Development of English Reading Comprehension Ability, Problem Solving Skills and Ethics by Integrating Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy for Undergraduates

Abstract

Phranakhon Rajabhat University, Thailand has been the leading institute for teaching for more than 123 years. Moving the university into the 21st century, the president emphasizes that the undergraduates studying in College of Teacher Education achieve competence in English and meet the standard of Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education. However, the second-year Elementary Program undergraduates’ average English score tested by the university is only 9.66 percent. Their average pre-test score in English reading comprehension ability and the problem solving skills of English for Elementary Teacher course do not meet the criteria. Moreover, they have the idea that cheating on the exam is the common thing to do. The researcher decides to integrate Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Philosophy, into the English for Elementary Teacher course. The purposes of this research are to: 1) compare their English reading comprehension ability before and after the experiment, 2) compare their problem solving skills before and after the experiment, 3) explore their ethics after the experiment, and 4) investigate their satisfaction of the instruction integrated by Sufficiency Economy Philosophy. The subject is a class of the second year undergraduates taking English for Elementary Teacher course in the first semester of the academic year 2014.The results show that the integration of Sufficiency Economy Philosophy improves their English reading comprehension ability and problem solving skills, enhances their ethics, and promotes their satisfaction. This finding will be useful for instructing English reading comprehension for students in Basic Education and Higher Education.



Author Information
Prathuangsook Youngsathien, Phranakhon Rajabhat University, Thailand

Paper Information
Conference: ACLL2015
Stream: Learning Strategies

This paper is part of the ACLL2015 Conference Proceedings (View)
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Posted by James Alexander Gordon