and otherwise interact with us – to use the metric system. In the someone who understands the metric system has to use it to do
same way, we have adopted ISO and many other international the weighing and measuring. In the same way, we cannot take the
standards. This is clearly an appropriate time to move over to CEFR off the shelf and expect it to provide us with a ready-made
international standards in language education. Adopting the CEFR development plan for our English language programme. It is our
is the appropriate next step. responsibility to put in the time and effort to understand the CEFR
at the necessary level of detail, and then use it to devise our own
The adoption of international standards saves an enormous development plan.
amount of unnecessary work. As part of a comprehensive scientific
system of weights and measures, the metric system has the great Benchmarking, alignment and calibration
advantage of saving Malaysian scientists the need to work out their
own weights and measures, for example to measure atmospheric The recent baseline study was a benchmarking exercise which
pressure. In the same way, much of the work involved in developing involved assessing the English proficiency of a large number
a language programme has already been done as the CEFR has of students and teachers on the CEFR scale. From the large
evolved over the years, so that we do not now have to start at the number of individual scores it is possible to compute averages
beginning and do all the work for ourselves. and distributions, and make comparisons with other countries
or with our own performance at some other time. Meaningful
If the question is asked why we have to import a foreign comparisons of this kind can only be made if all the scores relate to
framework, when we are quite capable of producing one for a common framework. The benchmarking of our English language
ourselves, there are two answers. In the first place, there is no education system has brought to light what we have to do to align
point in doing so, as the work has already been done. Secondly, a it to international standards, and this includes integrating the
domestically produced framework would face the same problems components of the English language programme, training teachers
as traditional weights and measures such as kati and tahil, in that it in communicative language teaching, and enforcing high standards
would be irrelevant outside the home country in a world that has for learning materials.
gone over to an international standard.
Alignment to a common framework enables the comparison of
At the same time, the metric system does not actually do the qualifications from different countries. Suppose a foreign student
work, and cannot weigh a durian or compute the size of Kelantan: applies to study at a Malaysian university, claiming to have achieved
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English Language Education Reform in Malaysia
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an A in English in some examination XYZ. We have no idea how to relevance to present day Malaysia of the discussion above of the
evaluate this A, because we do not know what XYZ sets out to test, Classical paradigm is that, although we would have to undertake
or what is required to get an A. On the other hand, if XYZ is linked an extensive investigative research project to prove the point,
to a known framework, we are able to work these things out. The all the evidence we have indicates that Malaysia has inherited a
same, of course, applies to Malaysian students applying to foreign Classical paradigm for the teaching and learning of English.
universities, or seeking employment with international organisations.
For example, the approach to grammar laid down in the national
The precise comparison of grades and qualifications depends on curriculum follows the tradition of English “school” grammar,
accurate calibration. For example, if we want our English qualifications and the sound system associated in the curriculum with phonics
such as the MUET to be recognised abroad, it would be a great teaching is primarily concerned not with the sounds of the spoken
advantage to have the MUET calibrated with the CEFR. We first language but with the spellings of the written language. As already
have to ascertain that the MUET is aligned to the CEFR, because only reported in Chapter 1, the Cambridge Baseline found the spoken
in this way can we be sure that the same things are being measured. language a source of weakness for both teachers and students.
There is no need for the MUET to use the CEFR scale from A1 As in other countries, individual Malaysian English teachers
to C2, and it can use any scale at all, as long as each point on the adopt a variety of approaches to teaching and learning. Some –
MUET scale matches a corresponding point on the CEFR scale. Since including perhaps some of the best and most experienced teachers
the CEFR is a framework and not an examination, some precision is – will follow the Classical paradigm, and even associate the Modern
required to clarify exactly what is being compared to what. Calibration paradigm with dumbing down and lowering standards. Others will
comes at the end of a long process beginning with benchmarking and follow some variant of the Modern paradigm, and perhaps regard
continuing with alignment. the Classical paradigm as old fashioned and out of date.
The philosophy of language learning There may be a third group of teachers who follow conventional
classroom practices without having much idea of their purpose or
One of the major tasks that confront us is to change the of what paradigm they belong to. Each of these groups has much to
culture of English language education, including the philosophy learn and much to gain by bringing the different paradigms together
that is expressed in teaching and learning in the classroom. The to enable our English learners to develop communicative competence
76
in English. The Modern paradigm must be underpinned by a full which has been underway since the 1950s, and since the work has
understanding of the content knowledge that teachers need in the already been done, we do not need to start at the beginning and do all
language classroom. the work ourselves. The outcome of this work is the development of
common frameworks, so that instead of making ad hoc measurements
The point was made in Chapter 2 that English language and comparisons, these things are interrelated in a principled manner.
education was first introduced to Malaya for the children of the
privileged. Students would hear English spoken all around them, There are now several frameworks available, and we have to
or complete their education in England, so that the shortcomings select the one most suitable for Malaysia. Again we are fortunate
of the Classical paradigm would be made good. The same solution in that relevant work has already been done, in this case in Canada.
has worked up to the present time, and explains how and why Although the Canadian language situation is very different from
so many Malaysians have excellent English. However, what is our own, the need for a common framework is much the same.
appropriate for the education of the privileged is not necessarily The reasons that led to the decision to use the CEFR in Canada10
appropriate for the mass education that has been introduced and apply equally to Malaysia.
developed since 1957.
We are also in a position to benefit from the experiences of
Most students have not had the opportunity to complement other countries. A lesson that comes across very clearly is that
school English with the regular day-to-day contact with English that superficial flirting with the CEFR serves no purpose whatsoever.
is necessary for them to learn to speak English well. It is not in the Any change in the existing English language programme will be
least surprising that the baseline study found the problem greatest in expensive, and involve huge amounts of time and effort. We
rural areas where contact with and access to English is least. therefore have to get value for every ringgit, and the time and
effort must result in better teaching and more effective learning.
3.6.2 Benefiting from experience elsewhere The worst possible outcome would be a hybrid programme, with
some aspects of the CEFR superficially grafted on to the old
One of the advantages of coming relatively late to the adoption programme, which would leave teachers and students not knowing
of international standards is that much of the work has been done. which way to turn, and quite possibly lower the overall level of
The CEFR is based on research on measuring language proficiency attainment instead of raising it.
10 New Canadian Perspectives: proposal for a common framework of reference for languages
for Canada. Published in 2006 by the Canadian Government Publishing and Depository
Services.
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The experience of other countries confirms what we already be an expert on English grammar. Exploiting the possibilities
knew concerning the things that have to be done, including (a) offered by the CEFR will necessarily be a group effort.
teacher training, (b) reviewing the programme and (c) disseminating
information. The ELSQC may be the appropriate body to play a leadership
and supervisory role, but for the implementation of a revised
1. Teacher training. Our first priority has to be improved programme, the Ministry of Education will need to be able
teacher training, including retraining existing teachers and to draw on the services and expertise of several groups of
introducing new approaches to learning into the classroom. appropriately qualified contributors, including teachers,
Without changes in the classroom, the influence of the CEFR materials producers, curriculum designers and language testers.
will remain superficial. This is the only way to achieve genuinely
higher standards by the end of Wave 3. In this connection, the introduction of the CEFR has important
implications for materials production. For example, teachers
2. Reviewing the programme. We need to review the whole are typically required to teach students to pronounce English
English language programme, including the curriculum, words correctly, and speak with appropriate stress, rhythm
methods of assessment, and teaching and learning, in the light and intonation11. But they cannot enable students to do things
of the CEFR, and in accordance with the agenda driven model they cannot do for themselves, and if their only resource is a
outlined in Chapter 1. silent printed textbook.
Work on the CEFR has been progressing for over forty years, Instead of teachers having to follow the textbook, materials
and the CEFR document is long and complex. It is beyond producers will have to cater for the needs of teachers and their
the capacity of any single individual to write, and few if any students. Given the constraints of time, it will be impossible in
individuals are likely to be able to understand it fully in its entirety. practice to produce suitable home-made materials in time for
Implementing the CEFR and even handling the CEFR document teachers with improved levels of training. It will therefore be
will therefore require the cooperation of a group of people with necessary to consider the possibility of buying existing CEFR-
complementary skills and high levels of expertise working closely aligned learning materials, at least in the short term.
together. For example, an expert grammarian may not be a good
writer of classroom materials, and the materials writer may not
11 Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: Bahasa Inggeris (SJK), p14.
78
3. Disseminating information. The introduction of the These things have to be clear and explicit, for otherwise, as
CEFR has to be accompanied by the dissemination of reliable in Vietnam, teachers are likely to be demoralised. Students also
information. However benign the new system may be, it need to know explicitly how their academic progress and future
could still cause resistance and even be perceived as a threat careers are likely to be affected by the effort they put in to
by those who do not properly understand it. Considerable learning English. Thirdly, expectations – like targets – must be
efforts will therefore have to be made to ensure that all those realistic, and related to our current position and the resources
involved in implementing the CEFR understand what it is made available for development.
about and why it is being introduced. This is also the way to
avoid ill-informed criticism. Teachers and curriculum designers There are only eleven years left to the end of Wave 3, which
will need to be made aware of the CEFR, while for others, is just over a third of the time it took Singapore to overhaul its
including materials developers and testers, awareness of the English language programme, and what will be achievable in that
CEFR and the knowledge and expertise to operate at the time will be limited by the available resources and by the will and
appropriate professional level should be made a condition of determination to see the project through to completion.
appointment.
Malaysia has much to learn from the Vietnamese experience. 3.6.3 Using the CEFR in planning
First, targets must be realistic, and related to what we know about
the current state of affairs. The Cambridge Baseline is of major Forming explicit connections between the curriculum and the
importance in this case, because it gives us a clear insight into CEFR “can do” descriptors illustrates one way in which the CEFR
where we are now, and so what would be possible to achieve in can be used in planning. Using the CEFR to develop the curriculum
the course of Wave 2 and Wave 3. Secondly, people need to know will involve not only reviewing content but also the setting of
how the new programme will affect them. For example, teachers target proficiency levels (A1 and A2 or Basic User; B1 and B2 or
need to know how they are going to benefit if they put in the time Independent User; and C1 and C2 or Proficient User) to describe
and effort required to improve their proficiency and qualifications, what learners are expected to achieve at each stage of learning
and conversely what problems they will face if they do not. from preschool to university.12 Preliminary investigations indicate
that the CEFR levels will have to be subdivided, especially at the
12 For further discussion of targets, see the editorial introduction to section B.
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lower end (e.g. A1.1, A1.2 etc), each new level representing a “listen to and repeat simple greetings”, while the corresponding CEFR
significant advance in English proficiency, and building on learning standard requires students to be able to use that knowledge in social
at previous levels. situations. The difference may sound subtle or even trivial; but it has
profound consequences for the way the spoken language is taught in
As already mentioned in passing above, the subdivision is the classroom.
especially important for lower levels where learners may spend
several years mastering A1 and A2. It will enable learners to A key notion is “communicative language competence”, which
measure their own progress on the proficiency scale more finely includes among its components linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic
and in smaller increments than using undivided levels, which can competences (p. 13). These competences are discussed further on
require study for several years in order to move up to the next pages 30-1, and later explained in some detail (pp. 108-130), and
level. The subdivision will also facilitate classroom organisation include lexical, grammatical semantic, phonological, orthographic and
and the delivery of language instruction. In this respect, Malaysia orthoepic13 competence (p. 109).
will be able to take good advantage of experience elsewhere (see,
e.g. French Elementary – Secondary Curriculum, 2011, p. 5). Communicative language competence thus includes but goes
beyond mere linguistic knowledge and involves the ability to use that
To the extent that the existing curriculum corresponds to knowledge appropriately in a range of communicative situations.
the progression implied by the CEFR, we can align the two by Chapters 4 to 9 of the CEFR document draw on an extensive body of
matching corresponding items in the curriculum and the CEFR. research in the field of language education to spell out in some detail
But we must also anticipate the need to bring our curriculum how the scale A1 to C2 applies in learning, teaching and assessment.
into alignment, by changing the order of items, introducing new
items and perhaps discarding existing items. It is also the case that
correspondence does not mean sameness, and it is important to be
aware and to bring out the differences.
Items that on the surface look alike may on closer examination
prove to be different. For example, the curriculum for speaking and
listening begins with the acquisition of declarative knowledge, e.g.
13 Orthoepy means ‘correct pronunciation’. This is a rather odd word to use in this context,
because in English the term orthoepist is typically used to refer to someone who claims the
right without any justification to tell other people how words should be pronounced.
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BSEC TION
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English Language Education Reform in Malaysia
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English Language Education Reform in Malaysia
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B
Looking Back and Moving Forward
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English Language Education Reform in Malaysia
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Looking Back and Moving Forward
Section B builds on Section A by developing issues raised in
Section A, and examining them more specifically at the five
different stages of the education programme, namely pre-
school, primary, secondary, post-secondary and tertiary. Each of
these stages is considered in a chapter by itself:
• Chapter 4: preschool
• Chapter 5: primary
• Chapter 6: secondary
• Chapter 7: post-secondary
• Chapter 8: university
The last chapter in this section, Chapter 9, deals specifically with
teacher education.
In the preparation of each chapter, attention has been paid to
a number of issues which are dealt with in different ways at each
stage of education. These include:
• a critical evaluation of the curriculum, teaching and learning,
and assessment;
• initiatives already taken;
84
• the current state of progress; Preschool Y6 F3 F5 F6
• recommendations for improvement;
• specifying the conditions essential for any successful C2 2
reform and for the reform to be sustainable.
Each of the chapters 4 to 9 views the general state of affairs C1 124
from its own perspective, but some of the issues and problems B2
raised are shared by all levels of education from preschool to B1 1 13 17 21
tertiary, and they apply to learning as much as to teaching. The A2
remainder of this editorial introduction provides an overview of A1 12 17 26 32
three common areas of interest and concern. These are (1) current
performance; (2) key interventions; and (3) a discussion of critical 6 22 29 29 27
issues in the teaching and learning of English which lie beyond the
purview of the CEFR. 16 34 28
27 14
1. Current Performance <A1
78 32 12
Table B.1 brings together the overall results published in 2013 TableB.1 the overall distribution
of the Cambridge Baseline (i.e. the pooled results for Listening, of CEFR levels
Reading, Writing and Speaking) expressed as percentages and
taken from tables on pages 17 to 29 of the Results Report.
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At the present time 29% before rising again to 32%. This pattern reflects the increasing
• 78% of preschool children are working towards A1, the range from high performers to underperformers remarked upon in
the Cambridge Baseline. The increase for Form 6 is to be explained
remaining 22% having achieved A1 or A2; by the fact that many underperformers will have left the education
• By Year 6, the largest group (34%) is in A1, and a majority system at this stage.
(66%) is in A1 or below; Judging by the figures in Table B.1 and taking into account our
• By Form 3, the largest group (29%) is in A2, and a majority current level of national performance, A1, A2 and B1 would appear
to be appropriate teaching targets for respectively Year 6, Form 5
(57%) is in A1 or A2; and Form 6. Future performance targets can take the form either
• By Form 5, the largest group (29%) is in A2, while 26% of increasing the percentage of students achieving the target level,
or of raising the target itself.
have advanced to B1, and 27% still remain in A1;
• By Form 6, the largest group (32%) is in B1, while 27% 1.2 High Performance and Underperformance
remain in A2, and 14% in A1 or below.
While large numbers of students are in the middle of the range
1.1 The middle of the range (see Table B.1), others score below or above it. The majority of
students are not more than one level above the middle range at
In order to describe the present situation in more detail, we preschool level, and not more than one level above or one level
have to consider the whole distribution, starting with the middle of below the middle range at all other levels. This includes 94% of
the range, or the grade that typical students can expect to achieve. students at preschool level, 88% at year six, and 74% at Form 3.
The middle of the range corresponds to below A1 for preschool, For Form 5 we have to guess the number remaining below A1,
A1 for Year 6, A2 for Form 3 and Form 5, and B1 for Form 6. but if we make the generous assumption that the 12% at Form 3
has halved, the majority group includes 66% of students. The
Note that the middle of the range is also the biggest group, i.e. corresponding figure at Form 6 is 60%. What these figures show
the largest percentage in each column. The general tendency is for is that the distribution flattens out over the years. Whether this
the size of the biggest group to decrease, from 78% to 34%, 29%,
86
is a positive or negative phenomenon depends on the numbers of Although the figures do decline from preschool to Form 6, the
students below or above the majority group. remaining number of underperformers nevertheless represents a
waste of potential from a national point of view, and no doubt a
High performing students are those who score two or more loss of career opportunities for many of the students themselves.
levels above the middle, and underperformers score two or more Although general teaching levels will be set to suit the majority of
levels below the middle. The figures for high performance are 6% students, attention has also to be paid to the needs of those students
at preschool level, 13% at year 6, 14% at Form 3, 19% at Form 5, whose performance falls below the median level. This will have
and 6% at Form 6 (where the middle itself rises to B1). These consequences for classroom teaching, for example in practising
figures raise the question whether high performers are sufficiently differentiated teaching, as proposed by the Cambridge Baseline.
stretched, or whether appropriate intervention could further raise
the number or level of performance of high performers. The only The figure of 78% of preschool children below A1 (see Table
reliable figures for underperformance are 12% at Form 3, and 14% B.1) includes a wide range from those just missing A1 to those who
at Form 6. have learnt almost nothing at all. The same is true of the 32%
who are still below A1 in Year 6. The Cambridge Baseline figures
The 12% and 14% belong to the set of the more worrying indicate that some at least of those who do not reach A1 in primary
figures to emerge from the Cambridge Baseline concerning the school nevertheless make progress in secondary school, and reach
number of students who make very little progress if any in the A1 in Form 3 and A2 in Form 5.
study of English:
However, the figures also indicate that a substantial number
• Preschool: 78% below A1 of students have still made at best very little progress by Form 5.
Leaving aside students who have difficulties in language learning on
• Year 6: 32% below A1 account of some disability or disorder, the target size and date for
this non-performing group should be zero by 2020, and the setting
• Form 3: 12% below A1 of this target needs to be accompanied by a remedial programme
designed to get the students started in learning English.
• Form 5: 27% in A1 or below
• Form 6: 14% in A1 or below
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English Language Education Reform in Malaysia
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Students who get started in this way will join the students with training to become autonomous language learners,
underperformers two or more levels below the median level. An and so enable them to realise their full potential.
indication of the size of this group is given by the 12% at Form 3,
and the 14% at Form 6. This group should also be reduced to zero, 2. Key Interventions
but in view of its size, it would be unrealistic to achieve this target
by 2020. A more realistic aim would be to reduce the group to In accordance with the aims set out in the MEB, a number of
zero by the end of Wave 3 in 2025. key interventions referred to as short-term initiatives have been
introduced across the Malaysian education system (Figure B.1),
The Cambridge Baseline also gives figures for students whose and implemented and monitored by divisions of the MoE.
performance is two or more levels above the middle:
Existing initiatives were reviewed following the launch of the
• Preschool: 16% in A1 and 6% in A2; MEB in 2013, and consolidated to bring them into line with new
initiatives. Our main concern here is with initiatives that have been
• Year 6: 22% in A2, 12% in B1 and 1% in B2; developed specifically for English, although account also needs to
be taken of initiatives which affect the education system in general,
• Form 3: 17% in B1, 13% in B2, 1% in C1; but which also have an impact on English language education
in particular. For example, the introduction of the set system is
• Form 5: 26% in B1, 17% in B2, 2% in C1; specifically designed to improve English language proficiency,
whereas the initiative to promote higher order thinking skills is a
• Form 6: 21% in B2, 4% in C1, 2% in C2. system-wide initiative that impacts all subjects including English.
High performers two or more levels above the median level All initiatives specific to English come within the remit of the
amount to 6% at preschool level, 13% in Year 6, 14% in Form 3, Jawatankuasa Kerja Inisiatif Bahasa Inggeris (English Language
19% in Form 5, and just 6% in Form 6 for which the median level Initiatives Working Committee) chaired by the Director-General
is B1. It would be unrealistic to set targets for this group beyond
recognising the desirability of maximising its size. Intervention is
also needed for this group, for example by providing the more able
88
Teachers • Pro-ELT The impact of the Ministry of Education. Selected
Students • Native Speaker is to be initiatives are also reported to the
Jawatankuasa Induk MBMMBI
Programme ascertained (MBMMBI Committee) chaired by
• Fulbright Teaching by a the Minister of Education.
Assistants rigorous We first review briefly in
• School Improvement evaluation chronological order a number of
procedure. initiatives associated with Wave 1 of
Specialist Coaches the MEB (see Table B.2), including
(SISC+) some that started earlier but which
remain of current relevance. The
• Standards-based different initiatives are dealt with in
Curriculum more detail in the relevant chapters
of Section B. We then consider the
• School-based effectiveness and success of these
Assessment initiatives.
• Oral Proficiency for
Secondary Schools
• LINUS 2.0 for Years 1-3
• Sets for English
learning in Secondary
Schools
• Obligatory pass in
SPM English
Figure B.1
Short-term initiatives to support teachers and
students in teaching and learning English
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English Language Education Reform in Malaysia
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2.1 Short-term Initiatives The Standards-based Curriculum
Pro-ELT The standards-based Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah
(KSSR) was introduced in 2011, and it is to be complemented by the
Pro-ELT – Professional Up-skilling for English Language Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah (KSSM), the introduction of
Teachers – is an in-service course for English teachers which which is planned for 2017. This initiative will be overtaken by the
began with a pilot project in 2003 with 5,000 teachers, followed general alignment of the English language programme, including
the next year by 9,000 teachers. The course aims simultaneously curricula, to the CEFR.
to improve proficiency and teaching skills: “to strengthen the
Malaysian primary and secondary school teachers’ English language School-based Assessment
proficiency, language teaching and learning through a blended
learning approach that includes: face-to-face training supported School-based assessment was introduced at secondary level
[by] on-line learning and integrated proficiency and methodology for all subjects in 2012 to improve assessment methods and provide
training”1. a fair measure of student progress and achievement.
The Native Speaker Programme Oral Proficiency for Secondary Schools
The Native Speaker Programme began in 2010, and provides The Oral Proficiency for Secondary Schools (OPS-English)
ESL teachers with 75 hours of professional input through individual programme is designed to improve students’ listening and speaking
mentoring at least once a fortnight. This includes personal skills, and develop their confidence and ability to communicate in
mentoring and training, and also training at cluster and zone level English. The programme is targeted at Forms 1 and 2, and piloted
through Teacher Professional Development (TPD) workshops in 2012 in 20 schools. It was extended in 2014 to 827 Band 3 to
carried out by their native English speaker mentors. Band 6 schools.
1 Eshtehardi, R. 2014. Pro-ELT; A Teacher Training Blended Approach. Advances in
Language and Literary Studies 5.5: 2203-2214.
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Fulbright Teaching Assistants LINUS 2.0
The Fulbright Teaching Assistants Programme involves the The English Language Literacy Programme or LINUS 2.0 is
placement of Fulbright scholars as Teaching Support Assistants intended to address the problem of English literacy among lower primary
(TSAs) on one-year attachments to selected schools. The school students without learning problems. Students experiencing
programme began in 2012, and involves 100 Fulbright scholars difficulty with English literacy are given additional support by grouping
each year to 2017. The TSAs support the local, trained English them together during relevant classes and teaching them according to
language teachers as they provide instruction in class by facilitating their needs. In addition, selected teachers are being trained as literacy
learning activities. They also conduct additional activities to extend coaches to assist teachers to reach a target of 100% age-appropriate
opportunities available for students to use English in authentic literacy by the end of Year 3. Teachers are given targeted training by
contexts beyond the classroom. the literacy coaches to provide them with the best strategies to help
students catch up and get back into the mainstream.
School Improvement Specialist Coaches (SISC+) Sets for English
The School Improvement Specialist Coach Plus (SISC+) The introduction of the set system for English in secondary schools
programme was set up in 2013 to help teachers improve their attempts to provide a form of differentiated instruction to address
English proficiency and pedagogical skills. The programme employs the learning needs of students with varying levels of English language
experienced teachers and educators who have achieved excellence proficiency. The system has been implemented in more than half of all
in curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy to provide integrated secondary schools for Form 1 and to a lesser extent Form 2. Students
coaching in these areas. They occupy full time positions to allow with low English proficiency are in sets of 20 to 30.
them to work more frequently on site with more teachers in lower
band schools, i.e. those in Bands 5, 6 and 7. The intervention of
School Improvement Partners (SI Partners), with the involvement
of peer coaches, heads of panel (Ketua Panitia), and school
principals will greatly assist the development of effective English
language teaching practices.
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An obligatory SPM pass in English Systemic problems must be distinguished from more superficial
problems, and tackled in a different way. The LINUS 2.0
A required pass in SPM English originally planned for 2016 has programme followed the finding that almost half of Year 1 students
now been postponed to a date to be decided. had failed to acquire levels of basic literacy in English appropriate
for their age. The baseline study found that the problem is greatest
2.2 Monitoring and Evaluating the Effectiveness and in rural and remote areas, which are also served in some cases
Success of Initiatives by less effective teachers, and where students have least contact
with English in their everyday lives.
Initiatives need to be effectively monitored and evaluated.
There needs to be a general mechanism in place to optimise A problem emerging in Year 1 can be traced to preschool,
individual initiatives, and a cyclical procedure is described in where English teachers do not have to have any qualifications at
the editorial introduction to Section C. At the same time, it is all, may have only a minimal ability to speak English, and may have
necessary to examine the set of initiatives being taken at any one no understanding at all of beginning literacy. This is a prototypical
time, and this is the purpose of this subsection. example of a systemic problem, which needs to be analysed
fully, and its component problems addressed. To deal with just
There are no fewer than four initiatives involved in teacher the literacy problem requires materials to be produced by teams
support (see Figure B.1), which is itself an indication of serious with expertise in remedial teaching, early learning and beginning
shortcomings in the current arrangements for teacher training. literacy; and the coaches appointed need authenticated expertise
Initiatives involving student support provide further evidence that in these same three areas.
teachers are not sufficiently trained to provide students with what
they need in the English classroom. In these circumstances, the At a more specific level, the introduction of school-based
initiatives give the impression of patching up a system that is not assessment presupposes that teachers are qualified to assess their
working, when what is really needed is a thorough review of the students in a manner that is reliable, valid and fair. There is no
education of English teachers. evidence to support such a contention. There is also a practical
problem reported in the baseline study, namely that teachers
are already overburdened with administrative work (p. 109). For
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MALAYSIAN EDUCATION BLUEPRINT INITIATIVES
WAVE 1 (2013-2015) WAVE 2 (2016 – 2020)
Strengthening the current system Introducing Structural Change
CONCERNS ACTIONS OUTCOMES ACTIONS OUTCOMES
Set a minimum proficiency requirement
Low proficiency for English teachers Teachers with at least CEFR B2 at Review B2 as the minimum The minimum proficiency
among English primary level and C1 at secondary proficiency for teachers level for all teachers
Teachers Implement Pro-ELT: Up-skilling for in- level raised to C1
service English language teachers.
Teachers achieve higher English Monitor and evaluate the A report on teacher
proficiency levels effectiveness of the initiative proficiency and the
impact of initiatives
Benchmark teacher proficiency
against international standards
Quality of English Implement the Native Speaker Improved quality in teaching and Monitor and evaluate the A report on the impact of
language teaching Programme: mentoring in-service EL learning, and understanding the effectiveness of initiatives initiatives on the quality
teachers by native English speaker curriculum of English teaching
Strengthening the mentors
delivery of English
teaching Implement the Fulbright English
Teaching Assistant Programme
Language Policy
updated to promote Implement the Expanded Specialist
proficiency in English Coach (SISC+) role for English
Introduce the standards-based KSSR introduced in 2011 Monitor and evaluate the A report on the impact of
curriculum effectiveness of initiatives initiatives on the delivery
KSSM to be introduced in 2017 of English teaching
Implement Ops-English Conduct an Impact study
Improvement in the spoken English
of secondary students
Implement the “Set system” for teaching Improved delivery
and learning
Introducing LINUS 2.0 as a remedial Improvement in basic literacy in
intervention programme to address English
English literacy at primary level
Improvement in student proficiency Benchmark student proficiency A report on student
Making it compulsory to pass the SPM against international standards performance
English language subject paper
(This was originally scheduled for Continue implementing the Further improvement in
implementation in 2016 but has been policy student proficiency
postponed to a later date.)
TableB.2 The Monitoring and Evaluation of short-term initiatives
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school-based assessment to succeed, it will be necessary to relieve function of the Roadmap. Table B.2 includes these initiatives in
teachers of some non-teaching work. a timetabled implementation plan specifying their implementation
in Wave 1 followed by the monitoring and evaluation of their
The introduction of different groups of people to provide effectiveness.
teachers with classroom support raises the question of their
qualifications. To assess any impact, it is also essential to know 3. Critical issues in the teaching and learning of English
what they actually do in the classroom in applying their special
expertise. Since any outside observers change behaviour in the This last section of the introduction brings together a number
classroom (a well-known effect known as the observer paradox), of critical issues in the teaching and learning of English, some of
the statistical question is whether the impact of those introduced which have been touched upon in the chapters of Section A, and
to classrooms is any different from the introduction of any arbitrary most of which come into the discussion – or in some cases lie
group of people. behind the discussion – in the chapters of Section B. What these
have in common is that they are not included within the purview
Although there is a widespread but erroneous belief that of the CEFR, so that the corresponding problems will not be
anyone who speaks a language can also teach it, the reality is that automatically put right as our programme and teacher education
native speakers of English are ordinary members of the public are aligned to the CEFR. These are issues that have to be addressed
unless they are qualified to teach English. Teachers selected independently of the CEFR by the education providers themselves.
to coach their colleagues must first satisfy rigorous criteria in
accordance with international standards. Coaches must also have The Roadmap would be failing in its task if it were to leave
expertise in the right areas; it is not obvious, for example, that them unaddressed on the assumption that the areas of English
those with expertise in curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy are language teaching and learning involved are sufficiently well
the appropriate people to help with the teaching of English. understood. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that they are in
fact insufficiently understood and often misunderstood. Critical
In order to deal successfully with systemic problems, individual issues are discussed here in extenso to provide the wider context
initiatives need to be part of a coordinated overall plan, and play for problems and proposals arising in chapters 4 to 9.
complementary roles to achieve a common goal in such a way that
their impact can be assessed. Providing this overall plan is the
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3.1 Content knowledge and the teaching of English pedagogical expertise. Although the things that young children are
required to learn are simple for adults, so that it may superficially
As in the case of any subject, teaching a language requires appear that anyone can teach them, what young children are
a combination of content knowledge and pedagogical expertise. learning is highly complex in relation to what they knew before, and
Teachers have to present the language in such a way that the this requires knowledge and expertise on the part of the teacher.
students are able to learn it. Whereas it is taken for granted that
physics teachers have to know physics, and history teachers have Preschool teachers, although in practice generally the least
to know history, the knowledge expected of language teachers is qualified, actually need to know the most about early language
less well defined. This is because there is a widespread popular learning and early learning in general in order to understand the
belief that anyone who can speak a language can also teach it. problems faced by their students. The same is true of the language
problems faced by undergraduates who have failed to learn English
It is in accordance with this belief that trained teachers who properly at school and have to take remedial courses at university.
also know some English are expected to teach English in Malaysian The problems may seem simple; but it takes knowledge and
schools, irrespective of the subject they were trained to teach. The expertise on the part of the teacher to understand those problems
point is that language teaching in general, and English teaching from the point of view of the learner, and find a way of helping the
in particular, is a specialism just like physics teaching or history learner to solve them.
teaching, and for the same reasons English should be taught by
teachers whose specialism is in English Language Teaching. Content problems will not be solved by the adoption of the
CEFR. This is because the CEFR is concerned, for example,
The content knowledge required of a physics teacher is directly with what a learner can do in the target language; but it leaves
related to the level of the course: an advanced course requires more the education provider to decide how the learner is to develop the
advanced knowledge than an introductory course. In language necessary skills. It is concerned with learning outcomes rather than
teaching the relation is an inverse one. Anyone can explain a new with the details of the instruction that leads to learning. Children
word to an advanced foreign learner, and advanced learners with have to learn to read, but how they do that is the responsibility of
the right skills can solve most problems by themselves anyway. the education provider. Chapters 4 to 9 contain many instances of
On the other hand, teaching beginners – particularly beginners teaching and learning problems which arise from the lack of the
in preschool – requires a high level of technical knowledge and necessary content knowledge, and which will remain problems
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after the adoption of the CEFR unless steps are taken to provide 3.2 Linguistic form and meaning
English teachers with the necessary content knowledge. The
relevant areas are sketched in outline below, and are accompanied When people use language to communicate with each other,
by as objective an explanation as possible of how and why there is they are primarily concerned with the giving and receiving of what
a problem. in very general terms is referred to as meaning. The ability to
communicate is not the same as perfect mastery of some aspect
The education provider’s responsibility to decide how things of language, for people can perform a task successfully, and still
should be taught creates a procedural dilemma that runs through make mistakes. However, in order to make oneself understood, or
this subsection. There is general agreement that our present English understand what other people are saying, speakers and hearers have
language programme is not working as it should, and in order to to draw on a linguistic infrastructure generally known as linguistic
find ways of improving it, we first have to understand precisely and form, which includes vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. A
in detail what is going wrong. But it is difficult to point out what is question that has vexed language teaching and learning for several
wrong without appearing to point the finger and apportion blame. decades is how – and indeed whether – linguistic form should be
taught to the language learner2.
For example, it is reasonably clear from the baseline study that
many English teachers do not have the English proficiency required Traditional language teaching typically involves the direct
to teach English, and it might therefore seem that teachers are at teaching of form, using the sequence Presentation, Practice and
fault for not teaching English properly; but it would be both irrational Production (Rama & Agulló, 2012, p. 184). The teacher introduces
and unreasonable to blame teachers for their own lack of training. some aspect of the form of the language, the students practise
What we are facing is a systemic problem, and finding someone to it, and then are assumed to be able to produce it. This approach
blame is not an appropriate approach to the problem, and it is in any conforms to what was traditionally known about language and
case not going to help find a solution. We have to adopt the position about teaching and learning. To be successful, it requires a high
of a medical practitioner whose task is not to blame the patient level of skill on the part of the teacher, and a high level of ability
for an unhealthy lifestyle, but to diagnose the patient’s condition on the part of the student, who has to understand an abstract
objectively, and find an appropriate course of treatment. linguistic description and apply the new knowledge deductively
when using the language.
2 For a good discussion in the context of the CEFR, see José López Rama and Gloria Luque
Agulló (2012) ‘The role of grammar teaching: from Communicative Approaches to the
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages’ Revista de Lingüística y Lenguas
Aplicadas, 7, pp. 179-191.
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Students who have been taught by traditional methods may One of the most unfortunate developments in English
acquire what is known as declarative knowledge of the target language teaching is that the differences between the traditional
language. They may be able, for example, to describe the forms and communicative approaches developed into mutual distrust
of the simple present tense, or list the definite and indefinite in the 1970s, following the widespread acceptance in Linguistics
articles used in English. Declarative linguistic knowledge is more Departments worldwide of models of language form which were
appropriately taught in university courses in Linguistics, and while of no value whatsoever in the classroom. The attempt to teach
teachers need to acquire relevant declarative knowledge in the the new models to English teachers led to much disillusionment
course of their training in order to teach effectively, it will not among applied linguists and language teachers concerning the
directly help the majority of their students. This is because using value of linguistic theory, to the extent that the rift that opened
tense forms or articles appropriately in speech or writing requires up has not yet been closed. The long-term effect in Malaysia as
a different kind of knowledge known as procedural knowledge, elsewhere has been a tendency to reject theoretical linguistic
which involves knowing how to do things. Students who have the knowledge even when it is directly relevant to language teaching
procedural knowledge to say and do things in English may use the and learning, to the extent of a lack of awareness that relevant
language well without having any idea of the theory behind their areas of knowledge actually exist.
procedural knowledge.
The damage caused by the rift has been particularly marked in the
The so-called “communicative” approach to language teaching teaching of grammar and phonics. It is logically impossible to understand
has been gaining ground since the 1970s, and as the name what grammar is and claim that students should not be learning it; and
implies, puts the emphasis on the ability to use the language in the same applies to phonics rules. In both cases, however, misguided
communication rather than on knowledge of linguistic form. This classroom practices can make teaching in these areas virtually useless.
is not one approach but a collection of related approaches (see Although the MoE has laid down both grammar and phonics in English
Rama & Agulló, 2012) which adopt very different attitudes to teaching, there will inevitably be those who argue that the MoE has
the teaching of form. What is ultimately most important is not got it wrong, and that these areas should not be taught, or that some
what the teacher teaches but what the learner learns. However other approach should be adopted.
the language is taught, the learner has to learn its form, because
without a knowledge of linguistic form, it is impossible to speak or
write a language, or understand it when it is spoken or written.
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The communicative teaching of grammar and other aspects The decline in the understanding of the role and importance
of linguistic form puts much greater demands on the teacher of linguistic form in language learning has led in recent years to
than the teaching of form for its own sake. Teachers need both the widespread acceptance of a rather strange notion, which is
the procedural knowledge that leads to proficiency in order to not only misleading, but also counterproductive. This is the notion
provide their students with appropriate models, and also sufficient that native speakers of English have lost the ownership of their
declarative knowledge to deal with the learning problems their own language, and that learners can speak English as they like.
students will inevitably encounter. Communicative language
teaching when carried out properly pays due attention to form From a logical point of view this may be perfectly true, because
as before, but with a different emphasis and with a clear new there is no scientific test that can distinguish correct English from
direction to facilitate communication. What has happened in incorrect English. However, in the real world, Malaysians who
practice, all over the world, is that there has been a decline in the speak English as they like cannot expect international examination
traditional teaching of linguistic form without a corresponding rise boards and employers to take them seriously. Given the agenda
in the teaching of form for communicative purposes. that drives our English language programme, Malaysians have to
speak English in a manner that enables them to communicate with
The Malaysian English teachers who were sent for training to the rest of the world.
Kirkby College before the 1970s will have been given a thorough
grounding in relevant aspects of linguistic form; but Malaysian 3.3 Lacunae
teachers trained more recently are unlikely to have the same grasp
of the same material. At the present time, it would appear from If teachers are to teach English effectively and successfully,
the Cambridge Baseline that the communicative approach to they need to acquire the requisite knowledge of English in the
language teaching has not taken root in Malaysian classrooms, so course of their initial and in-service education. This knowledge
that some teachers still teach in the traditional manner but without needs to be built into the reformed English language programme
the knowledge of form associated with traditional teaching. if it is to achieve its aims, and it has to be internally consistent if
A major challenge for a new English language programme is to we are to create an integrated English language system and enable
provide teachers with the knowledge of linguistic form that they our students to develop confidence as they progress through their
need in order to perform effectively in the classroom and enable school education.
their students to develop communicative competence.
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But what is the nature of this requisite knowledge of English? challenges become greater as students grow older, it is essential to
Although it is well known internationally, and although it get children off to a good start at the beginning of their education.
continues to accumulate as more relevant research is carried out,
the knowledge taken into account in the existing English language 3.3.1 Phonics and early reading
programme and in teacher training is in some respects incomplete.
Where teachers need knowledge, there are gaps and blindspots The acquisition of beginning literacy marks a major step forward
which are here referred to collectively as lacunae. in children’s language education. In view of the importance of
literacy, it is important for the teaching of beginning literacy to be
The problem of a lacuna is not just that it represents a branch based on a clear understanding of principles and objectives. When
of relevant knowledge that remains unknown, but that there is children start to read, they learn the alphabet and then put letters
a lack of awareness that such a branch of relevant knowledge together to recognise whole words, and successful beginners go
actually exists. For this reason, attention is drawn in this section on to understand the meaning of whole texts, typically children’s
to evidence for lacunae in the text of the national curriculum; and stories. The long-term purpose of teaching Malaysian children
as ever, the purpose is not to find fault, but as far as possible to to read English is not for them just to recognise English words,
find objective evidence of shortcomings that need to be put right if but to extract meaning from English texts, including English
we are to move forward. online materials, textbooks written in English, and day-to-day
correspondence in a job that requires English.
The three lacunae discussed here are phonics and early
reading, spoken language, and grammar. The problems associated However, it is obvious that we cannot understand a text unless
with these lacunae emerge in the early years, and so much of we can recognise a sufficient proportion of the words. The better
the discussion below concerns preschool and primary education. we understand a text, the more successfully we can work out the
In fact, new problems continue to emerge. Students need more meanings of words and expressions we have never seen before;
advanced phonics rules when they learn more difficult words, and the more words we recognise, the better we understand the
and medical students need phonics rules at university level to text. Text understanding and word recognition are complementary
pronounce words such as xerotic or epithelium. Students also need skills in the process of reading. It is therefore unfortunate that in
more advanced grammar and spoken English skills to cope with some approaches to reading, they are seen as alternatives or even
the demands of secondary and tertiary education. Because the
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as opposed methods of reading. For example, the whole language say, and some interpretations of the whole word method4 – have
method3 rightly emphasises the importance of text understanding, assumed that children can be taught to recognise words as a
but some proponents appear to imply that readers are able to whole. The concept of “sight words” is based on the assumption
understand a text top down without recognising the words. that some words can only be recognised in this way.
A top-down mechanism needs to work on information lower Although it may appear that the reader can recognise words
down, in this case derived from the recognition of words, in order effortlessly and immediately, this is now known to be an illusion. A
to construct the higher level understanding. Of course, the reader lot of processing goes on in the brain below the level of consciousness
does not have to understand every single word in order to extract before the recognised word suddenly pops into consciousness
the meaning from a text; but a sufficient number of words have to (Dehaene, 2014). In view of what is now known scientifically
be understood in order for top-down understanding to take place. about reading in the brain, it is beyond doubt and controversy that
early reading has to begin with word recognition, and that word
Various methods and approaches to teach children to recognise recognition has to begin with the recognition of letters.
words have been put forward since the early nineteenth century,
but these have been overtaken by two major scientific discoveries. Phonics and phonemes
The first is that spoken words are made up of strings of phonemes
corresponding to the strings of letters that make up written words. The obvious way to teach beginning readers to recognise words
The second discovery has to do with the way readers recognise is to give them the rules that link spellings to phonemes, generally
written words. It has long been known that visual perception begins known as phonics rules. This is not a matter of opinion, but follows as
at a very low level, and in reading this involves such things as the a logical necessity. If learners are to link spellings to phonemes, they
edges of letters and the angles formed by these edges. Recognising need to know what these phonemes are. This means that anyone
the letters of a word written alphabetically is an essential stage teaching beginning English literacy needs to be familiar with the 44
in the conscious recognition of the whole word (Dehaene, 2009). phonemes of the variety of English taught in Malaysia. Someone who
does not know the 44 phonemes cannot teach children to pronounce
The discovery that letter recognition is prerequisite for word English words any more than someone who does not know the 26
recognition is of fundamental importance for the teaching of
beginning reading. Many reading schemes – including look and
3 http://www.readinghorizons.com/blog/post/2010/09/23/What-is-the-Whole-Languagee-
Approach-to-Teaching-Reading.aspx
4 http://www.helpingeverychildtoread.com/index.php/causes-of-difficulty/reading-theories/
whole-word-method
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letters of the alphabet can teach children to write them. Similarly, The teaching of phonics is much misunderstood, and has
just as the teacher needs to be able to write the letters in order to notoriously been a matter of controversy for several decades. The
teach them to children, the teacher needs to be able to produce all outcome of the controversy is that a version of phonics known
the phonemes in order to teach spoken English. as synthetic phonics has been adopted in countries such as the
UK and Australia, and is already and appropriately laid down in
While a knowledge of phonemes is necessary, it is not in itself the Malaysian national curriculum. The important characteristic
sufficient. The beginning reader also needs to learn to analyse of synthetic phonics is that it includes sounding out and blending,
words. Although in many cases a single letter corresponds to a and is designed to enable children to develop phonemic and
single phoneme, in other cases groups of letters correspond to a phonological awareness. There is an increasing body of research
single phoneme, e.g. in ship, “sh” corresponds to the phoneme evidence to indicate that children taught in this way develop strong
/ʃ/.The pronunciation of the word also needs to be divided into foundations in literacy, and make better progress later on.
its constituent phonemes, e.g. ship is made up of the phonemes
/ʃ, ɪ, p/. Children are sometimes taught to divide words into Nevertheless, in view of the historical controversy, there may
phonemes and sound out each phoneme in turn. Sounding out is be some who still hold the opinion that the Ministry should not be
quite different from normal pronunciation, and so learners need advocating phonics teaching at all, and that some other method
to learn the complementary skill known as blending to put the should be adopted for the teaching of beginning reading. Any
separate phonemes together again and reconstruct the original opinions of this kind need to be substantiated by hard scientific
pronunciation. Phonics rules are essentially concerned with the evidence, which is unlikely to be forthcoming.
correspondences between spelling and pronunciation, but the
phonics method correctly taught also includes sounding out and The point was made above that the purpose of reading is to
blending. Children who learn about the phonemes of the target extract meaning from written texts. For the beginning reader, the
language develop phonemic awareness, and sounding out and text is a single word. Children need to understand the words they
blending go further into a more general area known as phonological are reading. Some reading methods include imaginary or nonsense
awareness. words such as blick or sleg to give children practice in interpreting
spelling conventions; but although nonsense words have an
important place in the teaching of phonetics and phonology at
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university level, and in the diagnosis of certain aphasias, they instruction is concerned at this stage with letter recognition and
have no place at all in early reading on account of the absence of understanding the properties of letters (phonemes being treated by
meaning. implication as properties of letters). Sounding out and recognising
the initial sounds of words are not introduced until 5+, even though
In this connection, it is important to recognise the difference in children need to sound words out (and blend the phonemes) at 4+
the role of meaning for children learning to read their first language, in order to read words.
and those learning to read a new language. The child who already
knows English, and who manages to link the spelling “ship” to the The relevance of initial sounds is left unclear, and may not
pronunciation /ʃɪp/ has immediate access to the meaning. For this in fact be needed until much later, when children learn to use
child the word ship has a spelling, a pronunciation and a meaning. a dictionary. The preschool target laid down in the national
But for children just beginning to learn English, /ʃɪp/ is merely curriculum is ambitious, and includes the ability “to speak politely
the pronunciation of a nonsense word. These children need to be with appropriate intonation”, “read simple story books”, and “[a]t
given the meaning of the words they are attempting to read. More the same time … recognise alphabets [sic], know basic phonics
generally, the teaching of reading by phonics methods needs to be and write simple phrases”; but it is not at all clear how they are
extended to include meaning. expected to learn to do these things.
Principle and practice in phonics teaching Primary school children are expected to read up to paragraph
level and use a dictionary, but the tools they are given do not
This discussion of phonics has so far been concerned with enable them to get as far as word recognition. The curriculum
matters of principle. Questions of quite a different order are for Years 1 and 2 includes tables containing paired spellings and
concerned with the extent to which principle is translated into pronunciations, mainly consonants for Year 1 and mainly vowels
practice, in the curriculum5 and in the classroom. A problem that for Year 2. A close look at the entries for Year 1 shows that 21 out
emerges on the examination of the curriculum is that it is not of the 32 entries involve the sounds associated by default with
pedagogically organised to optimise learning. Although children letters of the alphabet, so that phonics teaching proper does not
are expected to read words, phrases and simple sentences at 4+, get underway until Year 2. More seriously, the content of the
tables is unconnected with the associated rubric “Able to recognise
5The versions of the curriculum consulted include Preschool (2010), drafts for SK Years 1 and 2
(2011) and Year 3 (2012); Years 4 and 5 (2003) and 6 (2004); and Forms 1 to 5 (2003).
102
and articulate initial, medial and the final sounds in single syllable are given basic phonics rules, e.g. to pronounce fan and set, and
words within [sic] given context” or with the requirements “Able rules for pronouncing plural and past tense forms, including agent
to blend two to four phonemes into recognisable words and read as a plural form [sic] and blank and rank as past tense forms [sic].
them aloud” or “Able to segment words into phonemes to spell”. Form 4 students are given incomplete tables containing further
subsets of vowel and consonant spellings, and are also required to
In Year 3, students are expected to speak English with correct tackle stress in four syllable words. Three examples of four syllable
word stress, and recite rhymes and tongue twisters, but no words are given, and two of the three stress patterns are incorrect.
indication is given of what this means or how it is to be achieved. The curriculum for Form 5 again includes an incomplete table of
In Year 5, they are given what is described as a “sound system” spellings with some phonetic transcriptions (several of which are
but which actually consists of correspondences between spellings incorrect), the first example conveying the information that “bb”
and phonemes and phoneme strings. They are also given phonics in bubble is pronounced /b/.
rules to learn which do not distinguish the letters of the spelling
from the sounds of the pronunciation; for example, the list of The problems encountered in the phonics sections of the
“sounds” to be learnt includes the initial letter “x”, digraphs and national curriculum are such that an appropriately qualified
silent letters. In Year 6, the “sound system” is extended to include teacher would not be able simultaneously to follow the curriculum
blends and contractions, but it is not made clear how these relate and to provide the students with the understanding of the written
to the phoneme system of English. and spoken forms that they need to become literate in English.
In view of the importance of phonics to early literacy, this part
At secondary level, students are expected to undertake of the curriculum will have to be completely re-done when the
tasks of increasing linguistic complexity, but the spoken language curriculum is next revised, in order to provide learners with an
teaching continues with phonics. In Form 1, they are given a list internally consistent sequence of pedagogically ordered learning
of consonant spellings, some but not all of which are accompanied tasks based on current knowledge of spoken and written English
by a phonetic symbol, and this is followed by subsets of the and on developmentally appropriate practice.
vowel system, plural forms and contractions. In Form 2, different
subsets of the vowel and consonant systems and plural forms are
accompanied by a subset of past tense forms. Form 3 students
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CEFR level Year 6 Form 3 Form 5 Form 6 3.3.2 Spoken English
C2
C1 11 According to the baseline study, Speaking is the weakest of the
B2 four skills. Table B.3 shows the results compiled from tables in the
B1 1 45 Results Report (pp. 18 – 29).
A2
A1 4 11 13 The majority group progresses from A1 for Year 6 and Form 3
<A1 to A1/A2 for Form 5 and A2/B1 for Form 6. The majority group
5 11 19 27 in Form 6 includes only 51% for Speaking in comparison with 61%
in A2/B1 for Listening and 79% for Reading, and 82% in B1/B2
20 21 24 24 for Writing. The concentration of effort has clearly been on the
written rather than the spoken language. However, Table B.3 also
59 56 31 15 shows a group who never get to A1 for speaking, and after reaching
a minimum of 7% in Form 3, the figure then rises to 16% in Form 6.
16 7 10 16 The comparable figures for Writing, which is the most successful
skill, are 14% below A1 in Year 6 and 27% in Form 3, falling to
Table B.3 Speaking skills at 18% below A2 in Form 5 and just 5% below A2 in Form 6. After a
different educational levels possible problem in lower secondary school, most students attain
some level of literacy in English.
An important question to ask is why there should be such a
difference in success in producing spoken and written English.
The Cambridge Baseline has not so far provided a clear answer.
However, it is quite possible to learn a written language without
bothering with the spoken language at all. Some deaf people, for
example, pair the written language not with the spoken language
but with a sign language. Scholars have long studied texts written
104
in dead languages, in some cases not knowing much at all about enable students to develop appropriate patterns of stress, rhythm
the spoken form. The Cambridge Baseline results are consistent and intonation. However, teachers have to understand what they
with the possibility that some Malaysian learners of English learn are teaching. Rhythms and rhymes can be used very effectively in
almost nothing at all about spoken English. the teaching of spoken English, but children given inappropriate
input can also be induced to speak English in a manner unrelated
The Cambridge Baseline results, together with routine to the prosody of normal spoken English. The unskilled teaching of
references to the poor Speaking skills of students and even of the language arts can actually do damage and make it much more
their teachers, give a clear indication that something fundamental difficult for the students to acquire appropriate English prosody
is missing in the teaching of spoken English. One such lacuna later on. Unless teachers develop for themselves the necessary
has already been discussed, and concerns the speech sounds or awareness of spoken English and acquire spoken English skills, we
phonemes that correspond to the letters of the written language. are never going to solve the problem of students leaving school and
Just as it is impossible to spell a word without knowing all the even university without being able to speak English properly.
letters that make up the spelling, so it is impossible to pronounce a
word properly without knowing all the phonemes that make up the The learning of spoken English is an area in which improvements
pronunciation. Teachers need sufficient basic phonemic awareness are urgently required in order to achieve national ambitions and
for themselves in order to teach their students how to pronounce to increase levels of graduate employability. In order to make
English words. themselves employable in sectors that require English, graduates
and also school leavers need to speak English at the appropriate
To enable students to develop the spoken language skills needed level of proficiency. Some students will have independent access
at secondary level, teachers need more advanced phonological to good models of spoken English to imitate, but many will have no
awareness, including relevant aspects of English prosody. Teachers choice but to learn from their teachers.
who frequently read samples of English aloud in class need specific
training in how to read English aloud. Otherwise they provide their This puts the teachers themselves in the difficult position of
students with poor models of spoken English. having to rely in large measure on their own performance, even
if their spoken English is poor. If the teacher’s spoken English is
The language arts have the advantage of being enjoyable for poor, this initiates or continues the cycle whereby students whose
students and no doubt also for teachers, and if properly taught
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command of spoken English is inadequate grow up to become It is because phonics correctly taught lays the foundation for
English teachers and pass their own poor English on to their both literacy and spoken English that priority must be given to the
students. This is a cycle that has to be broken. development of a high quality phonics programme designed for the
needs of learners for whom English is not the first language. The
A fundamental question that has to be raised concerns the teaching of literacy goes on to develop text understanding, and
nature of the means whereby Malaysian students are expected the teaching of spoken English goes on to develop more advanced
to develop proficiency in spoken English. The national curriculum aspects of phonological awareness. For this reason, the teaching
includes such means as the language arts, reading aloud and of phonics needs to be integrated into the structured teaching of
classroom conversations; but these are designed to enhance spoken English more generally, in order to produce school leavers
proficiency that is already developing. The primary means of and graduates who can speak English properly.
initialising the development of spoken English proficiency in the
national curriculum is in fact synthetic phonics, which has already 3.3.3 Grammar
been identified as an area of difficulty. There is no other means
included in the national curriculum whereby a student who has no In order to use the target language to communicate, the
knowledge of spoken English at all can expect to acquire at least learner needs not only the words themselves but also the grammar
some proficiency in spoken English. to put them together to construct meanings. As in the case of
vocabulary, the national curriculum lays down the strategy to
Phonics is of course usually associated with beginning reading, be used to provide the learner with the necessary grammatical
as indicated in the last subsection. However, by associating spellings knowledge.
with phonemes, it brings the sounds of the language to the learner’s
conscious attention. The student who can sound a word out, match There is a preliminary problem to be dealt with here, in
the phonemes to units of the spelling, and then blend the phonemes view of the different senses in which the term grammar is used.
to make a natural pronunciation will thereby build the foundations on When learners manage to put words together to form phrases
which spoken proficiency is based. Indeed, countless students from and sentences, for example to say my name is <name>, they are
across the world have successfully learnt to speak new languages in making use of grammatical rules, and this is for linguists the normal
this way for hundreds if not thousands of years.
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understanding of grammar. At this stage, children are developing words together to form phrases and sentences. This is when they
procedural knowledge of grammar. begin to learn grammar. They develop procedural knowledge of
the grammar, even though they are most unlikely to be able to
However, the term grammar is also used to refer to the describe what they are learning.
traditional formal teaching of grammar, sometimes known as school
grammar, which seeks to provide the learner with declarative Young children of school age are also able to learn a second
knowledge. Students develop procedural knowledge of English language intuitively, and since this innate ability declines as
grammar – and teachers help them to acquire it – beginning in children advance towards puberty, some of the more difficult
preschool, but the teaching of grammar in the sense of declarative areas of grammar are paradoxically best learned in the early years.
knowledge begins in Year 3. The grammar that children learn For example, it is difficult to explain the meaning of words such
naturally tells them how to use words to communicate; but the as the and of, but young children nevertheless manage to acquire
grammar they are taught from Year 3 according to the curriculum their use. Children who learn English early use definite articles
involves the direct teaching of form. appropriately, even if they do not know what definite articles are;
and conversely, people who are taught formally about definite
In view of the different meanings, the teaching of grammar is articles later on in life may know what definite articles are, and
often misunderstood. Teaching learners the grammar they need develop the declarative knowledge to explain them, but notoriously
to say things is not the same as teaching grammatical theory. For find it difficult to use them appropriately.
example, learners need to know how to select the correct form of
the verb be, and to use the –ing ending in order to say I am learning The teaching of English grammar to young children – especially
English; but they do not need a theoretical account of the English those too young to understand declarative categories – has to
continuous forms and their different uses. take the form of facilitating learning, and exploiting the children’s
innate capacity for language learning. This is best accomplished
The grammar of spoken English by providing children with authentic materials specially designed
to enable them to learn. However, if children are to learn from
Very young children start learning their first language through materials, it is absolutely essential for those materials to present
exposure to it, possibly without any explicit explanation or teaching authentic models of the target language. This because beginning
at all. Soon after they learn their first words, they begin to put
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language learners are in no position to evaluate the materials they If our young children are exposed to learning materials
are given, and will learn ill formed language structures with the containing elementary learner errors and inauthentic English, then
same efficiency as well formed structures. As learners continue it is not surprising that this is the kind of English they learn. The long
to practise structures they become more fluent, and this is true term outcome is the high frequency of well-rehearsed ill-formed
whether the structures are well formed or not. grammatical structures and other inappropriate phenomena in
the speech and writing of Malaysian undergraduates and adults.
In this context it is important to draw attention to the large Before taking positive steps to improve the teaching of grammar,
number of elementary grammatical mistakes readily to be found in it is essential to put a stop to the use of inauthentic materials and
learning materials currently made available in Malaysia for beginning materials containing elementary learner errors. There must be a
learners of English. A recent informal study of materials currently policy of zero tolerance towards the use of low quality materials
in use in Malaysian preschools revealed an abundance of mistakes in the classroom.
likely to provide the learner with at best an idiosyncratic model
of English. Indeed, the perusal in any bookshop of early English Metalanguage
learning materials published locally (i.e. in Malaysia or Singapore)
yields a rich harvest of elementary grammatical mistakes. As children develop their literacy skills, they begin to become
consciously aware of the forms of the language they are learning,
The Cambridge Baseline (p. 116) refers to the problem and at this stage they need a metalanguage, or a special set of
of inauthentic language, including “the use and modelling of technical terms for talking about language itself. By learning
inauthentic language” at primary level, and “the inauthentic nature metalinguistic terms, children begin to develop declarative
of the texts and dialogues in a lot of the material which lends the linguistic knowledge. It is essential for metalinguistic terms to be
discourse a stilted feel”. Inauthentic language includes not only used correctly and consistently, especially in textbooks and official
grammatical mistakes but also the inappropriate use of grammar documents. This is alas not always the case. For example, in the
and vocabulary, and the use of structures which are grammatically text of the national curriculum, the term alphabet is to be found
well formed but not naturally used in the context. For example, a used in the sense ‘letter’, and the term letter is to be found used in
customer asking for the bill might say How much is that? but not (to the sense ‘phoneme’.
cite an actual example) How much do I pay you?
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Much of school grammar consists of metalinguistic terms. For Metalanguage includes not only parts of speech but also
example, in Year 3, students are expected “to use different word grammatical categories of many different kinds. The teacher
classes correctly and appropriately”. These word classes are in who introduces metalinguistic terms needs to understand the
fact the conventional “parts of speech”, namely noun, pronoun, complexity of the grammatical categories they refer to. There is
adjective, verb, conjunction, preposition and article, which they a long tradition within school grammar of introducing children to
have been using in practice since they first started English. Although grammatical categories by means of grammatical prototypes, but
the word list for Year 3 includes adverbs, and students will be these can be misleading6. For example, verbs are sometimes loosely
presumably be expected to use words such as now, then and quickly, described as “doing words”, and while sleep is a good example of a
adverbs are not included in the formal grammar list until Year 4. The verb, it is hardly a doing word; and similarly integrity and happiness
theoretical understanding of the parts of speech is too difficult for do not fit the popular definition of nouns as the names of persons,
most undergraduates studying Linguistics, and so far beyond primary places or things. I am giving a lecture this afternoon provides a good
schoolchildren. What children can do in primary school is to learn the illustration of the “present continuous” tense; but it is neither
metalanguage, and label words according to their parts of speech. present nor continuous in meaning. Someone who says over
lunch in Bangsar I am working at KLCC at the moment is at that
The status of some of the grammar included in the primary moment neither working nor at KLCC. The teacher who teaches
curriculum is unclear. Year 3 students are also expected to be “able metalinguistic terms has to understand the value and limitations
to construct declarative sentences correctly”, even though they of the prototypes used for illustration, and of the relationship
are expected to produce and respond to questions and commands between grammatical theory as presented in textbooks and the
from preschool onwards. The baseline study similarly observes way grammar is naturally and normally used to convey and access
that “in the Level 2 grammar module, children are expected meaning.
to construct imperative sentences correctly, and use present
continuous verbs correctly and appropriately, yet the Preschool Grammar and written language
and Level 1 curricula are based around activity contexts in which
the use of such structures is implicit” (p. 112). When children become literate in their first language, they
already have an accumulated knowledge of basic grammatical
rules, and so learning to write involves to some extent applying
6 The more complete modern understanding of grammar categories is largely due to linguistic
research undertaken as recently as the second half of the last century.
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what they already know. However, whereas they are born with the Whereas children have the innate ability to use grammatical
ability to learn spoken language, and so learn without being able knowledge to understand what people say to them, and to formulate
to describe what they are learning, they have no corresponding utterances that other people can understand, it is not at all obvious
innate ability to learn to write. that they have the corresponding ability to do these same things in
writing. This is why students are given comprehension exercises
This means that they have to learn by being made consciously and tests. The teaching of writing has therefore to include from
aware of the properties of the written language, beginning with the beginning the transfer of the skill of extracting meaning from
the letters of the alphabet. They have to learn the written forms written texts in reading to the expression of meaning in written
that correspond to the forms of the spoken language, including texts in writing.
the spellings that correspond to the pronunciations of words, and
the written phrases and sentences that correspond to the spoken As in the case of phonics, the learning experience is quite
utterances that they have long been able to produce. different for children learning to write a new language. Children
who are given high quality exposure to the spoken language may
Because of the need to learn the written language by conscious be able, at least to a limited extent, to simulate the experience
effort, grammar tends to be associated with the written language, of children writing their first language. But many children have
even though the spoken language is also organised by parts of to tackle the written language first, and even use it to learn the
speech, grammatical categories and grammatical rules. The child spoken language.
learning to write has to pay attention not only to grammar but also
to spelling and punctuation; and so popular discussions of grammar Some teachers may be tempted to draw on their knowledge
tend to mix grammar proper with spelling, punctuation and even of grammar to teach grammar directly; but the information they
letters of the alphabet. give the children is likely to be far above their understanding, and
possibly inaccurate in any case. Directly taught grammar provides
Since this is how the child perceives the problem, it may be the learner with declarative knowledge about the target language,
sound pedagogical practice to teach these things together; but in and does not in itself help with the development of language skills.
order to guide the child’s learning, the teacher needs to understand The outcome for more able students, especially if formal grammar
the difference between grammar and orthography, which includes
spelling and punctuation, and the alphabet.
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is taught inexpertly to the exclusion of communicative skills, may thereby assist with comprehension and help the student develop
be that they know all about the language but cannot use it, while literacy skills. “Grammar”, “comprehension” and “literacy” do not
less able students unable to grasp the grammatical theory may belong in separate boxes, but represent different aspects of the
learn nothing at all. same learning experience. The teacher’s job is not to fill empty
vessels with grammatical knowledge, but to facilitate learning in
Direct grammar teaching is most effectively used as a the classroom, and in this case enable children to learn English
supplement rather than as a substitute for a more practical grammar and use it in communication.
approach to grammar teaching. The task for the teacher is to
enable the children to develop procedural knowledge of the The three lacunae discussed here – phonics, spoken language
written language, and the task for teacher educators is to show and grammar – might superficially appear to be unconnected, but
teachers how to do this. in fact the integrated knowledge of the three areas constitute the
indispensable foundation which English teachers need in order to
In short, the English teacher needs an appropriate grounding teach English. Without a knowledge of English phonemes, the
in English grammar, but the teacher’s essential role is not to teach teacher cannot teach phonics, and children are left to their own
grammar but to facilitate the learning of grammar. The goal for devices to learn what they can about spoken English.
students is to use the language to communicate, and in order to do
that they need to know the relevant grammar and how to use it for The teacher needs some basic knowledge of grammar in order
communicative purposes. It must constantly be borne in mind that to talk about the written language, and to bring beginning readers
for the language learner the purpose of learning grammar is not to beyond the stage of word recognition, and enable them to begin
rejoice in grammatical forms for their own sake, but to use them to to extract meaning from grammatically organised text. If we are
extract and convey meaning. to reform English language education in Malaysia, we cannot
continue to ignore the central areas of knowledge which English
Learning to handle meaning does not necessarily correspond to teachers need in order to perform effectively in the classroom.
the different boxes or compartments into which language teaching Education for English teachers must include a sufficient grounding
is conventionally divided. The teacher who explains the meaning in the relevant areas of language form.
of an authentic text cannot but deal with the grammar, and
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This section has brought together the main lacunae and other
general critical issues that will require attention as the reforms are
implemented. The chapters of Section B deal at a more specific
level with issues arising at the different stages of education and in
teacher education.
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4
Preschool
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Chapter 4: Preschool
This chapter is concerned with the learning of English in National
and National-type preschools, excluding other providers of
preschool education. The aim is to identify major issues in
English language education at this level, and to suggest improvements
to bring it up to international standards. Suggestions involving the
curriculum, teaching and learning, and assessment will be linked to
and guided by the CEFR wherever relevant and appropriate. The
review will also ascertain the extent to which existing conditions are
likely to facilitate or hamper the attainment of the aspirations set out
in the MEB.
It was found that trying to match the preschool curriculum to
CEFR levels (basic, independent, and proficient users) on a one-to-one
basis was both difficult and not altogether meaningful (see Appendix
A for the mapping between the National Preschool Standards-based
Curriculum (henceforth “NPSC”) and the CEFR). Nevertheless, the
CEFR enables a kind of validation for preschool as far as its principles,
ethos and approaches are concerned.
For example, its emphasis on action-oriented, learner-centred,
culturally responsive and self-regulated approaches are consistent
with the constructivist learning theories and the developmentally
appropriate practice (henceforth “DAP”) principles on which the
national preschool curriculum is based (see Figure 4.1). In addition,
the description of competencies in the form of “can do” statements
can be adopted when learning outcomes or learning standards in the
national curriculum are revised.
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DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD PRINCIPLES DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
• Holistic Development
• Meaningful learning
• Fun learning
• Basic skills for lifelong learning
• Pupil centred APPROACHES • Discovery and Inquiry
• Learning Through Play • Constructivism
• Integrated • Project-Based-Learning
• Thematic
INTEGRATED DOMAINS
• Communication
• Spiritual, Attitude and Moral
• Science and Technology
• Humanities
• Physical Development and Aesthetics
• Socio-emotional Development
OUTCOMES - PUPILS WILL ATTAIN
• Basic skills of literacy and numeracy
• Basic skills of reasoning and problem-solving
• Confidence and a positive self-concept
• Good habits for healthy and safe living
• Ability to interact with others
• Creativity and the appreciation of the arts, crafts and music
• Curiosity, inquisitiveness and expressiveness
• Preparation for primary school
FIGURE 4.1 Conceptual Framework of the NPSC
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The ultimate goal of preschool English language learning is to should be on learning rather than teaching. This chapter reviews
give preschool children confidence in using English in and outside the present practices with a view to suggesting affirmative actions to
classroom, and to facilitate the smooth transition to English in primary make students confident and comfortable using English in and outside
school. It is more important for them to develop a positive attitude the classroom, without fear of ridicule or alienation, and so make the
to English and make a good start in spoken English and literacy in transition to primary school as smooth as possible.
English than to achieve a specific level of proficiency. This is because
the majority will be coming to school with zero or minimal previous The chapter is divided into five sections: 4.1 provides a brief
exposure to English, and it is vital to make their early experiences with background to preschool education, including its history, and the
the language enjoyable and free of stress. Young learners need a safe national preschool curriculum and current initiatives that contribute
and secure environment in order to thrive, and so the approach taken to the present situation; 4.2 identifies problems and gaps that could
to teaching and learning, and especially to assessment, should not affect the children’s sense of security and well being or otherwise
make them feel anxious or threatened in any way. frustrate the achievement of the goals for preschool education; 4.3
discusses actions that need to be taken; 4.4 lists the implications
Children feel safe and secure when they are fully engaged in and recommendations to be considered; and 4.5 summarises and
activities which they find enjoyable, and which stimulate their innate concludes the chapter.
curiosity. Play has for this reason been recognised as an important part
of early education. In this context, play does not mean “free for all” 4.1 Background
goal-free activity, but essentially involves purposeful, well-thought
out and structured activity with specified learning outcomes. 4.1.1 A brief history
Play is an important vehicle for developing self- Early Childhood Care and Education (henceforth “ECCE”) was
regulation as well as for promoting language, cognition begun in Malaysia before the 1960s, the main providers being religious
and social competence. bodies or non-governmental organisations. In 1971, the Department
of Community Development in the Ministry of Rural and Regional
(NAEYC, 2009, p. 14 ) Development established the first of many preschools known as Tabika
KEMAS, which catered mainly for low-income families in suburban,
An action-oriented and learner-centred approach should be at the
core of preschool English, and in the spirit of the CEFR, the emphasis
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The Department of National
Unity and Integration
(DNUI) under the purview
of the Prime Minister’s
Department setup
kindergartens called Tabika
Perpaduan in urban and
suburban areas covered by
the Skim Rukun Tetangga,
the neighbourhood watch
programme.
rural and remote areas, and in indigenous villages. In 1972, the Ministry In the 1980s, preschools in Malaysia were built and managed by
of Education (henceforth “MoE”) issued its first registration guidelines these and other government agencies such as FELDA, RISDA, DNUI,
in Kaedah-Kaedah Guru/ Kaedah-Kaedah Kindergarten dan Sekolah religious bodies, the police and the army (Cawangan Pendidikan/
Asuhan (Pendaftaran) 1972 Warta Kerajaan P.U. (A) 414, which laid Angkatan Bersenjata dan Polis). The lack of standardisation and
down laws for the registration of kindergartens, teachers and boards of regulation in preschools led to the formulation of the 1986 Preschool
governors. In 1976, the Department of National Unity and Integration Guidebook (Buku Panduan Prasekolah Malaysia, 1986), the first formal
(DNUI) under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department set curriculum document for early childhood education in Malaysia. The
up kindergartens called Tabika Perpaduan in urban and suburban aim was to provide guidance and facilitate coordination between
areas covered by the Skim Rukun Tetangga, the neighbourhood watch preschool providers, and to bring Malaysian preschool education up to
programme. Both KEMAS and Perpaduan preschools make use of the standards set by current global developments. These guidelines
community halls (rented or provided free), housing estates, private were revised in 1993 and renamed Garis Panduan Kurikulum Pendidikan
properties, and shop houses rented or built by the Ministry. MoE Prasekolah Malaysia.
preschools, annexed to existing national primary school buildings and
funded by the MoE, were also set up to cater for low income families The Malaysian preschool situation is indeed complex, provision
in suburban, rural and remote areas, some 80% in rural areas. being made through several government agencies, non-governmental
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agencies and the private sector, and involving three Ministries, 4.1.2 English Language in the National Preschool Standards-
namely the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Rural and Regional Based Curriculum (NPSC)
Development, and the Department of National Unity and Integration.
These are of course in addition to private preschool providers. Since The stated aim of preschool education as found in the NPSC is to
2003, it has been compulsory for all preschools, both public and develop the potential of children aged four to six physically, emotionally,
private, to follow the NPSC. Although there are several committees spiritually, intellectually and socially in order to enhance their skills,
overseeing preschool education, it is a challenge to coordinate the instil confidence and form a positive self-concept to prepare them to
contributions of so many different providers. An important milestone take on the challenges and responsibilities in primary school (NPSC,
was the establishment of the National ECCE Council (henceforth 2010, p. 1). It is important to note at the outset that the NPSC is based
“ECCECM”) in November 2010, a non-profit professional body with on developmental milestones or stages, and the National Philosophy
responsibility for ECCE under the National Key Economic Areas of Education (henceforth “NPE”).
(henceforth “NKEA”) for education, and acting as a link between
the Government and private sector ECCE providers. The council The curriculum focuses on six strands, one of which is
has played a key role in the professionalisation of private childcare communication in Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil. The teaching
providers and preschool educators, and in quality assurance. of English includes Listening and Speaking, Pre-reading, Reading
and Writing skills. The main focus of the Communication Strand is
One of the elements of Shift 1 in the MEB (2013, p. 7-5) is to for pupils to use language in order to communicate in their daily lives.
“Raise quality of all preschools and encourage universal enrolment by Since this is where English language education begins, this part of the
2020”. It aims to ensure that, “every child aged 5+ will be enrolled in a curriculum needs to be examined with particular care.
registered preschool, be it public or private. Low-income families that
would otherwise not be able to afford preschool will receive needs- Children are taught to listen to and identify environmental sounds.
based financial support from MoE. All preschools will follow a set of However, since many animals have to recognise environmental sounds
national quality standards, and preschool teachers will be required to in order to survive in the wild, and since children on entering preschool
have at least a diploma.These schools will also be inspected regularly by can already identify the minute phonetic detail that distinguishes the
MoE or the ECCECM to ensure that they meet minimum standards.” phonemes of at least their first language, it is not at all clear in what
way students stand to benefit from this kind of teaching.
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In related
activities,
students listen
to rhymes, songs
and stories, and
make appropriate
responses.
Students listen to greetings, repeating after the teacher and not clearly stipulated. Other learning standards focus on identifying
greeting one another and the people around them. The value of this the initial sounds of words, reading words, phrases and sentences
exercise depends on the ability of the teacher to pronounce English with understanding. In order to do this correctly, the teacher has to
words correctly, and to produce authentically worded greetings. understand that while phonics rules may be sufficient for the reading
Children whose teachers lack the necessary level of proficiency in of words, the reading of phrases and sentences with understanding
English are likely to start off with a bad model of spoken English, which requires quite different and more advanced skills that have nothing to
will make it difficult for them to improve their spoken English later on. do with phonics.
In related activities, students listen to rhymes, songs and stories, Writing focuses on pre-writing and writing, and begins with hand-
and make appropriate responses. Pre-reading skills include handling eye coordination activities, and drawing strokes, lines and patterns.
books with care. Reading focuses on recognising the letters of the Learning standards for writing emphasise the correct formation of
alphabet and articulating the corresponding sounds. Even this simple letters and copy writing. Details for the four skills are listed in the
exercise requires the teacher to possess sufficient phonemic awareness following table:
to understand the relationship between letters and sounds. There is
a learning standard that focuses on the learning of phonics, but it is
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Listening and speaking skills Listen to and discriminate sounds.
Listen to and understand the meaning of simple words.
Pre-reading Skills Acquire and use simple phrases and statements.
Reading Skills Listen to and follow simple instructions.
Writing skills Listen to and enjoy nursery rhymes, action songs, poems and stories.
Sing songs and recite rhymes and poems.
Tell simple stories.
Dramatise familiar situations and stories.
Perform a variety of language forms and functions in a social context.
Ask simple questions.
Understand that printed materials contain meaning.
Acquire knowledge of print and ethics in reading.
Identify letters of the alphabet.
Read simple words with understanding.
Read phrases with understanding.
Read simple sentences with understanding.
Develop interest in reading.
Acquire pre-writing skills.
Acquire writing skills.
Table 4.1 English Language Skills Table
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The perusal of this table gives rise to several causes for concern. motivation. The focus is also on providing meaningful experiences
First, the activities are not based on any theoretical framework that are more easily comprehended and remembered. The table
relevant to early language learning or beginning literacy. Phonics, for below shows the selected themes which are of interest to children
example, has an important place, but does not fit into the table at all. and areas which stimulate their curiosity and interest. The themes are
The interactive use of English is mixed up with the language arts. The used to supplement the time-tabled teaching of the four skills which
extraction of meaning from written texts has an uncertain relationship make up the English Basic Module, and English is used as the medium
to the alphabet. These things will not be put right by aligning the of instruction during the Thematic Sessions, Reflection and Morning
preschool curriculum to the CEFR, because the CEFR is not primarily Routines.
concerned with how students develop the ability to do things in the
target language. Week(s) Themes
1 Orientation Week
The teaching of English to complete beginners will remain a 2 – 11 Myself
problem until this whole area is thought through in the light of what is 12 - 16 Matter
known about English and early literacy, and the skills to be developed 17 - 18 Living Things
by students are related to each other in a systematic manner. Secondly, 19 Environment
providing students with a basic foundation in spoken English requires 20 Physical World
teachers to possess those very skills that the Cambridge Malaysia 21 - 23 Technology
Baseline Project Report 2013 points out many teachers lack. This will 24 – 27 My Country
remain a problem until teachers are provided with the skills that they
need. Table 4.2 THEMES
An important aspect of the preschool curriculum is that it is based
on DAP principles which focus on the child as a whole, integrating
the child’s needs, interests, and abilities. Cognitive, social, emotional
and physical development are all to be included when planning lessons.
Lessons are planned taking a thematic approach, selecting themes
according to the children’s interests in order to provide intrinsic
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Teachers tend to keep to the CURRICULUM TEACHING & LEARNING ASSESSMENT
curriculum, and seldom go beyond
it, so preschool students may not Learning standards Teachers as Impact of teacher
get much exposure to higher level to meet 21st role models proficiency on
language learning. If the curriculum century needs assessment
is holding them back, it is difficult to Clear and renewed
bring students up to the standard of Transitioning from emphasis on Inadequate
their inernational counterparts as one instructional developmentally constructs
envisaged by the MEB. language to appropriate
another practice Inadequate
4.2 Issues, Gaps, and principles in assessments
Challenges English language rubrics
iInstruction
This section draws attention Inadequate valid
to issues and gaps concerning the assessment tools
curriculum, teaching & learning,
and assessment (see Figure 4.2) Figure 4.2 Issues at Preschool Level
that may affect the achievement of
the goals stated in the introduction
to this chapter, namely to give
preschool children confidence
in using English in and outside
the classroom and to facilitate
a smooth transition to primary
school.
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4.2.1 Learning standards to meet 21st century needs develop HOTs. Among the responses reported by Rohaty Mohd
Majzub (2013) from 30 participants including teachers, lecturers,
The analysis of the English language component in the academics and officials from early childcare and preschool
Communication Strand of the NPSC brings to light a number of education were the following comments pertaining to the NPSC:
curricular issues. According to the NPE, that guides all curricula,
education in Malaysia is intended to develop an individual’s potential in The curriculum should inculcate higher order thinking
a holistic and integrated manner. The aim is to ensure that Malaysians skills to prepare children for the future.
are knowledgeable and competent, responsible and capable of
achieving a high level of personal well-being to contribute to the Children should be able to reason and do problem solving.
betterment of the nation, family and society. The curriculum is also I think most urban preschools over stress academic
guided by the national need to prepare the nation’s children for the achievement in Maths and English.
coming decades (Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, 2013).
Preschool children should master cognitive skills, problem
Poor English proficiency is often cited as the cause for the failure solving, creative thinking skills. Yes we need young thinkers.
of students to perform well in the Trends in International Mathematics
and Science Study (henceforth “TIMSS”) and the Programme for Curriculum should address global skills such as ICT
International Student Assessment (henceforth “PISA”) examinations, skills and higher order thinking skills including conflict
or to obtain suitable employment in the private sector when they resolutions.
graduate. But poor proficiency also has a cause, and to find it we
have to make a critical evaluation of English language education at the Preschool teachers are expected to teach HOTs in English during
very beginning. Two areas of particular importance in this respect are the time allocated for the Thematic Module. However important
higher order thinking skills and the critical period hypothesis. HOTs undoubtedly are, and however important it may be to develop
them from the beginning of education, what children are expected to
4.2.1.1 Higher order thinking skills (HOTs) understand and learn must still be linked to their level of maturity.
One of the general goals often suggested for education and It is not at all obvious that developing HOTs can be effectively
especially crucial for the 21st century, is to enable children to combined with preschool English. The Basic English Module of
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NPSC stresses simple skills such as greeting, identifying objects, Similarly Newport (2003) reported that several lines of
and following simple instructions (as presented in Table 4.1). research, both behavioural and neural, suggest that there is a
critical or sensitive period for language acquisition, so that feral
The development of such basic language skills is incompatible or abused children who have been isolated from exposure to their
with the inculcation of HOTs and Information and Communications first language until after puberty have shown extreme deficits in
Technology (ICT) skills. In any case, teaching HOTs in English is phonology, morphology, and syntax. The extension of the theory to
an impossible task for teachers who are already having problems second language acquisition (SLA) has stimulated both supporting
with their own English. The likely outcome is that they use a and opposing research. Singleton (1992) claims that there are
language more familiar to themselves and their students, so that many exceptions in second language learning, and that five percent
the students do not benefit from the policy allocating equal time of adults who begin to learn a new language manage to master it.
to the languages used in preschools. Students are unlikely to be
able to demonstrate these HOTs in English. Snow and Hoefnagel-Höhle (1978) did not find support for
the CPH in SLA in their longitudinal study of the naturalistic
4.2.1.2 The Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) acquisition of Dutch by English speakers of different ages: 12 to
15 year-olds and adults made the fastest progress during the first
In addressing the needs of the 21st century, it is pertinent for few months, but by the end of the first year the 8 to 10 and 12 to
curriculum developers to be cognizant of relevant theories of 15-year-olds had progressed the most, while the 3 to 5-year-olds
language acquisition. According to the CPH, there is a critical period scored lowest on all the tests employed.
for language learning which peaks between the ages of 3 and 5, which
is also when many children start learning English as a new language. An important refinement of the hypothesis is that it does not
apply to language as a whole, and that the optimal learning age
Early proponents of the hypothesis, including Penfield and differs from one language system to another. According to Ruben
Roberts (1959, cited in Pallier, 2007) and Lenneberg, Chomsky and (1999, p. 85) “the critical/sensitive period of phonology is from the
Marx (1967), claimed that language develops readily during the first sixth month of fetal life through the 12th month of infancy.”
few years of life, but later on language acquisition becomes much
more difficult and ultimately less successful (Snow & Hoefnagel- Data indicates that the critical/sensitive periods for syntax
Höhle, 1978). run through the fourth year of life, and for semantics through the
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