ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL 2019

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre
Bridging Theory and Practice in ESL Classroom

In the context of Malaysian primary education, acquiring sufficient English vocabulary is crucial
as Mohd Noor et al. (2016) stated that the mastery of vocabulary is important in order to enhance
foreign language skills as set by the Ministry of Education. This is supported by Mohamad Jazuli
et al. (2019) that the vocabulary acquisition is a fundamental part of learning the second language
in the lower primary Malaysian school context and it is emphasized throughout the syllabus.
Therefore, the English Language Curriculum for Primary Schools has provided a list of High
Frequency Words that pupils need to master by the end of Year 6. This list is embedded in the
curriculum aiming at enhancing the pupils’ engagement in English both in formal and non-formal
contexts as well as allowing them to acquire a substantial number of words by the end of their
primary schooling years. For teachers, they are recommended to use the stipulated words in
oral and written form as well as introduce other words that are necessary in order to facilitate a
particular teaching learning context or classroom instruction.

Since learning vocabulary is the primary step in language acquisition, it is pertinent for this
study to delve on another potentially effective way of the teaching and learning of vocabulary.
Based on the review of literature, few studies have been conducted in applying the concept of
noticing in teaching and learning of English language which covered the aspect of pronunciation
(Doan, 2013), prepositions (Maryam et al, 2015, speech acts (Nemati & Arabmofrad, 2014) and
grammatical structures (Hassan & Hoora, 2017). Therefore, this study attempts to contribute to
the field of knowledge by exploring on the effects of noticing strategy on the written sentences of
Year 4 ESL pupils and its influence on the vocabulary learning of the pupils. It seeks to answer
the following research questions;

1. How does noticing strategy help learners to identify their language gap?
2. To what extent does noticing affect the students’ vocabulary?

The following sections discuss on the conceptual framework of the study, related literature,
methodology, the findings and discussions as well as the implications of the study that could
significantly impact the teaching and learning process on English writing.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY

As shown in the conceptual framework (Figure 1), this study is grounded based on the ‘noticing’
hypothesis proposed by Schmidt (1990, 2001) and theory of cognitive constructivism pioneered
by Piaget (1977). Schmidt referred ‘noticing’ as “conscious awareness of the target language
which requires the attendance and awareness of the learner to the input.” For the theory of
cognitive constructivism, Piaget asserts that learning does not occur passively, rather it occurs
by active construction of meaning through individual interaction with the environment. Governing
by these hypothesis and theory, the ‘noticing’ hypothesis would be observed at three stages of
writing task; composing, comparing and revising stage. The theory of cognitive constructivism
would occur at the comparing stage as the pupils work individually in noticing their vocabulary gap
based on the model text given as well as at the revising stage as the total number of changes in
the vocabulary learning was analysed based on the pre and post-test conducted. The findings of
the study would then be discussed in answering the purpose of the study which intends to explore
on the significance of noticing on the vocabulary learning of ESL pupils.

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ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre
Bridging Theory and Practice in ESL Classroom

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework

LITERATURE REVIEW
Noticing Hypothesis
Noticing hypothesis was proposed by Richard Schmidt in 1990. In this hypothesis, Schmidt (1990,
pg 67) suggested that “nothing is learned unless it has been noticed” and referred ‘noticing’ as
“conscious awareness of the target language which requires the attendance and awareness of
the learner to the input”. Lightbown and Spada (2003) described that a learning process begins
when learners notice something they hear or see in the second language that is different from
what they expected or that fills a gap in their knowledge of the language. Ünlü (2015) further
explained that this hypothesis requires the learners to be aware of the input and attend to it to
be able to process the input, which means that input becomes intake. Hence, as discussed by
Schmidt (1990), noticing is an essential starting point in the language learning as it helps students
to be aware of the language features in the input. This is corroborated with Harmer (2009) that
the locus of the learners’ attention needs to be drawn towards a certain aspect of language thus,
enabling them to recognize it when they came across that particular aspect of language again.
Therefore, Kim (2015) concluded that even though the level of noticing necessary for second
language learning (SLA) has long been a controversial issue, a consensus has been reached that
a certain degree of noticing is crucial to promote L2 learning process.
Furthermore, Ünlü (2015) elaborated that noticing hypothesis is grounded on the principle of
‘notice the gap’ in which learners either notice that something is missing in their own input in terms
of comprehension or they notice the difference between their own input and the target language.
Therefore, it could be concluded that shifting the learner’s attention and awareness towards their
gaps and holes in comprehending the target language is crucial. The finding of the study by
Esimaje (2012) corroborates the existence of a gap between input and the metalanguage of the
L2 user of any language and shows that noticing this gap is a possible way of bridging. Therefore,

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ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre
Bridging Theory and Practice in ESL Classroom

Esimaje concluded that by drawing the attention of a language user especially to those properties
of language wrongly perceived by the user causes him to be aware of them and may enable
him in the long run to learn correct uses of them. Ünlü (2015) added that the more proficient
the learners are, the easier it becomes for them to notice the gap between their interlanguage
and the target language in comprehension. As for the implication on the teaching practice, Leow
(2018) discussed that given the important roles of attention, noticing, and depth of processing,
two logical and major pedagogical implications for teachers are (1) being aware of the internal
cognitive processes employed to promote robust learning, and (2) how they present the L2 input
to their students to encourage the use of such processes. Thus, Baleghizadeh and Arab (2011)
suggested that positive input such as modelling could facilitate the learners to fill in their linguistic
gaps and holes through the comparison process occurred between their written output and the
native models. 

Few studies have been conducted in applying the concept of noticing in teaching and learning of
English language. Doan (2013) explored on the effect of noticing on improving the pronunciation
of Persian English language learners. The findings showed that the impact of noticing is very
promising and potentially encouraging as the participants were able to improve their number of
correctly pronounced compound nouns on average by nearly five times. Another study conducted
by Nemati and Arabmofrad (2014) explored on the effect of instruction and grouping on the learners’
awareness of speech acts and the result supported noticing hypothesis as by making specific
target features of the input more salient, learners’ attention could be directed thus, resulted in
the increased depth of processing of speech acts. Maryam et al. (2015) investigated the effect of
noticing through storybook reading on the learning of English prepositions of 76 learners of upper
intermediate level. The results showed that noticing had a durable effect on the experimental
group’s learning of prepositions thus, play a significant role in enhancing EFL learners’ knowledge
of prepositions. A more recent study by Hassan and Houra (2017) investigated the effect of literal
translation as a noticing technique on learning the participial phrases and absolute constructions
in English on EFL university students. The results revealed that the use of translation significantly
affected participants’ noticing and learning the targeted grammatical structures thus, suggested
that the use of translation as a strategy of noticing could be an effective suggestion for learning
other structures and vocabulary learning.

Cognitive Constructivism 

Cognitive constructivism theory is based on the work of Swiss developmental psychologist, Jean
Piaget (1997) which focuses on individual and internal constructions of knowledge. Eggen and
Kauchak (2010) outlined four characteristics of this theory that influence learning which include
the construction of familiar and logical knowledge, dependency of new learning on current
understanding, significance of social interaction in facilitating learning as well as the occurrence of
meaningful learning within real-world tasks. Piaget (1977) cited in Amineh and Asl (2015) asserts
that learning does not occur passively, rather it occurs by active construction of meaning. This
construction of meaning happens when the individual interacts with the environment in testing
and modifying their existing schemas. Social interaction influences the process, but primarily as
a catalyst for individual cognitive conflict and the literal interpretation of this theory emphasizes
learning activities that are experience-based and discovery-oriented (Eggen & Kauchak 2010).
In this study, internal constructions of vocabulary knowledge occurred when the pupils were able
to learn the new vocabulary as they work individually in noticing their vocabulary gap as well as
the meaning of English words through the interaction with the model text during comparing stage.

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ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre
Bridging Theory and Practice in ESL Classroom

Vocabulary Teaching and Learning

Vocabulary is vital in improving students’ language skills which are reading, writing, speaking and
listening. English competency level is governed by the breadth and depth of students’ vocabulary
knowledge. Yunus and Saifudin (2019) discussed that vocabulary is defined in two different
ways, which are orthographically (as an independent language item which holds meaning) or
phonologically (the combination of independent items that are known as the multiword which
is related to morphological mechanisms such as affixes or etymological parts). Hence, it is
understood that vocabulary is the language item which is related to phonological, morphological
and syntactical structure. Baharudin et al. (2019) explained that vocabulary knowledge requires
not only word meanings knowledge, but also the usage of the words in the appropriate context
and in a natural way. As emphasized by Schmitt (2000) cited in Hashemifardnia et al. (2018),
“lexical knowledge is central to communicative competence and to the acquisition of a second
language” (pg. 16). Therefore, Basal et al. (2016) emphasized that vocabulary teaching is crucial
in developing proficiency and achieving competence in the target language. This is corroborated
with Abdul Razak and Md. Yunus (2016) that ESL students need to acquire at least sufficient
amount of words in order to enhance the acquisition of the target language.

In the context of second language learning, L2 learners often need to learn a large amount of
vocabulary in a limited period of time thus, vocabulary instruction is of fundamental concern to
educators (Rossiter et al. 2016). This is supported by Basal et al. (2016) that vocabulary teaching
is at the heart of developing proficiency and achieving competence in the target language. Abdul
Razak and Md. Yunus (2016) emphasized that ESL students need to acquire plenty of words in
order to enable the acquisition of the target language. Nevertheless, learning vocabulary could be
considered as a demanding task as it is a cyclical process, and it requires a long time and many
exposures to word used in different situations. Therefore, ESL learners require more support as
compared to average native English-speaking students of similar age and appropriate level or
command of English language (Mukoroli, 2011). Furthermore, Mokhtar et al. (2009) discussed
that the purpose of vocabulary learning should include both “recalling” words and the ability to
“apply” them automatically in a wide range of language contexts when the need emerges, thus
vocabulary learning strategies should incorporate strategies for “recognizing and knowing” as well
as “using” words. Nevertheless, Mokhtar concluded that the most recent vocabulary researchers
have come to the conclusion that the most efficient and practical vocabulary learning approach
involves a carefully selected combination of both explicit and implicit instruction and learning.
Hence, in this study, the researchers attempted to employ the concept of noticing in exploring the
effects of noticing strategy on the written sentences of Year 4 ESL pupils and its influence on the
vocabulary learning of the pupils.

METHODOLOGY

Setting and Participants

This study was conducted in one primary school in Negeri Sembilan. In order to identify the effects
of noticing, 16 Year 4 students were chosen based on their latest assessment results involving
reading, writing and grammar tasks. The participants had an average level of competency in
which they scored 50 to 65 marks in their previous English assessment which place them in
Grade C. They live in a rural area where Bahasa Melayu is their mother tongue and their exposure
54 to English is limited only to the interaction received during the English lesson.

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre
Bridging Theory and Practice in ESL Classroom

Instruments

The instruments used in this study were the task sheet (TS), noticing sheet (NS) and a ‘Hi-5
text’ (HT). The TS was used as the pre-test and post-test in the composing and revising stage
and were labelled as TS-1 and TS-3, respectively. This instrument contains a picture of a family
carrying out activities in the living room. Ten high frequency words are provided in the TS; family,
living room, cereals, coffee, brother, cartoon, father, newspaper, knitting and shawl. The picture
and words act as stimulus for sentence construction. The NS were blank papers given to each
participant during composing and comparing stage and labelled as NS-1 and NS-2. NS-1 was
used by the participants to jot down any words that they were unsure of upon completing the task
and NS-2 was used to take notes on any words they found useful. Finally, HT was a model text
given to the participants in the comparing stage. This text contains five simple sentences based
on a sentence structure they had previously learned; subject-verb-object (SVO). The sentence
structure was introduced as a basic sentence for writing skill before they proceed into writing
sentences in paragraphs which is a part of the writing skills that they need to master by the
end of their primary school in relation to the Content Standards. In this study, HT was used as
the measuring tool for noticing thus, served as a language input for the students to fill in their
language gap as they compared the HT to their own answer.

Data Collection Procedure

The data were collected throughout the period of two weeks within a one-hour English lesson.
This study was divided into three stages; composing, comparing and revising. During each stage,
the participants were required to complete different tasks.

Stages Instruments Tasks
Composing TS-1
Comparing NS-1 • Participants composed five sentences on the TS-1
(Pre-Test).
Revising TS-1
HT • Participants made notes on any lexical difficulties on
NS-2 NS-1.

TS-3 • Participants made comparison between their own
TS-1 and HT.

• Participants jotted down on NS-2 any useful words
found in HT.

• Participants were reminded not to make any changes
on their TS-1.

• Participants composed five sentences using the same
picture and word stimulus on TS-3 (Post-Test).

Table 1: Data Collection Process

In this study, noticing occurred in the composing and comparing stages. The ‘noticings’ were made 55
aware of and identified through the method of note taking. In the first stage, noticing happened
when the participants were required to make notes on the words that they were unsure of. Thus,
the researcher provided two sentence structures to assist them. For example, they could write
the phrase ‘I don’t know … in English’ if they were unable to find a certain English word that they
wanted to use in their sentences or they could use ‘I don’t understand the word …’ if they were
unable to understand the meaning of the words given in the stimulus. In the comparing stage, the
participants compared their TS-1 with the HT given and jotted down the vocabulary that they had
noticed. The words that they noticed were not limited only to the words that would compensate to

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre
Bridging Theory and Practice in ESL Classroom

their lexical gap which they had identified in the earlier stage but it could also be the words that
they had just discovered and found to be useful. To minimize the risk of memorization, the revising
stage was done a week after the comparing stage. The participants were not informed beforehand
that they had to re-do the task. This was to identify the effect of noticing in the comparing stage
on their subsequent writing. The notes made by the participants were written in the participants’
mother tongue; Bahasa Malaysia and were translated by the researchers after. Details on the
data collection process were shown as follows.

Data Analysis Procedure

Once the data were collected, the analyzing process was done in twofold. The participants’ NS-1
and NS-2 were analyzed in order to answer the first research question. The number of notes
made by the participants during the first two stages were calculated and tabulated in order to
identify how does noticing help the learners to identify their language gap. To answer the second
research question, the participants’ answers on TS-1 and TS-3 were analyzed. The number of
mistakes made by the participants in each stage were calculated and tabulated. In this study,
the researchers focused on the effects of noticing in students’ vocabulary acquisition. Thus, for
further discussion, the vocabulary related mistakes made by the participants in this study were
categorized into three types which were spelling mistakes, wrong choice of vocabulary and the
integration of L1 in the task.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

RQ1: How does noticing strategy help learners to identify their language gap?

In the first stage of this study, the participants composed five sentences based on the stimulus
given. While completing the task, participants were required to write down any English words that
they did not know or unsure of. Table 2 shows the number of words noticed by the participants. In
the composing stage, the participants noticed a total number of 26 words. These words include
words which they did not know the English version of it or the words given in the stimulus which
they do not know the meaning. In this stage, participants were able to notice their own weakness
in the language and they became aware of the words that were absent from their mental lexicon.
In the comparing stage, the participants were given a model text (HT) and their TS-1. They were to
compare their work with the HT given and the HT would serve as a language input for the students
to resolve their lexical deficiency. The participants also had to write down the words that they had
noticed in the HT. The result indicates that, the number of noticing had increased significantly
by 93% during the comparing stage with a total number of 53 words. The increase in number of
words shows that the participants noticed new words during the comparison stage which they
were not aware of earlier. This signifies that comparing a model text with the participants’ original
text helps them not only to fill the gaps that they had noticed earlier but also help them to notice
new language gaps. Similarly, Lightbown and Spada (2003) indicated that learning process begins
when the learners notice something in the targeted language that differs from their expectation or
something that fills a gap in their knowledge on language.

Words being notice Composing Stage Comparing Stage
26 53

Table 2: Number of words noticed by participants

56

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre
Bridging Theory and Practice in ESL Classroom

Participants Noticing in Composing Stage Noticing in Comparing Stage
G3 • I don’t know ‘kerusi kecil’ in English.
B3 • I don’t know ‘menjahit’ in English. • Stool
• Mengait - knitting

Table 3: Examples of notes made by the participants in composing and comparing stage

Table 3 above shows the examples of noticing that occurred. In the first stage, G3 noted in her
NS-1 that she did not know the word ‘kerusi kecil’ in English. Upon completing the task, G3 could
easily use the word ‘chair’ instead of finding the exact word for ‘kerusi kecil’. However, she knew
that there was a specific word used to identify a small chair and yet were unable to recall it. Hence,
by relating her existing knowledge to her current language need, she noticed that the word ‘stool’
was not in her mental lexicon. In the following stage, G3 had written ‘stool’ in her NS-2. This
shows that the noticing that happened in the first stage managed to help her to identify her own
language gap and through noticing in comparing stage, she had successfully found the word she
needed. The finding is paralleled to Swain (1998) as he mentioned that the ‘lexical hole’ noticed
by students initially led to a lexically oriented solution during the comparing stage. Similarly, B3
mentioned that he did not know the word ‘menjahit’ in English which refers to ‘sewing’. However,
the picture stimulus showed that the mother is actually ‘knitting’. It is understandable for a ten-
year-old boy, to not be able to differentiate the difference between knitting and sewing. After the
comparison was made between HT and B3’s TS-1, B3 had noticed the word ‘knitting’. The word
‘knitting’ was given in the stimulus and he was unable to identify the meaning of the word in the
initial stage. Nevertheless, in the comparing stage, he had jotted down the word ‘knitting’ together
with the Malay version of its which indicates that he finally understood the word ‘knitting’. Hence,
noticing that occurred through comparison made with the HT had not only provided the participant
with a more suitable word that fits the situation better, but it also helped him to identify the meaning
of the word. The result is aligned to Ünlü’s (2015) statement where in the process of noticing the
gaps, learners would either noticed that something is missing in their input or they noticed the
difference between the input and the targeted language. Harmer (2009) also mentioned that when
the locus of a learner’s attention was drawn towards a certain aspect of language, they would
be able to recognize it when they came across that particular aspect of language again. Thus,
the comparing stage had enabled B3 to notice that the actual word that he should to describe
the action is ‘knitting’ instead of ‘sewing’. Therefore, the noticing that happened in the composing
and comparing stage prompted the participants to engage themselves in an extensive level of
cognitive processing which consolidated their current lexical knowledge and simultaneously help
them to acquire new vocabulary.

RQ2: To what extent does noticing affect the students’ vocabulary?

Table 4 below shows the number of mistakes made by the participants in composing and comparing
stage. The result indicates that the number of vocabulary related mistakes had significantly
decreased from 60 mistakes to 21 mistakes. Hence, to understand the findings further, mistakes
made the students were sorted into three parts which were spelling, choice of vocabulary, and
the integration of L1.

Total mistakes Composing Stage Revising Stage
Pre-Test Post-Test

60 21

Table 4: Number of mistakes in composing and revising stage 57

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre
Bridging Theory and Practice in ESL Classroom

Table 5 below illustrates the number of mistakes made by the students in the lexical aspect. The
result reflects that students made more spelling mistakes in the pre-test and this could be due
to the fact that they had to know a few new words but yet to master the right spelling for those
words. However, the small number of reductions also leads to the assumption that the participants
neglect the essentiality of using the language appropriately (Yang and Zhang, 2010). The number
of wrong choices of vocabulary had also decreased in the post-test compared to the pre-test. The
most significant difference can be seen is in the integration of L1. During the pre-test, there were
47 Malay words found in their TS-1 and there was only one L1 word found during the post-test.
This occurrence reflects that the participants were able to find the solution they needed in order to
write effectively where they were able to resolve their lexical problem which they had discovered
in the first stage. The result also showed that noticing during the composing and the comparing
stage had positive effect on the participants’ writing performances as through their interaction
between their TS-1 and the HT in comparing stage, the participants were able to discover a
fitting example of lexical word that they were searching for. The result is parallel to Baleghizadeh
and Arab (2011) when they mentioned that comparison made between written output and native
models helps learners to fill in their linguistic gaps and linguistic holes.

Composing Stage Spelling Choice of Vocabulary Integration of L1
Pre-Test 5 8 47

Revising Stage 15 51
Post-Test

Table 5: Vocabulary related mistakes

Table 6 below shows some examples of mistakes made by the participants in Stage 1 and Stage
3. The mistakes made by the students indicated that they were struggling in completing the task
as their limited range of vocabulary hindered them from finding the right words. Consequently, they
became aware of the shortcomings and when the participants were introduced to the model text
at the comparison stage, their awareness towards certain lexical form was peaked. In this study,
internal constructions of vocabulary knowledge occurred when the pupils were able to learn the new
vocabulary by noticing the meaning of English words through the interaction with the HT in Stage 2.

Categories of Mistakes Stages Examples of Mistakes
Spelling Composing • The brother is waching the cartoon. (G9)
• My father is dringking coffee. (G2)
Choice of Vocabulary Pre-Test
• My mother is knitting a clothes. (B6)
Integration of L1 Revising
Post-Test • My mother is sailor a shirt. (B1)
• Adib is sitting on the kerusi kecil. (G4)
Composing • The father is menengok newspaper. (B7).
Pre-Test

Revising
Post-Test

Composing
Pre-Test

Revising
Post-Test

58 Table 6: Examples of mistakes in composing and revising stage

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre
Bridging Theory and Practice in ESL Classroom

In Table 7, it can be seen that G2 had successful found the correct word to fill in their lexical
hole in order to find the English word for ‘kerusi kecil’. She had also become aware that the
right verb to describe the picture was ‘watching television’ instead of ‘washing television’. The
findings reflect that noticing during both the composing and the comparing stage had enabled the
participants to solve their lexical problem independently. Their awareness of their language gap
helped them to become more engaged with the HT hence they recognized their own error and
found the word that they were searching for. The participants had extracted useful vocabulary
from the HT which consequently contributed to a more accurate language production. In contrast,
Participant B4 had wrongfully applied the word ‘shawl’ instead of ‘stool’. Thus, for less proficient
participants, although there was evidence that a certain awareness of language gap is essential
for language learning, it is also possible that they understood the word that they had acquired
wrongly. The participants were unable to provide the right feedback during the comparing process
due to the deficiency in their language (Baleghizadeh & Arab, 2011). Yang and Zhang (2010) also
mentioned that, low proficiency learners would possibly face difficulties in solving their language
problems independently.

Stage 1 Example of changes made by participant G2
Stage 3 • The brother is washing television on the kerusi kecil.
• The brother is watching cartoon on the stool.
Stage 1
Stage 3 Example of changes made by participant B4
• The brother is sitting on kerusi.
• The brother is sitting on the shawl.

Table 7: Changes made by the participants

CONCLUSION

From this study, the researchers discovered that vocabulary plays a crucial role in the students’
writing as students need a sufficient range of vocabulary in order for them to find the appropriate
word to express their ideas and thoughts. However, in an ESL classroom, it is almost impossible
for a teacher to focus solely on vocabulary in their lesson. Hence, it would be more practical for
teachers to apply noticing through a model text as the students will be made aware of their own
language gaps and select only the words that they need based on their vocabulary range. The
learning will be more meaningful as the students will cater to their own personal needs based
on their own individual ability and proficiency instead of merely accepting any words that was
introduced by their teacher. The findings in this study prove that noticing has a positive effect
on the students’ vocabulary acquisition regardless of their language proficiency. However, the
quality of noticing could be enhanced by incorporating peer discussion or teacher feedback. With
the presence of a higher proficiency learners or teacher, the noticing process would be more
engaging and eye-opening. As a result, the students would have the opportunity to identify and
clarify on the aspects of language that do not match their existing knowledge within a short period
of time.

There are also few limitations to this study. The subjects that are involved in this study have 59
very little exposure to English. The results might differ if the research is conducted in an urban
area where the subjects are more familiar with the language. Another limitation of this study is, it

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre
Bridging Theory and Practice in ESL Classroom

incorporated the use of note taking in collecting the data. Even though note taking could be time
consuming and physically demanding, it helps the researchers to identify the locus of learner’s
attention (Hanaoka, 2007). Since, this study focused on the effect of noticing on vocabulary
acquisition, it was easier for the participants to express what they have noticed. Thus, to implicate
this study by looking at other complex language aspect, audio or visual recording would be more
suitable as it is less time consuming and would be more reliable in identifying all of the gaps
noticed by the pupils. Further research may be conducted with subjects from urban area and of
various levels of intelligence; high-achieving students, mid-achieving students and low-achieving
students to investigate the effects of noticing at different proficiency level.

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Fatin Nasuha Mohd Noor
Sekolah Kebangsaan Palong 8 (F), Gemas, Negeri Sembilan
[email protected]
Noor Diana Suhaimi
Sekolah Kebangsaan PULAPAH, Bandar Seri Jempol, Negeri Sembilan
[email protected]

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5

PHONIC SLIDE: A
COGNITIVE STRATEGY
TO ENHANCE
REMEDIAL PUPILS’
ABILITY TO BLEND
PHONEMES

MUHAMMAD ASYRAF BIN KHAJA MOHIDEEN
NURUL SYIFA BINTI ABDUL RAHMAN

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PHONIC SLIDE: A COGNITIVE STRATEGY TO ENHANCE REMEDIAL PUPILS’ ABILITY TO
BLEND PHONEMES

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the effects of Phonic Slide as a cognitive strategy to assist
Year 2 pupils in blending two or more phonemes to form a word. The objective of
this research is to observe to what extend the cognitive strategy in Phonic Slide
helps the pupils’ ability to blend phonemes into CVC words. To accomplish this,
an action research was carried out with 32 low to intermediate year 2 pupils from
a rural school in one of the districts in Negeri Sembilan. In the first cycle, pupils
were tested with consonant and short and long vowels, however, in the second
cycle, pupils were tested with a pretest and posttest were carried out by testing
pupils’ ability to blend two or more phonemes to form a word orally. The scores of
the pretest and posttest were used to investigate whether the Phonic Slide could
improve or enhance pupils’ ability to blend phonemes to form words as well as
the scores from each worksheet from each session. Findings indicate that, after
being able to use and visualize the Phonic Slide, subjects were able to blend
phonemes with ease and read words in comparison to before Phonic Slide was
introduced.

Key Words: Phonic Slide, phoneme, language learning strategy, blending, visualization
strategy

INTRODUCTION

In any language learning, reading is one of the crucial skills that a learner must master. reading is a
process of recognizing written or printed words to understand the meaning. In Year 2 primary ESL
classroom, reading lessons are conducted on a very low level. Pupils are required to learn about
the different sound and blend them to form a word. Other than that, up until 2018, a nationwide
program called LINUS was carried out as a mean to test or screen pupils’ reading skills. From the
data gathered, teachers are required to create an intervention to help with the non-achievers. In
November 2018, a decision was made by the Ministry of Education to discontinue the imlmentation
of LINUS. This was announced by the education director-general (Bungga, 2018). However, each
school is responsible to carry out their own intervention program to screen and help pupils with
basic literacy in English. As a level one English teachers, the researchers felt this has been a
better alternative made by the Ministry of Education (MOE). This has given more empowerment
to the school. Teachers would have a full autonomy in designing and creating materials and
strategies to curb problems in basic literacy.

Based on the Standard Curriculum Document, Year 1 and 2 pupils are required to learn phonics
along with blending phonemes to form words. In year 1 the phonemes pupils are required to learn
are mostly single sound phonemes however in year 2, pupils are exposed to diphthongs (Malaysia
Education Blueprint, 2013). Based on teacher’s observation in daily lesson, it can be noted that
64 pupils are facing difficulties in blending phonemes into CVC words especially when V is diphthong. 

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LITERATURE REVIEW

Phonemic Awareness

Reading is a complex process of making meaning from a written text for various purposes. It is
often regarded as a set of mechanical skills to be learned all at once. Reading also involves a
wider range of contexts. There are several different reading texts that serves different purposes.
The most common reading text or materials are books, magazines and newspaper. With the era
of modernization, reading materials have moved from the printed versions to the online versions.
Regardless of it being a physical copy or a soft copy of the text, it serves the same purpose which
is to impart information or knowledge.

Weaver (1994) primarily defined reading as being able to pronounce the words. This means that
the basis of reading requires the readers to sound out the letters of a word to read the words.
In language learning, the term that teachers always use is Phonemic awareness. Phonemic
awareness refers to the ability to recognize that words can be break down into smaller units and
how to accurately pronounce each one (Goldenberg et al., 2014). There are sufficient evidences
that a lot of children basically understand this before they master the set of letters to sound
correspondences.

According to Schuele and Boudreau (2008), the two important phonemic awareness subskills
are phoneme segmenting and blending. Breaking phonetically simple words into phonemes or
blending phonemes into recognizable words are subskills involved in entry into word reading. In
this paper, researcher would pay more attention on the blending subskill. This is because the
pupils do not have any problem segmenting a word into the respective phonemes. Pupils face
problem when they are to blend the phonemes into words.

Language Learning Strategy

According to Oxford and Amerstorfer (2018), language learning strategies are the ways learners
regulate his or her foreign or second language acquisition by using mental actions. This means
that the strategies used are individualized. Each learner would have his or her own strategy as
to how they learn or acquire a second or foreign language. Some learners might use visual clues
to understand something said in the target language and some learners have a more complexed
strategy to acquire the target language. Whatever the strategy might be, it is all mental actions. This
means, the learners only use the strategy in the minds instead of having any physical tool to help
them learn the language. As cited in Oxford and Amerstorfer (2018), the term “language learners’
strategies” to emphasize that a learner might use strategies without having the purpose of learning.
There are six sub-strategies under the language learning strategies as shown in Figure 1.

Cognitive

Compensation LLS Mental
MetaCognitive Social

Affective 65

Figure 1: Language Learning Strategies

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In creating our intervention, we took two language learning strategies into consideration which
are the cognitive strategy and memory strategy. By using cognitive strategy, learners analyze,
synthesize and evaluate to make connections between old and new information. Learners who
are prone to use memory strategies usually use visuals to make associations between old and
new information and record in the long-term memory.

The reason why cognitive and memory strategy is used is because researcher did not want
the pupils to depend on anything physical to help them to read. Instead, the intervention trains
pupils to only use the intervention in their mind. This is to ensure the strategy would not be
habitualised as this is to help them on a very basic level of reading. If pupils were to make a habit
of using the intervention as a tool, it would disturb their reading process as they move up to a
more complex reading skill. By combining these two strategies, pupils can understand how to
use the intervention at the same time, help them visualize the intervention, using cognitive and
memory strategy, when they would want to use it. Therefore, a theoretical framework is designed
revolving these crucial aspects to manoeuvre the research conducted. This is further illustrated
in the Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Theoretical Framework

Research Questions

For the purpose of this action research, we have formulated two research questions to help us
navigate the procedures. The research questions are as follow:

i. To what extend does the memory and cognitive strategy in phonics slide help enhance
the pupils’ ability to blend phonemes into CVC words?

ii. How does the memory and cognitive strategy of phonics slide help pupils to blend
phonemes into CVC words?

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This action research was conducted using an adapted version of 1988 Kemmis and McTaggart

Model. Using the model, it started off with a review of the current practice and it was realized that

pupils face difficulty in blending phonemes. Then, observation and reflection were made carefully

on the issues and problems that the researchers encountered. Hence, based on a thorough reading

and as to accommodate the current climate of 21st century learning advocates, the researchers

66 decided to employ an appropriate language learning strategy which centralized on memory
and cognitive proponent in assisting the pupils to blend phonemes. Therefore, the researchers

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introduced a mental tool; Phonic Slide to guide them to blend phonemes independently. From
Kemmis and McTaggart’s (1998) action research model, the next step was to carry out with
Phonic Slide. This was followed by a reflection on and the effects of this learning activity were
critically evaluated.

Figure 3: Adopted Conceptual Framework

As shown in the framework, pre-test is conducted in the action stage. The scores of the pre-
tests were compared with the scores of the post test. After conducting the pre-tests, pupils are
introduced to the intervention which is the Phonic Slide. In this stage, pupils would familiarize
themselves with how Phonic Slide can be used to blend phonemes into words. After practicing,
three sessions are conducted where pupils are given ten words and are asked to read the words
by using the phonic slide. The difference between the practice stage and the sessions is in the
practice stage, pupils use a printed copy of the Phonic Slide Figureto see as they blend the
phonemes. In these three sessions, pupils would have to only use their mental picture or imagine
the Phonic Slide to blend the phonemes. In other words, pupils do not use the printed copy of the
Phonic Slide in the three sessions. After the three sessions, a post-test was carried out in both the
cycles. As mentioned before, the scores of the post-tests were used to be compared to the scores
of pre-tests. In Observe stage, data was collected and further analysed to ensure necessary
amendment was made in the cycles.

The Intervention

This intervention is a tool as well as a learning strategy that pupils can use mentally to blend
phonemes for them to read words. The phonics slide is a concept that they must use it only in
their mind. Pupils would have to imagine the phonic slides when they are required to use it. The
illustration of the phonic slides is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Phonic Slide 67

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In the beginning of the action research, pupils are introduced to the phonics slides and how
to use it. Pupils were asked to imagine that they are going down the slide and as they slide
down, they were asked to sound out each phoneme. By the time they reach the ground they
would be able to read the word. After introducing the intervention, the participants will undergo
one practice session where they can get used to the Phonic Slide. Then three sessions were
conducted in three phonic lessons where participants could use the phonic slide in a natural
setting. During this time, teachers would observe the participants and take observation notes.
Then a post test was conducted. Finally, a group interviewed was conducted to get the feedback
on how the participants feel about the intervention.

Participants

This action research was conducted in a rural school located in one of the districts in Negeri
Sembilan. The total number of pupils who are registered to the school is 546 pupils. In terms of
English language proficiency, pupils here are on the low to intermediate level. For this research,
32 pupils consist of 12 boys and 20 girls, from Year 2 were chosen. These pupils are from the
last class and from daily observations, it could be found that they are having trouble blending
phonemes into words. According to Smialek (2015), visual learners best remember what is seen.
Thus, the picture of Phonic Slide would help them to visualize the blending process as all of them
are visual learners.

Data Collection

The main data collected were pre-post test scores as well as their worksheets were evaluated and
analysed. From the worksheet, their ability to read words were being analysed. The worksheet
was used to gauge their ability to read independently. The worksheet served as the product from
the feedback given in the practice session. A group interview session is conducted to check
the effectiveness of using Phonic Slide as a mental tool to blend phoneme. The findings and
discussion will be expounded below.

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

Main Findings

It was found that the participants show positive improvement in blending phonemes by using
Phonic Slide. There are three parts that will be discussed below, which are the pre-post test
scores, the formative scores of the worksheet as well as the response of the participants towards
the use of Phonic Slide.

Pre-post Test Scores

Cycle 1 Cycle 2

Pretest Posttest Pretest Posttest

Mean 7.25 9.72 4 9.69
Median
Mode 7.5 10 3 10

7.5 10 3 10

Table 1: Mean, median and mode for pre and post-test in Cycle 1 and Cycle 2

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Table 1 shows the mean, median and mode for pre and post-tests in Cycle 1 and Cycle 2. Based
on the data above, the mean score has increased from 7.25 to 9.72. There is also an increase in
the median and mode of the scores from 7.5 to 10. This shows that participants improved after
the implementation of the mental strategy. However, it is noted that the differences between the
mean, median and mode for pre-test is bearing a narrow gap compared to the mean, median
and mode for the post-test. This means that the learners are already doing well in blending single
sound phonemes into words. Therefore, new post-test is established due to the modification
made to the implementation of the strategy which influence the participants’ performance in Cycle
2 whereby diphthong was used as the middle phonemes in the words tested. This is can also be
seen in Table 1.

Based on the analysis in Table 1, the mean score has increased from 4 to 9.69. There is also
an increase in the median and mode of the scores from 3 to 10. It is noted that the differences
between the mean, median and mode for pre-test is very distinct to the mean, median and mode
for the post-test. Hence, it is evident that the intervention carried out does improve the participants’
ability to blend phonemes despite the changes made in Cycle 2.

This is further supported with the comparison of the mean, median and mode in formative
test scores for both cycles which represents on-going participants’ performance during the
implementation of the strategy. This would be presented in the next section.

i. Formative Test Scores

Table 3 shows the mean, median and mode score for sessions one, two and three in Cycle 1.
In the first session, the mean score is 8.63. This increased to 8.88 in the second session and
9.25 in the third session. The same can be said with the mode. However, the median is constant
throughout the three sessions.

Mean Session 1 Session 2 Session 3
Median 8.63 8.88 9.25
Mode 9 9 9
8 9 10

Table 3: Mean, median and mode score for sessions 1, 2 and 3 in Cycle 1.

Table 4 shows the mean, median and mode score for sessions one, two and three in Cycle 2.
There is an increase in the mean score of the three sessions. In the first session, the mean score
is 8.63. This increased to 8.88 in the second session and 9.25 in the third session. It shows the
change score between the sessions is distinctly increases.

Mean Session 1 Session 2 Session 3
Median 5.84 6.78 7.94
Mode 6 6.5 8
6 6 7

Table 4: Mean, median and mode score for sessions 1, 2 and 3 in Cycle 2. 69

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From the above table, it is noted that the participants scored better compared to their previous
sessions in Cycle 1. The last session showed increments for each participant. The participants
were able to blend phonemes through the practice sessions. The improvement is not drastic but
through a longer period, it is believed that the pupils will be able to score better through the use
of Phonic Slide.

ii. Group Interview

Reading is one of the most difficult skill in English as it requires the foundation of the phonemic
awareness as well as ample knowledge to be able to segment and blend phonemes. Ghanaguru
(2003) identifies causes for incomprehension besides poor motivation to a lack of experience or
inadequate prior knowledge and a limited or subjective view of what is read. Group interview is
conducted to gain insight into the reactions of the children about a new learning tool or strategy
(Mohajan, 2018). Hence, a set of interview questions was designed to probe the participants’
introspection by critically reviewing their learning experience through the retrospective inquiry.
Through the interview, it was noted that the use of Phonic Slide as a mental tool has enabled the
participants to immediately blend phonemes and subsequently read words independently. They
enjoyed the process of using of the tool as an automation to blend phonemes and read words as it
acts as a mental reflex while countering with reading activities. Below are the pseudonym names
that were interviewed and their feedbacks and responses towards Phonic Slide.

Participant Respondent

14 Saya guna gambar gelongsor ini untuk baca. Macam sebelum ni saya tak
faham macam mana nak eja boat. Sekarang perkataan susah macam tu saya
boleh baca.
Phonic Slide helps me to read. Before this, I don’t know how to read difficult
words like b/oa/t. Now I know.

5 Saya suka guna gambar gelongsor ni waktu baca macam main gelongsor kat
taman. Setiap kali tengok gelongsor mesti ingat ape yang cikgu ajar.
I enjoyed using Phonic Slide because the picture is fun to remember. It is like
sliding in the playground but with words.

30 Cikgu ajak baca pakai gambar gelongsor ni dulu, selepas itu baru saya boleh
bayangkan dalam kepala saya.
The teacher let me practice reading with the picture first, then I can see it in
my brain.

7 Mula-mula susah nak baca. Selepas itu, cikgu bagi baca pakai gambar
gelongsor tu. Lama-lama dah tak perlu pakai gambar tu pun saya dah boleh
baca sendiri.
At first, it is difficult to read so teacher let me practice with the slide. After that,
I can read words without the picture anymore.

26 Saya dah boleh baca sendiri. Kalau saya tak boleh, saya cuba untuk ingat
gambar gelongsor tu.
Now I am confident to read. If I cannot say out loud the words, I try to remember
the Phonic Slide

Table 5: Learners responses extracted from the group interview

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From the above anecdotes, it can be noted that the participants enjoyed using Phonic Slide as
they can visualize the process of blending phonemes in their mind prior uttering words. Among the
interesting response was noted by Participant 5 as he was able to manifest the act of the actual
sliding in the playground with the mental images when it comes to reading, hence it is suggested
that the participant form a mental linkage between the subject matter with their real-life situation
which enable them to be aware of and expand their cognitive capacity. Most of the participants
agreed that Phonic Slide helped them to read single sound words as well as diphthong which
they perceived as confusing and difficult words. Over the sessions, they agreed that they can
remember how to read using Phonic Slide and felt motivated which indicates a positive perception
towards the intervention.

DISCUSSION

Jamaludin et al. (2016) has noted that alphabet recognition and phonemic awareness are strong
predictors of reading success. In a research conducted by Yeung et al. (2013), they found that
students who received phonics instruction performed excellently in almost all language tests,
including phonological awareness, expressive vocabulary, word reading and spelling test.
In similar research conducted by Lonigan et al. (2013) and Vadasy and Sanders (2011), they
agreed that phonics instruction was fundamental to reading development. Geva et al (2006)
has mentioned that cognitive processes of phonological awareness, rapid naming, and visual
processes seem to be associated with reading difficulties. This is in line with Jamaludin et al.
(2016) who has highlighted that lower level verbal processing skills, for example, phonological
processing, which is the product of developing phonemic awareness, is important for the process
of registering information in working memory in reading. Working memory capacity is helpful in
storing information on speech sounds, matching the letters to sounds and combining them in
reading words (Alloway & Copello, 2013).

Therefore, the intervention was aimed to develop the pupils’ ability in blending phonemes as the
foundation for the participants to be to read fluently. The strategy used in the intervention is the
use of Phonic Slide as a visualization strategy or a ‘working memory’ to assist the participants to
blend phonemes. From the above analyses and data gathered during the research, it could be
summed up that the participants were starting to read single sounds word and diphthong better.
As mentioned by Jamaludin et al. (2018), strong phonemic awareness begets greater reading
ability. This mental tool could be used to posit the automation of the blending process in reading
simple words. This could be seen when the participants able to form mental linkage by utilizing
the tool prior reading the tested words. Kherzlou (2012) has gathered that language learners
manifest their cognitive skills by manipulating it mentally; making mental images as outlined by
Chamot and O’ Malley (1987), which evident in the use of Phonic Slide whereby the participants
used it to visualize the blending process in their mind, hence subsequently prompting consistent
mental habit formation. This mental habit formation triggers a certain metacognitive skill in which
they able to monitor their own working memory capacity independently as they eventually realize
that didn’t need the picture of Phonic Slide as the intervention goes by. This would allow the
participants to expand their phonemic awareness as well as their cognitive skills in which crucial
in perusing more challenging lexical.

A dramatic shift of not being able to visual the learning process to the ability to manipulate thinking 71
process would be a huge assistance among the struggling readers, especially in primary ESL
classroom, as reading could be an overwhelming language activity for them. However, Phonic
Slide is proven to lower their affective filter by making them feel more confident to read out

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loud as they beginning to understand the visualization of the blending process while reading.
Furthermore, Phonic Slide is deemed as ‘fun’ and near to their life experience as sliding down
in the playground. This allow the participants to increase their motivation in language learning
as it is relatable in their life. Ghanaguru et al. (2003) mentioned that readers rely on their prior
knowledge to make sense of what they read and that makes confident readers. Krashen (1981)
claimed that learners with high motivation, self-confidence, and a low level of anxiety are better
equipped for success in second language acquisition. Low motivation, and debilitating anxiety
can combine to ‘raise’ the affective filter and form a ‘mental block’ that prevents comprehensible
input from being used for acquisition. This is in line with Wijrahayu (2017) who encourage the use
of affective language learning strategies to promote positive impact towards language learning. In
learning L2, motivation is greater force to pursuit the nature of language learning. Wijirahayu and
Dorand (2018) mentioned that attitude is not a permanent state, therefore, the use of Affective
strategy would assist students’ mental and behavioral state balance to overcome the features of
attitudinal problems such as anxiety, not-willing to speak, low motivation, and self-confidence that
block their performance.

This means the researcher’s initial assumption on the ability of the use of Phonic Slide to assist
the participant to blend phoneme was precise. The results have answered the aim effectively. This
was also supported from a journal whereby Yeung and Ganotice (2013) gathered that phonemic
awareness is necessary to begin reading acquisition. This allows readers to recognize textual
landmarks as they meet them, and it enables them to be better strategy users while they read.
Additionally, Hardan (2013) claimed that an awareness on how to learn a language, not just what
to learn is important as it leads to better language acquisition. Therefore, it is proven that the
intervention allows the participant to learn language using an active cognitive strategy as such as
Phonic Slide.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this research indicated that there was a boost in pupils’ ability to blend phonemes
correctly while utilizing Phonic Slide. Hence, this shows a positive result that Phonic Slide is
effective in early reading literacy. It is recommended for further studies that the use of Phonic
Slide be used to help participants with CVC words that have triphthongs. In conclusion, the use
of Phonic Slide is found to be useful in improving blending phonemes. Educators could use
Phonic Slide to enable their charges to blend phoneme by providing mental strategy rather than
conventional method of drilling.

Advancing through, students today will be engaging in the global world that requires more
understanding and abilities. Students not only need to perceive the subject basics but also to
think decisively, to examine and to conclude. With this, cognition strategy is the right tool to allow
the students to push their limit as it introduced as early as in the early reading literacy. It is the
aspiration of the researchers to see as many students as possible to read independently by using
a simple but efficient tool called the Phonic Slide.

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Muhammad Asyraf bin Khaja Mohideen
SK Palong 5 (F), Gemas, Negeri Sembilan
[email protected]

Nurul Syifa binti Abdul Rahman
SJKC Bahau, Bahau, Negeri Sembilan
[email protected]

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6

REMEDIAL ONLINE
MATERIALS AS
LEARNING TOOLS FOR
STRUGGLING READERS

ZIKRI EFFANDY BIN ZAINUDIN

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REMEDIAL ONLINE MATERIALS AS LEARNING TOOLS FOR STRUGGLING READERS

ABSTRACT

This study takes Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis (1982) theory. The theory
found out that there are three affective variables related to the second language
acquisition by taking advantage on the attitudinal factors such as motivation, self-
confidence and anxiety in pupils’ second language acquisition. The struggling
readers need specialized intervention to assist them in mastering reading skill
and by using technology it can help achieve that due to its ability to lower Affective
Filter because students were more interested in learning using technology
especially computer. English teachers were concern about their lack of remedial
teaching skill and the suitability of remedial materials. These two problems can
be tackled by using remedial materials that are available online to assist teachers
in selecting and using appropriate materials. Therefore, the objective of this
study is to determine the benefits of using remedial online materials in Padlet to
teach literacy for struggling readers. This study involved ten Year 1 pupils and
two English teachers in two public schools. Qualitative methods were used in
analyzing the data gained from video observation and interview. There were three
main categories emerged from the interviews namely, Learning Aspect, Emotional
Aspect and Materials Aspect. Hence, there are benefits of using remedial online
materials towards struggling readers as it helped them in making learning fun and
engaging and at the same time improved their reading skill.

Keywords: struggling readers, online materials, reading, online materials,
remedial materials

INTRODUCTION

Technology especially computer has long been used by English language teachers in helping
them in the classroom in various ways possible. The technologies available are ranging from
materials resources to materials application as they are beneficial towards ESL learners and
according to Noureddine Azmi (2017), the use of technology in the classroom is advisable as it
promoted autonomous learning, maximized language learning, motivated learners, and improved
learners’ performance in English classroom. The integration of technology and language learning
is no longer a privilege to only urban schools but now even in rural areas, where technology
is accessible, has been applied in the classroom. Well maintained facilities are provided by
the Ministry of Education (MOE) together with trained computer laboratory technician and ICT
teachers in conjunction with ICT-based initiatives such as Smart Schools, 1BestariNet, and Zoom
A which provides schools with internet access (Irfan Naufal Umar & Noor Afidah Jalil, 2012). They
also added that these initiatives enhanced students’ creativity and skills in computer technology
and agreed by Erdogan, Bayram, Deniz (2008) as they discovered that academic achievement is
related with learners’ attitude towards modern learning technologies positively.

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Problem Statement

Although technology is expected to be beneficial towards both English learners and teachers,
there are situations that need to be considered in language learning especially when it comes to
the struggling readers. The current practice advised by MOE for most of the school in Malaysia
is that, students are not to be streamed based on their academic performance as according
to Mansor et al. (2016) one of the elements in Malaysian Government policy is to broaden
opportunity in fostering national unity especially in schools. Students in mixed classroom have
different language proficiencies that requires teachers to understand the students’ needs and
through this understanding, English teachers need remedial teaching skills in educating struggling
readers in the classroom. The situation in public schools is that Bahasa Melayu and Mathematics
remedial teachers are provided by the MOE to teach the struggling learners (Hazita Azman,
2016). She added that the concerns of these English teachers mostly due to the suitability of
remedial materials that they have due to lack of remedial teaching knowledge and the need of
separate English learning environment for the struggling readers. In addition, beginning 2019,
LINUS2.0 was abolished as MOE had given full authority to schools to conduct their own method
and figure out appropriate intervention to students with reading difficulties. Hence, the needs of
the English teachers to acquire remedial teaching skill is imperative but it would not be possible
if there is no professional assistance (Hazita Azman, 2016). In the event of searching for suitable
remedial materials, they can be obtained through technology which has been widely applied in
language classroom. Internet could provide tremendous amount of remedial materials depending
on students’ proficiencies. In addition, these struggling readers that were born as digital native
are more interested to use technology as technology could draw their attention despite of the
environment they are living in (Warscahuer, 2001). This is due to the technology capability to
lower students’ anxiety towards language learning because according to Krashen Affective Filter
Hypothesis Theory (1982), if students are optimistic towards learning, their affective filter will be
lowered together with their anxiety and they will get more input in learning. Besides, technology
has also the ability to provide a highly personal and specialized instruction because struggling
readers requires specialized attention and computer technology could help them by supporting
them at word level reading instructions (Torgesen et al. 2010).

Research Objective and Research Question

The objective of this study is to determine the advantages of using online remedial materials
towards struggling readers. However, three research questions were figured based on the
advantages obtained by these struggling readers namely, 1) What are the advantages of using
remedial online materials from the learning aspect for struggling readers? 2) What are the
advantages of using remedial online materials from the emotional aspect for struggling readers?
and 3) What are the advantages of using remedial online materials from the material aspect for
struggling readers?

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The use of remedial online The advantages of using
materials online materials towards

Krashen’s Affective Filter struggling readers
Hypothesis

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework 77

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Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of this study whereby, the researcher used remedial
online materials as the intervention to tackle the struggling readers issue in schools. The technology
used in this study is underpinned by the learning of the second language that takes Krashen’s
Affective Filter Hypothesis (1982) Theory. This theory found out that there are three affective
variables related to the second language acquisition by taking advantage on the attitudinal factors
such as motivation, self-confidence and anxiety in students’ second language acquisition. Krashen
also stated that, if the second language learners have negative attitude towards learning, they will
only get less input due to the high Affective Filter. However, an adverse effect will be obtained if
the learners are more optimistic towards the learning which they will search and get more input
due to the low Affective Filter.

Hence, an effective classroom environment is the classroom that encourages low Affective Filters
by producing low anxiety level among students which aligned with the objective of this study. The
use of technology that is familiar and interesting to the struggling readers leads them to reading
mastery. The anxiety among these students could also be destructive whereby they will have the
tendency to act inappropriately when they see learning negatively. A positive learning behavior is
proven to be critical to the students for their early stage of school success (Lin et. al 2003).

Therefore, the use of technology in learning is pivotal for teachers and students to ensure the
students stay motivated in learning. Bailey (1997) stated that technology can be used in three ways
namely, technology as teaching aids, technology as subject and technology as empowerment tool
in teaching and learning sessions. These purposes of technology can help struggling readers as
technology teach them in a new and exciting environment (Muniandy et al. 2009).

The advantages that were yielded from the use of online remedial materials towards struggling
readers were also found out by many other researchers in previous research. According to Lovett
et. al (2003), teachers need to be aware of the importance of direct remedial work for the students
who are at risk of reading failure and to work on the students’ phonological awareness deficits,
letters recognition, phoneme-grapheme connection, word identification and their vocabulary
knowledge as this medium seemed to be promising in tackling the struggling readers issue.

However, it might be tough for teachers today if they are unable to use a suitable tool to help
these students. Hatcher et al. (2004) argued that although the basic knowledge of remediation
was identified, the usual and mainstream approaches in remedial teaching often failed to educate
struggling readers in mastering reading skills which include letters knowledge that helps their
spelling ability and supports their reading accuracy. Hence, based on the research under What
Work Clearinghouse (2009), technology is looked as an appropriate tool to facilitate the students
but with proper instruction and execution.

In addition, a longitudinal study by Saine et al. (2011) of remedial reading training of seven years
old with reading difficulties for letter knowledge, reading accuracy, fluency, and spelling showed
an improvement in computer based intervention and in this study, they were using Graphogame,
a computer program to prevent the development of reading disabilities compared to the regular
remedial reading intervention and the regular reading activities in the classroom. They also stated
that, there is a need for struggling readers to learn how to read through computer-based letter
names and sounds in order to acquire the knowledge of decoding the phonemes and develop into
non struggling readers.

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METHODOLOGY

This study used purposive sampling from two different schools in southern Malaysia. Five
struggling readers from each school were selected based on their low performance in LINUS
2.0 reading screening. An English teacher from each school was selected to teach the struggling
readers and underwent phonics teaching workshop and supervised by trained mentors for two
years conducted by MOE in collaboration with Brighton under TELL 2 programme. The study was
done in computer laboratories that were equipped with good internet connection. The lessons
were conducted for five weeks consecutively and the objectives of the lesson were based on Ehri
Stage Model by Ehri and McCormick (1998). The model explained that, to observe the reading
progress of beginner readers, it requires four stages. Firstly, the pre-alphabetic stage whereby in
this stage, beginner readers look at words as logos and there is no direct association of letters to
sounds connection and they will use the letters that they recognize to read the word. Secondly is
the partial-alphabetic stage, the readers recognize the letter-sound correlation and begin to join
the sounds. Thirdly, the full-alphabetical stage whereby the readers understand fully the relation
between the grapheme to phonemes in words that they encounter several times. The struggling
readers can achieve reading accuracy because they recognize each letter. Hence, they are able
to blend and read new words they encounter as their ability to recognize grapheme-phoneme
connection. In the consolidated-alphabetical stage, the repeated letters help struggling readers
when practicing reading the words. Lastly, in the automaticity stage the reader already recognizes
the words automatically and able to read the words proficiently and accurately.

In each lesson, the researcher prepared a Padlet that contained three types of remedial online
materials based on the objectives of the lesson namely, videos, interactive games, and assessment
task. Teaching guides were provided for the teachers to refer and they were given authority to
amend the lesson plan as to add their own materials or to edit the guide based on their professional
judgement and the students’ proficiencies. Two data collection method were used. The first data
collection method was a structured observation through video recordings with adapted checklist
by Abbott et al. (2002) together with researcher’s notes. The second data collection method was a
standardized, open-ended interview. The questions in the interview were aligned with the adapted
checklist with two domains, Students’ Engagement and Students’ Response. Moreover, by using
Screening Test domain, it was used to determine the success of the students in the learning. Both
data from the two data collection methods were analysed using Thematic Analysis through Atlas
TI 8.0 and the benefits of using online materials were obtained from the analysis.

FINDINGS

The findings of this qualitative study were determined from two main sources which were
observation and interview. The categories of the advantages of using remedial online materials
were obtained from the interview session and were compared with video observation and
researcher’s note to determine whether the information given from the interviews were genuine.
There were three categories obtained from the interview namely, Learning Aspect, Material
Aspect, and Emotional Aspect.

i. Learning Aspect

Category Code Frequency

Learning Aspect Students’ attention 8
Fun Learning 2

Learning new skills 1

Students learn at their pace 1

Table 1: The category, its’ codes and frequencies of Learning Aspect 79

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Table 1 shows the Learning Aspect category, the codes and their frequencies that were obtained
from thematic analysis of the interviews. In this category, there were two prominent codes emerged
namely, Students’ Attention and Fun Learning. The use of online materials in learning reading was
able to catch students’ attention in focusing during the teaching and learning sessions. This is
due to while learning literacy skills using online materials, the students showed their enjoyment,
paid their attention and were able to adapt in the new exciting environment. The online materials
used such as games, quizzes, and videos can gauge their attention and further motivate them
to learn. Through observation by researcher’s video observation notes, in both schools, the
students were at first eager to use the computer provided for them and beginning to behave
and paid more attention to the teacher once the teachers explained the rules. Furthermore,
the students cooperated well as they knew they need to behave in order to play the interactive
games. A study done by Muntean (2011) regarding gamification and e-learning found out that
gamification assisted students to gain motivation in learning as they obtained positive feedback
from playing and made them focused on learning. When the teachers taught reading skills using
online materials, it promoted fun learning as supported by Crookall et al. (1990) about varieties
of activities that had fun factors benefited the learners who learned the language. In addition,
when online materials were used, students enjoyed the learning and cooperated while learning
the language. Agarwal and Karahanna (2000) also mentioned about Cognitive Absorption in
their study regarding information technology whereby they explained that cognitive absorption
described the situation where technology users were likely to posses positive attitudes towards
target behavior and promote better exploratory use of the technology in their learning.

“…since you mentioned the word like laptop or when you mentioned computer
itself or when we mention the word games, the students’ attention is 100% to
you…”
Teacher S

“…they are going to cooperate because they are going to play games, learning
at the same time.”
Teacher F

Figure 2: The Screenshot of the Teacher Using the Pictures from the Video to Play Games

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According to the researcher observation note, the teacher in this class used the materials from
the video from the Padlet to play Phoneme Games. During the session, the teacher asked each
student the initial phoneme of the picture. The teacher pronounced the word and the students
tried recalling the lesson about phonemes. The teacher scaffolded the students when they were
not able to recall the phoneme and assisted them until they succeed to provide correct phoneme.
This activity was executed during pre-reading and the students cooperated well and paid full
attention throughout the session.

i. Materials Aspect

Category Code Frequency
Material Aspect Interesting activities 6

Table 2: The category, code and its frequency of Material Aspect

Table 2 shows the Material Aspect category, its’ code and frequency obtained from the thematic
analysis of the interviews. The students would benefit from the remedial online materials if the
teachers have positive attitudes towards the usage of technology in the classroom. Keengwe and
Onchwari (2008) stated that the success factors of the integration of technology in teaching and
learning depend on the teachers’ attitudes and beliefs. Hence, the online materials that consists
of many interesting activities that were used by the teachers were able to make students to not
only pay attention towards their learning, but they can actually learn better. A study done by
Beeland (2002) found out that the use of technology made the classroom much more interesting
as more activities can be done by using the technology and it attracts students’ attention making
them more focus towards learning and not easily distracted.

“…when we are using technology, they will focus because there are lots of
graphics, there are lots of movement, sounds, different sounds, music and
graphic that they use certain cartoon characters that they like. So, it’s actually
easy because the students are more focus because they would like to get their
fingers on all that keyboards that they have there.”

Teacher F

“…. I can provide many interactive activities for students for example in online
materials I can find many interesting games, interesting video, pictures so from
that they will enjoy learning.”

Teacher S

Figure 3: The Screenshot of the Singing Activity using YouTube Video 81

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From the video observation, the teacher and the students sang the alphabet song together. The
teacher first demonstrated the singing and followed by the students. In the recording, and through
observation, the students enjoyed the singing activity as the videos from YouTube provided the
music and the students cooperated well during the activity. There was laughter of the students
when they are singing indicating that they were comfortable with the learning environment and
enjoying the learning session.

i. Emotional Aspect

Category Codes Frequency
Emotional Aspect Pupils’ Enjoyment 3
New Environment 1

Table 3: The category, its’ codes and their frequencies of Emotional Aspect

Children today are born as digital native which means they are more interested to use technology.
Hence, it is the duty of the teachers to be updated in understanding the interest of the generation
today. This effort is to capture their attention and thus promotes learning especially among
struggling readers. This statement was supported by Trigwell et. al (1999) whereby, students’
reaction towards learning depend on the teachers’ approaches to their teaching which made the
teaching affected the pupils’ perception. This finding was also supported by Samuel and Abu Bakar
(2006) whereby in their study regarding the use of ICT in English classroom, they discovered
that the use of ICT did not only increase students’ performance in academic achievement but
affected their proficiency due to their enjoyment in their learning mostly because the method and
environment were enhanced in term of variety of online materials, making it more enjoyable and
interesting.

“My pupils look more interested and enjoy because online materials provide
them with interactive activity and at the same time when I saw them happy, as a
teacher we also happy.”

Teacher S

“…you have to let them experience the materials themselves meaning you let
them more hands on activity instead of the traditional classroom…”
Teacher F

82 Figure 4: The screenshot of pupils taking part in guessing game

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Based on the video observation and researcher’s note for the third lesson, during while-reading
activity, the students were asked to take turn in answering the question. However, some of them
were more eager to answer the question ahead of their friends. The students were able to answer
the questions correctly with some of the students needed teacher’s guidance. The session went
well and the students’ engagement towards learning was better compared to their first lesson.
They were more confident to answer the question as they have learned it in previous lesson.

CONCLUSION

The use of online remedial materials in dealing with struggling readers was beneficial as it helped
the teachers in determining and evaluating remedial materials which were appropriate for the
students. The students themselves, gained benefits from this study in general as they were able
to acquire the basic reading skill, from recognizing the alphabets, memorizing the phonemes and
eventually were able to blend the phonemes together. There were few students still struggling
in blending the phonemes, but still able to blend with the teachers’ assistance. This study also
indicated that, the use of technology in English classroom will greatly help students in acquiring
language skills that they need in order to be proficient English learners. The integration of ICT,
will draw students’ attention, making them more focus and contribute to a more fun and engaging
learning environment to learn how to read. Hence, schools and teachers should support the
efforts of using technology in English classroom as it will help students to learn the language
better as their preparation for not only the academic purposes, but also for their future.

REFERENCES

Abbott, M., Walton, C., & Greenwood, C. R. (2002). Research to Practice: Phonemic Awareness
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Agarwal, Ritu and Karahanna, Elena (2000). Time Flies When You’re Having Fun: Cognitive
Absorption and Beliefs about InformationTechnology Usage. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 24, 665-
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Azmi, N. (2017). The benefit of using ICT in the EFL classroom: From perceived utility to potential
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Beeland W. D. Jr (2002). Student Engagement, Visual Learning and Technology: Can Interactive
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Ehri, L. C., and McCormick, S. (1998). Phases of word learning: Implications for instruction with
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Hazita Azman (2016). Implementation and Challenges of English Language Education Reform in
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Zikri Effandy binti Zainudin
Mersing Education District Office
[email protected]

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ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL 2020

ESL Practitioner Journal is a journal published since 2013 by the English Language Teaching
Centre (ELTC), Ministry of Education Malaysia in order to cultivate the research culture among
the English Language educators. It is a compilation of research by the ESL practitioners in

Malaysia. ELTC would like to invite writers to submit an article to our journal.

Theme: Changing Pedagogy in the
21st Century ESL Classroom

Guidelines:

The following guidelines are to be used when submitting papers.

• Opinion articles:

- Discussion of issues and ideas related to current ELT concerns (1500 words).

• Academic articles:

- Original researched articles (5000 words)

• Practical Application articles:

- Strategies, techniques, procedures or lesson plans that have been tried (material
should be available from the author’s website or via email address) (3000 words)

• Ideas that work:

- Original ELT strategies and techniques that have been tried out (1-2 pages).
PowerPoint and lesson material should be available from the author’s website or
via email address) (3000 words).

• Trends and issues related to ELT matters (2000 words).

Format Requirements:
- Microsoft Word format:

• Images and photographs in .jpeg format
• APA format for references and in-text citations
• Author name/s email and article word count to be indicated.
• Font type: Arial
• Font size: 12
• Spacing: 1.5

Submission:

E-mail your article to: [email protected]

Or contact us at: Head of Research and Development Department

English Language Teaching Centre, Ministry of Education Malaysia
Kompleks Pendidikan Nilai, 71760 Bandar Enstek, NEGERI SEMBILAN DARUL KHUSUS

Tel: 06 7979 009 (Dr Khairul Aini Mohamed Jiri) | Tel: 06 7979 163 (Puan Yusnamariah Md Yusop)

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre
Bridging Theory and Practice in ESL Classroom

ESL Practitioner Journal 2019

Volume 2, Issue 7 (Online Version)
is available in December 2019

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ESL PRACTITIONER

English Language Teaching Centre
Ministry of Education Malaysia

Kompleks Pendidikan Nilai,
Bandar Enstek,
71760 Labu, Negeri Sembilan,
MALAYSIA