Supplementary Reading Book of Lakhon Nok “Sang Thong” for Chinese Students

Abstract

This study is an experimental research project with the aim of creating a supplementary reading book of the lakhon nok, “Sang Thong”, for Chinese students.The researcher studied the material and the research on Thai drama and literature with the aim of creating a supplementary reading book. Subsequently, the researcher wrote a supplementary reading book on “Sang Thong” for Chinese students. The researcher sent the supplementary reading book to three experts to verify the accuracy of the content, form and language. Then, two experiments with Chinese students were conducted to verify the quality of the supplementary reading book. Upon completion of the book, an experiment with fifteen Chinese students was conducted in order to establish its effectiveness. The supplementary reading book of “Sang Thong” for Chinese students consists of eight chapters: Chapter 1: Synopsis of “Sang Thong”; Chapter 2: Drama in verse; Chapter 3: Royal words; Chapter 4: Synonyms; Chapter 5: Figures of speech; Chapter 6: Thai idioms; Chapter 7: The beliefs of Thai people; and Chapter 8: Tips about Thai literature. This book was found to be effective at the level of 88.40/86.10 and the progress of the students after using the supplementary reading book was at a level of 0.75. This result demonstrates that the supplementary reading book can help Chinese students develop their knowledge, understanding, wisdom and experience with the basic content. The assessment of the satisfaction levels of the students with the supplementary reading book had an average of 4.38 points, indicating that the students were satisfied with the supplementary reading book of “Sang Thong”. 

This supplementary reading book of “Sang Thong” for Chinese students can enhance the knowledge of these students about Thai culture, traditions, beliefs, the Thai way of life, and also can cultivate the interest of the students in terms of their level of interest with regard to their reading and self-study abilities. The Chinese teachers also found this way of teaching Thai literature was more effective.