The effects of a reading program using phonological awareness-raising and phonics instruction on the English reading ability of Seventh grade struggling readers in Bangkok Metropolitan administration schools

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to investigate the effects of a reading program using phonological awareness-raising and phonics instruction to enhance English reading accuracy and fluency. The participants were 20 seventh grade struggling readers studying at a public school of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Thailand and achieved the scores below 70% on graded word lists at pre-primer. The instruments were an Informal Reading Inventory tests (IRI test), and learning logs. The data were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative statistics. The findings of the study revealed that: (1) the reading program was shown to be effective in improving the students’ reading ability as the average scores on the post-test of the IRI test were significantly higher than the pre-test at the .05 level of significance; and (2) struggling readers collectively developed a positive opinion towards the reading program, as they perceived that the phonological awareness-raising and phonics instruction had brought benefits that enhanced their reading ability.