Using phonics to enhance Mathayomsuksa1 students' reading and spelling skills as well as motivation

The purpose of this study was to study the use of phonics to enhance Mathayomsuksa 1 students’ English reading and spelling skills as well as motivation. The subjects consisted of 37 Mathayomsuksa 1/3 stusents at Nonkhowittayakhom School, Sisaket. They were studying Foundation English (E 31101) in the second semester of the academic year 2008. The instruments used comprised phonics lessons, pre-test and post-test, motivation questionnaire and and informal interview. The data were analyzed by using the t-test, Standard Deviation, mean and percentage.
The reseals of the study indicated that students’ reading and spelling skills improved substantially when being taught using the phonics method. Learning achievement of the students through phonics was significantly higher at P<0.000. The students also showed a high level of satisfaction toward learning through phonics.
These results confirmed phonics could be a promising tool for teachers when it comes to students’ reading and spelling ability.