Using Task-Based Learning to Improve Students' English Reading Comprehension Ability of Matthayomsuksa 4 Students

Abstract

The purposes of this research were: 1) To study and compare students’ English reading comprehension ability before and after studying English reading comprehension using task-based learning of  Matthayomsuksa 4  students, and 2) To investigate the student’s attitude towards teaching English reading comprehension using task-based learning of  Matthayomsuksa 4 students.The sample consisted of 40 Matthayomsuksa 4 students at Bungkan School, Bungkan Province, under Bungkan Secondary Educational Service Area Office, in the first semester of the academic year 2024. They were selected by cluster random sampling. The design of this research was a one group pretest-posttest design. The research instruments included 12 lesson plans, an English Reading Comprehension Ability Test, and an attitude questionnaire. The experiment lasted 12 weeks, 2 hours a week, or 24 hours for all. Statistics used in the study were mean, percentage, standard deviation, one-sample t-test, and t-test for Dependent samples. The findings of the research were as follows:1)The students’ pretest and posttest mean scores on English Reading Comprehension Ability were 15.58 or 38.94 percent and 30.95 or 77.38 percent respectively. The students’ posttest mean score on English Reading Comprehension Ability was higher than a set criterion of 70 percent and the students’ posttest mean score on English Reading Comprehension Ability was higher than the pretest one. 2)The students' attitude toward teaching English reading comprehension using task-based learning was at a very good level.