Whole Language Approach in Teaching Reading Among Kindergarten 3 Bilingual Learners in Samutprakarn, Thailand: A Case Study

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Whole Language Approach in Teaching Reading among the Kindergarten 3 Bilingual Learners in selected private schools in Samutprakarn, Thailand. The study had two major objectives: 1) to determine the reading performance of the learners in terms of sound identification, beginning words, rhymes, and sight words and 2) the significant difference in the reading performance as measured in the pre-test and post-test results of the learners when grouped according to control and experimental groups. The quasi-experimental method was used, basically comparing the Traditional approach (Control group) and the Whole Language approach (Experimental group) in teaching reading. An oral reading Pre-test was administered to both groups requiring each learner to produce the correct sounds for the items categorized into sound identification, beginning words, rhymes, and sight words to determine their reading performance. After exposure to the Traditional approach by the Control group and the Whole Language approach to the Experimental group, a Post-test was administered to each group. The results showed that the Experimental group had the higher increase in their reading performance compared to the Control group. This indicated that the Whole Language approach is more effective in teaching reading compared to the Traditional approach.