Using situational teaching method in learning Chinese speaking skill of grade 8 Thai students

Abstract

This mixed methods study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of Situational Teaching Method (STM) on grade 8 Thai students’ Chinese speaking skill achievement and investigate grade 8 Thai students’ satisfaction towards the use of the STM in learning Chinese speaking skill. The study was conducted in one of the schools in Thailand with 17 students over the period of four weeks. The quantitative data was collected through learning achievement tests (pretest and posttest). The qualitative data was collected from classroom observation and semi-structured interview. The analysis of the pretest and posttest scores through mean, standard deviation, and t-test showed that the students had improved their scores in posttest as compared to pretest. The mean (x̅) difference of 1.47 between pretest (x̅ 1.71) and posttest (x̅ 3.18) indicated that the use of STM improved the students’ learning achievement. Moreover, the data collected from classroom observation and semi-structured interview revealed that the students had positive satisfaction in using STM to improve Chinese speaking skill. The mean (x̅) rating of the classroom observation was 3.50 to 4 out of 4, which was rated as ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ on the Likert scale. This stated that students were motivated and satisfied to use STM to improve Chinese speaking skill. It had also developed their interest in the subject. Therefore, this study recommended using STM as one of the learning strategies to improve the academic achievement and satisfaction in learning Chinese speaking skill