Development of Learning Activities Using Principles of Buddhism to Improve English Speaking Skills for Communication and to Minimize Aggressive Behavior of Fifth Graders at Wat Cherng Krabue School

Abstract

The purpose of this research were to develop a lesson plan using the principles of Buddhism to improve English communicative speaking skills and minimize aggressive behavior of fifth graders at Wat Cherng Krabue School and to investigate the effectiveness of the developed lesson plan. The research population was the 5^th grade students at Wat Cherng Krabue School in the academic year 2017, and 10 students who had limited proficiency in English speaking skills for communication and had aggressive behavior according to teacher’s opinions were selected to be the subjects of this study. The research instruments consisted of (1) eight lesson plans on “Communicative Speaking Activities for Doing Good Deeds and Encouraging Well-being Living,” (2) pre-test and post-test forms, (3) an speaking assessment form (practice assessment), (4) pre and post questionnaires on aggressive behavior for teachers, (5) aggressive behavior observation forms, and (6) teacher logs. The statistics used for data analysis were mean, standard deviation, effectiveness index, and content analysis. The findings revealed that the experts’ opinions towards the developed lesson plans were at the highest level. The effectiveness index of achievement before and after using the lesson plans was 0.4153 or 41.53%. In addition, five students were found to show less aggressive behavior whereas the other five students still had the same level of aggressive behavior as before.