Developing English Speaking Skills of Grade 6 Students through the Audio-lingual Method Using Stories from the Life of the Buddha at Wat Latsai School
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Abstract
English speaking proficiency is an essential component of English language learning; however, many Thai primary school students experience difficulties in pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary use, grammatical accuracy, and confidence in oral communication. This study aimed to (1) develop the English speaking skills of Grade 6 students through the Audio-lingual Method using stories from the Life of the Buddha, (2) compare the students' English speaking achievement before and after the instructional intervention, and (3) investigate the students' satisfaction with the instructional approach. A one-group pretest–posttest experimental design was employed. The participants were 35 Grade 6 students at Wat Latsai School, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, during the first semester of the 2026 academic year. They were selected through purposive sampling. The instructional intervention consisted of four lesson plans implemented over four weeks (eight instructional hours). The research instruments included four instructional lesson plans, an English speaking test, a speaking assessment rubric evaluating pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, and grammatical accuracy, and a student satisfaction questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, and a dependent-samples t-test.
The findings revealed that the students' English speaking skills improved significantly after participating in the instructional program. The posttest mean score was significantly higher than the pretest mean score at the .05 level of significance. Students demonstrated noticeable improvement in pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary use, and grammatical accuracy. In addition, the overall level of student satisfaction with learning English through the Audio-lingual Method integrated with stories from the Life of the Buddha was high. The findings suggest that integrating culturally meaningful Buddhist stories with the Audio-lingual Method creates an engaging learning environment that enhances students' English speaking competence, increases their confidence in oral communication, and promotes positive attitudes toward English learning. This instructional approach can serve as an effective model for English language teaching in Thai primary schools, particularly in temple-based educational settings.
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