เยาวเรศ สอนสมบูรณ์ . Thai Students' Difficulties in Reading and Desirable Features of Self-access Reading Materials. Master's Degree(Applied Linguistics (Resource Based English Language Learning)). King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. : King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, 2005.
Thai Students' Difficulties in Reading and Desirable Features of Self-access Reading Materials
Organization :
King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. School of Liberal Arts. Applied Linguistics (Resource Based English Language Learning)
Abstract:
This thesis reports on the creation and effectiveness of a set of in-house self-access reading materials in improving King Mongkuts University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) students reading skill. The materials were intended for use at KMUTTs Self-Access Learning Centre (SALC). They were produced for the purpose of finding to what extent they address students needs and interests, and to investigate what features these materials need to have.To do so, two separate groups of subjects were involved. The first group took part in
the process of needs analysis comprising questionnaire and semi-structured interview. The questionnaire was designed and distributed to one hundred and fifty KMUTT undergraduate students, who were studying in SALC and English courses at KMUTT, 10 of whom were chosen randomly to be interviewed. The results were used as a springboard to develop 14 units of materials to help KMUTT students improve their reading skills. Moreover, the features of self-access materials were also taken into consideration through the materials writing stage. The self-access materials want to train students in the use of reading strategies from top-down to bottom-up oriented reading by providing strategic instruction, which are provided with learning supports in developing students reading strategies.The second group of subjects; one hundred and eighty undergraduate students at KMUTT, none of whom had participated in the needs analysis and who were at the time taking LNG 102 and LNG 103 (which are fundamental English Courses), were asked to cooperate in the materials evaluation stage by choosing to use units of the materials and completing an evaluation form. Twenty eight of this group of subjects took part in a semi-structured interview.
The results indicated that the materials seem to have some positive effects on the
subjects reading skill. The subjects showed positive attitudes toward using the
materials. The majority of them felt satisfied with the level of support in each section of the materials. It can be justified in that the materials enable them to tailor the reading experience to capitalize on their individual strengths and to improve areas of weakness. However, there was one unit that the subjects disliked. Eventually, the results are discussed in terms of features of self-access materials, strengths and drawbacks of the materials, possible solutions, limitations of the study, and future research.