EFFECTS OF CONTENT-BASED INSTRUCTION ON ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL OF THAI EFL STUDENTS AT UPPER PRIMARY LEVEL

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to: (1) investigate the effects of content-based instruction (CBI) on English speaking skill of Thai EFL students at upper primary level; and (2) explore Thai EFL students at upper primary level’s attitudes towards the application of content-based instruction. The sample consisted of 9 grade-6 students who were studying in the Mini English Program (MEP) in the second semester of the academic year 2017 at one of the catholic school in Bangkok, Thailand. The data collection was based on the content-based instruction class that was conducted over four periods; each period consisted of 60 minutes. The instruments used were a pre-test, a post-test, a self-assessment questionnaire, and a semi-structured interview.

The results indicated that the application of the content-based instruction had a significant effect at a level of 0.000 on the English speaking skill among Thai EFL students at upper primary level at a significant level of .05. In addition, the investigation of the students’ attitudes yielded the positive results: more than 77.8% of the students agree on the application of the content-based instruction, the success of the instruction on vocabulary and grammar, and the favorable role of English speaking in the instruction.