A Proposed Public Speaking Course for Year 8 Students at Ascot International School

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to explore the needs of Year 8 students at Ascot International School in public speaking and to propose a public speaking course. The participants of this study were twenty-six Year 8 students at Ascot International School, or Matthayom 2 students in the Thai school context. The instruments were a semi-structured interview and a questionnaire. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to identify the needs and problems of the participants and to explore their learning preferences and topics of interest. The key findings of this study revealed that: 1) The Year 8 students at Ascot International School need to improve their public speaking skills; 2) The top three most interesting topics are A Memorable Experience, A Favorite Place, and Self-Introduction. This study provided another optional extra-curricular activity (ECA) program for Year 8 students at Ascot International School, which would improve their oral communication skills and public speaking ability.