Effect of Paper-based Concordance on Thai Low Proficiency English Language Learners’ Logical Connector Knowledge

Abstract

              This study compared the effects of two teaching methods i.e. inductive and deductive. Paper-based concordance was used as materials for participants in the inductive teaching group while the deductive teaching group used traditional teaching materials to learn logical connectors. It also sought learners’ opinions towards the usefulness of paper-based concordance. Forty-seven Thai university undergraduates with low English proficiency were divided into the two experimental groups. Two data collection instruments were were used: 1) identical pre and posttests ( were used: 1) identical pre and posttests (α=0.75) and 2) a set of stimulated recall interview questions. Paired T-test was used to analyze the test scores. The results showed a significant improvement of within group comparison (paper-based concordance group t=6.922, p=0.01, SD=4.7) deductive teaching group t=7.450, p=0.01, SD=3.91). However, no significant difference was found in the between group comparison. Interview results revealed that concordance assisted them to gain intuitive knowledge about vocabulary and grammar usage. Additionally, future research may further examine the effect of employing paper-based concordance using deductive teaching approach for low proficiency learners.