The Effects of Using Photo Story for Developing Reading Skills at Loei Rajabhat University

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the effects of using a teaching technique, based on Photo Story, on student acquisition of reading skills at Loei Rajabhat University. The quasi-experimental research design was implemented as a three credit reading course, with three hours of instruction per week, during the first semester of 2013. Forty six English major students participated in this study, with twenty one in an experimental group and twenty five in a control group. The study employed pre and post test comparisons. The experimental group received instructional interventions, based on using Photo Story, whilst the control group attended conventional lectures. Both groups were administered tests to measure their English reading proficiency, their motivation, reading attitudes, and in the case of the experimental group, their overall satisfaction of the interventions administered was also measured. Test results for reading proficiency indicated that the Photo Story based instructional technique was not a statistically significant improvement over conventional lectures. However, the development of reading skills within each group was comparable. Concerning motivation and attitudes, there were also no statistically significant differences between the two groups. Finally, regarding satisfaction of the interventions, the experimental group was satisfied with the Photo Story instructional technique. Keywords: Photo Story, Reading Skills, Reading Proficiency