A STUDY SATISFACTION WITH THE USE OF A LEARNER-CENTRED METHOD IN EFL CLASSROOM BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT THAI-NICHI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BANGKOK

Abstract

The purposes of this research were 1) to examine the satisfaction level of Thai undergraduate students with a learner-centred method in EFL classrooms in six areas: curriculum, teaching-learning process, instructional media, instructors, evaluation, and supporting resources, 2) to compare students’ effects of satisfaction with the use of a learner-centred method in EFL classroom on the six aspects according to students’ gender, age, academic years and majors, and 3) to elicit the students opinions and suggestions regarding the implementation of a learner-centred teaching/ learning in EFL classrooms.
The research sample consisted of 532 undergraduate students drawn from those studying at the Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology using a stratified random sampling technique. The instrument used for gathering the data was a five-point rating-scale questionnaire with open-ended questions at the end. The statistics used for analyzing the data were the frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, and F-test. Also, descriptive data were analyzed with content analysis.
The findings were as follows:
1.As a whole, the satisfaction of Thai undergraduate students with the learner-centred method was at the high level. When each area was considered, the satisfaction of students was at the high level with the following areas: curriculum, teaching-learning process, teaching materials, instructors, and evaluation; while their satisfaction with supporting resources was at the moderate level.
2.Students with different genders did not differ significantlyin their overall satisfaction with the learner- centred method in EFL classroom. They also did not differ significantly in their satisfaction with each area of the learner-centred method.
3. Students with different ages did not differ significantly in their overall satisfaction with the learner-centred method in EFL classroom. However, when each area of the method was considered, it was found that they differed significantly in the area of supporting resources, with the satisfaction of 18 years old female students being significantly different from that of 22 years old male students at the .05 level.
4. Students in different academic year levelsdidnot differ significantly in their overall satisfaction with the learner-centred method in EFL classroom. However, when each area of the method was considered, it was found that the satisfaction with the supporting resources area of first year students differed significantly from that of the fourthyear students at the .05 level.
5.Students with different majors did not differ significantly in their overall satisfaction with the learner-centredmethod in EFL classroom. However, when each area of the method was considered, significant differences in satisfaction were found in the supporting resources area, with that of students in the Japanese Business Administration Program being significantly different from that of students in the Production Engineering Program, and that of students in the Japanese Business Administration Program being significantly different from that of students in the Industrial Management Program.
6. The students provided the following suggestions: in the curriculum area, the developed curriculum should be relevant to the needs of the learners; in the teaching-learning process area, the organized learning activities should be various and suitable for learning skills of the learners; in the instructional media area, up-to-date and innovative instructional media should be used; in the evaluation area, students should be taught on test taking skills so that they become more familiar with the nature of the tests; and in the supporting resource area, the institute should provide modern teaching and learning facilities such as the Internet system and up-to-date instructional aids both inside and outside the classroom.