Construction of Thai Pronunciation Competence Test for Prathomsuksa 3 of Assumption Convent Lopburi School

Abstract

Background and Aims: The objectives of this research were to (1) develop a Thai oral reading proficiency assessment, (2) examine the quality of the Thai oral reading proficiency assessment, and (3) study the Thai oral reading proficiency of Prathomsuksa 3 students at Assumption Convent School, Lopburi. The sample consisted of 99 Prathomsuksa 3 students selected through cluster sampling.

Methodology: The sample consisted of 99 Grade 3 students from Assumption Convent School, Lopburi, selected through cluster sampling from four classrooms, of which three were randomly chosen. The research instrument was a Thai oral reading proficiency test that underwent content validation, internal consistency reliability assessment using Cronbach’s alpha, and analyses of difficulty and discrimination. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation.

Results: The findings revealed that: (1) The Thai oral reading proficiency test for Prathomsuksa 3 students was developed based on the Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (revised edition B.E. 2560), under the Thai Language Learning Area, Strand 1: Reading, Standard TH 1.1, and Grade 3 Indicator 1 (P.3/1). The test comprised four sets with a total of 41 assessment items: Set 1: Word Reading, Set 2: Sentence Reading, Set 3: Article Reading, and Set 4: Poetry Reading. (2) The Thai oral reading proficiency test for Prathomsuksa 3 students demonstrated reliability ranging from 0.894 to 0.912, difficulty indices ranging from 0.06 to 1.00, and discrimination indices ranging from 0.12 to 1.00. (3) The overall assessment of Thai oral reading proficiency among the students showed an average score of 79.44%. When analyzed by components, the highest average score was in word reading, at 83.00%, followed by sentence reading at 81.70%, article reading at 78.73%, and poetry reading at 74.33%, respectively

Conclusion: The analysis of Thai oral reading proficiency among Prathomsuksa 3 students indicated that their overall reading proficiency was at a good level. The highest proficiency was in word reading, while the lowest was in poetry reading. The most common issues identified were mispronunciation and stammering during reading, with more errors observed in poetry reading compared to article reading.