Using literature circles to improve multicultural competence of university students
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Abstract
The purpose of this research was to study how using of literature circles as a classroom activity can potentially develop multicultural competence of EFL university students. The sample consisted of 24 second-year English major students of the Faculty of Education, Uttaradit Rajabhat University, Thailand. The sample was selected by purposive sampling. The students were enrolled in Children’s Literature course during their second academic year of 2018. The instruments used for this study were: five lesson plans that used a type of literature circles activity; multicultural competence self-evaluation test; and literature response journals. A t-test was used to compare the student’s multicultural competence before and after the implementation of the literature circles in the classroom where the Children’s Literature course was being taught. The mean and standard deviation of the multicultural competence scores and content analysis were used to explore the students’ multicultural competence after the use of the literature circles. This study found that the students’ multicultural competence improved significantly following the use of the literature circles. Therefore, the results of the pre-test and post-test scores of students who received literature circles activities were significantly different at the level of .05. This meant that the use of the literature circles activity promoted the development of students’ multicultural competence. The students had developed their multicultural competence after the literature circles activity that was applied to Children’s Literature classroom environment. Most of the students had developed in the “knowledge” aspect of multicultural competence. They showed they could better understand the concept of culture, its components, purposes, geography, economy, history, religion, norms, traditions and value systems.
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