Using Isan folktales to promote Mathayomsuksa 5 students' reading comprehension, motivation, attitudes towards reading and awareness of local values

The purposes of this study were to investigate which type of texts could better help promote students’ reading ability, motivation, attitudes towards reading: English Isan folktales or narratives, and whether folktales could increase students’ awareness of local values. The subjects were 46 Matthayomsuksa 5 students at Sawangweerawong School, Sawangweerawong, Ubon Ratchathani. They were put in two experimental groups: the first reading eight Isan folktales and the second, eight narratives. They were required to take pre- and post-tests on reading comprehension and complete questionnaires on attitudes towards reading, local value awareness, motivation towards Isan folktales and towards narrative lessons.
The results showed that both groups got significantly higher scores on reading comprehension after the implementation with no significant difference. However, Isan folktales could better help increase students’ attitudes towards English reading and motivation than narratives. Moreover, the students’ awareness of local values after the treatment were significantly higher.