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Vol. 12 No. 1 2017 38

The Integration of 4MAT Approach with ASEAN Social and Cultural Links: the Development of an

Instructional Model to Enhance Youth’s Intercultural Communicative Competence and Attitudes

Kanlaya Promwatcharanon Chiang Mai Rajabhat University,

Chiang Mai, ThailandEmail: yangeunabcd@gmail.com

Abstract Theprocessofqualityenhancementisessentialtoimprovingyoung learners’ learning outcomes. The 4MAT approach, amultifunctionalinstructionalmethodintegratedwithASEANSocialandCultural Links (ASCL) may serve as a framework for qualityenhancement in order to provide a structure for this process. Thepaperdescribes thequalityenhancementstrategyforyouth learningbasedona4MAT-integratedapproachwithASCLthatisusedforavarietyofpurposes.Itdescribesvariousapplicationsineducation,forknowledgecreation,andforthepurposeofpreservationandsharing,whichareeffectivemeansforknowledgeformationthroughasecureinformalpresentationofknowledgewithgroups,aswellasculturalappreciation and knowledge retention. The main purposes of thisresearchistodevelop,implementandevaluateaninstructionalmodelbasedonthe4MATapproachtoenhanceinterculturalcommunicativecompetence (ICC) and their attitudes towards interculturalcommunicativelanguageteaching(ICLT)in120younglearnersfrom20communities inNakornpingSub-District,ChiangMai,Thailand.

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Thedatawasanalysedusing“EfficiencyandEffectiveness”scores,descriptivestatistics,andcontentanalysis.Theresultsrevealedthatthe8 step model of the 4MAT approach integrated with ASCL mayenhance English learning skills and intercultural communicativecompetence.Theoutcomeofthisinstructionalmodel,“A4MAT-in-tegrated Approach with ASEAN Social and Culture Links”, washigherthanexpected,withthehighestlevelofapplicability(E

1/E

2

at 90.67/81.63 (80/80) andE.I at 0.6488 or 64.88%).The youth’spost-learningachievementscoresofASEANstudiesinEnglishwasgreater than pre-learning achievement, while their achievement inEnglish was at an exemplary level (81.42% with the StandardDeviationof0.01).Theyounglearners’attitudestowardsICLTwerepositive,andtheirICChadsignificantlyimproved.Thisstudyshedslight on the implementation of ICLT in an English as a foreignlanguage(EFL)contextofThaiandothersimilarcontexts.

Keywords: a4MATApproach,ASEANSocialandCulturalLinks, intercultural communicative competence, instructional modeldevelopment,youth

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บทคัดย่อ กระบวนการของการพฒันาอย่างมคีณุภาพคอืสิง่ส�าคญัในการพฒันาการเรยีนรู้

ของเยาวชนวิธีสอนแบบโฟร์แม็ทซึ่งถือเป็นกระบวนการสอนที่มีประโยชน์อย่างยิ่ง

ในการเรยีนรู้จงึถกูน�ามาบรูณาการเข้ากบัการเชือ่มโยงสงัคมและวฒันธรรมอาเซยีนเพือ่

สร้างโครงร่างของการพัฒนาอย่างมีคุณภาพทั้งนี้ กลยุทธ์ในการพัฒนาเยาวชนบนฐาน

การใช้วิธีสอนแบบโฟรแม็ทบูรณาการกับการเชื่อมโยงสังคมและวัฒนธรรมอาเซียน ได้

ถูกน�ามาใช้ด้วยหลากหลายวัตถุประสงค์ทางการศึกษาอาทิเพื่อการสร้างความรู้การได้

มาซึง่ความรูแ้ละแบ่งปันความรูป้ระสบการณ์ซึง่ล้วนแล้วแต่เป็นวธิกีารทีม่ปีระสทิธภิาพ

ในการสร้างองค์ความรู้ที่ได้จากการน�าเสนอความรู้อย่างมีความสุขอย่างไม่เป็นทางการ

ด้วยกิจกรรมกลุ่มรวมถึงเป็นวิธีการในการชื่นชมสุนทรียภาพทางภาษาและความคงทน

ขององค์ความรู้ในตัวผู้เรียนเองวัตถุประสงค์หลักของงานวิจัยในครั้งน้ีคือพัฒนาน�าไป

ใช้และวดัผลรปูแบบการสอนบนฐานของการสอนแบบโฟร์แมท็เพือ่เพิม่พนูทกัษะและ

ผลสัมฤทธิ์ทางการเรียนและความสามารถด้านการสื่อสารระหว่างวัฒนธรรมรวมถึง

ทัศนคติที่มีต่อการสอนการสื่อสารระหว่างวัฒนธรรมของเยาวชนจ�านวน120คนจาก

20ชุมชนในแขวงนครพิงค์อ�าเภอเมืองจังหวัดเชียงใหม่ประเทศไทยข้อมูลที่ได้ถูกน�า

มาวเิคราะห์ด้วยการหาค่าประสทิธภิาพกระบวนการ(E1)และประสทิธภิาพผลลพัธ์(E

2)

รวมถึงดัชนีประสิทธิผล(E.I)ของการจัดกิจกรรมการเรียนการสอนเชื่อมโยงสังคมและ

วัฒนธรรมอาเซียนด้วยการสอนแบบโฟรแม็ท รวมทั้งการใช้ค่าสถิติบรรยาย และ

การวเิคราะห์เนือ้หาผลการวเิคราะห์พบว่า8ขัน้ตอนของการสอนแบบโฟร์แมท็สามารถ

เพิ่มพูนทักษะและประสิทธิภาพทางการเรียนภาษาอังกฤษและความสามารถด้าน

การสื่อสารระหว่างวัฒนธรรมเพื่อเชื่อมโยงสังคมและวัฒนธรรมอาเซียนด้วยค่าE1/E

2

(90.67/81.63)ซึ่งสูงกว่าที่ตั้งไว้ที่(80/80)และค่าE.I(0.6488/64.88%)โดยคะแนน

สอบหลังการเรียนของเยาวชนสูงกว่าก่อนเรียนอย่างมีนัยส�าคัญที่ 0.01ด้วยคะแนนค่า

เฉลี่ยร้อยละที่81.42%ทัศนะคติของเยาวชนที่มีต่อผลการสื่อสารระหว่างวัฒนธรรมพบว่า

ผู้เรียนมีการเปลี่ยนแปลงทัศนคติไปในทางบวกและมีการพัฒนาของความสามารถด้าน

การสือ่สารระหว่างประเทศทัง้ด้านภาษาและด้านความแตกต่างระหว่างวฒันธรรมทัง้นี้

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41 Vol. 12 No. 1 2017

จึงหวังเป็นอย่างยิ่งว่าผลของการวิจัยนี้จะเป็นประโยชน์ในเรื่องการสอนภาษาเพื่อ

การสื่อสารระหว่างวัฒนธรรมส�าหรับผู้เรียนภาษาอังกฤษในฐานะภาษาต่างประเทศทั้งใน

ประเทศไทยและประเทศอื่นๆที่มีบริบทใกล้เคียงกัน

ค�ำส�ำคัญ: วิธีสอนแบบโฟร์แม็ท การเชื่อมโยงสังคมและวัฒนธรรมอาเซียน

ความสามารถด้านการสือ่สารระหว่างวฒันธรรมการพฒันารปูแบบการสอน

เยาวชน

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Vol. 12 No. 1 2017 42

Introduction

OneoftheultimategoalsinEnglishlanguagelearningprogramsistoeducatelearnerstobecomeinterculturalspeakerswhocandealwithlinguisticandculturalcomplexityandtakepartinmulticulturalsituations.AsamemberoftheASEANCommunitysince2015,younglearners inThailand have been facing the impact of theSoutheastAsianrevolutionintermsofdiversityandcross-culturalknowledge,lifestyles,mainstreamsocialvaluesandeconomictransformation.Hence“ASEANSocial andCulturalLinks” (ASCL) consistingof3mainbackgroundknowledgeunitswascreatedtointegratewiththe8stepinstructional4MATapproachinordertolinktheyounglearnerstotheASEANcommunity.

The study conducted by the Office of Education CouncilThailand(2010)revealedthatTOEFLscoresofThaistudentswerelowercomparedwithotherAsianstudents.Thailandwas51st,whileSingapore was on 3rd, the Philippines occupied 25th place, whileMalaysiaandIndonesiaoccupiedthe32ndand45thspotsrespectively.ThisindicatedlowEnglishproficiencyamongThaigraduates.Thus,thereareplentyofproblemsregardinginadequaciesanddeficienciesof English language in Thailand, which have existed over manygenerations,especiallyamongyounglearners.

The research results of “Attitudes and Awareness towardASEAN:FindingsofaTenNationSurveyofASEANFoundation”(Thompson&Thianthai,2008),showedthat67%ofThaisagreedtobeASEANcitizens,whichwasatalowlevelcomparedwiththe9othercountriesat76.8%.Thissuggeststhatonly38.5%ofThaishaveknowledgeandunderstandingoftheASEANcommunity.Thaiyouth’sattitude,awarenessandbasicknowledgetowardASEANwas8outof10amongstASEANmemberswith27.5%correctlyansweringquestionsabouttheASEANcommunityandtheleasttoremembertheyearinwhichtheASEANcommunitywasestablishment.

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Inthecurrentcontextofglobalization,theissueofdeliveringinterculturalcommunicativecompetence(ICC)toEnglishasaforeignlanguage (EFL) learnershasbeen identifiedasoneof theultimategoalsinthefieldofEnglishlanguageeducation(e.g.,Byram,1997;Deardoff,2009;Fantini,2000).Basedon thedefinitionof ICCbyLázár,Huber-Kriegler,Lussier,Matei,andPeck(2007),itisdefinedas“theabilitytocommunicateeffectivelyincrossculturalsituationsandtorelateappropriatelyinavarietyofculturalcontexts”(p.9),whichisusedasaguidelineforlanguageteachers.Hence,interculturalcommunicationinEnglishlanguageteachinghasbecomeamainstayinanattempttointroducelearnerstoculturaldifferencesenablingthemtobecomeinter-culturallyawareoftheirowncultureandthepresenceofothers,aswellastoappreciateandrespectotherculturaltraditions.

To challenge Thais’ weak attitude and awareness towardsASEAN,aswell as their inadequateEnglish languageabilities, thestudyofsocialandculturallinkswasimplementedandcarriedoutinordertosupporttheASEANcommunitythroughteachingandlearningEnglish to 120 young learners in 20 communities of NakornpingSub-district,ChiangMai,Thailand.TheobjectivesofthisstudyweretoenhanceThaiyouth’sawarenessoftheASEANcommunity,andinaddition,toimprovetheirinterculturalcommunicativecompetence.

Research Objectives

This study is focused on the importance of interculturalcommunicativecompetenceandalsoonawarenessandattitudes.Theselected group of 120 young learners from 20 communities inNakornping Sub-District in Chiang Mai, Thailand displayed moreinterestandconcernaboutASEANstudies,andmoreover,exhibitedhighmotivationtowardsEnglishlearningastheyfaceregionalintegration.

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In the light of these concerns, the purpose of this studyincluded:

1.Todevelop an instructionalmodel basedon the4MAT-integratedApproachwithASEANSocialandCulturalLinksinorderto enhance intercultural communicative competence among youthlearners.

2.Toimplementthisinstructionalmodelinordertoenhanceinterculturalcommunicativecompetenceamongyouthlearners.

3.To evaluate the instructional model in order to enhanceinterculturalcommunicative-competenceandattitudesamongyouthlearners.

Fortoday’slearners,bothlanguageliteracyandinterculturalawarenessareofmajorconcern,hence, thestudyalsoexplorestherelationship between the development of youth learners’ languageliteracyskillsandtheirawarenessofASEANStudies,astheyareusedinreallifesituations.

Research Methodology

Actionresearchisalogicalprocessbasedonongoingactionsthattakeplaceinaspiralfashion.(McTaggart,1982;Zuber-Skerrit,1992).Anaction researchmodelmaybeusedasa frameworkforqualityenhancementatanylevelofaneducationalorganization.Toinitiatetheprocessofactionresearch,aimedatimprovinglearner’slearning, there is a preliminary phase beginningwith a review ofrelevantlearner’sdata,followedbythedevelopmentofaplanaccordingtothedataandfinallytheimplementationoftheplan.Uponconclusionofthepreliminaryphase,acontinuousprocessofplanning,actingandevaluationwilltakeplace.Accordingly,theplanwillbecontinuallyassessedandmodified,whileitisdeliveredtoensurealignmentwithmaximizationoflearner’slearning(Figure1).

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Design of an Instructional Model Development

Figure 1 ResearchDesignConceptMap:FrameworkoftheProcess ofQualityEnhancement

Course Design of an Instructional Model

The intercultural communicative language teaching (ICLT)modelincludedinthisproject,lastingoveraperiodof7weeks.TheICLTwastaughtbyaThaiteacherofEnglish(theresearcher)whomet theclass3hoursweekly fora totalof21hours.The twentyone-hourmodelwasdividedintotwoparts.Thefirstpartpertainedtothelessonstaughtbytheresearcher(15hoursoftheteachingtime)and the second part contained the beginning and end-of courseassessment(6hoursofteachingtime).

Theelementsofinterculturalcontentwereintegratedintothe3-unitEnglishlessontitled“A4MATApproachtoIntegrationwithASEANSocialandCulturalLinks”(ASCL).ASCLcontentsconsistof 3 units to include: Unit 1 “Welcome to ASEAN Community”focusingon thebackground andnational symbolsof eachmembercountry (flags, currencies, clothes, flowers, and greetings). Unit 2

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“TravelthroughtheASEANCommunity”,containsinformationaboutplaces to eat and see around the ASEAN community. Unit 3“CulturalWonders”,providescontentabouttraveltipsanddo’sanddon’ts,whentravelingaroundtheASEANcommunity.

Theparticipantsweretaughtusingthe4MATapproach.Thisapproachaffectedlearningachievementwithknowledgesharingthroughaninquirymethod,alongwithknowledgecreationduringinteractiveactionlearning.Moreover,ithelpedimprovelearningandknowledgeaestheticsaswellasreflectivethinking.Thismethodisknownforitschild-centeredapproach(McCarthy,1997).Thereare8stepsofthe4MATApproachnamely(SeeFigure2); Step1:Creatingexperience Step2:Analyzingexperience Step3:Integrationreflectionintoconcept Step4:Developingtheoriesandconcept Step5:Workingondefinedconcept Step6:Messingaround Step7:Analyzingforusefulnessofapplication Step8:Doing it themselvesandsharingwhat theydowith others

Thus,the8step4MATApproach(McCarthy,1997)hadbeenimplementedtocreatetheprocessofqualityenhancementforlearningASEANbackgroundknowledge.EachstepcouldserveaspecifictypeoflearnerandcreatelearningabilitiesorskillsforyounglearnersinNakornpingSub-districtChiangMai,Thailand.

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Figure 2 The8stepsofthe4MATapproach

Moreover, a 4MAT approach based on a child-centeredapproachrealizestheindividualdifferencesamonglearners.McCarthy(1997)dividedlearnersinto4types,including:imaginativelearners,analytic learners, commandsense learnersanddynamic learners. Inaccordance with the research samples, the participants were fromdifferentlearningstylesandwithindividuallearningabilities.Figure3showsindividualdifferencesbetweenlearnersbasedonworkofJohnDewey,CarlJung,andDavidKolb(St.Germain,2002).

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Figure 3 Individualdifferences:The4MATsystem(Huitt,2009)Retrievedfromhttp://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/instruct/4mat.html

Both the ASLC content and the 4MAT approach wereintegratedintotheinstructionalmodelfortheresearchparticipantsinordertoencouragetheirinterculturalcommunicativecompetenceandattitudes.

Research Participants

Thestudywasdesignedbasedonsamplescollectedusingapurposive method gained from 120 young learners from 20communitiesinNakornpingSub-district,ChiangMai,Thailandin2014.Theresearchergroupedthevolunteeredparticipantsinto4groupswith5communitiesineachgroup.(Group1:WatGuTaotemple,Group2:WatBanPing temple,Group3:PaphangSchool,andGroup4:PatunAeuarthonCommunity).Theparticipants ineachgroupwereasked to join the arranged event at prearranged place in thecommunity.AnEnglishcoursefor7weeksonSaturdaysandSundays

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wasimplementedfortheparticipants.Mostoftheparticipants,about60%hadattitude,awarenessandbasicknowledge towardsASEANstudies.Only47.73%correctlyansweredthequestionsabouttheASEANcommunitybackgroundwhichshowedlackofadequateknowledgeaboutinterculturalcommunicativecompetence.

Research Instruments

Theresearchinstrumentsusedincluded:1)anevaluationformoftheinstructionalmodelbasedonthe3unitEnglishlessontitled“A4MAT-integratedASEANSocialandCulturalLinks”2)pre,duringand post achievement tests of ASEAN Studies in English, and 3)questionnaireforattitudesofICLTandICC.

Theinstructionalmodelwasdesignedintermsoflessonsandapproachestoteachlearnersaddressingtwoissuesnamely:attitudestowardstheirlanguagecompetenceandtheirinterculturalcommunicativecompetencedevelopment.Thelanguageachievementtest,whichwasused to collect data on learner’s language competence, wasextractedfromtheassessmentofunitquizduringandaftertheyweretaught by the instructional model. The intercultural communicativecompetence test included 4 ICC elements, namely: interculturalknowledge, attitudes, awareness and skills. A questionnaire wasemployedtoobtain informationfromlearners’attitudes towards theinstructional model and ICC development after the course. Thequestionnaire’scontentincluded20itemsdesignedwithafive-pointscale(stronglydisagreetostronglyagree).ThetotalreliabilityofthequestionnairecalculatedbyLikert,was0.84.

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Data Analysis

TheE1/E

2andE.Iwereusedtoanalyzetheefficiencyand

effectivenessscoresofthe3unitEnglishlesson.ThepercentagewasusedtocomparetheachievementofEnglishscoresinASEANstudiesbefore and after being delivered using the developed instructionalmodel.Theaverageandstandarddeviationofafive-pointscaleofthequestionnairewasusedtocompareattitudestowardstheinstructionalmodelandinterculturalcommunicativecompetencedevelopment.

The data was then used to analyze both qualitative andquantitative content. The content analysis was presented throughdescriptivewritingwithexamples,andthedataobtainedthroughthequestionnairewascalculatedstatistically.Thesestatisticswereshownintablesandinterpretedwithdescriptivewriting.

Research Questions

Tworesearchquestionsareformed:

Whatareyounglearners’achievementandattitudestowardstheinstructionalmodelandtheirinterculturalcommunicativecompetencedevelopment?

Towhatextentisyounglearners’interculturalcommunicativecompetenceenhancedafterbeingtaughtbytheinstructionalmodel?

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Research Findings

Effect of the Instructional Model

Theresultofthe3unitEnglishlessontitled“A4MAT-IntegratedApproachwithASEANSocialandCulturalLinks(ASCL)forYouth”showed that the efficiency and effectiveness scores of theinstructionalmodelwerehigherthantheexpectedlevel(80/80)withefficiencyscores(E

1)andeffectivenessscores(E

2)at90.67/81.63and

effectivenessindex(E.I)at0.6488orattheir64.88%(SeeTable1,2and3).

Table 1 Young learners’ E1 scores during learning with the

instructionalmodel

Scores during learning withthe instructional model

(N=120) (10) Percentage SD

1stSelf-check 8.433 84.33 1.5762ndSelf-check 9.400 94.00 0.9913rdSelf-check 9.367 93.67 0.970

E1=90.67

FromTable1,theefficiencyscore(E1)duringlearningwith

the instructional model was at 90.67, which was higher than theexpectedlevelof80.However,aftertwoweeksofteachingthroughtheinstructionalmodel,themeanscoreofthefirstselfchecktestwaslowat8.43(outof10).Then,fourandsixweekslater, themeanscoresofthesecondandthirdself-checktestswerehigherat9.40and9.37,respectively,whichindicatedthattheinstructionalmodelwasaneffectivetooltotheyounglearners’competenceofforeigncultures

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intoEnglishlanguagelearning.Forthetotalscoreofthethreeselfchecktests,thehighestonewas27.20(outof30)whilethelowestwasat19,whichshowedtheaveragescoresoflearnerswereabove50%(15outof30),whichindicatedtherewasasignificantdifferenceinlearners’interculturalcommunicativecompetenceefficiencyduetotheuseofthedevelopedinstructionalmodel.

Table 2 Younglearners’E2scoresaftertaughtbytheinstructional

model

Post Test Scores ∑X (30) PercentageN=120 2,939 24.49 81.63

E2=81.63

To elaborate further, subsequent to teaching through theinstructional model, the mean of the effectiveness score of 120learnerswas24.49(outof30)whichindicatedthattherewasastrongfocusonforeignculturesinEnglishlanguageclassesintegratedwiththe instructional model of ASEAN studies and 4MAT approach.Accordingly, the effectiveness score (E

2) of the instructionalmodel

was81.63%,showingthatlearnerslearnedeffectivelybothlanguagecompetence(LC)andinterculturalcommunicativecompetence(ICC)simultaneouslyinEnglishlanguagecourse.

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Table 3 Young learners’ effectiveness index (E.I) of the instructionalmodeluse

N=120

Scoresbeforetheinstructionalmodeluse

Scoresafterthe

instructionalmodeluse

Thedifferencescoresofbeforeandafterthe

instructionalmodeluse

Thedifferencescoresofthetotalscoreandafterthe

instructionalmodeluse

EffectivenessIndex(E.I.)

3,600 1,718 2,939 1,221 1,882 0.6488

Theeffectivenessindex(E.I)of theuseoftheinstructionalmodel:“The4MATapproach,amultifunctionalinstructionalmethodintegrated with ASEAN Social and Cultural Links (ASCL)” waspositiveat0.6488(64.88%),whichindicatedthatlearnershadhigherLCandICCdevelopment.

Result of Language Competence and Intercultural Communicative Competence

Withregardtothequantitativedatacollectedfromthepre-andpost-test,itisevidentinTable4thatthemeanscoreoftheyounglearners’LCandICC,beforebeingtaughtbytheinstructionalmodel,was14.32(outof30).Thismeantthatlearners’LCandICCwerequite lowas theyhadnever takenanyinterculturalcoursesbefore.Aftera7weekcourse,themeanscoreoflearner’sLCandICC,taughtbytheinstructionalmodel,was24.49(outof30),whichindicatedthattherewasasignificantdifferenceinlearners’competenceofLCandICC(t=29.205;p=.01).Accordingly,itcanbeconcludedthatyounglearners’competencesaftertheircoursehadchangedsignificantly.

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Table 4 Younglearners’ languageandinterculturalcommunicative competenceaftertaughtbytheinstructionalmodel

Items t Sig.(SD)(N=120)

Before After30items 29.205 .01 14.32(3.415) 24.49(2.012)

Result of youth learners’ attitudes towards intercultural communicative language teaching and their intercultural communicative competence

Accordingtotheresultsfromthequestionnaire,itisevidentinTable5thatthemeanscoreoftheyounglearners’attitudestowardsICLT,afterasevenweekcourse,was4.42(outof5),whichindicatedthat there was a significantly strong agreement in learners’perceptionsofICLT(SD=0.08).Asaresult,itcanbeconcludedthatlearners felt more positive about ICLT after their course as theirattitudestowardsitweresignificantlyhigh.

Table 5 Younglearners’attitudestowardsICLT

ItemsSD

(N=120)Levelof

Satisfaction20items 4.42 0.08 Mostlyagree

Moreremarkably,younglearnerswereawareoftheelementsofICC(seetable6),whichconsistsofknowledge,attitudes,awareness,andskills.Thatiswhytheywerecertainthatitwasnecessaryandimportantforlearnerstohaveknowledgeofforeigncultures( =4.50,SD=0.03), todeveloptheircuriosity,openness,andreadiness tolearnaboutforeigncultures( =4.40,SD=0.02),aswellasto

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raise theirawarenessofcultures( =4.35,SD=0.02),and tobetaught how to communicate with people from different countrieseffectivelyandappropriately( =4.44,SD=0.03).

Table 6 Younglearners’attitudestowardsICC

Items(N=120) SDLevelof

SatisfactionKnowledge 4.50 0.03 StronglyagreeAttitudes 4.40 0.02 MostlyagreeAwareness 4.35 0.02 MostlyagreeSkills 4.44 0.03 MostlyagreeAverage 4.42 0.08 Mostlyagree

Additionally,allfourICCindicatethesamepatternofahighlevel of satisfaction agreement. However, these results reveal thatlearnersfoundinterculturalknowledgemucheasier to improvethanattitudes,awarenessandskills.

Discussion

Theresultsindicatedthattheresearchparticipantshadincreasedtheir knowledge of ASEAN studies or intercultural communicativecompetence.Thisisduetolessonsbeingcreatedwithcontentfrombasictoadvancedorfromaneasytodifficult.TranandSeepho(2016)alsoclaimedthatinterculturalcontentusedinASEANcountriesaredevelopedbasedontheimportanceofinterculturallanguageeducation,withparticularemphasisondiverseculturesoftheASEANcommunityintermsofvisibleortangibleculturalcontent(e.g.costumes,food,places,andartifacts)andinvisibleorintangibleculturalcontent(e.g.values,attitudes,andnormsofbehavior).Thematerialshouldhave

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culture-specific content (i.e. a deep understanding of one culturalcontextthroughdetailedculturalknowledge).

As a result of the instructional model’s lesson, the 3-unitlessonconsistedofunit1“WelcometoASEANCommunity”,whichfocused on the background and national symbols of eachmembercountry,forexample,nationalflags,nationalcurrencies,nationalclothes,national flowers, and national greetings. This shows the strongemphasisonculturalcontentoftheASEANcountries.Figure4showstheexampleofunit1content“WelcometoASEANCommunity”.

Figure 4The example of unit 1 content “Welcome to ASEAN Community”

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Toillustratemore,thisistheexampleofUnit2“TravelthroughtheASEANCommunity”,whichcontainedinformationaboutplacestoeatandseearoundtheASEANCommunity,forexample,nationalfoodandnationallandmarks.Thisisanotherexampleofvisibleortangibleculturalcontentwhichindicatesadeepunderstandingofoneculturalcontext through detailed cultural knowledge. Figure 5 shows theexampleofunit2content“TravelthroughASEANCommunity”.

Figure 5The example of unit 2 content “Travel throughASEAN Community”

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To elaborate further, Unit 3 “Cultural Wonder” providescontentabouttraveltipsanddo’sanddon’ts,whentravelingaroundtheASEANCommunity.ThiscontentincludesinvisibleorintangibleculturalcontentandparticularlystrongemphasisonthediverseculturesofASEANcommunity.Figure6showstheexampleofunit3content“CulturalWonder”.

Figure 6Theexampleofunit3content“CulturalWonder”

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The3unitEnglishlessonswasdesignedbasedonlearners’interestsandawarenessandurgesthemtopaymoreattentionandtoactivelyparticipateduringthe7weeks,or21hours,ofthequalityenhancementprocess.Accordingtohumanistictheories,itisobviousthateveryhumanbeinghashis/herownfullpotentialtolearn,aswellto pursue his/her integral self-motivation to improve and develop.Moreover,thesetheoriesassertthatlearnerscanlearnbetterwhentheyexperiencemeaningfullearning,whichisrelatedtotheirexperientiallearning focusingon leaner-centered approach (Richards&Rogers,2001).

TheLCandICCscoresofASEANStudiesamong120younglearnersfrom20communitiesinNakornpingSub-district,ChiangMai,Thailand,afterbeingtaughtbythe4MATapproachweresignificantlyhigherthanthosepriortousingthisapproachat81.42%with0.01ofstandarddeviation(SD).Theresultsrevealedthatthe4MATapproachaffectedthelearningachievementscoresintermsofqualityenhancementwith knowledge sharing through an inquiry method, along withknowledge creation during interactive action learning, as well asknowledgepresentationofcooperative,andfinally,ithelpedimprovelearningandknowledgeaestheticsandreflectivethinking.

Toillustratetheseresults,table7focusesonhowthe8stepsofthe4MATapproachinfluenceslearningskillsandachievementswiththedevelopedactivitiesinthe3unitsofASEANstudies.

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Table 7 Theprocessofqualityenhancementofhow to influence English learning skills and achievement throughASEAN Studiesintegratedwith8stepsof4MATApproach

8 STEPS OF 4MAT

APPROACH

LEARNING SKILLS AND

ACHIEVEMENT

ACTIVITIES IN 3 UNITS OF ASEAN STUDIES

Step 1:CreatingexperienceStep 2:Analyzingexperience

Knowledge Sharing/InquiryMethod/MindMapping/SemanticMapping

Unit 1: “WELCOME TOASEAN COMMUNITY” -ASEANsongsactivity-ASEANcartoonwatching-NationalSymbolswith meaningsmatchingUnit 2: “TRAVEL THROUGH ASEAN COMMUNITY”-ASEANFoodVDOClip

watching-ASEAN Places VDO Clip

watchingUnit 3: “CULTURAL WONDER”-TravelTipsandGuides

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8 STEPS OF 4MAT

APPROACH

LEARNING SKILLS AND

ACHIEVEMENT

ACTIVITIES IN 3 UNITS OF ASEAN STUDIES

Step 3: IntegrationreflectionintoconceptStep 4: Developingtheoriesandconcept

Knowledge Creation/InteractiveActionLearning/MindMapping/SemanticMapping/Learningbydoing

Unit 1: “WELCOME TO ASEAN COMMUNITY” -SingingASEANsongs activity-SummarizingASEANcartoon

activity-StimulatingSemantic NationalSymbolsUnit 2: “TRAVEL THROUGHASEAN COMMUNITY” -MakingSemanticMappingof

NationalFoodsandNationalLandmarks

Unit 3: “CULTURAL WONDER” -Making Mind Mapping of

Do’sandDon’tsineach nationinASEAN

Table 7 Theprocessofqualityenhancementofhow to influence English learning skills and achievement throughASEAN Studiesintegratedwith8stepsof4MATApproach(conts).

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8 STEPS OF 4MAT

APPROACH

LEARNING SKILLS AND

ACHIEVEMENT

ACTIVITIES IN 3 UNITS OF ASEAN STUDIES

Step 5:WorkingondefinedconceptStep 6:Messingaround

Knowledge Presenta-tion/ActiveLearning/CooperativeLearning/Group Role Play/ /Learningbydoing

Unit 1: “WELCOME TOASEAN COMMUNITY” -Dressing National Clothes

ActivityUnit 2: “TRAVELTHROUGH ASEAN COMMUNITY”-MakingASEANfoods activity-TravelingaroundASEAN

landmarkactivityUnit 3: “CULTURAL WONDER” -TakingatripwithDo’sand

Don’tsActivityStep 7:AnalyzingforusefulnessofapplicationStep 8:Doingitthemselvesandsharingwhattheydowithothers

KnowledgeAesthetics/Reflective Thinking/Peerlearning

-OralPresentation-SharingIdeas-ReflectionSession

Table 7 Theprocessofqualityenhancementofhow to influence English learning skills and achievement throughASEAN Studiesintegratedwith8stepsof4MATApproach(conts).

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Additionally, young learners’ attitudes towards interculturalcommunicativecompetenceteachinganddevelopmentreflectedthefourpillars(1.learningtoknow:interculturalknowledge;2.learningtodo:interculturalskills;3learningtolivetogether:interculturalattitudes;and4. learning tobe: interculturalawareness)ofeducation for thetwenty-firstcenturyasidentifiedbytheInternationalCommissiononEducation for the Twenty-First Century (Delors, 1996). This wasdeveloped as four distinct objectives of intercultural education andincorporatedintheguidelinesoninternationaleducationsuggestedbyUNESCO(UNESCO,2006).

Successfully completed activities in each unit of ASEANstudies through the 8 step 4MAT approach illustrate the qualityenhancementprocessofEnglishlearning.Morror’s(1981)statement“to learn it, do it” (p.59) is associated with the communicativelanguage learning process, which provides learners with real lifesituations to practice. In accordance to the results conducted byWillkersonandWhite (1988) the4MATapproachaffected learningachievementsandknowledgeretentionofstudentsinsciencesubjectsinNorthCarolinagovernment’sschoolintermsofencouragingstudents’interestinlessons,andtheyachievedhigherscoresoflearningwith0.05ofstandarddeviation(SD).Figure7brieflyshowshowtheseactivities work for 120 young learners from 20 communities inNakornping,ChiangMai,Thailand.

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Figure 7Thequalityenhancementprocessofactivitiessuccessfully doneineachunitofASEANstudiesthroughthe8stepsof 4MATapproach

Miller and Perkins (1990) suggested that in order to teachreadingskillsandtodesigncomprehensivereadingstrategies,teachersmust provide learnerswith strategies to integrate new ideas beforedevelopingnewtheoriesandconceptsofnewvocabulary inanewreading passage. The teacher should give them an opportunity todiscusswithpeers,topracticebydoingandbycreatingauthentictasks.Whenlearnersworkwithpeersinafunandsafelearningenvironmentwithin a 4MAT teaching framework, they will not be bored withlearning activities. Johnson (1982) claimed that cooperative grouplearninghelpsboostavarietyoflearningskillsparticularly:brainstorming,knowledgesharing,inquirymethodandknowledgeconclusionthrough

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mindmappingorsemanticmapping,aswellasthroughpeerlearning,activelearning,cooperativelearning,andlearningbydoing.

Thefindingsalsorevealedthattheyounglearners’attitudestowardsICLTwerepositiveafteraseven-weekcourseastheywereawareof ICCand the importanceof the ICC,andbelieved in theimportant roleof ICLT. Inotherwords,young learnersunderstoodwhatICCwas,whatitwasfor,andhowICCiscomposed.Thismaybe the result of the teacher’s awareness raising teaching strategies,whichareacrucialaspectofICCinstruction,aslearner’sawarenessisoneofthenecessaryconditionsforthelearningprocesstotakeplace(e.g.,Robinson,2003;Schmidt,1995).

Thestudyalsoindicatedthatyounglearners’ICChadfurtherimproved.Thismaybeduetothefactthatlearnersweremotivatedtofocusmoreon the learningof intercultural content as this typeofinterculturalcommunicativelanguagewasnewtothem.Theseresultsmatchthoseofpreviousstudies(e.g.,Shoman,2011;Ottoson,2013).Shoman(2011)concludedastudyusingaframeworktodevelopICCandtheproficiencyofadvancedlearnersofArabic,andfoundthattheproposed lingua-cultural framework not only developed learners’abilities to recognize theknowledge, aswell as toproduceArabicvarietiesusedinEgyptbutalsofosteredtheirICC(knowledge,attitude,awareness,andskills).

Conclusion

Consistentwiththebasiccontentionofthisstudy,theresultsofthe4MATapproachwereusedasaninstructionaltoolforASEANbackgroundknowledgeeducation,forthecapturingandpreservingofknowledge,forknowledgegeneration,brainstormingandasastartingpointforthecreationofknowledgeformalisms.

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TheimplicationofthestudyfortheimprovementofEnglishlearningisthatyounglearnersshouldrecognizeandrealizetheirEnglishskillsproblems,andtheirawarenessandattitudetowardsASEANstudies,sothattheyarereadytobeequippedwiththeEnglishknowledgeandskillsthattheyrequire.TheywillgraduallydevelopandwillbeabletoeffectivelyapplytheASEANEnglishknowledgetowardtheirfutureobjectives,whenfunctioningaspartofASEANcommunity.

Therefore,inordertofostertheimplementationofICLTinaThaiandothersimilarcontexts,especiallyforEFLlearnersthereshouldbe a shift from the current teaching approach to an interculturallanguageapproach.First, teachers shouldbe supported tograduallyacknowledge the importanceof integrating intercultural content intostandardEnglishlanguageclasses.Moreover,teachersandalsolearnersshouldbeencouragedandmotivatedtobeautonomouslearnerswhichisbasedontheacquisitionprocessofICCasamatteroflifelonglearning.All in all, the learningmaterials chosen for ICLTshouldpromotelearners’ICC,andthecontentofthelearningmaterialsshouldbeauthentic,up-to-date,informative,andappropriateforlearner’sagegroupandinterest.

Qualityenhancementiseasilyframedbytheconceptofactionresearch.The rootsofquality enhancementarealignedwithactionresearch’s cyclical components of: evaluation, planning, acting andre-evaluation.Betterlanguageproficienciesandknowledgeawarenessaddvaluetolearners’potentialintheageofglobalizationandglobalcommunication.

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Acknowledgment

This research study cannot succeed without the extremelyattentivesupportofallparticipants.WearegratefulforthefinancialsupportofChiangMaiRajabhatUniversityandthecollaborationoftheNationalResearchCouncilofThailand(NRCT)andtheThailandResearchFund(TRF).

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