Development of Chinese Reading Comprehension Skills and Cooperative Skills through Peer-Assisted Learning for Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The purposes of this research were 1) to compare Chinese reading comprehension skills of undergraduate students before and after learning through Peer-Assisted Learning, 2) to study the development of Chinese reading comprehension skills of undergraduate students with different abilities, and 3) to explore cooperative skills of undergraduate students after learning through Peer-Assisted Learning. The samples used in the research were 35 second-year students from the Business Chinese Program, Faculty of Arts, Dhurakij Pundit University, who were studying in the second semester of the academic year 2021. A cluster sampling method was used. The research instruments included 1) lesson plans on Chinese reading comprehension using Peer-Assisted Learning, 2) the Chinese reading comprehension test, and 3) the cooperative skills assessment.

          The findings revealed that: 1) Chinese reading comprehension skills of undergraduate students after learning trough Peer-Assisted Learning were statistically higher than before learning at the significance level of .05, 2) the relative gain score of Chinese reading comprehension skills of undergraduate students with different abilities was higher in all groups, 3) cooperative skills of undergraduate students who studied through Peer-Assisted Learning were at a very good level.