Enhancing english reading comprehension of thai secondary school students through the integration of technology into task-based language teaching

Abstract

The aims of this research are as follows: (1) to measure the effects of the integration of technology into task-based language teaching (TBLT) on the English reading comprehension of English-Chinese program students; (2) to measure the effects of the integration of technology into TBLT on the English reading comprehension of the English-Computer program students; (3) to compare the effects of the integration of technology into TBLT on the reading comprehension of English-Chinese program students to those of English-Computer program students; and (4) to identify the opinions of students on teaching reading comprehension through the integration of technology into TBLT. The participants consisted of 56 Grade 12 students. They were divided into two experimental groups: 28 students in the English-Chinese program and 28 students in the English-Computer program. The instruments in this study included lesson plans, an English reading comprehension test, and a questionnaire. The mean scores, standard deviation, the t-test analysis, and the analysis of covariance were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that there were statistically significant differences in the pre-test and post-test mean scores of the students in both groups at a level of .05. Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences in terms of the benefits to English-Chinese program students and English-Computer program students. This suggests that the integration of technology into TBLT had similar effects on students from different backgrounds. The results from the questionnaire revealed that students had highly positive opinions about learning reading comprehension through the integration of technology into TBLT. That is, they favored this teaching method. This study pointed out that the integration of technology into TBLT can be an effective method to enhance the reading comprehension of these students.