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145
APPENDIX 1
Table 1
Example of microscopic curriculum design in Form 5 Chemistry Curriculum Specification,
1992
Pengetahuan Kemahiran Saintifik Catatan
3. Faktor faktor yang Menjalankan eksperimen untuk Tindak balas yang
mempengaruhi kadar mengkaji kesan luas permukaan, sesuai dikaji termasuk:
tindak balas kepekatan, suhu dan mangkin ke (i) Kasium
Luas permukaan, atas kadar tindak balas. karbonat dengan
keperkatan, suhu, Melukis dan mentafsir graf untuk asid hidroklorik;
mangkin dan tekanan mengkaji kesan faktor faktor yang (ii) Tiosulfat
mempengaruhi kadar tindak balas dengan asid
Menyelesaikan masalah berangka sulfurik;
tentang penentuan kadar tindak (iii) Penguraian
balas serta perhitungan kuatiti hidrogen
bahan dan hasil tindak balas. peroksida.
Table 2
Example of microscopic curriculum design in KBSM Form 1 Science Smart School Version,
1998
Bidang Hasil Pembelajaran Aktiviti/Teknik/Sumber
Pembelajaran
Sel sebagai unit asas 1. Memahami hidupan Menyediakan slaid sel pipi
hidupan terdiri daripada sel. manusid dan sel epidermis
Aras 1 bawang atau rumpair
• Menyatakan sel adalah untuk memerhatikan dan
unit asas hidupan meneliti struktur umum sel
• Mengenal pasti struktur di bawah mikroskopik
ringkas sel Memerhati……..
Aras 2 Mengumpulkan dan
• Melukis dna melabel menyusun
struktur ringkas sel maklumat …….
• Membanding dan
membezakan antara sel
haiwan dengan sel
tumbuhan
Aras 4
Menerangkan fungsi setiap
organel dalam sel
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Table 3
Example of Microscopic Deisgn in KSSM History Form 1, 2017
TAJUK 1: MARI BELAJAR SEJARAH
Standard Standard Pembelajaran Tahap Penguasaan
Kandungan
1.1 Pengertian 1.1.1 Menyatakan pengertian 1 Murid mengetahui
sejarah dan sejarah dan sumber sejarah. tentang pengertian
kemahiran sejarah 1.1.2 Mengenal pasti konsep dan kemahiran
masa silam dan ruang sejarah.
berdasarkan garis masa dan 2 Murid memahami
kronologi. pengertian dan
1.1.3 Mengenal pasti kemahiran sejarah.
peristiwa sejarah mengikut garis 3 Murid boleh
masa. menerangkan tentang
1.1.4 Menyatakan tinggalan pengertian dan
sejarah yang terdapat di muzium kemahiran sejarah
dan tempat bersejarah. dengan memberikan
1.1.5 Menjelaskan sebab dan contoh.
akibat dalam peristiwa sejarah. 4 Murid boleh
1.1.6 Menyatakan menguasai pengertian
kepentingan sejarah dalam dan kemahiran
kehidupan. sejarah serta
K.1.1.7 Menyatakan disesuaikan dengan
kepentingan pengurusan masa pelbagai situasi.
dalam kehidupan harian. 5 Murid boleh membuat
K.1.1.8 Menyatakan kehidupan penilaian tentang
masyarakat masa lalu dan pengertian dan
kesinambungannya dengan kemahiran sejarah
masa kini. dalam kehidupan
K.1.1.9 Menjelaskan seharian.
kepentingan menghargai warisan 6 Murid boleh menjadi
bangsa bagi melahirkan jati diri pemudah cara kepada
rakan menerangkan
tentang kemahiran
pemikiran sejarah.
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APPENDIX 2
Table 1
Meta-representational Verbs Used in the Learning Outcome of the Cognitive Domain
(Ng, 2010)
Verbs used in (a)General Learning Meta-representational Verbs used in
Outcome in revised KBSR and KSSM (a)Specific Learning Outcome in revised
(b)Content Standard in KSSR and KBSR and KBSM (b) Learning Standard
KSSM in KSSR and KSSM
To know Define Name
- recall Describe State
Identify Draw
Label Write
List Sketch
Pair
To understand Change Compare and
- translating material or idea from one Estimate contrast
form to another, interpret material or Explain Predict
idea, estimate future trend Giving example Making
Measure inference
Determine Relate
Convert Attribute
Classify
To apply Calculate Generating idea
- using material and/or idea in new and Count Generalise
concrete situation Show Clarify with
Innovate example
To analyse Analyse Clarify
- separating information into its Clarify through Solving
component in order to understand its example problem
organisational structure and relationship Choose Sequencing
between the components Separate Prioritising
Making Making space-
assumption time
relationship
Conclude
Controlling
variable
To synthesise Combine Forming mental
- combining components to produce Plan picture
whole idea or new and creative structure Make concise
148
Verbs used in (a)General Learning Meta-representational Verbs used in
Outcome in revised KBSR and KSSM (a)Specific Learning Outcome in revised
(b)Content Standard in KSSR and KBSR and KBSM (b) Learning Standard
KSSM in KSSR and KSSM
Form/Build Define
Generating operationally
framework Communicating
Invent Experimenting
Design Making
Conceptualise hypothesis
Making analogy
To evaluate Assess Justify
- evaluate idea/material/information/ Criticise Identify biases
method based on specific criteria for Interpret Making
specific purpose Support decision
(Extracted and translated from PPK, 2000a, p. 29-31; 2000b, page 28-30;
2000c, page 29-31)
149
Table 2
Meta-representational Verbs used in Learning Outcome of the Affective Domain (Ng, 2010)
Verbs used in General Learning Meta-representational Verbs used in
Outcome Specific Learning Outcome
Realise Describe Explain
Answer Knowing
Report State
Inform Identify
Appreciate Choose Generalise
Internalise Show interest Integrate
Astound/amaze Defend Relate
Compare and Justify
contrast Receive
Suggest Predict
Love Help Give
Thankful Taking part Practice
Practice Donate Carry out
Build Work
Conserve Preserve
Participate Prepare
Use Take
Help Care
Solve Respect
Implement Wishing
(Extracted and translated from PPK, 2000a, page 31-32; 2000b, page 30-31; 2000c, page 31-
32).
150
Tahap Penguasaan Kemahiran Berkomunikasi Dan
Faktor Pembelajaran Bahasa Cina Sekolah Kebangsaan (BCSK)
Murid Tahun 1 Dan 2
1
3
Ng Poi Ni, PhD , Chong Mei Yen , Lim Yock Chong
2
Lim Chai Hoong 4
Unit Bahasa Cina,
Sektor Bahasa dan Kesusasteraan,
Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum
2
1 [email protected], [email protected]
4
3 [email protected], [email protected]
Abstrak
Pembelajaran Bahasa Cina sebagai bahasa kedua telah dimulakan di sekolah kebangsaan
sejak tahun 1950-an. Namun, kajian yang memberikan fokus dari sudut pembelajaran
muridmasih jarang dilaksanakan. Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk meninjau tahap penguasaan
murid BCSK Tahun 1 dan 2 dan faktor murid mempelajari mata pelajaran BCSK. Dalam
kajian ini, pendekatan kuantitatif telah digunakan untuk meninjau tahap penguasaan murid
berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Cina dan faktor murid mempelajari mata pelajaran BCSK.
Seramai 195 orang murid dari Tahun 1 dan Tahun 2 di sekolah kebangsaan telah mengambil
bahagian dalam kajian ini. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan sebanyak 59.5% sampel kajian dapat
menguasai tahap penguasaan yang memuaskan dalam kemahiran komunikasi berbahasa Cina
dan 40.5% tidak berupaya mencapai tahap penguasaan yang memuaskan. Terdapat 70%
murid memilih untuk mempelajari mata pelajaran BCSK tetapi bukan atas hasrat sendiri.
Seramai 86.1% murid kurang kesedaran tentang kepentingan mempelajari mata pelajaran
BCSK. Dapatan kajian ini juga berjaya menunjukkan bahawa kebanyakan murid (95.8%)
memberikan respons yang menggalakkan terhadap kelas BCSK yang diikuti. Kajian ini
mencadangkan bahawa pembelajaran berasaskan tugasan untuk mewujudkan persekitaran
penggunaan bahasa Cina perlu diberi penekanan dalam komunikasi harian murid. Strategi
pembelajaran yang melibatkan penglibatan ibu bapa dalam konteks rumah juga digalakkan.
Kata Kunci: Bahasa Cina Sekolah Kebangsaan (BCSK), Bahasa kedua, Bahasa Cina,
Kemahiran Berkomunikasi.
PENGENALAN
Bahasa Cina (BC) mula diajarkan di Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) sebagai salah satu mata
pelajaran bahasa kedua mulai tahun 1950-an. Bahasa Cina Sekolah Kebangsaan (BCSK)
kurikulum KSSR (Semakan 2017) merupakan kurikulum yang terbaharu untuk murid-murid
sekolah kebangsaan mempelajari Bahasa Cina sebagai bahasa kedua. Kurikulum BCSK ini
merangkumi kemahiran berkomunikasi, membaca dan menulis. Namun demikian, kemahiran
yang utama dalam kurikulum BCSK ialah kemahiran berkomunikasi.
Penekanan kemahiran berkomunikasi ini sebenarnya bertepatan dengan teori yang
dikemukakan oleh Cummins (1992), dalam pembelajaran bahasa kedua iaitu Basic
Interpersonal Comunicative Skills (BICS). Berdasarkan Cummins (1992), pada fasa permulaan
pembelajaran bahasa kedua, kemahiran berkomunikasi perlu diberikan penekanan terlebih
dahulu dan diikuti dengan kemahiran membaca dan kemahiran menulis, terutamanya terhadap
murid yang berusia muda (Cummins, 1999; Rolstad, 2017). Kemahiran berkomunikasi amat
penting dalam perkembangan bahasa seseorang murid, terutamanya dari aspek kefasihan dan
151
ketepatan penggunaan bahasa dalam pembelajaran bahasa kedua (Nobuyoshi & Ellis, 1993).
Kemahiran berkomunikasi perlu “melibatkan murid memahami, memanipulasi, menghasilkan,
atau berinteraksi dalam bahasa yang dipelajari” (Nunan, 1989).
Justeru itu, pembelajaran BCSK sebagai bahasa kedua ini harus mementingkan konteks
sosial pembelajaran murid. Berdasarkan teori perolehan bahasa kedua Spolky (1988), konteks
sosial seseorang murid merupakan unsur yang amat penting untuk membantu murid menguasai
pembelajaran bahasa kedua. Konteks sosial merupakan konteks pembelajaran murid, sama ada
di sekolah, di rumah mahupun sekitar komuniti. Konteks sosial ini mempengaruhi perolehan
bahasa kedua murid dari dua aspek iaitu sikap murid terhadap penggunaan bahasa dan peluang
pembelajaran bahasa kedua (Spolky, 1988). Konteks sosial ini mempengaruhi pembentukan
sikap seseorang murid dalam kehidupan sehariannya. Sikap murid merujuk kepada ciri individu
murid yang meliputi keperibadian, umur, motivasi, keupayaan dan pengetahuan sedia ada pada
seseorang murid (Spolky, 1988). Peluang pembelajaran adalah peluang seseorang murid untuk
mempelajari bahasa kedua, sama ada secara formal ataupun tidak formal (Spolky, 1988).
Kedua-dua unsur ini penting dalam menentukan keberkesanan hasil pembelajaran bahasa kedua
(Spolky, 1988).
PERNYATAAN MASALAH
Di Malaysia, pembelajaran Bahasa Cina sebagai bahasa kedua di sekolah kebangsaan
telah bermula sejak tahun 1950-an lagi. Walau bagaimanapun, didapati pembelajaran bahasa
Cina sebagai bahasa kedua di Malaysia masih menghadapi pelbagai cabaran (Edge, Searle,
Chiu, Zhao, & Landay, 2011; Heryadi & Muliamin, 2016; Lan, Fang, Legault, & Li, 2015;
Siew Ming, Najihah, & Cheach, 2015; Tan & Lim, 2014). Permasalahan ini berkemungkinan
disebabkan kebanyakan murid yang mempelajari mata pelajaran BCSK di sekolah kebangsaan
bukan merupakan penutur jati bahasa Cina. Hal sedemikian sememangnya akan berlaku
memandangkan pada fasa permulaan pembelajaran bahasa kedua, kemahiran berkomunikasi
biasanya diberikan penekanan yang utama (Cummins, 1999; Rolstad, 2017) khususnya
terhadap murid yang berusia muda (Cummins, 1999; Rolstad, 2017).
Tinjauan kajian lepas telah menunjukkan bahawa kebanyakan kajian terhadap
perolehan Bahasa Cina sebagai bahasa kedua lebih memberikan penekanan kepada kaedah
pengajaran iaitu, dari aspek tenaga pengajar (Edge et al., 2011; Heryadi & Muliamin, 2016;
Hsiao, Indy, Lan, Kao, & Li, 2017; Lan et al., 2015; Opitz, Schneiders, Krick, & Mecklinger,
2014; Siew Ming et al., 2015; Tan & Lim, 2014). Kajian tempatan telah dijalankan untuk
melihat kepentingan murid dalam pembelajaran perbendaharaan kata (Hsiao et al., 2017; Lan
et al., 2015; Opitz et al., 2014) dan memfokuskan terhadap penggunaan teknologi sebagai bahan
bantu mengajar Bahasa Cina sebagai bahasa kedua (Edge et al., 2011; Heryadi & Muliamin,
2016; Siew Ming et al., 2015; Tan & Lim, 2014). Sehingga kini masih terlalu kurang kajian
yang menilai dari sudut pembelajaran murid, seperti faktor-faktor yang berkemungkinan
mempengaruhi pembelajaran kemahiran berbahasa Cina sebagai bahasa kedua (王希竹 & 彭
爽, 2017). Kajian seumpama ini amat penting untuk melihat faktor dalaman ataupun faktor
luaran yang mempengaruhi tahap penguasaan bahasa kedua murid (Spolky, 1988).
Selain itu, pelaksanaan DSKP KSSR (Semakan 2017) BCSK dilaksanakan selama dua
tahun dan masih tiada kajian dijalankan untuk meninjau keberkesanan pelaksanaan kurikulum
BCSK tersebut. Oleh yang demikian, wujudnya keperluan kajian terhadap pelaksanaan DSKP
KSSR (Semakan 2017) BCSK untuk menyelidik faktor-faktor yang mungkin mempengaruhi
kualiti pembelajaran bahasa kedua murid dan seterusnya mencadangkan strategi pembelajaran
yang berkesan.
152
TUJUAN KAJIAN
Mengenal pasti tahap penguasaan murid BCSK dalam aspek kebolehan untuk
berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Cina dan faktor murid mempelajari BCSK.
OBJEKTIF KAJIAN
1. Mengenal pasti tahap penguasaan murid berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Cina selepas
mengikuti kelas BCSK.
2. Mengenal pasti faktor murid mempelajari BCSK.
PERSOALAN KAJIAN
1. Apakah tahap penguasaan murid berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Cina selepas mengikuti kelas
BCSK?
2. Apakah faktor murid mempelajari mata pelajaran BCSK?
METODOLOGI KAJIAN
Reka bentuk kajian ini mengaplikasikan kaedah kuantitatif (Creswell & Clark, 2011).
Kajian ini telah menggunakan kaedah pensampelan rawak (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison,
2011).
Sampel Kajian
Seramai 195 responden murid Tahun 1 dan Tahun 2 dari 20 buah sekolah kebangsaan
dari bandar dan luar bandar seluruh negara Malaysia terlibat. Sekolah-sekolah tersebut meliputi
lima (5) Zon utama, iaitu Zon Utara, Zon Tengah, Zon Selatan, Zon Sabah dan Labuan serta
Zon Sarawak. Lima (5) orang murid yang mengikuti kelas BCSK Tahun 1 dan kelas BCSK
Tahun 2 bagi setiap sekolah telah dipilih secara rawak untuk tujuan kajian ini. Semua sampel
kajian merupakan murid yang berumur 7+ tahun hingga 8+ tahun.
Rajah berikut menunjukkan bilangan murid yang mengikuti kelas BCSK di dalam
kajian. Berdasarkan Rajah 1, murid berbangsa Melayu merupakan golongan yang paling ramai
mengikuti kelas BCSK dalam kajian ini, iaitu seramai 127 orang (Tahun=65, Tahun 2=62),
diikuti dengan murid berbangsa lain-lain iaitu seramai 29 orang (Tahun 1=11, Tahun 2=18),
dan murid berbangsa Cina 24 orang (Tahun 1=15, Tahun 2=9) serta murid berbangsa India 15
orang (Tahun 1=9, Tahun 2=6).
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Bilangan murid mengikut bangsa dan Tahun
70
60
50
Bilangan murid 40
30
20
10
0
Melayu Cina India lain bangsa
Tahun 1 65 15 9 11
Tahun 2 62 9 6 18
Rajah 1. Bilangan Murid Mengikut Bangsa dan Tahun
Catatan: Lain bangsa: Serani, Lun Bawang, Kelabit, Kayan, Rungus, Dusun, Sungai
Batasan Kajian
Kajian ini terbatas kepada 20 buah sekolah kebangsaan dari seluruh Malaysia. Tinjauan
yang dijalankan adalah untuk mengenal pasti tahap penguasaan BCSK Tahun 1 dan Tahun 2,
dan hanya kemahiran berbahasa Cina yang diuji untuk mengenal tahap penguasaan. Penetapan
tahap penguasaan murid adalah berdasarkan panduan yang disediakan dalam DSKP KSSR
(Semakan 2017) BCSK Tahun 1 dan Tahun 2.
PROSEDUR PENGUMPULAN DATA
Untuk menjawab soalan kajian pertama dan soalan kajian kedua, pengumpulan data
daripada pelbagai sumber telah digunakan. Antaranya, kaedah penilaian murid (Rohani, 2001)
digunakan untuk menjawab soalan kajian pertama. Manakala kaedah soal selidik digunakan
untuk meneroka faktor murid terhadap pembelajaran mata pelajaran BCSK.
Instrumen Kajian
Dua instrumen utama yang digunakan dalam kajian ini iaitu:
a. Instrumen Penilaian Murid
b. Soal selidik
Kesahan kedua-dua instrumen yang digunakan dalam kajian ini telah dibuat dengan
merujuk kepada enam (6) orang pakar dalam bidang Bahasa Cina. Kajian rintis telah dijalankan
154
untuk memastikan instrumen yang digunakan adalah sesuai dan boleh diguna tadbir dalam
kajian ini.
ANALISIS DATA
Bagi menjawab soalan kajian yang berkaitan dengan tahap penguasaan murid
berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Cina, penilaian murid telah digunakan. Keterangan tentang Tahap
Penguasaan Kemahiran Berkomunikasi Bahasa Cina ditunjukkan seperti Lampiran 1.
Manakala untuk mengenal pasti faktor murid mempelajari mata pelajaran BCSK, soal selidik
telah digunakan. Prosedur penganalisisan data kajian ini melibatkan statistik deskriptif
(Creswell, 2008) , iaitu frekuensi dan peratus digunakan untuk menjawab persoalan kajian
pertama dan persoalan kajian yang kedua.
DAPATAN KAJIAN
Tahap Penguasaan Kemahiran Berkomunikasi Murid Dalam Bahasa Cina
Rajah 2 menunjukkan tahap penguasaan kemahiran berkomunikasi murid dalam bahasa
Cina berdasarkan bangsa. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan daripada 195 responden yang dinilai,
sebanyak 59.5% (Tahun 1=54, Tahun 2= 62) murid mencapai tahap penguasaan tiga (3) dan ke
atas. Secara khususnya, bilangan murid Tahun 1 dan Tahun 2 mengikut bangsa seperti yang
berikut: Tahun 1 (Melayu=30, Cina=13, India=6, Lain bangsa=5), Tahun 2 (Melayu=33,
Cina=8, India=7, Lain bangsa=14)). Hasil pemerhatian telah menunjukkan murid-murid ini
dapat menjawab dalam perkataan yang ringkas. Mereka memahami perkataan yang telah
dipelajari.
Bagaimanapun, masih terdapat 25.1% (Tahun 1=27, Tahun 2= 22) murid mencapai
Tahap Penguasaan 2 dan 15.4% (Tahun 1=17, Tahun 2= 13) lagi murid mencapai Tahap
Penguasaan 1. Secara khususnya, bilangan murid mengikut bangsa seperti yang berikut: Tahun
1 (Melayu=18, Cina=2, India=3, Lain bangsa=4) dan Tahun 2 (Melayu=16, Cina=2, India=0,
Lain bangsa=4)). Selain itu dapatan juga menunjukkan 15.4% murid Tahun 1 hanya mencapai
Tahap Penguasaan 1, iaitu kesemuanya 17 murid Melayu. Murid pada Tahap Penguasaan 1
masih menggunakan bahasa Melayu untuk menjawab soalan semasa penilaian. Mereka hanya
dapat menguasai kata tunggal dan boleh memberi jawapan dengan bimbingan guru. Manakala
hanya dua orang murid berupaya mencapai Tahap Penguasaan 6 dalam kemahiran
berkomunikasi Bahasa Cina. Murid tersebut merupakan murid Cina yang biasa bertutur bahasa
Cina di rumah.
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Tahap Penguasaan Kemahiran Berkomunikasi Bahasa Cina Murid
Mengikut Bangsa
25
20
Bilangan Murid 15
10
5
0
Melayu Cina India Lain bangsa Melayu Cina India Lain bangsa Melayu Cina India Lain bangsa Melayu Cina India Lain bangsa Melayu Cina India Lain bangsa Melayu Cina India Lain bangsa
TP 1 TP 2 TP 3 TP 4 TP 5 TP 6
Tahun 1 Tahun 2
.
Rajah 2: Tahap Penguasaan Kemahiran Berkomunikasi Bahasa Cina Murid Mengikut Bangsa
Faktor Murid Mempelajari Mata Pelajaran BCSK
Soal selidik yang dibina diguna untuk mengenal pasti murid mempelajari mata pelajaran
BCSK. Dalam soal selidik tersebut, dua konstruk penting iaitu faktor luaran dan faktor dalaman
yang mempengaruhi pembelajaran BCSK. Faktor dalaman merangkumi minat dan tujuan
murid terhadap pembelajaran BCSK, manakala faktor luaran meliputi pengaruh kawan,
dorongan ibu bapa dan lain-lain. Faktor-faktor murid memilih Mata Pelajaran BCSK
ditunjukkan seperti Rajah 3.
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Faktor-faktor Murid Memilih Mata Pelajaran BCSK
Lain-lain
12%
Minat dan tujuan
30%
Pengaruh kawan
4%
Dorongan Ibu
bapa
54%
Minat dan tujuan Pengaruh kawan Dorongan Ibu bapa Lain-lain
Rajah 3:Faktor Murid Memilih Mata Pelajaran BCSK
Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa kebanyakan murid mengikuti kelas BCSK adalah
disebabkan oleh faktor luaran, iaitu faktor dorongan ibu bapa (54%), faktor-faktor lain seperti
pandangan terhadap buku teks, tawaran mata pelajaran BCSK (12%) serta pengaruh daripada
kawan (4%). Faktor dalaman pula disebabkan oleh minat dan tujuan individu murid (30%).
Faktor Dalaman
Dalam bahagian ini, faktor tujuan dan minat murid mempelajari BCSK dibincangkan.
Tujuan Murid Mempelajari BCSK
Berdasarkan hasil dapatan, kebanyakan murid kurang sedar tentang kepentingan
mempelajari bahasa Cina. Dapatan menunjukkan sebanyak 86.1% murid mempelajari bahasa
Cina adalah untuk tujuan jangka masa pendek seperti boleh berkomunikasi atau bersalam
dengan cikgu dan kawan berbangsa Cina (24.1%), boleh kenal karakter, membaca serta menulis
(20.5%), boleh menonton wayang Cina serta menyanyi lagu Cina (11.3%), boleh jadi rajin dan
pandai (5.6%), boleh berkomunikasi dengan ahli keluarga dan saudara mara (4.6%), boleh
melancong ke negara yang berbahasa Cina ( 2.1%), boleh dapat hadiah (1.5%) dan juga sebab-
sebab yang lain seperti sukakan cikgu Bahasa Cina, suka berbahasa Cina, sebutan sedap
didengar dan rasa bangga (3%).
Sementara itu, hanya 15% orang murid belajar bahasa Cina untuk tujuan jangka masa
panjang yang jelas dan berkaitan dengan kerjaya dan perancangan pada masa hadapan.
Antaranya boleh berkomunikasi dengan masyarakat setempat (sama ada doktor, peniaga
ataupun jiran) (5.2%), senang dapat kerja dan dapat bantu dalam pekerjaan (3.6%), boleh dapat
ilmu (2.1%), boleh jadi cikgu Bahasa Cina (1.5%) dan boleh belajar di universiti ataupun luar
negara (1.5%).
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Jadual 1
Tujuan Murid Mempelajari Mata Pelajaran BCSK
Bilangan Peratus
Tema Tujuan Tujuan
murid (%)
Boleh berkomunikasi/ bersalam dengan 47 24.1
cikgu dan kawan Cina
Boleh kenal karakter/ membaca/ 40 20.5
menulis
Tidak pasti/ tidak dapat jawab 26 13.3
Boleh menonton wayang Cina/ 22 11.3
menyanyi lagu Cina
Tujuan Jangka Boleh jadi rajin/ pandai 11 5.6
Pendek Boleh berkomunikasi dengan ahli
keluarga/ saudara mara. 9 4.6
Boleh dapat hadiah 3 1.5
Sukakan cikgu Bahasa Cina/ suka
Bahasa Cina/ sebutan sedap didengar/ 6 3.1
rasa bangga
Boleh melancong ke negara yang 4 2.1
berbahasa Cina
Jumlah 168 86.1
Boleh dapat ilmu 4 2.1
Boleh jadi cikgu Bahasa Cina 3 1.5
Boleh belajar di luar negara/ universiti 3 1.5
Tujuan Jangka Boleh berkomunikasi dengan
Panjang masyarakat setempat 10 5.2
(doktor/ peniaga/ jiran)
Senang dapat kerja/ dapat bantu dalam 7 3.6
pekerjaan
Jumlah 27 13.9
Jumlah Keseluruhan 195 100
Faktor Minat Murid Mempelajari BCSK.
Dapatan seterusnya menunjukkan faktor yang mempengaruhi murid terhadap
pembelajaran BCSK ialah minat. Kaedah Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran (PdP) guru, kandungan
pembelajaran, sikap guru dan kemahiran berbahasa memainkan peranan penting untuk
mewujudkan minat murid dalam pembelajaran.
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Jadual 2
Faktor Minat Murid Mempelajari BCSK
Tema Minat Faktor Minat Responden Peratus (%)
Kaedah PdP Guru 27 13.8
Kandungan Pembelajaran 18 9.2
Suka Sikap Guru 15 7.7
Belajar Kemahiran berbahasa 104 53.3
Suka semua aspek di atas 23 11.8
Jumlah 187 95.8
Tidak Suka 4 2.1
Tiada Komen 4 2.1
Jumlah Keseluruhan 195 100
Jadual 2 menunjukkan majoriti murid suka mengikuti kelas BCSK iaitu seramai 187
orang murid (95.8%). Daripada 95.8% tersebut, didapati murid minat mengikuti kelas BCSK
adalah disebabkan oleh belajar kemahiran berbahasa (53.3%), kaedah PdP Guru (13.8%),
kandungan pembelajaran (9.2%), sikap guru (7.7%). Terdapat 11.8% daripada 187 orang
tersebut suka mengikuti kelas BCSK. Namun demikian, masih terdapat empat (4) orang murid
(2.1%) tidak suka mengikuti kelas BCSK manakala empat (4) orang murid (2.1%) lagi tidak
berupaya memberi sebarang maklum balas.
Faktor Luaran
Dapatan kajian berikut menunjukkan faktor luaran yang mempengaruhi murid
mempelajari mata pelajaran BCSK terdiri daripada buku teks BCSK, pegaruh ibu bapa dan
kawan-kawan.
Pengaruh Buku Teks BCSK
Dapatan pada Rajah 4 dan Rajah 5 mendapati seramai 166 orang murid (85.1%)
berminat terhadap kandungan buku teks BCSK manakala 130 orang murid (66.7%) pula
berpendapat bahawa kandungan buku teks mereka adalah senang untuk dipelajari. Terdapat 17
orang murid (8.7%) berpendapat kandungan buku teks adalah sukar dipelajari diikuti enam (6)
orang murid (3%) tidak berminat terhadap kandungan buku teks. Secara keseluruhannya,
dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa kandungan buku teks KSSR (Semakan 2017) BCSK
yang disediakan adalah sesuai digunakan oleh murid Tahun 1 dan 2 di 20 sekolah kawasan
bandar dan di luar bandar di seluruh Malaysia.
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Minat Murid Terhadap Kandungan Buku Teks BCSK
180 166
160
140
120
Bilangan murid 100
80
60
40
23
20 6
0
Tahap Minat
Minat Sederhana Minat Tidak Minat
Rajah 4: Minat Murid Terhadap Kandungan Buku Teks BCSK
Pandangan Murid Terhadap
Tahap Kesukaran Kandungan Buku Teks BCSK
140 130
120
100
Bilangan murid 80 48
60
40
17
20
0
Tahap kesukaran buku teks
Senang Sederhana Sukar
Rajah 5: Pandangan Murid Terhadap Tahap Kesukaran Kandungan Buku Teks BCSK
Pengaruh Ibu bapa dan Kawan-kawan.
Hasil dapatan dari rajah 3 telah menunjukan kebanyakan murid mempelajari BCSK bukan atas
hasrat sendiri (70%), tetapi lebih dipengaruhi oleh faktor pengaruh daripada luar seperti
dorongan ibu bapa, pengaruh kawan dan pentadbir sekolah.
160
PERBINCANGAN
Objektif utama kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti tahap penguasaan murid
berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Cina selepas mengikuti kelas BCSK dan faktor murid
mempelajari BCSK. Secara keseluruhannya, didapati sebanyak 59.5% murid yang mengambil
mata pelajaran BCSK berupaya mencapai tahap penguasaan berkomunikasi bahasa Cina pada
tahap yang memuaskan. Namun begitu, tahap pencapaian 40.5% murid masih kurang
memuaskan, iaitu hanya mencapai tahap penguasaan 2 dan tahap penguasaan 1. Dengan kata
lain, tahap kemahiran berkomunikasi bahasa Cina dalam kalangan murid adalah masih terhad.
Secara khususnya, daripada 79 yang mencapai tahap penguasaan yang kurang
memuaskan, didapati sebanyak 62 orang murid adalah bangsa bukan Cina. Hal demikian
berlaku mungkin disebabkan oleh kekurangan peluang untuk mengaplikasikan bahasa kedua
yang dipelajari dari sekolah khususnya semasa berada di rumah yang merupakan salah satu
faktor penting untuk menguasai bahasa kedua. Kenyataan ini dapat diperjelaskan lagi dengan
teori perolehan bahasa kedua (Spolky, 1988). Berdasarkan teori Spolky, faktor konteks sosial
murid, sama ada di rumah, di sekolah atau pun di sekitar komuniti akan memberi dan membuka
peluang kepada murid Tahun 1 dan 2 untuk belajar secara formal dan tidak formal. Konteks
sosial ini seterusnya akan mempengaruhi tahap perolehan bahasa kedua dalam kalangan murid
Tahun 1 dan 2 semasa mengikuti kelas BCSK. Dapatan kajian ini sebenarnya telah
membuktikan bahawa kepentingan faktor konteks sosial murid perlu diambil kira dalam
meningkatkan keberkesanan tahap penguasaan BCSK murid Tahun 1 dan 2.
Pembelajaran BCSK dalam konteks sekolah sama ada secara formal atau tidak formal
merupakan persekitaran utama yang membolehkan murid berinteraksi dan menggunakan
bahasa kedua yang dipelajari. Oleh yang demikian, pihak sekolah, terutamanya guru harus
sedar tentang keperluan murid dengan guru untuk mereka bentuk pembelajaran dan
mewujudkan peluang seperti mengadakan program tertentu sebagai aktiviti penggayaan
pembelajaran bahasa kedua (Cummins, 1999).
Sehubungan dengan itu, kajian ini mencadangkan pihak sekolah, terutamanya guru
perlu mewujudkan persekitaran penggunaan bahasa Cina dalam komunikasi harian sama ada
di dalam bilik darjah (secara formal) mahupun di luar bilik darjah (secara tidak formal). Kajian
ini juga mencadangkan guru untuk menyediakan jenis pembelajaran berasaskan tugasan. Jenis
pembelajaran ini merupakan pendekatan yang amat berkesan kerana dapat memberi peluang
kepada murid untuk menggunakan bahasa yang dipelajari dalam situasi yang sebenar,
kemahiran berkomunikasi diperlukan untuk menyelesaikan tugasan yang diberi (Adendorff,
2014; Celik, 2017). Guru perlu untuk mewujudkan suasana berbahasa Cina di sekolah seperti
mengadakan aktiviti jualan ataupun membeli-belah antara murid dengan murid atau antara guru
dengan murid. Pihak sekolah juga boleh menggalakkan jalinan sekolah dengan SJKC atau
pihak Agensi Bukan Kerajaan (NGO) bagi mewujudkan peluang belajar yang lebih luas untuk
murid Tahun 1 dan 2. Selain itu, guru juga boleh mempelbagaikan aktiviti tambahan
bersempena dengan minggu bahasa ataupun sempena sambutan perayaan, seperti memberikan
ucapan kepada guru berbangsa Cina, pertandingan bercerita, perkongsian makanan bersama
rakan. Aktiviti-aktiviti yang dicadangkan ini bukan sahaja memberi pendedahan kepada situasi
sebenar, tetapi juga peluang berinteraksi yang bermakna untuk mempelajari bahasa kedua
(Ghosn, 2004; 吴伟平, 2015; 赵金铭, 2008). Kesemua aktiviti-aktiviti yang dicadangkan
haruslah menggunakan bahasa Cina untuk berkomunikasi (关之英, 2012). Dengan ini, murid
bukan sahaja diberi peluang untuk berkomunikasi dalam bahasa yang dipelajari, malah juga
berupaya untuk menggunakan pengetahuan yang sedia ada untuk memantapkan penggunaan
bahasa Cina sebagai bahasa kedua.
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Selain itu, guru sekolah sebenarnya boleh juga mengamalkan strategi pembelajaran
yang melibatkan penglibatan ibu bapa dalam konteks sosial seperti pembelajaran murid di
rumah memandangkan ibu bapa berperanan sebagai guru kepada anak sendiri (Senechal &
Lefevre, 2002). Di samping itu, ibu bapa juga perlu menyediakan jenis tugasan yang
memerlukan penggunaan bahasa Cina untuk berkomunikasi. Dengan kata lain, dalam konteks
pembelajaran murid di rumah, ibu bapa digalakkan untuk berperanan sebagai pembimbing dan
mewujudkan peluang kepada anak untuk menggunakan bahasa Cina yang telah dipelajari
(secara tidak formal). Sebagai contohnya, ibu bapa memainkan peranan sebagai anak murid
dan mempelajari kosa kata yang telah dipelajari oleh anak di sekolah, berkomunikasi dalam
bahasa Cina untuk bertegur sapa dengan rakan ataupun jiran yang berbangsa Cina dan
sebagainya. Situasi begini amat digalakkan kerana pembangunan kemahiran bahasa juga perlu
melalui dalam konteks sosial iaitu interaksi murid dalam situasi sebenar (Celik, 2017;
Cummins, 2008; 关之英, 2012).
Dengan adanya inisiatif tersebut, masalah seperti (a) kekurangan peluang untuk
mengaplikasikan kosa kata yang dipelajari, (b) kelupaan kosa kata yang pernah dipelajari serta
(c) masalah murid bukan penutur jati bahasa Cina berkemungkinan besar dapat diatasi. Strategi
pembelajaran secara proaktif sememangnya disarankan oleh penyelidik kajian lepas, iaitu
melibatkan diri secara aktif dan menggunakan bahasa yang dipelajari sebanyak mungkin dilihat
sebagai asas kejayaan kepada penguasaan bahasa kedua (Adendorff, 2014; Celik, 2017;
Chamot, 1998; Cummins, 2007; 关之英, 2012; 吴伟平, 2015; 赵金铭, 2008)
Tambahan lagi, tahap pencapaian murid Tahun 1 dan 2 sebenarnya boleh
dipertingkatkan lagi. Kesemua respons yang dikumpul daripada murid dalam kajian ini
sebenarnya merupakan perasaan ataupun sosial-emosi dalaman individu murid yang
menggalakkan dalam pembelajaran BCSK. Hal ini disebabkan oleh motivasi dalaman yang
mempengaruhi dalam keberkesanan pembelajaran bahasa kedua murid Tahun 1 dan 2 dalam
BCSK (Engin, 2009; O’Malley & Chamot, 1995). Dapatan kajian ini selari dengan kajian lepas
yang telah dijalankan oleh Masgoret dan Gardner (2003) yang menunjukkan bahawa individu
yang bermotivasi dan positif akan lebih berusaha dan menumpukan penuh perhatian terhadap
pembelajarannya, mempunyai keinginan dan lebih menikmati aktiviti yang dipelajarinya.
Murid Tahun 1 dan 2 yang mengikuti pembelajaran BCSK ini telah mengalami pengukuhan
melalui kejayaan dan mengalami kekecewaan daripada kegagalan. Motivasi dalaman ini
berupaya membantu murid Tahun 1 dan 2 untuk mengubah strategi bagi mencapai matlamat
dalam pembelajaran Bahasa Cina sebagai bahasa kedua. Selain itu, kajian lepas juga
mencadangkan bahawa guru sekolah seharusnya menerapkan motivasi dalaman yang positif
untuk membangunkan strategi pembelajaran yang bersesuaian dengan murid (Engin, 2009).
Dengan ini, tahap penguasaan bahasa kedua murid akan dipertingkatkan lagi.
Walau bagaimanapun, dapatan kajian ini mendapati bahawa faktor pemilihan mata
pelajaran BCSK murid kebanyakannya bukan disebabkan oleh dorongan ataupun hasrat murid
sendiri tetapi lebih kepada galakan daripada ibu bapa. Selain itu, didapati kebanyakan murid
kurang kesedaran tentang kepentingan mempelajari mata pelajaran BCSK. Malah, mereka
lebih cenderung kepada tujuan jangka pendek seperti (a) berkomunikasi atau bersalam dengan
cikgu dan kawan Cina, (b) boleh kenal karakter, (c) membaca serta menulis, (d) boleh
menonton wayang Cina serta menyanyi lagu Cina, (e) boleh jadi rajin dan pandai, (f) boleh
berkomunikasi dengan ahli keluarga dan saudara mara, (g) boleh melancong ke negara yang
berbahasa Cina, (h) boleh dapat hadiah dan juga sebab-sebab yang lain seperti (i) suka cikgu
Bahasa Cina, (j) suka berbahasa Cina, (k) sebutannya sedap didengar serta (l) rasa bangga.
Sebaliknya, hanya 15% orang murid belajar bahasa Cina untuk tujuan jangka masa panjang
yang jelas dan berkaitan dengan kerjaya dan perancangan pada masa hadapan. Antaranya ialah
(a) boleh berkomunikasi dengan masyarakat setempat (sama ada doktor, peniaga ataupun jiran),
162
(b) senang dapat kerja dan dapat bantu dalam pekerjaan, (c) boleh dapat ilmu, (d) boleh jadi
cikgu Bahasa Cina dan (e) boleh belajar di universiti ataupun luar negara. Hal sedemikian
berlaku berkemungkinan besar disebabkan kebanyakan sampel kajian ini merupakan murid
tahap 1 yang masih berusia muda dan kurang pendedahan tentang kepentingan mempelajari
bahasa kedua.
Dapatan kajian menunjukkan antara faktor yang menghalang murid mencapai tahap
penguasaan yang lebih memuaskan adalah daripada pengaruh luar, seperti penjadualan pihak
sekolah dan dorongan ibu bapa. Keadaan ini berlaku mungkin disebabkan murid beranggapan
dorongan ibu bapa dan penjadualan pihak sekolah sebagai paksaan. Bagi kanak-kanak yang
berusia muda, sememangnya memerlukan galakan dan dorongan daripada ibu bapa atau pun
pihak sekolah. Dalam konteks sosial murid, faktor pengaruh daripada ibu bapa, terutamanya
rasional ibu bapa dalam menggalakkan anak untuk mempelajari bahasa kedua merupakan
faktor pemangkin terhadap motivasi dalaman seseorang murid (Spolky, 1988). Oleh itu, kajian
ini juga mencadangkan kerjasama antara ibu bapa dengan pihak sekolah (guru) bagi
mendedahkan kepentingan mempelajari bahasa kedua kepada murid. Di samping itu, ibu bapa
dan guru harus juga berperanan sebagai pendorong untuk membantu anak murid mereka dalam
menguasai bahasa kedua yang mungkin agak asing bagi mereka pada peringkat permulaan
pembelajaran. Ini penting kerana bimbingan dan bantuan daripada seseorang yang
mempunyai pengetahuan dan kemahiran dalam sesuatu aktiviti pembelajaran dapat membantu
anak murid dalam mencapai kemahiran yang di luar kemampuannya (Vygotsky, 1978; 关之英
, 2012). Melalui usaha ini, motivasi dalaman murid dapat dipertingkatkan dengan lebih tinggi
lagi. Diharapkan motivasi luaran yang diusahakan oleh ibu bapa dan guru sekolah dapat
membantu murid dalam menyemai minat belajar murid yang lebih mendalam terhadap
pembelajaran BCSK. Dapatan kajian ini adalah sejajar dengan tinjuan kajian lepas yang
membuktikan bahawa motivasi merupakan faktor utama yang akan mempengaruhi kejayaan
murid untuk mempelajari bahasa kedua (Dörnyei, 1998; Engin, 2009; Masgoret & Gardner,
2003).
KESIMPULAN
Tahap penguasaan BCSK murid amat bergantung pada sokongan dan kerjasama
daripada pelbagai pihak, termasuk barisan pentadbir sekolah, kalangan guru, ibu bapa dan
murid sendiri. Sebagai mata pelajaran elektif yang selalu kurang mendapat perhatian dan
penekanan, pembelajaran BCSK pasti akan menghadapi pelbagai cabaran. Pada peringkat ini,
strategi pembelajaran yang berkesan, motivasi diri murid dan peluang pembelajaran bahasa
merupakan usaha utama yang perlu dilakukan. Isu-isu yang timbul perlu ditangani dengan cepat
dan secara proaktif.
Sekiranya pihak-pihak yang terlibat menunjukkan komitmen yang tinggi dan
memainkan peranan masing-masing untuk menangani cabaran yang dihadapi dengan
bersungguh-sungguh, nescaya pembelajaran BCSK dalam kalangan murid bukan penutur sejati
dapat melonjak ke satu tahap yang lebih membanggakan dan lebih tinggi pada masa kelak.
Untuk cadangan kajian masa depan, adalah dicadangkan untuk diperluaskan kajian bagi
meninjau tahap penguasaan murid BCSK dari aspek kemahiran membaca dan kemahiran
menulis. Selain itu, kajian lanjutan juga boleh dijalankan terhadap murid dari Tahun 1 sehingga
Tahun 6 yang dilihat dari perspektif yang berbeza, sama ada dari aspek pentadbir ataupun guru.
Dengan ini, tinjauan yang lebih menyeluruh terhadap tahap penguasaan bahasa Cina sebagai
bahasa kedua di sekolah kebangsaan dapat dibuktikan.
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Lampiran 1
Keterangan Penguasaan Murid Bagi Murid Yang Dinilai
Penguasaan Keterangan
Murid
Sangat Kebolehan komunikasi sangat terhad. Hanya boleh memahami sedikit
Terhad pertuturan mudah yang sangat lambat dan disertakan dengan bahasa
tubuh. Hanya dapat memberi sedikit respons dalam bentuk kosa kata
dengan sebutan yang kurang tepat serta menunjukkan sikap yang tidak
berkeyakinan.
Terhad Kebolehan komunikasi masih terhad. Boleh memahami pertuturan
mudah yang disertakan dengan bahasa tubuh. Dapat memberi respons
dengan bahasa yang singkat dan sebutan yang kurang tepat tetapi
boleh difahami serta menunjukkan sikap yang teragak-agak dan tidak
berkeyakinan.
Memuaskan Kebolehan komunikasi adalah memuaskan. Berupaya memahami
pertuturan yang pernah dilatih oleh guru. Dapat memberi respons
tentang topik berkaitan dengan diri sendiri dengan ayat yang mudah.
Mempunyai sebilangan kesalahan dalam penggunaan bahasa dan
sebutan serta menunjukkan sikap yang bersopan.
Baik Kebolehan komunikasi adalah baik. Tidak menghadapi masalah besar
untuk memahami pertuturan dalam perbualan harian. Dapat memberi
respons tentang topik berkaitan dengan kehidupan harian dengan ayat
yang lengkap. Tanpa kesalahan nyata dalam penggunaan bahasa dan
sebutan serta menunjukkan sikap yang bersopan.
Sangat Kebolehan komunikasi sangat baik. Tidak menghadapi masalah untuk
Baik memahami pertuturan dalam perbualan harian. Dapat memberi respons
tentang topik berkaitan dengan kehidupan harian dengan ayat yang
lengkap, bahasa serta sebutan yang tepat di samping menunjukkan
sikap yang bersopan.
Cemerlang Kebolehan komunikasi adalah cemerlang dan boleh dicontohi. Tidak
menghadapi segala masalah untuk memahami pertuturan dalam
perbualan harian. Dapat memberi respons secara natural tentang topik
berkaitan kehidupan harian dengan ayat yang lengkap, bahasa yang
tepat serta sebutan dan intonasi yang sesuai di samping menunjukkan
sikap yang bersopan dan berkeyakinan.
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The Effects On Reading Through NiE Project Based-Learning Online Vs
Book
Yenny Chee Fong Yeun
Kolej Matrikulasi Selangor
[email protected]
Abstract
In view of the relevance of Project based-learning (PBL) in schools, it is noteworthy to evaluate
whether PBL may favour reading achievement since there is a decreasing number of Band 5
and 6 scorers in MUET Reading. However, there are limited number of studies comparing the
impact between PBL via online and conventional method (i.e. written documents) on
matriculation students’ reading comprehension. Therefore, this study attempted to investigate
whether PBL via online or book can help L2 matriculation students in reading. 56 students
involved were from one-year-programme, session 2016/17 (20 students - non-treatment group,
19 students - ‘PBL via online’ group and 17 students - ‘PBL using book’ group). Prior to the
study, a 60-minute pre-test was administered. This study lasted for about five months and their
works were monitored fortnightly. After four months, the students were given post-test 1.
Subsequently, post-test 2 was held after one month. MANOVA test has revealed that there were
statistically non-significant differences among the three groups on reading scores (post-tests 1
and 2). It is recommended that similar PBL activities be implemented in a longer period
including the investigation of students’ attitude towards reading might gain significant positive
effects in teaching and learning.
Keywords: project-based learning (PBL), newspaper in education (NiE), reading, PBL
online, PBL book
INTRODUCTION
PBL is a dynamic classroom approach where students will involve actively in exploring
the real-world issues. Therefore, students will gain in-depth knowledge and skills through an
extended inquiry process structured around complex questions, carefully designed products and
tasks which lead to higher level cognitive development (Cervantes, 2013; Hui, Yu-chun, 2004;
Jo & Ku, 2011; Özdemir, 2006). Students in PBL classes performed better compared to
traditional classes (Penuel & Means, 2000; Stepien, Gallagher, & Workman, 1993) and they
can transfer their knowledge to new situations to perform proficiently (Barron & Darling-
Hamond, 2008; Cervantes, 2013; Meyer, 2015). In line with ‘Malaysia Education Blueprint
2013-2025’, PBL can help to build leadership skills as according to Cervantes (2013) and
Simpson (2011), it recognizes learning as a social process where the design of the learning
circumstances relies heavily on the promotion of collaboration.
Students in PBL classes performed better compared to traditional classes based on the
assessments of content knowledge (Penuel & Means, 2000; Stepien et al., 1993). For instance,
from high-achiever students to low verbal ability and little background content knowledge
students could learn better using PBL rather than traditional way of teaching (Jo & Ku, 2011;
Mergendoller, Maxwell, & Bellisimo, 2006; Mioduser & Betzer, 2007). In addition, students
were able to demonstrate specific content area skills after taking part in PBL (Mioduser &
Betzer, 2007).
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According to empirical studies, students’ language skills were enhanced through
project-based activities (e.g. Hajrulla, 2014; Kerdpol, 2016; Marwan, 2015; Simpson, 2011;
Syed Faiz Zaidi, 2014; Yiying, 2015). Hajrulla (2014) also posits that languages are learnt more
effectively when they are used to solve problems. Hence, PBL which requires the students to
solve real-world problems may help students’ reading skills. Substantiated by Yiying's (2015)
study, the participants perceived that not only their reading, writing, and speaking skills
improved but also vocabulary knowledge and translation skill because they used these skills to
acquire, analyse, and synthesize information as they worked on their project.
English reading comprehension. MUET is a high-stakes examination and its results
are employed as benchmark in determining the pre-university students’ proficiency level in
Malaysia (Rethinasamy & Chuah, 2011). There are four skills which are assessed in MUET
namely, reading, listening, writing and speaking. Among these four components, reading has
the heaviest weighting (40%) because university students are expected to read more (Lee,
2004). Therefore, reading plays a central role in the Malaysian educational curriculum as
Alderson, Clapham, and Wall (1995) have mentioned that heavier weighting on a particular
language component shows that it plays a central role in the curriculum or to the concept of
proficiency.
Nevertheless, many students dislike reading as they claimed reading is boring and
therefore they scored low in reading comprehension because of poor understanding of long
sentences and face many unfamiliar words. According to the analysis of Malaysian
Examination Council (2015), the number of Band 5 and 6 scorers in MUET (800/3) Reading
were less than 7% and 0.7% respectively from March 2012 paper to Nov 2014. In addition, the
number of candidates who obtained Band 6 in MUET Reading plunged from 4.57% in 1999
(when the test was introduced) to a mere 0.09% in 2011.
PBL-online. Researches have proven that integrating PBL with online learning helps
to enhance teaching and learning process and improve the students’ performance (e.g. Jadhav,
Mulla, & Jadhav, 2017; Marwan, 2015). A fairly recent study by Jadhav et al. (2017) shows
that blending online learning with PBL was very effective to reduce gap in education quality
where 97% of groups acquired basic knowledge. Besides face-to-face workshops in Jadhav et
al. (2017) study, the participants were also provided with online discussion forum and video
tutorials before they sat for an online test and competed in the robotic competition.
In Marwan's (2015) action research, it comprises of three projects that must be done by
his students – first project was to train writing skill by writing mails in English, the second
project was to hone speaking skills through videotaping their conversational activities and the
third project was to practise speaking in group discussions and reading brochures. He reported
that PBL brought positive changes in teaching and learning and the students were highly
motivated to learn. Noticeably, the PBL designs in his study encouraged all the students to use
internet to locate for materials.
NiE. Many researchers also have commended on using newspaper as materials in
classroom (e.g. Kaplan International College, 2013; Kunek, 2002; Pennsylvania State
University, 2008) Newspaper is chosen as materials in this study as it gives latest news and
information in details and undeniably, newspaper is an effective way of using current authentic
material for mastering a language. According to Newspaper Association of America
Foundation (2012) newspaper can be used to enhance skills in reading, writing, listening,
speaking, maths, social studies and science. It is also claimed that critical thinking can be
employed and developed through using newspaper in learning (Buitrón & Arcos, 2009; Dass
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& Ambigapathy, 2001; Newspaper Association of America Foundation, 2012; Pastina &
Landy, 2010; Pennsylvania State University, 2008; Vavla, 2009).
Based on a survey which examines the effectiveness of Newspaper Readership Program
conducted by Pennsylvania State University (2008), reading newspaper does not only enhance
students’ language but also produces other favourable outcomes such as being informed and
being able to articulate views on current issues as well as being engaged on campus and in the
community. Besides, it also found that the data overwhelmingly support the relationship
between newspaper readership and developing cognitive skills; increasing one’s awareness,
understanding, and ability to articulate views on current issues; and developing civic
mindedness. Furthermore, 72.2% respondents in the Penn State Study indicated that reading
the newspaper for class has enhanced their educational experience. In addition, Akbari and
Razavi's (2016) research which investigated Iranian EFL teachers’ attitudes and beliefs
regarding the use of authentic materials at high school level in Iran found that the English
teachers have a positive attitude toward presenting authentic materials in the classroom.
The use of newspaper is essential for language development as it can enhance students’
vocabulary as mentioned in Azadeh and Ghazali (2011); and improve reading skills in
Berardo's (2006) study. In Malaysia, the NIE programme initiated in 1985 by the New Straits
Times. Though newspaper in classroom is not something new, it is still popular being used in
education or learning process. This is proven by Kaplan International College's (2013) survey
and it has revealed that 75% of 503 ESL educators form 40 countries were still using
newspapers to teach English and help their students improve their knowledge in this digital era.
Hence, PBL using newspaper also needs to incorporate online learning in this study due to the
st
awareness of 21 century learning, an integral part of teaching and learning.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The rationale for selecting reading over the other three skills in MUET – Writing,
Speaking and Listening, is mainly because reading component in MUET has higher weightage
compared to other skills (40%). Moreover, Ong et al. (2015) substantiated the point by
mentioning that reading tests have great potential to inform researchers, teachers, educational
professionals, administrators, and policy makers the areas that need improvement and rate the
curriculum or instructional methods. Consequently, it is important to find ways to help the
students’ reading performance as this skill is important in Malaysian curriculum. In view of
this matter, some researchers have discussed about PBL in their studies to investigate whether
it can assist the students in reading and other skills (i.e. speaking, listening and writing) as they
are inter-dependent (e.g. Adzura Elier Ahmad & Li, 2014; Faridah Musa, Norlaila Mufti,
Rozmel Abdul Latiff, & Maryam Mohamed Amin, 2011). However, to the best of my
knowledge, education practitioners have not studied either NiE PBL-online or NiE PBL-book
is better to enhance the matriculation students’ reading achievement.
Many matriculation students do not like reading as they would say that it is a boring
activity. Students who are reluctant to read have no effort doing more than what is required
(Guo, 2012). Concerning about my learners’ disinterest, I endeavoured to find ways and sources
to encourage and help students to read in this study. Due to the positive effects of PBL and the
benefits of NiE, this study will employ newspaper articles as authentic materials in PBL
activities. Akbari and Razavi (2016); Berardo (2006); and Ghilani Nour (2015) state that
authentic materials can promote reading skills and reflect how a language is used. Through
PBL, which requires students to do collaboratively outside the classroom, it is hoped that
students would spend time to read the articles from newspaper online as Bradley-levine (2012)
and Cervantes (2013) agree that collaborative learning in PBL with authentic materials can
169
enthuse students to learn and display a higher degree of motivation compared to non-PBL
students.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
General objective. The main objective of this study is to compare the effects of PBL-
online and PBL-book in reading comprehension.
Specific Objective. The first specific objective is to determine whether PBL-online or
PBL-book can enhance the students’ achievement in reading comprehension. Meanwhile, the
second specific objective is to assess whether students with PBL achieve better reading scores
in post-tests compared to the group without treatment of PBL.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The study investigated the following research questions:
1. Are there any differences between PBL-online and PBL-book in the development of reading
comprehension?
2. Are the students with PBL achieve better reading scores in post-tests compared to the non-
treatment group?
METHODOLOGY
This is an action research study using convenience sampling of my three classes. My
main intention of this study is to assist my students to do well in reading and not to hate reading.
Besides, this study provides insights into the problems faced by my students in learning process
which in turn may lead me to find remedies to overcome them in future. Therefore, the existing
samples in this study may be under-represented the population of matriculation students. This
small research project was carried out following the simple five-step for action research:
Step 1: Identifying a problem/paradox/issue/difficulty
Step 2: Thinking of ways to tackle the problem Step
Step 3: Doing it
Step 4: Evaluating it (actual research findings)
Step 5: Modifying future practice (Norton, 2009, p. 70)
Three classes of students were assigned randomly to be ‘PBL - online’ group (19
students), ‘PBL - book’ group (17 students) and ‘PBL - non-treatment’ group (20 students).
Altogether these 56 students enrolled in One-year-programme, Session 2016/2017. These
students were homogenous in terms of age (+18 and +19 years old) and English education
background. They are L2 learners and they had at least eleven years of English learning
experience when they enrolled in Matriculation College. None of them had lived in English
speaking countries prior to entering this college. They were also homogenous in terms of
2
reading proficiency as their pre-test scores show F (2, 53) =1.857, p=.166, partial η = .065
(refer Table 8)
This study used convenience sampling which is a type of nonprobability sampling. The
three classes/groups were my students and thus they were convenient sources of data. The
reading test scores were collected from the pre-test, post-test 1 and post-test 2 which were
administered in July, 2016; January, 2017 and March, 2017 (MUET reading test) respectively.
All the tests are MUET past-year papers which have been standardised to test students’ English
proficiency level. Students were given 90 minutes for each test (average of 2 minutes for each
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question). The post-test 2 purpose is just to reconfirm the results obtained in past-test 1 as the
post-test 2 is the students’ actual MUET reading. There were no more interventions for both
PBL-online and PBL-book’s groups after the post-test 1.
Analysis of Data
SPSS was used to analyse convenience sampling data because we could still learn
something from it. According to Wilkinson (1999), sometimes the case for the
representativeness of a convenience sample can be strengthened by explicit comparison of
sample characteristics with those of a defined population across a wide range of variables. By
and large, all Matriculation college students are L2 learners and they have learnt English for
eleven years. Although students are streamed into Modules 1, 2, 3 (for sciences) and
accounting, they are not segregated by academic performance (mixed-ability classes). Since
there are three dependent variables (pre-test, post-test, delayed post-test) and three independent
variables (PBL-online, PBL-book, non-treatment), the suitable statistical analysis is
MANOVA. However, applying inferential statistical analysis to a single non-random sample,
though common, produces invalid conclusions. So, the results of this study cannot be
generalised and should be treated with caution.
IMPLEMENTATION
This section describes how the study was carried out in the treatment groups. The study
halted in the end of February 2017 as the students had MUET in March. Students sat for the
pre-test (MUET past-year paper) in July and subsequently, I planned for the PBL activities in
two months’ time (i.e. August and September).
PBL Activities
Since this is a collaborative PBL, the students in treatment groups would work in a group
of three or four. Hence, PBL – book (17 students) had five groups of students while PBL -
online (19 students) with six groups. The students had to write their reflections in groups
because it would be an avenue for them to incorporate diverse viewpoints and to develop
communication and teamwork skills in this PBL.
PBL-online group had to use Evernote as a medium to write the reflections and to
communicate or discuss. Thus, this pertinent group did not have to meet up face-to-face to
discuss about their project work. Besides, I could also monitor their progress via Evernote but
I withheld the feedback until the submission date. PBL-online group is labelled as such because
the students’ PBL outcome had to use internet. Comparatively, PBL-book group had to meet
face-to-face in order to discuss their reflections as I had instructed them not to discuss using
any means of online communication. Nevertheless, the newspaper articles selected by teacher
would be sent to students via Whatsapp because the work is assigned outside the classroom, a
nonface-to-face project.
Presentation needs planning as well as coordination which could help students to work
together. Therefore, the all the group members had to present their reflections verbally when
they were selected. Besides, I could ensure all of them contributed in the project work when I
posed questions to check and reconfirm their contribution and collaboration in this group work.
Table 1 gives the details of implementation for this study. Since non-treatment group
did not undergo any PBL activities, there were only two groups’ (PBL-online and PBL-book)
activities.
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Table 1
Implementation for PBL-online and PBL-book.
PBL-online PBL-book
Teacher briefed the students on the Teacher briefed the students on the
PBL work in October (refer to the PBL work in October (refer to the
scaffolding) scaffolding)
Teacher selected a newspaper article Teacher selected a newspaper article
and sent via Evernote for students to and sent via WhatsApp for students
read every fortnightly. to read every fortnightly.
Students wrote their reflections in Students wrote their reflections in
Evernote (homework) and it will be book (homework). Then, their
checked by teacher biweekly. books were submitted biweekly.
Due to time constraint, only one Due to time constraint, only one
group with the best reflections group with the best reflections
presented in the class (face-to-face) presented in the class (face-to-face)
for about 10 minutes. Thus, only two for about 10 minutes. Thus, only two
groups presented every month. groups presented every month.
After presentation, their peers After presentation, their peers
(listeners/audience) could pose (listeners/audience) could pose
questions to presenters. This questions to presenters. This
encouraged the students to exchange encouraged the students to exchange
their point of views based on their their point of views based on their
own understanding of the text. own understanding of the text.
Teacher summed up the activity Teacher summed up the activity
Scaffolding for PBL Activities on “How to write reflections?”
Method of reflections writing is adapted from Reading First: Research – Based Reading
Instruction Using Newspaper, written by Shaw (2003). Shaw (2003) holds the view that a good
reader always links text to another reading or event because it brings greater meaning to
passages. Furthermore, Halvorsen (2005) emphasises the need to encourage readers to interact
with texts and materials instead of simply regurgitating information from a reading or listening
passage to answer questions. He adds that this method will help students to interact with the
world around them and to become more self-aware and reflective thinkers. In addition, Vavla
(2009), suggests teachers to encourage students to bring their reading to their own world
knowledge. Therefore, in my study, the students were required to think critically to relate the
news to themselves and their surroundings as follow:
Text to Self : link your own life with the text
Text to Education : link the Malaysian education with the text
Text to Community : link the community (friends, classmates, neighbours, etc.) with
the text
Prior to that, the students had to list keywords that led them to the gist of the article.
172
RESULTS
Due to a small sample size and the nature of the study (action research), caution must
be applied as the results of this research might not be transferable to other matriculation
students. Both research questions would be analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
For research questions 1 and 2, Table 2 would present the results descriptively (means of
reading scores for each group). Meanwhile, Table 8 provides the inferential statistics for
research questions 1 and 2.
Table 2
Means, standard deviations and sample sizes for the three groups.
Categories Mean Std. N
Deviation
online 75.0000 12.31530 19
book 78.1176 13.07613 17
Post-test 2
non-treatment 71.7500 10.59233 20
Total 74.7857 12.03890 56
online 71.7200 13.56616 19
book 72.9418 10.45317 17
Post-test 1
non-treatment 71.0670 9.00286 20
Total 71.8577 10.98251 56
online 57.0526 23.91994 19
book 61.4118 14.41813 17
Pretest_reading
non-treatment 68.4000 15.62185 20
Total 62.4286 18.84951 56
Table 2 shows means, standard deviations and sample sizes for the three groups (PBL-
online, PBL-book and non-treatment). In post-test 2, students in PBL-book group had the
highest mean for reading (78.12) and as predicted, the lowest mean would be non-treatment
group (71.75). To answer research question 1, this dataset portrays the students in PBL-book
group achieved better in reading than PBL-online as the means for post-tests 1 and 2 (72.94
and 78.12 respectively) of PBL-book were higher than the post-tests 1 and 2 (71.71 and 75.00)
of PBL-online. The descriptive statistics indicate that students who did not undergo treatments
got the lowest mean scores for reading in post-tests 1 (71.07) and 2 (71.75). Hence, students
with PBL treatments achieved better reading scores in post-tests compared to the non-treatment
group and this would answer research question 2.
The dataset was further analysed because it would be interesting to determine whether the
differences of means are statistically significant or not. Prior to data analysis, there are nine
assumptions which require additional procedures in SPSS Statistics when performing
MANOVA analysis (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013). These nine assumptions were analysed and
they are presented below:
i. Assumption #1: Two or more dependent variables should be measured at
the interval or ratio level (i.e., they are continuous).
Variables in this study met this criterion as the reading comprehension scores (pre-test,
post-test 1, post-test 2) were measured from 0 to 120.
173
ii. Assumption #2: The independent variable should consist of two or more categorical,
independent groups.
The independent variables met this criterion as I had three groups/cells namely, PBL-
online, PBL-book and non-treatment group.
iii. Assumption #3: There should be independence of observations when selecting
MANOVA analysis, which means that there is no relationship between the observations
in each group or between the groups themselves.
The students in each group are different and no student being in more than one group.
iv. Assumption #4: Adequate sample size is important for MANOVA but the larger sample
size, the better. It is advisable to have more cases in each group than the number of
dependent variables.
According to Kraemer & Thiemann (1987), 14 participants per cell, given at least three
cells and an effect size of .50, will yield power of approximately 80%. Since there were
more than 14 students in each group, the number of subjects may not be a concern in
performing MANOVA.
v. Assumption #5: There are no univariate or multivariate outliers.
Regarding multivariate outliers, Mahalanobis Distance (D2) was used to determine it
(Field, 2009; Pallant, 2011; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013). Based on Table 3, the largest
Mahalanobis value was 11.36 and it is lesser than the critical value 16.27 at alpha level
2
of 0.001 (χ [df3] = 11.36, p = .001). The alpha level of 0.001 used is conservative
criteria suggested by Tabachnick and Fidell (2013).
Table 3
Residuals Statistics a
Minimum Maximum Mean Std. N
Deviation
Predicted Value 1.21 2.81 1.98 .356 56
Std. Predicted Value -2.167 2.317 .000 1.000 56
Standard Error of Predicted Value .110 .372 .201 .059 56
Adjusted Predicted Value 1.24 2.83 1.97 .365 56
Residual -1.184 1.299 .000 .763 56
Std. Residual -1.508 1.656 .000 .972 56
Stud. Residual -1.531 1.732 .005 1.007 56
Deleted Residual -1.245 1.437 .008 .820 56
Stud. Deleted Residual -1.551 1.767 .007 1.015 56
Mahal. Distance .093 11.358 2.946 2.321 56
Cook's Distance .000 .110 .019 .022 56
Centered Leverage Value .002 .207 .054 .042 56
Note. a. Dependent Variable: Categories
vi. Assumption #6: There is multivariate normality.
In order to test normality, Shapiro-Wilk’s test is used because Razali and Wah (2011)
mention that this test is the best normality test for all kinds of distributions and sample
sizes. The Shapiro-Wilk’s test shows that the null hypothesis was kept because the p-
174
values for all variables were above 0.05 i.e. D (56) =.805 for post-test 2, D(56)=.232
for post-test 1 and D(56)=.249 for pre-test.
Table 4
Tests of Normality
a
Kolmogorov-Smirnov Shapiro-Wilk
Statistic df Sig. Statistic df Sig.
*
Post-test 2 .078 56 .200 .987 56 .805
*
Post-test 1 .086 56 .200 .973 56 .232
*
Pretest_reading .098 56 .200 .973 56 .249
Note. *. This is a lower bound of the true significance.
a. Lilliefors Significance Correction
vii. Assumption #7: There is a linear relationship between each pair of dependent variables
for each group of the independent variable.
Figure 1. Relationship between each pair of dependent variables for each group of the
independent variable.
Notes. Mock_Reading is Post-test 1, MUET_Reading is Post-test 2
175
The scatterplot matrices generally moving from left to the top right. So, the assumption
of linear relationship was not violated.
viii. Assumption #8: There is a homogeneity of variance-covariance matrices.
This assumption was tested in SPSS Statistics using Box's M test of equality of
covariance. Since Box’s M (15.68) was significant, p (.278) > α (.001), the assumption
is not violated and thus Wilk’s Lambda is an appropriate test to use.
Table 5
Box’s Tst of Equality of Covariance Matrices a
Table 5
Box's M 15.676
F 1.198
df1 12
df2 13007.526
Sig. .278
ix. Assumption #9: There is no multicollinearity.
The existence of singularity and multicolinearity which create statistical problems to be
a concern can be detected at higher correlation matrix i.e. r=+.8 or r=+.9 and above
(Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013). Based on the correlations among the three test scores were
less than .8 and thus multicolinearity may not be a concern in this dataset.
Table 6
Correlations among the test scores
Post-test 2 Post-test 1 Pre-test
**
**
Pearson Correlation 1 .519 .437
Post-test 2 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .001
N 56 56 56
**
**
Pearson Correlation .519 1 .713
Post-test 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 56 56 56
**
**
Pearson Correlation .437 .713 1
Pre-test Sig. (2-tailed) .001 .000
N 56 56 56
Note. **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
176
Table 7
a
Multivariate Tests Value F df Hypothesis Error df Sig. Squared Partial Power d Observed
Effect
Eta
Pillai's Trace .231 2.263 6.000 104.0 .043 .115 .770
b
Wilks' Lambda .773 2.342 6.000 102.0 .037 .121 .786
Hotelling's Trace .290 2.416 6.000 100.0 .032 .127 .800
c
Groups
Roy's Largest Root .273 4.738 3.000 52.00 .005 .215 .876
Note. a. Design: Intercept + Categories
b. Exact statistic
c. The statistic is an upper bound on F that yields a lower bound on the significance level.
d. Computed using alpha = .05
Table 8
Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Source Variable Dependent Squares III Type df Square Mean F Sig. Squared Partial
Sum
a
of
MUET_Reading 373.91 2 186.95 1.30 .28 .047 Eta
b
MOCK_Reading 32.84 2 16.42 .13 .88 .005
ted
c
Pretest_reading 1279.85 2 639.92 1.86 .17 .065
Correc
Model
MUET_Reading 313185.87 1 313185.87 2184.77 .00 .976
MOCK_Reading 288246.69 1 288246.68 2314.35 .00 .978
pt
Pretest_reading 216272.52 1 216272.51 627.67 .00 .922
Interce
MUET_Reading 373.91 2 186.95 1.30 .28 .047
MOCK_Reading 32.84 2 16.42 .13 .88 .005
Pretest_reading 1279.85 2 639.92 1.86 .17 .065
Groups
MUET_Reading 7597.52 53 143.349
MOCK_Reading 6601.01 53 124.547
Pretest_reading 18261.87 53 344.563
Error
MUET_Reading 321174.00 56
MOCK_Reading 295791.31 56
Pretest_reading 237792.00 56
Total
MUET_Reading 7971.43 55
MOCK_Reading 6633.85 55
ted
Pretest_reading 19541.71 55
Total
Correc
Note. a. R Squared = .047 (Adjusted R Squared = .011)
b. R Squared = .005 (Adjusted R Squared = -.033)
c. R Squared = .065 (Adjusted R Squared = .030)
d. Computed using alpha = .05
177
Finally, MANOVA was conducted after fulfilled all the assumptions. According to the
multivariate results (MANOVA), there was a statistically significant difference among the three
groups (PBL-online, PBL-book, non-treatment) when considered jointly on the variables of the
reading comprehension test scores (post-test 1, post-test 2 and pre-test), F (6,102) = 2.34,
2
p>.0005; Wilk’s Λ = .773, partial η = .121 (refer to Table 7)
A separate ANOVA was conducted for each dependent variable, with each ANOVA
evaluated at an alpha level of .05. There was not a significant difference among the three groups
2
on the test scores of post-test 1, F (2, 53) = .132, p = .877 (refer to Table 8), partial η = .005.
Besides, there was also a non-significant difference among the groups (PBL-online, PBL-book
2
and non-treatment) on post-test 2’s scores, F (2, 53) = 1.304, p = .280, partial η = .047 (refer
to Table 8) even though ‘PBL-book’ group (M=78.118) scored higher than ‘PBL-online’ group
(M=75.0). Since there is no significant difference among the three groups on reading scores of
post-tests 1 and 2, the PBL-online and PBL-book treatments are not effective among other
students.
It is noteworthy that the students of PBL-book did well in post-tests 1 and 2 of reading
comprehension as the means were the highest in both tests i.e. M=72.94 and M=78.12
respectively. Notwithstanding the better performance of PBL-book group in the two post-tests,
the differences of means were not statistically different. This portrays that PBL-online and
PBL-book could not really help the matriculation students in reading comprehension. In
addition, the PBL groups also could not perform better compared to non-treatment. Therefore,
the two objectives stated in this study have been answered.
DISCUSSION
The findings of this study are inconsistent with various researches which have found
that PBL could assist students in learning (e.g. Hajrulla, 2014; Jadhav, Mulla, & Jadhav, 2017;
Kerdpol, 2016; Marwan, 2015; Meyer, 2015; Simpson, 2011; Termizi & Yassin, 2013; Yiying,
2015). This is due to several limitations and slight hiccups in this study. Despite the results that
PBL-online and PBL-book treatments could not be effective among the matriculation students,
this study could open new doors and create connections that can build into future project
designs.
First and foremost, I noticed that my students were lack of motivation because their
reflections were generally too short in the first month (October). Even in Fukuzawa, Boyd, and
Cahn's (2017) study with 49 undergraduates of anthropology course, they found the majority
of the participants were not motivated to do PBL as the post course PBL survey shows that only
22% liked more PBL and 27% felt that PBL benefited their learning compared to traditional
lectures. According to Fukuzawa, Boyd, and Cahn, (2017) and Marwan (2015), students need
to have high level of self-motivation and personal responsibility in PBL. Thus, I commented
on the students’ work to let them realise that this project foregrounded on how they reflect on
what they read and requested them to submit longer reflections in the next task. Besides, I also
encouraged them and stressed the importance of learning in their work.
Due to the feedback and encouragement given, the students tried to write longer and
started to think more critically on how to read beyond the texts using the scaffolding taught.
They attempted to make connections between the texts they read with their prior experience
and current knowledge in the subsequent month. Noticing their struggles, I suggested them to
make better reflections on the texts they read by using questioning strategies (i.e. 5Ws and H –
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?), which can be embedded in the scaffolding taught
earlier (e.g. Does the text remind me of something? How do I feel after reading the text?).
Besides, I also showed them more examples on how to relate reading texts to self, education
and community using other reading materials which were not assigned to them. Therefore, the
178
second issue here is the need of more guidance on how to make meaningful connections which
are connecting to their understanding of the texts. This is substantiated by Akbari and Razavi's
(2016) findings that their participants also indicated a need for additional training in using
authentic materials.
In addition, I encountered my students were reluctant to accept the new role of a teacher
as a facilitator in of PBL activities as they always asked for ideas on what to write in the
reflections. Probably, they were used to spoon-feeding and teacher-centred learning
approaches. Anyway, I tried to help by prompting but not evading their questions. Eventually,
they all realised that the teacher was there to assist but they would not get direct answers as
they were encouraged to think critically and collaboratively. A similar situation was also
experienced in Yiying's (2015) study as she stated that students had difficulty accepting teacher
as a facilitator and coordinator at the beginning of the treatment but later the students realised
that the teacher was there to support and assist.
Next, I also noticed that somehow knowledge acquisition was unevenly distributed
among the students either in PBL-online or PBL-book groups. For instance, some students who
are good at English, dominated the reflections writing and thus their weaker peers took
advantage of their hardworking members to write most of the reflections which resulted in
passive participation. Brown (1992) indicates that students often fail to distribute work
equitably on their own because they are used to working with others but not with collaborating,
giving feedback, articulating and synthesizing one's work with that of others. On the contrary,
Yiying (2015), managed to overcome passive participation in PBL by making the students
presenting their project work and reflecting what they learnt. Therefore, future implementation
of similar PBL tasks should allocate some time for additional instructional activities which
requires students to present and share their reflections of learning process.
Another issue, there were two PBL-online groups complained about slow network
connection and very limited mobile data in the first two months of implementation (October
and November). Actually, the two months were ‘waiting-time’ to monitor whether the students
could solve problems/challenges by themselves because one of the PBL’s skills is problem-
solving. Most of my students were not really independent in learning or solving problems. It is
presumed that one of the possible reasons for such characteristic might be due to their hectic
schedule.
These challenges are normal at the initial stage of PBL as Termizi and Yassin (2013)
also reported that their participants struggled at the preliminary phase of PBL. Termizi and
Yassin (2013) indicated that there were participants who required more time in the PBL
learning process and teamwork process. Undeniably, there are some students in my study who
were sceptical about the claim of the effectiveness of PBL in teaching and learning. This is in
line with the findings of Kerdpol (2016), whereby the questionnaire distributed to 50 ten grade
students at Muang Chalieng School revealed that there were somehow students who had
negative attitudes towards PBL approach.
Even though their scores were not statistically different in the post-tests, majority of my
students who underwent PBL were motivated to read in December. Based on my observations,
students’ work who underwent PBL had portrayed their abilities to comprehend beyond the
texts and write better reflections in the third month (December). Besides, they could collaborate
better than before. In terms of positive change of attitude towards reading, it is consistent with
Yiying's (2015) findings as she reported that the participants’ motivation and autonomy of
learning English were enhanced, and their ability to use knowledge to acquire, analyse, and
synthesize information was improved dramatically. Unfortunately, my study does not involve
attitude towards reading.
The implementation of this study is an eye-opener for me as I have gained some
new insights of not only what works well and what needs improvement in the conduct of PBL
179
but also how to mitigate the effects of passive participation. Based on this experience and
reflections, I hope I could become better at designing the lessons or action plans to cater for
students’ needs. In hindsight, it would have been better to motivate and encourage them to work
as a team in the first month because some groups did not submit their PBL assignments in the
first and the early subsequent months due to group participation.
CONCLUSION
The present study has several limitations to be noted for better planning of future studies
towards using PBL and newspaper or authentic materials. Firstly, the small sample size (N=56)
may shed hesitation on the validity of the results and thus its outcome cannot be generalised to
all students. A similar study may be conducted with English students at different educational
levels e.g. high schools or secondary schools. The findings of PBL implementation in this study
has to be viewed within the characteristic of this research because of different contexts,
participants and teachers may generate different findings. Since this quantitative study focused
only on the effects on reading performance, the future study may look at the effects of similar
PBL on other skills. Hence, future researches can elicit scores of other skills (e.g. writing,
listening and speaking) and use triangulation research method. Future study may also include
the investigation of the students’ attitude towards reading as the students observed in this study
showed positive attitudes towards reading after underwent PBL. Moreover, the instructions that
incorporate authentic materials (e.g. newspaper) into PBL effectively could be ameliorated in
the future study.
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182
The Quality Of Teaching Model For Preschool Teachers
3
1
2
Abdul Halim Masnan, PhD , Zaharah Osman, PhD , Azila Alias ,
Nor Mashitah Mohd. Radzi, PhD 4
1,2,3,4 Jabatan Pendidikan Awal Kanak-kanak
Fakulti Pembangunan Manusia
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
2
1 [email protected], [email protected],
4
3 [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
The quality of teaching model includes several important elements such as teaching knowledge,
skills and attitudes. This study seeks to discover the level of teaching knowledge of preschool
teachers. The methodology of the study is a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods. The
instruments used were questionnaires, structured interviews and document analysis. 50
preschool teachers encompassing both private and public preschools answered the
questionnaire, and only two preschool teachers were interviewed. The respondents of the study
were identified using purposive random sampling. The results of the study found that 56% of
teachers emphasised on one method of teaching, while 44% of teachers adopted various
methods of teaching to help the children understand the learning content. Besides that, the
teachers also chose a teaching method that is suitable to fulfil the learning needs of the children
(56%) and fulfull need to learn in groups (54%). An appropriate teaching method was used to
capture and retain the chhildren’ attention (56%) as well as improve their ranking and
achievement (60%). The interview results found that teachers’ knowledge increased along with
their years of experience in the field of early childhood education. From the document analysis
on the teachers’ knowledge of planning for teaching and learning, it was found that the RPH
of teachers were neat, interesting and simple. Overall, preschool teachers are aware that the
method of teaching plays an important role in the teaching and learning process.
Keywords: quality, model of teaching, preschool teacher
INTRODUCTION
The teaching profession is a noble task because this profession is a continuation from
the tasks of the prophets in Islam. The entire country depends on the effectiveness of a teacher
to perform their duties. Teachers have a high status in society until the teaching profession is
brought to a more challenging level. Teachers are faced with various demands alongside current
progression and needs. They play a dominant role in realising the inspiration of religion, race
and country, which is contained in the nation’s education philosophy besides being responsible
for their students. This means that teaching passively in the form of lecturing results in the
delivery of lessons that does not fully involve the students (Sufean, 2014).
Knowledge refers to known and possessed information from experience, learning and
observation through the senses. From a professional standpoint, teachers should have diverse
and deep knowledge to help students in their learning and enable them to understand the subject
(Eggen & Kauchak, 2012). Knowledge is the main domain to shape actions. According to
Abdul Halim Masnan (2014), knowledge of contents covers the knowledge of teachers about
the basics or content that needs to be taught to fulfil the needs of the students in terms of
knowledge, skills and values.
183
Knowledge is an important aspect in preparing teachers to educate the students to solve
problems. Before the teacher begins a class, the teacher should have the knowledge and
understanding of the subject matter prior to teaching so that the students can learn well.
Teachers are not exempt from facing problems such as lack of knowledge or confidence in
terms of inner self-belief and self-concept. The lack of knowledge and understanding can cause
ineffective knowledge transfer. It is important for the knowledge of a teacher’s pedagogy to be
parallel with the subject being taught so that there will not be confusion in the children during
the process of teaching and learning. Therefore, teachers have a very important responsibility
in teaching and need to apply known and useful knowledge in the lives of the children.
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Teachers need to be alert towards their pedagogical needs by preparing themselves with
relevant knowledge and skills appropriate to the needs of the student. Preschool teachers are
given early exposure to the use of the National Preschool Curriculum Standard (KSPK)
(Malaysia Ministry of Education, 2017). This exposure has been given by the Preschool Officer
at the Malaysia Ministry of Education (JPN) and at the State Education Office (PPD) and also
the Preschool Officer at the Malaysia Ministry of Education (KPM) widely. The knowledge of
preschool teachers must be strong and further improved.
According to Reynolds (1992), the mode of teaching proposed involves knowledge and
skill through three levels in the framework of teaching, otherwise known as the domain of
teaching. This domain of teaching involves the pre-active, interactive and post-active stage. It
is based on the teaching framework that teachers’ teaching methods were found to be closely
correlated between the three domains and knowledge and teaching skill (Reynolds, 1992).
According to Shulman (1986), when teachers are planning and teaching, they need to adapt
between knowledge and skill through the interaction with the students. Teachers need to re-
evaluate their teaching outcomes and documentation that was taught as the last thing in the
teaching process in class. Thus, there is a need for new teachers’ knowledge and skills to be
improved to produce a new teacher who practices effective teaching.
Based on the Malaysia Teacher’s Standard (SGM), a standard evaluation to efficient
professionalism that teachers need to achieve covers three main aspects (Malaysia Ministry of
Education, 2009). The three aspects are: (1) the practice of professional teaching values, (2)
knowledge and understanding and (3) teaching skills. This professional value of practice was
drafted based on the teaching culture at the Teacher’s Institute of Study (IPG). Knowledge and
understanding refers to the teachers’ mastery of teaching knowledge that can enhance their
professionalism when performing their duties effectively and efficiently. Additionally, teaching
skills refer to the ability of the teacher in the teaching process whether in academics or co-
curriculum.
There are ten standards that are the focus to the development of a teacher’s profession
(NAEYC, 2011). However, the focus to the teacher’s development involves pedagogical
practices such as the aspects of curriculum, teaching and assessment. This standard is drafted
to ensure each teacher can equip themselves with knowledge and skills according to the
standard required.
METHODOLOGY
This study focused on pedagogical practice based on the knowledge of teaching
inventory. The methodology used are a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. The
quantitative method used was through a survey to analyse a questionnaire descriptively. On the
other hand, the qualitative method was used to obtain data from interviews and document
184
analysis. 50 preschool teachers involving 25 from private preschools and 25 from government
preschools around Selangor and Perak were the respondents of the study. However, only two
preschool teachers were interviewed. The respondents of the study were identified using
purposive random sampling. Purposive random sampling was chosen because the respondents
were preschool teachers who have teaching experience of between five to ten years. The two
experienced teachers (Jurulatih Utama) who were interviewed.
The instruments used in this study were a questionnaire, structured interviews and
document analysis. To identify the preschool teachers’ knowledge, a set of questionnaires was
translated based on the survey on Self-Evaluation of Preschool Teachers. This questionnaire
has four parts, which are the demography, level of teaching knowledge, level of teaching skill
and teachers’ attitudes towards teaching. This study is focused on the level of teaching
knowledge of preschool teachers. The questionnaire consists of 60 items. Seven items in the
questionnaire measured the level of teachers’ knowledge. The Cronbach’s alpha to test the
reliability of the questionnaireis 0.924, which is the highest level. This proves that the
questionnaire can be used for this study. The structured interview questions contained open and
closed questions used to interview two excellent preschool teachers who conduct teaching and
learning activities in class. The document analysis planning through the Daily Teaching Plan
(RPH) was conducted by preschool teachers to analyse the knowledge of teaching and learning.
RESULTS
The data was obtained from questionnaires, structured interviews and document
analysis to identify the level of teaching knowledge of preschool teachers. Through the
questionnaire, Table 1 shows the statistical data that displays the percentage and frequency of
the level of teaching knowledge of preschool teachers. These items were to determine how high
are the levels of knowledge of the preschool teachers regarding teaching. The results of the
study from the questionnaire shows seven items that focused on the level of preschool teachers’
knowledge.
Table 1
Percentage and frequency of the level of teaching knowledge of preschool teachers
Question Scale Frequency Percentage
Very rarely 2 4.0
S1 – I give emphasis to a Rarely 13 26.0
teaching method that is Often 28 56.0
appropriate and effective. Very often 7 14.0
Total 50 100.0
Very rarely 3 6.0
S2 – I use various teaching Rarely 11 22.0
methods to help children Often 22 44.0
understand the learning
content. Very often 14 28.0
Total 50 100.0
Very rarely 1 2.0
S3 – I choose a suitable Rarely 10 20.0
teaching method to fulfil
Often 28 56.0
185
the students’ learning Very often 11 22.0
needs. Total 50 100.0
Very rarely 2 4.0
S4 – I also choose a suitable Rarely 11 22.0
teaching method that can
fulfil the learning needs in Often 27 54.0
groups. Very often 10 20.0
Total 50 100.0
Very rarely 1 2.0
S5 – I use a suitable Rarely 9 18.0
teaching method to capture
and retain the childrens’ Often 28 56.0
attention. Very often 12 24.0
Total 50 100.0
Very rarely 2 4.0
S6 – I use an appropriate Rarely 7 14.0
teaching method to enhance
the achievement of the Often 30 60.0
children. Very often 11 22.0
Total 50 100.0
Very rarely 1 2.0
S7 – The success of teaching
and learning depends on Rarely 9 18.0
the wisdom of the teacher Often 28 56.0
in choosing the teaching Very often 12 24.0
method.
Total 50 100.0
Next, the results obtained from the structured interviews on the teaching knowledge of
preschool teachers found that the teachers’ knowledge increase when their teaching experience
increases. The teachers’ knowledge increases alongside their teaching experience.
The interview results found that the experience teaching in preschools help Preschool
Teacher 1 (PT1) find appropriate methods in early childhood teaching and learning.
“However, my experience at the preschool is
enough for me to aa… find more appropriate
methods in the field of early childhood education.”
(GP1)
On the other hand, Preschool Teacher 2 (PT2) stated that the field was an added value
to his profession as a preschool teacher.
“So err… if my experience after 10 years being a
teacher changes a lot hahaha. It means more
knowledge.” (PT2)
PT1 and PT2 both have experience teaching children at the nursery and preschool and
for more than 10 years. PT1 and PT2 have differences in specialization or field that they enjoy.
However, the specialization or main field that they enjoy are under the same branch, which is
art and aesthetics.
“Emm… if considering my specialization,
because we have taken all subjects, we need to
186
master all subjects. But I prefer aa… crafts and lab
exploring. Because I like watching the kids get
something not just from what the teacher gives,
but something he got from his own discovery.”
(PT1)
PT1 believes that through handcraft activities and lab exploration, children can learn
from their own discoveries.
“For me, I lean more to creativity. I like something
that is different but err… can give an effect or
impact. So, I like to use hands-on approach.
Because err children are easily attracted to
something that is tangible.” (PT2)
On the contrary, PT2 believes that activities that require the children’s creativity may
give an impact to them due to the use of materials that seem to increase their interest.
“Now, our resources are mainly from the internet,
books, and the easiest is through early childhood
education blogs inside and outside of the country.
We do not just need to focus on KSPK. KSPK
provides the guideline only.” (PT1)
“Truthfully, it has already been my practice to
widen my er… scope. I mean in terms of
knowledge. So, I explore the internet a lot. I will
explore many preschool approaches that are
practiced in advanced countries.” (PT2)
When asked regarding teaching preparation, PT1 and PT2 admitted that they often refer
to the internet. This is good practice in today’s world that is continuously progressing where
children are becoming more IT savvy. PT1 stated that KSPK only acts as a guide for preschool
teachers. The materials or activities that needs to be taught can be referred to from many
sources, especially the internet. PT2 on the other hand stated that the internet is used to refer to
preschool activities that are conducted in modern countries. This prevents the children in the
country from being left behind with the advancements in academics.
Besides the questionnaire and interview, the research results also showed the result of
the document analysis towards the PdP and RPH of preschool teachers. The following are the
analysis results of the researcher towards PT1 and PT2 in the aspect of PdP planning
knowledge.
187
Table 2
Knowledge of PT1 Teaching and Learning Plan
No. Item Score Notes
0 1 2 3 4
1. Preparing Teaching Record Files on Daily / PT1 prepared an
Lesson Plan (RPH) RPH that is very
2. Prepare and Display the Yearly Lesson Plan / interesting and neat.
(RPT)
3. Prepare the Weekly Lesson Plan (RPM) / RPT and RPM were
4. Prepare a complete RPH, including the current / prepared in an
ABM. orderly manner and
5. Write the learning outcomes suited with the / is easy to understand.
teaching and learning activity.
However, the lesson
TOTAL : 18 x 25% = 22.5% reflections were not
20 as parallel to PdP’s
content.
Table 3
Knowledge of PT2 Teaching and Learning Plan
No. Item Score Notes
0 1 2 3 4
1. Preparing Teaching Record Files on Daily / PT2 prepared an
Lesson Plan (RPH) RPH that is good and
2. Prepare and Display the Yearly Lesson Plan / simple. The elements
(RPT) of creativity are less
3. Prepare the Weekly Lesson Plan (RPM) / prominent.
4. Prepare a complete RPH, including the current /
ABM. PT2 prepared RPT
5. Write the learning outcomes suited with the / and RPM. However,
teaching and learning activity. this is not shown to
the researcher.
TOTAL : 15 x 25% = 15%
20 The learning results
are suited to PdP.
DISCUSSION
Students who receive motivation from teachers will often become more interested and
therefore help the process of achieving the lesson’s objective (Maimun Aqsha Lubis, Wan
Nurul Syuhada’ Wan Hassan & Mohd Isa Hamzah, 2017). Therefore, it is important for
teachers to equip themselves with knowledge and be prepared to conduct new learning
techniques that are appropriate and effective. Preschool teachers need to master all knowledge
and skills suited to the development of children (Abdul Rahim, Mohd Najib & Lily, 2010).
According to Abdul Halim Masnan and Nor Mashitah Mohd Radzi (2016), the learning
outcome that involves the students’ content must be exact and suitable with the student’s
development. The expectation to achieve a good learning outcome can achieve the needs of
PdP students overall.
The results of the study found that 56% of preschool teachers emphasise a teaching
method that is suitable and effective for the children learning development, and only 4% of
preschool teachers rarely emphasise a teaching method that is suitable and effective. Besides
188
that, preschool teachers also diversify their teaching methods to enable the children to
understand the lesson’s contents at 44%. As many as 6% of preschool teachers rarely diversify
their teaching methods. In terms of choosing an appropriate teaching method, 56% of preschool
teachers often choose a suitable teaching method to fulfill the learning needs of the children,
while 54% fulfilled the need to learn in groups. Preschool teachers are well-informed that the
choice of a suitable teaching method is important to fulfill the learning needs of the children
and fulfill the needs of learning in groups. 56% of teachers used an appropriate teaching method
to capture and retain the children’s attention and 60% of preschool teachers used appropriate
teaching methods to increase the achievement of the children. 56% of preschool teachers
believe that the success of teaching and learning is dependent on the wisdom of the teacher in
using the teaching method, and only 2% of preschool teachers did not agree with this opinion.
Overall, the knowledge of preschool teachers towards teaching is that the choice and use of
teaching method is important to help the children understand the lesson’s contents, to meet the
learning needs of the children, to meet the need to learn in groups, to capture and retain the
attention of the children and to increase the children’s achievement.
Through a structured interview conducted with two preschool teachers, the knowledge
of the teachers was found to increase through their experience. For PT1, his knowledge
increased when searching for more suitable methods for early childhood education. Meanwhile,
PT2 gained a lot of knowledge regarding modern approaches applied outside and inside the
country and can apply those approaches according to the suitability and ability of the children.
In terms of the teachers’ knowledge towards the approach they use in PdP, for PT1, he prefers
to use craft and lab exploration so that the children can achieve self-discovery. PT2 alternatively
preferred creativity and using hands-on approaches to attract the interest of the children. In
terms of their teaching preparation, the teachers preferred to use IT facilities especially the
internet to obtain information and new knowledge. This can ensure children are not left behind
from advances in education. On top of that, from the document analysis, the RPH prepared by
PT1 was interesting, neat, orderly and easy to understand. However, the learning outcomes
were not parallel to PdP. The learning outcomes of PT2 was parallel to PdP and PT2 prepared
a simple RPH but lacks the element of creativity.
CONCLUSION
This study only involves 50 preschool teachers as the respondents. Therefore, it is
recommended for a more widespread study to be conducted using a larger sample size and
including other aspects as variables to provide a better picture regarding the knowledge of
teaching among preschool teachers. In conclusion, all preschool teachers are aware and need to
always increase their knowledge to enhance their teaching skills in preschool.
Based on the study’s results, the teaching knowledge of preschool teachers encompasses
diversifying teaching methods to help children understand the contents of the lesson. Due to
this, it is important for a teacher to choose suitable methods for certain topics. The use of the
wrong method can confuse students from understanding the contents of the lesson. Besides that,
an appropriate teaching method can also capture and retain the children’s attention while
increasing their academic achievements.
Acknowldgement
First of all I would like to thank of Allah for his love and mercy to provide me with constant health to
complete this study according to the plan. I am very grateful to the RMIC, especially to the Director, Prof. Madya
Dr. Tajul Shuhaizam Said for allowing us to obtain the University Research Grant allocation for this study. Thank
you very much to the Faculty of Human Development, especially the Dean for supporting this study.The infinite
rewards for other research partners, such as Dr. Zaharah Osman, Pn. Azila Alias and Mr. Nor Mashitah Mohd.
189
Radzi was in the process of completing this study. Finally, I pray that all parties involved directly or indirectly be
awarded thanks to the blessings and blessings of Allah.
REFERENCES
Abdul Halim Masnan. (2014). Amalan Pedagogi Guru Prasekolah Permulaan. Pulau
Pinang: Universiti Sains Malaysia. Tesis Doktor Falsafah.
Abdul Halim Masnan & Nor Mashitah Mohd Radzi (2016). Pengetahuan persediaan pengajaran
guru Prasekolah Baru. International Journal of Early Childhood Education and Care, 5.
Abdul Rahim Hamdan, Mohd Najib Ghafar & Lily Ting Hwa Li. (2010). Teaching
competency testing among Malaysian school teachers. European Journal of Social
Sciences, 12(4), 611-617.
Eggen, P. D. & Kauchak, D. P. (2012). Strategies and models for teachers: Teaching content
and thinking skills (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Malaysia Ministry of Education. (2009). Standard Guru Malaysia, Kementerian Pelajaran
Malaysia. Akses daripada
http://www.ipislam.edu.my/index.php/page/sgm/116/Standard-Guru-Malaysia-SGM.
(5/5/2018)
Malaysia Ministry of Education. (2017). Standard Kurikulum Prasekolah Kebangsaan
Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.
Maimun Aqsha Lubis, Wan Nurul Syuhada’ Wan Hassan & Mohd Isa Hamzah (2017).
Tahap pengetahuan dan kesediaan guru-guru pendidikan islam sekolah menengah di
selangor terhadap penggunaan multimedia dalam pengajaran pendidikan islam. Asean
Comparative Education Research Journal on Islam and Civilization (ACER-J), 1(1),
1-13.
National Association or the Education of Young Children, NAEYC. (2011). Teaching:
Accreditation of programs for young children, standard 3. Washington, DC: NAEYC
Accreditation.
Reynolds, A. (1992). What is competent beginning teaching? A review of the literature.
Review of Educational Research, 62 (1), 1–35.
Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational
Researcher, 15, 4-14.
Sufean Hussin (2014). Cabaran Menyeluruh Dalam Pelaksanaan Transformasi Pendidikan
Untuk Masa Depan Malaysia. Fakulti Pendidikan, UM.
190
Vocabulary Breadth And Depth As Predictor Variables Of
Reading Comprehension
Yenny Chee Fong Yeun
Kolej Matrikulasi Selangor
[email protected]
Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between vocabulary breadth (hereafter VB) and
vocabulary depth (hereafter VD) and the MUET reading comprehension. Poor reading
performance might be ascribed to low vocabulary knowledge (i.e. VB and VD). Specifically,
the study explores whether VB or VD could significantly contribute to predict MUET
reading scores of Malaysian ESL pre-university students. Subsequently, a further analysis of
VB to explore the vocabulary threshold for students to perform greater than or equal to average
level (or ≥ 56) in the MUET reading comprehension is also attempted. A random sample of 221
matriculation students who had taken the MUET sat for the Word Associates Test (WAT)
Version 4.0 (Read, 1993, 1998) and Vocabulary Size Test (VST) (Nation & Beglar, 2007) which
assess VB and VD respectively. These tests were administered in a counter-balanced test order
within a single session. The findings revealed that VB is highly correlated with the students’
MUET reading comprehension scores compared to VD and with that L2 learners should have
acquired 7000 word families in VB for them to obtain average scores in the MUET reading
comprehension component. Such findings have implications for vocabulary teaching and
learning in the Malaysian pre-university ESL classroom.
Keywords: vocabulary breadth (VB); vocabulary depth (VD); reading comprehension; MUET
INTRODUCTION
Vocabulary knowledge is just as important as the four skills: reading, writing, listening
and speaking (Folse, 2010). Somehow, vocabulary knowledge is an important factor related to
reading comprehension (Mehrpour, Razmjoo, & Kian, 2011; Sidek & Rahim, 2015). In
comprehending written receptive texts, it is always reported that VB, VD and reading
comprehension are positively correlated (e.g. Choi, 2013; Elmasry, 2012; Li & Kirby, 2014;
Mehrpour, Razmjoo, & Kian, 2011; Mohammadi & Shakouri, 2014; Moinzadeh &
Moslehpour, 2012; Qian, 1999, 2002; Schmitt, Jiang, & Grabe, 2011; Wang, 2014; Yusun,
Hey, & Jieun, 2012).
Notwithstanding the importance of vocabulary knowledge, students in Malaysia are not
directly taught the ways to enhance their vocabulary (Varatharajoo, 2017). This could be one
of the reasons why vocabulary is still lacking among Malaysian learners. Currently, various
researchers have proven that majority of Malaysian university students have insufficient
vocabulary knowledge (e.g. Ahmad Azman Mokhtar et al., 2010; Kamariah Yunus, Mahani
Mohamed, & Bordin Waelateh, 2016; Nor Ashikin Ab Manan, Noraziah Azizan, & Nur Fatima
Wahida Mohd Nasir, 2016; Nor Hazwani Munirah Lateh, Sarimah Shamsudin, & Abdul Halim
Abdul Raof, 2018; Nur Ainil Sulaiman, Salehuddin, & Rozainee Khairuddin, 2018). Since
vocabulary knowledge is correlated with reading comprehension, the impetus of the present
study is desired to provide an insight of the correlations between VB, VD and reading
comprehension among pre-university ESL learners in Malaysian matriculation college.
191
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