investigate students’ attitudes by using a questionnaire, so it is

necessary to understand the concept. There are many proposed definitions of attitude.

Attitude is an important concept in the field of social psychology and communication

and a term used in various fields around the world. Hogg and Vaughan ( 2005) define

attitude as “a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral

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tendencies toward socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols” ( p. 150) .

Baron and Byrne ( 2006) similarly define attitude as “lasting, general evaluations of

people (including oneself), objects, or issues. Attitude is lasting because it persists

across time. A momentary feeling does not count as an attitude.” (p. 1)

Eagly and Chaiken (1993) claim that an attitude is “a psychological tendency

that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor”

(p. 1). Schneider ( 1988) proposes that attitudes are “evaluative reactions to persons,

objects, and events. This includes your beliefs and positive and negative feelings about

the attitude object” (p. 179), and Michener and Myers (2004) propose that attitude is “a

favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction toward something or someone, exhibited

in one’s beliefs, feelings, or intended behavior” (p. 36). Williams ( 2014) defines the

meaning of attitude as a personal evaluation of some object, idea, situation, group or

person. What you are evaluating is referred to as the attitude object. The attitude object

in this example Williams gives is volunteering at a pet shelter. The three components

of attitude are affective, behavioral and cognitive.

Additionally, Oskamp (1977) proposes three components of attitudes: the first,

affective component refers to the feelings and emotions of a person toward the object;

the second cognitive component refers to the ideas and beliefs that a person has toward

the attitude object. The third, behavioral component refers to how a person acts toward

the attitude object. Kendler (1963) states the meaning of attitude as “the action of people

to respond, support or oppose, to people, environment, situation or idea” (p. 572). Carter

(1959) maintains that “An attitude is a readiness to react towards or against some

situation, person or a thing in a particular manner e.g. with love or hate; fear or

resentment, to a particular degree of intensity” (p. 30) . Moreover, Munn (1971) states

that “attitude is the feeling or opinion that a person has toward people, situation,

institute, idea. They will show the reaction through something that they support or

oppose” (p. 71).

From all the definitions above, it is the feeling of a person to something they

see, hear, smell or taste. They will like or dislike that depend on their feeling. Thus,

attitude is about a person’s feeling toward something they confront. Whether it is

positive or negative is enacted through their behavior. Having reviewed various

definitions of attitude, it is important to know and accept that attitude can be a positive

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or negative mental or neural readiness toward a person, place, thing or situation. Jain

(2014) claims the three components of attitude are affective, behavioral and cognitive:

Affective component is the feeling ( like/dislike) toward objects. Agarwal and

Malhotra ( 2005 as cited in Jain, 2014) reveal that “the affect (feelings and emotions)

and attitude (evaluative judgment based on brand beliefs) streams of research are

combined to propose an integrated model of attitude and choice” ( p. 6) . Similarly,

Long-Crowell ( 2013 as cited in www.study.com/academy/lesson/the-abc-model-of-

attitudes-affect-behavior-cognition.html) expresses that affective component refers to

“the emotional reaction one has toward an attitude object” (p.1).

Behavioral Component is a verbal or overt (nonverbal) (Wicker, 1969)

behavioral tendency by an individual. It involves a person’s response to do something

regarding an object. It consists of actions or observable responses that are the result of

an attitude object. It involves a person’s response (favorable/unfavorable) to do

something regarding the attitude object (Jain, 2014).

Cognitive Component is an evaluation of the individual’s opinions

(belief/disbelief) about the object ( Jain, 2014) . Cognitive component refers to the

thoughts and beliefs one has about an attitude object; for example, Robert dislikes

snakes because he believes snakes are dangerous.

Thus, after people are confronted with the object, they will have a positive or

negative feeling toward it — this is called the affective component. When people feel

toward an object, they will react through their behavior — this is called the behavior

component. Then, they will think about why they like or dislike the object — this is

called the cognitive component. This concept is important to the study because attitude

is specifically defined as students’ attitude toward the use of communicative activities

in classroom. Having a positive attitude toward the learning, especially in a second

language, is a significant contributor to success. If students have positive attitudes, they

will be active and interested in the lesson. Also, a positive attitude often leads students

to develop their language learning with greater success in terms of global language

proficiency and competence. PISA (2003) reveals that students should have a positive

attitude toward learning because it will motivate their learning and develop their skills.

After students have a positive attitude, they will be effective learners of that object. In

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contrast, if students have a negative attitude toward that object, they will be bored and

avoid it.

Lennartsson ( 2008, p. 7) states that a “positive attitude can be expected to

enhance students’ learning.” Similarly, to Noels, Pelletier and Clément ( 2003)

elaborates:

The positive attitudes are typically connected to the speakers of the

language in question and the culture represented by its speakers. Such

positive attitudes can be expected to enhance learning, since learners can

be expected to want to be able to communicate with native speakers of

the language they are learning. In other words, if students are interested

in the countries were the languages are spoken, they may be more

motivated to learn the language (p. 36).

According to Gardner ( 1985) , students’ success or failure in their language

depends on their attitude. If students have a positive attitude toward their language

learning, it can be predicted that the students’ experience in language learning will be

satisfactory, and a favorable attitude leads students to improve their language

proficiency. In contrast, if students have a negative attitude toward language learning,

their experience will be unsatisfactory. He further notes that in the classroom, the

teacher and methodology play an important role in influencing students’ attitude. If the

methodology is attractive, it can increase students’ positive attitude.

2.6 Related Studies

This section reviews the studies on the use of communicative activities and

activity learning to improve English speaking skill both in Thailand and other countries.

2.6.1 Thai Studies

Songsiri ( 2007) investigated engineering students’ attitudes toward language

learning, especially in speaking. The participants were a class of engineering students

at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology, North Bangkok in Thailand. The purpose

of this research was to improve Thai students’ motivation to speak English through

activities promoting students’ confidence in speaking English. Three English teachers

observed the outcomes. There were two cycles in this study: the first cycle was used to

teach a class of engineering for one semester using six activities (self-introduction, an

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English movie, a popular song, my favorite story, foreigner interviews and a coffee-

break discussion), as tools to promote students’ speaking ability. The second cycle was

used to reflect on the first cycle to improve the materials, activities, teaching techniques

and teachers’ roles. It was used in the following semester with a new class of

engineering students. The teacher’s journal, observation sheets, student worksheets,

student diaries and self-rating scales were the data collected, with final data presented

by cycle II. The researcher gave opportunities for students to practice by letting them

work in pairs or groups and cooperative learning. When students are the center of

learning they will be confident to speak English. The result of this research indicated

that students have more confidence to speak English after using the authentic materials

and communicative activities. The communicative activities and technique promoted

students’ attitudes and positive atmosphere in the classroom.

Phisutthangkoon (2012) studied the use of communicative activities to develop

the English-speaking ability of 32 first year vocational students. It was a semi-

experimental study with all participants chosen by convenience sampling. The

researcher examined students by using communicative activities over eight weeks. The

research instruments included pre-tests and post-tests, and attitude and perception

questionnaires (after the experiment). The results obtained from the students’ scores

showed that after using communicative activities, post-test scores were higher than pre-

test in the statistic level at 0.5. Students had very good perception and attitude toward

using communicative activities in the classroom. The implication meant using

communicative activities was effective for students’ speaking performance and they

developed their speaking ability to a very high level.

Oradee ( 2012) examined the use of three communicative activities to develop

speaking skills. Forty-nine students at a secondary school in Udon Thani, Thailand were

participants in this study. The researcher taught students by using discussion, problem-

solving and role-playing activities and used language functions such as asking for

directions, ordering food and beverages, talking on the telephone and making an

appointment with a doctor. This study focused on learner-centeredness, so students

worked in small groups ( 4 – 5 students) divided by their language proficiency (high,

medium and low). The researcher designed a mixed method to study and compare the

speaking skills of grade 11 students and to study students’ attitudes toward teaching

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English speaking skills. Speaking tests and students’ attitude toward teaching English

speaking were collected as quantitative data. Semi-structured interviews and teacher

journals were collected as qualitative data. The research instruments were eight lesson

plans, English speaking test and attitude questionnaires. The data analysis was

percentage, mean (X-bar), standard deviation (SD) and t-test. The findings showed that

the group had a good atmosphere and students could reduce their fear of making

mistakes when speaking English. Each group could support others in the team. Students

had more confidence and enjoyment learning English while using three communicative

activities. After learning by using three communicative activities, their English-

speaking ability was higher than when they began (pre-test = 60.80 post-test = 85.63) .

The students’ attitudes toward using three communicative activities were rated as good

(X - bar = 4.50).

Klanit ( 2010) examined the use of communicative activities which were

information gap and role play to improved English speaking proficiency of students in

the English major program in the faculty of Humanities and Social Science at

Udonthani Ratjapat Institute. The participants were nine students from three levels,

high, medium and low proficiency in English. The data collection was pretest-posttest,

student diaries, teacher journal and ethnographic interview. The findings indicated that

students showed development in speaking proficiency at a difference of .05 after using

communicative activities

Promshoit ( 2010) investigated the improvement of students’ listening and

speaking abilities towards using pair work and information gap activity. The

participants were 30 students in the second-year vocational level in Hotel management

of Samutprakan Institute of Commerce and Technology School. The data collection

was 4 weeks and the instruments were lesson plans, English language activities, pretest

and posttest and teacher-rating communicative English-speaking competence. The

result found that the development was a significant difference at the .01 level after using

the communicative activities.

2.6.2 Foreign Studies

Pierse and Sutton (2012) examined the effectiveness of activity-based learning

in Higher Education classroom for students of law. From the finding, activities and

learning aids not only enhance the learning’s experience but also cultivate better

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learners by keeping them alert and engaged. The learning aids were developed and

achieved in their efforts to enhance the modules taught on a legal practice course. The

researcher summarized that activities provides students with countless of benefits from

all levels of the Learning Pyramid.

Charina ( 2013) observed adult students at ABE’s class, which was a pre-

intermediate class of English Made Easy. The objective of this research was to improve

students’ speaking skill using communicative activities. The participants were

university students and university graduates; there were four male and six female

students. The purpose of the pre-intermediate level was to perform language functions

in certain context. There were three classes a week, each held for 80 minutes. The

research was conducted in two cycles with information gap activities and games as the

main activities. The learning activities were discussion “give me a suggestion, please”

and “sharing my preference.” Students conducted pre-communicative activities,

communicative activities, were given feedback and vocabulary and pronunciation

checks, then a reward was presented to the “student of the day”. The instruments of this

research were observation sheet, interview sheet, recorder, and camera and interview

transcription. The data were obtained from observing the teaching and learning

processes, interviewing the collaborators, discussion and taking pictures during

teaching and learning. The finding of this study showed that after using communicative

activities, students achieved an improvement in speaking ability. The achievements in

improved speaking ability related to responsiveness, fluency, accuracy, self-confidence

and cooperation. Moreover, the atmosphere of English class was better; students had

enough opportunities to practice and get experience by themselves. Both quantity and

quality in their language production was improved.

Borode (2014) investigated the effect of Lecture and activity-based methods on

the attitude of Junior Secondary School Students in Essay writing in French to find out

which methods could boost students’ positive attitude towards essay writing in French.

This study was quasi experimental research design that focused on students’ attitude

towards essay writing. The findings finally presented that activity-based method

promoted a higher positive effect on the attitude of students than lecture method.

Moreover, activity-based method was found effective and highly rewarding in

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pedagogy as it has a higher positive effect on the attitude of students towards essay

writing in French.

Doqaruni ( 2014) conducted action research on increasing the EFL student’s

confidence in speaking to find out the beneficial consequences of doing action research

on second language teachers in their specific classroom contexts. Sixteen Iranian male

university students aged 19 – 22 were participants in this study. All participants had an

upper to intermediate level of English, which was determined by their TOEFT test. An

interview and a confidence questionnaire were used in this study. All participants were

interviewed by their friends in general questions or extra questions in the first 30

minutes of each class. Then, all participants took a confidence self-rating questionnaire.

The participants had to read a short story and present the story to their friends in front

of the class. The speaking ability obtained from the third week to the end of the course

was considered. The questionnaire was divided into three parts: ability, assurance and

willing engagement. The results showed 47 % of students had more confidence at the

end of the course compared to their performance at the beginning of the course. The

findings also suggested that students desire presentation activity in front of the class

when compared with the interview, with 69% having had positive attitudes toward

speaking English before starting to study. The disadvantage of this research study is the

number of samples taken. The number of participants was small and therefore results

cannot be generalized. The researcher suggested that future researchers should include

larger research samples and more locations because cooperative learning instruction is

worthy of continued examination and application.

Çelik ( 2017) conducted an experiment using pre and post-tests to examine the

effects of activity-based learning on sixth grade students’ mathematics achievement in

comparison to traditional learning and investigate their attitudes toward the activities.

The subjects were randomly assigned into two groups. One group was taught with

traditional method and the other was taught with activity-based learning method. It was

found that both groups had positively increased in the academic achievement. However,

the attitudes of the students towards the activities were different; the experimental

group decreased while the control group increased significantly.

The purpose of the studies reviewed was to determine if the students’ speaking

ability, including students’ confidence and attitude can be enhanced through the use of

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communicative activity and activity-based learning. Most participants in the studies

reviewed were adults, in high school, secondary school, diploma, university and adult

education students. The instruments employed were activities, interview sheets,

observation sheets and an attitude questionnaire. The data was collected by SPSS

software to obtain mean scores. The results of these studies showed that activities can

motivate students in students’ speaking ability with the participants demonstrating more

confidence to speak English and trying to speak English to get the information from

their friends. Consequently, this study examined the development of Primary 3 students

after using activity-based learning and investigated students’ attitudes towards the

activities. The participants of this study were one class of Primary 3 students at a Private

school in Bangkok. The instruments of this study were lesson plan, activities (the

information gap, jigsaw activity and communication game) , pretest – posttest and

attitude questionnaire. SPSS was used in the data analysis to obtain pre-test and post-

test mean scores. Thus, the mean scores were used to compare the differences.

The related studies reviewed in section 2.6 are summarized in Table 2.1. It is

found that most of the studies investigated the speaking development of adult learners

after learning through activities-based learning. Hence, this study examines the

speaking development of young learners ( Primary 3) and investigates students’

attitudes toward the activities.

Table 2.1: Summary of the studies review

Researcher Objectives Method

Results

Participants Instruments

1. Pierse and

Sutton (2012)

1. to examine

the

effectiveness

of activity-

based learning

Higher

Education

classroom for

students of

law

1. writing

activities

2. Legal

research

activity

3. Role play

activity

4.Jigsaw

5.Presentation

1. Activities

and learning

aids both

enhanced the

learners’

experience and

cultivated

learners alert

and engaged.

2. Charina

(2013) 1. To improve

students

’speaking skill

using

10 University

students and

university

graduates

1. observation

sheet

2. interview

sheet

1. Students

achieved an

improvement

in speaking

ability related

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Results


communicativ

e activities.

3. recorder

and camera

4.interview

transcription

to

responsiveness

, fluency,

accuracy self-

confidence and

cooperation.

2. The

atmosphere of

English class

was better,

students had

enough

opportunities

to practice and

get experience

by themselves.

3.Borode

(2014)

1.To

investigate the

effect of

Lecture and

activity-based

method on

attitude of

Junior

Secondary

School

Students in

Essay writing

in French

2. To find out

which

methods could

boost higher

student

positive

attitude

towards essay

writing in

French

120 Junior

Secondary

School

Students in

Ekiti State

1.French

Achievement

test for Junior

Secondary

School III

(FATFJSS) 2. attitude

questionnaire

1.Activity

based method

promoted a

higher positive

effect on the

attitude of

students than

lecture method

2. Students

had higher

positive effect

on the attitude

of students

toward essay

writing in

French.

4. Celik (2017)

1. to

investigate the

effects of

78 students

in sixth grade

students’

1. pre-

posttests

1. Both groups

had positively

increased in

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Results


activity-based

learning on

sixth grade

students’

mathematics

achievement

in comparison

to traditional

learning

2. to determine

students’

attitudes

towards

activities

mathematics

achievement

2. activity-

based

learning

3. attitude

questionnaire

the academic

achievement.

2. The

attitudes of the

students

towards the

activities were

different; the

experimental

group

decreased

while the

control group

increased

significantly.

5.

Khetthongkum

(2005)

To examine

the effect of

using English

supplementary

materials

including role

play and

information

gap activity on

developing

listening and

speaking

competence

18 students

in third year

certificate

vocational

students in

the Tourism

and Hotel

major.

1. Lesson

plan

2. pretest –

posttest

3.

supplementar

y materials

4. Students’

pleasure

questionnaire

1. Students’

abilities in

listening and

speaking

competence

were

significantly

different at the

level of .01

2. Students

’attitude

towards

supplementary

material were

good at level

of 3.82

6. Songsiri

(2007)

1.To

investigate

engineering

attitude

towards

language

learning

Engineering

students at

KMUTT

1.Six

activities 2.

Observation

sheets

3. Students

worksheet

4. Self- rating

scale

1. Students are

more confident

to speak

English after

using

communicativ

e activities

7. Klanit (2010) 1. To

investigate

whether

students

improved their

9 students in

the English

major

program in

the faculty of

1. pre-

posttests

2. student

diaries

1. The

development

in speaking

proficiency for

students was

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Results


English-

speaking

proficiency

after learning

through

communicativ

e activity

Humanities

and Social

Science at

Udonthani

Ratjapat

Institute

3. teacher

journal

4.

ethnographic

interview

significantly

different at the

.05 level.

8. Promshoit

(2010)

1. To evaluate

the

development

of learners’

listening and

speaking

abilities

through pair

work and

information

gap activity

30 students

in the

second-year

vocational

level at

Samutprakar

n Institute of

Commerce

and

Technology

School

1. lesson

plans

2. English

language

activities

3. pre-test and

post-test

4. teacher-

rating

1. The mean

score of the

pre-test and

post-test was a

significant

difference at

the .01 level

after learning

through the

communicativ

e activities.

9.

Phisutthangkoo

n (2012)

1. To examine

the use of

communicativ

e activity to

develop the

speaking

ability

2. To find

students

attitude and

perception

toward using

communicativ

e activities

32 first year

vocational

students

1.Pretest

posttest

2. attitude and

perception’s

questionnaire

1. Students

gain higher

scores after

using

communicativ

e activities

2. Students

have good

perception and

attitude toward

using

communicativ

e activity

10. Oradee

(2012)

1. To examine

the use of

three

communicativ

e activity to

develop

speaking skill

49 students

in grade 11 at

Udon Thani

1.English

speaking test

2. attitude

questionnaire

s

3. teacher

journals

1. Students

English

speaking

ability was

higher than

when they

began.

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Results


2. To study

students’

attitudes

toward

teaching

English

speaking skill

2. Students’

attitudes

toward using

three

communicativ

e activities

were rated as

good.

According to the related studies, most of the researchers examined the use of

communicative activity and activity - based learning in adult learner classrooms. For

example, in foreign studies, Pierse and Sutton (2012) examined the effectiveness of

activity-based learning in a Higher Education classroom for students of law and Celik

(2017) investigated the effects of activity-based learning on sixth grade students’

mathematics achievement in comparison to traditional learning. The results of these

two researchers found that the participants obtained higher scores after learning through

activity-based learning. On the other hand, in Thailand, Klanit (2010) investigated

whether students improved their English-speaking proficiency after learning through

communicative activity with students in an English major program in the Faculty of

Humanities and Social Science at Udonthani Ratjapat Institute, Oradee (2012) also

examined the use of three communicative activities to develop speaking skills with

grade 11 students at Udon Thani. The findings revealed that students’ English-speaking

ability was higher than when they began and moreover, activities and learning aids both

enhanced the learners’ experience and made learners alert and engaged.

However, in reviewing these related studies, the researcher found that there is a

lack of research in CLT using young learners as participants to investigate their

outcomes after learning through activity-based learning in an English classroom.

Hence, this study aims to fill this gap by focusing on Primary 3 students in a private

school in Bangkok to analyze their performances after learning through activity-based

learning and investigate their attitudes towards each activity. The research methodology

will be discussed in the next chapter.

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CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study is pre-experiment one group pretest and posttest study of a single

class of Primary 3 students in a private school in Bangkok, Thailand. The main

objectives are to examine the improvement of speaking ability after learning through

activity-based learning and to investigate students’ attitudes towards each activity. This

chapter discusses the methodology used including research design, the context of the

study, participant, research instrument, data collection procedures, data analysis and

flowchart of research study.

3.1 Research Design

This study is a pre-experimental study of a one group pretest–posttest design. A

pre-experiment study is a design which uses a single group in the study, and where no

comparisons are made between an equivalent non-treatment group. There are three

types of pre-experiment studies. The first, one–shot case study design is a single group

studied at one particular point in time after a treatment, no comparison or control groups

are employed. The second, one-group pretest–posttest design is a single group studied

at two particular points in time, once before and once after treatment. Differences

between the pretest and posttest results are then presumed to be due to the treatment.

No comparison or control groups are employed. The third, static-group comparison

design is a group that has undergone a treatment compared against a group which has

not undergone any treatment. The differences between the two groups are presumed to

be due to the treatment.

As such, this study used a one-group pretest-posttest design to measure the

differences between the scores of a single class of Primary 3 students before and after

undertaking activity-based learning in an English classroom.

3.2 The Context of the Study

The participants were Primary 3 students from a private school in Bangkok,

Thailand. This school is a large-sized school, consisting of 1,592 students from

elementary to secondary level. The Primary students were classified into five classes

which were one Mini English Program (MEP) classroom and four IEP ( Intensive

English Program) classrooms. The IEP classrooms were classified based on a ranking

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system between high and low performing students, according to the student’s Grade

Point Average from all the subjects taken. The forty students who obtained the highest

scores were in Gifted classroom and other students were in mixed-performance

classrooms. The researcher worked as an English teacher in the Intensive English

Program (IEP), teaching two periods (50 minutes per period) of English each week. The

research sought to investigate the speaking abilities of Primary 3 students after they

undertook an activity-based learning and the students’ attitudes about the activities.

3.3 Participants

The participants were a class of 35 Primary 3 EFL students aged between eight

and nine from one of the mixed-performance classrooms, which were selected by

random sampling. The researcher focused on a mixed-performance classroom because

this would clearly show the effectiveness of the activity-based learning used in this

experiment more than focused on MEP and Gifted classrooms. The participants in this

study were enrolled in an Intensive English Program (IEP) during the first semester of

2017, in which they studied English two periods ( 50 minutes per period) a week. The

participants had been studying English as a second language for almost three years.

3.4 Research Instrument

The research instruments used in this study consisted of lesson plans, English

speaking test, speaking test rubric, and students’ attitudes questionnaire.

3.4.1 Lesson Plan

The lesson plan was constructed based on the following procedures:

1. The researcher studied the Basic Educational Core English Curriculum 2017

(Ministry of Education, 2017) then designed the lesson plans following the theories of


2. The researcher chose the language functions which were relevant to the

course objective from the Basic Educational Core English Curriculum 2017 including:

1. Asking for and giving personal information

2. Describing people

3. Asking for and giving directions 3. The researcher designed lesson plan based on teaching methods: presentation,

practice and production by using the three activities to motivate students in speaking.

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These activities that the researcher designed also enhance students in listening skill.

Students were provided with different communicative activities as follows:

1. Information gap

2. Jigsaw activity

3. Communicative game

4. Experts in English language teaching, a school English teacher and a native

speaker examined the lesson plans in terms of validity of content and gave some

feedback. In addition, the thesis advisor discussed, checked and gave feedback.

Based on the experts’ comments more vocabulary was added into the teaching

method since the students’ limited vocabulary was identified as the main barrier to their

English-speaking ability. Moreover, it was recommended that the participants’

utterances should be focused on because complete sentences are particularly significant

for young learners. In addition, a native English speaker checked the authentic

utterances used.

5. The lesson plan was piloted with another Primary 3 mixed-performance

classroom to review and improve the weak points. It was found that the participants

were unable to answer the questions, despite having studied the topics. In order to solve

this issue, the researcher decided to extend the available presentation time from ten to

fifteen minutes to ensure that the students gain a better understanding of the topics.

3.4.2 English Speaking Test

A speaking test was constructed by the researcher based on the textbook and

workbook, Everybody Up, written by Jackson and Sileci (2012) to measure the

students’ speaking ability. The researcher used the same test for both pretest and

posttest to assess the students’ speaking ability. There were three tasks with different

functions including giving and asking for personal information, describing people and

asking for and giving directions. The guidelines for designing the test included the

Primary English Curriculum of Primary 3 and content from Everybody Up textbook

and workbook. After the researcher constructed the tests, three experts examined the

validity of the content then pilot tested with another mixed performance classroom of

Primary 3 students.

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3.4.3 Rubric of Speaking Test

The English-speaking ability was used to observe development and fluency,

grammar and vocabulary and communicative strategy of students while speaking

English. The components of the speaking rubric focused on fluency, vocabulary and

grammar and a communicative strategy with five scales for rating. This rubric was

adapted from Phisutthangkool ( 2012) , Sacanlon and Zemach ( 2009) , and Domesrifa

( 2008) (see Appendix C). After the researcher constructed the rubric of speaking test,

the three experts checked the content validity. Feedback from the three experts rated

the content validity in high level in IOC and they gave some comments which improved

the grammatical structure. Moreover, the researcher pilot tested this instrument on

another mixed performance classroom.

3.4.4 Student’s attitudes towards the activities

The questionnaire was adapted from Phisutthungkool ( 2012) to investigate

students’ attitudes towards each activity. The questionnaire consisted of 14 items with

a 3–point Likert scale from high to low. As the participants were young learners, the

researcher decided to use 3- point Likert scale with emoticon symbols to attract and to

make it easy for the participants to rate the scale according to their attitudes. The

statement from the questionnaire focused on the participants’ satisfaction and feelings

towards the activities they had studied. The three experts checked the content validity

and it was rated high in IOC. The researcher piloted the students’ attitudes questionnaire

and found the weak points that students were unable to classify in 5-point Likert scale

from very high – very low, thus the researcher adopted a 3-point Likert scale. (see

Appendix E).

Procedures for constructing the research instruments

1. The researcher reviewed the curriculum, the course description and objectives.

2. The researcher constructed the instruments ( 1) . lesson plans ( 2) . pretest-posttest

based on the content from Everybody Up, written by Jackson and Sileci (2012) ( 3) .

Rubric of speaking test adapted from Phisutthangkool ( 2012) , Sacanlon and Zemach

( 2009) , and Domesrifa ( 2008) ( 4) . Students’ attitudes questionnaire adapted from

Phisutthungkool (2012)

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3. The three experts examined the instruments for content validity and the researcher

revised all the instruments following their comments.

4. The research pilot tested lesson plans, English speaking test, rubric of speaking test

and students’ attitudes questionnaire with another mixed-performance classroom.

3.5 Data Collection

This study was one group pretest and posttest design, the participants were

selected by random sampling from a single class of mixed-performance classrooms in

Primary 3.

1. Prior to instructional period, the participants were asked to do a pretest which

included three topics, asking for and giving their personal information, describing

people and asking for and giving directions. The participants were taught once a week

in an English class which was 50 minutes. The study was conducted over six – week

periods as shown in Table 3.1. (see an example of the lesson plan in Appendix A).

Table 3.1: the instructional method

Period Activity

1 Information gap: asking for and giving their personal information I

2 Information gap: asking for and giving their personal information II

3 Jigsaw game: describing people I

4 Jigsaw game: describing people II

5 Pair group/Group work: asking for and giving directions I

6 Pair group/Group work: asking for and giving directions II

2. The participants were asked to rate their satisfaction on the activities after

they finished learning each activity. The Thai version of attitudes questionnaire, which

was adapted from Phisutthangkool (2012), was given to all the participants to

investigate their attitudes towards the activities taught in class. The questionnaire

consisted of fourteen statements of a 3-point Likert scale from 1= low to 3=high. As

the participants in this study were young students, the researcher designed the

questionnaire with 3-point Likert scale with emoticon symbols to avoid the ambiguity.

3. The participants took the posttest ( see Appendix B) the week after the

instructional period. The total possible score of the speaking test was 45 points. The

scores were evaluated by three raters, the researcher, a school English teacher, a native

English teacher.

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Random the participants from

a single class from mixed-performance classroom in Primary 3

Pretest

Six periods for instructional period

Student’ attitudes questionnaire after each activity

Posttest

Figure 3.1: Flowchart of the research study

3.6 Data Analysis

The data was analyzed into three parts as follows

1. To analyze the scores from both pretest and posttest, the scores from pretest

and posttest on speaking ability were converted into mean scores and standard

deviations. Then the mean scores and standard deviations were calculated to determine

whether the mean scores of the pretest and posttest were significantly different by using

pair t-test to compare student speaking ability before and after learning through activity-

based learning.by using the Statistical Package for the Social Science ( SPSS) . The

results showed the development of students after using activity-based learning.

2. To investigate students’ attitudes towards the activities, the results from the

3-point Likert scale were analyzed by comparing the frequencies and converting them

into percentages and mean. Students’ self-rating scores from the attitude questionnaire

were analyzed and calculated for mean and standard deviation then interpreted into

three levels as follows.

2.34 – 3.00 = High

1.67 – 2.33 = Medium

1.00 – 1.66 = Low

3. Moreover, open- ended questions, as well as the opinion responses in part 2

of the attitude questionnaire, were analyzed and translated into English by the

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researcher. The findings also summarized the speech of some students in textual

utterances, which were categorized into three groups after the activity-based learning,

the improvement, the stable and the deterioration groups.

To sum up, this chapter discussed the research design, and the pre-experiment

one-group pretest-posttest, in which Primary 3 students in a private school in Bangkok

were the participants. The data collection from the students’ mean scores and SD of the

pretest and posttest and students’ attitudes towards each activity were analyzed in

qualitative data. In terms of students’ speech from the pretest and posttest and students

open-ended questions from the questionnaire were analyzed in qualitative data.

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CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The objectives of the study were to examine the use of activity- based learning

to enhance students’ speaking ability and to investigate the students’ attitudes towards

each activity. The participants were 35 Primary 3 students of a private school in

Bangkok, Thailand. The data was obtained through the use of pre and post English

speaking tests and attitudes questionnaire.

4.1 The Development of Students’ Speaking Ability

4.1.1 Quantitative Data

The first objective was to examine the use of activity-based learning to enhance

students’ English-speaking ability by using pretest and posttest which consisted of three

topics, asking for and giving their personal information, describing people, and asking

for and giving directions. The mean score and SD on the pre and post tests were

compared by using pair sample t-test statistics. It was found that the mean scores of the

participants increased from 60.06 (SD = 12.85) in the pretest to 85.06 (SD = 15.39) in

the posttest.

Table 4.1: Paired sample t-test of overall mean scores

*p-value < .05

According to Table 4.1, the results showed that students’ speaking ability had

improved, which suggested that activity learning seems to significantly enhance overall

scores of the participants. The p-value was less than .05, which showed that there was

a statistically significant difference in their mean scores. The pretest to posttest

increased after using all three activities learning at a significant level of 0.5.

Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences t Df Sig.

(2-

tailed) Mean Std.

Deviation

Std.

Error

Mean

95% Confidence Interval

of the Difference

Lower Upper

Pretest-

posttest -25.00 10.47 1.77 -28.60 -21.40 -14.13 34 .000

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Table 4.2: Paired sample t-test of information gap activity

The first activity of this study was information gap which was used in the topic

“asking for and giving their personal information”. According to Table 4.2, there was

a statistically significant increase in their mean scores from the pretest, 24.37 (SD =

4.98), to the posttest, 29.34 (SD = 4.84). Thus, the results showed that the participants

had developed their speaking abilities after using information gap activity.

Table 4.3: Paired sample t-test of Jigsaw game

The results of the second activity, Jigsaw game, found that the p-value was <

.05 which indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the mean

scores, which increased from 18.77 (SD = 6.18) in the pretest to 27.40 (SD = 7.23) in

the posttest. As shown in Table 4.3, the higher mean scores in this activity showed that

the participants improved their speaking abilities.

Table 4.4: Paired sample t-test of communicative game

The result of the third activity showed that most of the participants improved

their speaking abilities. The participants could ask for and give the directions correctly

as shown in Table 4.4; the p-value was less than .05. Hence, this showed that there was

Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences t df Sig.

(2-

tailed) Mean Std.

Deviation

Std.

Error

Mean


of the Difference

Lower Upper

Pretest -

Posttest -4.97 4.76 .80 -6.61 -3.34 -6.18 34 .000

Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences T df Sig.

(2-

tailed) Mean Std.

Deviation

Std.

Error

Mean


of the Difference

Lower Upper

Pretest -

Posttest -8.63 5.85 .99 -10.64 -6.62 -8.72 34 .000

Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences t df Sig.

(2-

tailed) Mean Std.

Deviation

Std.

Error

Mean


of the Difference

Lower Upper

Pretest -

Posttest -11.40 6.54 1.11 -13.65 -9.15 -10.31 34 .000

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a statistically significant difference in their mean scores which increased from 16.91

(SD = 4.82) in the pretest to 28.31 (SD = 6.17) in the posttest.

Additionally, the findings presented the most significant outcomes of the

participants because the students’ speaking ability had been obviously improved seen

from responding in the conversation as all of them gained the higher scores.

In terms of the students’ speaking ability outcomes, Figure 4.1 shows the

students’ speaking ability outcomes, comparing the pretest and posttest results of the

three activities.”

Figure 4.1: The difference of students’ speaking ability outcomes between pretest


According to Figure 4.1, the students’ speaking ability outcomes during the

posttest were clearly higher across the three activities compared to the pretest outcomes.

The results show that Activity 3 (Communicative game) had the highest difference

between the pretest and posttest scores at 399. Meanwhile, the differences in the

speaking ability outcomes between the pretest and posttest scores in Activities 1 and 2

were 174 and 302, respectively. It assumed that the pair and group work had a more

positive effect on the participants’ learning development compared to the individual

work.

4.1.2 Qualitative Data

Moreover, among the three test tasks, it was found that this part presents the

most outstanding outcomes of the participants because their speaking ability was

higher. They could thus explain the directions and describe appearance in the picture

clearly using complete sentences, with a higher level of confidence and fluency. There

were better outcomes in all criteria ( Fluency, Grammatical structure and Vocabulary

853657 592

1027 959 991

0

500

1000

1500

Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3

The difference students'speaking ability outcomes between pretest


Pretest Posttest

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and communicative strategies) when compared with the pretest which the participants

could not understand and answer the questions.

The researcher compared the utterances produced by the participants from the

pretest and posttest. It was found that some of them produced longer, extended, more

fluent, confident, complete and meaningful sentences. There are some examples of the

participants’ sentences while they took the pretest and posttest, which were selected

from the participants who showed outstanding development. The following tables were

grouped by the activity and each activity was divided into three groups of participants:

the improvement, the stable and the deterioration groups.

Activity 1: Information Gap Activity

The Improvement Group

Most of the participants could improve their speaking abilities after using

information gap activity in the classroom as shown in Table 4.5.

Table 4.5: Examples of utterances produced by the participants in the

improvement group

As Table 4.5 shows, the utterances produced by the participants in the posttest

were more complete and clearly different from the sentences produced in the pretest.

For example, participant S8, Pretest: Ladprao eighty/ Posttest: My home is in Ladprao

eighty, while participant S35, Pretest: February/ Posttest: My birthday is on 21st

February. Table 4.5 shows that during the pretest, the participants produced informal,

short sentences ( word-by-word) when they communicated with other participants.

Meanwhile, after the activity-based learning the participants were able to produce more

Participants Activity Utterances

Pretest Posttest

S8 1 “ Ladprao eighty”

“ three”

“ I like football”

“ tiger”

“ My home is in Ladprao

eighty”

“ There are three people in

my family”

“ I like English, Science and

Math.”

S35 1 “I have three people in my

family.”

“ I like swim.”

“ This march I am nine”

“ February”

“There are three people in

my family.”

“I like cat and dog.”

“My birthday is on 21th

February”

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complete and detailed sentences with less hesitation, and the utterances were also

smoother. The participants spoke smoothly with few hesitations, minimal search for

words and only one or two inaudible words.

The Stable Group

Nonetheless, as identified in Table 4.6, one participant had no improvement

after taking part in the information gap activity.

Table 4.6: Examples of utterances produced by the participants in the stable group

The utterances produced by participant S7 were of equal length and gave the

same answer between the pretest and posttest. Additionally, the participant hesitated

when answering in both the pretest and posttest, for example, Pretest: “Um… Ladprao

thirty-five no no thirty-four”/ Posttest: “They are umm… three people mom dad sister

and me”. This may imply that the participant’s utterances were spoken slowly and

hesitantly, with the exception of short memorized phrases, and it was also difficult to

perceive continuity in speech as it was often inaudible. However, some of participant

S7’s answers were complete utterances instead of simply word-by-word. Although the

vocabulary range was lacking and there were occasional grammatical errors, it did not

obscure meaning, though there was a minimal variety in structures.

The Deterioration Group

Lastly, some participant’s test performance declined between the pretest and

posttest.


deterioration group


Pretest Posttest

S7 1 “Um..Ladprao thirty-five

no no thirty four”

“ Umm..I come to school

by bicycle …. No no by

motorcycle.”

“I like lion because

…(cannot answer)”

“They are Umm… three

people mom dad sister and

me. “Umm..Ladprao thirty-

four”


Pretest Posttest

S16 1 “It’s Bangyai.”

“ 20th September”

“ My home Umm… is

Umm..Bangyai”

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For example, despite participant S16 being able to answer the questions, his

posttest utterances were produced with some hesitation, as evidenced by his answers

always being preceded with “Umm…” This shows that the participant spoke slowly

and with much hesitation, meanwhile some of the participant’s sentences were left

incomplete and spoken very quietly during the posttest. Moreover, the participants in

this group did not use any gestures while speaking. In contrast, the participants

produced their utterances smoothly with no hesitation and they expressed movements

with their hands appropriately. However, they could produce complete sentences in

both the pretest and posttest, rather than only giving word-by-word answers.

The textual data shown in Table 4.7 reveals that the students’ speaking abilities

significantly improved; however, some participants were rated in the stable group and

the deterioration group.

Activity 2: Jigsaw Game


Most of the participants were able to produce their utterances with less

hesitation, which is shown through the improved posttest results of the outstanding

participants as shown in Table 4.8.


improvement group

“ nine” “There Umm.. are three

people in my family”

Umm, nine years old

S30 1 “My name is Fah”

“ in Ladprao”

“I like running”

“There are three people in

my family”

“Fah”

“ My home is in Ladprao.”

“I like umm.. cat”

“Ummm.. there are three

people.”


Pretest Posttest

S5 Part 2 “ He look like … Umm..”

(no answer)

“ He is handsome.

“ She is beautiful. /She is

have long hair./She is wear

blue dress./She is fair

skin./She has blue eyes./He

is wear blue shirt./ He has

fair skin.”

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Participant S5, in the pretest, produced short sentences and was unable to

understand and answer the question. The participants maintained weak control of

language and were unable to describe a picture “He look like … Umm... ( no answer) ”

after using the activity-based learning. The participant’s outcomes in the posttest were

better and he was able to answer complete and more details with few grammatical errors

in simple structures. For example, Pretest: “He look like … ( no answer) , He is

handsome”/ Posttest: “He is wear blue shirt. / He has fair skin.”

The Stable Group

The raw participants’ scores revealed none of the participants obtained the

same scores in pretest and posttest.


Table 4.9 clearly shows that the some of the participants experienced lower

improvement because they were unable to describe any of the pictures in the posttest,

despite being able to produce some meaningful utterances during the pretest.


deterioration group

The utterances shown in Table 4.9 reveal that the participants had a weak

degree of language control, with S21 being unable to clearly describe any pictures, and

despite producing some words, she was unable to produce complete sentences.

Meanwhile, in the pretest, S21 was able to answer with complete sentences, although

detail was lacking. Moreover, when comparing the posttest and pretest results, the

participants in this group produced utterances with much more hesitation during the

posttest, and while they were able to answer with short sentences, the meaning was not

clear.


Pretest Posttest

S17 2 “Hair is black”

“ no nose”

“ Ummm…” Cannot answer

S21 2 “She is beautiful, blue

shirt Umm..

“He Umm is handsome,

white Umm.. (she touch

her skin)”

“she Umm… beautiful.”

“ He Umm .. white Umm

and …”. (she waved her

head.)

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Activity 3: Communicative Game

A communicative game, “Asking for and giving directions,” was used in the

activity-based learning as well as in the pretest and posttest. According to the mean

scores, this activity obtained the greatest outcome difference between the pretest and

posttest scores achieved. After the activity-based learning, the majority of the

participants improved their speaking ability in this task, however, some participants

achieved non-improvement and lower improvement scores between the pretest and

posttest.


The utterances of the participants who achieved outstanding improvement are

detailed in Table 4.10.


improvement group

The utterances of the participants who achieved outstanding improvement are

detailed in Table 4.10. As shown in Table 4.11, the participants were unable to provide

answers during the pretest, they stood still and spoke slowly and hesitantly. For

example, they produced “Umm…” while they spoke. Meanwhile, their utterances in

the posttest reflected their comprehension of the question, and the gestures they used

while they spoke were appropriate to the situation. For example, they used their right

hand as they gave directions for turning right.


Pretest Posttest

S3 3 “Ummm…” Cannot

answer

“ It’s go straight and turn

right, the school is near the

library.”

“ The museum is next to the

…Umm..”

S10 3 “Umm.. I .. Ummm..”

Cannot answer

“ I go straight, pass first

intersection and go straight ,

I turn right , and go straight,

It’s on your left hand.”

“ The museum is opposite

the church.”

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The Stable Group

Some participants were grouped into the stable group according to their

utterances, since no improvement was seen in their utterances and gestures after the


Table 4.11: Examples of utterances produced by the participants in the stable

group

Participant, S12, spoke with frequent grammatical errors, even during simple

sentence structures, which left the meaning obscured. S12 occasionally used gestures

as he spoke to enhance the listener’s ability to understand what he wanted to say. For

example, as he said, “turn right,” he then showed his right hand to the listener. By

contrast, in the posttest the participant confused the questions, for instance, as shown

in the Table 4.11 “he said I get to school 7 o’clock,” despite the question asked being

“how do you get to school?” Moreover, the participant frequently spoke with hesitation

and left some sentences incomplete, while he also spoke very softly, for example, “Turn

left… no no I go straight is turn right, go straight…”


Some participants were grouped in the deterioration group since their posttest

scores were lower than their pretest scores.


deterioration group

Participant Activity Utterances

Pretest Posttest

S12 3 “I get to school … Umm

sports shop, hotel, and

post office.”

“The post office in front of

the museum.”

“Home is…. I get to school 7

o’clock.”

“ Turn left … No No I go

straight is turn right, go

straight ..” (Ambiguous

speech)

Participant Activity Utterances

Pretest Posttest

S21 3 “I go and Um… turn left

Umm..and turn left again

and you go to school.”

“ It is Umm.. near the

Umm..church”

“ Um, turn left no no right

go and go and Ummm…..”

“It’s in front of the back and

church.”

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With reference to Table 4.12, this group’s pretest utterances were longer and

included more details than their posttest utterances. In the pretest, the participants spoke

smoothly with few hesitations and with minimal searches for words. Meanwhile, they

were also able to give directions using appropriate gestures. In contrast, after the

activity-based learning these participants spoke slowly and hesitantly, while their

utterances were difficult to follow continuity in speech.

In conclusion, the participants were categorized into three groups according to

the comparisons between the utterances produced by the participants in the pretest and

posttest, which included the improvement, the stable and the deterioration groups. The

majority of participants improved their speaking ability between the pretest and

posttest, and was able to produce fluent, extended, and meaningful sentences. However,

some participants were unable to speak smoothly, and had weak control of the language,

as identified by some basic vocabulary choices clearly lacking in the sentences, while

they also made frequent grammatical errors even in simple sentence structures, which

resulted in the meaning being obscured.

4.2 Students’ Attitudes towards Activity- Based Learning

4.2.1 The percentage and mean scores of students from their rating the

attitudes questionnaire

The second objective was to investigate the students’ attitudes towards activity-

based learning. They were asked to give their attitudes on each activity after finishing

each activity. There were fourteen statements in the students’ attitudes questionnaire

with 3-point Likert rating scale.

Table 4.13: The percentage and mean scores of students’ attitudes towards

information gap (n=35)

Statements Responses % Mean Level

High Medium Low Mean

1. Students enjoy learning English

by using Gap the info activity.

82.86 14.29 2.86 2.80 High

2. Students feel happier while using

Gap the info activity.

85.71 14.29 0 2.86 High

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3. When learning by activity, the

atmosphere in the classroom is

relaxed.

74.29 22.86 2.86 2.69 High

4. Teacher gives clear directions. 80.00 20.00 0 2.80 High

5. An activity has interesting

pictures and content.

74.29 25.71 0 2.63 High

6. Students have more chances to

speak English while doing the

activity.

65.71 34.29 0 2.66 High

7. Students receive more

vocabulary after doing the activity.

74.29 25.71 0 2.74 High

8. Students understand the lesson

and use them for communicate in

daily life.

65.71 34.29 0 2.66 High

9. Students enjoyed learning

English by doing activity more than

rote memorization.

91.43 8.57 0 2.91 High

10. Students are happy doing using

Gap the info activity.

85.71 11.43 2.86 2.83 High

11. While using this activity,

students want to speak English.

34.29 57.14 8.57 2.26 Medium

12. Students are interested and

want to join Gap the info activity.

85.71 8.57 5.71 2.80 High

13. After doing the activity,

students have more confidence to

speak English.

77.14 22.86 0 2.77 High

14. Students enjoy working in pair

work than individual work.

85.71 14.29 0 2.86 High

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Total 2.73 High

The students’ attitudes towards the first activity, information gap, the majority

of the students (82.86%) evaluated the information gap activity as joyful and they felt

happy doing using this activity. The participants (74.29%) felt relaxed to speak English

with their friends while using this activity. Moreover, the participants ( 74.29%)

evaluated that learning by using this activity gained more vocabularies and they thought

the content of the lesson was interesting. In particular, most of the participants

( 91.43%) evaluated that they enjoyed learning by using this activity more than rote

memorization. However, some students ( 2.86%) found that they did not enjoy the

activity and the atmosphere in the classroom was not relaxed. Also, some students

(5.71%) did not want to join this activity. From thirteen out of fourteen statements, the

mean scores were rated at high level. Only one statement (the eleventh statement) was

rated at medium.

Table 4.14: The percentage and mean scores of students’ attitudes towards jigsaw

game (n=35)


High Medium Low

1. Students enjoy learning English by

using Jigsaw activity.

82.86 11.43 5.71 2.77 High

2. Students feel happier while using

Jigsaw activity.

97.14 2.86 0 2.97 High



relaxed.

91.43 5.71 2.86 2.89 High


5. An activity has interesting pictures

and content.

82.86 17.14 0 2.83 High

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High Medium Low



activity.

77.14 22.86 0 2.77 High

7. Students receive more vocabulary

after doing the activity.

85.71 14.29 0 2.86 High

8. Students understand the lesson and

use it for communication in daily life.

71.43 28.57 0 2.71 High

9. Students enjoy learning English by

doing activity more than rote

memorization.

94.29 5.71 0 2.94 High


Jigsaw activity.

88.57 11.43 0 2.89 High

11. While using this activity, students

want to speak English more.

57.14 42.86 0 2.57 High

12. Students are interested and want

to join Jigsaw activity.

82.86 17.14 0 2.83 High

13. After doing the activity, students

have more confidence to speak

English.

60.00 37.14 2.86 2.57 High


work than individual work.

82.86 17.14 0 2.83 High

Total 2.80 High

Regarding the students’ attitudes towards the second activity, jigsaw game, the

majority of the students ( 97.14%) enjoyed and felt happy doing using this activity.

The students ( 91.43%) felt that the atmosphere in the classroom was relaxed. Most of

the participants ( 82.86%) found that the content of this lesson was more interesting,

and they could understand the lesson and take the knowledge for communication in

daily life (71.43%). In particular, most of the participants (94.25%) indicated that they

enjoyed learning by using this activity more than rote memorization. However, only

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2.86% of the participants found that after using this activity, they did not have more

confidence to speak English and 5.71% of the participants indicated that they did not

enjoy it. Participants ( 77.14%) revealed that they had more chances to speak English

while using this activity and they gained more vocabulary after using this activity

(85.71%). The mean scores of all fourteen statements were rated at high.

Table 4.15: The percentage and mean scores of Students’ attitudes towards

communicative game (n=35)


High Medium Low


by using Got 7 town activity. 85.71 14.29 0 2.86 High

2. Students feel happier while

using Got 7 town activity. 91.43 8.57 0 2.91 High



relaxed.

77.14 22.86 0 2.77 High



pictures and content. 80.00 20.00 0 2.80 High



activity.

77.14 22.86 0 2.77 High


vocabulary after doing the activity. 77.14 22.86 0 2.77 High


and use it for communication in

daily life.

68.57 31.43 0 2.69 High


by doing activity more than rote

memorization.

94.29 5.71 0 2.94 High

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The third activity, communicative game, which the participants worked on in

pairs and groups, revealed that the majority of the participants (91.43%) felt happy and

(85.71%) enjoyed learning English while using this activity in the classroom. Most of

the participants also stated that they wanted to join this activity (82.86%) and enjoyed

working in pairs rather than individual (88.57%) . Participants ( 77.14%) revealed that

they had more chances to speak English while using this activity and they gained more

vocabulary after doing this activity (85.71%). In particular, 94.25% of the participants

enjoyed learning by doing this activity more than rote memorization, however, some

participants ( 5.71%) preferred rote memorization more than doing this activity.

However, the mean scores of all fourteen statements were rated at high.

Table 4.16: The overall percentage and mean scores of students’ attitudes

towards three activities (n=35)


High Mediu

m

Low

1. Students enjoy learning

English by using …activity. 83.8 13.33 2.86 2.81 High


Got 7 town activity. 77.14 22.86 0 2.77 High


students want to speak English

more.

54.29 45.71 0 2.54 High


want to join Got 7 town activity. 82.86 17.14 0 2.83 High



speak English.

65.71 34.29 0 2.66 High


work than individual work. 88.57 11.43 0 2.89 High

Total

2.77 High

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High Mediu

m

Low

2. Students feel happier while

using …activity. 91.43 8.57 0 2.91 High



relaxed. 80.95 17.14 1.9

2.78 High



pictures and content. 79.05 20.95 0

2.75 High



activity. 73.33 26.67 0

2.73 High


vocabulary after doing the

activity. 79.05 20.95 0

2.79 High


and use it for communication in

daily life. 68.57 31.43 0

2.69 High

9. Students enjoy learning

English by doing activity more

than rote memorization. 93.33 6.67 0

2.93 High

10. Students are happy doing

using … activity. 83.81 15.24 0.95 2.83 High


students want to speak English

more. 48.57 48.57 2.86

2.74 High


want to join … activity. 83.81 14.29 1.9 2.82 High

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High Mediu

m

Low



speak English. 67.62 31.43 0.95

2.67 High

14. Students enjoy working in

pair work more than individual

work. 85.71 14.29

0 2.86 High

Total 2.77 High

According to Table 4.16 below, the researcher included the percentage and

overall means scores of the students’ attitudes towards three activities. The results

showed the students had positive attitudes towards activities used in this study at high

level (M= 2.77). All three activities, which the participants work individual, pair and

group, revealed that students enjoy learning by doing activity more than rote

memorization ( 93.33%) and 91.43 % of the participants feel happier while using

activities in English classroom. The participants (83.81%) revealed that they are interest

and want to join the activities. However, a few participants (0.95%) disagreed that after

doing the activity, they have more confidence to speak English. Apparently, most of

the participants (85.71%) enjoy working in pair work than individual work.

Figure 4.2: The difference students’ attitudes towards three activities

Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3

High 75.8 81.02 77.35

Mudium 22.04 18.2 26.65

low 1.43 0.8 0

0

20

40

60

80

100

The difference students' attitudes towards three activity

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According to Figure 4.2, 75.8% of the participants gave a high rating

satisfaction on Activity 1, while 22.04% gave a medium rating, and 1.43% provided a

low rating. Meanwhile, in Activity 2 a few of the participants (0.8%) gave a satisfactory

rating of low, while most of the students gave a high satisfactory rating (81.02%). By

contrast, for Activity 3 none of the participants gave a low satisfactory rating with

77.35% of the participants giving a high satisfactory rating and 26.65% giving a

medium rating. Hence, Figure 2 shows that the participants were largely satisfied by

the activity-based learning that was provided in the classroom, since all three activities

were given high ratings by the participants.

In addition, it was found that the students’ speaking outcomes and satisfaction

with the three activities were consistent for each activity. For example, (see Figures 4.1

and 4.2) the difference in the students’ outcomes in Activity 3 between the pretest and

posttest is 399, and this activity had the highest participant satisfaction scores, with

77.35% of the participants giving a high satisfaction rating, while the remaining

participants (26.6%) gave a medium satisfaction rating. For Activity 2, the difference

between the pretest and posttest scores was 302, with the satisfaction survey showing

that over 80% of participants gave the activity a high satisfaction rating, while 18%

gave a medium rating and only a few provided a low rating. By contrast, Activity 1,

which had the lowest difference in the outcomes between the pretest and posttest at 174,

had the lowest number of participants giving a high satisfaction rating, and a few

participants giving a low rating. Therefore, there is consistency between the students’

speaking outcomes and their satisfaction, illustrating that positive participant feelings

towards an activity will result in higher test scores.

4.2.2 Open-Ended Questions

The second part of the survey asked for participants’ attitudes towards the three

ABL with the use of the open-ended questions from the questionnaire. Most of the

participants indicated positive satisfaction towards the three ABL Their comments and

suggestions are presented in Table 4.17.

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Table 4.17: Participants’ attitudes towards the ABL (n=18)

Content Satisfaction Suggestions Others

1 I learned more

about people’s

appearances such

as white skin.

I want to play the

game again.

Speaking English

will be motivated

by integrating in

activity

I am afraid to

speak English in

public.

2 I obtained

knowledge from

activity 3.

I like it. Should change

many of the town

names.

I prefer to work

as an individual

rather than in a

group.

3 I obtained

knowledge from

activity 1.

I love it. I want to play

many different

kinds of games.

4 I learned more

vocabulary and

about the

backgrounds of

my friends.

I want to play this

game in an

English class.

5. Fun.

Participants stated their attitudes which were divided into four sections as

content, satisfaction, suggestions and others. Four opinions about the content of the

activities included, “I learned more about people’s appearances such as white skin, I

obtained knowledge from activities 1 and 3, and I learned more vocabulary and about

the backgrounds of my friends”. Furthermore, participants were satisfied with the

activities and wanted to play the games in the classroom again. Moreover, some

participants suggested that many of the town names in activity 3 should be changed,

while one thought that activity 1 should be integrated into English language classrooms

to motivate English speaking. Another participant stated, “I want to play many different

kinds of games”. Lastly, two participants revealed that they were afraid to speak English

in public and preferred to work individually rather than in a group.

To sum up, results shows that the speaking ability of participants improved after

learning through activity-based learning, with positive feelings towards all three

activities. Activity-based learning activities should be included in classrooms to

motivate the English-speaking ability of students.

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The objective of this final chapter of the study is to provide a conclusion and

reflection on the significance of the findings. The chapter begins with a brief conclusion

on the objectives of the study. Then, it continues with discussion on the findings,

comparing these findings to the literature review and existing research. The chapter

turns to the academic and practical recommendations that can be derived from the

study. The final sections of the chapter address the boundaries of the research, including

reflection on the research limitations and opportunities for further research.

The research began with two research questions. The first question was, do the

students perform better in their speaking abilities after learning through activity-based

learning? The second question was what are students’ attitudes towards the activities?

These questions were addressed in a study of Primary 3 students enrolled in an English

class, conducted over six periods of a semester, with data collected through pre-

posttests and attitude questionnaire.

5.1 Research question I: Do the students perform better in their speaking abilities

after learning through activity-based learning?

The first research question was examined using a pre-posttest strategy, with data

collected on speaking ability at the beginning and end of the experiment. Speaking

ability was assessed by three raters followed by paired t-tests to determine if there was

a significant mean difference. The results showed that speaking ability had improved

over the six periods of the semester, with significantly higher mean scores in the post-

test across three activities (asking for and giving their personal information, describing

people, and asking for and giving directions). Thus, in response to the first research

question, students did show a positive improvement in their speaking abilities after

using the activity-based learning experience. The findings of this study showed that

activity-based learning resulted in significant improvements in performance on key

English-speaking tasks. This is consistent with studies that have demonstrated the value

of introducing activity-based learning for improving speaking ability (Charina, 2013;

Doqaruni, 2014; Oradee, 2012; Phisutthangkoon, 2012; Songsiri, 2007) . These studies

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all investigated the use of communicative activity in Thai or other English classrooms,

with students ranging in age, but mainly including older students. The findings of this

study were similar to the findings of other studies. For example, Phisutthangkoon

(2012) showed that there was a significant improvement in English speaking abilities

of vocational students. Similarly, Songsiri (2007) showed significant improvements in

the speaking ability of engineering students. Doqaruni (2014) had similar findings for

Iranian EFL students, while Oradee (2012) (studying Thai secondary students) and

Charina (2013) (studying Thai adult learners) had similar results.

In addition, the mean scores of the posttest are higher than those of the pretest

in every activity, especially sentence building. The results of the students’ utterances

reveal the development of students in producing more meaningful text with a variety of

complex sentence structures. Thus, it could be inferred that the three activities

performed as comprehensible inputs that provided good samples for the participants to

use in an English classroom to develop students’ speaking ability.

In particular, the first criterion in the rubric for the speaking test, which is

fluency, yielded an interesting result in that most participants perform better in this

criterion. They could produce utterances with less hesitation and interruption while

speaking in the posttest. The participants could speak smoothly with less hesitation,

fewer attempts to search for words and at a confident volume. Hence, it could be

summarized that learning through ABL helps motivate students’ speaking ability with

smooth utterances.

A few of the participants spoke slowly and hesitantly except for short,

memorized phrases; it was difficult to perceive continuity in speech and audibility.

They could not perform fluently better after learning through ABL. The findings from

the previous chapter show that participants in the stable and the deterioration groups

were confronted by problems with this criterion because they were nervous while taking

the posttest. They exhibited significant hesitation. This problem may be due to their

expectation to obtain higher scores in the posttest, causing them to perform with

nervousness and high hesitation when answering.

In terms of the second criteria in the rubric for the speaking test, which is

grammar and vocabulary, it is an interesting benchmark to evaluate students’ speaking

ability. Examples of students’ utterances report their development in the posttest. The

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majority of participants could produce utterances using complete sentences and a range

of vocabulary, which is different from their utterances in the pretest. The participants

had good control of language and a good range of relatively well-chosen vocabulary.

Also, some errors in grammatical structures are possibly caused by an attempt to

include variety and the appearance of spontaneity. Moreover, the participants could rule

that pronouns be used with the target questions. They could be aware of subject

pronouns and possessive pronouns in the subject pronouns, usually occurring when

people are the subject of the sentence. Meanwhile, possessive pronouns are usually

followed by nouns ex. Pretest: Her is black hair/ Posttest: Her hair is black. However,

some mistakes on verb form and tense were produced by the participants perhaps

because they are non-native young learners and unable to correctly notice verb forms

and tenses due to their limited background knowledge. By contrast, some participants

were unable to develop their grammar and vocabulary. Also, a few of the participants

had lower development. The participants had weak control of the language, while the

vocabulary they used did not match the task. They also made frequent grammatical

errors, even in simple structures, and the meaning was obscured for example “She is

have long hair”. This problem may arise from the lack of practicing while using the

ABL or misunderstanding the lesson. The participants had weak control of the

language, while the vocabulary words they used did not match the task. Frequent

grammatical errors were found, even in simple structures, while meanings were

obscured.

By looking at the communication strategy, which is the last criterion for the

rubric of the speaking test, the majority of participants could use gestures appropriately

while speaking in the posttest. In the pretest, however, they tended to tremble with no

movement of their hands. For example, when they described the people in the picture

during the pretest, most of the participants were not relaxed. They spoke with a

trembling voice and took no action to express their ideas when they could not answer

the questions, in contrast with the posttest when they were relaxed and used their hands

to express their ideas while speaking. Nevertheless, ABL could not improve all of the

participants’ communication strategies. Some participants still spoke with a trembling

voice and no movement when answer the questions. This problem may imply that the

participants lack confidence and are afraid to make mistakes, so they could not use

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gestures appropriately.

To sum up, all the criteria mentioned above are particularly significant for

students’ improvement in speaking ability. Thus, students can be encouraged to speak

in the classroom by providing an interesting environment and assessment so that

students have a range of possible chances to speak (Celce & Murcia, 2010). For

example, it is well known that speaking ability can also be developed by a focus on

activity that relates to a real-life situation, with students encouraged to speak about real

contexts and topics rather than follow artificial scripts (Pattison, 1989). There are also

other ways that the use of activity-based learning could have improved the learning

process. For example, group activities and information gap activities could increase

student confidence by encouraging them to speak with less hesitation. However, at the

end of the experiment, the participants had developed their English-speaking ability.

5.2 Research question II: What are students’ attitudes towards activity-based

learning?

The second research question was investigated using a student survey conducted

after each activity. The survey showed that in general, students strongly agreed that the

activities were a positive learning experience. They particularly agreed that they

enjoyed learning English more through the activities than through rote memorization

(M = 2.93) and they were happy while using ABL in the classroom (M = 2.91) and they

preferred group activity than individual work (M = 2.86). According to Gardner (1985)

positive attitude and greater motivation helps to improve students’ language efficiency.

In addition, from open-ended questions, a few participants did not enjoy and were afraid

to speak English while using the activities whereas, some participants stated that they

were fun and interested to speak English while using ABL also, they revealed they had

obtained more opportunities to speak English.

This study shows that activity-based learning was both positively received by

students and that the activity-based learning was effective at improving English

speaking ability over six periods of the experiment. Therefore, this study implies that

activity-based learning is a valuable addition to the learning environment and

curriculum in the English classroom for primary students in Thailand. The second

question of the discussion was how students experienced the activities added to the

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curriculum. The activities developed for the classroom included different types of

activities developed for CLT, such as information gap activities (Fernandes, 2012;

Ismaili , 2016; Ozswvik, 2010), jigsaw activities (Aronson, 1971; Rahayu, 2012;

Surakarta, 2011; Wa, 2014), and group activities or communication games (I-Jung,

2005; Ozswvik, 2010; Uberman, 1998). These activities proved popular with the

students, who felt that they were more effective and interesting than the usual practices

of rote memorization. This shows that the students experienced the activity-based

learning process as more supportive of learning than the traditional method.

In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that activity-based learning is

beneficial for young learners in improving speaking ability and the attitude of most of

the participants towards the three activities is positive. As mentioned in the literature

review, there are few studies which research the use of activity-based learning with

young learners, hence, the results of this study possibly bridge the research gap and

indicate that young learners are able to learn speaking English through ABL. Therefore,

this study implies that activity-based learning is a valuable addition to the learning

environment and curriculum in the English classroom for primary students in Thailand.

5.3 Pedagogical Implication

One implication of this study is that activity-based learning can help improve

communicative competence. Communicative competence is important for children

particularly, because acquisition of communicative competence helps children navigate

and explore adult worlds (Hyme, 1972). Therefore, developing communicative

competence is a critical aspect of social and intellectual maturity for children. Activity-

based learning is a contextual learning process, with the students’ environment and

emotional and social involvement in the learning process as well as the learning

materials affecting the learning experience (Illeris, 2000; Ormorod, 1995).

Another implication of this study is that teaching English speaking ability by

using ABL could be an example of an inductive teaching method that Thai English

teachers could implement in their class, as it is shown in this study that ABL

significantly enhances students’ speaking ability and helps them to focus on the lesson

because they found it interesting and fun.

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5.4 Academic and Practical Recommendations

The main academic recommendation of this research is that activity-based

learning should be studied in primary classrooms more actively. Other similar studies

identified in this study were single-classroom observational studies of older learners,

rather than younger learners. This research gap leads to the investigation of activity-

based learning that meets the needs of younger learners based in evidence. Thus, there

are still gaps in the theory of activity-based learning that need to be overcome.

Activity-based learning is one part of the puzzle for developing sociolinguistic

and discourse competence, which is required to use spoken English effectively in

everyday life. The improvement outcomes which were reveled from this study also

showed that students had positive satisfaction in activity-based learning and viewed it

as a better learning experience than their experience with traditional rote learning.

Therefore, it would be appropriate to develop and introduce learning activities to help

students meet language learning goals at all levels.

5.5 Research Limitations

There are some limitations to this study, which could affect how far the study

findings can be generalized or extended to other populations. The main limitation is

that the study took place in a single classroom, which means that the sample may not

represent all primary students in Thailand, and it might be difficult to ensure that the

results of this study could be widely generalized to the whole population. A final

limitation is that the study did take place in Thailand, which uses a specific standardized

curriculum for English teaching at the primary level. Therefore, the results may not

directly apply internationally, since other school systems use other curricula and

approaches to English teaching.

5.6 Recommendations for Future Research

The positive results of this study showed that activity-based learning has

promise for English learning in Thai primary classrooms. It would be helpful to extend

this research to further investigate how activity-based learning influences English

learning and curriculum in Thai classrooms. For example, activity-based learning could

be implemented at a larger school in multiple grade levels could be used to determine

whether activity-based learning made a significant difference compared to the standard

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approach currently used in most schools. This extension of the study would allow for

exploration of the benefits of activity-based learning throughout the early learning

stages of English. This type of research could also be conducted as a longer-term

longitudinal study across a primary year cohort or multiple cohorts, which would allow

the researcher to determine whether activity-based learning implemented across a long

term resulted in a significant improvement of English learning. This type of research

would be more involved and would require more commitment of resources. However,

it would also provide conclusive evidence about the benefits of activity-based learning

in the English classroom. In other courses, teaching by experimental method in science

class or teaching by games in mathematics class compare with the traditional method.

This may be implemented on a larger sample with different subjects or scales and the

students’ successes and attitudes on activity-based learning method may be

investigated. Thus, it would be helpful to consider these opportunities for further

research.

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APPENDICES

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APPENDIX A

LESSON PLANS

Lesson Plan (Week 1)

Class

Class: IEP English

Topic: Asking for and

Giving personal information

Length: 50 minutes/class

Students

Number: 35 students/class

Age: 8-9 years

Nation: Thai

1st language: Thai

Level: Grade 3

Objective: 1. Students will be able to know the vocabulary for their daily lives.

2. Students will be able to tell their basic information

3. Students will be able to use the correct structure of the sentences

Textbook: -

Materials: Whiteboard, marker, flash cards, worksheet

Previous knowledge: Students know some basic words for their daily lives

Previous assignment: None

Requirement: A Classroom with space

Sta

ge

Detail Time Interact

ion

1 Warm-up 5

mins

T →

Ss Aim - To stimulate students’ interest

- To check students background

knowledge

- To review their knowledge

such as vocabulary words

Materials Whiteboard, marker, flash cards

Procedur

es

1. Greet students

2. Talk with them with the basic

questions Ex. “How are you?

How do you feel? How is the

weather?”

3. Let students share their answers

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- Ss say nothing, so T may ask for

volunteers or randomly select

some students. T should

encourage them to speak.

2 Presentation T → Ss

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Aim - To teach the conversation about

asking and giving their

information

15

mins

T Ss

Materials - Worksheets, flash cards

Procedur

es

Teacher

Students

Asking for information

- What’s your name?

- How old are you?

- What animal do you like?

- What is your favorite sport?

- How do you come to school?

- What is your favorite food?

- When do you get up?

- Do you like pizza?

- How many people are there in

your family?

Giving information

- My name is ______.

- I am _____ years old.

- I like ______.

- My favorite sport is ______.

- I come to school by ______.

- My favorite food is ______.

- I get up at _______.

- Yes, I do./ No, I don’t

- There are ______ people.

Vocabulary

Kinds of animal, food, vehicles,

members in a family, sports.

1.T teaches vocabulary that related to

the topic,

2.T teaches complete sentences for

asking for and giving their

information. (T may give more

examples that the answer is depended

on their opinions)

3.T lets Ss practice pronouncing the

sentences. (As mentioned in material

above)

4.T asks Ss one by one and who can

answer give them a prize.

1. Ss listen to explanation from T.

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2. Ss practice pronouncing the

direction phrases and words.

3. Ss answer questions.

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- Some Ss may be afraid to answer.

T should motivate them by asking

several times (T should give equal

opportunity to every student to

speak)

- Some Ss may not do it correctly at

first. Give them chances to

practice more and see their

progress.

3 Practice 10

mins

T →

Ss

Ss →

Ss

Aim - To let Ss make conversations

about themselves

- To improve their English-speaking

skill

Materials - Flash cards

Procedur

es

1. T asks for volunteers to make

conversations in front of class. (pair

work)

2. T may set the question (2-3

questions) for students to ask and

answer. Ex. student A asks “What’s

your name?

student B answers “My

name is Bob”.

student A asks “What

sport do you like?

Student b answers “I like

football.”

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- Ss may not listen their classmates.

T may ask some questions to let

them concentrate on the

conversations.

- T encourages all students to clap

their hands and give some prizes

for volunteer students.

4 Production 15

mins

T → Ss

Aim - To develop students’ speaking,

listening and writing skills

Materials Worksheet, pencils, flashcards

Procedur

es

1. T lets Ss read all complete

sentences together.

Ex. “What’s your name?”

My name is _______.

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2. T gives worksheet for students then

let them read questions together.

3. For the answer it can be various

answers depending on their opinions,

but the sentences should be the same.

Ex. What is your name?

My name is (This sentence, Ss

must speak together but the answer

can be different.)

4. However, Ss must answer loudly

together and write their own answer

on worksheet.

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- Some Ss don’t write the answer so

T should walk around classroom.

- Some Ss may not speak English, T

should ask them several time. If

they really cannot answer, T may

ask their friends to be an example.

5 Ending 5

mins

T → Ss

Aim - To end the class and review the

sentences

Procedur

es

1. Let Ss read the question and answer

again

2 Say Goodbye

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Class

Class: IEP English


Giving personal information


Students


Age: 8-9 years

Nation: Thai 1st

language: Thai

Level: Grade 3

Objective: 1. Students will be able to know vocabulary for their daily lives.

2. Students will be able to tell their basic information

3. Students will be able to use the correct structure of the sentences

Textbook: -

Materials: Whiteboard, marker, flash cards, worksheet

Previous knowledge: Students know basic sentences for asking and giving

their information



Stage Detail Time Interaction

1 Warm-up 5

mins

T → Ss

Aim - To stimulate students’

interest

- To review their

background knowledge

Materials Whiteboard, marker, flash

cards

Procedure

s

1. Greet students

2. Talk with them with the basic

questions Ex. “How are you?

How do you feel? How is the

weather?”

3. Ask what have we learnt

previous class?

4.Let students share their

answers

Anticipate

d problems

and

solutions

- Ss say nothing, so T may

ask for volunteers or

randomly select some

students. T should



Ref. code: 25615821042024YGT

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Aim - To review the conversations

about asking and giving

their information

15

mins

T Ss

Materials - Worksheets, flash cards

Procedure

s

1. Teacher shows the flashcards

and sentences on the board.

Ex. “How many people are

there in your family?”

“There are _____ people.

2. Teacher asks students for

several times.

3. Ss answer the questions. Anticipate

d problems

and

solutions

- Some Ss may not listen to T

so T should motivate them

by always asking questions

- If Ss cannot answer

questions, let them ask their

friend questions instead

3 Practice 10

mins

T → Ss

Ss → Ss Aim - To let Ss make

conversations about

themselves

- To improve their English-

speaking skill

Materials - Flash cards

Procedure

s

1. T asks for volunteers to ask

their friends questions

(Questions are whatever Ss

want to know)

2. When Ss finish asking

questions T asks Ss to make

sure they understand what their

friend answers. Anticipate

d problems

and

solutions

- Ss may not listen their

classmates. T may choose

Ss who talk or do not listen

to their friends to make

conversations.

- T encourages all students to

clap their hands and give

prizes for volunteer

students.

4 Production T → Ss

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Aim - To develop students’

speaking, listening and

writing skill

15

mins

Materials Worksheet, pencils, flashcards

Procedure

s

1. T set activity as “Information

gap” to let Ss speak with their

friends.

2. T gives worksheet for

students then let them read

questions together first. (In

worksheet, there are five

questions)

3. For this activity, Ss must ask

five of their friends then they

write short answer in each

question

4. Whoever finishes the task

fastest is winner

5. After finishing he/she must

summarize their friend’s

information

Anticipate

d problems

and

solutions

- Some Ss don’t write the

answer so T should walk

around classroom.

- Some Ss may not speak

English, T should help them

repeat the question or

answer slowly.

5 Ending 5

mins

T → Ss

Aim - To end the class and

summarize the lesson

Procedure

s

1.Ask students what we have

learnt this class

2 Say Goodbye

Answer your information

1. What is your name? ___________________________ .

2. When is your birthday? ___________________________.

3. How old are you? ___________________________ .

4. What animal do you like ___________________________ .

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5. How many people are there in your family? __________________________.

6. What is your favorite sport? ___________________________.

Information gap activity

Students must ask for their friends’ information to complete the task.

Name Birthday Age Home Number of

people in

your family

Animal

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Class

Class: IEP English

Topic: Describing people


Students


Age: 8-9 years

Nation: Thai

1st language: Thai

Level: Grade 3

Objective: 1. Students will be able to know basic vocabulary related to the

topic.

2. Students will be able to describe people following the pictures.

3. Students will be able to use English language to communicate.

Textbook: -

Materials: Whiteboard, marker, Flash cards, pictures of people, worksheet.

Previous knowledge: -



Stage Detail Tim

e

Interactio

n

1 Warm-up 10

mins

T → Ss


interest

- To check students

background knowledge



Materials Whiteboard, flashcards,

Procedure

s

4. Greet students

5. Talk with them about

appearance

6. Ask Ss questions “What does

teacher look like?”

T should guide Ss for the first time.

Ex. Teacher has long/short hair?

Then Ss answer what they see, T

makes a full sentence for them

7. Let students share their opinion

8. Ask Ss to review the words that

related to the topic

Anticipate

d

problems




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and

solutions

students. T should


2 Presentation 20

mins

T → Ss

T Ss Aim - To teach how to describe

people

Materials - Worksheets, flashcards,

Whiteboard

- Big pictures of several

people

Procedure

s

Teacher

Students

Asking the appearance

- What does she/he look like?

- Does she have long/short

hair?

- Is she boy/girl?

- What is the color of her/his

hair?

Giving the appearance

- She has short red hair and

her hair is curly.

- She has brown eyes and a

big nose.

- He is tall and fat.

Vocabulary

Adjective

1.T teaches adjective vocabulary

that is related to the topic

2. T teaches complete sentences for

asking the appearance then Ss

practice pronouncing the sentences.

(As mentioned in material above)

3.T shows the big picture of person

on the board and asks students to

tell her/his appearances by asking

one by one question (T should have

many pictures)




3. Ss answer questions following

the pictures.

Anticipate

d

problems

and

solutions

- Some Ss do not know

enough adjective vocabulary

so T should repeat many

times.

- Some Ss afraid to speak out

loud so T should create their

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confidences by clapping

hands for them

- Give them chances to


progress.

3 Practice 10

mins

T → Ss

Ss → Ss Aim - To let Ss rearrange and

understand the structure of

the sentence

Materials Pictures of people, white board,

worksheet

Procedure

s

1. T gives worksheet to Ss

2. T lets Ss read the uncomplete

sentence together.

Ex. has /hair /she / long

3. T asks Ss to look at the

pictures in worksheet and let Ss

describe the picture.

4. Ss speak the complete

sentence together then they must

write the answer in their worksheet

Anticipate

d

problems

and

solutions


English or write the

sentence so T should help

slowly

- T should walk around

classroom to observe and

encourage students

4 Production 10

mins

T → Ss


speaking, listening and

writing skills

Materials Worksheet, pencil

Procedure

s

1. T lets Ss read all complete

sentences together.

Ex. “What does she look like?”

She has _______ . (look at

the pictures in worksheet)

2. T gives worksheet for students

then let them read questions

together.

3. For the answer is followed the

pictures in worksheet.

4. However, Ss have answer loudly

together and write their own answer

on worksheet.

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Anticipate

d

problems

and

solutions

- Some Ss don’t write the

answer so T should walk

around classroom.


English, T should ask them

for several time. If they

really cannot answer, T may

ask their friends to be an

example.

6 Ending 5

mins

T → Ss

Aim - To end the class and review

the vocabulary and the

sentences

Procedure

s

1. Let Ss repeat the vocabulary and

sentence again

2. Say Goodbye

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Class

Class: IEP English

Topic: Describing people


Students


Age: 8-9 years

Nation: Thai 1st language: Thai

Level: Grade 3

Objective: 1. Students will be able to know basic vocabulary that is related to

the topic.

2. Students will be able to describe people following the pictures.

3. Students will be able to use English language to communicate.

Textbook: -

Materials: Whiteboard, marker, Flash cards, pictures of people, worksheet.

Previous knowledge: Adjective vocabulary and basic sentence to ask and

give the appearance



Stage Detail Tim

e

Interactio

n

1 Warm-up 5

mins

T → Ss


interest

- To review students’

previous knowledge

Materials Whiteboard, flashcards,

Procedure

s

1. Greet students

2. Talk with them about what we

have learnt last class.

3. Ask Ss questions “What does

teacher look like?” by showing

pictures


5. Ask Ss to review the words that

related to the topic

Anticipate

d

problems

and

solutions




students. T should



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Aim - To review the conversations

about asking and describing

the appearances

10

mins

T Ss

Materials - flashcards, Whiteboard

- Big pictures of several

people

Procedure

s

1. Teacher shows the flashcards and

sentences on the board

2. T asks the appearance of each

people

3. Teacher asks Ss one by one

4. Make sure that Ss know enough

vocabulary then T gives worksheet

Anticipate

d

problems

and

solutions

- Some Ss do not know

enough adjective vocabulary

so T should repeat many

times.

- Some Ss afraid to speak out

loud so T should create their

confidences by clapping

hands for them

- Give them chances to


progress

3 Practice 10

mins

T → Ss

Ss → Ss Aim - To let Ss present their

pictures

- To improve their English

public speaking skill

Materials Pictures of people, white board

Procedure

s

1. T gives a person pictures for

students and let them describe a

picture (pair work)

2. When Ss finish describing a

picture with their peer, Ss must

change the pictures with other

friends to practice different picture

Anticipate

d

problems

and

solutions


English so T should help

slowly

- T should walk around

classroom to observe and

encourage students

4 Production 20

mins

T → Ss


speaking skill

Ref. code: 25615821042024YGT

94

Materials Pieces of picture

Procedure

s

1. This activity is called “Jigsaw

activity”. Ss must play in pair.

2. T chooses a pair for Ss.

3. Each pair is given different parts

of cut up pictures and they must

match their parts with another pair

without showing them to each other

4. The rule is “Ss have to describe

the pictures to each other by

speaking English ONLY” (Any pair

speaking Thai is at fault)

5. Which pair can find the missing

part fastest is the winner Anticipate

d

problems

and

solutions

- Some Ss speak Thai with

their friend. They are at

fault and T may change new

pictures for them.

- Some Ss may show the

pictures to each other, T

may change new pictures

for them

--- This activity, T should

prepare many pictures for Ss--

6 Ending 5

mins

T → Ss

Aim - To end the class and

summarize the lesson

Procedure

s

1. T summarize the knowledge of

this topic

2. Say Goodbye

Part 1: Rearrange the sentences.

1. has / hair / long/ she/./

____________________________________________________

2. does / he / like / what / look /?/

____________________________________________________

3. tall / is / he /./

____________________________________________________

4. he / eyes /has / brown /./

____________________________________________________

5. / is / color / what / his / eyes/?/

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Part 2: Describe the people

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

What does she look like?

_________________________________

_______________


_________________________________

_______________

What does he look like?

_________________________________

_______________


_________________________________

_______________

What does he look like?

_________________________________

_______________

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Class

Class: IEP English


giving directions.


Students


Age: 8-9 years

Nation: Thai

1st language: Thai

Level: Grade 3


the topic.

2. Students will be able to give directions following the map.

3. Students will be able to use English language to communicate in

group.

Textbook: -

Materials: Whiteboard, marker, Flash cards, Big Map, worksheet.

Previous knowledge: -



Sta

ge

Detail Time Interact

ion

1 Warm-up 7

mins

T →


- To check students background

knowledge



Materials Whiteboard, marker, Flash cards

Procedur

es

9. Greet students

10. Talk with them about the places

near school and their homes

11. Ask them questions “where is

your home? Where is it near?”


13. Ask them to review the words of

the places or directions such as

school, hospital, police station,

left, right, U-turn. T should show

flash cards or pictures and let

them say the words.

14. T randomly selects some students

to answer and show the action of

Ref. code: 25615821042024YGT

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directions. Ex. turn left, turn

right, go straight

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- Ss say nothing, so T may ask

for volunteers or randomly

select some students. T should


2 Presentation 20

mins

T → Ss

T Ss Aim - To teach the questions and

answer for asking for and

giving directions.

Materials - Sentence cards, Vocabulary

cards

- Worksheet

Asking for the way

Excuse me, where is the school?

Excuse me, how can I get to the

hospital?

Excuse me, can you tell me the way to

museum?

Excuse me, do you know where ABC

hotel is?

Giving Directions

Go straight, Go up, Go down.

Turn left, Turn right on (street).

It is on your right/left hand.

It is between (place) and (place). It is

next to (place).

It is behind the (place).

It is in front of the (place).

Vocabulary

Preposition and direction, hotel,

school, museum, bank, police office,

restaurant, hospital, gas station,

temple, swimming pool, library,

church, bakery, post office.

Teacher

1. Teacher teaches vocabulary

about preposition, directions

and places.

Ref. code: 25615821042024YGT

98

Students

2. Teacher teaches complete

sentences for asking for and

giving directions then ask Ss

to practice pronouncing the

sentences. (As mentioned in

material above)

3. Teacher show the big map on

the board and asks students

where the hospital is.

4. Teacher asks how to go to the

hospital from the school.




3. Ss answer questions.

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- Some Ss may not be in pairs,

so three people are allowed.

- T should let all Ss do these

activities. T should check and

observe Ss understand or not.

- Some Ss may not do it

correctly at first. Give them

chances to practice more and

see their progress.

3 Practice 10

mins

Ss →

Ss Aim - To let students try to ask for

and give directions

Materials Map, Marker

Procedur

es


conversations. (pair work)

2. T may set the place for each

student. Ex. student A is at the

school and asks student how to

go there.

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- T encourages Ss to speak

English by asking them

questions

- Ss do not want to join activity

so T may randomly select Ss.

- T should have small prizes for

volunteer students to

encourage other students.

4 Production

Ref. code: 25615821042024YGT

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Aim - To let Ss rearrange and

understand the structure of the

sentences

10

mins

T →

Ss

Ss →

Ss Materials - Worksheet, Marker

Procedur

es

1. T lets Ss read the uncomplete

sentences together.

Ex. is / where/ hospital/

excuse me/ the /?

opposite /It /the

/school /is.

2. T asks Ss what the complete

sentence is. T may ask Ss one by

one and word by word.

3. T asks Ss to read the complete

sentences loudly together.

4. T may divide Ss as boy and girl

group. Then, Boys play role as

asking for directions and girls

answer the question.

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- Ss may not answer or do not

know the answer. T may ask

some Ss to help then let Ss

who cannot answer repeat the

complete sentence.

6 Ending 3

mins

T → Ss

Aim - To end the class and give them

revision

Procedur

es

1. T asks the vocabulary about the

topic

2. T lets Ss read the sentences in

worksheet together

3. Say Goodbye

Ref. code: 25615821042024YGT

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Class

Class: IEP English


giving directions


Students


Age: 8-9 years

Nation: Thai

1st language: Thai

Level: Grade 3


the topic.

2. Students will be able to give directions following the map.

3. Students will be able to use English language to communicate in

group.

Textbook: -

Materials: Whiteboard, marker, Flash cards, Big Map, worksheet.

Previous knowledge: Students know words of places and directions.

They know and understand how to ask for and giving

directions



Sta

ge

Detail Time Interac

tion

1 Warm-up 5

mins

T →



such as vocabulary words and

sentences.

Materials Whiteboard, marker, Flash cards

Procedur

es

1. Greet students

2. T shows Ss flash cards and asks

them where it is

3. T asks the question on the map

4. Encourage students answer the

question

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- Ss say nothing, so T may ask

for volunteers or randomly

select some students. T should



Ref. code: 25615821042024YGT

101

Aim - To teach the questions and

answer for asking for and

giving directions.

10

mins

T Ss

Materials

Procedur

es

- Sentence cards, Vocabulary

cards

Map

1. Teacher shows the map and asks

question.

Ex. “Excuse me, how can I get to

the hospital?”

“You go straight and turn

right at the corner. It is next to

café.

2. Teacher asks students for

several times.

3. Ss answer the questions.

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- Some Ss may not answer the

questions

- T should encourage Ss by

giving some candy for the

prize. T should check and

observe Ss understand or not.

Some Ss may not do it correctly at

first. Give them chances to practice

more and see their progress.

3 Practice 10

mins

Ss

→ Ss Aim - To let students try to ask for

and give directions

Materials - Map marker

Procedur

es


conversations. (pair work)

2. T may set the place for each

student. Ex. student A is at the

school and student B asks how

to get there.

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- T encourages Ss to speak

English by asking

- Ss do not want to join activity

so T may randomly select Ss.

- T should have small prizes for

volunteer students to

encourage other students.

4 Production

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Aim - To let Ss speak English for

asking for and giving

directions

15

mins

Ss →

Ss

Materials - worksheet, marker, pencil

Procedur

es

1. T lets Ss do activity in pair

work.

2. T gives worksheet for every

student. Each student has the

locations of some places on the

downtown map. Then student A asks

Student B how to get the missing

place.

3. Ss try to speak English for

getting the places.

4. T walks around the classroom

and observes students’ reaction.

5. Which group can get the correct

answers fastest is the winner.

6. T gives the prize for winners.

Anticipat

ed

problems

and

solutions

- Ss may not participate in the

activity so T should help them

by letting them repeat after in

the first question.

5 Ending 5

mins

T → Ss

Aim To end the class and give them the

correct answer of the exercise

Procedur

es

1. T tells the correct answers

together

2. Say Good Bye

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Rearrange the new sentence.

1. is / school / where/ the ?

____________________________________________________

2. will / You / the /intersection /pass /./

____________________________________________________

3. I / get / can / how / school/ to?

____________________________________________________

4. have / you / to / turn / straight / and / left / go /./

(เดนตรงไปและเลยวซาย)

____________________________________________________

5. The / on /your /right/ hand / hospital / is /./

____________________________________________________

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APPENDIX B

PRETEST AND POSTTEST

Testing for speaking ability and achievement of Primary 3

Part I: Giving personal information

1. What’s your name?

2. Where is your home?

3. What sports do you like?

4. How many people are there in your family?

Part II: Describing people

5. Choose 2 pictures and describe their appearances.

Part III: Asking for and giving directions

6. How do you get to school from the starting point?

7. Where is the museum?

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APPENDIX C

RUBRIC OF SPEAKING TEST

Score Fluency

1 Speaker speaks slowly and hesitantly except for short memorized phrases; difficult

to perceive continuity in speech; inaudible.

2 Speaker speaks frequently with hesitation and with some sentences left incomplete;

volume is very soft.

3 Speaker speaks relatively smoothly, though with some hesitation and unevenness,

which is caused by rephrasing and searching for words; volume trembles.

4 Speaker speaks smoothly with few hesitations, minimal search for words and only

one or two inaudible words.

5 Speaker speaks smoothly with no hesitation, no attempts to search for words and

with excellent volume.

Grammar & Vocabulary

1 Speaker has a weak control of language. Vocabulary does not match the task.

Frequent grammatical errors even in simple structures; meaning is obscured.

2 Speaker has a weak control of language. Basic vocabulary choices with some words

are clearly lacking. Frequent grammatical errors even in simple structures that at

times obscure meaning.

3 Speaker has an adequate control of language. Vocabulary range is lacking.

Occasional grammatical errors that do not obscure meaning, though with minimal

variety in structures.

4 Speaker has a good control of language; good range of relatively well-chosen

vocabulary. Some errors in grammatical structures are possibly caused by an attempt

to include variety and the appearance of spontaneity.

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5 Speaker has an excellent control of language; a wide range of well-chosen

vocabulary, accuracy and variety of grammatical structures.

Communication strategies

1 Speaker never uses gestures when speaking.

2 Speaker occasionally uses gestures.

3 Speaker often tries to use gestures. At times, they may use gestures inappropriately

for the context.

4 Speaker tries to use gestures while speaking and when having difficulty using

vocabulary.

5 Speaker uses gestures appropriately.

Adapted from Phisutthangkool (2012) and Sacanlon and Zemach (2009) and Domesrifa (2008).

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APPENDIX E

English Speaking Test Evaluation Sheet

Pretest Posttest

Student Number ________________ Rater______Name___________

Part I Giving personal information

Score

Behavior

1 2 3 4 5

Fluency

Grammar &

Vocabulary

Communication

strategies

Part II Describing people

Score

Behavior

1 2 3 4 5

Fluency

Grammar &

Vocabulary

Communication

strategies

Score

Behavior

1 2 3 4 5

Fluency

Grammar &

Vocabulary

Communication

strategies

Part III Asking for and giving directions

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APPENDIX D

STUDENT’ S ATTITUDE TOWARDS ACTIVITY – BASED LEARNING

QUESTIONAIRE

แบบทดสอบทศนคตและความพงพอใจของนกเรยนทมตอกจกรรมการเรยนภาษาองกฤษ

กจกรรมท ….. “……………………………….”

เพศ…………………..

ตอนท 1 ค าชแจง ใหนกเรยนระบายสลงในรปตรงกบความคดเหนของนกเรยนหลงจากใชกจกรรมในการเรยน

ภาษาองกฤษในหองเรยน

ขอความ ระดบการรบร

มาก ☺

ปานกลาง นอย

1.นกเรยนชอบเรยนภาษาองกฤษโดยใชเกม “………………..”

☺

2. เมอใชเกมในการเรยนภาษาองกฤษ นกเรยนรสกสนกมากยงขน

☺

3. บรรยากาศในการเรยนภาษาองกฤษโดยใชเกมท าใหนกเรยนไมเครยด

☺

4.คณครอธบายขนตอนการใชกจกรรมไดอยางเขาใจงาย

☺

5. เกมมภาพประกอบและเนอหาทนาสนใจ ☺

6. นกเรยนไดพดภาษาองกฤษมากขนในขณะเลนเกม

☺

7. นกเรยนรค าศพทจากการเรยนภาษาองกฤษโดยใชเกมประกอบการเรยนการสอน

☺

8. นกเรยนเขาใจเนอหาบทเรยนและสามารถตอบค าถามไดในชวตประจ าวน

☺

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ขอความ ระดบการรบร

มาก ปานกลาง นอย 9. นกเรยนชอบการเรยนภาษาองกฤษโดยใชเกมมากกวาการเรยนแบบทองจ า

☺

10. นกเรยนสนกและมความสขกบการเรยนภาษาองกฤษในเกม “………………”

☺

12. ในระหวางเลนเกม “…………….” นกเรยนรสกอยากสนทนาภาษาองกฤษมากยงขน

☺

13. นกเรยนรสกสนใจและชอบท ากจกรรมวชาภาษาองกฤษโดยใชเกม “……………”

☺

14. หลงจากเรยนโดยใชเกมนกเรยนมความมนใจในการพดภาษาองกฤษมากขน

☺

15. นกเรยนชอบการท างานแบบจบคหรองานกลมมากกวาการท างานคนเดยว

☺

ตอนท 2 ค าชแจง ใหนกเรยนตอบค าถามตอไปน

1. ขอเสนอแนะ

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………..

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Student’s Attitude towards the Activity – Based Learning

(Adapted from Phisutthungkool 2012 )

Statements Response

High Medium Low

1. Students enjoy learning English by using Jigsaw activity. ☺

2. Students feel happier while using Jigsaw activity. ☺

3. When learning by activity, the atmosphere in the classroom

is relaxed.

☺

4. Teacher gives clear directions. ☺

5. The activity ha interesting pictures and content. ☺

6. Students have more chances to speak English while using

the activity.

☺

7. Students receive more vocabulary after using the activity. ☺

8. Students understand the lesson and take them for

communicate in daily life.

☺

9. Students enjoy learning English by using activity more than

rote memorized.

☺

10. Students are happy while using Jigsaw activity. ☺

11. While using this activity, students want to speak English

more.

☺

12. Students are interested and want to join Jigsaw activity. ☺

13. After using the activity, students have more confident to

speak English.

☺

14. Students enjoy working in pair work than individual

work.

☺

Part 2: Suggestions

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………..

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APPENDIX E

CONSENT FORM

ใบยนยอมเขารวมการวจย (Consent Form)

หวขอวทยานพนธเรอง: An Investigation on Using Activity-Based Learning to Enhance English

Speaking Ability of Primary 3 Students in a Private Bangkok School

รายละเอยดในการเกบขอมล : ในการเกบขอมลผวจยจะมการบนทกวดโอในชวโมงเรยนการเรยนการสอนวชาภาษาองกฤษ E 13201 เปนจ านวน 1 ครงตอสปดาห โดยผวจยจะท ามการทดสอบพด (Speaking Test ) กอนและหลงเรยนเพอวดผลความกาวหนาทางการเรยนผาน

กจกรรม ทงนการทดสอบดงกลาวไมมผลตอการเรยนในรายวชาภาษาองกฤษ E 13201

1. กอนทจะลงนามในใบยนยอมใหท าการวจยน ขาพเจาไดรบการอธบายจากผวจยถงวตถประสงคของการวจย วธการวจย และมความเขาใจดแลว

2. ผวจยรบรองวาจะตอบค าถามตาง ๆ ทขาพเจาสงสยดวยความเตมใจ ไมปดบงซอนเรนจนขาพเจาพอใจ 3. ขาพเจามสทธทจะบอกเลกการเขารวมโครงการวจยนเมอใดกได และเขารวมโครงการวจยนโดยสมครใจ และการบอกเลกการเขารวมการวจย

นนไมมผลตอคะแนนหรอเกรดของรายวชา E 13201 ทจะพงไดรบตอไป

4. ผวจยรบรองวาจะเกบขอมลเฉพาะเกยวกบตวขาพเจาเปนความลบ จะเปดเผยไดเฉพาะในรปทเปนสรปผลการวจย การเปดเผยขอมลของตวขาพเจาตอหนวยงานตาง ๆ ทเกยวของตองไดรบอนญาตจากขาพเจาแลวจะกระท าไดเฉพาะกรณจ าเปนดวยเหตผลทางวชาการเทานน

5. ขาพเจาไดอานขอความขางตนแลว และมความเขาใจดทกประการ และไดลงนามในใบยนยอมนดวยความเตมใจ

วนทใหค ายนยอม วนท..........................เดอน.................................................พ.ศ.....................

ลงนาม.......................................................ผยนยอม

(........................................................................)

ลงนาม.......................................................พยาน

(........................................................................)

ลงนาม.......................................................ผท าวจย

( นางสาวชไมพร สตตานนท

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Participant Consent Form

Thesis title: An Investigation on Using Activity-Based Learning to Enhance English

Speaking Ability of Primary 3 Students in a Private Bangkok School

Details for data collection: The participants will be recorded on video once a week in the English

class ( E 13201) . Moreover, the participants will be take the pre-posttests for evaluating their

development after learning through activity-based learning. The results from this experiment do

not affect their grades in this course (E 13201).

1. I have read the Participant Information Sheet and objectives for this research project. I

understand and agree to take part.

2. I understand the purpose of the research project and my involvement in it.

3. I understand that I may withdraw from the research project at any stage and that this will not

affect my status now or in the future.

4. I understand that while information gained during the study may be published, I will not be

identified, and my personal results will remain confidential. I understand that I will be audio/video

recorded during the speaking test.

5. I understand that I may contact the researcher if I require further information about the research.

Signed................................................................................ (Participant)

Signed…………………………………………………… (Witness)

Signed……………………………………………………. (Researcher)

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BIOGRAPHY

Name Miss Chamaibhorn Suttanon

Date of Birth March 25, 1993

Educational Attainment 2011-2014: Bachelor of Arts in Thai

Work Position Royal Thai Police Headquarters

Work Experiences 2019-present: Police officer

Royal Thai Police Headquarters

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an investigation on using activity-based learning to

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