Using Cooperative Strategies Reading (CSR) and Reciprocal Strategy to Develop English Reading Ability and Reduce Anxiety: A Case Study of Monastic Students of Mahamakut Buddhist University, Roi-Et Campus

Abstract

This research aimed to: 1) examine and compare the English reading ability of monastic undergraduate students before and after instruction using Cooperative Strategies Reading (CSR) integrated with the Reciprocal Strategy;  2) investigate the levels of anxiety toward English reading tests before and after instruction; and 3) examine the relationship between anxiety and English reading ability among the monastic students.

         The sample consisted of 27 first-year monastic undergraduate students in the second semester of the 2025 academic year (B.E. 2568), selected through simple random sampling. The research design was a one group pretest-posttest experimental design. The research instruments included: (1) lesson plans for teaching English reading using Cooperative Strategic Reading (CSR) integrated with the Reciprocal Strategy; (2) an English reading ability test; and (3) an anxiety test measuring anxiety toward English reading tests. The statistics used for data analysis were mean, standard deviation, dependent samples t-test, and correlation coefficient. The experiment was conducted over a period of seven weeks, with three hours of instruction per week, totaling 21 hours.

         The research findings were as follows:

1. The monastic students’ mean score in English reading ability before the instruction was 18.85 (μ=18.85) , accounting for 31.42%, and after the instruction was 28.41(μ= 28.41) , accounting for 47.35%. The comparison of mean scores revealed that the students’ English reading ability after being taught through Cooperative Strategic Reading (CSR) integrated with the Reciprocal Strategy was significantly higher than before the instruction at the .05 level of statistical significance.
2. The students’ mean score of anxiety toward the English reading test before the instruction was 3.36 (μ=3.36) , which was at a relatively high level. After the instruction, the mean score decreased to2.19 (μ=2.19), which was at a normal level.
3. The relationship between anxiety and English reading ability among the monastic students was negative, indicating that lower levels of anxiety were associated with higher reading ability.