2

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT,
MATERIALS DESIGN AND
METHODOLOGIES

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CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT,
MATERIALS DESIGN AND
METHODOLOGIES
Trends and Issues

Editors

Ambigapathy Pandian
Thomas Chow Voon Foo
Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail

P ENERBIT UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA

P ULAU P INANG

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© Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2011
 EPUB, 2016

Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia     Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Curriculum development, materials design and methodologies : trends and issues /

editors Ambigapathy Pandian, Thomas Chow Voon Foo,
Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail.

ISBN 978-983-861-493-1 (Print)

e-ISBN 978-967-461-089-0

1. Education–Curricula–Malaysia. 2. Curriculum planning–Malaysia.

3. Educational innovations–Malaysia. I. Ambigapathy Pandian, 1957-.
II. Chow, Thomas Voon Foo. III. Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail.
375.001

Copy Editor: Wan Muhana Abdullah

Cover Designer: Mohammad Ridhwan Jaapar
Proofreader: Norjannah Abdul Rahim
Typesetter: Rosni Habib

Published by Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia (Universiti Sains Malaysia Press),

11800 USM Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
http://www.penerbit.usm.my | penerbit@usm.my
A member of the Malaysian Scholarly Publishing Council (MAPIM).

This e-book is best viewed with iBooks. Penerbit USM shall not be liable for any loss or
damage caused by any changes due to usage of any application.

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 Contents
Preface
Introduction
Abbreviations

1. Innovative Ideas to Promote Creative Literacy Practices

Sarjit Kaur & Malini Ganapathy
2. Innovative Strategies in English Teaching – Learning in the Rural Context
Shobha Shinde
3. The Use of Adapted Movies from Novels (The Kite Runner and The Namesake)
as a Way to Stimulate Reading for Malaysian Students
Saabdev Kumar Sabapathy & Swagata Sinha Roy

4. Role-Play: Taking the Line of Least Resistance

Siti Rafizah Fatimah Osman & Mohamad Jafre Zainol Abidin

5. A New Horizon in Writing Classes: Increasing Learners’ Autonomy

Leily Ziglary & Rouzbeh Khalili

6. Language Learning Strategies: Current Issues

Nafiseh Salehi & Rahim Kaviani

7. Pedagogy of the Heart: Understanding Resistance in the English Language

Classroom
Mariah Ibrahim & Mohamad Jafre Zainol Abidin

8. Students’ and Teachers’ Preferences of ESL Classroom Activities

Punitha Vayaravasamy & Anna Christina Abdullah

9. Innovative Ways of Teaching English and Foreign Languages

Peggy Tan Pek Tao

10. What Do They Really Need? Developing Reading Activities to Explore the

Elements in Literary Texts
Collin Jerome
11. The Teaching of Writing: Looking at the Real Classroom Scenes
Mohd. Saat Abbas, Suzihana Shaharan & Yahya Che Lah

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12. Feedback in Process Genre-Based Approach to Teaching Technical Writing
Shahrina Md Nordin, Norhisham Mohammad & Ena Bhattacharyya
13. Lesson Plan and Its Importance in English Language Classroom
Sohel Ahmed Chowdhury
14. Unteaching Strategies: An Approach Based on Error Analysis, Learners’
Learning Strategies and Task-Based Instruction
Ma’ssoumeh Bemani Naeini & Ambigapathy Pandian
15. Letting Communicative Purpose Direct Teaching of Grammar: Using the Text-
Based Approach
Su-Hie Ting & Mahanita Mahadhir

16. Annotations in Multimedia On-Screen Text in Comparison to the Printed Text in

Enhancing Learners’ of Process-Based Expository Text in Malaysia
Saraswathy Thurairaj

17. Transforming ESL Teaching by Embedding Information and Web Literacies into

the Classroom
Sarjit Kaur & Wong Chiew Lee

18. Scary Spiders and Beautiful Butterflies: A Creative Multimedia Approach to

Develop Information Literacy Skills in the Integrated Science and English
Classroom
Inranee R. Liew

19. The ESL Curriculum as an Additional Resource for Making Meaning

Amy B.M. Tsui
20. Speaking in the Language Curriculum: The Challenges of Presenting
Mohamed Abu Bakar

21. GOLDEN RICE: Using Simulations in EAP Classes

Shashi Naidu

22. Are the Teaching Practices of Preschool Teachers in Accordance with the

Principles and Learning Components of the National Preschool Curriculum?
Lily Law

23. The Contribution of Language Planning on Military Terminology

Mohammad Alshehab

24. The EFL Constructivist Classroom

Hosna Hosseini

25. The Role of EFL Teachers’ Knowledge in Current EFL Curriculum Reform: An

Understanding from a Reconstructionist Perspective

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 Zhang Xiaohong
26. Using Materials Development to Bridge the Gap Between Theory and Practice
Brian Tomlinson
27. Teething Problems in Materials Development for Teaching Social Interaction
Skills in English
Ting Su Hie & Diana Carol

28. Principles to Follow When Adopting and Adapting Textbooks and Materials

Earl D. Wyman

29. Politeness Strategies as an Incorporated Component in Material Development

Norhisham Mohamed & Alauyah Johari
List of Contributors

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 Preface
This book provides a selection of innovative strategies and creative ways of teaching
English. Teachers must bear in mind that there is no single “best” method of teaching
language. One should never limit oneself to a single method only. A teaching method
which may be appropriate with one class may not necessarily work as well for another
class or even the same class at another time. This book, Curriculum Development,
Materials Design and Methodologies: Trends and Issues consists of selected paper
contributions in a series of international conferences, is geared to provide a glimpse of
the innovative strategies and inspiring ways of teaching English that are employed by
practicing languages teachers in their language classrooms.
We would like to thank Associate Professor Dr. Koo Yew Lie whose scholarly comments
and suggestions have benefited the authors in the revision of their papers. Our
appreciation also goes to the authors who have shared their ideas and made the collection
of papers possible for publication. Our appreciation also goes to colleagues at the School
of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia for the assistance in
typing, compiling, proofreading and editing. Finally, we extend our heartfelt appreciation
to the Director and staff of Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia who have assisted us in
publishing this proceedings.

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 Abbreviations
ASA Association for Social Advancement
BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
CALL computer-assisted language learning
CALLA Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach
CK contextual knowledge
CLM Constructivist Learning Model
CLT communicative language teaching
C-R consciousness-raising
EA error analysis
EAP English for Academic Purposes
ECS English Curriculum Standards
EFL English as a Foreign Language
ELT English Language Teaching
ESL English as a Second Language
FOE Friends of Earth
FTA face threatening act
GTM grammar translation method
IRRI International Rice Research Institute
KBSM Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah
L2 second language
LP language planning
MOE Ministry of Education
MTS Multidimensional Test of Self-concept
MUET Malaysian University English Test
NGO non-governmental organization
PCK pedagogical content knowledge
PMR Penilaian Menengah Rendah
SCT social-cultural theory
SLA second language acquisition
TB task-based
TBLT task-based language teaching
TESL Teaching English as a Second Language
TG transformational grammar
UGC University Grants Commision
UiTM Universiti Teknologi MARA

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UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Educational Fund
Unimas Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
UTAR Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
V+N verb + noun
V+P verb + preposition
WHO World Health Organization

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 Introduction

AMBIGAPATHY PANDIAN, THOMAS CHOW VOON FOO AND

SHAIK ABDUL MALIK MOHAMED ISMAIL

The history of language teaching reveals that teachers have always been searching for
different solutions to problems encountered in their classrooms and the search for the
ideal methodology is a seemingly unending and ongoing quest. Methodologies and
curriculum designs are very much a product of ideas but ideas are always in a state of
flux. What is today touted as the latest innovation may become yesterday’s news in a very
short time. Many new methodologies, curriculum designs and approaches could be just
rediscoveries of old methods seen under a different light. There is, as such, no single
“best” method of teaching language and to be a successful teacher, one should never limit
oneself to a single method only. A teaching method which may be appropriate with one
class may not necessarily work as well for another class or even the same class at
another time. Teachers often apply methods which are very personal to them – a
collection of time proven teaching techniques perhaps or some tricks of the trade that
have been honed with their professional experiences. In this book Curriculum
Development, Materials Design and Methodologies: Trends and Issues, selected paper
contributions in a series of international conferences are included in this compilation to
provide a privileged glimpse of the innovative strategies, interesting ideas and inspiring
ways of teaching English that are employed by the teachers in their ESL Classrooms.
The descriptions and discussions of different methods and classroom practices in this
book represent the teachers’ thoughts and inquiries into their professional practice and
their reflections and musings on what they do and why they do it. Very much of it is
driven by their passion to try new practices in the continual search for the best technique
or method for their students according to the context and conditions of their teaching
which are very often unique to each other. The main aim of this book however, is not to
provide the framework of theories and principles of teaching to answer pedagogical
questions but rather to encourage the reader to bring in his or her own experiences to fill
in the gaps and to see the learning possibilities in the diversity of language teaching
methods. Even more important, is the objective which steers this book and that is, to
promote thinking about language use in teaching. Teachers who make the effort to sit back
and reflect on their language teaching methods and techniques are more likely to provide
special learning opportunities to help motivate their students.

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Organization of the Chapters
The chapters featured in this book showcase the different perspectives on the current
methodology and pedagogy in classroom practices. While some writers have recorded
their initial explorations and developing trends, others have chosen to discuss and
propose fresh perspectives on traditional approaches. The topics also include research
on different aspects of second-language learning. The titles of the chapters are arranged
around the six core topics that are featured in this book.
Teaching is not simply a theoretical act where teachers apply universal principles and
concepts when they engage their students in the classrooms and hope that learning will
take place automatically. On the contrary, it is very often a very practical act that takes
place in specific classrooms with groups of unique students. The choice of what teaching
strategy to use is very often, a complex decision. Decisions about what teaching
strategies to apply are often guided by rules of practice, values and beliefs that teachers
have accumulated through past teaching experiences. Therefore, teaching strategies must
not be taken out of context and treated as a universal that must be applied to facilitate
learning. The first five chapters, present a number of practical and innovative teaching
strategies, that include both techniques borrowed from language teaching as well as
innovative ideas. These include using language effectively, using a variety of interesting
activities to engage students, building literacy skills and creating a learning community.
The innovative teaching strategies have been contextualized as part of the teachers’
repertoire of practical knowledge about teaching practices. The teachers have drawn
upon a combination of diverse theories of instruction to make important decisions about
teaching and to suggest practical and innovative classroom strategies based on their
teaching experience and knowledge.
In Chapters 6 to 9, the writers reflect on teaching strategies and language learning issues
and offer suggestions and even present alternative perspectives in the attempt to perhaps
challenge and reshape long held views and beliefs regarding language teaching and
learning practices. Reflection is not a spontaneous process, therefore teachers should
constantly and conscientiously engage in the practice. An empowered teacher is one who
takes the time to reflect in order to gain deeper insight into teaching issues that happen in
the class. In these chapters, we see that when teachers take the time to engage in
reflection, they stand to gain a deeper understanding of their own teaching style and
ultimately, this leads to greater effectiveness as a teacher. Other benefits include the
justification of a teacher’s personal philosophy, beneficial challenges to traditionally
held belief systems, the recognition of teaching as a professional practice, and respect for
diversity in the application of theory in classroom practice. The education system as a
whole would benefit greatly if teachers would question themselves, their teaching
strategies and their efficiency as subject teachers. And this can only happen if teachers
would reflect on their practice.
A close analysis of the older books on language teaching would reveal many similarities
with present day language teaching methodology. That is not in itself surprising because

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methodologies are after all a product of their times, as educational principles and
concepts are conceived from the ideas of past eras. Many new approaches are in fact,
rediscoveries of old methods that have been redefined and elucidated. In Chapters 10 to
15, teachers re-explore and revisit time honoured basics, principles and practices in the
teaching of language skills.
Chapters 16 and 18 seek to explore some multimedia ideas in the teaching of English.
Language teaching education has entered a new phase where students interact with each
other and the world via the computer. Hence the role of computers and the emergence of
technological innovations compel us to look at a multimedia approach to English
language teaching.
Teachers are often involved in the design and development of language courses and
course materials for their learners. Generally, it is assumed by many that designing and
developing the courses and course materials are part of a teacher’s responsibilities. In
reality, these tasks require a deep understanding of the curriculum and material
development theories and strategies. As a matter of fact, they involve a wide range of
stages and theoretical frameworks, which include, the information seeking stage,
establishing the relevant goals, examining existing programmes, matching goals and
instructional planning, determining the structure of the syllabus, and other considerations
in order to construct a good and sound language learning curriculum and the relevant
materials. In addition, these initiatives must be incorporated into the learners’ contexts.
For instance, the school structure, available technology and human factors need to be
thoroughly examined in order for a successful learning process to take place. Curriculum
and material development initiatives also need to address learners’ mindsets and their
mental preparedness to accept changes. All of these elements are crucial and in line with
the current language teaching and learning principles. Chapters 19 to 25 discuss relevant
theories and issues related to curriculum design in the ELT/EFL context.
Language classrooms are full of teachers with experience and skill in helping learners to
acquire language but with very little idea of how to make their teaching as principled and
effective as possible. Unfortunately they are either unaware of the theories in the
literature or they are aware of the theories but do not know how to apply them.
Consequently, the best way of ensuring that what teachers and learners do in the language
classroom is appropriate, principled and effective is to involve teachers in materials
development. Chapters 26 to 29 discuss the importance of teachers’ involvement in the
development of teaching materials and the selection of the right materials to achieve
learning outcomes in order to meet the diverse needs of language learners.

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1 Innovative Ideas to Promote Creative Literacy Practices
SARJIT KAUR AND MALINI GANAPATHY

INTRODUCTION

In today’s era of digital technology and globalization, demands on students have

increased simultaneously with the real world, which results in the need for students to
possess higher-order reasoning skills to solve complex problems. This is indeed a
difficult time for ESL teachers. We are beset by insistent demands to teach our students
the basics while having to improve their literacy and keeping abreast with rapid
technological advancements in the field of education. As stated by Newby et al. (2000, p.
6), students of present times are to be nurtured as “proactive participants in learning,
actively seeking ways to analyse, question, interpret and understand their changing
environment”. As such, literacy today is not confined to students’ abilities to read, write
and be numerate but it also requires them to possess skills to communicate and interpret
meaning through various technologies. Kern and Warschauer (2005, p. 1) stress that in the
context of language education, “computer networks make it possible for learners to
access or publish texts and multimedia materials and to extend their communicative
experience to worlds far beyond the classroom”. Fast-pace technological innovation has
resulted in multiple forms of literacy associated with the nature of communication,
information and multimedia technologies. These increasingly complex demands influence
society to take on a paradigm shift from a traditional working-based society to a
knowledge society as a result of social diversity, globalization of economies, cultures,
workplaces and the impact of information and communication technologies. Therefore,
Pandian (2003, p. 40) argues that teachers should be “motivated to create new and
creative pedagogical methods”. He points out that as professionals, teachers need to
continually keep abreast with the latest developments in their profession. In the English
syllabus, literacy is viewed as a social practice where students will require a wider
repertoire of literacy practices (Gee, 1990; Kress, 1999; Baynham, 1995; New London
Group, 1996; Pandian, 2005; Burrell, 2005).
Kern (2006, p. 6) asserts that these educators support the notion of “multiple literacies
which refer to the dynamic, culturally and historically situated practices of using and
interpreting diverse written and spoken texts to fulfil particular social purposes”. Luke
(1997, p. 1) reiterates that “literacy teaching is always first and foremost a social
practice which incorporates collaborative practices and cultural diversity”. In this light,
teachers must equip students with literacy practices in a meaningful and integrated
approach that encompasses print and multimodal texts to teach the four basic skills that

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entail reading, writing, speaking and listening as the best method for developing the
mastery of ESL. To be literate in today’s society highlights the notion of possessing skills
to engage in a range of increasingly diverse and complex texts and technologies, that is, to
be multiliterate.
In light of such developments, one diverse group of researchers in education has
examined how changes in pedagogy and the economy relate to the development of
“multiliteracies” among students in schools. The New London Group (1996) comprised
researchers in education, sociolinguistics, psychology and sociology who were
concerned with determining pedagogies that can provide students with access to jobs in
the new economy while at the same time help students to be critically engaged with the
social forces that shape their different social worlds. The researchers begin with the
premise that young people must have opportunities to learn to represent ideas in different
modalities, “much broader than language alone” (New London Group, 1996, p. 64).
Students engage with different texts according to the context such as web-based stories,
interactive stories, hyper narrative computer games, internet, podcasting, newspapers, e-
mail, text messaging and web log. These new practices fundamentally change
perspectives of students’ learning process in the classroom as they are being integrated as
part of the global world through the mass media, Internet and the multiplicity of
communication channels and social networking. Essentially, “what teachers understand
both about content and students, shapes how judiciously they select from texts and
materials and how effectively they present these materials in their lessons” (Pandian
2004, p. 171). Kalantzis and Cope (2005, p. 3) stress that:

Traditional classrooms which worked well when learners were destined to belong to
traditional workplaces and traditional bureaucratic education system was well suited
to the development of compliant personalities but this system cannot provide society
and economy in a globalized world of the twenty-first century.

In the present digital era, the interplay between language and ICT structural components
beneficially affects the language learning potential of students and promotes acquisition
of electronic literacy (Burrell, 2005) which is seen as a convergence of computer skills
with traditional and other types of literacies within the pedagogy of multiliteracies. New
and innovative technology has resulted in changes and challenges in education, suggest
new ways of teaching and learning. With the expanding variety of texts accessible to
students, literacy repertoires for students must also consider elements of print, still and
moving images, video and sound. In addressing these new challenges, ESL students
require new approaches to understand literacies used in making meanings from
multimodal communication elements. To describe the range of different literacies, the
New London Group (2000) coined the term multiliteracies. Responding to the changing
dynamics of new times, teachers can adopt a pedagogy of multiliteracies which focuses
on enhancing students’ abilities of conceptualizing, experiencing, applying and analysing
multimodal texts involving the elements of linguistic, visual, auditory, gestural and spatial
designs (Kalantzis & Cope, 2001).

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The first part of the paper gives an overview of the multiliteracies pedagogy that
supplements literacy practices in the classroom. The second part presents some of the
innovative strategies that can be used to challenge ESL teachers to rethink and reshape the
kinds of textual practices that they can engage in, as part of their classroom practices to
encourage learner engagement among their students.

THE MULTILITERACIES APPROACH

Arguably, today’s classroom settings of students result in diversity where there exists the
“challenge of different learning styles, greater differences in background experiences and
varied home life settings” (Newby et al., 2000, p. 31). Within the realm of such contexts,
teachers and students are confronted with complex learning problems. Basically, the New
London Group argues that the notion of pedagogy must be viewed as a “design, and that
the curriculum plays the role of designing social futures…where teachers and educators
play the role of designers in the learning process and environments” (Cope & Kalantzis,
2000, p. 19). The demands of the contemporary working environment are influenced by
the growing trends of information and communication technology which have altered the
criteria for fulfilling job employment. To respond to these changes in work, public and
personal lives, researchers associated with the New London Group suggest that literacy
pedagogy must integrate new conceptions of design and meaning-making. The concept of
design, guides the New London Group’s understanding of what it requires to become
multiliterate. They stress that:

[W]e are both inheritors of patterns and conventions of meaning and at the same time
active designers of meaning. And, as designers of meaning, we are designers of social
futures – workplace futures, public futures, and community futures. (New London
Group, 1996, p. 65)

“Design” is the key concept for the theory of multiliteracies. When adopting the role as a
designer, the individual is both the receiver and creator of meaning. As designers of
meaning, human beings are designers of social futures. As the New London Group (Cope
& Kalantzis, 2000, p. 73) describes it:

The notion of design connects powerfully to the sort of creative intelligence the best
practitioners need in order to be able, continually, redesign their activities in the very
act of practice. It connects well to the idea that learning and productivity are the
results of the designs (the structures) of complex systems of people, environments,
technology, beliefs and texts.

Thus, the multiliteracies approach encourages the teaching and learning process to
connect to real world skills that are vital to be acquired by students, in order to function
as a knowledgeable society. When teachers adopt this notion of Design advocated in the
multiliteracies approach, learning outcomes are enhanced through motivation, as learning
is creatively structured in the form of activities that emphasize the notion of design in the
ESL classroom. Design refers to the concept of an idea that a person is both an inheritor

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of patterns and conventions of meaning while at the same time, an active designer of
meaning (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000). In discussing this approach, the multiliteracies
pedagogy interprets any semiotic activity, like reading or writing texts, as a matter of
design. Three concepts about design are central to the New London Group’s ideas about
what students need to learn. Design involves three elements which include “available
designs”, “designing” and “the redesigned”. The relationship between available designs,
designing and the redesigned which communicates the idea of meaning-making as a
process of designing is illustrated in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1 The process of meaning making

Source: Adapted from The New London Group (2000, pp. 19–23)

This multiliteracies framework is based upon a particular theory of discourse where

semiotic activities are viewed as a creative application and combination of conventions
(resources or available designs) that, in the process of design, transforms at the same
time as it reproduces these conventions (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000). Available designs
refer to the available resources for meaning that students and teachers have to choose
from once they enter a learning context, such as languages or other semiotic systems and
conventions related to them. These include discourses, styles, genres, dialects and voices
that intertwine through intertextual relationships. The next element of the meaning-making
process, designing, promotes the act of working with available designs which involve the
creative use of old materials. In light of this, activities in the ESL classroom like reading,
listening, writing, speaking and visual belong to available designs as these skills are
repeatedly used and recontextualised when students engage with materials for activities
during the lesson. At the next stage that is designing, students as meaning-makers remake
themselves in the event of creatively producing new meanings and resources. The final
stage is constituted as the redesigned when students receive patterns of meaning based on
historically and culturally related patterns of meaning but at the same time meaning is
transformed to become new available designs (New London Group 1996, pp. 19–23). In
this framework, the designing process can be conceptualized as an active and dynamic
meaning-making process related to existing resources of meaning and various
sociocultural dimensions. Thus, the multiliteracies framework requires the use of learning
experiences that involve students in exploring existing multimodal texts, designing new
texts (creating, recreating or recontextualising) and redesigning existing texts
(reconstructing or renegotiating meaning).
Designs form the basis of what the New London Group’s researchers refer to as
metalanguages or grammars of meaning-making. The six metalanguages identified act as

18
tools for describing and explaining patterns of meaning which is vital in today’s learning
process as students engage in new forms of literacy practices that involve integration of
texts that exist in various information and communication technologies. The New London
Group (1996) has identified six design elements to describe and explain patterns of
meanings that include “linguistic design”, “visual design”, “audio design”, “gestural
design”, “spatial design” and “multimodal design” as illustrated in Figure 1.2.
Figure 1.2 helps to communicate meanings through the six design elements when students
engage in texts that are multimodal in nature. The linguistic design emphasizes features of
texts which the New London Group (1996) categorize as a form of checklist that
encourages “critical language awareness”. Linguistic meaning places language in cultural
contexts. Delivery is related to intonation, stress, rhythm, accent, etc. Modality reflects
the nature of the producer’s commitment to the message in a clause. Transitivity refers to
the types of process and participants in the clause. Vocabulary and metaphors are the
word choice, positioning and meaning. Nominalization of process describes the turning
actions, qualities and assessments. Information structures show the way information is
presented in clauses and logical relations between clauses and sentences. Local
coherence relations involve the cohesion between clauses and logical relations between
clauses. Global coherence relations connect the idea to the overall organizational
properties of text like genres. Visual meanings refer to seeing and viewing of images,
page layouts and screen formats. Audio meanings include hearing and sound effects of
music. Gestural meanings relate to body language and sensuality. Spatial meanings take
into account space and place like the interpretation of environmental spaces and
architectural spaces. Multimodal meanings considers the application of all the modes in
dynamic relations (New London Group, 1996, pp. 25–28). Figure 1.2 illustrates the six
design elements proposed by the New London Group (2000) which relates to interpreting
the growing range of texts available to students today as a result of new and emerging
innovative technologies.

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 Figure 1.2 The six design elements
Source: Adapted from The New London Group (1996, p. 26)

Using the Multiliteracies Approach to Promote Practical Pedagogical

Strategies in the ESL Classroom
In the society of the 21st century, we are moving beyond the information age into the
knowledge society. This move has implications relevant to all countries and to all fields,
especially education, where educators play an important role in shaping learners to
possess the required skills in acquiring, working with and generating information in a
variety of forms using a range of media and technologies. An influential factor in this
change has been the development and integration of new information and communication
technologies into institutions, workplaces and communities. The framework for literacy
teaching in the 21st century proposed by the New London Group (1996) advocates a
pedagogy of multiliteracies in light of changing times:

In this book, we attempt to broaden this understanding of literacy and literacy

teaching and learning to include negotiating a multiplicity of discourses. We seek to
highlight two principal aspects of this multiplicity. First we want to extend the idea
and scope of literacy pedagogy to account for the context of our culturally and
linguistically diverse and increasingly globalised societies; to account for the
multifarious cultures that interrelate and the plurality of texts that circulate. Second,
we argue that literacy pedagogy now must account for the burgeoning variety of text
forms associated with information and multimedia technologies. (Cope & Kalantzis,
2000, p. 9)

Cope and Kalantzis (2000) stress that the pedagogy of multiliteracies acts as a bridge to
supplement current literacy practices carried out by ESL teachers. The New London
Group proposes four factors that need to be included into literacy pedagogy that they
claim “do not constitute a linear hierarchy but are related in complex ways” (Cope &

20
Kalantzis, 2000, p. 32). For the contemporary world, literacy now comes to mean more
than just the ability to read, write and be numerate. It involves, at all levels, the ability to
use and communicate in a diverse range of technologies. Since the computer and the
Internet became mainstream in the early 1990s, its importance and centrality in
communication has become unassailable. Therefore, images and sounds have become just
as important as words and numbers in their ability to communicate ideas.
The first factor for literacy pedagogy involves “situated practise” which is the doing
stage that allows students to practise in authentic learning situations which require them
to use the designs of meaning in their lives and experiences to learn to collaborate with
partners, negotiate complex points and critically evaluate information as it applies to
particular meaningful contexts. Such authentic situations enable students to cultivate
technological literacies meaningfully. The assessment for this practice is “What works,
for instance, a problem solved, albeit intuitively, with an expert’s help, by looking up
answers, with scaffolded assistance” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2000, p. 244).
The second factor is “overt instruction” which is the reflecting stage when students are
given the opportunity to reflect by describing the patterns in available designs of meaning
that includes the resources that were found and used to make meaning. Besides, they are
encouraged to discuss the process of designing and the ways in which meaning is
transformed to redesigned. Their discussion is guided by the teacher to critically analyse
the new text in terms of content, coherence, organization, pragmatics, syntax and lexis of
communication. The assessment for this literacy pedagogy is when “the students have to
describe the processes and patterns in available designs of meaning and the processes of
designing in a meaningful way” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2000, p. 246).
“Critical framing” is the next element which is also the reflecting stage where the
teacher’s overt role is to help students critically interpret information found in online
networks that includes cross-cultural communication and collaboration in a social
context. The students at this stage view the ways in which the design fits in the local and
global meanings. Assessment for this pedagogy is when “students show that they know
what the design is for, what it does and why it does it” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2000, p. 247).
The fourth factor for literacy pedagogy is “transformed practise”, also known as the
doing stage where it enables students to apply the design in a different context, making a
new design. Therefore, students increase their practice of ability on a material to produce
new materials based on prior practice, instructions and critical framing. This involves
working towards higher-quality outcomes within particular contexts and also to transfer
what has been learned for application in new social and cultural contexts. Assessment is
based on “Good reproduction (if that’s the game); or the extent and value of creativity in
the transformation; aptness of the transformation or transfer to another context (does it
work?)” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2000, p. 248).
Pandian (2003, p. 66) stresses that the process of learning is taking new directions as
“the intertwining of literacy and new media technologies is also creating a new multi-
channelled reading and learning environment where people study and connect with one

21
another across classroom, community and country borders in new and exciting ways”.
Thus, students learn best together in a classroom that connects to real world practices and
where elements of technology is incorporated in literacy pedagogy. The multiliteracies
approach seeks to encourage students working together collaboratively, discussing,
researching, sharing and learning from each other in a climate of being aware of social,
cultural, political and historical contexts that are integral in our daily lives. Basically,
this approach integrates higher-order skills in the teaching of ESL. Warschauer (2003, p.
3) asserts that “literacy is acting as a gatekeeper for accessing and using technology”. In
relation to that, Burrell’s (2005) adopts a broader perspective on e-literacy within the
pedagogy of multiliteracies where ESL learners need to develop knowledge about the
linguistic, visual and digital meaning-making systems together with acquiring practical
computer skills and social practices connected to these processes. He reports on a
theoretical study using computer-activated tasks and the study “could be classified as
unique as it is the first-known attempt to present and evaluate a method of delivering e-
literacy in the ESL context from a pedagogic perspective” (Burrell, 2005, pp. 42–62).
Burrell’s (2005) research outcome suggests that computer-activated tasks have been
proven to be beneficial for acquiring Information and Communication skills as well as
for facilitating English Language acquisition. This study revealed that PowerPoint
presentations are a creative and efficient way of acquiring new literacies. Computer
mediated tasks (e.g., emails, weblogs) provide additional scope for use in computer-
activated tasks design, not only as sources of performance but rather as thinking devices
to help students and teachers to collaboratively generate new meanings. This interplay
between English and ICT components creates an authentic environment of real life tasks.
A society driven by the dynamic workings of technology encourages educators to bridge
the divide between technology and literacy for effective practices in the ESL classroom
to effectively achieve the desired learning outcomes. Appropriate literacy teaching in
today’s world is pivotal as the world is construed a global village yet one in which local
diversity is increasingly important.

Innovative Literacy Practices for Learner Engagement in the ESL

Classroom
When students are involved with literacy practices in the ESL classroom, they must
engage themselves in tasks that the teacher has structured. The process of being engaged
has important implications for classroom assessment, students’ self-assessment and self-
evaluation (Chapman, 2000). The multiliteracies approach is a platform for promoting
important innovative strategies that can be used to challenge ESL teachers to rethink and
reshape the kinds of textual practices that they can engage in, as part of their classroom
practices to encourage learner engagement among their students.
The “learning by design” is an approach that encourages the processes of recording,
reflecting upon and sharing teaching and learning environments. It is a “rigorous
framework” for the purpose of engaging students in the classroom and creating effective

22
learning outcomes (Kalantzis & Cope, 2004, p. 32). The learning by design pedagogy is
based on:
The latest theories and practices of effective pedagogy and based on the evidence of
creative pedagogy, and based on the evidence of an extensive program of classroom
research and development…creating and sharing learning processes. (Kalantzis &
Cope, 2004, pp. 20–38)

The designs for learning framework consists of a variety of pedagogy that exists in the
form of knowledge processes which comprises factors that apply when planning for
pivotal learning experiences and outcomes. In this framework, pedagogy is
conceptualized as “the stuff of knowing and knowing is what connects the stuff of the
mind with the stuff of the world. Knowing is defined the manner of acting, thinking and
meaning”. There are various dimensions in knowing that is viewed as “movements” or
“moments in the learning process” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2004, p. 39).
In this designs framework, when a sequence of knowledge movements or processes has
achieved a certain degree, even if only momentary, it is termed as pedagogy. This basic
unit of capacity which could be in the form of a chapter in a textbook or a sequence of
lessons which is referred as a learning element. The learning element template has been
developed as a scaffold to assist educators in the publication of a short curriculum
resource. A learning element is defined as “a coherent bundle of learning experiences,
learning tasks or activities, such as a lesson or a short string of lessons” (Kalantzis &
Cope, 2004, p. 64).
When teachers adopt this learning element, they will experience different set of
pedagogical practices if compared to the traditional lesson plan that is currently drawn to
reflect the stages of the teaching and learning process in the classroom. The learning
element is an avenue for promoting creative learning experiences that connect the real
world experience to the classroom and this sets an advantage for the teacher in achieving
the particular learning outcomes as students are motivated through the various activities
that are created according to the knowledge movements or knowledge processes. The
learning element level consists of core knowledge movements. The learning element is a
coherent bundle of learning activities and tasks, such as a lesson or a short string of
lessons. A learning element can be documented as a teacher resource, a learner resource,
or both in parallel. It is the equivalent of a textbook chapter or lesson plan. In trying to
map teachers’ current practice, the multiliteracies pedagogy provides for relevant and
meaningful avenues for teachers to collobarate online with teachers all over the globe.
Sharing resources of learning is always welcomed by ESL teachers as this makes
teaching less of a solitary event. The learning element then is a template of teaching
lessons that have been tried by teachers elsewhere and it provides for a useful and time-
saving mechanism for other teachers to follow as a form of reference. No doubt, the
design of classroom practices might need to be altered to suit the learners’ needs, context
and cultural diversity. However, the pedagogical schemas or mental maps of sample
lessons can greatly assist teachers in upgrading their professionalism in teaching. The
learning element is a practical design for learning in today’s digital age as aptly noted by

23
Pandian (2005, p. 206) when he says that “the teaching profession in the new millennium
has taken a more challenging task as in order to breed students that are knowledgeable
and informed, teachers require more than the traditional teaching method”. When learning
takes place, there are different “movements or moments in the learning process” which
are explicit as represented by Figure 1.3. When the lessons are in progress, if the teacher
is able to identify the knowledge processes, learner engagement can be determined. Thus,
the teacher is able to gauge if the learning outcomes are achieved. There are different
aspects of the conceptual framework that reflects the knowledge processes which can be
identified as pedagogy that reflects a conscious action.

Figure 1.3 Knowledge processes in the multiliteracies pedagogy

Source: Adapted from Kalantzis and Cope (2004, p. 30)

The choices of pedagogy are defined and illustrated as follows in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Choices of pedagogy in the multiliteracies approach

24
Source: Adapted from Kalantzis and Cope (2004)

The learning element which can be published as one or both in parallel editions is
described as follows in Table 1.2.

25
Table 1.2 The learning element

Source: Adapted from Kalantzis and Cope (2004)

Stages in Producing a Learning Element as a Pedagogical Strategy for

Practice
A lesson plan using the multiliteracies approach refers to a series of lessons that takes
into consideration the students’ and teachers’ linguistic and cultural diversity as
explicated in Table 1.3. Based on the multiliteracies approach, the teachers will be
required to write up their series of lessons planned and in a template, which would then
be downloaded and published on a website bank to be shared with other teachers and
contributors. The following lesson plan shows explicitly, the various stages of
movements in the framework of the knowledge processes.
The lessons planned using the knowledge processes as explicated in Table 1.4 promote
various pedagogical practices of experiencing, conceptualizing, analysing and applying.
There are different pedagogical emphases and different sequences of learning for
different learners and different areas of knowledge. This is due to the idea of learners
possessing different degrees of ability and origin from diverse background. Students have
their own lifeworld experiences and these differences can be transformed into new
experiences for the other students which results in finally achieving equilibrium in the
classroom.

26
Table 1.3 Multiliteracies framework as a guideline for planning learning objectives

27
 Table 1.4 A sample knowledge process model using the multiliteracies pedagogy

CONCLUSION

A multiliterate teacher understands and realizes the potential of the multiliteracies

approach that integrates new forms of literacies associated with information,
communication and multimedia technologies which appropriately relate to culturally-
specific forms of literacy connecting to pluralistic societies and a global economy. This
approach creates exciting and creative ways in which technology interacts and
intertwines with the teaching profession. Besides that, promotes classroom learning that
includes designing learning which is the designing of learning experiences based on
collaborative small group activities, individual independent work and common whole
class tasks. As ESL teachers and teacher educators, we can bridge the gap between the
expanding notions of multimodal literacies that encompass print, visual, digital, audio
and oral with pedagogical practices. Brown (2000, p. 160) is of the view that
“motivation is probably the most frequently used catch-all term for explaining the success
or failure of virtually any complex task. It is easy in second language learning to claim
that a learner will be successful with the proper motivation”. In sum, students are
motivated to attempt real life endeavors in connecting literacy practices in the classrooms
when the teacher integrates technology as a tool to supplement pedagogy. The role of

28
technology as a supplementary tool in teaching is inevitable as “technology has allowed
individuals to obtain, assemble, analyze and communicate information in more detail”
(Newby et al., 2000, p. 6). Faulkner (2005, p. 108) stresses that “in order to make
education meaningful for students, teachers must recognize students’ competence with out-
of school private literacies”. Similarly, within the Malaysian landscape of ESL teaching,
Pandian (2004, p. 169) further highlights the evident fact that “greater opportunities for
access and meaningful use of ICT among teachers and students will enhance the
qualitative transformation of teaching and learning at school settings, in the workplace
and in the wider community”. The multimodal and multidisciplinary aspects of the
multiliteracies approach act as a platform for ESL teachers to creatively design their
lessons to arouse interest in their students and successfully achieve the desired learning
outcomes. So literacy practices in the classroom have to take into account all the aspects
of knowledge dimension for the students. Consequently, this will aid in teaching and
training students to confront the realities of a globalized and knowledge based society
that is constantly evolving, demanding and challenging.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Longman.
Brown, D.H. (2000) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. New York: Longman.
Burrell, M. (2005) The efficacy of Computer-Activated Tasks (CATs) for teaching e-literacy in
the ESOL context. Journal of e-Literacy 2: 42–62.
Chapman, E. (2000) Some general guidelines for monitoring student engagement rates.
http://ibpp.edfac.usyd.edu.au/docs.engage.html (accessed 20 September 2006).
Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (2004) The Designs Guide. Melbourne: Common Ground
Publishing.
Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (Eds.). (2000) Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design
of Social Futures. Melbourne: Macmillan.
Faulkner, V. (2005) Adolescent literacies within the middle years of schooling: A case study of
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Gee, J.P. (2000) New people in new worlds: Networks, the new capitalism and schools. In B.
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Kalantzis, M. and Cope, B. (Eds.). (2001) Transformations in Language and Learning:
Perspectives on Multiliteracies. Melbourne: Common Ground.
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Chakravarthy, P. Kell and S. Kaur. (Eds.), Strategies and Practices for Improving
Learning and Literacy, 1–19. Serdang: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.
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Kern, R. and Warschauer, M. (2005) Theory and practice of networked-based language
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Newby, J.T., Stepich, D.A., Lehman, D.J. and Russell. (2000) Instructional Technology for
Teaching and Learning: Designing Instruction Integrating Computers and Using Media.
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Cope and M. Kalantzis (Eds.), Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of
Social Futures, 9–38. London: Routledge.
Pandian, A. (2003) Literacy behaviour in the new Malaysian literacy environment. In A.
Pandian, G. Chakravarthy and P. Kell (Eds.), New Literacies, New Practices and New
Times, 62–76. Serdang: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.
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Pandian, A. (2005) IT Challenges: Practise and views of language teachers. In A. Pandian, G.
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 Innovative Strategies in English Teaching – Learning in
2 the Rural Context
SHOBHA SHINDE

INTRODUCTION

In these days of globalization and opening up of the market economy, English is a symbol
of people’s aspirations for quality in education. English is regarded as a key to social,
professional and economic opportunities. Many state governments in India have made
English a compulsory subject from Standard-I. The Prime Minister of India, Dr.
Manmohan Singh constituted the eight member National Knowledge Commission on 13th
June 2005, headed by Sam Pitroda, a communications expert with the main responsibility
of advising the government on matters related to institutions of knowledge production,
knowledge use and knowledge dissemination.
Emphasizing the significance of language as a tool for developing a knowledge society,
the National Knowledge Commission has stated:

An understanding of and a command over English language is the most important

determinant of access to higher education, employment possibilities and social
opportunities. School learners who are not adequately trained in English as a language
are always at a handicap in the world of higher education … There is an irony in the
situation. English has been a part of our education system for more than a century.
Yet English is beyond the reach of most of our young people, which makes for
unequal access … The NKC recommends that teaching of English as a language
should be introduced along with the first language of the child starting from Class-I in
the school … Language learning cannot be separated from content learning.
Therefore, English should also be used to teach some non-language content subjects,
starting from Class-III in school.

The report assesses the failure of learners to acquire such a mastery of English as a result
of:

1. Lack of contextualization of the pedagogy of English.

2. Assessment of learner outcomes based on the mastery of single texts rather than
proficiency in the use of language.
3. Unequal access to English studies.
4. Faulty pedagogy that lays stress on grammar and rules and not on learning
experience.
5. Poor quality of English language teaching.

31
 6. Inadequate support systems in the form of teachers and teaching material.

The National Knowledge Commission is optimistic about making English language

studies obligatory in schools and proposes to achieve these by:
1. Introducing English as a required programme from Standard-I.
2. Making English the medium of instruction to study non-language subjects from
Standard-III.
3. Reviewing the existing teaching training system in order to emphasize the
“centrality of language to curriculum”.
4. Supplying benchmarked teaching materials with the help of expert groups and
civil society organizations.
5. Supplying appropriate supplementary audiovisual and print materials.
6. Creating resource libraries in every classroom with books, magazines, dailies,
posters, etc.
7. Employing media to create learning opportunities outside the classroom.
8. Setting up of “knowledge clubs”.
9. Financial assistance for developing English language resources.
10. Training four million school teachers all over the country to improve their
proficiency in English through vacational training programmes or other short
term courses.
In view of the intentions of the National Knowledge Commission, there are many issues
of the English language teaching-learning situation in India that have to be kept in mind.
Languages are learnt implicitly by understanding messages through listening or reading
for meaning. Understanding spoken and written language precedes language production or
communicating in speech or writing. Language is not acquired when attention is focused
on the rules of grammar. Language learning also needs to focus both on meaning and skill.
The “burden of languages” is the burden of incomprehension. This happens when
language is taught for its own sake as a set of forms or rules and not as a carrier of textual
meaning. It then becomes another “subject to be passed”.
Where English is not part of the environment, the classroom needs to provide the
opportunity for its acquisition in meaningful communicational contexts. The initial aim is
to build familiarity with the language so that the child builds a working knowledge of it.
This minimum level of proficiency is what every student aspires for – “to speak English”,
not merely to pass examinations in it or know its grammar. At present, the emphasis is on
a mastery of answers to prescribed texts only. But a textbook may coexist with regular
exposure to a variety of meaningful language inputs.
The top priority of classroom teaching-learning of English must focus on imparting skills
in oral communication. The input of grammar may be limited to functional needs, with the

32
choosing of appropriate grammatical categories. The classroom must not insist on early
writing of complete sentences, but provide exposure to extended, contextualized language
as in stories, with understanding checked through the mother tongue, gestures or single-
word answers. Beginning with action rhymes, simple plays or skits, theatre as a genuine
class activity can promote the child’s engagement with language and its performance.
There has been no organized effort to teach effective oral communication in English in
India. For more than 60 years after independence, English language studies have been
purely academic. Knowledge about language rather than skill mastery has been dominant.
Such methods have relied on unhelpful grammatical models and uncertain methods of
pedagogy that became obsolete many years ago. Teachers in colleges and universities
have become addicts of English literature, when the need is to teach the students the skills
of the language use. English language syllabi do not include oral and practical laboratory
education or evaluation in reading, speaking or listening skills. The testing of a student is
done only in written English while the emphasis must be on spoken English.
In many Indian classrooms, the pronunciation of English sounds is taught without any
reference to the difficulties of an Indian speaker of English. The multiplicity of accents
within the country has defied the effort to reach an educated standard form of Indian
English. The problem is made more acute when the global need is to achieve the ability
to speak English that is internationally intelligible. The effort to create a neutral accent
which is globally acceptable is the need not only of students but also of teachers who are
needed to train them.
Some of the difficulties of Indian speakers in English are; some elements, not all of
regional accents which affect intelligibility, the change over from a syllabic timing
characteristic of almost all Indian languages to rhythmic timing, characteristic of English
and observing pauses, rhythm, tone and moderate speed in speech which contributes to
intelligibility.
Attempts to train Indian speakers of English in these areas need to be intensified. Accent
alone cannot help a learner acquire competence in oral communication. Many Indian
speakers adopt a false accent in their speech under assumptions of imitating native
speakers. As in written communication the soft skills of adopting spoken communication
to serve a specific purpose, whether it is public speaking or presentations or group
discussions or interviews or telephone conversations need to be simultaneously acquired.
Training programmes or remedial programmes for teachers may be structured on:
1. Diagnosis of needs of learners from urban as well as rural backgrounds.
2. Teaching fundamentals of pronunciation keeping in mind difficulties of Indian
speakers of English in speaking intelligibly.
3. Ample materials for intensive practice in oral communication in areas of fluency
such as appropriate semantic pauses, correct pronunciation, transition from
syllabic to stress timed speaking and conversation.

33
 4. Reading aloud and role play exercise materials.
5. Use of oral communication for specific purposes.
Here are the various experiments conducted for many years, for students of Functional
English, who came from rural and tribal backgrounds in a college in a mofussil town.
This was a scheme of the University Grants Commission (UGC) floated in the year 1994–
1995 of starting vocational and career-oriented courses in degree colleges at
undergraduate level. The course offered to our college was Functional English, with
special grants stretched over five years to set up a language laboratory, build library
resources and other facilities. Teachers were deputed for training programmes at the
Regional Institute of English, Chandigarh. UGC had provided a uniform syllabi of six
courses spread over three years with equal emphasis for theory, practicals, written and
oral examinations and also on-job training. The maximum student strength was to be 30.
The Functional English classroom was a challenge to a teacher who had to use all his/her
ingenuity and creativity to work wonders with the students. There were no prescribed
textbooks and course work included situational dialogues, conversations, phonetic
practice as well as written skills. We arranged the class in groups and asked them to
make presentations like talk shows, role-plays, news reading, mock courtroom trials, quiz
competitions, presentation of advertisements, discussions on current topics of interest and
movies, conduct of programmes, etc. On-job training included work for a month as
receptionists, telephone operators, trainers, STD and xerox operators.
For students, this was an opportunity to extend themselves in different ways, channelize
their latent energies and potential. Those students who came from rural and tribal
backgrounds had to be assimilated with the more confident students. Constant exposure
and drilling of language exercises in the language laboratory made them overcome their
fears, complexes and helped them become confident, steady learners to gain proficiency
in the learning of English language.
The result was that our students got good placement as radio announcers, televisyen
newsreaders, marketing executives, trainers of English and also teachers. Their high
motivation, strong self-esteem and sound communication skills definitely gave them an
edge over other students.
Later, the UGC changed the focus of the scheme and the courses dwindled into certificate,
diploma and advanced diploma courses which developed into rituals just for an
additional certificate in the student’s profile.
Some months back, my colleague and I attended a Facilitator’s Certification Course in
Spoken and Written English conducted by Aim Insights, Mangalore, an institute which
works for human resource development. Our experience makes me suggest some
innovative strategies to help students gain proficiency in spoken English in a classroom.
The teacher is a facilitator who extends himself for the students and motivates and
inspires them towards self-development.

34
STRATEGIES TO BE ADOPTED

Self-Esteem

The learning of English may be a harrowing experience for a student who has not been
sufficiently exposed to it. The attitude of a teacher who constantly corrects him may
destroy the student’s self-esteem. A teacher is more effective when she is able to highlight
the positive qualities of a student. It is important to point out the small successes of the
student, which may lead to big successes of tomorrow.

Non-Correctional Methods

In developing the skill of communication in English, corrections must be avoided. It is a

common belief that bad or wrong or distorted language that is used, if not corrected, will
be embedded in the mind so firmly, that it will not be possible to correct it at a later
stage. If someone corrects a person as soon as he starts speaking, he will not be able to
speak in front of other people for fear of making mistakes again. The best thing is to
allow the person to speak at least the wrong English, so that he develops the habit of
speaking the language. The teacher, therefore, has to use the non-correctional methods.
This would definitely ask for giving up the traditional methods of correcting what is
wrong. The stress has to be on some good point that can be identified and pointed out to
the student.

Word Building

Every person who has to speak a language has three levels of word power built in
gradually and steadily through experiencing the language. The first set of words is that
which a person will be able to identify but may not know the correct meaning of, and
hence hesitate to use while speaking or writing. These words are generally large in
number. The second set of words is that which a person will be able to identify and
understand the meaning of, but is unable to call to mind or use as the situation demands.
The third set of words may be half the number of the second set. A person becomes
capable of speaking when she has a collection of words of the third category. A teacher
has to continually work towards increasing the store of words, which each participant has
at her command. Care has to be taken to build up the word power of the student.

Experiential Learning

Information, knowledge and wisdom reach us best through experience. Experiential

learning is helpful in the case of linguistic skill development. When a person experiences
a language, it becomes easy for him to learn or speak it. Experiencing a language is
possible only when one tries to live it and living a language is possible, only when one
involves oneself with the culture and emotions of the people who use it.

35
When one considers teaching spoken English, one has to think of providing learning
situations that will help the learner experience the language. The methodology used for
any spoken English class has to stress on activities, exercises or programmes that will
provide opportunities for the learner to feel the living language. The teacher has to learn
methods of influencing a learner to be willing to experience the language. The number of
such opportunities to experience the language will decide the progress of a learner’s
skills in speaking English. Simulation exercises, which would include situational
dialogues, can be presented through models or drills.

Reading and Comprehension

It is necessary to give an opportunity for each student to read loudly, so that it will be
possible for the student to hear the words spoken by him. It is of utmost importance to
respect the influence of the vernacular on a person’s way of speaking a language. As the
letters are identified and words recognized, a person may continue to read but may not
comprehend, so it is essential that reading should be practiced after testing whether a
student can comprehend what he reads. Local, global, inferential questions of a leading
nature will have to be designed in such a way that a student can easily identify the
answer.

Drilling Exercises

The learning of grammar can take place only when a fairly good amount of drill is done in
each area. While training a person to speak or write it, it is necessary to use a variety of
drills because practice takes a skill towards excellence. Using single sentences for drills
ought to be avoided, unless they are pieces of conversation. If single sentences are used,
there is a chance that the students would not understand the need for continuous speaking,
as each sentence becomes a unit.

Models of Listening

These would include several types of conversations and speeches. Recordings of news
bulletins from All India Radio or Doordarshan could also be provided. The best
available models of recorded conversation can be provided. The conversations will be
an imitation initially, but gradually, through repetitions, the student will outgrow the
imitative method and attempt to speak by using her own words, structures and patterns.

Mind Skill Exercises

The connection between thought and expression is an important aspect that has to be
considered whenever a person has to be helped in learning a language. The skills of the
mind – comprehending, selecting, recalling, reducing, expanding and various others that
are necessary for speaking – will need to be developed so that they assist the
communication abilities. Several mind skill exercises should be included in a spoken
English class.

36
Cultural Meanings

Dictionaries do not give meanings to words, they only suggest meanings. The actual
meaning of a word comes front the culture of the user or the listener. In any area where
different languages are spoken, the cultures of those languages have an impact on the use
of English words. Some of the translation systems used by the student may also add to the
impact of the cultural meanings. Phrases like, “I saw it with my own eyes” are those that
are translated from the vernacular, where it is accepted in usage and holds cultural
meanings. The teacher must allow such meanings to come out in the open, so that there is
no obstruction to the flow of the spoken language. A teacher must not insist upon the
students using the authentic cultural meanings of the English words they speak. This is
because it may cause a conflict with the meaning emerging out of local influences.

CONCLUSION
A committed faculty is the fountainhead, the essence of quality instruction in any field of
study. As far as communicative competence of students in English is concerned any
training for proficiency in spoken and written skills is completely dependent on a
motivated and inspired teacher. The abiding national vision of India is the creation of
multilinguals that can enrich all our languages through the English language teaching. This
multilingual perspective addresses concerns of language and culture. The multilingual
and language across the curriculum perspective might help to bridge the gap in English
language teaching-learning at present.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Saraswathi, V. (2004) English Language Teaching: Principles and Practice. Hyderabad:
Orient Longman.
Sobhana, N. (2003) Communicative Competence in English. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing
House.
Tharappan, S. (2003) Facilitators Manual: Communicative English. Mangalore: Aim
Insights.

37
 The Use of Adapted Movies from Novels (The Kite
3 Runner and The Namesake) as a Way to Stimulate
Reading for Malaysian Students
SAABDEV KUMAR SABAPATHY AND SWAGATA SINHA ROY

INTRODUCTION
It is said that reading maketh a full man, however in today’s Malaysian context, it may be
more appropriate to say “movies maketh a man read fully”. The average Malaysian
watches one (English) movie a month and reads half a book of fiction in the English
language per year. Students read mostly texts of their subjects and well, if they are
students of the English language or of English literature, they fare better – an average of
two books of fiction per semester (as required by/in the course). This paper will look at
two novels, namely The Kite Runner and The Namesake to show how the movies
adapted from these novels can stimulate the students’ reading and how watching these
movies lead to Malaysian students’ wanting to “actually” read the text and research
various aspects in the text.
In recent years, the Malaysian Education Ministry introduced the element of reading and
responding to selected literary texts into the teaching of English as a second language.
Malaysia cannot really boast of a reading culture as at the most the average student reads
the newspapers (usually twice or thrice a week) or entertainment magazines. Students
read mostly for exam purposes and hardly ever for recreation or as an interest or hobby.
They do visit the library but the frequency with which they read varies widely. Most
students are under the impression that reading is an activity solely for information
gathering and read with that purpose in mind.
In keeping with Malaysia’s adoption of the K-economy, the philosophy of the National
Library of Malaysia has been to develop a reading culture in Malaysian society through
life long learning towards enhancing knowledge. Aspiring to become fully industrialized,
Malaysia has also worked constantly to improve literacy to be able to achieve a 100%
literacy rate by 2020 (Halimah, 1998, p. 1).
The main concern however is the deteriorating level of proficiency in the English
language among students in Malaysian schools and universities (Halimah, 1998, p. 3). To
meet the global challenges today, Malaysian students need to wake up to the realities of
the situation. Besides being proficient in the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, students
need to be proficient in the global language of science, communication, commerce and
technology. To “encourage the simultaneous development of proficiency in both the

38
national language and in English is congruent with the challenges that the country faces in
creating a fully developed information-rich community” (Halimah, 1998, p. 3), in order
to participate competitively globally.
Various efforts have been made to encourage reading to the population in Malaysia.
Besides the national library’s various initiatives, bookstores in the major cities in the
country have started fiction and non-fiction book clubs where the members meet on a
monthly basis to talk about the particular book up for discussion for the month.
As much as one would want to buy a book (bookstores offer many discounts), books are
still considered expensive. Take for example, a fiction book can cost anything between
RM29 to RM59 on an average whereas a movie based on a particular book would cost a
viewer only RM10 or less (on a student card or on concession days). Moreover, a pirated
DVD costs around RM10 and can be viewed several times.
Many who are interested in attending book clubs either share books or download them
and read them from the internet, simply because books in Malaysia are not really
affordable. Well, that is still encouraging as the person is actually reading the text. Very
often only book “freaks” or readers who are interested in literature would keep aside
money to get or buy an original text. Book club participation is still considered low (six
participants on an average, and working adults at the most) despite the various discounts
offered on books and the convenient times opening hours. It is also worth mentioning here
that after a long day at work, working adults still make time for the sessions whereas
university students who may have their semester break, do not bother to turn up. It is
therefore important that those who voluntarily organize and act as facilitators of these
clubs be commended for their efforts to help start a reading culture in Malaysia. A way to
improve attendance at book meets would perhaps to be advertise the sessions regularly
over the radio and in the form of print media.
Another interesting observation is that unlike in commuter trains in Singapore, Japan and
Korea, it is rare to see students or other commuters in Malaysia utilize the journey time to
read a book of fiction in English. There are some commuters holding motivational books
in their hands and hilariously, while reading such books they hardly have a smile on their
faces! Perhaps they should switch to fiction, and we do not mean “manga anime”!
However, youngsters are always seen sporting earphones wired to hi-tech gadgets such
as MP3/MP4 players or iPods. It would be wishful thinking to say that they are perhaps
listening to audio-books! (audio books are actually readily available and can be
downloaded from the internet at a decent price).
Besides that, many schools in Malaysia too have begun encouraging programmes where
students keep on written record of how many books of fiction the students read in a
month. Very few are truthful about how much they read while others, to show that they
have read certain books just copy the synopsis of the book from various sources including
the book jacket! Forcing disinterested students to read would only further make them lose
interest.

39
Very recently in a neighbouring country, Brunei Darussalam, various activities were held
in the schools to instill the reading habit among students in conjunction with the reading
month, an annual project of the Language and Literature Bureau. Parents, government and
non-government sectors have been urged to work together to promote the reading culture
because according to Dr. Mataim Bakar, “…reading is knowledge, and the knowledge is
where the development of civilization and nation lie” (Rangga, 2008).
Reading certainly is knowledge and one way to gain knowledge is to read books of
fiction which very often are also historical, geographical, social, cultural and political
imprints of the time(s). Since students are more familiar with western authors writing in
the English language, it would be a good start to introduce them to non-western
(ethnically speaking) writers such as Jhumpa Lahiri and Khaled Hosseini. Both Lahiri
and Hosseini are from the global community of writers, Lahiri, an American Bengali and
Hosseini an American Afghani. They are both in their forties and living in the USA.
Jhumpa (her pet’s name and by what she is popularly known) Lahiri, whose official,
formal name is Nilanjana Sudeshna, a daughter of Bengali immigrant parents, was born in
London in 1967. Her father worked as a librarian and her mother was a teacher in
Kingstown, Rhode Island where she was raised. She received her first degree in English
Literature and her masters in English, Creative Writing, and Comparative Studies in
Literature and the Arts. She also has a doctorate in Renaissance Studies from Boston
University.
Her debut work, a collection of short stories entitled Interpreter of Maladies has won
several awards including the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2000. The Namesake is her first
novel which was listed on the New York Times best-seller list for several weeks and
was adapted for the screen in 2007.
Khaled Hosseini, the eldest of five children was born in Kabul in 1965. His father was a
diplomat while his mother taught Farsi and history in a school in Kabul. When Hosseini’s
father sought asylum in the USA, Hosseini was only 15, at which age he began learning
English in California. Hosseini earned his first degree in biology and a medical degree
thereafter from the University of California. He has been a practicing physician since
1996 but apparently writing has always been his first love.
Hosseini’s memories of happy times before the Soviet invasion and his friendship with an
Afghan Hazara who lived with his family when he was a child inspired the writing of his
debut novel The Kite Runner. This novel, as well as his second one, A Thousand
Splendid Suns have received nothing but praise from critics. Hosseini is currently a
Goodwill Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Both the novels, Lahiri’s The Namesake and Hosseini’s The Kite Runner written in the
English language deal with the Bengali diaspora and the Afghan diaspora respectively.
Both novels depict family relationships, individual loss of identity, personal conflicts and
geographical and cultural displacements. The novels are relatively new and widely
acclaimed (they have both been on the New York Times best seller lists). Both novels

40
have made it into book clubs’ reading lists the world over. Most interestingly, both novels
are realistically depicted. The themes in these novels are very universal and current.
So how would these two novels interest Malaysian readers, specifically those studying in
high schools and universities?
For starters, one gets introduced to non-Eurocentric writers, which is a departure from
the literary canon. Rather than keep to the canon (English classics) one needs to keep up
with the changing times. It has been commonplace to show school goers and students at
the tertiary level movies adapted from British and American novels. Many have seen
Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and Christmas Carol, Thackeray’s
Vanity Fair or even the recent Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass from His Dark
Materials trilogy. Lahiri and Hosseini are of different and in the case here, little-heard-of
ethnic communities and the movies adapted from their novels would make stimulating
viewing.
Second, Malaysia has a large and varied ethnic composition of people. These groups
have been overtly existing together harmoniously (post-May 1969). How many young
Malaysians (or even older ones for that matter) actually know about the various Chinese
ethnic groups or the Indian ethnic groups, the two largest diaspora communities that have
now settled in Malaysia, partaking in the politics and economics of their “new” homes?
Some third, fourth and fifth generation Chinese and Indians have never even stepped on
their ancestral soil. Other communities who have migrated forcefully or voluntarily are
those from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Well, how many Malaysians can actually tell the difference between the Chinese or
Indian ethnic groups? It is high time now with globalization permeating every corner of
the globe that one learns to recognize the various peoples that inhabit the world and
particularly, one’s country. Jhumpa Lahiri is a Bengali, so this novel serves as a good
introduction to the Bengali community and culture.
How many Bengalis does the average Malaysian know? Most Malaysians are ignorant of
the fact that the Bengalis are not Sikhs or Punjabis or even Ceylonese (very few
Malaysians use the term “Singhalese” or “Sri Lankan”) and vice versa for that matter.
Some are not aware that there are now third generation Bengalis and although they are
very specific minority, they are still contributors to Malaysia’s overall development.
There are approximately 200 Bengali families partaking in their own cultural practices
and festivals right here on Malaysian soil. The Bengalis do not celebrate Deepavali as
Malaysians believe all Indian Hindus do. Bengali names are also unusual to those used to
Tamil (Bala, Muthusamy, Ramasamy, Siva, Amutha, Dhaya, Selvi, etc.) and Punjabi,
especially Sikh names (with Kaur and Singh as middle or surnames). Interestingly
Bollywood movies have actually helped to make Malaysians a little more aware of the
different ethnicities. To stress the fact that one is a Bengali, the best way is to say you
belong to Kajol or Rani Mukherjee’s community, although they might not have the
slightest inkling that these actresses are Bengalis and that ancestrally, they belong to a
certain designated location in India.

41
What about the Afghan diaspora? We have quite a few Malaysians of Afghan descent,
mostly men or women who have married spouses of the Malay ethnic group because of
their religious affinities, who are now completely assimilated with the Malays, speaking
the language, practicing the culture and celebrating Malay festivals.
The Kite Runner is also an appropriate choice of text to read in the wake of the 9/11
bombings of the New York World Trade Centre. Afghanistan has in the past decade or so
been known as the hot bed of terrorism and all kinds of terrorist acts and groups are
linked to the war-torn country. The writer Hosseini had to leave Kabul to get away from
torture by the Soviet government in the 1970s. Similarly the protagonist of the novel and
his father do the same. They end up in San Jose in the USA.
Many of the scenes in both Lahiri’s and Hosseini’s novels shift between the native
country and the country of adoption. Ashoke Ganguli and his wife of The Namesake are
in America for a better life (financially, socially) than in their native Kolkata in India,
whereas Baba, having been one of the most successful affluent businessmen in Kabul
living in luxury in a “vast house” has to flee Kabul with his son to avoid persecution.
Many of the realities in the novels, are not known by many Malaysians. A few, however
may be able to identify with them through reading and interacting with people who have
been there.
The Namesake is a story we come across many times – of Asian parents struggling to
raise their children in a western civilization hoping that the children respect and keep to
their traditional beliefs and practices. In The Kite Runner, Baba has to put aside his
pride and work in a gas station and sell wares at a flea market in order to provide for his
son’s educational needs. Both the protagonists Gogol of The Namesake and Amir of The
Kite Runner feel a sense of non-belonging at various points in the novel. The identity
crisis at times becomes acute leading them to confusion and rebellion (in the case of
Gogol Ganguli).
Another aspect which would be of interest to Malaysian readers or students would be the
family relationships. Both protagonists share an interesting, if not intimate relationship
with their fathers and it is usually too late before they realize they can be good sons to
their fathers. Amir, who has been in need of his father’s attention since he was very
young, feels terribly lonely when Baba dies and has to forge his own identity. And Gogol
tries to come to terms with his father’s loss by agreeing to perform the funeral rites and
practices.
Just like most second generation children in Malaysia, Gogol does not have trouble
adapting to the American way of life and this assimilation does not come with much
tension unlike what their parents faced. However, as with most people, they are caught
between two worlds and two spheres, the private and the public. While Ashoke Ganguli
keeps an open mind about America, his wife Ashima is less accepting. She misses home,
pines for it and the anguish of being away from home is very real. It is difficult for
Ashima to witness her children becoming cultural orphans in the new world. Many

42
Malaysian parents have had this feeling but because Malaysia is an Asian nation, some of
the concerns felt by parents in the West, may be more intense than those who have
migrated to Malaysia. Among Malaysian Malays, Chinese and Indians, the relationship
with parents may be strained because of generational gap more than anything else.
Reading these novels will open up new worlds for Malaysian readers. The Kite Runner
serves as a window to life in Afghanistan. The depiction of war is vivid and horrific
through Rahim Khan’s account of the atrocities committed. When war enters the story it
becomes clear that despite one’s privileges or beliefs, no one is really safe. Because
Hosseini is so true to the historical events that took place in Afghanistan, the readers also
get a lesson in history – from the monarchy to the Soviet take over to the Taliban control
that have led to fragmented social, geographical and political structures in Afghanistan.
Against the modern history of Afghanistan, the protagonist struggles with personal
conflicts which haunt him all the years away from his place of birth until he has a chance
to redeem himself and right the wrongs of many years ago.
Another parallel the Malaysian reader may be able to identify with is the kite flying
competition. Although in Malaysia kite flying competitions are more a grand display of
various artistic kites (wau) from all over the world, in Afghanistan kite fighting was
almost a national sport with kite tournaments taking place in the winter until they were
banned by the Talibans.
Since the movies are very recent, The Namesake (2006) and The Kite Runner (2007) and
the authors are around to actually comment on and see to the fact that the movies
authenticate the novels, they are a good choice of movies for our students to watch. One
way of instilling the reading habit is to show a few clips from each movie and follow up
with questions for which they have to seek the answers from the novels. One could make
this a group activity where the students actually watch the movie together, then read the
text and give their interpretations. This can lead to discussion among the students about
the cultural specifics of the text and so on.
Asked to choose between watching a movie based on a novel and reading the novel, most
Malaysian students would watch a movie because interest in films as a medium of
learning is high. For second language learners, film is a more hands-on interactive
approach to learning the language. Another way would be to assign films to students to
view in groups outside of class and then get them to discuss certain aspects of the movie
in the class while reading passages from the text pertaining to these clips.
In The Kite Runner one could show the scene where Assef is bullying Amir and insulting
Hassan and freeze the frame where Hassan takes his sling shot and aims it at the bully.
The questions at this point could be about who are the Pashtuns and the Hazaras and
whether the students think that Hassan would actually fire the shot at Assef.
Films can also be used to teach social – emotional learning and they can be adapted to
any age group, but there will be change in the emphasis. Also watching a movie would
familiarize the viewer with various accents and inflections of the native speakers. That

43
would be fascinating as the students speak with Malaysian accents and are familiar with
American accents but now they would be able to hear English spoken in Bengali and
Afghani accents.
Since there has not been room to experiment with these texts in the normal classroom (as
they are not a part of the syllabus), we tried this with a group of eight students ranging
from 17 to 23 years of age (relatives and their friends). Except for two of the subjects, the
rest were Second Language learners of English and they were all of various ethnic
groups. They were asked to work in pairs for the simple exercises prepared for them.
They were shown four clips from each movie at first. Interestingly, even before we could
show them the full movies, three pairs got down to reading the two novels completely.
The clips garnered such an interest that they seemed want to read on their own and
discover events unfold for themselves. We decided to name the project “Read a Movie,
Watch a Book” and we really hope to be able to carry this out in actual classrooms.
The novels The Namesake and The Kite Runner were adapted for the screenplay by
Sooni Taraporevala and David Benioff respectively, keeping closely to the original texts.
The Namesake was directed by Mira Nair and the film was released in May 2007
whereas The Kite Runner was directed by Marc Forster and released in December 2007
amid some controversy (which as always, worked as great publicity). Since most of the
events in the movies were so true to the texts, they were a good read and watch. Both
dealt with issues the students could identify with – the test of friendships, the death of
loved ones and the struggle of fitting in. The movies were also entertaining, despite being
culturally and socially different. The pictorial images were also helping the students to
visualize words, comprehend them and read them without their realizing it. So imagine if
the students were to actually spend a few hours a week “watching” selected movies, they
would actually be “reading” a few texts! As far as possible the subtitles of the movies
should be removed when the students are made to watch the films.
Culturally different texts should be introduced and taught to familiarize Malaysian
students with the unfamiliar. They should also be participating in the global arena of
knowledge and awareness of the “other(s)”. In The Namesake, the cultural practices of
giving the child a “good name”, a child’s rice-eating ceremony and typically Bengali
wedding customs can be read about, watched and compared with one’s own cultural
norms. Here are two interesting extracts on the naming of a baby and the rice-eating
ceremony.

(1)
Though the letter was sent a month ago, in July, it has yet to arrive. Ashima and
Ashoke are not terribly concerned. After all, they both know, an infant doesn’t really
need a name. He needs to be fed and blessed, to be given some gold and silver, to be
patted on the back after feedings and held carefully behind the neck. Names can wait.
In India parents take their time. It wasn’t unusual for years to pass before the right
name, the best possible name, was determined. Ashima and Ashoke can both cite
examples, of cousins who were not officially named until they were registered, at six
or seven, in school. The Nandis and Dr. Gupta understand perfectly. Of course you

44
 must wait, they agree, wait for the name in his great-grandmother’s letter.
Besides, there are always pet names to tide one over: a practice of Bengali
nomenclature grants, to every single person, two names. In Bengali the word for pet
name is daknam, meaning, literally, the name by which one is called, by friends,
family, and other intimates, at home and in other private, unguarded moments. Pet
names are a persistent remnant of childhood, a reminder that life is not always so
serious, so formal, so complicated. They are a reminder, too, that one is not all things
to all people. They all have pet names. Ashima’s pet name is Monu, Ashoke’s is
Mithu, and even as adults, these are the names by which they are known in their
respective families, the names by which they are adored and scolded and missed and
loved.
Every pet name is paired with a good name, a bhalonam, for identification in the
outside world. Consequently, good names appear on envelopes, on diplomas, in
telephone directories, and in all other public places. (For this reason, letters from
Ashima’s mother say “Ashima” on the outside, “Monu” on the inside.) Good names
tend to represent dignified and enlightenment qualities. Ashima means “she who is
limitless, without borders.” Ashoke, the name of an emperor, means “he who
transcends grief.” Pet names have no such aspirations. Pet names are never recorded
officially, only uttered and remembered. Unlike good names, pet names are
frequently meaningless, deliberately silly, ironic, even onomatopoetic. Often in one’s
infancy, one answers unwittingly to dozens of pet names, until one eventually sticks.
(Chapter 2, pp. 25–26)

The above extract clearly states that names are considered an important aspect in the
Bengali culture. It defines who you are, where you come from, and from what background
you come. Overall, it shows how well you have encompassed the values and the
traditions that you inherit. Here the students can be introduced to the Bengali culture of
naming a child and how important names (and meanings of one’s “good” name) are to the
Bengalis. After all, it is not a matter of what is in a name but all that a name is! Now the
students may begin to understand why the novel has been thus named.

(2)
By February, when Gogol is six months old, Ashima and Ashoke know enough
people to entertain on a proper scale. The occasion: Gogol’s annaprasan, his rice
ceremony. There is no baptism for Bengali babies, no ritualistic naming in the eyes of
God. Instead, the first formal ceremony of their lives centers around the consumption
of solid food. They ask Dilip Nandi to play the part of Ashima’s brother, to hold the
child and feed him rice, the Bengali staff of life, for the very first time. Gogol is
dressed as an infant Bengali groom, in a pale yellow pajama-punjabi from his
grandmother in Calcutta. The fragrance of cumin seeds, sent in the package along
with the pajamas, lingers in the weave. A headpiece that Ashima cut out of paper,
decorated with pieces of aluminium foil, is tied around Gogol’s head with string. He
wears a thin fourteen-karat gold chain around his neck. His tiny forehead has been
decorated with considerable struggle with sandalwood paste to form six miniature
beige moons floating above his brows. His eyes have been darkened with a touch of
kohl. He fidgets in the lap of his honorary uncle, who sits on a bedcover on the floor,
surrounded by guests in front and behind and beside him. The food is arranged in the
separate bowls. Ashima regrets that the plate on which the rice is heaped is melamine,

45
 not sliver or brass or at the very least stainless-steel. The final bowl contains payesh,
a warm rice pudding Ashima will prepare for him to eat on each of his birthdays as a
child, as an adult even, alongside a slice of bakery cake.
She is busy setting up the buffet. She wears a silvery sari, a wedding gift worn for
the first time, the sleeves of her blouse reaching the crook of her elbow. His father
wears a transparent white Punjabi top over bell-bottom trousers. Ashima sets out
paper plates that have to be tripled to hold the weight of the biryani, the carp in
yogurt sauce, the dal, the six different vegetables dishes she’d spent the past week
preparing. The guests will eat standing, or sitting cross-legged on the floor. They’ve
invited Alan and Judy from upstairs, who look as they always do, in jeans and thick
sweaters because it is cold, leather sandals buckled over wooly socks. Judy eyes the
buffet, bites into something that turns out to be a shrimp cutlet. “I thought Indians
were supposed to be vegetarian,” she whispers to Alan.
(Chapter 2, pp. 38–39)

This extract is a good description of the Bengali rice ceremony which is also known as
“Mukhe bhat”, translated literally as “rice in mouth”. The ceremony is basically done for
infants. The rice ceremony in the Bengali culture is quite unique because it is very
different from those of the other ethnic groups. There is also a good use of culturally
Indian words such as cumin seeds, sandalwood paste, kohl, biryani and dal, where
students begin to learn and understand new terms. One can also note the difference
between western attire and Indian attire and how each one sits, the Bengalis are quite
comfortable “sitting cross-legged on the floor”. This short extract also shows one of the
American guests’ perceptions of the Indians being vegetarian. Clearly, there is much to
learn about other people’s eating habits and customs.
Similarly certain extracts from The Kite Runner actually encourage the students to
research about the Pashtun, the Hazaras, the Sunnis and the Shi’a and even their
traditional sports the Buzkashi and kite-fighting. In this novel, the ethnic differences
between the Pashtuns (Baba’s people) and the Hazaras (Ali’s people) are obvious. Assef
in the novel declares with emphasis:

(1)

“Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the
true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-nose here. His people pollute our
homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood.”

Just as Baba and Ali could not be true friends or family, neither could Amir or Hassan,
one generation later because of their ethnic and religious differences.

History isn’t easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and
he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was a Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to
change that.
(Chapter 4, pp. 25)
(2)

46
 The kite-fighting tournament was an old winter tradition in Afghanistan. It started
early in the morning on the day of the contest and didn’t end until only the winning
kite flew in the sky – I remember one year the tournament outlasted daylight. People
gathered on sidewalks and roofs to cheer for their kids. The streets filled with kite
fighters, jerking and tugging on their lines, squinting up to the sky, trying to gain
position to cut the opponent’s line. Every kite fighter had an assistant – in my case,
Hassan – who held the spool and fed the line.
(Chapter 6, p. 51)

This extract is a very good piece to introduce students to the tradition of kite flying among
the Afghanistan people. The scene from the movie is a visual imprint that the students
will remember for a long time.

(3)
I remember walking toward the stage, now in my tuxedo, Soraya a veiled pari in
white, our hands locked. Baba hobbled next to me, the general and his wife beside
their daughter. A procession of uncles, aunts, and cousins followed as we made our
way through the hall, parting a sea of applauding guests, blinking at flashing cameras.
One of Soraya’s cousins, Sharif Jan’s son, held a Koran over our heads as we inched
along. The wedding song, ahesta boro, blared from the speakers, the same song the
Russian soldier at the Mahipar checkpoint had sung the night Baba and I left Kabu.
I remember sitting on the sofa, set on the stage like a throne, Soraya’s hand in
mine, as three hundred or so faces looked on. We did Ayena Masshaf, where they
gave us a mirror and threw a veil over our heads, so we’d be alone to gaze at each
other’s reflection. Looking at Soraya’s smiling face in that mirror, in the momentary
privacy of the veil, I whispered to her for the first time that I loved her. A blush, red
like henna, bloomed on her cheeks.
I picture colorful platters of chopan kabob, sholeh-goshti, and wild-orange rice. I
see Baba between us on the sofa, smiling. I remember sweat-drenched men dancing
the traditional attan in a circle, bouncing, spinning faster and faster with the feverish
tempo of the tabla, until all but a few dropped out of the ring with exhaustion. I
remember wishing Rahim Khan were there.
(Chapter 13, pp. 170–171)

The description of the wedding is a typical Afghanistan wedding and most of the students
will now be exposed to the linguistic nuances and cultural practices of the community. It
would also be interesting to compare the practices with other etnnic Muslim groups such
as the Malay, Arabic and Indian. One will also gain knowledge of the type of food being
served during Afghan special occasions.
One of the ways in which students can meet the realities of a changing world is through
reading. There are a myriad of things to learn from a new text and one wonderful way to
stimulate the reading of a printed text is to engage the students in the visual representation
of the text in film. As has been stated earlier, this way the students get to fully involve
themselves in “reading a movie and watching a book”.

47
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, B. (1999) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of
Nationalism. London: Verso.
Bhabha, H.K. (1990) Introduction: Narrating the nation. In H.K. Bhabha (Ed.), Nation and
Narration, 1–7. London & New York: Routlegde.
Braakman, M. (2005) Roots and Routes – Question’s of Home, Belonging and Return in the
Afghan Diaspora. MA thesis, Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Clifford, J. (1994) Diasporas. Cultural Anthropology 9(3): 301–308.
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4 Role-Play: Taking the Line of Least Resistance
SITI RAFIZAH FATIMAH OSMAN AND MOHAMAD JAFRE ZAINOL ABIDIN

INTRODUCTION

The English language syllabus, for many years, has emphasized the need to equip students
with the ability to communicate orally. However, being orally competent in the second
language has always been a far-fetched dream among most of the students. An article in
the New Straits Times by Dr. Leslie Foo, dated 15 May 2002 reported that:

Many Malaysians have long expressed concern over the poor results in English …
and the lack of English proficiency and self-confidence among graduates, public
servants and even some diplomats.

A letter written by Zarshik, which was addressed to the editor and published on 15 May
2002 grieved the standard of communicative competence among graduates:
While interviewing candidates, I came across a graduate who had A1 for English at
SPM level but whose conversational skills were atrocious. The candidate may be able
to write in English to perfection but could not speak the language well. So, generally,
Malaysians (graduates) understand English but cannot speak it well.

Despite the countless efforts by teachers to help students come out of their shells and
become more confident in conversing in the target language, the phenomenon of students
lacking in oral communicative competence remains a problem nationwide. To address the
issue, we need to find the root cause of the problem and find ways and alternatives to
resolve it.
As a matter of fact, the teacher has to take the responsibility to create a condition in
which he/she is full of enthusiasm about teaching the oral skills of the target language,
which in turn will make the students active and extrovert. Quoting Tan Teng Yang on his
letter to the editor, published on 15 May, 2002:

English needs a lot of daily usage for one to be proficient. There is no shortcut, only
practice, practice and practice. … Make it interesting and useful for everyday life.

Other than that, the shift in the field of language teaching and learning which now focuses
more on learners and learning rather than teachers and teaching has resulted in some room
being allocated for the development of communicative ability alongside the acquisition of
language. However, it is not enough to provide students with only opportunities to speak

50
in English, they must be encouraged to speak in a variety of different situations, which
may help them to learn to speak with confidence. The ideal would be to be present at
different locations and carry out different tasks. Nevertheless, enacting those situations in
a classroom serves the second best option.
Therefore, such environments need to include activities, which require learners to go
beyond texts. Activities like simulation and role-play will encourage students to think
creatively as to how they can make role-play an enjoyable and fun activity, develop
social and behavioural skills as they need to interact and negotiate with others and
practise the target language, which will provide an avenue for motivation and
involvement to be created for learning to occur. And for this study, the cycles of learning
which each student needed to go through when being involved in role-play is Kolb’s
(1988) Experiential Learning Cycle – “learning by doing” which allowed them to
actively involve themselves in the role play, reflect on it, conceptualize and actively
expand on what has been reflected and conceptualized.
Larsen-Freeman (1986) explains, role-play is important because it gives learners an
opportunity to practise communication in different social contexts and different social
roles. It is hoped that role-play, done in pairs or groups, which requires learners to
negotiate on meaning during the discussion as well as during the presentation will give
room to them to heighten their three facets of self-concept and aid the development of
their communicative ability.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Low Self-Concept and Resistance to Communication

Self-concept can be classified into three categories. As viewed by Rosenberg (1979),

these are: (1) how you view your competence or ability, (2) how you see yourself with
others and (3) how you feel when being with others. However, many students are
handicapped and apprehensive about communication or have nonchalant attitude towards
communication. Such negative view may pose a barrier to the students and affect their
participation in ESL communicative tasks.
As for the students of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), there are several reasons
why they may not have the interest to participate in role-play activities and would rather
remain passive. Despite their homogenous cultural beliefs and practices, the disparity in
the socio-economic background may make them feel inadequate and inferior. Several
other are childhood experiences that do not enhance positive self-concepts, lack of
positive reinforcement, love and support from significant others (parents, teachers and
friends) which lead to a feeling of incapability and insecurity.
Furthermore, the majority of students in UiTM are aged between 18 and 22 years old. At
this range of age, they are very conscious of themselves not only in relation to the
opposite sex but also to those of the same gender group. The transition between

51
adolescence and adulthood may cause feelings of extreme shyness when participating in
class or group tasks, thus affecting their self-concepts (Naginder Kaur, 1999).

Poor Communication or Oral Competence

An article “Jobless Grads Must Not Be Choosy” written by Chin, in the New Straits
Times dated 22 December 2002 reveals that there are two factors that contribute to
thousands of graduates not being employed. They lack the initiative, confidence and the
ability to interact and communicate with others. Their lack of language skills and ability
to communicate properly are the reasons for their failure in landing jobs.
His view was shared by Minister of Human Resources, Datuk Wira Dr. Fong Chan Onn,
who expressed similar concern over graduates’ failure to secure jobs and move up in an
organisation. The message was delivered during an English Language Campaign with the
tagline ‘English Language – Your Key to a Global Network’ in Universiti Tunku Abdul
Rahman (UTAR) on 12 August 2003.
Furthermore, it has often been noted that the majority of UiTM students have problems
conveying their messages orally. The evidence to such a claim is shown in the statistics
below which reveal how learners of BEL 100, BEL 200 and BEL 250 of November 2001
to April 2002 and May 2002 to October 2002 semesters in UiTM Perlis fared in their
speaking test.

Table 4.1 The statistics of BEL 100 speaking scores

Source: The Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perlis

Table 4.2 The statistics of BEL 200 speaking scores

Source: The Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perlis

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Table 4.3 The statistics of BEL 250 speaking scores

Source: The Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perlis

The statistics in Tables 4.1–4.3 show to us that most of the UiTM Perlis students are not
competent enough when it comes to speaking. Very few of them have actually reached the
stage of being excellent in communication. Most of them were clustered within the two
bands: fair and good, far from being competent. A few lecturers lamented that most of the
students who fared badly and fairly in the test were either not confident enough of
themselves or they were simply lack of the command of the language, which results in
them scoring lowly in the three aspects looked into: task fulfilment, language and
communicative ability. Their low proficiency had hindered their ability to put forth the
message well.

Traditional Classroom Approach – Lacking in Learner Autonomy

In UiTM, role-play which used to be a favourite activity employed by lecturers in the

oral communication component was regularly treated as a teacher-fronted practice as
teachers tend to interfere with students’ efforts to generate the proper discourse or may
even try to correct their pronunciation and enunciation. This meddling habit of the teacher
made the learners reluctant to participate.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

For this study, the objectives are:

1. To determine the effects of using experiential form of role-play as a learning

process on self-concept.
2. To determine the effects of using experiential form of role-play as a learning
process on communicative competence.

In this study, the experiential learning process of role-play, which gives autonomy to
learners, is the learning platform for students. Therefore, this study investigated whether
the opportunity to learn through the experiential learning and learner-centred process
weekly (continually) can enhance the self-concept and communicative skills of the
students.

53
RELATED LITERATURE

Experiential Learning and Improved Communicative Competence and Self-

Concept

In 1999, Naginder Kaur conducted a two-week case study with a group of Pre-Commerce
students of Institut Teknologi MARA Perlis to find out how far students’ self-concept
affected their participation in the experiential learning process of role-play and the extent
of the improvement in their self-concept as a result of role-play activities. After the
experimentation completed, she managed to unveil a positive relationship between self-
concept and students’ participation in role-play which could be seen from several
indicators such as prolonged nervousness, language proficiency, peer influence and role
of the lecturer while improvement came in the form of reduced anxiety, adaptability to the
tasks and awareness of own strengths to name a few.
Krish (2001) carried out a role-play activity with a class of 15 distance learners of
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia with the aim of enabling them to cope with language
requirements in the academic and work environment. For this tertiary level class, she
used newspaper reports on the Japanese Encephalitis outbreak, which was collected over
a period of time. It included the views of the farmers, medical experts, consumers’ rights
and feelings of the affected residents. This particular issue was chosen because it
provided learners opportunities for the learners to practise a real-life situation. Being an
experiential learning process, a feedback session was held to gather responses on their
participation for the learners to develop awareness and confidence in their learning
strategies and communicative ability. The outcomes were that they helped one another to
decide who should speak, and prompted each other with ideas to get the play going. They
claimed to have gained confidence and started interacting more in the form of posing
enquiries as well as responding to questions. The strong points noted by Krish are that
such activities help increase communication skills and participation, change the attitudes
towards language learning and above all provide realistic chances for them to interact
with others in the classroom.
Shrum and Glisan (2000) claim that during the preparation for role-play, students benefit
from well-organized instructions and guidance, such as a model situation and hints
concerning vocabulary and grammar use.

RESEARCH DESIGN
The research was designed to be a quasi experiment adopting the pre-test and post-test
experimental and control group design. As for the experimental group the treatment was
the experiential form of role-play, while for the control group the treatment was the
traditional teacher-fronted approach. The study was quantitative in its data collection
through the conduct of pre-test and post-test of BEL 200 speaking test and the use of the
Multidimensional Test of Self-concept (MTS).

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Population Sample

In this study, two groups of second semester Diploma in Science students, made up of a
total of 59 respondents. Most of these students faced anxiety and were not confident
enough to speak in English.
The subjects selected were 32 students for the control group (DIS 2B) and 27 students for
the experimental group. The class schedule and the routines of the university as well as
the students’ were not disrupted.

Statistical Findings

Table 4.4 indicate the findings on communicative competence, which were gathered via
speaking tests and the multidimensional self-concept test. The method of analysis adopted
was the paired t-test. It was utilized to determine the changes that occurred between pre-
test and post-test within the same group.

Statistical Findings on Self-Concept

Table 4.4 Findings on self-concept based on the multidimensional self-concept test (self-
evaluated self-concept)

The results show that both the experimental and control groups underwent changes in
self-concept between the speaking pre-test and post-test. The assessment of self-concept
was done by the respondents using the MTS. The mean change of the experimental group
= 13.7778 exceeded the overall mean = 8.1389. On the other hand, the control group,
which registered a mean change = 2.5000 recorded less change. The paired t-test (Table
4.5 and 4.6) will show whether the change with both groups was significant.
The result of the test as shown on Table 4.5 confirms that the change from a large gap to a
smaller one was significant at p-value = 0.003, and this helps to explain that the
possibility of the results being reached by chance is very small.
The traditional teacher-fronted approach had not managed to narrow the gap significantly
as the p-value = 0.221 (Table 4.6). In other words, there was very little likelihood for the

55
change to have happened because of the approach and the outcome or reduction between
pre-test and post-test might have been derived due to other extraneous factors and not the
approach adopted.

Table 4.5 Paired samples test

Table 4.6 Paired samples test

Lecturer-Evaluated Self-concept

Table 4.7 Findings on learners’ self-concept – Individual task

The results in Table 4.7 show that both the experimental and control groups underwent
changes in self-concept when performing individual task. The mean change obtained by
the experimental group = 0.7593 exceeded the overall mean = 0.3718 as well as the
control group’s = –0.0157. In fact, the change experienced by the control group went on
negative direction.

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 Table 4.8 Paired samples test

Table 4.9 Paired samples test

When assessed by the researcher on their self-concept during their performance of

individual task, the respondents recorded a change of 0.7593. The increase was
confirmed to be significant as the p-value = 0.007 is much lower than the accepted
significant p-value ≤ 0.05.
Even though the control group recorded a change of –0.0157, it is regarded not significant
as the p-value was rather big = 0.956. Therefore, it can be deduced that it was very
unlikely that the group when performing the individual task had experienced change in
self-concept. Such change might have occurred by chance as the lecturers interpreted the
learners’ reactions from what they saw.

Table 4.10 Findings on learners’ self-concept – Group task

The outcomes in Table 4.10 reveal that the experimental group registered a bigger change
than the control group. The mean of change = 0.4630 experienced by the experimental
group was bigger than –0.0781 of the control group and also the average mean = 0.1924.
It was clear that the experimental group recorded a change which exceeded the average

57
by 0.2706.

Experimental Group

Table 4.11 Paired samples test  

However, when evaluated on the group task, the change = 0.4630 recorded with self-
concept failed to confirm its significance since the p-value = 0.245 was much bigger than
the accepted p-value ≤ 0.05.

Control Group

Table 4.12 Paired samples test  

The control group when assessed during their performance of the group task recorded a
change of –0.0781. Its big p-value = 0.801 denied the significance of the change.
To sum up the outcome of both teaching modes on self-concept, it is evident that the study
had yielded the answer sought by the research question; the effects of role-play on
learners’ self-concept. It is evident that role-play, the independent variable in study had
proven to have affected learners’ self-concept positively and significantly compared to
the traditional teacher-fronted approach. Generally, students’ self-concept underwent
change but the improvement detected with the experimental group was far more
significant and greater than the improvement brought about by the traditional approach to
the control group. Furthermore, the study also proves that role-play generally improved
self-concept and did not degrade it.

58
Table 4.13 Findings on communicative competence – Individual task

The results in Table 4.13 show that both experimental and control groups registered
changes in oral competence when performing the individual task. However, the change
experienced by the experimental group was bigger than that of the control group. This can
be deduced from the mean difference = 1.3519 which was above the overall mean
0.9152, while the control group’s increase = 0.5468 was below the overall difference.

Experimental Group – Individual Task

Table 4.14 Paired samples test  

The mean difference = 1.3519 reflects that the shift that the experimental group had
undergone was significant. It means that there was a significant difference between pre-
test result and post-test result as the p-value equalled 0.000.

Control Group – Individual Task

Table 4.15 Paired samples test  

The mean difference = 0.5468, shows that the post-test result was higher than that of the

59
pre-test. The result was significant for the control group since the p-value equalled 0.019.

Table 4.16 Findings on communicative competence – Group task

The results (Table 4.16) show that both experimental and control groups registered
changes in communicative (oral) competence at group level. The mean change of the
experimental group = 1.1482 was bigger than that of the control group = 0.7903 which
was below the overall difference.

Experimental Group – Group Task

Table 4.17 Paired samples test  

The mean difference for the group tasks undertaken by the experimental group was 1.1482
and was confirmed significant by the p-value = 0.000.

Control Group – Group Task

Table 4.18 Paired samples test  

Undoubtedly, there was also a significant change in communicative competence with the

60
control group although it was below the overall percentage. The mean difference was
0.7903 while the p-value was 0.022.
To conclude, both groups did experience change in oral competence after 10 weeks, yet
the change recorded by the experimental group was far larger and more significant than
that of the control group. Also, the statistical evidence of the significant gains mean of
oral competence of the experimental group over the control group and percentage of
change in raw scores were attributed to the positive effects of the experimental treatment
variable – continual/weekly practice of role-play, which thus answers the research
question: role-play improves students’ self-concept and communicative competence. In
addition, the impact was much more significant and greater than the impact of traditional
approach on the control group.

CONCLUSION
The main focus of this study is to ascertain whether consistent implementation of
experiential learning form of role-play has any positive effects on learners’ self-concept
and communicative competence or not. The findings of this study have helped determine
that the experimental group, which was exposed to role-play for 10 consecutive weeks
had far more significant improvement in their self-concept and communicative
competence compared to the control group. This is because they went through the process
of social interaction and negotiation with the peers. They had to discuss and also learned
to accept each other’s views through the assignment of role to each group member, the
turn-taking in giving opinions, the agreement and disagreement, the justification of
opinions (social self-concept), being assertive in projecting ideas and satisfactory voice
control (academic self-concept) and displaying appropriate facial expression and eye
contact (emotional self-concept). Moreover, their communicative competence was also
tested. The grammaticality of the language in use (grammatical competence), use of
gestures and fluency (strategic competence) and cohesiveness of ideas, and register were
also in examined.
On the whole, experiential learning form of role-play had allowed learners more
autonomy for them to decide on how to go about doing the role-play and gives them room
to negotiate with one another and also to compliment the strengths and criticise the
pitfalls constructively. Experience is the best teacher. If a real life experience is difficult
or impossible, then an artificial environment, though not ideal, may be effective for
learning (Fablusi, 2000). Furthermore, when past experiences can be applied directly to
current experience, learning is facilitated (Brundage & Mackeracher, 1980).

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brundage, D.H. and Mackeracher, D. (1980) Adult Learning Principles and Their
Application to Program Planning. Ontario: Ministry of Education.

61
Chin, V.K. (2002) Jobless grads must not be choosy. The New Straits Times, 22 December.
Dennison, B. and Kirk, R. (1990) Do, Review, Learn, Apply: A Simple Guide to Experiential
Learning. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Fablusi, J. (2000) Role-Play Simulation Generator. http://www.fablusi.com (accessed 7 July
2004).
Jones, K. (1988) Interactive Learning Events: A Guide for Facilitators. New York: Kogan
Page Ltd.
Kolb, D.C. (1988) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and
Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Krish, P. (2001) A role play activity with distance learners in an English language classroom.
Internet TESL Journal 7(7): 1–6.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (1986) Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Leslie Foo. (2002) Make it compulsory. The New Straits Times, 15 May.
Naginder Kaur. (1999) Role play: The relationship between self-concept and learner
participation in an experiential learning process. Master dissertation, Universiti Sains
Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
Rosenberg, M. (1979) Conceiving the Self. New York: Basic Press.
Shrum, J.L. and Glisan, E.W. (2000) Teacher’s Handbook: Contextualized Language
Instruction. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
Tan Teng Yang. (2002) Don’t rush into teaching subjects in English. The New Straits Times,
15 May.
Zarshik. (2002) Most can’t speak well. The New Straits Times, 15 May.

62
 A New Horizon in Writing Classes: Increasing Learner’s
5 Autonomy
LEILY ZIGLARI AND ROUZBEH KHALILI

INTRODUCTION

Collocation is both indispensible and problematic for language learners. The aim of this
present study is to examine and evaluate the significance of collocational patterns in
second language acquisition. A variety of research studies have been carried out in the
field of language teaching or learning and communication with none or little specific
attention on the role of collocation as a significant component in communicative
competence. Additionally, these studies are mostly based on translation tasks and
accordingly it is not clear whether the results are generalizable and whether they reflect
learner’s production problems. In cases where there have been some research in this
area, there is little evidence on how we should teach and the type of collocations to be
considered.
Many Iranian EFL university students seem to have knowledge of vocabulary and
grammar at the acceptable level, but they do not have adequate knowledge of collocations
to strings words in their constructions for writing communications. This knowledge of
collocational patterns is not provided in the EFL textbooks and also most teachers do not
pay attention to this aspect of language acquisition. This research aims to shed some light
on the importance of teaching verb + noun (V+N) and verb + preposition (V+P)
collocations to Iranian university students. The following hypotheses have guided this
study:

1. There is no difference between teaching collocations and enhancing the writing

performance of ELT learners.
2. There is no difference in relationship between degree of restriction and using
collocations.
3. There is no difference between students’ learning V+N collocations and V+P
collocations.

Regarding the theoretical significance of this study, Wray (2002) refers to the importance
of collocation not only as an important factor in striving for a high degree of
communicative competence, but as a factor to help the learners improve their accuracy
and fluency. The pedagogical significance of the present study is that the findings can be
used by teachers to teach students to write effectively.

63
BACKGROUND
The pioneers who attempted to bring formulaic sequences in teaching syllabuses are
Willis (1990), Nattinger and DeCarrico (1992), and Lewis (1993, cited in Wray, 2000).
Wray (2000) points out that the mastery of idiomatic forms of expression, including
idioms, collocations and sentence frames (collectively referred to as “formulaic
sequences”) is an important component of successful language learning. Sinclair (1991,
cited in Howarth 1998) has worked widely on an approach to phraseology in ELT.
Maftoon (2007) refers to the conceptualizing content when the course book developer
designs his/her material. According to Maftoon (2007), conceptualizing content means
what to teach and what should be included in the textbook. It reflects those aspects of
language that are important. Accordingly, by providing collocations in the course books,
the need for conceptual content will be satisfied in part.
There are three different approaches to teaching formulaic sequences in the literature of
which one is Willis (1990, cited in Wray 2000) personal communication that has been
selected as a methodology in this paper. Willis (1990, cited in Wray 2000) argues that we
must help learners to notice patterning and to speculate about them in order to learn FSs
incidentally. He further says that we need to provide the learners with language
experience through exposure to the useful patterns of language.

AWARENESS
The relationship between explicit and implicit knowledge and how they are internalized
is a matter of “consciousness in language learning”. According to Schmidt (1990), there
are three areas of conscious: consciousness as awareness, consciousness as intention and
consciousness as knowledge. Regarding the consciousness as awareness, Schmidt (1990)
believes that there is some degree of awareness. “Perception” is not necessarily
conscious, whereas noticing requires focal awareness and “understanding” involves
conscious analysis and comparison with a noticed in a previous discourse. In sum,
Schmidt (1990) believes that there should be some degree of consciousness for noticing
to take place. “Noticing” is critical in language learning as the learners attend to the
salient features in the input and have it to turn in the intake; then he compares what he has
observed in the input with his current interlanguage. This is referred to “noticing the
gap”.

DEFINITION OF COLLOCATION
Schmitt (2005) refers to collocation defined by Gibson as formulaic sequence and claims
that language tends to be more formulaic in settings that place processing constraints on
the part of speaker and which provide repetitive conditions of use. According to Lewis
(1997, p. 15), “Fluency is based on the acquisition of a large store of fixed or semi-fixed
prefabricated items”. Wray (2002) referred to this term as “formulaic sequence” and

64
defined it as:
A formulaic sequence is a sequence, continuous or discontinuous of words or other
elements, which is, or appears to be, prefabricated; that is, stored and retrieved whole
from memory at the time of use, rather than being subject to generation or analysis
by the language grammar (p. 465).

Williams (2002) defines that it is a lexical unit consisting of a cluster of two or three
words from different parts of speech. Wray (2002, cited in Schmitt, 2005) believes that
they frequently occur together as a lexical entry. In other words, they can be stored and
retrieved whole from the memory. Jullian (2000) referred to the paradigmatic and
syntagmatic relations of each word in her study. The former refers to the relation of a
word to similar-meaning words, whereas the latter concerns about the other words it can
be used with. The term “collocation” then refers to the syntagmatic relations of each
word.
The term “collocation” in this paper is used to mean in a phraseological rather than in a
frequency-based sense. There are different criteria to delimit collocations from other
types of word combinations. Nesselhauf (2003) referred to the “restricted sense” in
phraseology to have following criteria:

1. The sense of the verb (noun) is so specific that it only allows its combination
with a small set of nouns (verbs).
2. The verb (noun) cannot be used in this sense with all nouns (verbs) that are
syntactically and semantically possible.

He also defined “free combinations” and collocations as the following sense:

1. Free combinations (want a car)
The verb and the noun are both unrestricted, and they can be freely combined:
2. Collocations (take a picture)
The noun is in unrestricted sense, but the sense of the verb is restricted, so that the verb
can be combined with certain nouns. In this study, the researcher referred to both types of
collocations and restricted sense as examples of collocation, but difference is on the
degree of restriction as was proposed by Nesselhauf (2003). Accordingly the letter “F”
stands for free combination and “RC” stands for restricted collocation. These composite
units have been divided into grammar composites and lexical composites. The former is a
kind of collocation between one open and one closed class word (V+P), while the latter
which is called lexical collocations consist of two open class words (V+N).

METHODOLOGY
OPT test was applied to measure the proficiency level of 80 Iranian university students in

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Esfahan and then those whose scores between 135 to 145 were selected as intermediate-
level students and were randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control.
The experimental group underwent the treatment while the control group received no
specific treatment. The treatment was carried out for 10 sessions, each lasting 15 minutes.
In fact, 10 different general texts, not technical, taken from Greenall’s Effective Reading
(1986) were taught in reading classes and the combination of V+N and V+P as two types
of collocations were taught to the learners along with the possible substitutions. The
difference between free combinations and “restricted collocation” was clarified to them
by providing examples. Then, they were asked to write a summary of the taught text for
the next session and certainly they were impressed by teaching collocations. The students
in the control group did benefit from teaching traditional method of reading.

DATA COLLECTION
After collecting 200 summaries from students, all V+N and V+P combinations were
manually extracted. In the second step, the combinations were classified as to their
degree of restriction (i.e., F, RC); in other words, they were compared to the Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Collins Cobuild English Dictionary, as criteria for
determining the range of restriction.
The procedure in the first step is straightforward, but in the second one, it was as
follows: if the dictionaries did not specify the type of noun or prepositions, they were
considered as “F”, whereas if there were some indications about the limited number of
nouns with verb, it was called as “RC”. If there was a mismatch between the two
dictionaries, the collocation dictionary was considered to be more valid and reliable as
it is purposefully prepared for this aim.

DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

In order to test the first null hypothesis, the total scores obtained by the students in both
groups were subjected to a t-test to find out if there was any significant difference
between the two groups regarding their performances. Figure 5.1 shows the graphic
representation of the means and Table 5.1 shows the results of the t-test.
It can be interpreted from the table above that the difference between the two groups is
statistically significant (t = 9.359, p = .000); therefore, the first null hypothesis is rejected
and it can be claimed that teaching collocations positively affects students’ vocabulary
learning.
To test the second null hypothesis, the scores obtained by the students in the experimental
group on free collocations and restricted collocations were subjected to another t-test.

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 Figure 5.1 Graphic representation of the means on students’ performance

Table 5.1 The results of the t-test on the performance of the two groups

Figure 5.2 Graphic representation of the means on the vocabulary post-test

Table 5.2 The results of the t-test on the students’ use of free and restricted collocations

Figure 5.2 shows the graphical representation of the means and Table 5.2 shows the
results of the t-test.
The difference between the two sets of scores is not statistically significant (t = 1.481, p
= .156); therefore, the second null hypothesis is retained. In other words, the
performances of the students on free collocations and restricted collocations are almost
the same.
In order to test the third null hypothesis, the students’ scores on these two areas – V+N
and V+P – were compared by subjecting them to another t-test. Figure 5.3 shows the

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graphical representation of the means and Table 5.3 shows the results of the t-test.
As it can be seen in Table 5.3, the difference between the two sets of scores is not
statistically significant (t = –2.031, p = .057); therefore, the third null hypothesis is
marginally retained. It can be concluded that the performances of the students on V+N
collocations and V+P collocations are almost the same; in other words, their performance
on grammatical composites and lexical composites are the same.

Figure 5.3 Graphic representation of the means on the vocabulary post-test

Table 5.3 The results of the t-test on the students’ use of restricted collocations

CONCLUSION

The purpose of the present study was to raise students’ awareness and to develop their
language learning autonomy by teaching collocations. The result of this research study
shed light on the importance of collocations in ELT. In fact, the first null hypothesis was
rejected and it was found that one way of developing awareness and learner autonomy is
through instruction and this study provides a practical rationale in the study of second
language acquisition (SLA) that writing in the English language is best learned and taught
through the use of collocations. This paper has shown that whenever collocation is
explicitly taught, the learners may develop their awareness of how important collocations
are in English writing and they apply them accordingly in their texts (summaries, essays,
letters, etc.). In this way, the number of errors was reduced, and their style of writing
improved. Moreover, learners focused on different language features, one of which is
collocation and they were more concerned about producing a coherent paragraph than
they were about traditional language instruction. As a result, the findings from this study
indicate that “collocation-based teaching” is a suitable task for this group of learners.
The results for the second null hypothesis indicate that the restriction in the degree of

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collocations did not make a significant difference for the experimental groups. The
restricted collocations were divided into V+N and V+P to determine whether students
were more sensitive in each case. The results of the third hypothesis displayed no
difference. It can be deduced therefore that the learners treated these two types of
collocations equally when producing the paragraphs.

IMPLICATIONS
In this research study, the importance of collocations in language teaching has been
emphasized. The point is that sometimes learners are not aware of such combinations but
as soon as they are informed, they would apply this knowledge in the writing of their
compositions or summaries. In this way, it is the job of material writers and English
teachers to make students aware of this element. Unfortunately, most of the general
English text books in this country tend to highlight the basic components of vocabulary,
structure and to some extent pronunciation. However, little attention is given to the
importance of this critical component of language. If we as language practitioners are to
help our students to gain mastery of English as a second language and to develop their
communicative competence, we must give equal consideration to all language
components. Additionally, teaching collocations can be an effective technique in language
classes to improve language learning and also to provide support for the claims of the
pioneers who are involved in this particular field of second language learning.

LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

The first limitation is that because a small database has been selected, we cannot draw a
firm conclusion from our findings. The second is that the criteria for dividing the
collocations into free versus restricted ones are rather subjective and were taken from
two dictionaries – the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and the Collins Cobuild
English Dictionary. The concept of collocation dictionaries is relatively new and they
may not be comprehensive enough. The native speakers’ judgment is involved; however
they may not be consistent in their judgment. The third is the problem of avoidance; it
means that the students may not have produced those collocations where they were unsure
if they were acceptable combinations. It seems that the researcher has just tried to obtain
the students’ collocations on the surface level and has not taken the problem of avoidance
into account.
Definitely, much more research is needed on the issue of the effectiveness of different
types of collocations with their degree of restriction for different student populations and
different age groups. Additionally different syntactic types of combinations in the
teaching collocations in terms of N+N, ADJ+N, V+ADV, etc. can be provided for the
learners of English in order for them to gain a wider perspective of their usefulness.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cowie, A.P. (1994) Phraseology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Collins Cobuild English Dictionary. (1995) London: Harper Collins.
Ellis, R. (1990) Instructed Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Greenall, S. (1986) Effective Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Howarth, P. (1998) Phraseology and second language proficiency. Applied Linguistics 19(1):
24–44.
Jullian, P. (2000) Creating word-meaning awareness. ELT Journal 54(1): 37–46.
Koosha, M. and Jafarpour, A.A. (2006) Data-driven learning and teaching collocation of
prepositions: The case of Iranian EFL adult learners. Asian EFL Journal 8(4): 192–209.
Lewis, M. (1993) The Lexical Approach. United Kingdom: Language Teaching Publications.
Lewis, M. (1997) Implementing the Lexical Approach. United Kingdom: Language Teaching
Publications.
Maftoon, P. (2007) Developing general English course books for Iranian learners: Some
practical guidelines. Roshd FLT 21(3): 13–22.
Nattinger, J.R. and DeCarrico, J. (1992) Lexical Phrases and Language Teaching. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Nesselhauf, N. (2003) The use of collocations by advanced learners of English and some
implications for teaching. Applied Linguistics 24(2): 223–242.
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. (2005) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Schmitt, N. (2005) Formulaic sequences: Acquisition, processing and use. Review of Applied
Linguistics 26: 471–474.
Schmidt, R. (1990) The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied
Linguistics 11: 129–158.
Xiao, R. and Mcenery, T. (2006) Collocation, semantic prosody, and near synonymy: A cross-
linguistic perspective. Applied Linguistics 27(1): 103–129.
Williams, B. (2002) Collocation with advanced levels. http://www.teachingenglish.org
.uk/think/vocabulary/collocation1.shtml (accessed 31 May 2007).
Willis, D. (1990) The Lexical Syllabus: A New Approach to Language Teaching. London:
Collins ELT.
Wray, A. (2000) Formulaic sequences in second language teaching: Principles and practice.
Applied Linguistics 21(4): 463–489.
Wray, A. (2002) Formulaic Language and the Lexicon. New York: Oxford University Press.

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6 Language Learning Strategies: Current Issues
NAFISEH SALEHI AND RAHIM KAVIANI

INTRODUCTION

It may not be an exaggeration to declare that there are as many definitions for language
learning strategies as there are textbooks and researchers in the field. The multiplicity of
definitions can be an indication of the complexity of the concept of learning strategies.
Tarone (1983, p. 67) refers to language learning strategies as “attempt[s] to develop
linguistic and sociolinguistic competence in the target language”. Rubin (1987, p. 22)
defines language strategies as “strategies which contribute to the development of the
language system which the learner constructs and affect learning directly”. Oxford (1994,
p. 1) describes foreign or second language (L2) learning strategies “as specific actions,
behaviours, steps or techniques students use – often consciously – to improve their
progress in apprehending, internalizing and using the L2”. According to Chamot (2004, p.
14), “learning strategies are the conscious thoughts and actions that learners take in order
to achieve a learning goal”.
Language learning strategies are identified through self-report. Although self-report may
be inaccurate if the learner does not report truthfully, it is still the only way to identify
learners’ mental processing (Chamot, 2004). Learning strategies are for the most part
unobservable, though some may be associated with an observable behaviour. For
example, a learner could use “selective attention” (unobservable) to focus on the main
ideas while listening to a newscast and could then decide to “take notes” (observable) in
order to remember the information. In almost all learning contexts, the only way to find
out whether students are using learning strategies while engaged in a language task is to
ask them. Verbal report data are used to identify language learning strategies because
observation does not capture mental processes (O’Malley & Chamot, 1990). As Chamot
(2004) notes, researchers can ask language learners to describe their learning processes
and strategies through retrospective interviews, stimulated recall interviews,
questionnaires, written diaries and journals, and think-aloud protocols concurrent with a
learning task. Each of these methods has limitations, but each provides important insights
into unobservable mental learning strategies.

CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES

In the 1980s and early 1990s, research mainly focused on categorizing the strategies

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found in the studies of the previous decade. As a result, several taxonomies were
proposed to classify them, including classifications of language learning strategies in
general and language sub-skills strategies in particular. O’Malley and Chamot (1990), for
instance, have divided the strategies into three main branches – cognitive, metacognitive
and socio-affective – each of which includes lots of sub-strategies such as rehearsal,
organization, summarizing, deducing and imagery. According to them, cognitive (e.g.,
translating, analyzing) and metacognitive (e.g., planning, organizing) strategies are often
used together, supporting each other. The assumption is that using a combination of
strategies often has more impact than single strategies. As Graham (1997, pp. 42–43)
states, “the distinctions between cognitive and metacognitive strategies are important,
partly because they help us to indicate which strategies are the most important in
determining the effectiveness of learning”. Graham believes that metacognitive strategies,
that allow students to plan, control and evaluate their learning, have the most central role
to play in improvement of learning. Anderson (2002, p. 1) maintains that “developing
metacognitive awareness may also lead to the development of stronger cognitive skills”.
Oxford (1990) has proposed a more comprehensive model in which six categories,
classified into two groups of direct and indirect exist. The direct strategies include
cognitive, memory and compensation while indirect strategies include metacognitive,
affective and social. Cognitive strategies can be used for linking new information with
existing schemata and for analyzing and classifying it; memory strategies for entering new
information into memory storage and for retrieving it when needed and compensation
strategies (such as guessing or using gestures) to overcome deficiencies and gaps in one’s
current language knowledge. Metacognitive techniques can be used for organizing,
focusing and evaluating one’s own learning; affective strategies for handling emotions or
attitudes and social strategies for cooperating with others in the learning process. Hsiao
and Oxford (2002) conducted a comparative study of the classification systems used in
the field and found that the Oxford system was superior in accounting for the variety of
strategies reported by language learners.

LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGY INSTRUCTION

It has been suggested that learning strategy instruction may help learners in three ways:
firstly, learning strategies instruction can help students to become better learners;
secondly, skill in using learning strategies assists them in becoming independent and
confident learners; and finally, they become more motivated as they begin to understand
the relationship between their use of strategies and success in learning languages (Chamot
& Kupper, 1989; Chamot & O’Malley, 1994).
O’Malley and Chamot (1990) found two approaches in teaching learning strategy, direct
(overt in Oxford’s model) and embedded (covert in Oxford’s model). Direct training is
“learning strategy instruction in which students are informed about the value and purpose
of learning strategies” (O’Malley & Chamot, 1990, p. 229). Whereas, embedded training
is “guidance in the use of learning strategies that is embedded in the task materials but not
explicitly defined to the learner as strategy instruction” (O’Malley & Chamot, 1990, p.

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230). They added that an embedded approach had little effect on learners.
Later, Chamot and O’Malley (1994) working on a project called Cognitive Academic
Language Learning Approach (CALLA) provided a useful framework for direct language
learning strategies instruction. The sequence of instruction in CALLA approach is a five-
phase recursive cycle for introducing, teaching, practicing, evaluating and applying
learning strategies. In this approach, highly explicit instruction in applying strategies to
learning tasks is gradually faded so that students can begin to assume greater
responsibility in selecting and applying appropriate learning strategies. The cycle repeats
as new strategies or new applications are added to students’ strategic repertoires.
To have a successful and helpful learning strategy instruction some requirements must be
met by the teachers. These are summarized by Oxford (1994) into the following
principles that she left subject to further investigation:
1. L2 strategy training should be based clearly on students’ attitudes, beliefs and
stated needs.
2. Strategies should be chosen so that they mesh with and support each other and
so that they fit the requirements of the language task, the learners’ goals and the
learners’ style of learning.
3. Training should, if possible, be integrated into regular L2 activities over a long
period of time rather than taught as a separate, short intervention.
4. Students should have plenty of opportunities for strategy training during
language classes.
5. Strategy training should include explanations, handouts, activities,
brainstorming and materials for reference and home study.
6. Affective issues such as anxiety, motivation, beliefs and interests – all of which
influence strategy choice – should be directly addressed by L2 strategy training.
7. Strategy training should be explicit, overt and relevant, and should provide
plenty of practice with varied L2 tasks involving authentic materials.
8. Strategy training should not be solely tied to the class at hand; it should provide
strategies that are transferable to future language tasks beyond a given class.
9. Strategy training should be somewhat individualized, as different students
prefer or need certain strategies for particular tasks.
10. Strategy training should provide students with a mechanism to evaluate their
own progress and to evaluate the success of the training and the value of the
strategies in multiple tasks.
Nevertheless, not all L2 strategy training studies have been successful or conclusive.
Some training has been effective in various skill areas but not in others, even within the
same study (Oxford, 1989).

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FACTORS IMPACTING THE CHOICE OF L2 LEARNING
STRATEGIES

As Chamot (2004) declares, in the language classroom it is important that teachers strive
to develop students’ own metacognition, as that will help them select the most
appropriate strategies for a given task. Students do not need to learn the names of every
strategy that has been identified in the research literature. They need to learn how to use
strategies that they find effective for the kinds of tasks they need to accomplish in the L2.
Oxford (1990) synthesized existing research on how the following factors influence the
choice of strategies used among students learning a second language:

1. Motivation
More motivated students tended to use more strategies than less motivated
students, and the particular reason for studying the language (motivational
orientation, especially as related to career field) was important in the choice of
strategies.
2. Gender
Females reported greater overall strategy use than males in many studies
(although sometimes males surpassed females in the use of a particular strategy).
3. Cultural background
Rote memorization and other forms of memorization were more prevalent among
some Asian students than among students from other cultural backgrounds.
Certain other cultures also appeared to encourage this strategy among learners.
4. Attitudes and beliefs
These were reported to have a profound effect on the strategies learners choose,
with negative attitudes and beliefs often causing poor strategy use or lack of
orchestration of strategies.
5. Type of task
The nature of the task helped determine the strategies naturally employed to carry
out the task.
6. Age and L2 stage
Students of different ages and stages of L2 learning used different strategies, with
certain strategies often being employed by older or more advanced students.
7. Learning style
Learning style (general approach to language learning) often determined the

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 choice of L2 learning strategies. For example, analytic-style students preferred
strategies such as contrastive analysis, rule-learning, and dissecting words and
phrases, while global students used strategies to find meaning (guessing,
scanning, predicting) and to converse without knowing all the words
(paraphrasing, gesturing).
8. Tolerance of ambiguity
Students who were more tolerant of ambiguity used significantly different
learning strategies in some instances than did students who were less tolerant of
ambiguity.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Early researchers made lists of strategies and other features presumed to be essential for
all “good L2 learners.” According to Rubin (1975), aptitude, motivation and opportunity
are essential characteristics of good language learners who either have or can develop
these characteristics. She constructed a list of strategies typical of good language
learners, who, according to her observations, are willing and able to use clues (for
instance non-verbal indications, word association, general knowledge) in order to guess
meaning, use a variety of techniques (such as circumlocution, paraphrase or gestures) in
order to communicate or learn from communication, manage inhibitions (such as the fear
of appearing foolish or of making mistakes) attend to form (for instance by analyzing,
categorizing and synthesizing) practice the language they are trying to learn (for instance
by seeking out native speakers and initiating conversations), monitor both their own and
others’ speech (for instance by learning from mistakes) and attend to meaning (for
instance by interpreting mood and intonation). She suggested that “if we knew more about
what the ‘successful learners’ did, we might be able to teach these strategies to poorer
learners to enhance their success record” (p. 42). Naiman, Frohlich and Todesco (1978)
made a list of strategies used by successful L2 learners, adding that they learn to think in
the language and address the affective aspects of language acquisition. As Chamot and
Kupper (1989) mention, successful language learners tend to select strategies that work
well together in a highly orchestrated way, tailored to the requirements of the language
task. These learners can easily explain the strategies they use and why they employ them.

CONCLUSION
Second learning strategies must be regarded as a teaching asset in the classroom since
they help the learners to develop autonomy and independence from the teacher. The fact
that these strategies are amenable to instruction means that learners can be assigned a
more active role in the class through making them responsible for their own learning. The
fact that language learning strategies, unlike other cognitive variables, are under the
control of the learners makes further investment and research in this area a worthwhile

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enterprise.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, N.J. (2002) Using telescopes, microscopes, and kaleidoscopes to put
metacongnition into perspective. TESOL Matters 12(4): 2002.
Chamot, A.U. (2004) Issues in language learning strategy research and teaching. Electronic
Journal of Foreign Language Teaching 1(1): 14–26.
Chamot, A.U. and Kupper, L. (1989) Learning strategies in foreign language instruction.
Foreign Language Annals 22: 13–24.
Chamot, A.U. and O’ Malley, J.M. (1994) The CALLA handbook: Implementing the
Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach. White Plains, NY: Addison Wesley
Longman.
Graham, S. (1997) Effective Language Learning. Clevedon, Avon: Multilingual Matters.
Hsiao, T.Y. and Oxford, R.L. (2002) Comparing theories of language learning strategies: A
confirmatory factor analysis. Modern Language Journal 86(3): 368–383.
Naiman, N., Frohlich, M. and Todesco, A. (1978) The good second language learner. TESL
Talk 6: 58–75.
O’Malley, J.M. and Chamot, A.U. (1990) Learning Strategies in Second Language
Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Oxford, R.L. (1989) Use of language learning strategies: A synthesis of studies with
implications for strategy training. System 17: 235–247.
Oxford, R.L. (1990) Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know.
New York: Newbury House.
Oxford, R.L. (1994) Language Learning Strategies: An Update. ERIC Digest.
Rubin, J. (1975) What the “good language learner” can teach us. TESOL Quarterly 9: 41–51.
Rubin, J. (1987) Learner strategies: Theoretical assumptions, research history and typology. In
A. Wenden and J. Rubin (Eds.), Learner Strategies and Language Learning, 15–29.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Tarone, E. (1983) Some thoughts on the notion of ‘communication strategy’. In C. Faerch and
G. Kasper (Eds.), Strategies in Interlanguage Communication. Harlow: Longman.

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 Pedagogy of the Heart: Understanding Resistance in the
7 English Language Classroom
MARIAH IBRAHIM AND MOHAMAD JAFRE ZAINOL ABIDIN

INTRODUCTION

In a traditional classroom, students’ expressions are not encouraged, or even allowed.

Students are trained to be teacher-dependent and this in turn will lead to passive students.
It is not surprising then that teachers often complain about students needing to be spoon-
fed. Yet how much do we take the responsibility of churning out such behaviours?
This presentation is a part of a research entitled “A Critical Study of Mastery Learning in
an English Language Classroom: A Study in a Secondary School in Penang”. In this
research resistance was found to have an important influence on the success rate of
students’ learning.

CRITICAL THEORY

This research attempts to study mastery learning based on critical theory. In simple terms,
researches based on critical theory seek to understand how the power dynamics in a
society may limit the human capacity to seek for opportunities that will enable every
individual to have a chance to exist in a just social system. This case study from the
critical perspective seeks to foster a questioning attitude towards teaching and learning in
the English language classroom using the principles of mastery learning.
The theory of mastery learning is based on certain assumptions like the effectiveness of
one-to-one tutoring, congruence among instructional components as well as the
importance of feedback and correctives. The setting for this case study will generally be
based on those assumptions as far as the teaching and learning process is concerned. In
other words, lessons for this case is based on these set criteria using peer marking (to
replace one-to-one tutoring) as the importance of feedback is maintained.
Critical theory is mainly concerned with the issues of power. This case aims to
understanding how far the power dynamics in the mastery learning classroom affects the
students in terms of how they receive the language programme in particular and their
perception of schooling in general. Kincheloe and Mclaren (2000, p. 281) explain that
“[a] critical social theory is concerned in particular with issues of power and justice and
ways that the economy, matters of race, class and gender, ideologies, discourses,

77
education, religion and other social institutions, and cultural dynamics interact to
construct a social system”.
The research is also aimed at “detecting and unmasking of beliefs and practices that limit
human freedom, justice and democracy” (Usher, 1994, p. 22). Various issues that concern
freedom, justice and democracy are relevant in this case study when educators consider
how much room is allowed for students to be in charge of their learning, and how much
say they have in determining aspects of mastery learning such as peer marking and
feedback, or even identifying the areas which they will “master”. Mastery learning does
not address the issues pertaining to students in terms of what they desire to learn or
master, their personal knowledge, experience and emotions that they bring along with
them into the classroom and how they make meaningful intellectual connections for
themselves.
This argument is in line with the theory of learning by Paulo Freire which argues that the
whole activity of education is political in nature.

All forms of education are political, whether or not teachers and students
acknowledge the politics in their work. Politics is in the teacher-student relationship,
whether authoritarian or democratic. Politics is in the subject chosen for the syllabus
and in those left out. It is also in the method of choosing course content, whether it is
a shared decision or only the teacher’s prerogative, whether there is a negotiated
curriculum in the classroom or one imposed unilaterally (Shor, 1993, p. 27).

Freire’s social pedagogy defines education as one place where individual and society are
constructed which either empower or domesticate students. The findings of mastery
learning suggest that mastery learning is likely to have more interest in learning through
continued success, and made the conclusion that this may have long term benefits for
mental health. The critical pedagogy however, challenges teachers and students to
“empower themselves for social change, to advance democracy and equality as they
advance their literacy and knowledge” (Shor, 1993, p. 25).
In order for this to take place, a space must be created for a dialogue between teacher and
students to negotiate the teaching and learning process. In this research the space is
provided for by the researcher through the writing of journals and reflections by the
students in their responses to mastery learning.
In summary, a research based on critical theory is concerned with questions such as the
following:
1. Do students encounter inequitable distribution of power?
2. Have students fallen victim to the social relations shaped by the teacher?
3. What are the opportunities of moving away from the one-way notion of power,
and toward a more dialectical image of power relationships?
4. How do we take into account the “personal” knowledge of learners and
teachers, their lived experiences to construct meaningful intellectual

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 endeavours? (Adler & Goodman, 1986)

METHODOLOGY
This research is based on critical theory.

A research that aspires to be critical seeks, as its purpose of inquiry, to confront

injustices in society…. Critical researchers aim to understand the relationship between
societal structures and ideological patterns of thought that constrain the human
imagination and thus limit opportunities for confronting and changing unjust social
systems (Clark, 1999).

This is a qualitative study whereby a case study method was used. The study involved an
all-female-student class in an Islamic secondary school. Using the paradigm of critical
theory, the study is committed to understanding the social structures in which the
participants live in and how they affect learning. Mastery learning acts as a platform in
the study was set. This study aims at achieving some understanding of how the social
structures affects the acquisition of language in a mastery learning classroom experience.
Data was collected through interviews, journal entries, reflections and observations over
a period of six months.

STUDENT RESISTANCE
One of the strengths of a qualitative research lies in the way in which it looks at the
human aspects of things. Researchers coming out from the paradigm of critical theory
emphasize the need to allow students’ voices to be heard. Unlike experimental design,
which seeks to look at scores at the end of a treatment, this case study from a critical
stance look at how the individual responds or resists the innovation. I hold the belief that
“the best method of studying human behaviour, or anything else for that matter, is the one
which is consistent with the basic nature of the subject matter” (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998,
p. 39). Resistance is a natural behaviour of the students. As such, this research cannot and
will not cover up the resistance that was shown by the participants of this research.
This section may not deal directly with issues pertaining to the teaching and learning of
English. However it presents a range of issues related to the personal and/or emotional
struggles that go on in the language classroom. These struggles need to be highlighted.
The following descriptions of student resistance shed some light into the struggles that
they face being so often on the receiving end of instruction in a top down structure of
learning.
Resistance towards learning must be acknowledged whether it is in an ESL classroom or
any other subjects. Unless we recognize resistance as a natural part of classroom living,
we will continually fail to understand where we go wrong. I would like to add that in my
discussion of resistance I am not looking at it as a bad thing. From listening to the

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students’ voices, we may learn a few things ourselves. Students do not necessarily resist
for the sake of resisting power. Some resist as their learning desires differ from the
teacher. Their desires are meaningful to them. They show that they want to learn.
Kincheloe (2003, p. 14) sums up Paolo Freire’s and Ira Shor’s commitment that:

Teachers, as researcher … must research their own students. It is a research which

focuses on the spoken and written words of students in order that the teacher may
understand what they know, their goals and the texture of their lived worlds.

And in order to achieve a situation which would allow the students to express themselves
authentically, Kincheloe (2003, p. 15) says that a teacher “has to exercise restraints”.
And by that he meant that the teacher “should avoid monopolization of the classroom
conversation in order to encourage teacher talk”. I would like to include another
condition. A teacher also has to show a genuine concern about the students’ experiences.
A teacher must be able to accept criticism as part of learning. Words of the student must
be given due consideration and if necessary issues are discussed openly. Teachers could
also help students be convinced of their sincerity by acknowledging their complaints as
part of the learning process. Once the students are able to see that the teacher has a
genuine concern for her students, they will feel free to express their thoughts.

…but honestly I hate peer marking…

S34/ R4

Or even criticize:

I am not comfortable in the way where you combine mastery learning with Mr
Johan’s period. It’s unorganized. [translated]
S28/R4

One of the revelations in the students’ journals is the explicit display of resistance
towards school system, be it the teachers or the administrators. The syndrome of “passive
students”, which is a common phenomenon in Malaysia, needs to be uncovered. Some of
the participants in this research have come upfront in an open admission that their
behaviour is a form of resistance that has helped them to cope with situations that go
against their likings. For the students’ fourth reflection, they were invited to share their
experience of their own reactions when faced with an undesirable situation. They were
asked. “How do you react when you don’t like what your teacher told you to do?” These
were some of their responses:
I do my own work, sleep or [just ignore] what that he/she tell because if I listen that,
to me it is [a waste of time.]
S2/R4
I can tell all about the shortcoming about the teacher. [sic]
S18/R4
I will scribble on a piece of paper. I will sleep. [translated]
S13/R4

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The resistance that the students are facing themselves is not always an easy process for
them. Some, with religious values imposed upon them, face a personal challenge in their
resistance. Here is one such evidence of a student’s struggles between “good” and “evil”:

Honestly, I just accept it. I can’t do anything bad to teacher. Truly in my heart I’m a
good girl but in the evil side of my heart, I want that teacher to feel what we are
feeling now. I will talk about him/her with my friend and laugh together. And say a
bad things about him/her. [sic]
S1/R4

Is wanting a teacher to feel what a student feel “evil”? Perhaps it is, if these girls have
been taught to accept to do what the adults want them to do. “Jangan lawan cakap orang
tua-tua” (don’t argue with people older than you), a famous Malay saying. With this form
of teaching plus the position of a teacher in a Muslim community, it may not be surprising
to understand the guilt of a student who asks to be heard and understood. In critical
research, the onus is on the researcher to unveil the students’ feelings and experience and
explore how these interact with dominant ideologies and with systems of power and
privilege.
Here are some more evidence on students’ struggles with the perception of “right” and
“wrong”. In the following example, the teacher even has the power to “cast a spell” on
her students:

For me, even when I don’t like something I will just keep mum and just do what the
teacher asks me to do. As a student I feel I don’t have the right to resist whatever the
teacher tell me to do. Sometimes the teacher like to say things like (cast a spell) “if
you don’t do your work you will not pass your exam” So I don’t have any choice, I
just do it. Though the truth is, I don’t like it [translated]
S25/ R4

I would like to interpret the smiley at the end of the excerpt also as a form of resistance.
A smile is as much a form of resistance as a sulk. In both cases the students are creating
their own culture of resistance. It’s the same case as when they put a straight face and
pretend they don’t understand. Here are more of the things the students say about
responding to instructions that they do not like:

I will just do and pretend to be stupid.

S3/R4
I just do what they want me to do, then I’ll go to my friends and start saying stuff I
hate about them. Then, in their classes, I wont give any positive response and I’ll
make the most bored face possible.
S37/ R4
I will just put on a “blur” face. If I feel sleepy, I just pull my head cover forward and
then sleep. But make sure you are not caught.
S27/ R4

Relating to what I was saying earlier about a smile being a form of resistance, here is a

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case where a student stretches it even further. She teases:
If you had read my previous reflections you would know that I am rather secretive.
Yes, in short, I am the type that like to keep secrets rather than express what I
should. I find it difficult to trust anyone, even if they are my own friends. So the
answer for this question, I will just keep it to myself. Ooh… teacher must be asking
what is it that I am hiding. [translated]
S28/ R4

The strategies used by the students challenge the teacher’s control. Transfer of knowledge
from teacher to student is halted through the student’s blur faces, nonresponsive attitude
and their pretending to act stupid. Through this culture of resistance, success is at stake.
I won’t be serious with my work and I will do it at the last minute. [translated]
S8/R4
I didn’t like all about mastery learning. I didn’t do anything.
S3/R4

…but honestly I hate peer marking after many times I did it, If I hate it, so I’ll do that
things [half-heartedly]. [sic]
S34/R4

All these different forms of resistance come from the students who try to challenge the
power of a teacher whom they feel do not understand them. This can often be
misconstrued as passivity in classroom. The following students probably explain why
there is such resistance in the classroom.

Teacher. What they care about our feeling. They just want us to do what they ask.
[sic]
S24/R4

The reflection of the students on their dislike for and resistance of mastery learning is just
as valuable as the success stories. As Kincheloe (2003, p. 135) points out Freire’s style
of conducting research:

There are no traditionally defined objects of his educational research – he insists on

involving the people he studies as subjects that is as partners in the process,
encouraging them all along to begin thinking about their own thinking. This method of
critical research, which involves the study and criticism of the research process, is
also a pedagogical process. Everyone involved, not just the researcher, joins in the
process of investigation, examination, criticism and reinvestigation. Everyone learns
to see more critically, to think at a higher level, to recognize the forces which subtly
work to shape their lives.

A research based on critical theory allows us to study the on-goings of the classroom not
only from one perspective. By looking at the experiences of the students, we are seeking
to pursue greater human values for our students. By listening to them we are opening
channels of communication for them to express their desires and dissatisfaction, which

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are valuable for our teaching experience to grow. This in turn will lead to “the design and
promotion of emancipatory, democratic administrative”.
The issue of resistance in the classroom in my case study is one of the key issues in
critical pedagogy. The students’ voices on the reasons why they resist, and more
importantly the way they express their resistance are serious indications as to why
programmes often fail to deliver the result that we seek to attain. Students usually have
little say in what goes on in the classroom, whether it’s the content or learning process.
Their reactions to these may erroneously be translated as indication of students’ lack of
interest or passivity, “In this view, powerlessness is confused with passivity, and
pedagogical shortcomings are reduced to questions of mindlessness, ignorance or
individual failing” (Silberman, quoted in Giroux, 1983).

CONCLUSION
When I first set out to do this research, I was seeking to look for means in which I could
help to assist students through the teaching of basic English grammar so that the students
would be one step ahead and would be better able to achieve higher test scores. But as
my desire to help the students increase, the channel through which I thought I was helping
them became less clear. When the students began to speak, I found myself learning so
much more from them than what I set out to teach in the first place.
In comparison to the conclusion that was derived by Bloom (1971b) and his associates
which was discussed at the end of Chapter 2, first of all, I would like to state that a one-
to-one comparison on the issues involved is not feasible as this is a case study.
Therefore, it cannot be compared to other experimental studies. Nonetheless, what this
study offers in terms if its finding is an in-depth account of the students’ stories in their
lived experiences.
On the issue of active learning and better interest, there is little evidence available to
support the view that the mastery learning approach is solely responsible for that.
Mastery learning may support the active participation during the course of the classroom
experience, in this case the peer marking encounter, but learning does not necessarily take
place effectively. This is not the same as saying that learning does not take place. The
finding of this case shows that while some students are able to sustain learning for later
uses such as for the exam, others are not able to do so. Factors surrounding the everyday
lives of the students like their relationships with the people around them and their desire
for meaning making takes centre place in influencing their school success.
The value of doing a critical research lies in the learning experiences both for the
researcher as well as the students. This research has not been about proving that mastery
learning can be beneficial to students but rather how it can benefit, and the traps that we
have to be careful of. It also places great importance on the students who are the main
players. On top of that, when we think of running a certain programme for a long period,
adjustments needs to be done continuously for effectiveness. We must constantly reassess

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our objectives as well as our students’ needs.
I began my thesis by saying that, “[w]hat pupils learn outside the classroom, in their
homes or through their peers is beyond the control of the teacher. However, the skills,
behaviours, attitudes, and interests that are primarily learned through classroom
instruction represent the school’s and teacher’s contribution to a pupil’s total education”.
I would like to conclude by saying that what students bring from outside of the classroom
have significant effects on the students’ skills, behaviour, attitudes and interests, and
classroom instruction that fails to look into this does not do justice to the students.

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 Students’ and Teachers’ Preferences of ESL Classroom
8 Activities
PUNITHA VAYARAVASAMY AND ANNA CHRISTINA ABDULLAH

INTRODUCTION

The declining proficiency of students in English as measured in national examinations has

been a major issue every time the results are announced. Questions are asked and
suggestions are made but the practice of teaching English in schools, including rural
schools, remains the same. “Learning is an interactive process, the product of student and
teacher activity within a specific learning environment” (Hood, 1995). According to
Keefe (1988), “learning problems frequently are not related to the difficulty of the subject
matter but rather to the type and level of cognitive process required to learn the material
(cited in Hood, 1995). Gregore and Ward (1977) claim that “if educators are to
successfully address the needs of the individual, they have to understand what individual
means. They must relate teaching style to learning style” (cited in Hood, 1995).
Rifkin (2000, p. 394) asserts that learners’ beliefs (including their preferences) about the
learning process are “of critical importance to the success or failure of any student’s
efforts to master a foreign language”. Moreover, when learners have greater roles in
teaching-learning processes, their interests and preferences toward language learning is
promoted (Makarova, 1997). Students learn in many ways, therefore, teaching methods
should also vary. The students bring with them their own learning preferences and in
making decisions regarding the types of activities to be used in the classrooms, the
teachers should take into account the preferences of the students. Some kind of negotiation
is needed between teachers and students (Siti Hanim Stapa, 2000).
In the secondary school integrated curriculum specifications (KBSM), it is emphasized
that the learner should be at the centre of the learning process. Thus, teaching approaches,
lessons and curriculum materials for learning must be adjusted to suit the different needs
and abilities of students (Curriculum Development Centre, 2003, p. 4). Teachers
acknowledge the need to understand the ways in which learners differ in terms of needs
and preferences. Unfortunately, many teachers may not consult learners in conducting
language activities because they “seem to find it difficult to accept their learners as
people with a positive contribution to make to the instructional process” (Allwright,
1984, p. 167). Teachers may regard learners as not capable of expressing what they want
or need to learn and how they want to learn (Bada & Okan, 2000, p. 2).
However, researchers like Block (1994, 1996) claim that learners do have an awareness

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of what goes on in classes and that teachers should therefore make an attempt to align
their task orientation to that of learners. Breen (cited in Block, 1996) showed that
students were able to identify specific techniques adopted by the teacher that they
preferred and believed helped them with understanding the new language. For effective
language learning and teaching, both learner skills and learner assumptions should be
given due attention. Students should be provided with the opportunity to clarify and
assess their preferences. Thus, it is believed that to improve the academic performance of
students from non-English backgrounds, teachers need to give attention to students’ ways
of learning and their preferences and unless teachers are aware of those preferences they
cannot consider them in their teaching activities and classroom practices.

RESEARCH PURPOSE

This study seeks to gain information regarding teachers’ and learners’ preferences for
classroom activities specifically in the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading
and writing, vocabulary learning, language work and participation mode. The findings
from this study will clarify the areas of mismatch between learners’ and their teachers’
perception of different language learning activities if any.
The following research questions were addressed in this study:

1. What activities do students like/dislike doing in class?

2. What are the similarities and differences between the students’ and teachers’
preferences for classroom activities?
3. Are there significant differences between the students’ and their teachers’
preferences in language learning?
4. What are the reasons for their likes and dislikes?

METHODOLOGY

Sample

The respondents selected for this study consisted of 103 Form 4 and Form 5 students
(science and arts stream) from four co-educational rural secondary schools in the Kuala
Muda/Yan district in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The sampling technique
used for this study was simple random sampling. The students were selected by their
teachers by placing their allocated class numbers (written on pieces of paper) in a
container from which the teacher selects five slips to get five respondents from each
class. The age of students ranged from 15 to 19 years. They were from a heterogeneous
group in terms of race, gender and achievement in English.
The sample of teachers comprised those teaching the Form 4 and Form 5 students at the
time of the study (i.e., cluster sampling). There were 21 teachers and all were in-service

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teachers.

Instrument

In this study, questionnaires were used to obtain quantitative and qualitative data. The
focus was mainly on students’ and teachers’ likes and dislikes of the language learning
activities used in the classroom and to determine the reasons for their likes and dislikes.
The questionnaires worded in English were adapted from Spratt (1999), with some
modifications. The final questionnaires included 40 activities used in the classroom and
one last item for the subjects to state their preferences. These activities were categorized
into seven areas, namely reading, writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary, participation
modes and language work. There were two versions; Version 1 was designed for students
and Version 2 for teachers. For more in-depth data, interviews were conducted with three
teachers chosen at random.

Data Analyses

The data were processed using the SPSS programme Version 11.0. Descriptive statistics
were used to analyse the mean and frequency distribution of the responses as well as to
compute the percentages respectively for gender, ethnicity, achievement level and
favoured activities among both teachers and students. To test if differences were
significant among the variables in the study, the type of statistical analysis used was the t-
test. Post-survey interview responses aided in verification of the differences and
conclusion drawing.

RESULTS

The results showed that both students and teachers favour activities such as:

1. Doing written exercises (e.g., filling in blanks, sentence correction)

2. Listening to teacher’s explanations about skills (e.g., how to write a report)
3. Listening to teacher speaking English in class
4. Learning new vocabulary by using new words in a sentence
5. Working in pairs

Looking into activities less preferred, both students and teachers dislike:

1. Reading texts aloud in class

2. Writing short passages
3. Having oral discussion
4. Giving oral presentation
5. Repeating what is heard
6. Memorizing conversations/dialogues

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 7. Listening to classmates giving oral presentation
8. Doing follow-up exercises related to audio recordings (e.g., taking notes)
9. Learning new vocabulary in isolation
10. Learning new vocabulary by saying or writing words several times
11. Learning new vocabulary by thinking of relationships between known and new
12. Learning new vocabulary by verbatim translation
13. Learning new vocabulary by guessing the unknown
14. Learning new vocabulary by reading without looking up words
15. Working in larger groups (more than five students)
16. Taking part in role plays

Besides the activities that both students and teachers had in common, students also prefer:

1. Working in small groups

2. Listening to English songs
3. Making notes while reading

In addition, students did not prefer:

1. Learning new vocabulary by reading without looking up words

In contrast to the above, teachers preferred:

1. Reading texts silently in class to do follow-up exercises

2. Doing reading comprehension activities
3. Reading texts for language analysis (e.g., tenses, connectives)
4. Writing summaries
5. Taking part in oral exercises (e.g., grammar, pronunciation drills)
6. Taking part in language games

but did not prefer:

1. Watching training videos.

Reasons for Likes and Dislikes

The reasons for students’ and teachers’ likes and dislikes were obtained from the open-
ended section of the questionnaire and the structured interviews with three teachers. The
activities most liked by students were listening to English songs (21.4%), making notes
while reading (17.5%) and listening to teacher speaking English (15.6%). For the first
choice, majority of the students (33%) stated that it “helped them to learn new words and
how they were used”. Other reasons were that it “refreshes the mind and soothes their
soul” (22%), “improved their language” (17%) and “helps to brush up pronunciation and
speak fluently” (17%). Some merely liked it because it was fun and easy to learn English
in this way (11%). In reference to making notes while reading, almost 64% reasoned that
it “improved their memory”. Others stated that this activity “helped them to understand

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the text better”, “improved their language skills” and “saved time”. As for listening to
teacher speaking English, majority gave “learn new words, grammar and pronunciation”
(70%) as the reason for liking it. Another reason was it “helped them to pick up speaking
skills” (30%).
Teachers, on the other hand, preferred doing reading comprehension activities (19.1%),
writing short passages individually (19%) and reading text aloud (14.3%). For reading
comprehension activities, the reasons stated were that “it indicates understanding of what
students have read and gives them a sense of satisfaction when they can answer
correctly”, “enables students to build up their vocabulary”, “prepares them for
examination” and “consolidate sentence structure”. As for writing short passages,
teachers reasoned that students “can test their writing skills and language proficiency”,
“could see their mistakes” and “would be motivated to learn English language”. Teachers
choice for reading texts aloud was supported with reasons such as to learn “correct
pronunciation of difficult words in the texts”, “to provide students opportunity to read in
English” and “to give them confidence”. However, students disliked this activity.
In analysing the most disliked activity by students (32%) (i.e., learning new vocabulary
by reading without looking up words), almost 77% of the students indicated “cannot
understand the meaning of words” as the reason while others stated “easy to forget the
word” and “do not know how to use the word” to support their choice. Working in larger
groups was the second most disliked activity (20.5%) with 52% stating “no seriousness
in attempting the task given” as the major reason, followed by “creates conflict due to
differing ideas” (26%) and “only a few will be actively involved” (13%). The third
disliked activity (i.e., reading text aloud) (19.4%), was supported with “cannot
understand the text” as the main reason (55.5%), “afraid of being laughed at by peers”
(16.7%) and “disturbed others” (27.8%).
The activity which teachers most disliked was copying from the board (33.4%). Besides
that, they did not like students working in larger groups (33.3%) and having oral
discussion in groups (23.8%). The reasons teachers highlighted for copying from the
board were that “students merely wrote without understanding”, “it is a waste of time”
and “it is a passive activity where students do not really learn the sentence structure and
meaning of words”. Teachers’ reasons for disliking the second (working in larger groups)
and third (oral discussion in groups) most disliked activities were similar, that is “the
dominant ones monopolise discussions”, “students tend to use their mother tongue or
Malay language during group discussions”, “causes too much noise”, “difficult to control
class”, “students tend to talk about other unrelated topics” and “only a few would do the
work given”.
The activities which students and teachers liked and disliked were determined based on
mean scores. However, results from the t-test at p < 0.05 indicated only 12 activities
which were significantly different between the two groups. From the 12 activities, 8 were
preferred by teachers whereas students did not prefer them. The remaining four were
activities which students preferred but teachers disliked (refer to Table 8.1). This
indicated that there is a 30% mismatch between the preferences of the two groups.

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From Table 8.1, it can be noticed that the activities which indicated significant
differences were distributed among all the seven areas. The most notable divergence is in
the speaking-related activities, that is activity 19 (taking part in oral exercises) and
activity 22 (watching training videos). A vocabulary-related activity, that is learning new
vocabulary by reading without looking up words (activity 33) also indicated a high
degree of disagreement (refer to Figure 8.1 for the divergence).

Table 8.1 Activities indicating significant difference

Figure 8.1 Comparing students’ and teachers’ preferences for classroom activities

Activities

Three teachers were interviewed individually to elicit reasons for the activities that
indicated significant differences between the opinions of students and teachers. Their
purposes for implementing certain activities which students disliked, why they think
students disliked them and how the activities were actually implemented in class were

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clarified through the interviews. Besides that, they were also questioned on the reasons
for not implementing certain activities which students actually preferred and the probable
reasons for students preferring them.
For reading comprehension activities, teachers preferred it more (95.2%) than students
(75.7%). The reasons forwarded by teachers for preferring this activity included “plenty
of opportunity to learn new words”, “complied with the curriculum requirement” and
“meets the skills tested in examinations”. Teachers implied that the rather dull and boring
nature of this activity could be a reason for students’ dislike towards it. Accordingly, the
procedures followed by teachers in implementing this activity were mainly focused on
answering questions which follow the examination format. The procedure which was
commonly followed by teachers is reading the text aloud followed by identifying key
words and meanings. Then, students attempted the questions given. Teachers said that
students feel bored when looking at the same text for a long time, but they still
implemented this activity since the exam questions test students’ reading comprehension
in the same manner.
Another reading-related activity that was more preferred by teachers than students was
reading text for language analysis. Teachers liked this activity because it trains students to
learn through discovery and students will understand certain grammatical rules better if
they were learnt in context. As for students’ dislike for this activity, teachers commented
that most students are lazy and would prefer to be spoon-fed. They expect teachers to
explain the rules and find learning grammar dull and boring.
As for speaking-related activities, taking part in oral exercises garnered the highest mean
for teachers. Teachers liked this activity because they felt students should be given the
opportunity to speak since many of them do not get a chance to do so outside the
classroom. For students not preferring this activity, among the reasons stated by teachers
are “lack command of the language”, “shy” and “to avoid embarrassment of being teased
by peers due to incorrect language use”. Nevertheless, this activity is preferred by
students who have good command of the language. Some teachers indicated that the
students who had positive attitude towards the language and who were generally
proficient students performed with interest and excitement in this activity. In other words,
it was well accepted by proficient students. A teacher suggested identifying interesting
topics and having competition especially by gender to boost their participation in oral
activities.
Another speaking related activity that showed significant difference is watching training
videos. It was not preferred by teachers (lowest mean in speaking-related activities) but
students indicated a high preference for it (68.9%). Teachers’ reasons for not liking it was
again because it demands more time in finding relevant materials and viewing it earlier to
plan the lesson. Besides that, since the schools involved are rural schools, lack of
resources and facilities is a common problem stated by teachers that discouraged them
from using it in their classes. Furthermore, they said it cannot be conducted in the
classroom. Compared to other speaking-related activities, oral discussion in pairs and in
groups displayed the highest mean for students (3.80).

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The participation mode preferred by teachers was working individually and this was
supported with reasons like “students get opportunity to know their ability”, “aids teacher
in rating students’ actual performance” and “to avoid sleeping partners”. On the other
hand, weaker students would benefit from group work since the good ones will be able to
assist them. According to a teacher, weak students sometimes feel left out if asked to
work individually since they don’t have their friends to help them. They may also bother
their friends who are proficient for help. Thus, teachers said they might as well pair or
group them up. Based on comparison of all the four types of participation mode, teachers
preferred students working in pairs (highest mean score for teachers). On the other hand,
students preferred working in small groups (highest mean score for students).
In vocabulary learning, most teachers preferred students to learn new vocabulary by
reading without looking up words. One of the reasons for teachers to do this in class was
because looking up words impedes reading and may interrupt the momentum of the
lesson. The reason for teachers choosing this activity was to train students to arrive at the
meaning of words without looking up the dictionary as it meets exam conditions.
Furthermore, deriving meanings of words by guessing is an important skill in
understanding texts since even by referring to the dictionary, many low achieving students
do not understand the definition given and finally resort to a bilingual dictionary.
Teachers stated the reason of students being spoon-fed most of the time as a reason for
students disliking this activity which demands more thinking on their part. However most
teachers (95.2%) and students (88.4%) indicated a high degree of preference for learning
vocabulary by using new words in a sentence (activity 28).
There are a few activities mentioned in the earlier sections which students liked but most
teachers refrained from using in their classrooms although they liked them too. One such
activity is listening to teacher speaking in class. This activity had the highest mean for
both groups but showed significant difference because most students liked it more
compared to teachers. The reason quoted by teachers is that teaching should be student-
centred and students should be given the opportunity to speak English in class instead of
them listening to the teacher most of the time. They need to produce the language they
have been learning so that they can correct their mistakes and be able to speak fluently.
As to the reason for students to preferring it, teachers stated that it is the only time they
can hear English being spoken.
Another activity that teachers refrained from implementing in their classes is listening to
English songs. Teachers’ main reason for this is that they need to spend more time in
preparation since they have to identify songs that have appropriate pronunciation and
meet students’ interest. Although students liked this very much (80.2%), teachers
preferred to involve them in language games (highest mean for teachers). Looking at
writing-related activities which showed a significant difference, writing summaries and
essays received particular attention. Most teachers implemented these activities because
students’ language proficiency is tested through these tasks in the public examination.
Teachers stated that students were not able to perform well in these activities due to poor
vocabulary and background knowledge. Even with teachers assisting them by providing
mind mapping and brain storming sessions, they were not motivated since they could not

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express their ideas well due to lack of linguistic skills. Thus, students had negative
attitude towards these activities. On the other hand, most students as well as teachers
preferred doing written exercises like filling in blanks and sentence correction (activity
11).

CONCLUSION

The findings from this study revealed a 30% mismatch between teachers’ and students
preferences. The most notable divergence is in two speaking-related activities and one
vocabulary-related activity. Teachers and students reported a range of factors that they
felt contributed to their likes and dislikes towards certain classroom activities. The most
notable factors influencing their preferences were language proficiency levels, beliefs
and affective variables.
The findings obtained from this research suggest that:

1. Students did not prefer activities in which pronunciation was corrected

2. Students enjoy only simple writing tasks
3. In speaking-related activities, students preferred having oral discussion
compared to giving presentation
4. In vocabulary learning, students preferred to use new words by “using new
words in a sentence”
5. In reading-related activities, doing reading comprehension activities was
preferred by both teachers and students
6. In classroom sessions, students would like to see more instructive television
programmes
7. Students preferred learning English in a fun way
8. High proficiency students preferred interactive activities and their teachers were
aware of that
9. Students’ tendency towards working in pairs or small groups is well perceived
by teachers

On the whole, the present study gives a comprehensive picture of the students’ subjective
needs in Malaysian rural secondary school context. According to Ferris (1998), this
subjective needs analysis is of importance since needs analysis is by nature, context
specific (cited in Eslami-Rasekh & Valizadeh, 2004).
Knowledge of students’ needs and wants in learning informs teachers of how their
teaching is being received. By taking their preferences into consideration in deciding on
teaching methods, teachers could foster the enthusiasm of language learners since it helps
to decrease learner anxiety. Barkhuizen (1998, p. 103) suggests that teachers may obtain
learners’ views through one-on-one conferencing, short discussions after class or by
asking learners to keep journals pertaining to their language learning experiences in the
school. Combining knowledge of learners’ needs and wants and teachers’ own

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professional judgment is surely important in the decision-making process.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allwright, R.L. (1984) The importance of interaction in classroom language learning. Applied
Linguistics 5: 156–171.
Bada, E. and Okan, Z. (2000) Students’ language learning preferences. TESL-EJ 4(3): 1–15.
http://www.writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej15/a1.html (accessed 23 May 2005).
Barkhuizen, G.P. (1998) Discovering learners’ perceptions of ESL classroom teaching/learning
activities in a South African context. TESOL Quarterly 32: 85–108.
Block, D. (1994) A day in the life of a class: Teacher/learner perceptions of task purpose in
conflict. System 22: 473–486.
Block, D. (1996) A window on the classroom: Classroom events viewed from different angles.
In K.M. Bailey and D. Nunan (Eds.), Voices from the Language Classroom: Qualitative
Research in Second Language Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Curriculum Development Centre. (2003) Curriculum Specifications for English Form Five.
Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Education Malaysia.
Eslami-Rasekh, Zohreh and Valizadeh, Katayoon. (2004) Classroom activities viewed from
different perspectives: Learners’ voice and teachers’ voice. TESL-EJ 8(3): 1–13.
http://www.writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej31/a2.html (accessed 22 May 2005).
Ferris, D. (1998) Students’ views of academic aural/oral skills: A comparative needs analysis.
TESOL Quarterly 32(2): 289–318.
Gay, L.R. and Airasian, P. (2003) Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and
Application. 7th edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education and Merrill Prentice-Hall.
Gregore, A.F. and Ward, H.B. (1977) Implications for learning and teaching: A new definition
for individual. NAASP Bulletin 61: 22–26.
Hood, K. (1995) Exploring learning styles and instruction. Karen Hood’s Paper.
http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMT705/EMT705.Hood.html (accessed 2 January 2004).
Keefe, J.W. (1988) Profiling and Utilising Learning Style. Virginia: National Association of
Secondary School Principals.
Makarova, V. (1997) Discovering phonetics. The Language Teacher Online 21(3).
Rifkin, B. (2000) Revisiting beliefs about foreign language learning. Foreign Language Annals
33(4): 394–405.
Siti Hamin Stapa. (2000) ESP students’ learning preferences: Are the teachers aware? ESP
World. http://www.esp-world.info/Articles-4/Stapa.html (accessed 12 July 2005).
Spratt, M. (1999) How good are we at knowing what learners like? System 27: 141–155.

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 Innovative Ways of Teaching English and Foreign
9 Languages
PEGGY TAN PEK TAO

INTRODUCTION

Recent research reveals that students’ attitudes and academic achievement improve when
learning experiences revolve around their interests, talents and needs. Teachers or
language educators have to provide highly engaging learning experiences, which are both
motivating and challenging to learners in order to facilitate learning. Language
acquisition and teaching strategies are key terms that are significant in language learning
and teaching. Success in learning English is due to many factors such as motivation,
classroom management, methodology, teachers’ effort and skill, students’ interest,
teaching materials, lesson plans and others. Students become very excited when lesson
games and drama activities are included in their lessons. They learn English in a natural
and enjoyable way.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE LEARNING A LANGUAGE

Motivation and Learning Strategies

Motivation is a significant factor because it is an internal drive that inspires somebody to

pursue a course of action. Goals are also crucial for students or language learners may
possess different targets. Long-term goals may be linked to students’ desire of acquiring a
better job. Short-term goals may include the urge to pass a test or examination at the end
of a term or semester. The role of the teacher is the most significant factor affecting
students’ motivation and this idea has been stated by Harmer (2003) and Lile (2002). The
teacher has to be dedicated and make the vast knowledge in that personal event, the
teaching and learning process. In addition, before, during and after the event the teacher
has to transmit the knowledge mass they possess, and make it part of their students’
knowledge. Ur (1996) and Spaulding (1992) have written about motivation. Intrinsic
motivation exists when a person works due to an inner desire to accomplish a task
successfully. It is derived from external incentives, that is, when people are motivated by
an outcome that is externally or functionally unrelated to the activity in which they are
involved. Here the individual enjoys learning for its own sake.
Extrinsic motivation is divided into integrative and instrumental motivation. The first
involves the desire to identify with and integrate the target-language culture and the latter

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is the wish to learn the language for purpose of study or career (Harmer, 2003; Ur, 1996;
Cook, 1991; Skehan, 1989). It is found that the integrative motivation was more
characteristic of the successful second language learner than the instrumental motivation.
Integrative motivation is firmly based in the personality of the learner. This it is more
likely to sustain learning efforts over time to attain language-learning achievement. Hence
teachers need to know how to aid their students to move from extrinsic to intrinsic
motivational orientation (Spaulding, 1992). Teachers also have to consider psychological
and social factors which affect the students. Personal beliefs and attitudes of both
teachers and students are also crucial. Thus the teacher can teach more effectively and
inspire the students to learn successfully.
Students’ learning strategies are determined by external factors such as task requirements,
teacher expectations, teaching method and assessments. Self-motivation is an internal
factor and is highly crucial (Oxford & Nyikos, 1989). Biggs (1993) and Entwistle (1988)
have described strategies with motivation. Firstly, there are learning strategies related to
instrumental motivation, for instance, passing a course, include limiting effort to focus
attention on literal aspects of a task and the requirements of the syllabus. Secondly
intrinsic motivation is related to strategies which focus on meaning and studying
independently. Here a student has to relate the subject to other elements in one’s
knowledge and experience. Thirdly, strategies associated with achievement motivation,
include organizing time and effort to accomplish tasks will enhance the student’s ego.
Thus the teacher has to facilitate learning and be aware of motivation and strategies.
It is evident that different students will have different motivation. Students can be
categorized into children, adolescents, adult beginners, adult intermediate and adult
advanced students and others. Generally children require constant change in activities
and they cannot sit still and concentrate for long. Adolescents may be the most interesting
to teach for they may be more less inhibited and more enthusiastic. However this may
present problems for they need to be seen in good light by their peer. Peer approval is
vital. Thus a teacher has to plan lessons well and the tasks and activities carried out to
teach effectively. Proper planning, teaching techniques, assessing students and suitable
teaching materials are all important issues for the teacher. Apart from motivation and
learning strategies, students will definitely be more motivated if lesson games and drama
activities are introduced in language teaching.

Physical Conditions

Students’ motivation is affected by physical conditions. The atmosphere in which a

language is learnt is important. Badly-lit classrooms, classrooms without fans or with
inadequate furniture can be de-motivating for students and teachers. Thus if a teacher is
confronted with the problem of negative physical condition, then he has to include
language games or drama activities to inspire students to learn English.

The Teacher

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For class management the teacher must be aware of his various roles (Harmer, 2003). As
a controller the teacher is in charge of the class and controls what the students do. His
objective is to encourage the students to write, listen or speak well. He has to be an
assessor to evaluate the students’ performance. As an organizer he has to make sure that
the activities for the students are successful. The teacher has to be the prompter to enable
shy or weak students to speak or write.
The qualities of a competent and committed teacher are vital. He or she must make his
course interesting, teaches good pronunciation, makes sure all students participate, uses
an audio-lingual method or eclectic approach and exhibits great patience. The eclectic
approach is defined as an approach which adopts any technique or procedure, so long as
it ensures successful learning (Hubbarb, 1987, p. 327). The teacher must be fair and
treats his students equally. He must offer a good model as the target language user. Being
a good technician is necessary. His students have to understand what is required from
them, be able to pronounce words properly and be stimulated in the activities.
Quintessentially the teacher must be a good model as a speaker of the target language and
assesses the students’ ability. Hence the latter are faced with the right degree of
challenge.

TEACHING METHODS: CLASSROOM TECHNIQUES

Generally teachers may use the grammar-translation method when teaching. Rules of
grammar are given and students have to memorize facts to write and speak better
(Hubbard, 1987, p. 32). The audio-lingual method consists of presenting an oral model to
students and they have to listen and repeat pattern drills. Mechanical drilling of speaking
correctly may become boring when one does practice exercises. Teachers must
endeavour to be innovative and stimulate interest for language learning. Teachers
frequently fall back upon a traditional classroom role of imparting knowledge about
grammar rules or improving vocabulary. This is a more teacher-centred approach or an
exegetical exercise led by the teacher. Lecturing students may be boring. We need to
diversify the repertoire of classroom procedures to encourage students’ own responses
and stimulate their desire to improve their reading, writing and listening skills.

Teaching through Drama

Many teachers feel that they are restricted by the conditions in schools and resort to dry
teaching styles. However Spartan conditions in a learning environment must not dampen
the teacher’s spirit. Teaching language in a creative drama context can provide an
extensive range for language activities. Krashen (l977) in his study feels that language
acquisition through “creative construction” is a situation where learning takes place
naturally. An informal approach such as drama activity allows students to participate
actively and achieve language acquisition. Choral reading in schools also encourages
students to learn English actively. Students have to memorize words and lines and
reproduce speeches.

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There are benefits of drama activities. First is the increase of students’ self-esteem. The
effective teacher can select drama activities that put students at ease. Simple role plays or
writing a simple dialogue is an enjoyable activity for both weak and advanced students.
Teachers do not have to correct every error the weak student makes. The shy student is
encouraged to speak with another partner. Secondly many students enjoy making
dialogues whether they are in pairs or in groups. Drama activities are fun and facilitate
the acquisition of meaningful, fluent interaction in the target language. Other benefits
(Welles, 1992) include the assimilation of a whole range of pronunciation and prosodic
features in a fully contextualized and interactional manner, the fully contextualized
acquisition of new vocabulary and structure and an improved sense of confidence in the
student’s ability to learn English.

Role-play

The objective is to enable students to speak confidently, pronounce words accurately, and
to speak with correct intonation and expression. A wide variety of experience can be
brought into the classroom through role play. It is one of the whole gamut of
communicative techniques which develops fluency in language students. Peer learning is
also encouraged by it. Fundamentally members of a group can act out parts in a play or a
given situation. Situations can be created by the teacher or the students themselves if the
latter are advanced. For example, Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, a simple play, has
been written by my students and they were instructed to read aloud and act out the roles in
class. When students put themselves in someone’s shoes and imagine how characters
would react to certain real life situations, it gives them an experience that is different
from mere reading or writing. Drama can be a means of understanding a range of
behaviour, feelings and conflicts.
In role plays, students love reading dialogues aloud in class. They may not act well but
role plays are fun. Situations for group work can be created. For instance, students can be
divided into groups and talk about topics such as pollution, hobbies, movies and others.
Then they write the dialogue and submit to the teacher to be marked.

Miming

This is to enable students to comprehend a story or text more fully. This is useful for
literature students who need to remember a plot in a novel. It can also be used to teach
languages. When a teacher teaches “procedures and processes” in class, miming can be
employed. For instance, a group of students can act in front of the class, to show the other
students who are seated, how to borrow a book in the library. Some materials can be
prepared or brought to the class. Some cooking utensils can be placed on a table and one
student can show how to cook a simple dish. The other students in class will have to
describe the process of cooking the dish. The audience/other students then have to
describe the student’s/actor’s actions.

Lesson Games

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All games have rules which have to be understood by the students. Games can reinforce
particular areas of grammar or improve the student’s vocabulary. By being involved in
lesson games, students learn to improve their writing, speaking or listening skills.

Describing people

In this lesson game hand-outs will be given. Notes on adjectives and descriptive phrases
will be given to students. Students have to use adjectives and sentences to describe a
famous person. This person may be an international film star or a political leader or any
world renowned individual. His name is not stated. The rest of the class will guess who
this person is.

Describing things/objects

Students are taught adjectives, nouns, parts of speech and the tenses involved in
describing things and objects. Then each student will describe an object. The rest of the
class then guess what the object is.

Shipwreck (group work)

Students are divided into groups of four to five persons. Tell the students to imagine that
they are on a raft in the ocean. They are all survivors of a sunken ship. Student A is the
captain of the ship. Student B is the Prime Minister of a country, student C is a mother of
three children, student D is a famous heart surgeon and student E is a brilliant professor.
Hence the captain of the ship has to decide to save only two persons because only three
people can stay on the raft. Each student is each group will explain why he or she should
be saved.

Pronunciation game

Pronunciation is significant when one studies English language. In this activity, students
are given hand-outs. They are taught to pronounce a number of words accurately. Then
each student chooses and reads a word out loud and the rest of the class identify this
word. For example, “ship” or “sheep” has to be distinguished in pronunciation.

Interview survey

Interview techniques have been taught in schools and universities for interviewing is a
crucial part of our everyday life. In all kinds of professions, one has to interview
candidates for job vacancies, clients and people. The students are divided into pairs.
Each pair of students write down five questions and the teacher checks these questions. A
topic is given to each group of students. Thus the students have to interview ten people
after the class lesson. Then they make conclusions and present their findings about a topic
in class. Examples of topics are the eating habits of university students, the problems of
their friends or nature conservation. The teacher has to guide them on how to present their

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findings to the class.

Ten questions

This game can be played in class or as a social game in parties and homes. One student
or person is asked to stand up. He thinks of a famous person. Then the rest of the students
or people asks questions, for instance, “Is this famous person male?” or “Is he from
Britain?” The person who is standing can only answer “Yes” or “No”. Only TEN
questions can be asked by the other students to find out who the famous person is.

Alphabet game

This is a vocabulary game. The teacher can ask students to keep an exercise book for
improving vocabulary.

Where is the other half?

1. To promote the skill of asking questions.

2. To create a sense of confidence for the students.
Objectives:
3. To learn to act and respond fast.
4. To practise making sentences.
Language component: Vocabulary building and making sentences
Skills: Speaking, listening and reading
Group size: Individual
This activity involves an interactive and communicative approach. This will encourage
intermediate students of English language to improve their vocabulary. The teacher
prepares cards or paper with a written word or sentence that have been cut into two.

uncons/cious     impul/sive

1. The teacher gives each student a piece of cut card.

1. The student walks around the class and finds the other half of the card.
Procedure:
2. After finding the correct half, the student knows the word.
3. Then the student writes the new words in his vocabulary book.

Beginners can be given easier words and intermediate and advanced

students are given more difficult words. Synonyms, antonyms, adjectives,
verbs and other parts of speech can also be explained and given to the

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Variation: students. Sentences can also be given. These sentences are written on cards
and cut.
While Adam was watching television/the bell rang.

CONCLUSION

Using drama activities and lesson games can enliven the classroom atmosphere. Teachers
need to devise activities to help students acquire the confidence to develop, express and
value their own responses. A great deal of our learning comes from play instead of being
forced to learn or study. Role play activities in drama and games help to generate a richer
learning experience in students. More significantly, language acquisition takes place
naturally. Studying English is different from learning factual subjects such as
Mathematics. Learning a language is more interesting and drama encourages
brainstorming sessions, speech abilities, literacy and self-esteem. Vocal students learn
leadership skills, organize group work and lead their group members in role plays. Shy
students are encouraged to speak aloud when they are supported by their group members.
More importantly, the creativity levels of our students are boosted. Thus a balanced
activities approach (Harmer, 2003) has a more human aspect which is bound up with
concerns of intrinsic motivation. A variety of activities in the classroom can ensure the
students’ continuing interest in learning English language.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Biggs, J.B. (1993) What do inventories of students’ learning processes really measure? A
theoretical review and clarification. British Journal of Educational Psychology 63: 3–19.
Cook, V. (1991) Second Language Learning and Language Teaching. London: Edward
Arnold.
Ellis, R. (1982) Informal and formal approaches to communicative language teaching. ELT
Journal 36(2): 73–81.
Entwistle, N. (1988) Motivational factors in approaches to learning. In R.R. Schmeck (Ed.),
Learning Strategies and Learning Styles, 21–51. New York: Plenum Press.
Harmer, J. (2003) The Practice of English Language Teaching. London: Longman.
Herzog, J.M. (2002) Motivating Reluctant Learner. http://www.aheaonline.com/
motivating.html (assessed on 5 March 2004).
Hubbard, P. (1987) A Training for TEFL. London: Oxford University Press.
Krashen, S. (1977) Some issues relating to the monitor model. In H.D. Brown, C. Yorio, and
R. Crymes (Eds.), On TESOL ‘77: Teaching and Learning English as a Second
Language: Trends in Research and Practice, 144–158. Washington DC: TESOL.
Ladousse, G.P. (1988) Role Play. London: Oxford University Press.
Lile, W.T. (2002) Motivation in the ESL Classroom. http://www.iteslj.org/Techniques/Lile-
Motivation.html (assessed on 5 March 2004).
Oxford, R. and Nyikos, M. (1989) Variables affecting choice of language strategies by

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 university students. The Modern Language Journal 73(3): 291–300.
Skehan, P. (1989) Individual Differences in Second Language Learning. London: Edward
Arnold.
Spaulding, C.L. (1992) Motivation in the Classroom. London: McGraw-Hill.
Ur, P. (1996) A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Welles, C. (1992) Drama. London: Oxford University Press.
Willis, J. (1982) Teaching English Through English: A Course in Classroom Language and
Techniques. Singapore: Longman.

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 What Do They Really Need? Developing Reading
10 Activities to Explore the Elements in Literary Texts
COLLIN JEROME

INTRODUCTION

Reading is not merely a process of “meaning-making” or making sense of what is read;

neither is it merely a process that explains how a reader extracts a piece of information
from a written source and conceptualizes it in the brain in order to carry out certain tasks,
fulfil certain needs or meet the purposes of reading. It is a complex process that produces
different kinds of readers hence the different ways of understanding texts. Additionally,
reading is both a cognitive and social process. It engages the reader with “what” and
“how” to understand a written text and enables him/her to link the meaning that he/she
conceptualizes to his/her background knowledge of the social relationships between
people, their cultures, norms and values (Bernhardt, 1991). In other words, reading
enables a reader to make the connection between what is read and the world that he/she
lives in.
Reading in the literature classroom, on the other hand, does not only help students make
necessary connections between what is read and their surroundings, but also develops,
among other things, literary and linguistic competencies for the reason that literature is a
“widely-appealing source for reading” (Brumfit, 1991, p. 185). Furthermore, the diverse
approaches to reading literature, which include Rosenblatt’s (1978) concepts of efferent
(extracting information from the text) and aesthetic (interacting with the text) reading
facilitate the development of these competencies. But Carter and Brumfit (1991, pp. 180,
189) contend that “reading literature does not require different reading strategies, but
reading that exploits literary perceptions”. This occurs when students read literary texts
and become “sensitive to the kinds of styles, forms, [and] conventions” and thereby
develop “a combination of linguistics, socio-cultural, historical and semiotic
awareness.”
While acknowledging that there is a wide range of approaches to reading literature and
the extent to which they facilitate the development of essential skills and awareness, it is
also important to consider what actually goes into the reading process, which may
include the types of texts used, the subject matter, length and readability, the language
used, and students’ language proficiency.
It has been argued that some students find it difficult to make sense of literary texts for
various reasons. Their inability to comprehend literary elements, for instance, does not

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only impede understanding of texts, but also develops a deep sense of anxiety and
apprehension. One of the many ways that we can deal with this problem is to develop
reading activities that help students explore the elements in literary texts. “Ideally”, these
activities should acquire a good balance between “linguistic and conceptual levels” and
enable students to “[decode] the language and [comprehend] the concepts presented”
(Widdowson, in Carter & Brumfit, 1991, p. 192). The activities should also meet the
criteria such as “linguistic level, cultural level, length, pedagogical role, genre
representation, [and] classic status [of the texts used]” (Carter & Brumfit, 1991, p. 189)
along with the teaching of appropriate attitudes and abilities relevant to reading
literature.
But these are just some “ideal” requirements since there are many aspects that a teacher,
an instructor or a lecturer has to consider in developing reading activities for his/her
students. It is in this view that the paper discusses the views of Unimas Bachelor of
Education (TESL) and Bachelor of Science (ESL) undergraduates on the reading
activities that are presently carried out in their tutorial sessions. The activities shown in
the Appendixes 1 and 2 are designed and developed by the researcher who teaches the
Comparative Literature course to facilitate his students’ understanding of selected 19th
century English and American Romantic poetry by examining key elements such as “the
reliance on imagination and subjectivity of approach”, “the freedom of thoughts and
expression”, and “the idealization of nature and individualism”. It is through these
reading activities that the researcher seeks to fulfil the objectives of the course in
enabling his students to “think theoretically and critically about literature from different
literary traditions” either by comparing “authors or literature or specific works of
literature” with a “focus on thematic comparison, interdisciplinary perspectives and
philosophic modes of thought” (Buku Panduan FSKPM, 2004).
In Appendix 1 of the reading activity, for instance, requires students to read and respond
to John Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale in relation to “the reliance on imagination.” There
are two main sections in this activity. In the first section, students are to work closely
with each stanza by responding to a set of questions and support their responses with
appropriate textual evidence. The goal is to help students explain what takes place in
each stanza and how the poet-speaker describes the nightingale through his “reliance on
imagination”. In addition, students are required to describe the poet-speaker’s attitudes
towards the nightingale by identifying appropriate textual markers that exemplify his
attitudes. In the second section of the activity, students are to explain in their own words
the poem’s main themes and issues by referring to the “Fantasy/Reality” and
“Mortality/Immortality” binary opposites. Not only are they asked to substantiate the
responses with appropriate textual evidence, they need to also discuss the relationships
between the themes, issues and the socio-cultural context of 19th century English
Romantic period and whether the themes and issues are relevant in contemporary
Malaysian society.
The reading activities are printed out in the form of handouts and distributed to students
between 1 to 2 weeks before these activities are carried out during tutorial sessions. In
the actual tutorial session, the researcher reads the poems with the students, activates

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their existing knowledge of the major elements of 19th century English and American
Romantic periods and clarifies linguistic and cultural information. It should be mentioned
that the students have attended a number of key lectures on both the elements and the
historical and socio-cultural backgrounds of 19th century English and American
Romanticism. They have also been assigned to do a short research on the lives and works
of selected English and American Romantic poets and presented the outcome of their
research in the previous tutorial sessions. And since they have taken the Reading Poetry
course prior to taking up Comparative Literature, they should be able to apply the
knowledge that they have gained about poetry and poetic elements from the Reading
Poetry course in responding to the works of 19th century English and American Romantic
poets.
Indeed, the reading activities do not merely consist of comprehension questions for
students to answer or respond to, but questions that help them explore the elements in
order to think about literature from different literary traditions. Moreover, the activities
aim to engage students in reading for content information, that is, by obtaining specific
information to understand the meaning of the poems, as well as reading for linguistic,
historical and socio-cultural knowledge and awareness. And while the researcher has
taken into account Tomlinson’s (2003) views on teachers’ ability to develop their own
materials for teaching and learning purposes, Rosenblatt’s (1978) concepts of efferent
and aesthetic reading, Carter and Long’s (1996) lower/higher order and closed/open
questioning strategies, and Widdowson’s (1979) linguistic and conceptual levels in
reading literature in developing reading activities for his students, the extent to which
these activities help them examine the elements in the poems is an aspect worthy of
investigation. It is this aspect that the paper highlights as a form of students’ “post-use”
evaluation or a “materials evaluation” without the systematic form of appraisal
(Tomlinson, 2004) that does not only provide further insights into the strengths and
weaknesses of the existing reading activities, but also considers the kinds of reading
activities that students need.

METHOD
Open-ended questionnaires were distributed to 30 Bachelor of Education (TESL) and
Bachelor of Science (ESL) undergraduates from the Faculty of Cognitive Science and
Human Development, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) who were taking the
Comparative Literature course during data collection. They were asked to respond to the
following questions.
1. What are the types of reading activities that you need to explore the elements of
19th century English and American Romantic periods in the poems that you are
required to read for the course?
2. What are the aspects that you think should be considered in developing these
reading activities?

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 3. What is your overall opinion of the reading activities that are presently carried
out during your tutorial sessions?
4. In what ways do these reading activities reflect the types of activities that you
need? Do they take into account the aspects that you mentioned in Question (2)?
5. To what extent the current reading activities help you explore the key elements
in 19th century English and American poetry? What are their strengths and
weaknesses?
The data from the questionnaire was analysed statistically and summarized in the form of
tables according to the major themes that emerged from each of the above questions. The
findings were then analysed descriptively to reveal further insights into students’ views
on the strengths and weaknesses of the existing reading activities. It should be mentioned
that students’ feedbacks are merely used for the purpose of reflection, that is, for the
researcher to reflect on his teaching and the reading activities that he has developed for
his students. This explains why little emphasis is given on the research design (e.g.,
sampling technique, reliability of results and test of significance). Moreover, the paper
aims to discuss students’ views on the reading activities that are developed for a
specialised literature course. Nevertheless, their feedback may provide further insights
into the aspects that should be considered in developing materials for teaching literature
in a tertiary learning environment.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The Types of Reading Activities that Students Need

Table 10.1 The types of reading activities that students need

Table 10.1 shows students’ views on the types of reading activities that they need to
explore the elements of 19th century English and American Romanticism in the poems
that they were required to read for the Comparative Literature course. The results
indicated a preference for “discussion” (30%) and “the current activities” (26.7%) as the
types of reading activities that they needed.

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However, some (16.7%) pointed out that reading activities should take the form of
(lecture) notes on and (lecturer’s) explanations of the poems while others suggested that
the types of reading activities that they desired ranged from the exploration of poems to
the use of excerpts to activities that build their background knowledge of the subject
matter. The results did not only indicate various forms of activities that students desired,
but also highlighted the importance of developing “specialized” activities that would help
those who had difficulties in understanding the poems.

The Aspects of Reading Activities that Students Need

Table 10.2 highlights the aspects that students felt should be considered in developing the
types of reading activities to examine the key elements in 19th century English and
American Romantic poetry. Notes and explanations, time, students’ ability, discussion
(e.g., number of students per group and the tasks given), lecturer’s roles and students’
different learning styles were some of the important aspects mentioned. Only two (item 8;
6.7%) students claimed that the current reading activities considered the aspects (e.g.,
“mainly the question items”) of the kinds of reading activities that they desired.

Table 10.2 The aspects of reading activities that students need

Not only do these results highlight the importance of developing a variety of reading
activities to explore the elements in the poems, these activities should also cater to
students’ various learning needs, styles and abilities.

Students’ Views on the Current Reading Activities

Table 10.3 shows students’ overall views on the reading activities that were carried out
during their tutorial sessions.

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Students’ overall responses (items 1–11; 53.1%) were positive towards the use of the
current reading activities. They found that the activities were “useful” and “helpful”.
However, some felt that the activities were useful to a certain extent (items 12–16;
23.3%), claiming that they were quite sufficient and slightly purposeful or meaningful.
The rest (items 17–22; 23.2%) claimed that the activities were “difficult”, with “too little
guidance” and “insufficient notes” given to help them explore important elements in the
poems. These students had some difficulties with the question items in the current reading
activities and the language used in the poems, or more specifically, the language forms
and styles of 19th century English and American Romantic poetry.

Table 10.3 Views on the current reading activities

Students were also required to comment on whether the existing reading activities
reflected the kinds of activities that they desired. The results in Table 10.4 indicated that
the current reading activities (items 1–9; 50.1%) “matched” the types of activities that
they needed. This was precisely because the question items in the current activities
helped them examine the central elements of 19th century English and American
Romanticism. Others noted that the activities guided them on what to look for and what to
examine. However, some (items 10–13; 13.2%) mentioned that the current reading
activities matched the types of reading activities that they wanted to a certain extent while
the rest disagreed (items 14–18; 23.3%). These students required more activities in the
form of (lecture) notes on and (lecturer’s) explanations of the poems and the key
elements, which implies that other forms of reading activities should be considered to
improve, if not replace, the existing ones.

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 Table 10.4 Views on whether the current reading activities reflect the types of reading activities
that students need

The students were also asked to comment on whether the current reading activities
considered the aspects that they mentioned earlier in terms of the types of reading
activities that they needed. The results in Table 10.5 indicated a preference for the
existing reading activities (items 1–10; 46.6%) simply because these activities took into
account the aspect of “question items” and the “tasks involved” in exploring the elements
in the poems. Such a preference implies that questions and tasks are indeed an important
aspect that should be considered in developing the types of reading activities that these
students require. However, this is in contrast to the aspects that they had mentioned in
Question 2 (see Table 10.2). While some (items 11–13; 9.9%) claimed that the current
reading activities were slightly difficult and suitable for group work, others (items 14–
18; 23.3%) felt that these activities did not fully regard the aspects that they mentioned in
Question 2 mainly because they required reading activities that were not only less
difficult in terms of the tasks involved, but also those that could build their knowledge of
the subject matter.

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 Table 10.5 Views on whether the current reading activities consider the aspects of the types of
reading activities that students need

The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Current Reading Activities

The following tables present the strengths and weaknesses of the current reading
activities in enabling students to explore central elements in the poems.
A majority of students indicated that the current reading activities helped them explore the
key elements of 19th century English and American Romantic poetry. In Table 10.6, they
found that these activities provided them with a focus (items 14–18; 26.7%) on what to
examine and what to look for in the poems. However, in Table 10.7, the students pointed
out that the activities were mainly difficult (items 7–8; 20%) in terms of the question
items and the tasks involved. They also pointed out that more explanation (items 3–4;
16.7%) should be given on the content and that the poems should be read (items 10;
6.7%) before they could actually carry out the reading activities. One student pointed out
that the activities did help her to examine the elements but she ignored her own ideas
about the poems in the process.

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Table 10.6 Views on the strengths of the current reading activities

Table 10.7 Views on the weaknesses of the current reading activities

In general, the overall results provided some insights into the teaching of literary texts at
the tertiary level. First, they indicated the importance of considering various forms of
activities to help students explore the elements in literary texts. Second, the results
highlighted the key aspects that should be considered in developing these activities and
how these aspects vary from students’ specific needs to the literary genres taught. This
confirms Tomlinson’s (2004) views on developing materials based on learners’ learning

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styles, affective attitudes, relevance and usefulness, and impact. Third, the results
revealed the students’ preference for the current reading activities because of the question
items and the tasks involved that helped them examine the key elements. Yet some
students found that these questions items and tasks were difficult hence their preference
for activities that “explained” the poems and the key elements instead. Moreover, the
difficulties that the students faced in understanding the poems influenced the effectiveness
of the current reading activities. This corresponds with Cheong’s findings on the problem
faced by Malaysian TESL undergraduates in comprehending literary texts due to their low
levels of proficiency in the language apart from their lack of knowledge and unfamiliarity
with poetic forms and conventions (Vethamani & Premalatha, 2007). What this further
implies is the need to develop reading activities that do not only help students explore the
elements in literary texts, but activities that facilitate their comprehension of both the
elements and the texts.

CONCLUSION
This paper discusses the views of Unimas TESL and ESL undergraduates not only on the
current reading activities that are carried out in their tutorial sessions, but also their
notions of the kinds of reading activities that they need in order to explore the essential
elements in 19th century English and American Romantic poetry. The findings showed
that the undergraduates identified various forms of reading activities and the important
aspects that should be considered in developing them. The findings also revealed that
although most of them preferred the current reading activities and how these activities
reflected or matched the ones that they needed, some felt that the levels of difficulty in
relation to the question items and the task involved, as well as the linguistic and cultural
content of the poems should be addressed more fully in developing new materials in the
near future. Although there is little emphasis on the research design, the paper addresses
the need for an evaluation of any materials that a teacher, instructor or lecturer designs
and develops to help his/her students explore the elements in literary texts. And although
the paper discusses the views of a small group of TESL and ESL undergraduates who are
currently taking a specialized literature course, it provides further insights into the current
practices in materials development for teaching literature in the tertiary learning
environment.

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APPENDIX 1

Unit 4 Reading English Romantic Poetry

Responding to John Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale (1820)
Focus: Major characteristics, language use, themes and issues, historical and socio-
cultural contexts.

Section A: Read the poem and respond to the questions based on the element of 19th
century English Romantic poetry; the reliance on imagination. Support your responses
with appropriate textual evidence.

John Keats

Ode to a Nightingale (1820)

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
  My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
  One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
‘Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
  But being too happy in thine happiness, –
   That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees,
    In some melodious plot
  Of beechen green and shadows numberless,
   Singest of summer in full-throated ease.
O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been
  Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
  Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!
O for a beaker full of the warm South,
  Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
   With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
   And purple-stained mouth;
 That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,
   And with thee fade away into the forest dim:
Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget
  What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret
  Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,

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  Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
   Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
   And leaden-eyed despairs,
  Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
   Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.
Away! away! for I will fly to thee,
  Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,
But on the viewless wings of Poesy,
  Though the dull brain perplexes and retards:
Already with thee! tender is the night,
  And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
  Cluster’d around by all her starry Fays;
   But here there is no light,
 Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown
  Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.
I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,
  Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,
But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet
  Wherewith the seasonable month endows
The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;
  White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine;
  Fast fading violets cover’d up in leaves;
   And mid-May’s eldest child,
  The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,
  The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.
Darkling I listen; and, for many a time
  I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call’d him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
  To take into the air my quiet breath;
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
  To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
  While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
   In such an ecstasy!
  Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain -
  To thy high requiem become a sod.
Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
  No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
  In ancient days by emperor and clown:
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
  Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
  She stood in tears amid the alien corn;

116
   The same that oft-times hath
  Charm’d magic casements, opening on the foam
  Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.
Forlorn! the very word is like a bell
  To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well
  As she is fam’d to do, deceiving elf.
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades
  Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
  Up the hill-side; and now ‘tis buried deep
   In the next valley-glades:
  Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
  Fled is that music: – Do I wake or sleep?
1. What is happening to the poet-speaker in the first stanza?
Response:

2. What does the poet-speaker attempt to do in the second stanza? How does the third
stanza further explain this attempt?
Response:

3. What is happening to the poet-speaker in the fourth stanza? Why does he opt for the
“viewless wings of Poesy” instead of “Bacchus and his pards?” How does the fifth
stanza help explain “But there’s no light” in the fourth stanza?

117
Response:

4. Why does the poet-speaker say it seems “rich to die” in the sixth stanza? Why does
he describe the nightingale as the “immortal bird” in the seventh stanza?
Response:

5. What is happening to the poet-speaker in the first two lines of the eighth stanza? What
about the concluding lines?
Response:

6. Comment on the language used which reveals the poet-speaker’s attitudes towards
nature
Response:

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Section B: Write in your own words the poem’s themes and issues based on the
following binary opposites.

Theme: __________________________________________________________
Response (quote appropriate textual evidence to describe the theme mentioned above):

Theme: __________________________________________________________
Response (quote appropriate textual evidence to describe the theme mentioned above):

APPENDIX 2

Unit 7 Reading American Romantic Poetry

Responding to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Each and All (1847)

119
Focus: Major characteristics, language use, themes and issues, historical and socio-
cultural contexts.
Section A: Read the poem and respond to the questions based on the elements of 19th
century American Romantic poetry; “the heightened awareness of the individual self” and
“the freedom of self-belief”. Support your responses with appropriate textual evidence
(i.e., appropriate words, phrases or lines).

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Each and All (1847)

Little thinks, in the field, yon red-cloaked clown,

Of thee, from the hill-top looking down;
And the heifer, that lows in the upland farm,
Far-heard, lows not thine ear to charm;
The sexton tolling the bell at noon, 5
Dreams not that great Napoleon
Stops his horse, and lists with delight,
Whilst his files sweep round yon Alpine height;
Nor knowest thou what argument
Thy life to thy neighbor’s creed has lent:
All are needed by each one,
Nothing is fair or good alone.

I thought the sparrow’s note from heaven,

Singing at dawn on the alder bough;
I brought him home in his nest at even;— 15
He sings the song, but it pleases not now;
For I did not bring home the river and sky;
He sang to my ear; they sang to my eye.
The delicate shells lay on the shore;
The bubbles of the latest wave
Fresh pearls to their enamel gave;
And the bellowing of the savage sea
Greeted their safe escape to me;
I wiped away the weeds and foam,
And fetched my sea-born treasures home; 25
But the poor, unsightly, noisome things
Had left their beauty on the shore
With the sun, and the sand, and the wild uproar.

The lover watched his graceful maid

As ‘mid the virgin train she strayed,
Nor knew her beauty’s best attire

120
Was woven still by the snow-white quire;
At last she came to his hermitage,
Like the bird from the woodlands to the cage,—
The gay enchantment was undone, 35
A gentle wife, but fairy none.

Then I said, “I covet Truth;

Beauty is unripe childhood’s cheat,—
I leave it behind with the games of youth.”
As I spoke, beneath my feet
The ground-pine curled its pretty wreath,
Running over the club-moss burrs;
I inhaled the violet’s breath;

Around me stood the oaks and firs;

Pine cones and acorns lay on the ground; 45
Above me soared the eternal sky,
Full of light and deity;
Again I saw, again I heard,
The rolling river, the morning bird;—
Beauty through my senses stole,
I yielded myself to the perfect whole.

Little thinks, in the field, yon red-cloaked clown,

Of thee, from the hill-top looking down;
And the heifer, that lows in the upland farm,
Far-heard, lows not thine ear to charm;
The sexton tolling the bell at noon, 5
Deems not that great Napoleon
Stops his horse, and lists with delight,
Whilst his files sweep round yon Alpine height;
Nor knowest thou what argument
Thy life to thy neighbor’s creed has lent:
All are needed by each one,
Nothing is fair or good alone. 12

1. What is the poet-speaker doing in lines 1-10? What is he trying to explain in these
lines? How do you know? How can you tell?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. What about lines 11–12? How do they further explain what the poet-speaker is trying
to describe in lines 1–10? Why do you say so?

121
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Explain how lines 11-12 reinforce the key element of American Romanticism or
Transcendentalism. Why do you say so?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

I thought the sparrow’s note from heaven,

Singing at dawn on the alder bough;
I brought him home in his nest at even;— 15
He sings the song, but it pleases not now;
For I did not bring home the river and sky;
He sang to my ear; they sang to my eye.

4. What is the poet-speaker trying to explain in lines 13–16? What seemed to be the
problem? How do you know? How can you tell?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5. What about lines 17–18? How do they further explain the poet-speaker’s attitudes
towards the bird? What did he realize?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
6. Explain how lines 17–18 reinforce the element of “the heightened awareness of the
individual self.” Why do you say so?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

The delicate shells lay on the shore;

The bubbles of the latest wave
Fresh pearls to their enamel gave;
And the bellowing of the savage sea
Greeted their safe escape to me; 23
I wiped away the weeds and foam,
And fetched my sea-born treasures home;
But the poor, unsightly, noisome things
Had left their beauty on the shore

122
 With the sun, and the sand, and the wild uproar. 28

7. What is the poet-speaker trying to explain in lines 19–28? What seemed to be the
problem? How do you know? How can you tell?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
8. Compare lines 26–28 and lines 17–18 in terms of the message that they convey.
Explain how they reinforce the element of 19th century American Romanticism or
Transcendentalism in lines 11–12.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

The lover watched his graceful maid

As ‘mid the virgin train she strayed,
Nor knew her beauty’s best attire
Was woven still by the snow-white choir;
At last she came to his hermitage, 35
Like the bird from the woodlands to the cage,—
The gay enchantment was undone,
A gentle wife, but fairy none.
Then I said, “I covet Truth;
Beauty is unripe childhood’s cheat,—
I leave it behind with the games of youth.” 39

9. What is the poet-speaker trying to explain in lines 29-36? What seemed to be the
problem? How do you know? How can you tell?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
10. Compare lines 35–36, 26–28 and lines 17–18 in terms of the message that they
convey. Explain how they reinforce the element of 19th century American
Romanticism or Transcendentalism in lines 11–12.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Then I said, “I covet Truth;

Beauty is unripe childhood’s cheat,—

123
 I leave it behind with the games of youth.”

11. What is the poet-speaker trying to explain in lines 37-39? What does he mean by
‘beauty’ here?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
12. Explain how the poet-speaker’s concepts of truth and beauty in lines 37-39 reinforce
the element of ‘the freedom of self-belief.’
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

As I spoke, beneath my feet

The ground-pine curled its pretty wreath,
Running over the club-moss burrs;
I inhaled the violet’s breath;
Around me stood the oaks and firs;
Pine cones and acorns lay on the ground; 45
Above me soared the eternal sky,
Full of light and deity;
Again I saw, again I heard,
The rolling river, the morning bird;—
Beauty through my senses stole,
I yielded myself to the perfect whole. 51

13. What is the poet-speaker trying to explain in lines 40–49? What does he mean by
‘deity’ in line 47?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
14. What is the poet-speaker trying to say in lines 50–51? What does he mean by
“yielded myself [himself] to the perfect whole? How did he do it?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
15. In what ways does the last line further explain ‘the heightened awareness of the
individual self’ and ‘the freedom of self-belief’?
___________________________________________________________________________

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___________________________________________________________________________
Section B: Write in your own words the poem’s themes and issues based on the items
below.

Theme:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Response (quote appropriate textual evidence to describe the theme mentioned above):
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Theme:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Response (quote appropriate textual evidence to describe the theme mentioned above):
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

BIBLIOGRAPHY
125
Bernhardt, E.B. (1991) Reading Development in a Second Language: Theoretical,
Empricial, and Classroom Perspectives. New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Brumfit, C.J. (Ed.). (1991) Assessment in Literature Teaching Review of English Language
Teaching. Vol. 1, No. 3. London: Modern English Publications in Association with the
British Council.
Buku Panduan FSKPM. (2004) Kota Samarahan, Sarawak: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak,
Carter, R.A. and Brumfit, C.J. (1991) Literature and Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Carter, R.A. and Long, M.N. (1996) Teaching Literature. United Kingdom: Longman.
Rosenblatt, L. (1978) The Reader, The Text, The Poem. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois
University Press.
Tomlinson, B. (Ed.). (2003) Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London:
Continuum.
Tomlinson, B. (Ed.). (2004) Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Widdowson, H.G. (1979) Explorations in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Vethamani, M.E. and Premalatha, N. (2007) Using analogy as a scaffolding tool for facilitating
the comprehension of literary texts. Malaysian Journal of ELT Research 3: 1–18.

126
 The Teaching of Writing: Looking at the Real
11 Classroom Scenes
MOHD. SAAT ABBAS, SUZIHANA SHAHARAN AND YAHYA CHE LAH

INTRODUCTION

Writing is often considered a difficult skill to acquire due to its complex characteristics
which involve not only knowledge of linguistics but also sociolinguistics. According to
Hughey et al. (1983), the complex and dynamic process of transforming thoughts into
language demands an active involvement of the writer at several levels of activities
solitary and collaborative, conscious and unconscious, physical and mental – all working
in harmony with one another. In other words, becoming a writer is a complex and ongoing
process and becoming a writing teacher is no less complex. Furthermore, writing in ESL
is even more difficult. This is because “a second language writer has to face an
additional problem of writing in another language and culture” (Zaharah Pilus, 1992, p.
22). Thus, it is not surprising that many Malaysian students find writing in English a
difficult task. They have to comply with all the conventions and cope with the language at
the same time.
The aim of this study is to observe what transpires during the classroom teaching and
learning process. For teachers, this study intends to observe “how” writing lessons are
conducted, whereas for students, it is in terms of their understanding of the writing skills
taught.

SAMPLE AND METHODOLOGY

The population for this study comprised Form 3 students in rural secondary schools in
Kuala Muda Yan (KMY) District in Kedah. The sample for this study consisted of 62
Form 3 students (2002 PMR candidates) in SMK X.
The sample for this study was chosen based on probability samples. It is sometimes
referred to as representative sampling, which means that “the sample is taken as
representative of the population” (Robson, 1993, p. 136).
The classes chosen for the research were 3K and 3A. 3K is included in this study even
though they had a good command of English because when it comes to learning English as
a second language, they still commit errors in their work. Furthermore, if writing
problems occur in 3K, we can expect that the students in other classes are producing the

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same type of mistakes or worse. 3A, the average class, was incorporated in this study
because this is where the struggle to overcome errors is critical in ensuring that the
students pass the English Language paper. Most of the students who pass the examination,
not only in Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) but also in school based examinations,
fall within the ‘C’ band, which is categorized as average. ‘C’ band or average is the most
populated band. In other words, we found that most of our students were trapped in this
band. Therefore, the researcher believes that to have included this class, 3A, was
essential to this study.
In this study, 62 students were involved. For the interviews, about 16% of the subjects,
that is, 10 respondents were chosen from the sample. Interviews were also conducted
with all the five English language teachers in the school.

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

According to Robson (1993, p. 290):

With a single method, some unknown part or aspect of the results obtained is
attributable to the method used in obtaining the result. Because we can never obtain
results for which some method has not been used to collect them, the only feasible
strategy is to use a variety of methods.

The advantage of using multiple methods is it permits triangulation. Triangulation is the

use of multiple sources of data, settings and methods of data collection to support
emerging themes and to explain the research findings. Since this study deals with different
types of data as well as multiple analyses of various kinds, it therefore imposed various
instruments in collecting the data.

Classroom Observations

Non-participant observations were conducted during the writing class. The English
language writing class is held two periods per week, and it is usually conducted during
the double periods. Since two classes are involved in this study, the researcher observed
the writing class once a week for each class for the period of three months.
The researcher conducted two types of classroom observations, which were general
observation and focus observation. During general observation, the researcher observed
the whole process of teaching and learning to get a general idea of what transpires in the
classroom. However, for focus observation, the researcher observed certain aspects of
the teaching and learning process which are relevant to the objectives of the study.
The focus of these observations is the teaching and learning of writing in the English
language classes. Observations were made of the following aspects:

1. the mode of instruction used by the teacher in teaching writing,

2. the respondents’ reactions to the instructions given,

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 3. the respondents’ activities during the lesson,
4. the teacher’s responses to students’ questions and errors,
5. the teacher’s mode of evaluation and
6. amendments of the writing made by the respondents.

Observations were also made in terms of how much time was actually spent on teaching
writing to the class, that is, whether the writing class was consistently held every week,
and whether the double period was used fully for the teaching and learning of writing.

Document Analysis

Another technique used in this study was document analysis, which involved the
collection and analysis of a number of documents. The researcher first has to decide what
documents would disclose information and provide evidence in relation to the objectives
of the study. During the conceptualization of the study and after the site visits, the
researcher came to the conclusion that the following documents may reveal important
information and evidence to the study. They are:

1. the Malaysian Secondary School English Language Syllabus,

2. Form 2 English Language Curriculum Specifications,
3. Form 3 English Language Curriculum Specifications,
4. the teacher’s record book,
5. the school files: school’s PMR examination results,
6. PMR examination results for Kedah and national level from Unit Penilaian dan
Peperiksaan (Assessment and Examination Unit), Kedah State Education
Department,
7. PMR examination results for KMY District from KMY District Education Office
and
8. respondents’ English language composition exercise books.

METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

The method of data analysis of this study can be divided into five categories. They are
document analysis, inductive analysis, descriptive analysis, error analysis and needs
analysis.
Document analysis was applied to analyse the teacher’s preparation, amendments of the
writings made by respondents, mode of teacher’s instruction and evaluation. The sources
of these analyses were the teacher’s record book and students’ exercise books. The
teacher’s record book was scrutinized for the execution of the lesson plans and adherence
to objectives. However, the students’ exercise books were given particular attention in
order to study the teacher’s comments, grading and treatment of errors.

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DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Teacher’s Preparation

The teacher wrote her lesson plans as required by the Ministry of Education in her record
book. When teaching guided/parallel writing, most of the time, she prepared handouts for
her students. During the interview, she explained that she got different types of essay
questions from several resources such as commercial workbooks sold in bookshops,
modules provided by the District Education Office and the State Education Department,
and past years’ PMR questions.
The researcher noted that in terms of the written plans in the teacher’s record book, the
teacher was well prepared for her writing classes. However, when further analysis was
made, it was discovered that the plans involved more or less the same process. After a
number of observations, the researcher began to understand the teacher’s modus
operandi. Initially, the respondents were given a reading text which was in the form of the
essay to be taught in that particular writing lesson. Classroom discussion was then
conducted on the meanings of words and main ideas in the text. Occasionally, the teacher
would ask for the respondents’ opinions regarding the ideas expressed in the text.
Through the classroom observations conducted, it was noted that the discussions were
mostly teacher centred. The teacher was inclined to answer her own questions if the
respondents were taking too long to response.
Next, the respondents would copy the model essay/reading text in their composition
exercise books. The respondents were then asked to get into groups (usually four or five
students in a group) and discuss the task given to them and finally write an essay by using
the reading text previously given to them as a guide. Each group was supposed to come
up with one essay.
The activities in the lesson plans look repetitive and ritualistic. It is noticeable that the
teacher prefers this particular process of teaching writing which she calls parallel
writing or guided writing (as written in the questionnaire given to her).
At the end of each lesson plan, the teacher wrote “reflections”, which is basically her
thoughts on what had happened throughout that particular lesson. Here, the teacher
recorded the respondents’ abilities and performance during the lesson. She specifically
focused on the respondents’ weaknesses.
However, it was noted that in the subsequent lesson plans, the teacher did not concentrate
on the respondents’ weaknesses as previously mentioned in her reflections. Instead, the
teacher planned her following lessons based on what was stated in her scheme of work.
In other words, it seemed like the teacher was “chasing” time to complete the syllabus
(i.e., she had to comply with the syllabus as stipulated in her scheme of work). Thus, it
can be assumed that the teacher’s lesson plans were devised according to what she
wanted to teach or what she thought the respondents should learn next, without having
referred to the observations she had recorded in her reflections earlier. Consequently, it

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can be concluded that the teacher did not seem to take into consideration the respondents’
needs.
Nevertheless, attention must also be given to the situation the teacher is in. During the
interview, she explained that she had to ensure that her students were introduced to all the
types of essays they should have learnt since Form 1. This is due to the fact that the
respondents were not taught essay writing when they were in Form 1 and Form 2.
Through the interviews with the respondents, all five respondents from 3K said that they
were not taught essay writing at all when they were in Form 1 and Form 2. However, 3A
students admitted that they wrote only two essays when they were in Form 2. The teacher
explained further that respondents were taught mostly grammar and sentence structure in
Form 1 and Form 2. The rationale given was these are the basics that the students have to
master in order to write good essays. They believed that the respondents would be able
to write essays only after they have mastered grammar and sentence structure skills.
The teacher expressed her concern that the limited time she had, forced her to rush
through the writing lessons in order to introduce all the types of essays that the
respondents need to know before the PMR examination. Thus, the time constraint should
be taken into consideration. She believed that the routine process of teaching writing to
her classes is the best way to ensure that her objectives are met.

Teacher’s Mode of Instruction

As acknowledged earlier, the teacher was devoted to parallel writing. Where writing
lessons are concerned, the classroom observations did not reveal any other distinctive
methods or techniques used by the teacher. Basically, the teaching and learning process in
the writing classes were as follows :

1. The teacher gave the respondents a reading text.

2. Classroom discussions were held on the meanings of words and the main points
in the text.
3. Occasionally, the teacher asked for respondents’ opinions regarding the text.
4. Respondents were given a writing task which required them to write in the same
format as the reading text given earlier.
5. Respondents used the text as a guide to write the essay.

From the 20 classroom observations conducted for the two classes involved in this study,
the researcher noted that seven writing exercises were assigned to the respondents in
each class. Out of the seven writing activities given, five were completed by the
respondents in groups. The teacher rationalized that by writing in groups, students were
able to discuss and correct each other’s errors. Each group was required to hand in only
one final copy for the teacher to check. The teacher checked the essays in detail by
identifying, indicating and correcting the errors committed by the respondents.
Through the questionnaire and the interviews with the teacher, it was evident that the
teacher was keen on asking her students to do parallel writing. In such situations, she

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gave reading passages similar to the essays the students were going to write. The reading
passages were used as the basis to discuss vocabulary, the main points and elaboration of
points. Later, in the subsequent sessions, the teacher assigned the guided writing
questions. While writing the essays, the respondents used the reading passages as a guide.
In this aspect, the researcher felt that relying on the passages, somehow impeded and
limited respondents’ creativity especially in terms of points and writing style.
During the interview, the teacher repeatedly mentioned the fact that she had to teach all
the types of essays respondents should know before the upcoming PMR examination.
Consequently, she was confident that by giving model essays, she could overcome the
time constraint. Time was of the essence for the teacher’s activities because she had to
cover the Form 3 syllabus as well as the writing components that should have been taught
in Form 1 and Form 2. In other words, she had to resort to this style of teaching so that the
respondents could learn the various types of essays before the PMR examination. She
stressed further that because her students were not proficient in English, this method
would assist them in writing in the language. Moreover, by asking the respondents to
write in groups, she would have only six to seven essays to check after each writing
assignment. It was observed that she managed to check the essays in detail, marking and
correcting all the errors committed by her students. The students would then copy the
corrected version and the teacher hoped that along the way, they would notice the errors
she had corrected and would avoid committing them in the future.
Through the classroom observations and the interviews with the teacher, the researcher
concluded that writing skills were not specifically taught to the respondents. The teacher
just focused on respondents getting the main points, knowing what they were going to
write about, and then using the model essay/reading text as a guide. In short, real creative
writing was never encouraged. Furthermore, the researcher believes that the process of
teaching writing is almost non-existing in these writing classes. What had occurred was
merely to ensure that respondents were introduced to all the essays they ought to know
and learn. Knowing all the types of essays was important to the teacher because in the
upcoming PMR examination, the respondents would be tested on any two types of essays.

Respondents’ Reception

It is difficult to determine to what extent the respondents were able to absorb the
explanations and illustrations given by the teacher mainly because of the internal nature of
cognition. As such, the researcher decided to concentrate only on the behavioural aspects
as this is more practical and observable.
It was observed that few respondents in 3K participated in class discussions. However,
all the respondents showed signs of understanding of what was expected of them. Some
of the respondents asked for clarifications individually after the class discussions. As for
3A, only a few respondents participated in the class discussions, while the others just
listened passively. In the questionnaire administered to the respondents, 40.32% agreed
with the following statement “You always contribute ideas on the points for the essay
during classroom discussions”, 1.61% (1/62 respondents) strongly agreed, while 38.71%

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partly disagreed with the statement. The other 19.25% (12/62 respondents) disagreed
with the statement. These findings implied that 41.93% of the respondents thought that
they were active participants in the classroom discussions and that they had significantly
contributed ideas in the discussions. Nevertheless, with regard to this particular item, the
responses given by the respondents were not supported by the findings through
observations. Through the observations, approximately 10% to 15% of the respondents
participated in the discussions, and most of their responses in the discussions were
basically on meanings of words asked by the teacher. Furthermore, quite a significant
number of the responses were given in their L1 (Malay language, BM).
Table 11.1 are some of the responses to the questionnaire pertaining to the respondents’
perception.

Table 11.1 Responses to item No. 2–9

For item no. 2, more than half of the respondents (67.74%) agreed and strongly agreed
that they understood what they were supposed to write. The majority of the respondents
said they understood the topic or the question given to them. Only 4.84% admitted that
they did not understand. However, 66.13% of the respondents responded that they did not
have the main points to write the essays.
An overwhelming 77.42% confessed that they did not know how to elaborate on the
points. This is very disturbing since elaboration of points is an essential requirement in
the writing component of the PMR English Language Paper. However, since 66.13% had
chosen the “partly disagree” category, it can be assumed that there are times when they
know how to elaborate on certain points, for example, when dealing with familiar and
experience based points.
More than 50% of the respondents said that they knew the steps to be taken in writing
essays, whereas 43.55% of the respondents claimed that they did not understand clearly
the explanations given by their teacher.
As for item no. 9, more than half of the respondents (59.68%) affirmed that they could not
write the essays as requested by the teacher. This is in line with the results of Paper 2,
whereby the majority of the respondents failed the guided writing section.
Thus, this data raised another concern. There is no doubt that the teacher performed her

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duty to teach, but did the students learn? It seems like the teacher assumed that the
respondents knew how to write the essays especially since they worked in groups. It was
observed that during the writing classes, the teacher went around the class asking as to
whether the respondents understood what they were supposed to do. Almost all of them
said “yes”, dutifully. However, when the written products were submitted and checked,
numerous errors were detected especially in terms of the three major areas mentioned
before – grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary – as well as the absence of
elaborations of points. According to the teacher, she would address these errors during
her grammar lessons.
What might be concluded here is that at one end, the respondents cannot internalize what
was not taught to them, namely the writing skills on how to go about writing the essay. On
the other end, the respondents seemed to know what should be done but did not know
how to do it. They were merely asked to use the model essays as guidance. They
understood that and what was expected of them but they did not have the skill to go about
it.

Writing Activities

The activities in the writing classes were pretty much a formal routine. The respondents
would read the text/model essays given by the teacher and participate in the classroom
discussions. Sometimes the respondents provided the meanings of words put forward by
the teacher, even though most of the responses were in BM, which were then translated by
the teacher. After having discussed the main points in the text and understanding them, the
respondents would copy the model essay in their composition exercise books.
Then, the respondents were given the writing task where they were instructed to work in
groups. They would have discussions in their groups regarding the main points to be
included and also for the production of the written assignments. Each group would have
to submit an essay to the teacher.
During the discussions, the researcher noticed that the students used their mother tongue
(BM) to communicate with each other. Occasionally, English words were heard,
especially when they were trying to determine which words or form of words they should
use, or when they were trying to construct the sentences. They seemed able to voice the
English words in a chorus but not individually. This perhaps suggests the lack of
confidence or simply shyness.
It was observed that the same activities went on in every writing class. The respondents
understood what they were supposed to do because of the ritual, but not the skills of
writing.

Evaluation of Learners’ Performance

In evaluating respondents’ works, the teacher resorted to several modes of evaluation.

First, all the essays in the respondents’ composition books were checked thoroughly and

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the respondents’ errors were identified and corrected. Second, while in session with the
respondents, the teacher checked respondents’ previous essays while they were writing
the new one. She moved from one respondent to another, once she had instructed her
students to write essays individually. Third, the students worked in group and the teacher
collected one essay from each group and checked them.
Since most of the writing assignments were completed in groups, there were usually
around six to seven essays for the teacher to check. Thus, the teacher would scrutinize
these essays, identifying every error committed by the respondents. Later, the respondents
would just copy the corrected version of the essay into their exercise books and that was
the end of that.
The teacher said in the interview that when her students worked in groups, there would
be fewer essays for her to check. Since there were lots of essays for her to teach, time
was not on her side. To check and mark quite a number of individual essays coupled with
a lot of errors committed by the respondents would definitely deprive her of her precious
and limited time.
However, through this type of evaluation the teacher would not know each respondent’s
weaknesses. For example, the type of error made could not be identified because the
written work was a product of a group work activity.
Checking through the respondents’ composition exercise books, the researcher noticed
that the teacher wrote the word “seen” below the corrected essays – to indicate that she
had looked through the work – even though many errors were still present. So what has
the teacher “seen”?

Writing Amendments

Table 11.2 Responses to item no. 10  

As mentioned earlier, the respondents copied the corrected versions of the essays written
in their respective groups. Through examining respondents’ exercise books, it was
discovered that correction of the writing errors was by copying the whole essay as
corrected by the teacher. This is supported by the responses given by the respondents to
item no. 10 in the questionnaire, as shown in Table 11.2.
For this question, 40.32% agreed and 9.68% strongly agreed with statement.
During the classroom observations, there was no evidence of the teacher explaining and

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discussing the errors committed by the respondents. The teacher however, did mention the
fact that there were lots of errors present in the respondents’ written products. When the
corrected versions of the respondents’ essays were returned, they were not informed of
the errors they had committed. No explanations were given. The teacher had checked the
essays, identified all the errors and wrote down the correct words, phrases or sentences.
Her job was done. The respondents would now have to copy the corrected version
wholesale into their composition exercise books.
The classroom observations revealed that individual corrections and guidance were not
practised. Respondents were not given any personal attention in terms of the errors
committed by them. Apparently, this was not quite possible because most of the essays
were products of a group of students. The few essays that were individually written did
not have the benefit of being thoroughly checked by the teacher because of the number of
essays she had to check. Thus, we can conclude that the corrections made by the
respondents were merely “photocopying”. So, whose product is it?

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS OF THE CLASSROOM TEACHING

AND LEARNING PROCESS

For this section, this study has discovered a few disturbing facts. First of all, the
teacher’s preparations and planning for her lessons did not seem to take the respondents’
needs into consideration. Second, it was noted that the teacher was fixed on using one
particular mode of instruction, which is parallel writing. The teacher also preferred her
students writing in groups, stating that group work provided the respondents with the
opportunity to discuss and correct each other’s errors. However, the observations
revealed that the respondents wasted these “chances”.
Third, the classroom observations and interviews with the teacher resulted in the
researcher’s conclusion that the teacher did not specifically teach writing skills to her
students. Her focus was mainly on introducing all the essay types (genres) the
respondents ought to know and learn before the PMR examination.
Fourth, it was discovered that the respondents basically understood what was taught to
them and what they were supposed to do. In short, they seemed to have mastered the
technical aspect of writing essays. However, through the questionnaire, the majority of
the respondents admitted that they did not have the main points to write the essays and
they did not know how to elaborate on the points. Consequently, the respondents failed to
perform well in the writing component of the English Language Paper.
Fifth, the observations on respondents’ writing activities in the classroom revealed that
the activities were the same in every lesson. The respondents would copy the model
essay (reading text) into their exercise books and then work in groups to complete the
writing task given to them. Finally, each group will submit one essay to the teacher. This
contributes to the assumption that the respondents understood what they were supposed to
do because it had been drilled in every lesson, not because of their skills in writing.

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Sixth, in terms of evaluation, the teacher was able to identify and correct each error
committed by the respondents. There were only a few essays to be checked since most of
the essays were written in groups. However, the teacher could never ascertain each
respondent’s weaknesses from the errors identified because the essays were a product of
group work.
Finally, when the researcher examined the respondents’ composition exercise books, it
was noted that the corrections were done through wholesale copying of the corrected
essays. Throughout the classroom observations, the researcher also noticed that the
teacher did not explain and discuss with the respondents the errors committed by them. It
was also evident that the respondents were not given any individual and personal
guidance in dealing with the errors they made in writing.
From the above findings, the researcher came to a conclusion that the teaching and
learning process that had been practised in the two classes involved in this study failed to
guide and assist the respondents in acquiring the writing skills needed and thus the
respondents fail to perform well in the writing component of the PMR English Language
Paper.

CONCLUSION
From the findings, the researcher came to a conclusion that the teaching and learning
process that had been practiced in the two classes involved in this study failed to guide
and assist the respondents in acquiring the writing skills needed and thus the respondents
failed to perform well in the writing component of the PMR English Language Paper.

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 Feedback in Process Genre-Based Approach to
12 Teaching Technical Writing
SHAHRINA MD NORDIN, NORHISHAM MOHAMMAD AND ENA BHATTACHARYYA

INTRODUCTION

Writing teachers often find themselves in a state of dilemma to make a decision on which
of the many ways of teaching writing could actually lead to learners’ improvement in
writing. Writing teachers have an array of approaches to choose from. Each of these
approaches has different focus and emphasis. Despite the differences in these conflicting
and competing approaches, many researchers for example Caudery (1996), Badger and
White (2000), Hyland (2003b), Brakus (2003) suggest that an effective methodology for
teaching writing, needs to incorporate the strength of these approaches. The process
genre-based approach to teaching writing (Badger & White, 2000, p. 159) is a synthesis
of two main approaches: the process approach and the genre approach. Such an eclectic
approach to teaching writing, synthesizes the best of both the process and genre approach,
to help learners fully understand the writing process and learn how to improve technical
writing. In such a theoretical framework, the crucial element of feedback (a fundamental
component in the process approach integrated into the process genre-based approach)
may be seen as one of the significant sources for “input” to help learners improve their
writing skills. Two types of sources that provide feedback to the learners in writing are
the teacher’s written feedback and peer feedback. This raises the question that has
significant pedagogical implications in the writing classroom mainly, “which of these two
sources of feedback (within the theoretical framework of process genre-based approach)
is perceived as more useful to the second language (L2) technical writing learners?” The
hypotheses formulated in this study are as follows:
1. The L2 technical writing learners who have experienced peer feedback will
indicate the usefulness of peer feedback.
2. The L2 technical writing learners who have experienced lecturer feedback will
indicate the usefulness of lecturer written feedback.
3. The L2 technical writing learners who have experienced both types of feedback
will indicate a significantly stronger preference for the lecturer’s written
feedback.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

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Feedback is seen as a fundamental element in the process approach to teaching writing.
Lynch (1996, p. 155) suggests that teachers should “offer learners a range of feedback
types which may stand a greater chance of success than reliance on a single technique”.
Keh (1990) defines feedback as input obtained from the audience for the writer to revise
the text. Through feedback, the writer consciously learns whether he or she has
inadequate information, an illogical organization or a lack of coherent development of
ideas in writing. Hence, input and interaction on the learners’ writing through feedback
does play an important role in the writing process (Myles, 2002). While many
researchers and practitioners acknowledge the advantages that feedback may offer, there
is still an uncertainty about “who should give this response, the form it should take, and
whether it should focus more on ideas or forms” (Hyland, 2003b, p. 177).
Among the major areas of feedback in revision are: peer feedback; conferences as
feedback; and teachers’ comments as feedback (Md Nordin, 2006). A line of research has
indicated that learners do utilize all types of feedback: self, peer and teacher feedback
(e.g., Paulus, 1999; Chaudron, 1984; Caulk, 1994). Studies comparing teachers’ feedback
and peer feedback reveal that there were no significant differences in the revisions made
(Hedgecock & Lefkowitz, 1992) by the learners in their text.

Peer Feedback

Peer feedback, in the literature of writing, is sometimes interchangeably referred to by

many other names, such as peer response, peer editing, peer assessment or peer
evaluation. Essentially, all these terms commonly refer to the input provided by peers in
writing. Among the advantages of peer feedback are (Keh, 1990), saving teacher’s time
and freeing teachers for more helpful instruction, developing writing at learners’ own
level, providing learners a greater sense of audience with several readers and developing
critical reading skills when learners read others’ papers. This is clearly reflected in the
statement by Cumming as below:

Current approaches to writing instruction in a second language advocate the

negotiation of meaning between student writers and their audiences, sequential
processes of drafting and revising compositions, and the development of learners’
abilities to diversify their capacities for written expression. (Cumming, 1989, pp. 82–
83)

Thus, peer review provides the students with authentic audiences, active discussion that
leads to discovery and necessary peer feedback to help improve writing (Freedman,
1992; Reid, 1992). Research by Falchikov (1995), Tsui and Ng (2000, p. 147), and
Magin and Helmore (2001), for example, found that peer comments “enhance a sense of
audience, raise learners’ awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses, encourage
collaborative learning, and foster ownership of text”. Thus, in this study, learners will
receive constant peer feedback regarding their writing throughout the writing process.
Other sources, such as Langan and Wheater (2003), Boud and Falchikov (1989),
reinforce the benefits of peer feedback by stating that peer feedback encourages of student

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autonomy; empowers the learner in a learning environment; provides interactive classes
for marking or feedback sessions; encourages reflection on recently completed
assessments with full explanation of the answers (improving information and
understanding); allows students to see standards set by peers as well as mistakes of
others (and avoiding them in the future); develops student responsibility for critical
evaluation of their own work; initiates the ability to self-evaluate and reflect on their own
work; develops an ability to “stand back” from their own work for assessment purposes
(an essential ability of an “objective”, “unbiased” scientist) and improves students’
understanding of assessment procedures.
However, there are also some concerns and objections regarding peer feedback (Ferris,
2003). Among the concerns in peer feedback are that students misunderstand the purposes
of peer feedback and are uncomfortable with it (Leki, 1990; Nelson & Cason, 1998;
Zhang, 1995); students, due to their limitations as both developing writers and L2
learners, are simply not very good at giving one another helpful feedback, thus calling
into question the time and effort needed to implement peer response (Leki, 1990; Nelson
& Cason, 1998).
Others mention that students may lack the ability to evaluate each other, may not like peer
feedback because of the possibility of being misunderstood and may misinform each
other. Peer feedback according to Langan and Wheater (2003) may not be encouraged due
to its validity and reliability of peer feedback, leading to problems of inaccuracy or low
precision of naive markers. It may also lead to variability of marking standards of groups
of peer assessors (Swanson, Case & van der Vleuten, 1991).
It is however acknowledged by many researchers that peer feedback is a complex
process “affected by a wide variety of interpersonal and contextual factors and that a
wide variety of feedback types and stances appeared to benefit a range of student writers
in various ways” (Ferris, 2003, p. 131). Prior training for students in providing effective
feedback is however seen as essential for successful peer feedback sessions. The success
of peer feedback depends greatly on how the process is set up and subsequently managed
(Langan & Wheather, 2003; Magin & Helmore 2001; Stefani, 1994).

Teacher’s Written Feedback

Another type of feedback is teacher’s written comments (which is referred to in this study
as lecturer’s written feedback) on students’ writing. Through such feedback however,
teachers worry whether the comments will be understood and whether they can be
effective. To avoid such a problem, Kehl (1970) urges the teacher to communicate “…in
a distinctly human voice, with sincere respect for the writer as a person and a sincere
interest in his improvement as a writer”. There has been a line of research on teacher’s
written feedback on student writing which includes text analytic studies, quasi-
experimental approaches and survey research on student attitudes toward teachers’
written feedback (Ferris, 2003, p. 122).
Muncie (2000) describes some theoretical concerns about providing written teacher

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feedback on mid-drafts of learner’s writing. She thus suggests that teacher feedback is
advocated on final-drafts. This however brings us to the question of “so what happens
after the feedback since it is the final draft?” (Tribble, 1996). Garcia (1999) for example,
argues for pre-text feedback since the most effective feedback is by responding to the
learners’ writing before any draft is completed. Thus to overcome the problem, Muncie
suggests that on the day the compositions are returned to the students, the students are
required to write a summary entitled “How I can improve future compositions”. They
summarize comments both from peers and the teacher for future writing cycles. The
advantages of such an approach are that there is critical evaluation to translate the
comments; the summary is indisputably theirs as there is an element of choice in
constructing the summary; this technique bridges the gap between learner’s texts,
feedback and future texts.
A line of research however has raised questions on the benefits of instructor’s written
feedback to improve students’ writing. Research on L1 writing (Hyland, 2003a) suggests
that written feedback maybe of poor quality, too vague and inconsistent (Sommers, 1982).
Writing teachers’ comments are reported as unhelpful and confusing (Purves, 1986) and
that they are often “authoritarian” and “insensitive” (Connors & Lunsford, 1993 cited in
Hyland, 2003a, p.178). However, Zhang (1995) pointed out that the findings in L1 writing
have not been consistent on such a view (Freedman, 1985; Newkirk, 1984). The results
of other research studies in L1, that compared teacher’s feedback and peer feedback,
indicate that there were no significant differences in the revisions made (Hedgecock &
Lefkowitz, 1992) in learners’ writing.
This study thus seeks to investigate the usefulness of peer feedback and lecturer’s written
feedback and to see which type of feedback is preferred by the students.

THE STUDY

Methodology

The participants were 69 ESL technical writing students in one of the private universities
in Malaysia. The students enrolled in a Technical and Professional Writing course, which
is a compulsory subject for all first year, first semester, degree students. In that semester,
268 students had registered for the Technical and Professional Writing (LAB 1023)
course. Random sampling was done to ensure that every individual had an equal
opportunity to be selected and to eliminate any possibility of potential biasness
(Krehbiel, 2004, p. 325; Brown, 2001, p. 72; Brown, 2000, p. 111). Stratified random
sampling was then carried out to stratify students according to their gender as there are
studies on language and gender in the field of second language education that indicate
“gender differences” in language acquisition and use (Sunderland, 2000; Kubota, 2003).
Thus, among the 69 students, 40 were males (58%) and 29 were females (42%). For the
purpose of this study, the participants were engineering students from civil, chemical,
mechanical and electrical engineering.

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The instrument used in this study is a set of questionnaires disseminated to the
participants. Likert-scale questions were used in the questionnaires to investigate how the
participants feel about peer review and lecturer’s written feedback. The questionnaire
was first administered as a pilot test to another set of students to spot ambiguities,
confusion or other problems in the questionnaire content. The reliability of the instrument
was established through Cronbach alpha, which was accomplished with the aid of SPSS.
Since the questionnaire is made up of two distinct subsections, the reliability of each
subsection is calculated. The results of the reliability test will be reported in the analysis
section.
A total of 69 sets of questionnaires were disseminated to the participants at the end of the
treatment. A one-tailed t-test, α = .05, was applied with the aid of SPSS on the usefulness
of peer feedback and instructor’s written feedback to see whether there is a significant
difference in learners’ responses between the two types of feedback. If there is a
statistical difference, it thus supports the third hypothesis of this study – the L2 technical
writing learners who have experienced both will indicate a significantly stronger
preference for the lecturer’s written feedback.
Descriptive statistics were then used to analyse the responses in the questionnaire. The
descriptive analysis is to either support or reject the first and second research
hypotheses. The SPSS was employed to calculate the frequency on learners’ perception
of the usefulness of lecturer’s written feedback and peer feedback in making them better
technical writers, using the feedback in revision, gaining confidence in their writing,
gaining deeper understanding, improving grammatical errors, gaining long-term
improvements and on the reliability of the feedback.

Framework for Application

The teaching approach in this study was based on the theoretical framework of process
genre-based approach to teaching technical writing. The model, proposed by Badger and
White (2000, p. 159), synthesizes the strength of two main approaches to teaching
writing: the process approach and the genre approach. The participants were exposed to
technical writing texts throughout the treatment. The treatment however focuses on four
types of technical writing documents, which are technical description, set of instructions,
recommendation report and proposal.
The process genre-based approach in this study guides learners to see how different texts
are written in accordance with their purpose, audience and message (Macken-Horarik,
2002). Learners were then guided through multiple-drafts process (one of the prominent
features of the process approach integrated into process genre-based approach in this
study). Learners were asked for multiple drafts of their writing instead of turning in a
finished product right away. Rewriting and revision were important elements in this
study. Editing was an on-going multilevel process, which consisted of: planning, drafting
and finally publishing the end product – the technical description, the set of instruction,
the recommendation report or the proposal.

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While emphasizing on the importance of how purpose and audience shape writing and the
need for multiple-drafts process, another essential element in the process genre-based
approach is feedback. Feedback in this study can also be defined as input from the
audience in order to further improve the text. Two of the main sources to obtain feedback
as input for revision are through peers’ feedback and the teacher’s written comments.
The learners were first given training on how to carry out peer review. With step-by-step
guidance, learners were then required to provide their comments on the sample text by
answering the questions in the Peer Review Form. The form helps to guide learners on
providing appropriate and relevant responses. It focuses on the purpose of the paper, the
audience’s need and level of knowledge, the appropriateness of the tone used, the
appropriateness of the language form used for a particular genre, and the content of the
writing. Explicit instruction was given on the kind of language used when giving feedback
and the kinds of expressions the learners may use to compliment, criticize or to suggest
improvements. The training and the form for guidelines were seen as crucial to ensure
that learners would be able to give constructive comments and provide useful suggestions
about their peers’ writing (Paulus, 1999; Villamil & de Guerrero, 1998).
There are a variety of techniques that teachers can employ in providing their comments to
learners’ writing proposed in the literature. The researcher in this study however decided
to use three of these techniques, which are commentary, rubrics and minimal marking in
the proposed process genre-based approach. The comments given were however not in
the form of evaluation but more on the effectiveness of the text and how it can be
improved.

RESULTS

The Cronbach alpha internal-consistency reliability for the first sub-section is 0.91 and
for the second sub-section is 0.88. It can thus be said that the Cronbach alpha internal-
consistency reliability for both sections are relatively high that indicate high reliability of
the instruments used in this study. The following is the report on the findings of the study.
From the t-test, the t value of –8.80 and the significant value at 0.000, is thus found to be
significant at p < 0.05. The difference between the means is indeed significant. Therefore,
the findings of this research are in support to the third research hypothesis that there is a
significant difference in learners’ response to lecturer’s written feedback and peer
feedback. The mean of the responses for the lecturer’s written feedback (where the mean
is 5.7) is significantly higher than the mean of the responses to peer feedback (where the
mean is 4.8).

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Table 12.1 Usefulness of peer feedback and lecturer’s written feedback

Responses to Peer Feedback

The following results indicate responses by the students to peer feedback on their writing
by the following criteria, namely, better writers, reliability, usage in revision, confidence
level in writing, better understanding, correcting grammatical errors and long-term
improvements.
In response to questions on peer feedback, 14 (20.3%) of the 69 participants strongly
agree that peer feedback sessions make them better writers. Thirty-seven participants
(53.6%) agree that peer feedback sessions make them better writers, 13 (18.8%)
somewhat agree, 5.8% somewhat disagree and 1.4% disagree. In responding to question
2, only 7.2% of the participants strongly agree that peer response to their work is
reliable, the majority (46.4%) somewhat agree that peer feedback is reliable, 2.9%,
however, disagree. For question 3, only 10.1% strongly agree that they incorporate
recommendations made by their peers when revising (re-writing) their drafts. About
44.9% agree and 11.6% somewhat agree that they do incorporate their peers’ feedback in
their subsequent revision. However, 5.8% of the participants disagree. To the question on
confidence, 7.2% strongly agree, and the majority (47.8%), agree that they gain
confidence in writing after receiving feedback from peers, and 11.6% somewhat disagree
that they gain confidence in writing upon receiving peer feedback and no participants
disagree that they gain confidence. To the question on understanding of what is required
in their writing assignment, 27.5% strongly agree, 50.7% agree that peer feedback helps
them to understand their writing assignments better, while 17.4% somewhat agree and
4.3% somewhat disagree that peer feedback helps in their understanding. None disagree
or strongly disagree that peer feedback does not help in their understanding of writing. On
the question of the helpfulness of peer feedback sessions in correcting grammatical errors

145
in their writing, 17.4% strongly agree, 42% agree and 24.6% somewhat agree that the
feedback is indeed helpful, however 13% somewhat disagree and 2.9% disagree. The
last area of questioning was to look at long-term improvements from peer feedback
where 15.9% strongly agree, 46.4% agree and 24.6% somewhat agree that peer feedback
is useful for long-term improvements in their technical writing, however 11.6%
somewhat disagree and 1.4% disagree.
The next questions that follow are on the benefits of responding to others’ technical
writing papers as the learners take up the role as assessors to evaluate and give
comments for improvement on their peers’ work. It shows that 50.7% of the learners
agree, 27.5% strongly agree and 17.4% somewhat agree that they do gain deeper
understanding of what is required in the assignment by giving feedback to their peers’
work. Responses on gaining confidence upon assessing and giving comments to others’
writing indicate that 50.7% agree, 13% strongly agree and 34.8% somewhat agree that
they gain confidence in technical writing after giving feedback and comments to their
peers’ papers. The majority, which is 59.4% of the participants, agree that analysing and
responding to their peers’ work helps to improve their own technical writing.

Responses to Lecturer Feedback

The following questions are to elicit the participants’ views on the usefulness of
lecturer’s written feedback. Fifty-one participants (73.9%) strongly agree, 24.6% agree,
1.4% somewhat agree (and no participant disagrees) that lecturer’s written feedback on
their writing makes them better technical writers. 63.8% and 34.8% agree that lecturer’s
written feedback is reliable and 56.5% strongly agree, 34.8% agree and the remaining
somewhat agree that they use all recommendations made by their lecturer in revising their
writing. In responding to the question on confidence gained, 42% strongly agree and
46.4% agree that lecturer feedback provides the students confidence in their writing
while only 1.4% somewhat disagree that they do not gain confidence after receiving
feedback from their lecturer. Upon receiving their lecturer’s written feedback, 46.4%
strongly agree, 50.7% agree and the remaining somewhat agree that they gain deeper
understanding of what is required in the assignment.
On the question of improving grammatical errors, 42% strongly agree, 46.4% agree and
11.6% somewhat agree that comments from the lecturer’s written feedback are helpful in
correcting grammatical errors in their work. In response to the question on long-term
improvements, 47.8% strongly agree, 43.5% agree, 7.2% somewhat agree and 1.4%
somewhat disagree that lecturer’s written feedback is useful for long term improvements
in technical writing. The following tables summarize the responses by the participants.
The findings illustrated in Table 12.1 reveal that the means to the responses on the
usefulness of lecturer’s written feedback are higher than the means of the responses to the
usefulness of peer feedback.

DISCUSSION

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Both the t-test and the descriptive analyses clearly indicate that the participants find
lecturer’s written feedback as more useful. The findings lend support to the third research
hypothesis that learners do indicate a significantly stronger preference for the lecturer’s
written feedback. Such findings are in sharp contrast to the findings in L1 studies where
L1 learners prefer peer feedback compared to the instructor’s feedback (Pierson, 1997;
Elbow, 1973; Purves, 1986). L2 teachers and practitioners however have the tendency to
accept findings from L1 into L2 writing practices, believing that the two are identical,
“…L2 writing theories are little more than transplants from L1 writing theories” (Zhang,
1995, p. 210). Such tendency is probably due to the nature of the second language writing
field that, as acknowledged by many L2 scholars (Reid, 2001; Polio, 2003), is relatively
young. Hyland (2003b) however warned that, even though L1 and L2 writings are similar
in some ways, empirical research findings indicate that there are significant differences
that L2 writing teachers need to be aware of. Silva (1993), cited in Hyland (2003b),
reviewed 72 studies comparing studies in first and second language writing and noted
that, “L2 writing is strategically, rhetorically and linguistically different in important
ways from L1 writing” (p. 669). This study thus provides an insight that L2 writing
learners have different expectations and ways of learning that L2 teachers should be
aware of.
The patterns in learners’ responses to their perception on peer feedback indicate that
learners show reserved but generally positive attitudes toward peer feedback. As
claimed by the advocates of peer feedback, the results show that peer feedback is indeed
perceived as beneficial. This study however reveals that lecturer’s written feedback is
generally viewed as more credible and appealing than peer feedback to these L2
learners. The findings in this study are consistent with the arguments by Semke (1984),
Berger (1989), Zhang (1995) and Hyland (1998) that L2 learners favour instructor’s
written feedback to peer evaluation.
For example, on the extent that the learners incorporate feedback into their revisions, the
findings indicate a higher rating for the lecturer’s written feedback. Such findings parallel
the findings by Connor and Asenavage (1994) that teacher feedback was much more
readily incorporated into the revised texts than peer feedback. The learners’ claims on the
extent that their actions in response to the feedback are important, as “most feedback-
linked revisions seem to result in text improvements (Ferris, 1997 cited in Hyland,
2003a). Even though Hyland asserts that there is a possibility that revisions based on
feedback only contribute little to learners’ future writing development, the learners’
response in this study proves otherwise (where 15.9% strongly agree and 46.4% agree
that peer feedback is useful for long-term improvements and 47.8% strongly agree and
43.5% agree that lecturer’s written feedback is useful for long-term improvements).
Again, however, the learners seem to obviously prefer lecturer’s written feedback to peer
feedback.
Learners’ however have very positive responses to critical assessment of the peers’
writing. The learners agree that through such exercises, they gain deeper understanding,
further improve their own technical writing and gain confidence in their writing. Such
peer review sessions help to develop editing, analysing and evaluating capabilities. Such

147
skills could then be utilized in their future writing tasks and help develop eventual learner
autonomy (Boud & Falchikov, 1989). Learner autonomy is seen as important in language
education “since it is obvious that no students, anywhere, will have their teachers to
accompany them throughout life” (Littlewood, 1999, p. 73).
Even though, feedback given by both peers and the lecturer in the process genre-based
approach in this study emphasizes both accuracy and content, learners clearly indicate
higher preference for lecturer’s written feedback in helping them to improve grammatical
errors. Many L2 learners are very concerned about grammatical errors so the majority of
them aim to produce error-free texts. Thus, the assertion that teachers should demolish
attention to form and focus on meaning instead should be revised. Truscott (1996), for
instance, argued that error correction is ineffective in improving learners’ writing and that
teachers should focus only on global issues. The findings of this study, on the other hand,
suggest that learners do welcome and value feedback on grammar. Strong preference for
lecturer’s written feedback in helping them to improve their grammatical errors is
probably related to the degree of confidence the learners have in the reliability of such
feedback. Though the learners’ response on the reliability of peer feedback is generally
positive, the findings reveal that there are considerable doubts about the reliability of
peer evaluation. This is consistent with the findings in Paltridge (1981) that indicate
learners’ doubtful state on the accuracy of peer feedback. Even though the learners in this
study had gone through a training session on peer evaluation, as pointed out by Leki
(1990), peers’ comments may be vague as they are not trained teachers. Furthermore, the
learners may be ambivalent about the quality of their peers’ comments and
recommendations and as a result may have reservations in trusting them. Relevant to this,
learners in this study thus indicate gaining higher confidence in their writing after
receiving feedback from the lecturer (42% strongly agree and 46.4% agree) as compared
to receiving feedback from peers (7.2% strongly agree and 47.8% agree). The overall
pattern of the findings in this study therefore strongly suggest that lecturer’s written
feedback is highly valued by second language writing learners as such feedback is
perceived as more helpful than peer feedback.

CONCLUSION
Thus, from the t-test and the descriptive analyses, the findings suggest that lecturer’s
written feedback is generally perceived as more useful compared to peer feedback. It
however should not be misinterpreted that peer feedback is thus detrimental to ESL
writing as the results of this study do indicate generally positive attitudes toward peer
feedback. The two types of feedback are indeed beneficial, though at varying degrees of
appeal. It would be premature to make any pedagogical recommendation to substitute
peer feedback with lecturer’s written feedback. Although a single study does not wholly
prove the usefulness of lecturer’s written feedback over peer feedback, it does give an
impetus to other researchers and practitioners to carry out future research. The findings of
this research have given rise to other research questions, which include: Is there a
significant difference in learners’ writing, when rated holistically, between those who

148
experience peer feedback compared to those who only experience lecturer’s written
feedback? What is the percentage of lecturer’s written feedback incorporated into the
learners’ revision compared to peer feedback, when their writing is quantitatively
examined?

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 Lesson Plan and Its Importance in English Language
13 Classroom
SOHEL AHMAD CHOWDHURY

INTRODUCTION

A lesson plan is a daily or weekly plan written as an outline or detailed statement by the
teacher for the purpose of teaching students, sharing with colleagues and following up the
particular lessons in his/her classroom. The lesson plan is designed to help the teachers
think explicitly through all aspects of every lesson that they teach. Harmer (1998, p. 308)
points out, “lesson planning is the art of combining a number of different elements into a
coherent whole so that a lesson has an identity which students can recognise, work
within, and react to – whatever metaphor teachers may use to visualize and create that
identity”. Ur (1996) and Thornbury (1999) regard lesson planning as a show, a menu, a
story and a film. This is prepared to cover each normal teaching period or session that the
teachers teach (i.e., each period ranges from 45 to 60 minutes and each session from one
to three hours).
We need to consider the way that our lesson contributes to the outcomes of the unit of
work before we start to make a lesson plan. We have to consider the language level of
our students, their educational and cultural background, their levels of motivation, and
their different learning styles. We can easily gather such knowledge by mixing up with the
students freely and spending time with them. We need to consider the nature of the input
we will provide, the learning activities the students are involved in, and the nature of the
productive tasks they complete in the course of the lesson, and how these contribute to the
overall goals of the unit of work. But it is also important for us to consider how our
lesson will contribute to the overall language acquisition of our students as well as
contributing to the unit of work in which the lesson occurs.
There are a variety of ways of conceptualizing all the elements that make up language
lessons. Here we can consider four main planning elements:

1. Language
2. Activities
3. Skills
4. Content

1. Language

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 When planning a lesson we need to decide what language to introduce and have the
students learn, practise or use. In a successful lesson plan, language is presented and
encountered in a context which is clear, relevant and of interest to the learners.
Students are involved in meaningful use of language within this context during the
lesson, and can see how, what they are doing, relates to other learning they have been
doing, and to their need to use the language outside the classroom. The lesson is
structured to provide some learners with some language input relevant to the context.

2. Activities
Students are involved in a series of linked stages or activities in which they engage
with the topic and language using a range of skills, enabling language to be recycled.
Students and teachers must have a clear sense of purpose in their activities.

Our first planning thought should centre round what kind of activity would be best for
a particular group of students at a particular point in a lesson, or on a particular day.
… Students may find themselves standing up and working with each other for five
minutes before returning to their seats and working for a time on their own. The
same lesson may end with a whole-class discussion or with pairs writing dialogues to
practise a language function or grammar point. (Harmer, 1998, p. 309)

The teacher needs to balance between time spent with a whole class focus and time
spent with individual, pair and group focus. Also there must be a balance between
teacher and student control of activities and language.

3. Skills
According to the requirements of the lesson or the course book, we need to decide
which language skills we wish our students to develop. Accordingly, the teacher
prepares lesson plan giving preference to the particular skills and sub-skills of
language.

4. Content
In a lesson plan, the content should be thought provoking, interesting, exciting,
amusing, involving and motivating. Harmer (1998, p. 309) says:

The most interesting content can be made bland if the activities and tasks that go with
it are unimaginative. Similarly, subjects that are not especially fascinating can be used
extremely successfully if the good planner takes time to think about how students can
best work with them.

Different groups of learners have different needs, and so the organizing focus of our
lessons will vary according to those needs. The following examples represent some of
the possibilities:
1. A focus on a social situation (e.g., to make an appointment over telephone) and
the language that arises from it, involving a range of skills.

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 2. A focus on a topic (e.g., smoking is injurious to health) or theme (e.g., families)
and language and skills that arise from it.
3. A focus on how language can be used to attain certain ends (e.g., complaining).
4. A focus on a task or problem (e.g., choosing the best place to go for a holiday)
and how language can be used to complete the task.
5. A focus on certain language related skills (e.g., writing an argumentative essay,
paragraph, etc.) in some relevant context for the students.
6. A focus on certain aspects of the language (e.g., a past tense form and its
meaning) in which learners use those aspects of the language in a meaningful
context, and come to have a better control over and understanding of this aspect
of the language system.

Figure 13.1 Pre-planning and the plan

Source: Harmer (1998, p. 310)

Whatever our organizing focus, it is essential that teachers and students have a clear
sense of what it is! Now, we are in a position to move from pre-planning to the plan itself
as mentioned in Figure 13.1.

Components of a Lesson Plan

Brevity and clarity are the essential qualities of a successful lesson plan. Lengthy
statements should not be necessary, and the plan should be completed in point form.
1. Lesson information
Basic information directly related to the lesson in the form of a list about the class,
level, topic, day, date, number of students, the duration of the lesson and the name of
the teacher. It provides a more detailed statement of why we are doing what we plan
to in the lesson; in terms of the language we will include and focus on, and in terms of

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 the context, topic, task or theme we are working within.
2. Aim
This is a brief sentence that uses specific words to describe “what” and “how” the
students will learn as a result of the teacher teaching the lesson. For example, by the
end of the lesson the students will be able to:

a. Design an advertisement for a science exhibition.

b. Identify specific phrases from a reading passage.

In this section we should identify the unit of work in which the lesson is located, and
identify the overall goals and outcomes of the lesson. We also need to identify what
has come before and what is following. A lesson will often have more than one aim.
Our overall objective is to enhance our students’ ability, to encourage them to predict
content, to use guessing strategies and to develop an imaginative response to what they
encounter.
3. Academic and social skills
The lesson plan should include a list of specific academic and social skills that the
students will become aware of as a result of their participation in the lesson. In this
section we identify the language features and other language related skills the students
will encounter and use during the lesson.
“Academic skills” are subject related which focus on the topic or content that is taught
in the lesson, for example: reading – skimming, scanning, inferring.
“Social skills” focus on the values, attitudes and behaviour of the students in the
classroom and the larger society, for example: using quiet voices, raising hands,
listening carefully, etc.
4. Procedure
This is a brief or detailed description of the different stages (introduction,
development and closing) of how the particular lesson will be taught, the role of the
teacher and the students, the specific teaching and learning methods to be used based
on the aims. It provides an overview of what will happen during the lesson. In the
Timing column we will indicate the duration of stages of the lesson, or the time at
which transitions will occur. The Teacher Activity column indicates our role during
each stage of the lesson. Under the Student Activity column we will state what
students will be doing at each stage of the lesson.
5. Time frame
The lesson plan must include the specific time for each teaching and learning activity.
6. List of resources/materials

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 This is a list of readymade and teacher-made resources/materials necessary for
teaching the lesson, for example: blackboard/whiteboard, chalk/marker, textbook and
handouts.
We should list the resources and equipment we will utilize in the lesson. We should
attach copies of worksheets to the lesson plan.
7. Evaluation
A listing of different ways describing how the teacher will collect information to
check student understanding about the lesson, for example:

a. The teacher will check the written work of the students.

b. The teacher will ask questions.

Evaluation of the lesson and student assessment is the area where we reflect on the
impact and effectiveness of the lesson. This can be completed after the lesson has
been taught. Through evaluation we can consider both what is planned and what is
done in the lesson. As well as thinking about what we contribute to the lesson, we can
think about what we have learned about our students – what they are capable of, what
they achieve, what they like or dislike, what they respond to and so on.

SMART Lesson Plans

The success of the lesson will depend to a great extent on how effectively the lesson is
planned. The teacher, through using the SMART abbreviation given below can plan and
write lesson plans that are effective.
S = Specific
The objectives and procedures of the lesson plans should be specific and to the point
using action verbs (e.g., list, add, subtract, write, etc.) to describe teacher and student
activities or roles during the lesson.
M = Measurable
It is easily possible to evaluate the student activity during or after the lesson. If this is
difficult or impossible, the lesson plan is not measurable.
A = Achievable
The objectives of the lesson should be fulfilled within the time given for the lesson, for
example an aim that requires students to answer ten broad questions in 40 minutes cannot
be completed or achieved.
R = Realistic
The topic or content of the lesson should be within the learning ability of the students. A

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topic that is too hard for the students to understand is not realistic and cannot produce a
successful lesson.
T = Time bound
The lesson plan should be completed within the time limit and specific times should be
mentioned in the margins of the lesson plan for each teacher and student activity.
The following are some important questions to be considered while planning a lesson:
Why have we selected this topic for our lesson?
To complete syllabus?
To teach students a new idea?
To help students who are weak in this area?
To provide an interesting activity for our students?
Is the topic of the lesson suitable for the abilities of our students as well as us?
Is it too hard?
Is it too easy?
Is it confusing?
Do we feel comfortable teaching this topic?
Do we need to take help from our colleagues to understand the topic?
What kind of help do we need?
Can we reach our aim in the time that we have to teach this lesson?
Will we run out of time?
Will we have too much time left over at the end of the lesson?
What things in the lesson can use up our time?
Too many student questions?
How can we plan own lesson so that we don’t have time left over?
Exactly how much time do we need in each part of the lesson?
What materials do we need to teach this lesson?
Textbooks, pictures, charts, objects, pen, pencil, whiteboard/blackboard,
chalk/marker, OHP, tape recorder, computer, LCD facilities?
Do we have them? If not where can we get them?
Can we develop materials we don’t have?
Do we really need these materials?
Can we teach this topic without these materials?
What can we plan to do in my lesson that will tell us that our students have understood
the lesson?
Ask the student’s question?
Ask students to present their work in front of the class?

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 Look at the exercise copies of the students during the class to check their work?
However carefully we plan, in practice unforeseen things are likely to happen during the
course of a lesson. So our plans are continually modified in the light of these. It is to be
remembered that a lesson plan helps the teacher to take the class chronologically, but it is
not a fixed set of rules to be followed without question. It is the teacher who finally
decides how to teach in the classroom, for the lesson plan is only a guide. Experienced
and confident teachers sometimes make some necessary changes in their teaching during
the lesson to suit the time and circumstances in which the lesson is taught. “However well
we plan, our plan is just a suggestion of what we might do in class. Everything depends
upon how our students respond and relate to it. In Jim Scrivener’s words, ‘prepare
thoroughly’. But in class, teach the learners – not the plan” (Harmer, 2001, p. 319).

Sample Lesson Plan

Pre-planning information:

1. The class is at secondary level. There are 40 students who are between the ages
of 15 and 18. They are enthusiastic and willing to participate well.
2. The students need “warm up” at the outset of a lesson.
3. They are active and ready to attend creative activities.
4. The classroom is equipped with whiteboard, marker, duster, etc.
5. The lesson introduces the use of I would like to … in different situations.
6. The lesson emphasizes on reading skill to a great extent.
7. It also includes writing, listening and speaking activities.

Lesson information

Unit 11, Lesson 3, English for Today: For Classes 9–10, Pages 119–120.

Topic: Meena
Objectives: By the end of the lesson students will

1. Ask and answer question

2. Read a story and fill in blanks
3. Read a story and arrange pictures in the right order
4. Write about work they and other members of their family do

Material:

1. English for Today for Class 9–10 book

2. Exercise book
3. Marker and duster

Duration of lesson: 50 Minutes

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Experienced teachers may well be able to run effective lessons without making a plan at
all. When such lessons are successful, they can be immensely rewarding for all
concerned. But more often they run the risk of being muddled and aimless. It would be
dangerous if teachers do not have a clear idea of their aims.
Lesson plan: Bangladesh perspective

The idea of lesson planning is almost unknown and new to the communicative language
teachers of Bangladesh. The “communicative language teaching” or CLT was introduced

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in Bangladesh in late 1990s without strengthening the infrastructure. The teachers did not
get any training to transform themselves from traditional to communicative ones. As a
result they could not come out of their previous traditional outlook and remained
unchanged at the outset of new method. The majority of the teachers of our country have
been used to teaching their students in traditional methods for ages and coped themselves
with that sort of teaching. When they started teaching CLT with traditional outlook and
tendency, they made the whole lesson a mess. And the classroom has become a dull,
uninteresting and fatigue place to the learners. To be successful in CLT, a teacher must
change his attitude and cope himself with the growing needs of its requirements.
Moreover, we have the scarcity of teachers and classrooms in comparison with the
students. A secondary school teacher of our country has to take five to six classes daily
which cannot encourage him to prepare lesson plans for each class. He is always in a
hurry, so he takes classes for only classes’ sake. He has to go through one class after
another just like a machine without knowing the outcome of the class. In such cases they
can at least think a lesson plan of their own prior to each class at the break of classes.
Then there can be an opportunity to conduct the classes thoroughly. The traditional
teachers cannot resist themselves from talking all the time in the classroom as they are
used to it for a long time. On the other hand, the CLT emphasizes on the active role of the
students in the classroom where they will speak more, the teachers less. The teacher
should not always stand in front of the class or sit idly on his chair. Instead of standing or
sitting, the teacher should walk around the class and mix with all the students, checking
answers, making sure students’ understanding. He expresses why it is so important for
students to participate, to be a part of the learning process rather than a passive recipient
of information. With any class, language learning is maximized if all the students have a
chance to speak, listen, discuss, practice and share ideas in English. To deal with a large
class is a difficult task. It is best for the teacher to keep standing most of the time so that
the students can clearly see the teacher. It is a good idea to go round the class when
students do pair or group work. Eye contact is always a good weapon to be used for
interaction. The teacher should speak very slowly and clearly and behave as a parents or
a friend in a large class. To be a communicative teacher, a traditional teacher needs to
come out from his traditional attachments. Without lesson plan, the CLT class can never
be a successful one. McDonough (2002) in his Applied Linguistics in Language
Education opines that the lesson plan “has become widespread, and linked strongly with
the communicative and task-based methods, particularly for the opportunities it offers for
students to create new things to say for themselves in the new language. Not all teachers
are happy with the various risks it brings, of losing the opportunity to monitor everybody
for accuracy, developing control over what is actually talked about, and also what
language is actually used.” For the implementation of lesson plan in our classroom,
government has are immense role to play. Short and long term training programmes can
be inserted to make the teachers familiar with CLT. All the teachers of the country need to
cope with this new module, otherwise the initiation of CLT in the context of Bangladesh
will be futile and the waste of time and money. It is a matter of hope that the NGOs like
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and Association for Social
Advancement (ASA) have already inaugurated training modules for the non-government
schoolteachers. But it is not possible for them to cover the whole country. Governments

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as well as NGOs and private organizations should come forward to solve this problem to
a large extent.
An ideal CLT classroom should consist of 25 to 30 students. The number of students
exceeding 30 will create problems in implementing a lesson plan. But our usual
classroom consists of 80 to100 students as there is an acute scarcity of classrooms and
teachers. The teachers attended the BRAC module said that they could not implement the
lesson plan in their respective schools due to the large number of students. They can not
make pairs and groups as this makes the classroom noisy and also hampers the
neighbouring classroom. The teachers of other disciplines complain to the authority
against the concerned teachers of CLT. As this is their only means of livelihood, they do
not dare continue it further. As the CLT teachers naturally gain popularity among students
due to their interaction with them, this causes jealousy in the minds of other teachers. A
large classroom is typically noisy and at times it appears really difficult to control it. It is
also difficult to check student’s class work or home work, to remember students’ name, to
give personal attention to them and above all, to assess them properly. The teacher does
not get enough time to allow students to practise and therefore, he cannot monitor them
effectively. Moreover, the benches of our schools are not suitable for seating pairs and
especially for groups. Also the classroom size is not helpful to conduct CLT classes. The
majority of our school, college and even university classrooms are not equipped with
modern teaching aids such as OHP, multimedia facilities, projectors, CD/VCD facilities,
LCD monitors, etc. Many institutions are still using age-old blackboard and chalk for
conducting classes. They even do not have whiteboard and marker facilities. A large
number of our students do not have any access to computers. For that, the government
should establish more schools, renovate existing schools, increase the number of
classrooms, provide more and more equipments, provide training to the current teachers,
recruit more trained teachers, offer rewards for the successful teachers and encourage
different organizations to arrange training programmes.
Written plans are not just proposals for future action; they are also records of what has
taken place. Thus, when we are in the middle of a sequence of lessons, we can look back
at what we have done in order to decide what to do next. A record of lessons can help
colleagues if the regular teachers remain absent. Lesson planning in this way allows us to
act as our own observers and aids us in our own development.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, H.D. (2001) Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language
Teaching. London: Longman.
Harmer, J. (1998) The Practice of English Language Teaching. Essex: Pearson Education
Ltd.
Harmer, J. (2001) How to Teach English. London: Longman.
McDonough, S. (2002) Applied Linguistics in Language Education. London: Arnold.
Nunan, D. (1991) Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook for Teachers. New York:

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 Prentice-Hall.
Prabhu, N. (1992) The dynamics of the language lesson. TESOL Quarterly 26: 225–241.
Naina Shahzadi, Fazle Rabbani and Shamima Tasmin. (2004) English for Today: For Classes
9–10. Dhaka: National Curriculum & Textbook Board.
Thornbury, S. (1999) How to Teach Vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ur, P. (1996) A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

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 Unteaching Strategies: An Approach Based on Error
14 Analysis, Learners’ Learning Strategies and Task-
Based Instruction
MA’SSOUMEH BEMANI NAEINI AND AMBIGAPATHY PANDIAN

INTRODUCTION
The question of how to treat learners’ errors has long been the topic of debate among
educators. Some suggest immediate correction while others have emphasized ignoring
them for the sake of communication. But which way could actually help the learners to
overcome their problems in language learning?
In Iran, in spite of practicing teacher-dominated methodologies which greatly emphasize
correct production of language form on the part of learners – mainly non-oral approaches
related to “grammar translation method (GTM)” – EFL learners still seem to have a lot of
difficulty producing correct English both grammatically and lexically. In Iranian schools,
the focus is on students accumulating sufficient knowledge to enable them to pass tests as
a form of training for the university entrance examination (Tajadini, 2002). However,
although GTM may not be ineffective in terms of giving learners ample knowledge of
grammar, when one considers the learners’ inadequate production of English, one may
associate it to the lack of practice of more sufficient approaches. In this regard, Iranian
EFL educators have recently felt the need for a change and the present paper investigates
one of the alternatives to provide for such a change.
This paper will first briefly review the literature, focusing on “error analysis (EA)”,
strategy training and “task-based language teaching (TBLT)”, to provide information on
the background of the problem. Next, it will identify and analyse the students’ errors
before going on to the next section which is a description of the teaching procedures
based on the tasks devised by the researchers.

Error Analysis

As a valuable technique in classroom research, EA is an option that can be carried out for
pedagogical purposes by identifying and describing learning strategies used by the
learners (Richards et al., 1993). From another perspective, current research is interested
in investigating the impact of tasks on the selection and use of learning strategies,
including the influence of both the first language (language transfer) and the target
language itself (overgeneralization), both of which have received considerable attention
in literature (Chamot & Keatley, 2004).

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EA with its emphasis on the significance of errors in interlanguage is useful in the
classroom for both research and pedagogical purposes (Richards et al., 1993). To serve
that purpose, Corder (1974) has offered a model of EA providing us with clear practical
procedures of identifying and analysing learners’ errors. The first step is to select a
corpus of language through the identification of errors and distinguish them from
mistakes. The next step requires description and classification of those errors that will be
grammatically analysed. Finally, the errors need to be explained in terms of different
processes and strategies taken by the learners, two of which are: language transfer and
overgeneralization. (See also Bemani, 2008; Keshavarz, 2003; Yarmohammadi, 1995;
Brown, 1994)

Strategy Training

Another approach underpinning the present study is the notion of “strategy training”. It is
defined as the explicit teaching of how, when and why students should employ foreign
language learning strategies to enhance their efforts at reaching the language programme
goals (Cohen, 1998; Ellis & Sinclair, 1989). “Learning strategies” can be defined as
conscious “steps taken by students to enhance their own learning” (Oxford, 1990, p. 1);
more particularly, “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster,
more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective and more transferable to new
situations” (ibid, p. 8). Thus, once they encounter certain language problems in order to
complete a task, learners then identify the gap and tend to consciously take steps to solve
the problems. To overcome their lack of knowledge, they usually apply learning
strategies, especially “compensation strategies” like guessing and saying something in a
different way, as well as “social” strategies like finding a conversation partner, asking
speakers to slow down, speaking clarification or verification and so on (see Oxford,
1990 for more detailed classification of these strategies). However, teachers, too, can
play a more effective role by teaching their students some of those learning strategies
which have been identified as characteristics of a “good language learner” (Rubin, 1981;
Stern, 1975).
To do so, teachers need to first discover their students’ current learning strategies by, for
example, having a classroom discussion about how the students complete a given task or
by developing a questionnaire. Thus, the learners will be able to develop their own
metacognition about themselves as strategic learners. Then, based on a metacognitive
model, teachers can organize their strategy instruction.
Such a model includes four processes: planning, monitoring, problem solving and
evaluating. The learning strategies to be taught are then selected based on the learning
task in which students need the most help. For example, students can be taught to
“monitor” their own comprehension or production in order to identify the difficulties they
have and then address those difficulties through “problem solving” (Chamot, 2001).
Some of the researchers have addressed the issue of the students’ lack of awareness of the
cognitive tools and strategies available to them. Most theorists and researchers agree that
some degree of consciousness or awareness is essential in strategy use (Cohen, 1998).

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For instance, Vogely (1995) reports that a large number of college-level students have
little knowledge of alternative learning techniques which may, in turn, limit their ability
to develop new strategies when encounter new learning contexts. Others see the problem
in the learners’ use of inadequate or inappropriate learning strategies, in addition to other
learning factors (e.g., Willing, 1987). Vogely (1995) compares college students’ reported
perception of their use of learning strategies with their actual listening abilities in an
authentic listening comprehension task. Vogely’s findings show that although students
know about the learning strategies necessary to comprehend the text successfully, they do
not activate these resources to the fullest extent. Oxford (2001a) also cites increasing
evidence that strategy instruction can be valuable to many language learners.
In more recent years, a new trend has been developed to make a connection between the
two fields of L2 research: learning strategies research, which looks at the influence of
strategies on L2 learning, and task-based research, which considers the effects of a
variety of tasks. This new trend involves examining certain strategies used by the learners
when they are assigned specific tasks. The learners are then expected to use different
strategies for different tasks to help them succeed; in other words, they would use “task-
appropriate strategies”. In this way, the teacher can explore the strategy use within the
context of a particular task which would, in turn, allow for more detailed analysis of L2
language use. (Hsiao & Oxford, 2002)

Task-Based Instruction

Studies in the field have proposed different definitions of “task”; but for the purpose of
this research, the focus is only on a few well-established definitions of a task. Nunan
(1989), paying special attention to the meaningful aspect of a communicative task, defines
it as classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing
or interacting in L2. Another pioneer, Willis (1996, 1998), asserts that both process and
product should be focused on a piece of communicative task. She has proposed a task-
based learning framework which features a “task cycle” including three phases: doing the
task preparing to report on the task and then presenting the task report. Her framework
contains a component called “language analysis” which focuses on structures or forms.
Her focus on form, however, considers not just accuracy of the structure but
communicative fluency is given equal importance in a way that she also pays attention to
the context in which communication occurs.
As the title of this paper states, a task-based (TB) approach will be used in an attempt to
provide the learners with appropriate tasks to help them deal with their errors
themselves. The whole idea about this approach is that goals should focus on learning
how to learn; that is, learning to use (or avoid using) certain learning strategies and
understanding one’s own learning style (Nunan, 1989; Oxford, 2001b). Adopting a TB
approach, teachers can help their students learn how to learn better. They would help
them practice particular strategies or decide which strategies would make a task easier to
accomplish.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to review summary of some principal features. One

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such feature is the notion of “consciousness-raising (C-R)”, a task-oriented view that
actively and inductively involves the learner in solving problems. Ellis (1993) makes a
distinction between teaching grammar by practicing and the teaching of it through C-R. To
him, the former aims at producing the sentences which feature the same targeted
grammatical point while the latter sees form-focused instruction as a means to the
realization of grammatical competence in order to facilitate acquisition and not as an
attempt to directly produce it. Thus, being a discovery-oriented approach, TB appears to
reject the “Presentation, Practice, Production (PPP)” approach. Ellis (1998) suggests that
through C-R, learners can “understand a particular grammar feature, how it works, what
it consists of and so on, but not [be] require[d] to actually produce sentences manifesting
that particular structure” (pp. 5–6). Therefore, one may conclude that since the learners
themselves are involved in identifying their own production errors, adopting elements of
C-R, Ellis’s form of error correction is distinct from the traditional explicit practices
(Hopkins & Nettle, 1994).
One of the C-R activities offered by Ellis (1993) is the one he labels as “grammar
consciousness-raising activity”. He believes that such activities help and encourage
learners to discover facts about grammatical point by themselves. In other words, he
states that such activities “help learners to construct their own explicit grammar” (p. 10).
As an example of such an activity, he suggests asking learners to sort a list of sentences
into two groups and then have them explain how the two groups differ. Another example
is asking learners to use an explanatory diagram, provided by the teacher, to decide
whether the given sentences are grammatical or ungrammatical. The present study will
draw on the same type of activities in an attempt to help learners be aware of not only the
grammatical points of the L2, but also of lexical items. In other words, some “lexicon
consciousness-raising” activities will be introduced, too.

METHODOLOGY

Procedure

Samples of written data were gathered from randomly selected compositions written by
university students majoring in the teaching of EFL. They were earlier required to write
on two topics: A summary of the story they had all read (“A rose for Emily”) and a
description of advantages and disadvantages of television. The reason for choosing two
different kinds of writing (i.e. a narration and a description) was to find out whether the
kind of task would make any difference in students’ choice of learning strategies.
After the collected data had been reviewed and coded by two lecturers from the English
department, the erroneous utterances were then identified. Next, based on the model
proposed by Corder (1974), the erroneous utterances were analyzed to decide the type of
error as well as the strategies used by the subjects when they committed those errors. The
results were then tabulated. See Appendixes 1 and 2 for the erroneous utterances and
their interpretations as well as Appendixes 3 and 4 for the categorization and description

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of those errors.
Finally, to accomplish the second objective of the study, based on the subjects’ learning
strategies and the TB framework, adopted from Willis (1996, pp. 56–58), some activities
devised by the researchers will be introduced as alternatives to dealing with EFL
learners’ linguistic errors, at the levels of both syntax and lexicon.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Of a total of 24 erroneous sentences found in the students’ description of advantages and
disadvantages of television (TV texts), 105 errors were identified which were
categorized in 24 different types of errors (see Appendixes 1 and 3). As for the second
writing about the story (story texts), there was a total of 15 erroneous utterances with 52
errors which have fallen in 21 categories (see Appendixes 3 and 4).

Table 14.1 Frequency of occurrence of the most frequently made errors by the students in the
TV texts in terms of the area of problem and the strategies involved

Table 14.2 Frequency of occurrence of the most frequently made errors by the students in the
story texts in terms of the area of problem and the strategies involved

According to the factors of seriousness and frequency of occurrence, among all the
different kinds of errors, two kinds were selected to be analysed in the areas of word
usage and articles. The two groups account for a total of 67 errors (27 related to articles
and the other 40 related to word usage).
As shown in Tables 14.1 and 14.2, the majority of errors have fallen into six categories
for each writings. In both types of the writings, the participants seem to have had the most
difficulty in the areas of word usage, articles and prepositions which, surprisingly,

167
happened to be identical for both in terms of ranking, too. However, in order to avoid
lengthening the study, the researchers decided to consider just two of the categories,
knowing that it would be of more benefit if all three categories were included in the
study.
As expected, having investigated the data in detail, the researchers came across two
different categories of errors which were then explained and examined for the relevant
strategies at work: mainly negative transfer and overgeneralization. However, there were
some errors in the strategies for which were hard to determine since some cases were
overlapping and for a few others, there was no clear clue as to what strategy they could
be attributed to (?). For example, as the tables above show, there was only one such case
in the area of word usage in both types of the writing.
Errors related to articles can be put into some subcategories like: redundant use of
articles, omission of articles and wrong use of articles. The word usage group includes
errors related to both lexical and syntactical aspects. Examples of each of the error types
together with comments regarding their classification are as follows (notice that only the
erroneous item which is the most relevant to the category is distinguished with a symbol
(*) for the sake of concentration:
1. Redundant use of articles
a. This group uses from the* television programs more than their children and
husband.
b. But the* television in its own seat is more important and basic.
This category of errors is prevalent in Iranian learners’ interlanguage. About 26% of the
errors in the category of articles occurred in this subcategory. The above example is
typical as Iranian learners often use definite article “the” with proper nouns while using
English. It might be due to the wrong assumption of overgeneralizing certain target
language rules in an attempt to make sure they use the rule which they find difficult; thus,
tend to use the strategy of “hypercorrection”.
2. Omission of articles
a. *Mayor and *older men wanted to know why doesn’t she pay *tax and sent
her *notice many times, but she didn’t reply.
b. First Emily denied her father’s death and didn’t let *others to dispose the
body.
c. Television is *instrument communication.
The omission of articles, especially definite article “the” is also a common error among
Iranian learners as there were 16 out of a total of 27 article errors (about 59.25%) which
may have been caused by L1 negative transfer. All of these errors fell in the category of
omission of article “the” (reduction or simplification strategy) except three of them which
were related to the omission of indefinite articles [e.g. item (c) above] and another one
which was a case of overlapping [item (b) above]. As shown in the first example above,
87.5% of the omissions are related to a common noun. Such errors could be attributed to

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L1 negative transfer as they reflect such a pattern in Persian; that is no use of definite
articles before common nouns.
3. Wrong use of articles
a. TV is the* one of mass media that today there is in every house.
b., c. ... each of them are interesting for the* specified group, and every group
admire the* particular collection.
The above examples indicate the type of errors related to either misplacement of article
“the” [item (a)] or the wrong choice of “the” for indefinite articles [item (b) and (c)
above]. Although the number of errors in this subcategory is not as remarkable as it is in
the other two, such errors could also be considered as typical among Iranians; but here,
they indicate the involvement of overgeneralization.
The other most prevalent kind of errors found in the present study was related to the area
of word usage which, in turn, could be described at the levels of syntax and lexicon. Of a
total of 40 errors of this kind, 32 (80%) were related to lexical group while the other 8
(20%) were identified as syntactical errors. Some examples are:
1. Lexical errors
a. Television is one of the most amusing findings of men, that have had a … such
as different programs, including … and theatres* ...
b. Nowday*, television takes the men’s time …
c. One of the useful ones is TV because we can earn* great information.
d. When he died remained* just a big house which was one of their glories.
e. He got too* happy and immediately went to that office and met the head of it.
f. I think today television is … and it can collect* all family together.
g. I want to give* your times for ten or fifteen minutes …
At this level, the errors committed by the subjects of the study could be most probably
attributed to either L1 negative transfer (22 out of 40; 55%) or overgeneralization (13 out
of 40, 32.5%). Three of the errors could be caused by both; that is a case of overlapping.
For instance, example (b) which may be due to confusion between “today” and
“nowadays” or just a matter of spelling. For the other two errors, no cause or strategy
could be determined. The researchers tend to associate them with the learners’ limited
knowledge of the L2 [see example (g) above].
As for those lexical errors which might have been caused by the interference of Persian,
which is the learners’ first language, the strategy of “literal translation” is most evident.
For example, “theatres” for “plays” in example (a), “earn” for “get” in example (c),
“too” for “so” in example (e), “collect” for “gather” in example (f). The other strategy
involved could be “cross association” which allows for using one lexical item for
another for which there is only one equivalent in the first language. However,
overgeneralization of English syntactical and morphological rules is most probably the
cause for errors of word usage at the level of syntax:

169
 2. Syntactical errors
a. … television takes the men’s* time much*, specially, the housewifes*.
b. … in order to full* our time …
c. ... because such behavior ... was not usual and acceptable in the town also* ...
for herself.
In the above examples, “much” has mistakenly been used instead of “a lot”, “housewifes”
instead of “housewive’s”, “full” instead of “fill” and “also” instead of “neither.” All
these errors seem to be rooted in English where the learners usually get confused with the
precise usage of some syntactical or morphological elements. As a whole, the results
could apply to both types of writings. There was no significant difference between the
two in terms of strategy use.
Having some ideas about the most common errors as well as the most relevant causes for
those errors, teachers can best adopt a C-R TB approach in order to design some tasks
for the students to help them to first notice the problematic areas, then to get actively
involved in solving the problems. To this end, one way, as maintained by Swain and
Lapkin (2000), is the use of “collaborative dialogue” through which the learners get a
chance to use both L1 and L2 in order to “co-construct” the target language. This way,
they conclude, the learners would be able to develop their individual intellect. The tasks
should be first modelled by the teacher and a few of more proficient students. At this
point, the students need to be aware of the strategies at work so that they will be cautious
enough not to be influenced by the negative interference of either L1 or L2 later on when
they want to accomplish the tasks. The strategy training process would consist of three
phases, based on Willis’s framework: pre-task, during-task and post-task. The tasks
drawn up by the researchers are as discussed below.
At the pre-task stage where the idea is to present the task, the students could be guided
with the use of a “strategy diary” as self-reflective learning to make plans as well as
monitor and evaluate their production. Then, they will be provided with a well-formed
full text, either the summary of the story or a description about advantages and
disadvantages of TV, which are presented to them through a video projector or simply on
the board. The students are instructed to take their time and read the text(s) carefully,
paying special attention to the use of articles and word usage. They do not take notes, yet,
as this might lead to their depending on their notes; thus, hindering their progress of
learning. The students should be divided into groups of between five to six (depending on
the total number of students in the class) so that there will be enough time for each
representative of the group to have their reports later within the class hour. Also, caution
should be taken to put at least one more able student in each group, as recommended by
Willis (1996), to provide a chance for the weaker students to learn from them. The
teacher should also confirm, through elicitation and brainstorming, that they have all got
the point. The original text(s) ought to be removed at the end of this phase.
During the task cycle, the students will be required to work together and engage in
negotiation to produce their own written version of the text(s). They may also have

170
interaction with the teacher to clarify the points. Their task could be a typical “spot the
difference” exercise (see e.g. Ur, 1988; Ellis, 1998) which requires them to recall and
identify the differences between their choice of lexical items and articles and those of the
original text(s). They should also be required to justify their choices through explanation.
To make the task easier for them, the teacher may prepare a cloze version of the original
text(s) as hand-outs to be reconstructed or completed by the students. Next, they will be
exposed to the original version of the text(s) one more time to have a comparison
between the two versions.
In the last cycle, when they have performed the task, they would be asked to monitor their
own learning procedure according to the guidelines of their strategy diaries. They are
supposed to reflect their learning strategies used and evaluate themselves. The groups
would be assigned to do some activities in order to analyze their own production. For
example, they may be required to review their writings and reflect on the items which
were produced as a result of L1 transfer or overgeneralization through discussion and
negotiation. They can assess their productions through even more detailed investigation
on particular strategies involved like literal translation, hypercorrection, reduction or
cross association.

CONCLUSION
Thus, such activities could be in keeping with the current TB-C-R that focuses on
attention and noticing on the part of the learners. Successful outcome of the task depends
on the learners’ ability to recall and identify the form of the linguistic item, its function
and meaning relationship. The task would not be successfully accomplished unless
noticing and awareness, which is central to language learning, occurs. Also, another
important factor involved in successful learning is students’ engagement in negotiation
through which they examine the input carefully, modify it by providing feedback and
produce the output.
As mentioned earlier, in accomplishing their tasks, the students may use their L1, too.
There are a number of reasons for which the students should be allowed to use their
mother tongue. First of all, there is a general agreement that learners feel more
comfortable to use their L1 when they encounter a linguistic problem. Second, as Anton
and DiCamilla (1998) found out, L1 can act as a psychological tool which could help
students to complete the task:
By means of the L1 the students enlist and maintain each other’s interest in the task
throughout its performance, develop strategies for making the task manageable,
maintain their focus on the goal of the task, foreground important elements of the
task, discuss what needs to be done to solve specific problems, and explicate and
build on each other’s partial solutions to specific problems throughout the task. (p.
321)

Therefore, when the students are supposed to negotiate in a problem solving activity, it is

171
natural and inevitable to have some disagreements with each other. Limiting them to using
only L2 might function as a hindrance for them to carry out the task. If the idea is to reach
agreement through their interpersonal interactions, they should not be deprived of
expressing themselves more freely and more clearly via L1 use. For example, they may
need to use their L1 in order to decide the order of happenings in the story (i.e.
sequencing) or to understand the semantic information in the story (i.e. retrieving) as well
as to manage the task. They may also benefit from such opportunities in order to focus
their attention on forming and searching vocabulary. However, the researchers are well
aware of the fact that the use of L1 should not be encouraged as it might lead to the
suppression of L2 learning rather than its development.
Given that the current study is aimed at helping EFL learners to first recognize and then
“avoid” certain hindering learning strategies, mainly L1 negative transfer and
overgeneralization, it could be labelled as a peculiar kind of strategy training research.
However, the suggested tasks need to be put into practice in a real learning context as a
means of promoting further investigations in order to draw more objective conclusions
about the effectiveness. It is vital to collect detailed information about what exactly
happens in a classroom setting as the students try to accomplish the task through
negotiation. Videotaping could serve as a valuable research tool, then. It also needs to be
investigated whether such a proposed TB strategy training could work for the EFL
learners’ oral production.

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APPENDIX 1

Students’ Erroneous Utterances from TV Texts and Their Interpretations

*** Note that for further references, the errors are numbered in parentheses right after
each error or in the place of missing words.
1. Television is one of the most amusing findings of men (1), that have (2) had a
remarkable promotion in the recent years in Iran, such as different programs,
including comic (3) and theatres (4), the amusements, serials, and the movies, each
of them are (5) interesting for the (6) specified group, and every (7) group admire (8)
the (9) particular collection.

Interpretation: Television is one of the most amusing findings of man, that has had a
remarkable promotion in the recent years in Iran, such as different programs,
including comics and plays, the amusements, serials, and the movies, each of them is
interesting for a specified group, and each group admires a particular collection.
2. Nowday (1), television takes the (2) men’s (3) time much (4), specially, the
housewifes (5).

Interpretation: Nowadays, television takes man’s time a lot; especially, the

housewives’.
3. This group uses from (1) the (2) television programs more than their children and
husband (3).

Interpretation: This group use television programs more than their children and
husbands (do).
4. I want to give (1) your times (2) for ten or fifteen minutes, because I have for you (3)
a new lecture (4, 5).

Interpretation: I want to take your time for ten or fifteen minutes because I have
something new for you to talk about.
5. You can to (1) know (2, 3) changeable of (4) weather at (5) TV.

Interpretation: You can know about the changing weather on TV.

6. Sometimes you see in (2) the (3) (4) TV feared (1) animals, but you enjoy from (5) it
(6).

Interpretation: Sometimes you see frightening animals on TV, but you enjoy them.

173
 7. One of the useful ones is TV because we can earn (1) great information from (2)
watch (3) of (4) the (5) TV.
Interpretation: One of the useful ones is TV because we can get great information
by watching TV.
8. Of course, this information always (2) are (1) not useful.
Interpretation: Of course, this (piece of) information is not always useful.
9. These films are very unpleasant because (1) only wastes (2) (3) viewer’s time.
10. Today this case (1,2) of films are made in the developed countries and we observe
(3) that these films are only a source of income and at all (4) are not educational.
Interpretation: These films are very unpleasant because they only waste the
viewer’s time.
10. Today this case (1,2) of films are made in the developed countries and we observe
(3) that these films are only a source of income and at all (4) are not educational.

Interpretation: Today, these kinds of films are made in the developed countries and
we see that they are only a source of income and (are) not educational at all.
11. I think today (1) television is (2) hobby tool (3) in order to full (4) our time (5), and
it can collect (6) all (7) family together, so that watch (8) of (9) the (10) TV and this
(11) (12) (13) more family intimate (14).

Interpretation: I think television is a means of entertainment today in order to fill

our leisure time, and it can gather the whole / all the family together so that watching
TV can cause more family intimacy.
12. We know that in today (1) civilization (2) world so many instruments (3) have been
invented that are more improved (4) that (?) TV.

Interpretation: We know that in today’s civilized world so many devices have been
invented that are more developed than TV.
13. But the (1) television in its own seat (2) is more important and basic.

Interpretation: But, television, in its own right, is more important and basic.
14. TV is one of this (1) means (2) that it (3) is in our authority (4) so that we can keep
(5) relationship with the world.

Interpretation: TV is one of the media that is in our control so that we can have
relationship with the (rest of the) world.
15. Some people study (1) from TV.

174
 Interpretation: Some people learn from TV.
16. I decided to solve some of my problem (1) and to (2) improved my activity.

Interpretation: I decided to solve some of my problems and improved my activity.

17. Yesterday I decide (1) (2) value (3) my knowledge according to a science match on
TV.

Interpretation: Yesterday, I decided to evaluate my knowledge according to a

science match on TV.
18. I enjoy of (1) watching family movies. I think to watch (2) family movies have (3) a
good effect on families because by watch (4) them we can learn many effective point
(5) about our life (6).

Interpretation: I enjoy watching family movies. I think watching family movies has
a good effect on families because by watching them we can learn many effective
points about our lives.
19. Television is (1) instrument (2) (3) communication. It (4) use (5) for amusement.

Interpretation: Television is a means/medium of communication. It is used for

amusement.
20. Television has different sizes and channels and (1) five channels is in Iran.

Interpretation: Television has / comes in different channels and there are five
channels in Iran.
21. The result was (1) (2) parents have to (3) keep away (4) them from TV.

Interpretation: As a result, the parents had to keep them away from / deprive them
of TV.
22. TV is the (1) one of (2) mass media that today (4) there is (3) in every house.

Interpretation: TV is one of the mass media that is found in every house today.
23. At first, TV was built (1) in (2) USA and then expends (3) in Japan and today it
improves (4) very much.

Interpretation: At first, TV was made in the USA and then developed in Japan and
today it has been improved very much.
24. At first, the (1) TV in (2) form of black and white come (3) to the bazaar (4).

Interpretation: At first, TV came to the bazaar/market in the form of black and

white.

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APPENDIX 2

Students’ Erroneous Utterances from Story Texts and Their Interpretations

*** Note that for further references, the errors are numbered in parentheses right after
each error or in the place of missing word/s.
1. When he died (1) (2) remained just a big house which was one of their glories.

Interpretation: When he died, he left just a big house which was one of their
glories.
2. First Emily denied her father’s death and didn’t let (1) others to (2) dispose the body.

Interpretation: First, Emily denied her father’s death and didn’t let the others
dispose the body.
3. On (1) that time Colonel Sarkris, one of those persons who belonged (2) to the past
as her father, helped her through a way in which her dignity and glory was not change
(3).

Interpretation: At that time, Colonel Sarkris, one of those persons who belong to the
past, as her father, helped her through a way in which her dignity and glory did not
change.
4. She might (1) started to change because such behavior for (2) Emily was not usual
and acceptable in the town also (3) (4) for herself.

Interpretation: She might have started to change because such behavior from Emily
was not usual and acceptable in the town, neither was it for herself.
5. The boss told him that he had to stay at the office and worked (1) one (2) hour for (3)
catch up (4) his lateness.

Interpretation: The boss told him to stay at the office and work for one extra hour to
catch up for his lateness.
6. In (1) the end of the month, when he got his salary, he (2) shocked.

Interpretation: At the end of the month, when he got his salary, he got/was shocked.
7. The poem is like a story, in general and this causes (1) it becomes (2) beautiful.

Interpretation: The poem is like a story, in general, and this / which makes it
beautiful.

176
 8. (1) Mayor and (2) older men wanted to know why doesn’t (3) she pay (4) tax and
sent her notice (5) many times, but she didn’t reply.
Interpretation: The mayor and the older men wanted to know why she didn’t pay the
tax and sent her notices many times, but she didn’t reply.
9. All of us are human being (1) (2) (3) come from one place and (4) go to one place.
Interpretation: All of us are human beings who have come from one place and will
go to one the same place.
10. He decided to escape (1) them by forgetting about everything and give (2) up
everything for a while and go (3) to a small, beautiful city in (4) abroad to
refreshment (5) and also (6) start his job there as a clerk.

Interpretation: He decided to escape from them by forgetting about everything and

giving up everything for a while and also to go to a small, beautiful city abroad to
refresh and also to start his job there as a clerk.
11. He got too (1) happy and immediately went to that office and met the head of it and
after one hour that he was (2) explaining about his job and his new decision, they
managed to make a contract and then tomorrow (3) he packed his luggage and went to
the airport.

Interpretation: He got so happy and immediately went to that office and met / to
meet the head of it/its head and after one hour of explaining about his job and new
decision, they managed to make a contract and then the next day he packed his
luggage and went to the airport.
12. I want to explain (1) about (2) main character in (3) story of A rose for Emily.

Interpretation: I want to describe the main character in the story of “A Rose for
Emily”.
13. Emily’s house is very old while she lives in (1) society that has considerable (2)
changed.

Interpretation: Emily’s house is very old while she lives in a society that has
considerably changed.
14. Her personality (1) different from (2) others (3) people.

Interpretation: Her personality is different from the other people.

15. She try (1) (2) keep that (3) things (4) are related to her heritage, beside (5) he (6)
has a kind of obligation about. . .

Interpretation: She tries to keep those things that are related to her heritage;
besides, she has a kind of obligation about . . .

177
APPENDIX 3

Students’ Errors as Identified in TV Texts, Analysed and Described Based on the

Coding System

*** Note that the number of each error is given in parentheses right after each error in the
related erroneous sentences in Appendix 1.

178
179
APPENDIX 4

Students’ Errors as Identified In Story Texts, Analysed and Described Based on the
Coding System
*** Note that the number of each error is given in parentheses right after each error in the
related erroneous sentences in Appendix 2.

180
181
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 Letting Communicative Purpose Direct Teaching of
15 Grammar: Using the Text-Based Approach
SU-HIE TING AND MAHANITA MAHADHIR

INTRODUCTION

People communicate for different reasons in daily life, for example, making small talk
with others when passing them along the corridor, persuading someone to buy a ticket for
fund-raising purposes and making an academic presentation on the causes and
consequences of animal cruelty. Even when removed from its context, it is often possible
to infer who the speakers might be and why they were speaking as such, indicating that
oral texts produced for different purposes are shaped differently.
Written texts are also produced for different purposes such as flyers to persuade people
to join a line dancing class or an encyclopaedia entry on types of dances, one of which is
line dance. The words used vary with the topic but the difference goes beyond the
vocabulary to types of information included and the manner in which the topic is
broached. In this example on line dance, in the flyer one would expect to find pictures of
line dancers, details on the time and place for the line dancing class as well as the
benefits of joining the class. However, in the write-up on types of dances, one is more
likely to find a statement on various types of dances followed by a brief description of
the distinguishing characteristics of those dances. The flyer is produced to persuade
readers whereas the encyclopaedia entry has the expressed aim of informing readers who
are interested in types of dances. Due to the difference in communicative purpose, the
type of information included is different and the language used also differs, with the flyer
containing words with emotional appeal and the encyclopaedic entry having objective
and factual words. In short, the communicative purpose influences the types of text
produced.
A text is “any stretch of language which is held together cohesively through meaning”
(Feez, 1998, p. 4). Feez provides as examples of texts the single word “Stop” on a road
sign and Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace because they are unified wholes. In this sense, a
few chapters of the novel is not a text because they cannot stand alone and the meaning is
incomplete. A text also derives meaning from the social context in which the text is
produced, bearing in mind that the social context is shaped by people using the language
as well (see Feez, 1998, p. 5). Hence, the text-based approach has evolved to teach
language based on what learners do with extended stretches of language in authentic
contexts of use. In the next section, the text-based approach will be described and
justifications provided for teaching of grammar with whole texts as context.

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Text-Based Approach for Teaching Grammar in Context

This section provides a justification of why whole texts need to be used as context for
teaching of grammar by showing how texts are shaped by the social context in which they
are produced.
The “text-based syllabus design draws on the systemic functional model of language”,
and sees language as a resource for making meaning (Feez, 1998, p. 5). Feez goes on to
explain how the functional model is concerned with two contexts in which we use
language: the context of situation and the context of culture.
Contexts of situation give rise to different registers of language, for example, the language
of the lecture hall and the election rally are distinguishable due to the topic (field), the
people involved (tenor) and the mode of communication. In a lecture hall, the topics are
vast depending on discipline but it is always the lecturer imparting information to
students in a lecture hall, face-to-face. In an open air election rally, the politicians talk
about current issues that ignite the emotions of the supporters and may engage in character
assassination of their opponents with the purpose of winning their vote. In both situations,
the politician and lecturer (particularly those teaching huge groups of students) may not
know their audience on a personal basis but the dynamics of the social relationship is
different. A lecturer meets his or her student in the lecture hall every week for the
duration of the semester and there is a development in the subject matter under study,
culminating in an examination where the lecturer holds the power to pass or fail the
students. However, a politician may have only one chance to win over his or her listeners
as they may not attend another rally, and the politician is, in fact, at the mercy of the
electorate on voting day. The different variables of the context of situation produce
different registers.
Beyond the context of situation is the context of culture. Here culture does not refer to
elements of traditions, customs and practices but the communicative purpose.
“Recognisable patterns of structure and language within texts have evolved... to achieve
particular purposes and the same general patterns recur in texts which achieve similar
purposes. These patterns are called genres” (Feez, 1998, p. 6). Examples of genres are
argument, discussion, explanation, information report, narrative and procedure. For each
of the genres, “there are some commonly used text types that deploy those genres” (Knapp
& Watkins, 1994, p. 22). Taking argument as an example, debates, letters of complaint
and sales presentations all require the speaker or writer to take a position on some issue
and justify it. Effective arguments make use of persuasive language such as the use of
modals to modify the assertions, and first and second pronouns to engage the readers. In
addition, effectively constructed arguments have this structure: statement of position,
followed by arguments, and ending with a summing up of the position (Derewianka,
1990, pp. 75–78). In short, texts produced for different communicative purposes are
characterised by different patterns of structure and language (see Appendix 1).
Having established the basis for why texts are inherently linked to the social context, and
how the communicative purpose shapes the texts that are produced, we are now ready to

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examine why the text-based approach is ideal for explicit teaching of grammar in context.
As we have seen earlier, texts are produced for a definite communicative purpose. Now
we show how lexicogrammar tools are vital for achieving that purpose. In the case of the
“stop” sign, it is an order for drivers to halt and ignoring it would lead to accidents. The
imperative action word stop is sufficient for the warning to be given to drivers. The
novel or movie, on the other hand, is produced to create a world of fantasy to entertain
the readers or audience. To this end, adjectives, action words and direct speech are
cleverly used to create a different world for readers.
In the text-based approach, we also recognise that some lexicogrammar tools are more
important than others for realising the purpose of the text. For example, some grammatical
items such as articles and prepositions are used in most types of writing but they are not
crucial to the meaning of all the texts. Hence, it is important to select grammatical
structures useful for fulfillment of the purpose and text-types provide an indication of this
(see Appendix 1).
From this standpoint, grammar is taught so that learners can use them judiciously to make
intended meanings when they speak or write. Grammar is taught not as an end in itself as
in the structural approach to language teaching where the aim is grammatical accuracy but
grammar is a means to an end which is effective communication. In the text-based
approach, grammar is not taught inductively by letting learners discover the grammar
rules for themselves, but explicitly. The case for teaching grammar explicitly will now be
made.

Importance of Teaching Grammar Explicitly

The views on the necessity of grammar teaching in language classrooms tend towards two
extremes. Some believe in the importance of grammatical accuracy in mastering a
language and make it a point to teach grammar in their English lessons. These are usually
teachers who have the traditional structural view of language, and teach grammar rules
and give repeated practice to enable their students to master certain grammatical
structures. This practice is supported by textbooks which still follow the traditional
approach to teaching grammar (see Chung, 2006).
Others steer clear of teaching grammar. These teachers focus on activities for developing
language skills, and they are usually the product of “communicative language teaching
(CLT)” and some may believe that students do not need to master grammar to
communicate (see Ting, 2007). In fact, some of the teachers may have problems
explaining the use and functions of grammatical structures, for example, many TESL
teacher trainees in Ting’s (2008) study were only able to regurgitate the grammar rules
extracted from grammar books but were not able to explain how to use them in their
micro-teaching lessons. Shuib and Tamimi (2008) identified the reasons to include lack
of declarative and metalanguage knowledge of the grammar. Although knowledge of
grammar rules per se does not entail concomitant ability to use them for effective
communication, it needs to be recognised that acute problems in grammatical knowledge

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can cause communication breakdowns.
Contrary to what some may think, teaching of grammar is not incompatible with the CLT
approach. The CLT emphasis on the functional use of the language for communication is
taken to an extreme by proponents of the strong version of the communicative approach to
mean learning to swim by being thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool, that is
using the language to learn it (see Thornbury, 1999). This is possible when learners are
immersed in an English-speaking environment. However, in an environment where
English is a second or additional language (Judd, 1987), there are often inadequate
opportunities to use the language and lack of good models of the language for effective
language learning to take place. With this kind of English environment in Malaysia, the
weak version of the communicative approach makes better sense.
To use the same analogy, we learn to swim by starting at the shallow end of the swimming
pool, that is, learning the language to use it (Thornbury, 1999). In this sense, our ESL
learners need to be taught grammar explicitly for them to acquire grammatical
competence so that they can make intended meanings when they communicate. The weak
version of the communicative approach is the theoretical basis we take to advocate the
explicit teaching of grammar in context.

Teaching Passives Using the Text-Based Approach

The stages of a teaching-learning unit based on the text-based approach (Feez, 1998, pp.
126–128) are as follows:

1. Building the context

Focus on purpose of text and register through activities such as realia,
brainstorming, discussion, excursions, videos and guided research.
2. Modeling [From comprehension to grammar focus]
Focus on text structure and text presentation (by identifying the stages and
comparing with other models) and language features through activities such as
cloze, substituting topic sentences, matching, skeleton texts and jigsaw activities.
3. Joint construction
Teacher acts as scribe and prompts while class jointly completes or creates a
written text. Activities include role play in groups, information gap activities.
4. Independent construction
Students create and later edit a text using knowledge of purpose, text structure,
language and text features and appropriate strategies.

In the text-based approach, grammar teaching takes place at the modeling stage, after
comprehension activities. Students need to understand the listening or reading text before

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they can focus on how specified grammar items are used to realise the purpose of the text.
Then they are taught the grammar rules and use. Following that students get to use the
grammar item when producing oral or written texts similar to the model text in joint and
independent construction stages (see Ting et al., 2007; Ting & Mahadhir, 2008).
In the following sample lesson, we will see an example of how to use the text-based
approach for teaching the passive structure (with reference to Thornbury, 1999, pp. 77–
79, 105–108). The selected text is an explanation text on “Why is cockfighting animal
abuse” (see Appendix 2).

Step 1: Field-building

Before giving students the text, the teacher states the title of the text and asks students
questions such as “Why is cockfighting animal abuse?” and “What words do you expect
to find in this text?” to introduce words related to the topic. The teacher also asks
students to say what they know about cockfighting and may use audiovisual aids if
students are not familiar with the topic.

Step 2: Comprehension

The teacher asks the students to read the given text silently in order to answer these
questions:

1. Why are the birds aggressive?

2. When does the fight end?
3. What happens to the loser?
4. What are the steps taken to make the roosters fight each other?

The teacher checks the answers before drawing the students’ attention to the structure of
the text by asking questions such as “Where is the sentence showing the focus of the text?”
and “What is in the rest of the text?” This is to alert students to the “statement of
phenomenon” and “sequenced explanations of how/why something happens”
organisational structure which characterise explanation texts.

Step 3: Form-focus by induction

The teacher asks students to turn the text over and asks students which of these two
sentences was used in the text.

1. The owners give them various legal and illegal drugs to make them more
aggressive.
2. They are given various legal and illegal drugs to make them more aggressive.

Students check the text if they cannot remember. The purpose is to shift students towards
the form of the passive. The teacher gets students to talk about the difference in form
between the two sentences and elicits the structure of a passive sentence. The teacher

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explains the rules, if necessary.

Step 4: Grammar-interpretation task

The teacher asks students to interpret meaning based on active and passive forms before
they have to use targeted language items.
Write True or False.

1. The handlers raise the birds for the purpose of fighting.

2. The roosters’ aggressiveness increases their endurance during the fight.
3. The roosters replace their natural spurs with razor sharp steel blades.
4. The handlers often throw away the still alive roosters into the trash when they
lose the fight.

This is not merely a comprehension task. The students’ ability to answer these questions
depends on whether they can identify the subject of the verb in the active and passive
sentences in the text. Sometimes pictures can be used for this task.

Step 5: Form-focus practice

The teacher redirects students’ attention back to the text to consolidate the relation
between form and use with these instructions:

1. Find other examples of passive in the text and underline them.

2. Discuss why passive was used in each case. Explain exceptions.
3. Then find examples of active sentences in the text and rewrite them as passive
sentences.

Step 6: Meaning-focus practice

The teacher asks students to write a similar text to explain why other uses of animals for
entertainment are considered animal abuse. For example, rodeo, circus animals. In the
joint construction stage, the teacher carries out brainstorming with the students, jots down
points on the board and elicits their ideas on how to begin and proceed with the text. The
teacher may remind students from time to time to use the passive structure while
constructing the text on the board. The students copy down the text as reference. Finally,
in the independent construction stage, students write a similar text individually and this
task enables the teacher to assess students’ ability to produce appropriate forms in
context.
Using the text-type as the theme of a teaching-learning unit with some control on the topic
range ensures that students are given enough background in terms of general knowledge
and vocabulary on the topic. One of the principles of the text-based approach is that the
comprehension text serves as a model text for students to refer to in their speaking or
writing task later. The other key principle is scaffolding, seen particularly in joint

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construction of the oral or written text before students are asked to perform a similar task
independently.
On a final note, the text-based approach is not to be confused with teaching-learning units
using a topic as the theme. In topic-based units, the vocabulary is kept constant but it
brings in the problem of students having to decode and produce different types of texts.
For example, a unit on the topic of air pollution could include a dialogue between
neighbours on open air burning, a letter to the editor complaining against the council for
not taking action against people who practise open air burning to a television forum
comparing perspectives on the problem. Students are usually required to produce various
types of texts without enough guidance on the rhetorical structure and language, and in this
chapter we have shown that the structure and language features of text-types are complex
enough to warrant systematic and close guidance by the teacher.

CONCLUSION
The text-based approach provides a systematic structure for language teachers to plan
their teaching-learning units for the integration of language skills and language content to
help their students communicate effectively. It offers an alternative way of teaching
grammar for those who believe in the importance of grammatical competence by enabling
them to teach grammar in context and allowing their students to practise use of the taught
grammatical structure in simulated communicative situations. For those who believe in
letting their students acquire grammatical competence on their own, it is hoped that the
case made for explicit teaching of grammar has been convincing and that the text-based
approach may be considered for the inductive teaching of grammar.

APPENDIX 1

Text-Type and Relevant Language Features

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Source: Derewianka (1990) and Feez (1998)

APPENDIX 2

Text for Teaching of Passives

Why is Cockfighting Animal Abuse?

Cockfighting is an organized fight between two roosters who are placed in a pit to fight
each other. The roosters have been trained to severely injure and/or kill one another.
These birds, which are raised for the purpose of fighting, are tormented to make them

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aggressive. They are also given various legal and illegal drugs such as strychnine,
caffeine, amphetamines, and epinephrine to make them more aggressive, increase their
endurance and clot the blood that will flow during the fight.

The natural spurs of the roosters are sawed off and replaced by razor sharp steel blades
or curved implements called gaffs which measure from one to three inches long. During
the fight, from which neither rooster can escape, the birds peck and maim one another
with their beaks and weapons. The long, sharp gaffs stab deep into the flesh often
requiring handlers to physically pull the animals apart. Although they have been bred to
fight, the animals often become tired, incapable and suffer severe injuries. The fight only
ends when one rooster is dead or is too weak to fight. The loser then gets thrown in the
trash, sometimes while still alive. For the winner, there is no guarantee that he will
survive his injuries and often ends up with the same fate as the losing bird (IDA
Campaign, n.d.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chung, S.F. (2006) A communicative approach to teaching grammar: Theory and practice. The
English Teacher XXXIV: 33–50.
Derewianka, B. (1990) Exploring How Texts Work. Newtown, New South Wales: Primary
English Teaching Association,
Feez, S. (1998) Text-Based Syllabus Design. Sydney, Australia: Macquarie University.
IDA Campaigns. (n.d.) Cockfighting: A blood sport for roosters. http://www.idausa.org/
campaigns/sport/cock/cockfighting.html (accessed 2 December 2008).
Judd, E.L. (1987) Language policy, curriculum development, and TESOL instruction: A search
for compatibility. In M.H. Long, and J.C. Richards (Eds.), Methodology in TESOL.
Singapore: Harper & Row Publishers.
Knapp, P. and Watkins, M. (1994) Context-Text-Grammar: Teaching the Genres and
Grammar of School Writing in Infants and Primary Classrooms. New South Wales,
Australia: Broadway.
Shuib, M. and Tamimi, A.A. (2008) Grammatical awareness among primary school English
language teachers: A case study. Paper presented at 15th International Malaysian English
Language Teaching Association (MELTA) Conference, “English Language and Multiple
Literacies,” The Gurney, Pulau Pinang, 26–27 May.
Thornbury, S. (1999) How to Teach Grammar. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
Ting, S.H. (2007) Is teacher education making an impact on TESL teacher trainees’ beliefs and
practices of grammar teaching. English Language Teacher Education and Development

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 Journal 10: 42–62.
Ting, S.H. (2008) Trainee teachers’ ability to teach grammar in context using the genre-based
approach. Paper presented at 15th International Malaysian English Language Teaching
Association (MELTA) Conference, “English Language and Multiple Literacies,” The
Gurney, Pulau Pinang, 26–27 May.
Ting S.H., Kamil, S.M., Ho, A.P., Tuah, A.S.B.M. and Campbell, Y.M. (2007) Learning
English for Social Purposes. Kuala Lumpur: McGraw-Hill.
Ting, S.H. and Mahadhir, M. (2008) Developing materials for teaching grammar in context:
From comprehension texts to grammar and vice versa. Proceedings of the 3rd International
Language Learning Conference (ILLC), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, 29–31
October.

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 Annotations in Multimedia On-Screen Text in
Comparison to the Printed Text in Enhancing
16 Learners’ Understanding of Process-Based Expository
Text in Malaysia
SARASWATHY THURAIRAJ

INTRODUCTION
The development of the Internet brought about a revolution in the learners’ perspective, as
the learning tools offered through the Internet are gradually becoming more reliable. In
addition, learners are not only exposed to conventional text presentations but also to
electronic texts. According to De Ridder (2002), with its proliferation of information
creates an additional challenge to many especially those of the second language learners
as they not only must be able to navigate through various text forms but also actively
create an individualized learning environment that would enhance the creation of
meaning. This is because while attempting overall text comprehension, second language
learners learn to interact with the different types of cultural, semantic and syntactic
information that can be processed and possibly learned.
Nowadays, the Internet is gaining immense popularity in language learning because it
provides learners with powerful tools found in the media such as text, graphic, sound,
animation and video which can be assessed on a single machine. At the same time, it
allows learners to consult translations, dictionary definitions, grammatical explanations
and cultural information as well as visually based information at a simple click of a
mouse (Sighal, 1999). Thus these changes are contradicting with the original notion of
reading. According to Oxford English Dictionary, reading has been defined as the
process of identifying and understanding the meaning of the characters and words in
written or printed material. However, the used of computer-assisted instruction in many
of today’s classrooms, have brought changes to the actual meaning of reading. The
meaning of reading then needs to be extended to the psycholinguistic processes of
decoding information from a screen in an online environment that includes texts combined
with graphics, images and audio visual content in communicating a message. This is due
to the fact that the vast amount of information available through the computers as well as
its hyper textual organization speed up the nature of “reading” that calls for a demanding
role from the learners to be more critical, active and interpretive (Warschauer, 1996).
In brief these results have also encouraged ESL reading teachers to utilize computers in
their classrooms not because they are “new technology” but rather for the positive results

194
brought to learners achievements.

Statement of the Problem

Reading has been long believed to be one of the mediums through which knowledge can
be acquired. Researchers such as Krashen (2004) have thoroughly researched the benefits
gained through reading, particularly in the field of language acquisition, and have
consistently found that reading enhances students’ ability in not only expanding their
lexicons, but also furthering grammar development. However, the act of reading is
meaningless if the reader cannot comprehend any meaning be it from the printed page or
on the on-screen page. According to Warschauer (1996), development of current
technologies have brought new meaning for reading whereby reading is not merely
decoding symbols and pictures but involves texts combining with graphics, images and
audiovisual content that demand the learners to be more critical, active and interpretive.
By being aware of the differences between reading from a book and reading from a
computer, learners could also conceivably account for a difference in reading efficiency
in promoting comprehension when reading on-line texts. Consequently, a comparison was
drawn to establish learners’ understanding differences between the annotations in
multimedia on-screen text with the printed text.

Objectives of the Study

This study is designed to find out effects of multimedia annotation modes in facilitating
the reading process to achieve reading comprehension and how such annotation modes
enhance learners’ ability to understand a text.

Research Question

The study attempts to find the answers to these research questions:

1. Which is more effective in enhancing learners’ comprehension level – the printed

text or the electronic text?
2. How does the annotation mode in the electronic or printed text help learners’
comprehension level?

LITERATURE REVIEW

Reading Comprehension (Conventional Printed Text and Multimedia On-Screen

Text)

In a reading process readers must be able to show the ability to grasp the meaning of
something. In other words, the primary purpose of reading is comprehension whereby
readers must be able to comprehend any meaning from the printed text. In relation,
Rumelhalt (1984) defines comprehension as “readers having understood the text when

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they are able to find a configuration of hypotheses which offer a coherent account for the
various aspects of the text.”
In addition, comprehension learning from printed text may result in the process of
transforming a symbolic representation of information into a prepositional representation
and then based on the cognitive schemata to be transformed into an analogue mental
model. According to Chun (1997), this mental model may include the comprehension of
an image that will then establish an analogy between picture and the corresponding
mental model.

Multimedia Annotations

As defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary of Computer Terms (2000), an annotation

symbol is a symbol used to add messages or notes to other flow charting symbols, as well
as an explanatory note or comment inserted into document-like business reports or even
analytical worksheets. Moreover, with some applications this symbol can also be
inserted as an icon. Hence, when clicked, it can open a separate window containing the
note. According to Al-Saghayer (2001), multimedia annotations refer to their presentation
via printed text, as well as their presentation via the modes of audio delivery, dynamic
video imagery or even pictorial imagery. These include modes like the hyperlinks,
glossing of words, text pop-ups, sounds or navigation toolbars or even graphic
presentations. These factors provide additional merits to the educators in using
multimedia annotations as it offers learners a means of developing reading and learning
strategy.

Multimedia Aids and Text Comprehension

Multimedia environments allow for the addition of visual and auditory information to text
in order to improve comprehension. With the use of information in multiple modes, the
aids for text comprehension could be presented in textual form, visual form or in any
combination of these presentation modes. According to Mayer and Sims (1994), the three
types of aids that are involved in text comprehension are aids for selecting information,
aids for building internal connections and aids for building external connections. Another
relevant research was carried out by Lomicka (1998), this study investigated the way the
multimedia annotations, particularly the glossing of words, influence the level of
comprehension among learners. Findings of this research indicate that the key to text
comprehension such as computerized reading with full glossing promoted a deeper level
of comprehension. This is due to the fact that such computerized glosses helped learners
in the construction of a situation model, which then led to the generation of causal
inferences.

METHODOLOGY

Research Procedure

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This study is a small-scale study that involves a small number of subjects (50) over a
limited period of time. The research procedures in conducting this research are as
follows:
1. Subjects are given exposure to obtaining information from linear texts as well as
non-linear texts both on the printed texts as well as on-screen texts.
2. Then they are exposed to various reading skills (reading from contextual clues,
reading from main ideas or even inferences, skimming and scanning information
through tables, charts, graphs, pictures, hyperlinks, glosses, pop-up windows and
animations).
3. A number of 50 students from business majors at a tertiary level are randomly
selected to sit individually for the text, 25 students using printed texts another 25
on the on-screen texts respectively.
4. The subjects then are required to go through the texts individually for one hour
and are free to explore any of the different types of annotations available in the
on-screen programme (text + pictures + animations + sounds) and conventional
printed text (text + pictures) in enhancing their comprehension of the texts. The
texts that are used in both sessions (on-screen and conventional printed text) are
identical in nature in ensuring that no discrepancies in the level of difficulty of
the content will occur.
5. Upon completing their reading, the subjects are given a summary test as well as a
cloze test in measuring their comprehension level or global understanding of the
text. (There are three sections all together: Section 1 is a cloze test, Section 2 is
an identification test of all the parts of a human body and Section 3 is a summary
writing test).
In short, the allocation of marks given to each section is as in Table 16.1.

Table 16.1 Sections tested and score allocated for each section – Printed text group and
multimedia on-screen text group

Subjects

The subjects involved in this study consist of 50 year 2 semester 1 students who are
currently studying Business Studies at a tertiary level within the Kajang District of
Selangor. The subjects selected to undergo this study are those from the business studies
because they have limited exposure to the science-based text and information, therefore
the researcher is able to control the background knowledge that subjects may have when
they undergo the test.

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Instrument

In collecting data for this research, the materials that are used include questionnaires,
reading texts of two modes (types: conventional printed text and multimedia on-screen
text) as well as a summary.

Part 1: Questionnaires

The responses that are collected from the questionnaires will provide some insights on
the subjects’ reading strategies such as the types of annotations that they employed, the
reasons for employing such annotations as well as to identify the stages that the
annotations are employed in facilitating their reading process of the two types of texts.

Part 2: Reading text

Conventional printed text and multimedia on-screen texts are used in investigating the
level of comprehension that may exist in the reading process among the subjects. This
material is taken from “my Dr Health Information” which is a healthcare website to
provide consumers with the most comprehensive and relevant health information
resource. “my Dr” is a project of the MIMS Consumer Health Group, a division of the
global healthcare publishing company, CMP Medica that has been providing consumers
and healthcare professionals for the past 40 years. The topic is selected because it
provides a text that illustrates the given process.

Part 3: Comprehension test-content

The test is divided into three sections that focused on the subject of “How diabetes can
affect your body?” There are three types of tests for the subjects in each different section.

Cloze passage where subjects given nine different terminologies/key

Section 1:
words that they need to fill on correctly to the found.
Identification of all the parts of a human body as numbered from 1 to 9 in
Section 2:
the diagram given.
Summary writing – The subjects are to write a short summary on “How
Section 3:
Diabetes can Affect your Body?”
Method of Data Analysis

The methodology employed is experimental comparison of the performance of two

groups of subjects under two different conditions; one using printed text with the
annotations of “pictures + text” (Appendix 2) and other, using multimedia on-screen text
with the annotations of “pictures + animations + sounds + text” (Appendix 1). After
collecting the data, analysis of the data is done by calculating the total scores obtained by
each group (Group 1 – Printed text and Group 2 – Multimedia on-screen text) according
to each section (Section 1, Section 2 and Section 3) as well as the total scores (the scores

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accumulated by adding the three sections respectively). A calculation of the percentage,
as well as the scores for the mean (average) value as well as the mode value will also be
alternatively looked into. In addition, a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS),
specifically the “independent groups t-test” is also utilized to facilitate the analysis of the
data collected for this study.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

The main purpose of the study is to identify whether the use of annotations in both types
of texts [(printed text: pictures + text) and (multimedia text: pictures + text + animations +
sound)] provide a different outcome in the global understanding of the text. As such, in
determining whether there is a significant difference in the use of annotations, a
significant test is performed. In this case, a null hypothesis, which usually is denoted by
H0, is a particular assertion that is to be accepted or rejected. The alternative hypothesis
H1 specifies some alternative to H0. Therefore, to decide whether H0 is to be accepted
or rejected, a significance test assesses whether a sample taken from the population could
have occurred by chance, given that H0 is true. For this study however, the hypothesis
identified in obtaining the required results should indicate a condition of either:
H0: μ printed text = μ multimedia text
or
H1: μ printed text ≠ μ multimedia text

In addition, in determining the value of H0, often the choice of the significance level α
(alpha) selected is 5% (0.05) or 95% confidence level. The selection of particular value
of the significance level α will determine the test partitions of the set of the possible
values obtained into the “acceptance region” and the “critical rejection region”. Hence, if
the test statistics performed identified a value that falls in the critical region (< 0.05), the
null hypothesis H0 is rejected (H1: μ printed text ≠ μ multimedia text). Otherwise the
conclusion is that there is no evidence for rejecting H0 and it is said that H0 is accepted
(> 0.05) (H0: μ printed text =μ multimedia text).

Based on the total marks obtained by the two groups (printed text group and the
multimedia on-screen group), it is found that there is no significant difference in the use
of annotations to facilitate both groups in achieving a global understanding of the text
read. In this case, we accept the value of (H0: μ printed text = μ multimedia text) as the
total output obtained is [sig. (2-tailed) = 0.05 > 0.05] as shown in Table 16.2.
Similar findings were also obtained in the output scores found in Section 1 as shown in
Table 16.2, in which the value of (H0: μ printed text = μ multimedia text) is accepted as
the output scores obtained in Section 1 for the groups is [sig. (2-tailed) = 0.637 > 0.05].
In this case, again there is no significant difference of how the use of different annotations
in the multimedia on-screen text facilitates and enhances learners understanding in

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comparison to the printed text.
However the case is different for Section 2. In this case, the value of (H0: μ printed text =
μ multimedia text) has to be rejected as the output scores obtained is [sig. (2-tailed)
0.0000 < 0.05]. Therefore, the alternative value of (H1: μ printed text ≠ μ multimedia
text) is accepted. This notion is further supported when the value of H0 is rejected; thus
signifying an existing significant difference in the use of annotations in the multimedia on-
screen text in comparison to the printed text in facilitating learners understanding of the
text.
Once again the results obtained in Section 3 (summary) showed in Table 16.2, indicate
that the annotations of multimedia on-screen text do not facilitate greater text
comprehension to Group 2 in comparison to Group 1. This is based on the output scores
obtained in which the value of (H0: μ printed text = μ multimedia text) is accepted as the
output scores obtained in Section 3 for the groups is [sig. (2-tailed) = 0.287 > 0.05].
Consequently, it illustrates that there is no significant difference of how the use of
dynamic text presentation along with the dynamic forms of annotations (pictures +
animations + sounds + text) in the multimedia on-screen texts facilitate and enhance
learners understanding of the text read.

Table 16.2 Independent samples test

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It is notable that a higher and better mean score of the total results is obtained by Group 2
in comparison to Group 1 as shown in Table 16.3, which is at 13.8333 in comparison to
10.5833. However, based on the mean scores obtained from these two groups in Section
1, learners from Group 1 were found to obtain a high mean score; that is 6.17 in
comparison to Group 2, which were only about 5.67. One of the plausible reasons for this
is that the results of the questions that are posted in Section 1, require the ability to the
learners to memorize, recall and identify the correct terms to be matched to the
appropriate descriptions. Although there is a difference between the marks of the two
groups, it is still very small, with only 0.5 differences in the mean value of the total score
for the whole section of Section 1. In contrast, the frequency scores obtained in Section 2
by Group 2 is found to be higher than those of Group 1 as illustrated in Table 16.3. The
mean score obtained by Group 2 is 3.3333 in comparison to the scores of 0.6667 by
Group 1. Lastly, the frequency scores obtained by both groups in Section 3 also showed
that Group 2 achieved a better score in comparison to Group 1 as shown in Table 16.3. In
this case, the mean score obtained by Group 2 was higher, about 4.83 (53.7%) in
comparison to 3.75 (41.6%) that was obtained by Group 1. This showed that learners
from the multimedia on-screen text group had performed well in the summary writing
section compared to learners from printed text group.

Table 16.3 Test mean score of printed text and multimedia on-screen text

Table 16.4 The selection of annotation mode preferred in a multimedia on-screen text

These results (Table 16.4) illustrated that multimedia environments offer a potentially
powerful medium for presenting textually based information, visually based information
as well as auditory information in improving text comprehension among the learners. This
is due to the fact that multimedia learning allows learners to use more than one sense of
modality (known as “multimodals”) to construct knowledge. Thus, when learners were
assigned to a reading task using multimedia on-screen text, they were simultaneously
exposed to two different presentation media that manipulates visual sense of modality

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(pictures and animations) as well as verbal sense of modality (sound and narration). This
notion is also much supported and reflected by the choice that the particular learners have
used in identifying the annotation modes that have helped them in understanding the text
assigned in Table 16.4. In this case, based on the answers collected, the percentage of the
usefulness of the use of pictures by Group 2 (multimedia on-screen text) was found to be
100% helpful to learners, followed by animation (91.6%) and sound (83.3%).
Adapting Paivio’s (1971) dual coding theory in multimedia learning, the results obtained
from Table 16.4 illustrated that when a visual and verbal explanation are presented
contiguously to the learners, such as pictures, animations, sounds and narration, learners
will likely be able to build referential connections between the visual representation and
the verbal representation in short memory, hence resulting in better performance in the
tasks assigned. For example, the computer-generated connections between the text read
and movement of the cursor with the mouse: when the mouse is moved and the cursor is
placed at number 5, automatically it will display, “Gastrointestinal system: Diabetes can
damage the nerves that control some automatic bodily functions, including digestion.
Some of the symptoms that may result from this nerve damage (autonomic neuropathy)
include indigestion, bloating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation.” As such
when learners were required to name all the parts of the human body in Section 2, unlike
group 1, learners from Group 2 found no difficulties to do so. Again, as shown in Table
16.3, the mean score for Section 2 obtained by Group 1 was only 0.6667, as about 8.3%
of the learners were not able to fulfil the task correctly compared to learners from Group
2 with a higher mean 3.333, as about 83.3% of learners were able to successfully name
all the parts of the human body.
Based on the results and findings of both tests in this study, it can be deduced that the role
of annotations played in both the printed text (pictures + text) and the multimedia on-
screen text (pictures + animations + sounds + text) do not show a significant difference in
achieving an optimum comprehension level of the text. This is due to the fact that the
scores obtained from each section (Section 1, Section 2 and Section 3) of the
comprehension test as well as the total marks of the overall scores do not illustrate any
great difference in the use of annotations between the two types of texts. Instead the gaps
that exist are very small. However, it is important to highlight that the annotations
(animations + sounds) found in the multimedia on-screen text, to a certain extent, do
facilitate learners’ understanding of a “process type” of text due to its ability to build
referential connections between the two mental representations in short term memory,
hence resulting in better performance in the tasks assigned.

CONCLUSION
This main objective of this study is to identify whether the annotations found in a
multimedia on-screen text facilitate and enhance learners’ comprehension levels. In
essence, based on the results obtained from this study, it can be concluded that there is no
significance difference in the use of different types of annotations found in the two

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different types of texts (printed text and multimedia on-screen text). This is due to the fact
that although results obtained favoured the use of annotations like animations and sounds
in a multimedia text, the difference in the achievement is found to be of slight difference.
As such, the types of annotations found in both types of texts are of equivalent importance
in facilitating learners in comprehending the text.
However, one important finding that should be noted from this study is that the use of
visual sense modality plays a significant role in facilitating learners’ comprehension of
the texts assigned in comparison to other sense of modalities. According to Wright (1989)
and Wallace (1988), this is due to the fact that such pictures like diagrams and animations
provide learners with invaluable information in helping them to create visual information
in their working memory during the reading process; which might be difficult to be
provide briefly or meaningfully through the use of simple language.
On the other hand, such findings obtained from this study do not reject the notion that
computer-assisted instruction and computer programmes to teach reading hold great
promise in becoming powerful instructional tools that can facilitate and enhance learners
reading comprehension. This is due to the fact that computer-assisted instruction has the
ability to provide learners with dynamic text presentation in optimizing learners’ level of
comprehension. Besides, this powerful instruction tool can also assist teachers in
developing an individualized reading programme to meet the varied needs of students
found in most classrooms especially in helping the weak students to enhance their level of
comprehension of a reading text.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Chun, D.M. (1997) Research on text comprehension in multimedia environments. Language
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2008).
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Rumelhalt, D.E. (1984) Understanding, understanding. Journal of the Internet 3(2): 387–409.
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Wallace, C. (1988) Learning to Read in a Multicultural Society. United Kingdom: Prentice-
Hall.
Warschauer, M. (1996) Computer-assisted language learning: An introduction. In S. Fotos
(Ed.), Multimedia Language Teaching, 3–20. Tokyo: Logos International.
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 Transforming ESL Teaching by Embedding
17 Information and Web Literacies into the Classroom
SARJIT KAUR AND WONG CHIEW LEE

INTRODUCTION
Literacy alone is no longer our business. Literacy and technology are. Or so they
must become. (Selfe, 1999)

In their manifesto on the future of literacy learning in the Spring 1996 issue of the
Harvard Educational Review, “A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies,” the New London Group
outlined a major shift in two main areas of language use. The second major shift in the
multiliteracies concept is the influence of new communications technologies. Meaning is
made in increasingly multimodal ways, not just in traditional print or visual, audio and
spatial forms but in interactive multimedia; for example through the World Wide Web – in
video captioning, in desktop publishing, in hypertext linking and so forth. Thus, to keep
up with this growing pace in an emerging world of new meanings, students require new,
multimodal literacies like web and information literacies.
The New London Group (1996) argues that the multiplicity of communications channels
and increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in the world today call for a much broader
view of literacy than portrayed by traditional language-based approaches and that
multiliteracies overcome the limitations of traditional approaches by emphasizing how
negotiating the multiple linguistic and cultural differences in our society is central to the
pragmatics of the working, civic and private lives of students. The authors maintain that
the use of multiliteracies approaches to pedagogy will enable students to achieve the
authors’ twin goals for literacy learning – creating access to the evolving language of
work, power and community, and fostering the critical engagement necessary for them to
design their social futures and achieve success through fulfilling employment. Thus, a
multiplicity of literacies is emerging from a multiplicity of technological contexts in this
information and digital era (Cope & Kalantzis, 2001), thereby encouraging teachers and
educationists to examine the possibilities of electronic print as other reading materials
that can motivate students in the ESL classroom.
According to Ganapathy and Sarjit (2006), “educators experience a continuous stream of
dilemmas in a struggle to engage in the issue of what to do in literacy pedagogy on the
basis of our different national and cultural discrepancies and the emerging proliferation
of multichanneled communication technologies.” In this current and emerging Information
Age, the teaching of literacy has taken on new and modern technological implications.

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Thus it is essential for new literacies to be included in the school curriculum in order to
reflect modern times. In other words, students need to be computer literate to be able to
access, evaluate as well as to navigate the World Wide Web or other Internet resources.
And these literacy skills are an integral part of the multiliteracies project that was first
introduced by the New London Group in 1996.
Nowadays, texts used in classrooms do not necessarily have to be laid out in traditional
print. Instead texts can be differently structured or laid out in electronic formats thus
creating a whole new world of meanings. Unsworth (2001) states that, “teachers need to
be equipped with the necessary know-how and experience of the nature of computer-
based texts and in so doing meet the demands in present-day literacy teaching as well as
the growing demands of multiliteracies in this new age of science and technology.” And
according to Hancock (1993), “in the 21st century, a student requires more complex and
analytical skills beyond the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic” and as
Malaysia moves into the Information Age with its technological innovations, be it
“computer networks, telecommunications systems, and databases and the like, our
education systems and institutions must take seriously the challenges of this New Age.”
Since these technologies are influencing the development of individuals, institutions and
communities globally, it is essential that ESL educators turn a critical eye towards the
benefits of integrating these newer technologies into their teaching (Swenson et al.,
2005). This includes the use of the computer and Internet resources in the learning and
teaching process in schools. Proper curriculum planning for the effective use of
information resources is essential in order to fully utilize IT in the classrooms.
There is a variety of literacies from print, visual, computational, cultural, computer to
scientific and they all play a significant role in every student’s education. Each of these
literacies prescribes a process by which the learner can negotiate more easily the content
that is unique to a particular area of study. They operate in isolation of the others, and
each has its own vocabulary and conventions for study (Pandian & Kalantzis, 2001). This
indicates that apart from reading texts in print, students are now accessible to online e-
learning websites as well as texts in electronic media. In other words, literacy is not just
about reading texts in print but also texts in electronic print; what is now referred to as
“information literacy” in relation to “reading literacy” which involves not only the ability
to construct meaning from a variety of texts, but also the behaviours and attitudes that
support lifelong reading (Pandian, 1997).

CURRENT TRENDS IN ESL TEACHING AND LEARNING

The UN Common Database (UNESCO) indicates that the literacy rate among Malaysian
youth (people aged 15 to 24 years) has increased steadily from 90.0% in 1980 to 97.2%
in 2004. As such, with Malaysia heading towards a knowledge-based economy and
society, there is a need to examine new literacies that are essential for the workplace as
well as for social and intellectual advancement where the Malaysian people would
assertively participate in local and global development (Pandian & Kalantzis, 2001).

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The findings of the research project carried out by the International Literacy and
Research Unit based at the School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia encourage
the view of literacy originating from a range of perspectives and methodologies that
include engaging students in the area of reading, writing, speaking and listening through
the integration of multimedia technology (Pandian et al., 2005). Today, new technologies
are changing the types of texts we and our students create and interpret even as they are
influencing the social, political and cultural contexts in which our texts are composed and
shared. Thus, we need to fully utilize IT in the ESL classroom. This includes the use of
the computer and Internet resources in the learning and teaching process in schools
(Swenson et al., 2005).
According to Swenson et al. (2005), “since these technologies are influencing the
development of individuals, institutions and communities (and since individuals,
institutions and communities are shaping these technologies and their uses), it is essential
for English educators to turn a critical eye towards the benefits and affordances; the
limitations and liabilities of integrating these newer technologies into our teaching.”
Baynham (1995) also agrees that “literacy” is interwoven into the fabric of rapid
development of new technologies and cannot be separated from our everyday lives.
The integration of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) promotes learners
engagement in the classroom scenario and this environment encourages learners to
interact more actively by engaging themselves in discussions while experiencing the
learning tasks which require them to use the computer and other communication
technologies (Ganapathy & Kaur, 2006). Information literacy in the New Age is a
potential tool that all students who have it use in order to identify, locate and obtain
appropriate information sources from the electronic media. They know how to gain
access to the information stored in those sources and are also able to evaluate, organize
and use the information obtained effectively (Doyle, 1992).
In meeting the demands of a globalized world in this ICT era, traditional print resources
like textbooks, encyclopaedias, newspapers, magazines are being augmented and
enhanced by technological resources such as videotapes/discs, CD-ROM, software tools,
simulation/modelling tools of information literacy (Hancock, 1993). Other examples of
“today’s real world learning experiences include the various modes of digital
technology” like “computers, cellular phones, emails, chatting, video-conferencing,
online newspapers, digital radios, digital televisions, digital cameras, DVDs, iPods and
other wireless, fibre optic technologies which give rise to a multimodal comprehension
of linguistic modes” (Ganapathy & Sarjit, 2006). The advent and rapid development of
today’s technology increases the possibility of doing reading and writing activities
electronically with the aid of a computer. Therefore, students are able to access large
databases of texts and organize information, as well as use the computer to create and
revise texts, send and receive email electronically, and to present instructional texts on-
screen instead of in printed books (Unsworth, 2001).
Selber (2004) recommends the development of effective, full-scale computer literacy
programmes by emphasizing different kinds of literacies and proposes some methods for

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helping students to be conversant with multiliteracies. Social theorists and literacy
scholars strongly believe that the use of the Internet as a communication tool has changed
the way in which literacy is defined in today’s world. They have compared the impact of
the Internet, and most notably the World Wide Web, on the socially constructed definition
of literacy to that of the invention of the printing press (Reinking et al., 1998).
New technologies are bringing forth pedagogical shifts whereby the teachers no longer
control the teaching and learning process. Likewise, “educational technology is nudging
literacy instruction beyond its oral and print-based tradition to embrace online and
electronic texts as well as multimedia. Computers are creating new opportunities for
writing and collaborating. The Internet is constructing global bridges for students to
communicate, underscoring the need for rock-solid reading and writing skills. By
changing the way that information is absorbed, processed and used, technology is
influencing how people read, write, listen and communicate” (Holum & Gahala, 2001).
In other words, literacy and language learning are being redefined by the digital
communication and multimedia technologies that are quickly becoming part of the routine
in our everyday lives. “We live during a time when the challenge of change is taking
place in the form of literacy and learning – as digital and multimedia resources cross the
threshold of our world” (Noordin, 2004).
Biesenbach and Weasenforth (2001) indicate that computer-based media places new
demands on language and also promotes variations in language use. It is thus essential to
examine the possibilities of using electronic media instead of traditional means (chalk &
talk, traditional print, etc.) in the ESL classroom. Web literacy and information literacy
are new innovations that are likely to bring significant changes into the ESL classroom.
Selfe (1999) discusses the Technology Literacy Challenge, an officially sponsored
literacy project begun in 1996 that has changed the definition of literacy and literacy
practices in America in Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century. Her study
is to ensure that teachers of English become aware of the new literacy agenda and to
suggest how they might positively influence literacy, both in the classroom and in the
community as well as the teachers’ ethical responsibility to understand how literacy and
literacy instruction affect the experiences of students and others with whom teachers
interact.
Chen (2006) states that writing emails from peers to authority figures requires higher
pragmatic competence and critical language awareness of how discourse shapes and
reflects power asymmetry in an institutional context. Gruba (2006) also recommends that
adopting a literacy perspective towards student interactions with digital media can extend
and develop views of second language listening comprehension and playing the videotext
is part of his media literacy perspective for video-mediated L2 listening. Fryer and
Carpenter (2006) extols the virtues of online chatbots’ potential role as a means of
language practice for ESL students. The authors are of the opinion that “technology is
opening up many new possibilities for language learning, and the Internet has enormous
potential.”
Shin (2006), on the other hand, examines how context is configured in ESL students’

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language learning practices through computer-mediated communication while Chun Lai
and Yong Zhao (2006) explores the capacity of text-based online chat to promote ESL
learners language productions and of the interactional feedback from their interlocutors.
Pope and Golub (2000) and Young and Bush (2004) also provide important insights into
preparing current and future English language arts teachers to use technology effectively,
including methods for evaluating technology applications for their classrooms. Based on
the number of resources and research done in the field of new technologies in education,
it is becoming more essential for new literacies to be included in the school curriculum in
order to reflect modern times. In other words, students need to be computer literate to be
able to access, evaluate as well as to navigate the World Wide Web or Internet resources.
At the May 2005 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Conference on English
Education (CEE) Leadership and Policy Summit and in Contemporary Issues in
Technology and Teacher Education (CITE Journal), the thematic strand was “What do
we know and believe about multimodal literacies and digital technologies in English
education?” This indicates that information and web literacies can contribute to the
advancement of teaching and learning via these powerful and promising technological
tools that allow the integration of images, sound, text and data.

DEFINING INFORMATION AND WEB LITERACY

Doyle (1992) defines an information literate person as one who:

1. recognizes the need for information;

2. recognizes that accurate and complete information is the basis for intelligent
decision making;
3. identifies potential sources of information;
4. develops successful search strategies;
5. accesses sources of information, including computer-based and other
technologies;
6. evaluates information;
7. organizes information for practical application;
8. integrates new information into an existing body of knowledge; and
9. uses information in critical thinking and problem solving.

“Web literacy should be understood as literacies, and furthermore as socially situated

practices rather than technologically determined conventions of reading and writing”
(Karlsson, 2002). It can also be understood as a set of social and cultural practices of
reading and writing in relation to different media objects on the web (Warschauer, 1999;
The New London Group, 2000). If we understand web literacy as a social practice, it
also follows that it is historically situated and constantly changing. Changes in literacy
reflect the changes in various areas of society: in personal lives, in communities, in
education and in working lives (The New London Group, 2000, pp. 10–19). The web is
one of the new and influential technologies and media environments that surround us

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today. The Internet is a worldwide network of computer networks, which offers many
services to its users, such as email and the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web is the
Internet resource that uses hypertext and handles the web pages. Web literacy, thus, refers
to reading and writing connected to the web.

SHIFTS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING ARISING FROM

TECHNOLOGY
The increasing role of technology in school curriculum indicates a shift in teaching and
learning. Technology enables a greater volume and depth of information to be acquired by
students (Tapscott, 1999). In Tapscott’s view, it enables students to acquire and
communicate their findings in more authentic ways. This has necessitated shifts in the
ways educators and students engage in teaching and learning. These shifts include:
1. From linear to hypermedia learning – Students move back and forth between
information sources in an interactive and non-sequential way.
2. From direct instruction to construction and discovery – Instead of absorbing
knowledge as delivered by the teacher, the student constructs new knowledge.
Thus, he learns by doing.
3. From teacher-centered to learner-centered – Focus is on the learner, not the
person who delivers. Instead of transmitting information, the teacher now creates
and structures what happens in the classroom.
4. From absorbing pre-selected facts to discovering relevant information – This
demands higher-order thinking skills such as analysis and synthesis.
5. From school-based to life-based learning – A learner’s knowledge base is
constantly revised through life experiences, and schools can prepare students for
this eventuality.
6. From uniform instruction to customized learning – Students find personal paths to
learning.
7. From learning as torture to learning as fun – The student is motivated to learn,
and feels more responsible for his or her progress.
8. From teacher as transmitter to teacher as facilitator – The teacher acts as the
facilitator in the teaching and learning process and no longer as the one who
transmits information or knowledge to the students. (Tapscott, 1999)
Information literacy is promoted through tasks that have the feel of immediacy and
relevance to real life. Research projects that improve information literacy skills allow
for dynamic exploration of many sources and types of information, both print and non-
print. In this way, students are able to solve problems by locating, accessing, and
analysing information to create a new piece of work. Technology makes possible
multimedia activities such as Web quests, virtual field trips, subject samplers, multimedia

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scrapbooks and treasure hunts. These activities span the curriculum and encourage
higher-order thinking skills and they have their roots in real life discovery and
exploration (Barton, Hamilton & Ivanic, 2000).
As information is growing and changing so rapidly, it is unrealistic to rely solely upon a
static, text-based delivery system for learning. The primary goal of resource-based
learning is to provide students with the opportunity to develop independent learning skills
as well as to acquire a basic body of knowledge which will enable them to become
lifelong learners. Through new technologies, students can create their own paths to
knowledge, thus propagating a culture of inquiry which emphasizes data collection and
usage. In this way, students widen their perspectives in life and are eager to search for
information and also use a wide range of IT. A framework of skills for information and
web literacies include research strategies, locating information online, organizing and
recording information using graphic organizers, communicating and presenting
information on-line, creating web pages, websites and the like.

MODEL FOR INFORMATION AND WEB LITERACIES IN THE

ESL CLASSROOM

One model which has been developed as a key to teaching and learning online is
Salmon’s (2002) five-stage model which describes how teachers or “e-moderators” can
organize or design a course or lessons via computer-mediated communication that not
only achieve a high level of curriculum completion through exploitation of the technical
opportunities, but also to establish a learning environment in which students can enjoy an
increased variety of learning materials and media, considerable personal flexibility and
autonomy without losing the sense of personal contact with the teacher, other learners and
the learning community at large. This five-stage model is also at the core of Salmon’s “e-
tivity“ (2002) frameworks for enhancing active and participative online learning by
individuals and groups. Salmon’s five-step model for teaching and learning online in
which the learning partnership between teachers and learners evolves through the five
stages of: access and motivation, online socialization, information exchange, knowledge
construction and development.

Salmon’s Five-Step Model

Salmon’s five-step model provides a structured, incremental approach to the various

stages of participation in an online course. At each level, both the moderators or teachers
and students display a command of increasingly complex technical and pedagogical
skills. Each stage requires students to master certain technical skills. Therefore, each
stage calls for different e-moderating skills. The “interactivity bar” running along the
right of the flight of steps suggests the intensity of interactivity that can be expected among
the students at each stage. At Stage 1, students interact only with one or two others. After
Stage 2, the number of people with whom they interact, and the frequency with which they
interact gradually increases, although Stage 5 often results in a return to more individual

211
pursuits.

Figure 17.1 Salmon’s Five Step Model

Teachers are the e-moderators (Salmon, 2002) and need to be equipped with certain
technological skills in order to embed technology in the teaching and learning process
and the students are the participants. The following are general skills teachers need to
have as e-moderators in technologically advanced classrooms:

1. Confidence to intervene
2. Building trust
3. Be a catalyst
4. Provide purpose and focus for groups
5. Encourage exploration of ideas
6. Ensure outcome from online discussions
7. Know how much to control and when to stand back
8. Foster online discussion
9. Monitor and evaluate

Stage 1: Access and Motivation

This first stage basically involves students exploring the new technology and gaining
access to the website required, thus becoming familiar with the new learning
environment. Although it is not necessary for participants to have any technical expertise
to participate in an online course, access to technical support should be made available
to deal with problems relating to hardware configuration, software and network access.
This could be a teacher who is well-versed in multimedia or an independent help site. In
order to access and participate in a course, a learner will need the following:

1. A computer that is connected to the Internet

2. Web-based software appropriate to the lesson

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 3. An ID and password
4. Technical back-up assistance via telephone and/or email/web
5. Where relevant, book or notes associated with the lesson
6. A specific amount of time per week allocated to participating in the information
and web literacy activities

The teacher gives an outline of the structure of the lesson to let the students know how to
proceed and where everything is located. The teacher explains how the icons on the
various pages work, gives a list of the online activities for a particular period of time and
asks each student make first contact to let everyone know that they have successfully
accessed for instance, the Internet. Establishing a sense of a learning community is vital
to learner retention, motivation and morale at this stage.

Stage 2: Online Socialization

In Stage 2, students move around the new environment and become familiar with the
different areas and learning possibilities with the help of the teacher, where necessary.
The feeling of building a community is encouraged and the teacher needs to create “a
friendly, social environment in which learning is promoted” (Berge, 2003) with the
purpose of imparting, receiving and sharing knowledge in order to achieve specific
learning outcomes. In other words, students go through social processes and teachers
moderate in helping students in the socialization process. Students also practise the skills
of online communication and begin to post messages and respond to communications from
others. Each student is encouraged to practise responding to other students. Some
participants may still be experiencing difficulty accessing the lesson or posting messages
while others may just want to “look around” until they gain confidence in the new
learning medium. They may be asked, for instance, to contribute some information about
themselves, their work and their interests in the subject matter in an effort to build online
learning relationships. Students must also learn to manage their time in Stage 2. Students
can also form groups and engage with others in that group towards a shared learning
experience. Stage 2 is critical to the success or failure of the lesson since it is here that
students start to feel at home in a virtual learning environment, or alternatively feel
isolated and unable to contribute. Teachers need to be sensitive towards students who
browse or may be taking time to become familiar with the online classroom and the new
technology and perhaps devise ways to overcome the barriers to full participation in the
learning experience.

Stage 3: Information Exchange

New technological skills are explored in Stage 3, that of involving others in group
activities, learning to further explore and expand on the lesson content through shared
knowledge – for example, building lists of useful sites to visit. Activities at Stage 3
provide information that is related to the lesson and encourage collaborative learning so
that cooperative tasks can be achieved. Students can also learn how to evaluate messages
and exchange information in an appropriate manner while teachers need to practise

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summarizing, guiding and reviewing the messages or students’ online production,
identifying those with similar threads and weaving them together to relate to the lesson
being taught, thereby facilitating the shared learning experience. In other words,
interaction happens at this stage, between the students and teachers, between the students
and so forth.

Stage 4: Knowledge Construction

In Stage 4 students are involved in group discussions related to the lesson and the
interaction becomes more collaborative. Duchastel (1997) suggests that online instruction
moves the instructor from presenting knowledge to requesting the production of
knowledge, and that it fosters the building of a global learning community rather than a
one-classroom community. Students apply their acquired knowledge to completing new
tasks and reaching lesson-related learning goals. Activities designed by teachers at this
stage need to provide focus for group work and are the key to structuring and pacing
online activity. The key concept in Stage 4 is building knowledge – each student reflects
on acquired knowledge and participates in the collaborative process of contributing on a
particular content-related topic. This contribution is acknowledged by other students;
more information is further supplied by other students, and all the acquired information is
discussed and explored further towards the completion of lesson-related goals.

Stage 5: Development

By Stage 5 students have developed confidence and are comfortable with the theory and
practice of participating in an online lesson. The final stage of the lesson involves the
consolidation of acquired knowledge and reflection upon whether internal and external
learning goals have been satisfactorily met. In other words, students become responsible
for their own learning and that of their own group. Teachers can also assess whether
curriculum completion was achieved, personal learning goals were met by the students
and establish feedback loops for improving the design and delivery of the online lesson.

PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
Technology provides multimodal possibilities for learning environments which can be
seen to support individual learning preferences and learning styles (Svensson, 2003, pp.
128–129). Technology also supports authenticity in learning (van Lier, 1996, pp. 123–
146; Benson, 2001, pp. 124–126). As a result of modern technology, the web is a medium
in which learners have access to electronic resource materials and as educational
institutions move towards a more flexible approach to teaching and learning, many
educators and teachers are being asked to develop programmes using ICT tools (Coady et
al., 2003).
Today, multiliteracies incorporate communications media or technologies of
communication that employs electronic media and other digital IT that add to the

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complexity of meaning. The old technologies of pen writing, book reading, spoken
communications, mental arithmetic remain central to the new technologies and enhance
the way new technologies are used. To read or construct a web page, Cope and Kalantzis
(2000) state that one requires an array of literacies and numeracies: traditional print
literacies (to record information and ideas), visual literacies (for overall design and to
manipulate images), aural and musical literacies (to build a soundscape around the page),
and mathematical understandings of number and chance and data (to keep track of usage
and to survey interest levels).
With information and web literacies, computer networking and telecommunications are
used for both data access and participation in learning communities. Multimedia
technologies are also used as materials for gathering data and as production tools in
schools. Students can also access school library media centres or other such resource
centres to locate and use many of these resources. Thus, the age of IT has finally arrived
in the school. Educators and policy makers see a lot of pedagogical potential in IT and
that is why many educational programmes have been fashioned based on IT concepts. The
most often mentioned reasons for IT introduction to the ESL classroom is motivation.
Shrum and Glisan (1994) support this rationale by saying that children generally have
positive attitudes toward technology, and educators need to consider the interests of their
students as well as current trends in society when planning the school’s curriculum.
Most educators agree that the computer is a tool to assist or enhance the learning process
and not a new approach to teaching in itself (Shrum & Glisan, 1994, p. 260) and should
be supported with “CALL that serves as a supplement or enrichment rather than a
substitute for regular classroom learning.” The integration of IT into the ESL classroom is
through careful selection of computer-related activities and programmes to support the
communicative methodologies used by most ESL teachers.
The immediacy of an online newscast or the currency of regularly updated websites
(resources of text, sound and visuals) are particularly effective in providing a wide
variety of real world information. “Integrating technology into the school curriculum may
involve some risk-taking on our part as students boldly go where we may not yet have
gone ourselves, and there are certainly issues which sometimes block our attempts;
however, the benefits to teaching and learning via technology merit the effort” (Carr,
2001). It is therefore clear that computers and the Internet are creating endless new
opportunities and it is inevitable that this powerful cultural influence is not going to stop
at the classroom door. In other words, teaching and learning have to be more innovative
and creative with the advent of new digital technologies and in this new age, students
would have to acquire very different talents that may not be fully developed by only using
traditional textbooks, in order to prepare themselves for the workplace. To a large extent,
IT supports increased authenticity of student writing. It emphasizes effective
communication as a higher-order skill and as an aid to problem solving. Moreover, many
students find that communicating for a purpose and being able to produce high quality
work is intrinsically motivating. Increasing and rapid development IT educational
resources and educational software present a major challenge to educators, thus the need
for ongoing professional development especially for teachers in this field. According to

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Noordin (2004), there is a growing importance of acquiring and developing knowledge
and skills in an electronic environment and language teachers should embrace the
emergence of electronic literacy, because the digital revolution transforms the
educational landscape; as such in the context of the ESL classroom in Malaysia, the
challenge for the teacher is to create a classroom context in which computer technologies
are used as a teaching tool for teaching language with certain educational objectives in
mind.
IT is indeed a significant aid to students’ learning strategies as it brings forth a number of
new dimensions to reading and writing, such as the potential for high quality desktop
publication, communicating using the Internet and developing interactive multimedia
documents. These new developments will help students achieve a better quality in their
education and their later lives. Web-based or e-learning lessons where students need to
have web and information literacies are characterized predominantly by activities that
replace those typically found in the traditional classroom. Working online requires
students to be consciously aware of the interpersonal learning dynamics and to make use
of technological tools to help them in their work production. It is only through the design
and use of effective activities online or e-tivities (Salmon, 2002) that student behaviour,
learning progress and personal development can be measured successfully in the virtual
learning environment. The term e-tivity (Salmon, 2002) refers to a conceptual framework
for interactive learning activities.

CONCLUSION

This paper intends to explore what a computer literature student should be able to do,
what is required of literacy teachers to educate such a student and how computer literacy
fits within the teaching and learning of English in the ESL classroom. According to
Ganapathy and Sarjit (2006), “teachers and material developers share similar
responsibilities in integrating technology for achieving the objectives of teaching English
effectively in the ESL classroom” and “the idea of integrating various other reading
programmes such as CD-ROMs, the use of World Wide Web sites from the Internet and
other relevant computerized reading activities to promote reading skills among students
in language classrooms in an effort to make learning more engaging” is fast catching on in
most schools that have the technology to sustain computer-mediated learning and teaching
strategies.
The New London Group (2000) considers the future of literacy teaching in the context of
the rapidly changing English language. In a world that is fast becoming a global village, it
is just as essential to employ the most appropriate literacy teaching in today’s ESL
classroom. The following thoughts on the topic summarize very well a reasonable and
practical approach to technology use in our second language classrooms. We must
“examine available technology-based materials critically, we must find ways to integrate
computers into the best practices that language and literacy teaching has to offer. If we do
anything less, we are in danger of betraying our students as well as our profession”

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(Wrigley, 1993, p. 321).
Technologies have shaped our ideologies – including our perceptions of the values and
limitations of newer technologies. These changes have important pedagogical
implications for teachers, students and the communities they live in. The development of
new technologies has also shaped new approaches to learning via communication and
collaboration (Kern & Warschauer, 2000; Beatty, 2003). CyberAtlas (Web pages by
language, 2000) estimates that approximately 65% of all websites, and over 200 million
web pages, are in English, making the web a ready source of authentic language. Thus,
Shetzer and Warschauer (2000) suggest that we “consider how to teach language so that
learners can make effective use of information technology.” In other words, as we expand
our use of the Internet and the World Wide Web language classes, we must rethink our
instructional goals, techniques, and objectives in order to prepare students for literacy in
both traditional and electronic mediums as these are precisely the skills that modern
academia and the global workplace will demand of our students in the future.
The web being an electronic medium influences the way information is structured, which
in turn has an effect on reading and writing, through which meanings are constructed.
Therefore,the web poses new challenges to its readers and writers (Luke, 2000, pp. 72–
73). Information and web literacies are needed in all aspects of life from the school, and
working life to the more private aspects of life. This new medium can be seen as a skill
that helps students to be active members of the communities they live in. According to
Johnston and Cooley (2001), technology has changed our educational environment and the
role of instructional technology will continue to grow as new technologies emerge.

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 Scary Spiders and Beautiful Butterflies: A Creative
Multimedia Approach to Develop Information
18 Literacy Skills in the Integrated Science and English
Classroom
INRANEE R. LIEW

INTRODUCTION

Information Explosion and Information Overload

The 20th century was the century of awesome applications of technology in every aspect
of society, in particular medicine, construction, space exploration, telecommunication and
entertainment. In the 21st century, the ubiquitous mobile telephone, personal computer and
easy Internet access make communication instantaneous, with an endless flow of
information at the click of a button.
The rapid advancement in IT and the easy publication of information on the Internet have
created a phenomenal increase in the amount of knowledge and information, literally an
“information explosion”. An American journalist, David Shenk, identifies the information
revolution as the herald of a new disease – “information overload” (Shenk, 1997a).
Statistics show that advertisements targeting Americans has increased from 560 a day in
1971 to 3,000 messages a day in 1997 (Shenk, 1997a). Therefore, personal survival and
sanity depend on an individual’s ability to cope with constantly evolving technology and
the smog of information that threatens to choke us.
When there is too much information to digest, a person is unable to locate and use the
information that one needs. This inability to cope leads to stress as the amount of
information that floods into our inbox continues without respite. “The sheer volume of
information which many of us are exposed to every day may actually impair our
performance and add stress to our lives” (About.com Medical Review Board, 2003).
Increased stress will lead to physical and psychological ill health. Continued stress from
unrelenting torrents of information can paralyse a person mentally, rendering him unable
to function as he is burnt out. A British psychologist, David Lewis, has coined a new term
for this syndrome – “information fatigue syndrome” (Murray, 1998).

Information Literacy Skills

However, the inability to cope is not a sign of weakness in an individual. Rather, it is a

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signal that we need new skills in this Information Age. To cope with life in the 21st
century we need to develop “information literacy skills”, defined by the National Forum
on Information Literacy (USA) as “the ability to know when there is a need for
information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information
for the issue or problem at hand.”

Constructivism – An Approach to Teaching that Develops Information Literacy

Skills

Teachers can teach but students do not necessarily learn. Research on the process of
teaching and learning shows that experiential learning is the most effective as it allows
learning to take place in a safe environment where children experience personal learning
as a result of controlled interaction and experimentation. Jean Piaget posited that
individuals construct new knowledge from their experiences and they then incorporate
this new knowledge into their existing knowledge framework, hence the constructivist
theory of learning.
The author of this chapter has made “The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery”
her personal philosophy of teaching. She is an ardent believer in the constructivist
approach to education which sees learning as a search for meaning. Learning is
interactive, not passive. Learning is personal and experiential, not remote and one
dimensional. Learning is a personal experience for each student as he or she interacts
with the information, makes sense of it and then uses it.
The author is a facilitator who helps students to formulate questions and guides them to
find answers. She prompts students to express and show their learning in different ways,
invoking multiple intelligences approach to learning. “If a child can’t learn the way you
teach, then maybe we should teach the way they learn” – Ignacio Estrada.
In the constructivist classroom, new learning fits into students’ prior or existing
knowledge so they learn new material in context of the big picture. The teacher builds on
what the students already know by awakening their curiosity and helping them to
formulate questions. Students interact with information so that they acquire personal
understanding of concepts. This leads to student exploration and inquiry where students
display confidence in using or manipulating information to generate new knowledge.
As such, effective learning involves more participation on the part of the students than
mere listening and taking notes. Active learning takes place when students not only listen,
read or write but when they participate in discussions or problem solving that activate
higher order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. It is this active
participation that activates the process of knowledge construction described by Piaget.
Therefore, constructivist teachers prepare activities and tasks that activate students’
thinking. Memorizing facts and lists do not trigger higher order thinking skills and are
only useful in the short term as only surface learning is acquired. As children progress
through school and their mental capacity mature, excellent teachers incorporate the higher
levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy into actual classroom teaching so that students are trained to

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be analytical and able to explore possibilities and investigate propositions. This will
result in deeper learning (Shale & Trigwell, 2003).

Constructivist Classroom in Action

“Exploring Scary Spiders and Beautiful Butterflies” was a five days integrated science
and English camp for 12 upper primary students conducted using the constructivist
approach.
Following the constructivist approach, the teacher introduced the topic by eliciting
information about insects from the students and filling in a KWL chart on the whiteboard.
“K = what we know; W = what we want to learn; L = what we learnt.” Questions include
What are insects? Are insects helpful or harmful? Is a spider an insect?
This activity allowed the teacher to access students’ prior learning as well as coach them
to ask questions. Students were divided into groups of four and each group is required to
create a KWL chart on large sheets of paper that they displayed on the wall.
The students worked in small groups of four to do research based on the KWL chart. The
teacher helped the students to choose mini research topics and scaffolded their research
work with help sheets which contained questions and tips. Reference books were
available at the reference corner, while a document containing various web links to web-
based materials was uploaded to four class computers. Students were given 30 to 45
minutes for their research and 60 to 90 minutes to prepare materials for oral presentation
to the class.
Working in groups helped students to maximize their learning experience with
opportunities to formulate promising questions and feasible answers. The students who
grasped concepts quickly were appointed as assistant tutors who taught the other students.
This collaborative learning enhanced the learning of these more able students while the
less able had personal attention that facilitated learning.
With each group focusing on a different topic, students could do deeper research and
produce more detailed work on their particular topic. In constructivist methodology, the
help sheets that enabled the groups to focus on their topics were “scaffolds” which
channel the students toward the answers to their questions (Yu, 2004). The teacher was
not directly giving them the answer but was providing the means to finding the answer.
Maria Montessori was of the opinion that “The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to
be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist’.”
When teaching a mixed ability class, the teacher could scaffold learning activities with
discovery questions to guide the less able students to find the required information. The
teacher can create project packs by copying information and pictures into a folder in the
class computers. Questions can be drafted to lead the students to specific answers so the
questions provide strong scaffolding to enable students to do work independently. The
pack can include a template for a presentation of research outcomes in the form of a mini
book, mind map or powerpoint. An assessment guide or rubric could be included in the

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pack so that the students know how the work will be assessed thus they can focus on the
main points.
In Exploring Scary Spiders and Beautiful Butterflies, the outcome of the student research
work was presented as charts, computer presentations, diorama and craftwork. The group
who researched “What are insects?” created a colourful MS PowerPoint presentation
peppered with pictures of vibrant insects. The presentation showed that insects come in
all shapes and sizes but had one basic three part body structure – head, thorax and
abdomen. Insects also have wings, antennae and three pairs of legs that are connected to
the thorax.
Another group of students did a presentation on useful and harmful insects. They
identified bees and ladybirds as useful insects as bees produced honey which humans
savour while ladybirds exterminate aphids which are little green insects that destroy
plants, especially the sweet and juicy new shoots. Mosquitoes were identified as harmful
insects that killed humans by spreading diseases like dengue and malaria.
The third group of students had been assigned to investigate “Is a spider an insect?” They
produced hand-drawn, labelled images of a spider and a bee. They presented an insect
versus spider “big book” which they created out of manila cardboard folded accordion
style. It was a very informative, artistic and creative piece of work.
The author firmly believes in guided discovery although it requires more preparation on
the part of the teacher but the depth and quality of learning is certainly worth the teacher’s
effort. Guided discovery promotes active learning that fosters thinking skills in students.
Students are very responsive to this student-centred activity-based approach as they are
empowered to learn in different ways which activate the multiple intelligences. Higher
level learning is invoked as the students have to think, analyse, compare and contrast, and
this also creates deeper learning and clearer understanding.

CREATIVE APPROACH TO ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING

In Exploring Scary Spiders and Beautiful Butterflies, assessment of learning was not
confined to traditional pen and paper work. Instead, the students did a lot of thinking and
analysing to create Venn diagrams and life-cycle charts. The teacher facilitated deeper,
meaningful learning by guiding the students to think about and analyse the data they
collected from various sources. The students also engaged in metalearning when they
were asked to explain why they did something in a certain way and whether there was
another way to do it.
Part of the class assessment was based on craftwork and all the students performed very
well. The students enjoyed creating insect and spider models from plasticine and
toothpicks and the structure of the plasticine bugs showed that the students had learnt
insect anatomy correctly. Another craft activity had students constructing a habitat for
their insects and spiders and their work confirmed they had learnt and understood

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different habitats. Each student had to make a short oral presentation and most were very
comfortable speaking about the creature they had made. The students enjoyed the various
activities that had been planned to encourage discovery learning.

Knowledge Users or Knowledge Creators?

The author visualizes basic learning (i.e. rote learning) of knowledge as a two-
dimensional square which is flat and of limited use. However, when the square is
converted into a three-dimensional cube, and then changed into a box, its uses
immediately multiply and the box itself has intrinsic value! In the same way, memorizing
lists or facts is 2D as knowledge in itself is not functional. What adds value to the
knowledge is the ability to use the knowledge to create new knowledge and
understanding. A student’s ability to construct a box from a piece of paper can be nurtured
so that he continues to explore and experiment with the box, perhaps even improve on the
original design.
How does this paper and box model work in the constructivist classroom? The role of the
teacher in the constructivist classroom is pivotal in promoting learning and knowledge
creation. Through the process of coaching, guiding and prompting students to ask good
questions, the constructivist teacher is a facilitator who helps students learn specific
knowledge as well as develop global skills that are essential for lifelong learning.
By asking the right questions and formulating the best answers, students develop the
ability to assess their own learning and understanding. The process of finding answers
helps students to learn problem-solving and research skills which are transferable skills
that are increasingly vital in modern higher education as well as in today’s information
rich world. Constructivism models strategies to locate and use information that help
students to develop the information literacy skills that are “necessary to locate, access,
and use information in today’s society” (Fowles, 2001). We need specific skills to
grapple with information explosion in the 21st century where change is constant and
where proficiency in finding and using the latest information is becoming indispensable.

Information Literacy versus Computer Literacy

However, it is vital to distinguish between information literacy and computer literacy

(Humes,1999). In 1992, Peter Drucker identified information literacy as an essential skill
at work but warned that “executives have become computer-literate... but not many
executives are information literate” (Drucker, 1992). People who are computer literate
are not necessarily information literate as they may know how to use computers but they
are unable to manage the daily onslaught of information to find accurate and relevant
information which they can use to achieve specific purposes.
Developing and using information literacy skills is an essential tool for lifelong learning.
Learning is no longer confined to certain periods in life but is a continuum necessary to
help people cope with the constant changes brought about by the relentless advancement
of technology. Slowly but inexorably, information and computer literacy have become

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basic skills that every 21st century citizen must acquire.
The New Zealand government’s Digital Strategy acknowledges the strategic bond
between information literacy and knowledge creation in this definition: “The life-long
ability to locate, evaluate, use and create information” (New Zealand Government,
2008). In today’s digital world, the process of knowledge acquisition is now lifelong and
it is only through intelligent use of information literacy skills can we control, organize
and manage daily life in the digital information society of the 21st century. The
constructivist approach to teaching will promote the acquisition of the skills necessary to
“locate, access, and use information in today’s society”. Therefore, by promoting
constructivist teaching and learning, we develop students who are not merely 2D
knowledge users. Instead, we nurture 3D knowledge creators!

BIBLIOGRAPHY
About.com Medical Review Board. (2003) Coping with “Data Smog”.
http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/computerstuff/a/datasmog.htm (accessed 10 October
2008).
Association of College Research Libraries. (2000) Information literacy competency standards
for higher education.
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.htm (accessed 10
October 2008).
American Library Association. (2006) Intro to Info Lit.
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/acrlinfolit/infolitoverview/introtoinfolit/introinfolit.cfm
(accessed 11 October 2008).
Drucker, P. (1992) Be data literate – know what to know. Wall Street Journal 12(1): A16.
Eisenberg, M.B. (2008) Information literacy: Essential skills for the information age.
DESIDOC Journal of Library and Information Technology 28(2): 39–47.
Fowles, C. (2001) Glossary of library and internet terms. University of South Dakota.
http://www.usd.edu/library/instruction/glossary.shtml (accessed 12 October 2008).
Humes, B. (1999) Understanding information literacy. What Is Information Literacy?
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/UnderLit/info-literacy.html (accessed 10 October 2008).
Murray, B. (1998) Data smog: Newest culprit in brain drain. APA Monitor (American
Psychological Association) 29(3). http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar98/smog.html
New Zealand Government. (2008) Glossary of key terms. Digital strategy: Smarter through
digital. http://www.digitalstrategy.govt.nz/Media-Centre/Glossary-of-Key-Terms (accessed
23 October 2008).
Partnership for 21st century skills, Information Literacy. (n.d.)
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=264&Itemid=120 (accessed 12 October 2008).
Shale, S. and K. Trigwell. (2003) Characteristics of deep and surface approaches to learning.
http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/dands/dandstable.html (accessed 12 October 2008).
Shenk, D. (1997a) Data Smog – Surviving the Information Glut. San Francisco:
HarperCollins.

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Shenk, D. (1997b) The first law of data smog. In E.P. Bucy (2005), Living in the Information
Age: A New Media Reader, 157–161, 2nd edition. Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Technorealism. (1998) Negative social consequences of the information glut.
http://cse.stanford.edu/classes/cs201/Projects/technorealism/glut_consequences.html
(accessed 11 October 2008).
Weil, M. and Rosen, L. (1997) TechnoStress. New York: John Wiley.
Weimer, M. (2002) Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Yu, G.Y. (2004) Perception, practice and progress. Asian EFL Journal 6(4). http://www.asian-
efl-journal.com/december_04_GY.php (accessed 13 March 2004).

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 The ESL Curriculum as an Additional Resource for
19 Making Meaning
AMY B.M. TSUI

STORY WRITING: WEATHER AND SEASONS/SUMMER AND

WINTER

Overview/Description

In order to work out the content of a story about the seasons, students look at a picture
story and try to put some missing pictures and missing text in the correct places. Through
a series of guided activities that focus on developing cohesion in text, students then look
at the relationships between the events in the story. Finally, they write an alternative
ending to the story.

Summary of the Lesson Structure of the Segments Analysed

Story revision (whole-class work): The teacher went over the story about the change of
seasons that her students had learned in the previous lesson (see Appendix 1). A few
students were selected to put the sequence of the story in the right order.
Retell the story: A few students were chosen to retell the whole story by looking at the
pictures on the board.
Rewriting the story ending (group work): The teacher provided instructions for group
work.
Pictures 6, 7 and 8 were removed from the board. Students were asked to work in groups
of four to create a new ending for the story. They were asked to think first, make notes
and then write the story ending as a group. Some questions (as given below) were put on
the board to provide guidance for group discussion.

1. Is the God of all Gods stronger than the God of the Underworld?
2. What does the God of all Gods say to the God of the Underworld?
3. What happens to Polly?
4. How does Polly feel?
5. How does Polly’s mother feel?
6. What happens to the plants?
7. How do the people feel?

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Worksheets were provided (see Appendix 2). They were also asked to draw pictures to
illustrate their story when they finished drafting the ending.
Reporting: Several groups were selected to report their story endings.

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APPENDIX 1

The Story: Summer and Winter

© TeleNex The University of Hong Kong

230
© TeleNex The University of Hong Kong

APPENDIX 2

My Story Ending

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© TeleNex The University of Hong Kong

APPENDIX 3

Excerpt 1 54:50 Group 1 Reporting on Story Ending

The God of the Underworld didn’t listen to him. So the God of all Gods make him into a
pig. Then Polly went back to the earth. Her mother felt very happy. So they started taking
care of the plants again. This is why we have a lot of rice and vegetables to eat.

Excerpt 2
S1: The end of the story is happy ending or unhappy?
S3: Happy.
S2: You want happy?

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S3: I want happy.
S1: Very happy.
S2: I want very sad … You want very happy?
S4: Yes.
S2: And you?
S1: Yes …
S2: So happy.
Ss: …
S1: Write down the ideas … sentences.
S3: I want he die.
S2: I want it too.
S1: Yes, we can … but he didn’t listen …
S2: Yes, he didn’t listen … and the God kill him …
Ss: …
S3: The God of the Underworld didn’t listen to him.
S1: Underworld.
Ss: u-n-d-e-r-w-o-r-l-d.
S1: Didn’t listen … listen to him.
S3: So …
S2: So … the God of all Gods.
S1: The God of all Gods … The God of the … u-n-d-e-r. Underworld …
S3: The God of the Underworld you have write already.
Ss: …
S1: The God of all Gods.
S2: Kill him.
S1: Kill him.
S2: But I want …
S2: Yes kill him.
S1: Oh no no, it’s not very good. The God of all Gods make him into a ghost ah … a
ghost?
S3: Ah ...
S4: …
S1: Make him into a ghost.
Ss: …
S3: No, the God of all Gods make him to be a people.
S2: Yes, yes, people, and he can’t do something to her.
S1: Oh, I know. I know. Make him into a snake, a dog, or a fish.
S2: Pig.
S3: Yes, pig.
S1: A pig. Cow or pig?
S2: A pig.

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S1: So the God of all Gods make him into a cow … pig … cow …
S2: Cow or pig?
S3: Make him to be a cow.
S1& S2: Into … into …

Excerpt 3
Ss: This is picture 2.
S3: But she have ate three strawberries …
S2: Ate three …
S1: Oh no! He’s a …
S3: Because he have to be a cow so … the strawberries is … ah …(using gestures)
S2: Is cow make him stay in the Underworld?
S1: We must think the story end is very happy.
S3: So he have been, no need to come back to the Underworld.
S1: Yes.
S3: So she lives with her mother happily.
S1: Polly go back to …
S3: Then … Polly went back …
Ss: Polly went back to the earth … to … the … earth.
S1: His mother.
S2: His mother?
S2 & S3: Her mother.
S1: Her mother.
Ss: Her mother was … is felt … fell … f-e-l-t very happy.
S2: Feel very happy.
S1: Very happy.
S3: And then they take care of the plants again … but we have to say the three
strawberries.
S1: He can eat air … air … It’s not really strawberries …
S2: We have to talk about strawberries …
S2: I think we should …
S3: The strawberries are not real.

Excerpt 4
S1: So they started … s-t-a … taking care of the plants.
S2: Started, not start.
S3: Not e-d.
S1: They … it’s past tense.
S3: It is the past, but now he’s …
S1: It is not now. This story is past. Is after … ah … one thousand year.
S3: Okay, okay then we use past tense.

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S1: Take or taking?
Ss: Taking.
S3: Taking care of the plants again.
S1: Taking care of the … plants.
S2: Feel very happy … It should be past tense, feel.
S3: Felt. It’s felt. F-e-l-t. It’s past tense.
S1: Past tense.
S1: Then Polly marry a good man.
Ss: Yes. Yes.

Excerpt 5
S2: This is why we have a lot of vegetables and a lot of kinds.
S1: A lot of rice and noodles and bread …
S2: Vegetables.
S3: Rice …
S1: Fruit, fruit.
S3: And fruit.
S1: A lot of rice.
S4: Vegetables, strawberries.
Ss: ((spelling out vegetables))
S2: No, no, no. It is why we have a lot of food to eat because noodles
S1: But food is … Cow is food, pig is food, but they are not plants.
S2: Use vegetables.
S3: We can write vegetables.
S2: You can write that’s why we have a lot of food maybe vegetables … you can use
maybe …
S1: May be
S3: Can use may be.
S1: Fruit, is it?
S3: Noodles?
S1: … We have a lot of rice, and noodles, and vegetables.
S3: To eat.
S1: Finish?
S2: I read again.
Ss: The God of the Underworld didn’t listen to him so the God of all Gods make him into
a pig. Then Polly went back to the earth. Her mother felt very happy so they started
taking care of the plant again … started taking or started to? … started to taking …
started to taking care of the plants again. We have a lot of rice, noodles, and
vegetables to eat. Okay, write down.
S2: Who writes beautifully?

Excerpt 6

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S3: We have to write quickly because we don’t have much time.
S1: So … so the God of all Gods make him into a pig.
S2: Make him into a thin pig.
S4: Into a pig.
S1: Dirty. A dirty pig.
S3: Dirty pig.
S2: Very dirty.
Ss: …
S1: Okay.
S3: And then …
S1: Then … Polly …
S3: Then Polly went back to the earth.
S1: Earth … earth.
S2: Full stop.
S3: Her mother …
S1: Her mother … m-o-t-h-e-r …
S2: m-o-r-t-h!
S1: r-t-h? … No, the mother … it’s mother … we don’t have much much time.
S3: Her mother felt very happy.
S4: Very happy.
S2: What’s this? What’s this? Monkey?
S3&S4: It’s a gardener … gardener …
S1: It’s a ghost … like a ghost.
S2: Gardener …
S4: Gardener …
S1: Or a cat …
S2: I think a gardener.
S1: It’s an old people. The old people is dying and he’s a ghost of the Underworld.
S3: Taking care of … the plants again.
S2: Garden.
Ss: …
S1: Again …a-g-a-i-n.
S2: Don’t write again.
S1: Yes, you must again. It must be again because you have the … the beginning of the
story … beginning of the story is the God of the earth is taking care of the … then it
stops at last.
Ss: Yes. Yes. Yes.

Excerpt 7
Ss: … We draw together …
S2: We can draw an apple …

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S3: Fish
S2: Fish. It’s not a plant. It’s animal.
S1: It’s not a plant.
S3: Orange.
S2: Pineapple.
S1: Noodles. A pear.
S3: Bread.
S1: Noodles.
S3: It’s very hard to write noodles.
S2: Noodles. Where is noodles?
S1: The noodles has eaten.

Excerpt 8
S1: How to draw rice? Rice is … ah … like this?
S3: Rice is … I think we can … Ah brown colour.
S1: No. No … When western they don’t eat rice. In China we eat rice, but in England, ah
England, France, they don’t eat rice. They eat um
S2: Fries … fries.
S3: They eat vegetables.
S1: They eat … they eat ah … beef, they eat noodles.
S4: I don’t think it is a big problem. We can write rice.

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 Speaking in the Language Curriculum: The
20 Challenges of Presenting
MOHAMED ABU BAKAR

INTRODUCTION

The language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing form the core of the
curriculum. Learners use these skills to interact with people, obtain information and
present information, respond to literary texts, and express themselves creatively. As one
of the four skills, speaking has occupied an important place in the Malaysian English
Language syllabuses. The main goal in teaching the productive skill of speaking will be
oral fluency. This can be defined as the ability to express oneself intelligibly, reasonably,
accurately and without too much hesitation. To attain this goal, teachers have to bring the
students from the stage where they are mainly imitating a model of some kind or
responding to cues, to the point where they can use the language freely to express their
own ideas.
Students need to recognize that speaking involves three areas of knowledge:
1. Mechanics (pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary): Using the right words in
the right order with the correct pronunciation.
2. Functions (transaction and interaction): Knowing when clarity of message is
essential (transaction/information exchange) and when precise understanding is
not required (interaction/relationship building).
3. Social and cultural rules and norms (turn-taking, rate of speech, length of pauses
between speakers, relative roles of participants): Understanding how to take into
account who is speaking to whom, in what circumstances, about what and for
what reason.
Psychologists have proven that the first and last 30 seconds of any speech have the most
impact. So, give the opening and closing of a talk a little extra thought, time and effort.
Opening a speech with a joke or funny story is good but ask yourself these questions
about your joke:

1. Is it appropriate to the occasion and for the audience?

2. Is it in good taste?
3. Does it relate to me or the event or the group? Does it support my topic or its key
points?

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Certain speech openings captivate, mystify and create an emotional bond that keeps an
audience in the palm of the speaker’s hand. What would you give to learn those essential
opening moves? Those great ways to bond instantly with an audience so you never see
them dozing off or wandering out of the room?
A story can provide a strong opening but only if it fits well into the objective of your
speech. Remember humour helps activate content, movement keeps the audiences’ eyes on
you.
One of the worst mistakes a speaker can make as a public speaker is talking too long. If
you talk too long, audience will leave saying, “That speaker just wouldn’t quit.” Do not
let this happen to you! Say what you have to say and sit down. Before you do, give them a
well thought out closing.
The closing should be the highlight of the speech. You must put as much time into
selecting and practicing your closing as you put into any other part of your presentation.
Just like your opening, your closing does not have to be humorous. It could be
motivational, challenging, thoughtful, respectful of the length of the presentation or it
could restate your point in a different way. This ending segment will have a strong
influence on what the audience takes home with them when you are done.

THE IMPORTANT MOMENT JUST BEFORE THE SPEECH

Conquering the Fears

You are waiting your turn to make a speech, when suddenly you realize that your stomach
is doing strange things and your mind is going blank. How do you handle this critical time
period?

Mentally

Part of your preparation will be to memorize your opening and closing – three or four
sentences each. Even if you cover your key points from notes, knowing your opening and
closing by heart lets you start and end fluently.

Logistically

Go to the room where you will be speaking as early as possible so you can get
comfortable in the environment. If you will be speaking from a stage, go early in the
morning when no one is there and make friends with the stage. Then, during your
presentation, you can concentrate on your audience, not your environment.

Physically

A wonderful preparation technique for small meetings is to go around shaking hands and

239
making eye contact with everybody beforehand. For larger meetings, meet and shake
hands with people in the front row at least, and some of the people as they are coming in
the door. Connect with them personally, so they will be wishing for your success. Once
you have met the audience or at least some of them, they become less scary. It is totally
natural to be nervous.

Capturing Audience

Today’s audiences have very short attention spans. They have limited interest levels. With
the advent of remote control no one watches anything that stands still enough to bore.
Substandard content and boring material are no longer endured.

Working with Humour

Jokes may get a laugh, but a humorous personal story pertinent to your talk will freshen
up your story and will be memorable for your audience. You can build rapport with your
members by telling stories on yourself. Study your material which is relevant to a
segment of your speech, insert it as a humorous example in your talk and top it with a
punch line; this is the essence of a joke.

Working with Movement

Avoid repetitive use of the same movements or gestures. It is a difficult exercise, but it is
important to practice a variety of movements and to control the same repeated gestures
with your hands. Try practicing a speech by clasping your hands behind your back to
avoid meaningless, repetitive arm and hand gestures. It will be tough at first to
concentrate on your talk without using your hands, but it will help stop superficial
gesturing. Remember, if you lose track of your gestures, it does not mean your audience
will. So learn to use gestures which you have complete control to avoid using them too
often or too broadly.

Working with Voice and Speech

The way you pronounce words can weaken your presentation. An example is saying
“axchually” in place of “actually” or “perfekly” in place of “perfectly”.
Even if you have good diction and speak clearly and correctly, you also have many
natural enemies on the platform. Outside noise, faulty microphones, audience whispering
and moving in and out of the room, all of these distract your audience. As a speaker your
job is to make the best possible impression on your members. You need to sound
intelligent, powerful, polished, articulate and confident. A technique for being more
thoughtful is to use short, simple sentences and to cut out useless words. You can be more
articulate if you make a special effort to pronounce the final sound in a word and use its
energy to carry over to the following word. Pay special attention to the final of “t” and
“ng”.

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Working with Delivery

Pausing at exactly the right moment in your speech is important. As you know your
material very well, you may have a tendency to talk too fast. Your audience may be
hearing your information for the first time, so it is important to slow down and give them
the opportunity to catch every word.
Using pauses and silences to punctuate your material will draw in your audience. After
making a point or delivering a punch line, stress it by standing still and shifting only your
eyes. The impact will be much greater. Another key element to the delivery of a speech is
how you use your energy levels. Studies have proven that the first and last 30 seconds of
a presentation make the most impact on the audience. If you stay high energy for the entire
programme, you may risk losing your believability. Adopt variety and pacing in your
delivery, and your audience will remain alert.

Packaging and Polishing

When working on a talk, develop the habit of reciting it to yourself until the words form
into a harmonious pattern with which you are comfortable and have it transcribed on
paper. Now undertake the tightening, fine tuning, polishing process, checking for
grammatical errors, deleting unnecessary words, highlighting the punch words and finding
the emotion you want behind the words and match with your gestures, facial expressions
and movements.

Say It with Fewer Words

If you are asked to compact your message across in 10 minutes, do not panic. Here is how
to compress your speech without losing impact.
1. Do not apologize or mention that you usually have much more time. Be confident
that you can communicate in 10 minutes.
2. Begin fast. Start with an attention-getting statement such as, “Your job won’t
exist five years from now,” or “In the next 10 minutes I want to convince you the
best action you can take is...”
3. Use a strongly visual story. Illustrate your points; how it is now, how it will or
could be with a story so vibrant that the audience can “see” it.
4. Divide your 10 minutes into three parts. Present a problem, a pay-off and your
point of view.

How to Relax for Your Talk

We have all heard that the fear of death is second only to the fear of public speaking. That
may be true, but if you are looking for one of the cheapest and most effective methods of
presentation. Think of the success you will be generating with just 20 minutes in front of

241
an audience. In case emphasizing the positive is not enough to keep the butterflies in your
stomach in line, before you step up to the podium, take time to work through these
exercises to help you channel all that nervousness into energy.

Physical Preparation: Warm Up and Relax Your Body and Face

1. If you are wearing high heels, take them off. Now, stand on one leg and shake the
other. When you put your foot back on the ground, it is going to feel lighter than
the other one. Now, switch legs and shake. You want your energy to go through
the floor and out of your head.
2. Shake your hands, fast. Hold them above your head, bending at the wrist and
elbow and then bring your hands back down. This will make your hand
movements more natural.
3. Warm up your face muscles by chewing in a highly exaggerated way. Do
shoulder and neck rolls. Imagine that you are eye level with a clock. As you look
at 12, pull as much of your face up to 12 as you can; now move it to 3, then down
to 6 and finally over to 9.
4. All of these exercises serve to warm you up and relax you. Those exaggerated
movements make it easier for your movements to flow more naturally. Now
concentrate on the potential audience you will be enlightening with your talk.

Delivery

“Delivery” refers to the way in which you actually deliver or perform or give your
presentation. Delivery is a vital aspect of all presentations. You need to make your
audience trust in you, believe in your ability and be open to your input.
Task: Stand up, hold your hands clasped in front of you and look down at them. Try saying
out loud: “I am really pleased to be here.”

Nervous

Most speakers are a little nervous at the beginning of a presentation. So, it is normal if
you are nervous. The answer is to pay special attention to the beginning of your
presentation. First impressions count. This is the time when you establish a rapport with
your audience. During this time, try to speak slowly and calmly. You should perhaps learn
your introduction by heart. After a few moments, you will relax and gain confidence.

Overcoming Nervousness

1. Be prepared. If you know your presentation well, the presentation will be less
stressful.
2. Know your opening. The first two minutes are the most stressful time, so be able to

242
 recite the first two minutes without your notes. If you get through this successfully, it
will give you confidence.
3. Relax the muscles in your upper body, arms and neck just before you start. Take slow
deep breaths and gently move the shoulders and neck to relieve tension.
4. Have a glass of water and take a small drink as, or just before, you stand up to speak.
5. Know your material. Use personal stories and conversational language, that way you
would not easily forget what to say.
6. Practice. Practice. Practice! Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on using.
7. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as they arrive. It is easier
to speak to a group of friends than to strangers.
8. Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the
microphone and any visual aids.
9. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking your voice loud,
clear and confident. Visualize the audience clapping. It will boost your confidence.
10. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audience want you to be interesting,
stimulating, informative and entertaining.
11. Do not apologize for any nervousness or problem – the audience probably never
noticed it.
12. Concentrate on the message, not the medium. Focus your attention away from your
anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience.
13. Breathe deeply as you walk down the corridor to the group. When people feel
nervous their breathing is generally too shallow.
14. Arrive early so you can settle in.
15. Look professional.
16. Keep eye contact with everyone in the group, and do not single out one or two people
only.
17. Pronounce your words clearly. Your audience needs to understand them all.

Body Language

1. First of all, your appearance (clothes, hair etc.)! It is essential that you dress
appropriately and have well-groomed hair. Your audience will be distracted if your
clothes are sloppy.
2. Smile! When you enter, or as you are being introduced, smile warmly. Not too much!
It should be a warm and sincere smile.

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 3. Do not lean on the podium or table. Leaning on a support suggests to your audience
that you are weak or nervous.
4. Continue to smile slightly at the beginning of your presentation. Then become
gradually a little more serious as you tell your audience what you are going to talk
about.
5. Do not point your finger at the audience. This can seem very aggressive.
6. Use occasional arm movements to underline important points. If you wave your arms
around all the time, you will simply distract your audience.
7. Maintain eye contact. Make eye contact with every person in the room. Would you
buy a car from a car salesman who refused to look at you when talking to you?
8. Do not walk around too much. It may make you feel better to walk up and down like
a lion in a cage, but it is distracting for your audience.
9. Use your head! Movements of your head and expressions of your face can add weight
to what your words are saying.
10. Control your voice! Speak slowly and clearly. To underline a special point, go even
more slowly. Repeat a sentence if it is important. You can just stop speaking
completely. Say nothing for a short time. A silent pause is a very powerful way of
communicating. In general, you should try to vary your voice.

Visual Aids

Of all the information that enters our brains, the vast majority of it enters through the eyes.
Eighty percent of what your audience learn during your presentation is learned visually
(what they see) and only 20% is learned aurally (what they hear).
It is well worth spending time in the creation of good visual aids. But it is equally
important not to overload your audience’s brains. Keep the information on each visual aid
to a minimum, and give your audience time to look at and absorb this information.
If used properly, visual aids can:

1. Arouse and maintain interest

2. Give variety in presentation
3. Save time – One picture is worth a thousand words
4. Clarify difficult points
5. Give emphasis to points
6. Help the memory – pictures can be remembered more easily than the speech. So,
used in combination, words and pictures reinforce each other.

Essential Functions for Presentation

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Phrases which are important in a presentation:

1. I’d like to start by...

2. Let’s begin by...
3. First of all, I’ll...
4. Starting with...
5. I’ll begin by...
6. Finishing one subject...
7. Well, I’ve told you about...
8. That’s all I have to say about...
9. We’ve looked at...
10. So much for...
11. Now we’ll move on to...
12. Let me turn now to...
13. Next...
14. Turning to...
15. I’d like now to discuss...
16. Let’s look now at...
17. Analysing a point and giving recommendations
18. Where does that lead us?
19. Let’s consider this in more detail...
20. What does this mean for ABC?
21. Translated into real terms...
22. Giving an example
23. A good example of this is...
24. To illustrate this point...
25. Dealing with questions
26. We’ll be examining this point in more detail later on...
27. I’d like to deal with this question later, if I may...
28. I’ll come back to this question later in my talk...
29. Perhaps you’d like to raise this point at the end...
30. I won’t comment on this now...
31. To conclude,...
32. In conclusion,...
33. Now, to sum up...
34. So let me summarize/recap what I’ve said.
35. Finally, may I remind you of some of the main points we’ve considered.
36. In conclusion, my recommendations are...
37. I therefore suggest/propose/recommend the following strategy.
38. Many thanks for your attention.
39. May I thank you all for being such an attentive audience.
40. Are there any questions?
41. Do you have any questions?
42. Are there any final questions?

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How Can You Become More Confident and Successful?

1. Look for a model (someone who is confident) and learn from them.
2. Focus on your achievements and even if you failed, try to work out what you did right
and how you could succeed next time.
3. Act as if you were confident!
4. Prepare thoroughly for any task so that you can be sure you are ready.
5. Learn relaxation skills.
6. Always smile.
7. Set reachable goals for yourself.
8. Reward yourself when you succeed.
9. Mingle with others and initiate conversations in a friendly, interested manner.
10. Your contributions to a conversation need to be on target with the subject being
discussed.
11. Be prepared for rejection some of the time but do not take it as a personal rebuff.

Be an Active Listener

People speak at 100 to 175 words per minute, but they can listen intelligently at 600 to
800 words per minute. Since only a part of our mind is paying attention, it is easy to go
into mind drift – thinking about other things while listening to someone. The cure for this
is active listening – which involves listening with a purpose. It may be to gain
information, obtain directions, understand others, solve problems, share interest, see how
another person feels, show support.

Problems in Learning to Listen to English

1. Lack of control over speed at which speakers speak

2. Not being able to get things repeated
3. Listener’s limited vocabulary
4. Problems of interpretation
5. Inability to concentrate

How Do We Become Better Listeners?

1. Exercise your ears. As I experience these sounds, I pick out two or three to focus on
one at a time, then all at once again.
2. Enter every conversation expecting to learn.
3. Going into a conversation, expecting to be taught helps set a relaxed mind and body
that is open to listening. Then speak.
4. Get as close as possible to the other person without making them feel and look
uncomfortable.
5. Maintain good eye contact. People look for understanding in the face and eyes. When

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 you look away while someone is talking, you do not give them a chance to see your
understanding, or lack of it.
6. Ask to have something repeated if you do not understand it. There is no disrespect in
asking for clarification, especially if there are distractions.
7. Smile often and show relaxed body posture (i.e. open arms, relaxed brow etc.).
8. Do not let emotion “rule” your side of the conversation. Imagine you are having a
conversation in a typically noisy place like a shopping centre, sporting event, music
concert etc. Despite the distractions, your message is flowing.

Rehearsal

You have edited and fine-tuned a written version of your talk. Now you are going to
practice it.
1. Tape yourself reading your talk out loud to check on timing and emphasis.
2. Prepare outline notes. Even though you have just gone to a great deal of trouble
to prepare a written speech, you are NOT going to read it! Nothing puts an
audience to sleep faster. Instead, you are going to speak directly and
spontaneously to the audience, maintaining essential eye contact. The secret is to
prepare easy-to-read notes. Write your key points on a card that you will keep in
your hands or on the table.
3. Practice in front of an audience. Ask one or two perceptive people for their
feedback. Make it clear that you want constructive criticism, not just praise. Did
they understand the points you were making? Was there a lack of logic or
continuity? Did they think you spoke too quickly or slowly? Use their feedback
to polish your presentation.

The Don’ts in a Presentation

1. Tap or blow into the mike to see if it is working.

2. Take a long time to get to the meat of your presentation.
3. Spend little or no time researching the audience so that you speak over their heads,
or speak down to them.
4. Make repeated reference to sports, especially football, when the audience is
primarily female.
5. Read from notes, or from a script.
6. Fiddle with audiovisual equipment in the middle of your speech, because you did not
check it out to begin with.
7. Dissipate your nervous energy by pacing even though it adds nothing to your speech.

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 8. Do not time your speech, and then go overboard.
9. Notice that you only have 10 minutes left, but still have not made half your points,
and rush your way through so that the audience feels thoroughly cheated.
10. Put down the questioner because you did not like the question.
11. Do not be available after the speech, maintain the mystique of the hard to reach
expert.

CONCLUSION
The essential preparations for a successful presentation include:
1. Clarify the objectives. Knowing exactly what you are trying to accomplish during
the presentation is essential. If you are not sure about what the objective is, the
audience is unlikely to know either.
2. Identify your audience. If your opening remarks speak to their problems, then
they will be attentive to what you are saying.
3. Plan a logical structure. Most effective presentations are organized into a simple
beginning-middle-end format: First, tell the audience what you are going to
discuss, using an introduction that captures their attention; second, present the
information you described, relating the information to the audience interests; and
third, summarize what you said and offer a question-answer session to clarify
concepts.
4. More sophisticated presentation structures may also be effective, such as
organizing the information into a sequential argument, hierarchical subtopics,
question-answer orientation or pyramidal increments.
5. Use humour with care. Amusing stories or jokes can emphasize points, create
interest and provide variety to an otherwise dull speech if they are carefully
chosen (non-ethnic, non-sexual etc.) and if they come naturally to your style of
speaking. Keep in mind that poorly selected humour can be disastrous.
6. Analyse your physical impact. The five key physical elements which deserve
attention in presentation skills are the eyes, voice, expression,
appearance/clothing and posture. A videotape of a practice session will increase
your confidence, and is a great help in self-identifying how you can maximize
your physical impact on the audience.
7. Make a memorable exit. The final impression you make on the audience is the
one they will remember. The last few sentences should be selected with extreme
care.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
248
Business presentation and public speaking in English. (n.d.)
http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/presentations.htm (accessed June 2007).
Coil, C. (1992) Motivating Underachievers. Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education.
Coil, C. (1994) Becoming an Achiever. Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education.
Harris, J.M. (1995) Presentation Skills for Teachers. London: Kogan Page Limited.
Kroehnert, G. (1999) Basic Presentation Skills. Sydney: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Miculka, J. (1999) Speaking for Success. USA: South-Western Educational Publishing.
Want your audiences to remember what you say? Learn the importance of clear structure.
(n.d.) http://fripp.com/art.clearstructure.html (accessed June 2007).
Zwier, L.J. and Hughes, A. (2003) Essential Functions for Conversation. Petaling Jaya: Falcon
Press.

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21 GOLDEN RICE: Using Simulations in EAP Classes
SHASHI NAIDU

INTRODUCTION

Communicative competence has become a major concern in most of the recent foreign
and second language instructional approaches, methods and techniques. Most of these
practices recognize that an individual’s motivational level and affective state strongly
influence language learning. Communication itself is an important element of motivation.
Radical classroom activities and tasks are required to encourage communication among
language learners. Some of the most promising and increasingly popular techniques that
facilitate communication are language games and simulations. Games and simulations
require students to work in pairs and groups. Studies in first and second language
pedagogy have shown that learners engaged in activities that involve working in groups
are exposed to a variety of viewpoints, co-construct new ways of understanding and
develop critical thinking skills (Adams & Hamm, 1996; Barnes & Todd, 1977; Slavin,
1991). Such activities and sessions present situations which include interaction and
practice opportunities which are very different from those found in many traditional
language classrooms. Both simulations and games allow learners not only to practice
forms that they have already learned, but also to experiment with new structures,
especially in non-threatening situations, fostering cross-cultural communication (Gaudart,
1991; Coleman, 1995; Crookall & Oxford, 1990).
In this paper, I describe a simulation that I incorporated into the curriculum of English for
Academic Purposes (EAP) class for international graduate students at Oklahoma State
University in the US. By looking at students’ responses to the simulation, this paper
evaluates the effectiveness of using these tools and suggests application in other specific
contexts.
In addition to encouraging genuine communication, active involvement and a positive
attitude, the simulated “real life” problems help students develop their critical thinking
and problem solving skills, thereby preparing them for real life experiences (Tomlinson
& Masuhara, 2000; Scarcella & Crookall, 1990). The task-based activities of a
simulation require problem solving and decision making and thus empower students by
developing their self-confidence and self-esteem. Advanced academic cognitive skills
such as critical thinking, problem solving and decision making are the essential tools
especially at the tertiary level of education.

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Students supposedly ready to begin university work need to read with speed and
comprehension, write cogent essays and reports, understand and take notes from lectures,
make oral presentations, and employ effective study techniques. According to Jordan
(1997), these communication skills are “study skills” and they encapsulate both receptive
and productive skills, and are integrated and interdependent. In other words, EAP is a
general academic English register, incorporating a formal, academic style, with
proficiency in the language use.

AN EAP COURSE AND ITS CURRICULUM

As the main objective of the EAP course is to prepare students, especially, the limited
proficiency students, to deal with the challenging academic environment that includes
communicative competence (both oral and written expression), a methodology featuring
authenticity, relevance and appropriateness in language and materials is essential.
Simulations offer a venue for introducing and practicing these academic skills through
tasks and activities that provide authenticity in language learning situations (Crookall &
Arai, 1995; Coleman, 1995; Halleck, 1990, 1995, 2001; Crookall & Oxford, 1990).
These studies report that simulations generate positive outcomes that include active class
participation, improved performance, greater retention, and better comprehension and
interpretation of materials used.
The ESL composition programme at Oklahoma State University has a solid history of
incorporating simulations into the curriculum (e.g., Moder, Seig & Van Den Elzen, 2002;
Halleck, 1995; Hill, 2002). As a graduate assistant, at Oklahoma State University, I
actually had the opportunity to design the curriculum for an EAP course using simulations
in the summer of 2002. At the time, I had been teaching in the simulation-based
curriculum for two years.
I incorporated the simulation, GOLDEN RICE, into the curriculum of an EAP class for
international graduate students. This course is required of all graduate students who do
not pass an English placement test. The primary objective of the course is to improve
students’ communicative competence (both oral and written expression) and to develop
their study skills that are useful across disciplines.

Participants

The students who took part in the simulation came from a variety of cultural and linguistic
backgrounds. They were from China, Guatemala, India, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Taiwan
and Thailand. Their majors were mechanical engineering, fashion design and
merchandizing, civil engineering, finance, economics, business, veterinary medicine,
medical sciences and computer science. All were graduate students enrolled in master’s
or doctoral programmes at OSU.

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GOLDEN RICE – THE SIMULATION
The various activities in the GOLDEN RICE simulation explore the social and political
ramifications of biotechnology, providing controversial and meaningful information about
both biotechnology and conceptual bioethics. In simulating a World Health Organization
(WHO) hearing on the ethical issues regarding GOLDEN RICE, students represent
various groups such as Friends of Earth (FOE), the International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI), people from developing countries and the United Nations International Children’s
Educational Fund (UNICEF). These groups appeal to the WHO either to obtain
permission for or to block the production and distribution of golden rice in developing
countries. Before the hearing, students were introduced to the concepts of biotechnology
and genetically engineered foods. After the initial introduction, the students did their own
research, getting as much information as possible from any library source and the Internet
that would bolster their position and refute the arguments of the opposition. During class,
students representing the IRRI and people from developing countries pooled their
resources and discussed the possible issues that would be raised by the students who
represented FOE and UNICEF regarding opposition to the production and distribution of
golden rice. Students representing FOE and UNICEF also pooled their resources and
discussed the arguments that might be used to refute their own case.
On the day of the simulation, the classroom was arranged in a way that resembled a UN
conference. All members were seated in a semicircle, with the supporters on one side
and the opponents on the opposite side. The WHO members were at the centre, convening
the hearing. I, as the instructor, was coordinating and evaluating each speaker and video
recording the entire session. Members, including the WHO, were taking notes during the
presentations for the “Rebuttal” session which would follow. Each speaker was given
two to three minutes to present his/her arguments, and then the WHO posed a few
questions to each group.
In the rebuttal session, members used their notes from the first session to pose questions
to the opposing parties. In doing so, they strived to demolish others’ arguments. I was
amazed at how enthusiastic even the normally quiet students were arguing, defending and
attacking the other groups. This session was more interesting and much livelier than the
first one; students really got involved in their roles and interacted with other group
members by asking questions or challenging the assumptions of the speakers, brutally
attacking and demolishing the hypothetical situations and arguments they presented.
Following the rebuttal, the WHO announced their decision. This took place on the third
day of the simulation. The WHO voted in favour of the FOE and UNICEF, upholding the
decision to block the production and distribution of golden rice. It was interesting to see
how the IRRI and people from developing countries led initially with very good, valid
and factual statements, but failed miserably when attacked by the representatives of
UNICEF in the rebuttal session; they could not adequately respond to the issue that infants
and children could not consume the amount of rice needed in order to obtain the health
benefits. This was the trophy-winning argument that decided the fate of the golden rice.

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This phase was followed by the debriefing session.

Debriefing

Debriefing consist of both written and oral forms. Although debriefing was done mainly
as a discussion, I had my students answered a set of questions in their journals. The main
objective of the written response was to get the quietest and most introverted students to
express their feelings and reactions to the simulation. Several issues were discussed
during the debriefing: rhetorical organization, norms of the interaction/spoken discourse,
aural and oral skills of the speakers, negotiation for meaning and evidence of close
reading. For this purpose, I followed the debriefing discussion check-list suggested by
Crookall and Arai (1995). While answering the debriefing questions in their journals,
students were required to evaluate the simulation. Most of the entries revealed what we
later discussed in class. The general consensus was that they were all happy with their
presentations.

Excerpt 1

Student BJ: I was so happy with my own presentation and the way I put forth my
criticisms and comments. Actually, I enjoy the rebuttal session than the first one. Thanks
for giving me this opportunity to improve my speaking skill, because back in Korea I
don’t use English. But now, I’m very confident to use it with my colleagues.
In fact, some students were amazed at how well they had performed despite their limited
proficiency in the language. Most of them admitted that they got to use a wide range of
vocabulary and also different structures that they had not used until then. I had also
videotaped the sessions, which they said was a thrilling experience because it was the
first time they had ever seen media being used in a language classroom. This was very
well expressed in the following statement of one student.

Excerpt 2

Student PK: I was so excited when you brought in the video camera and start recording
us. This is the first time I ever see somebody using the media in a language class. I liked
your idea very much. Can we have more of this in other simulations too?
The debriefing helped achieve pedagogical goals regarding oral skills and research skills
by focusing on the rhetorical organization of the presentation. Specifically, we contrasted
the advantages of using different types of discourse organization in refuting arguments,
especially in the rebuttal session, rather than interrupting the speaker in the middle of his
presentation. For some students, it was the first time to think about such issues. One
student commented in his journal.

Excerpt 3

Student BJ: Earlier, I did not know anything about the rhetorical organization of either the

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written or the spoken discourse. But now, I know how to organize and write outlines,
handouts, summaries, documented essays, and annotated bibliographies. More than
anything, I’m very glad that now, at least I can stand in front of the class and speak and get
my message across using various strategies. Thanks to this class which has really trained
me with these skills.

Students’ Response and Pedagogical Implications

The students’ attitudes and responses to the simulation and their performance during the
simulation endorsed the fact that simulations can be fun and are conducive to learning the
required language skills needed in academia. Other studies have demonstrated that
simulations are an excellent means of promoting the crucial skills that enable
communication in heterogeneous environments (Moder, Seig & Van Den Elzen, 2002;
Halleck, Moder & Damron, 2002; Hill, 2002); my experience as recounted here affirms
this. Furthermore, my experience indicates that simulations are a very effective means of
encouraging the use of aural/oral skills and study skills required in an academic
environment as well as increasing the students’ motivation to practice these skills.
The simulation promoted the development and use of aural/oral skills by challenging the
students to do their best especially on oral presentations. Despite their limited
proficiency, students put forth well-organized arguments during the simulated debate. The
collaborative work fostered an increased motivation to prepare for the oral presentations.
This is because they were keenly aware of the larger audience who were listening
closely and taking notes and the very thought that they had to make themselves clear and
get the intended message across to keep up the team spirit, contributed enormously to the
best performance on the debates and rebuttals.
This simulation also promoted the development of study skills. Apparently, the recycling
of the vocabulary throughout the unit had rendered them well versed in the meanings and
applications appropriate to the contexts. The written work demonstrated that all of the
students were capable of taking a position and supporting it as well as refuting the
opposing position.

INTEGRATING SIMULATIONS INTO MALAYSIAN CURRICULA

When I got the opportunity to design the curriculum which used simulations as the main
teaching tool in EAP classes, a new interest sparked in me. This new interest was to
transport this concept of using simulations to the Malaysian language classrooms to make
them more learner-centred. My initial interest in adapting simulations for the Malaysian
EAP classrooms at the tertiary level was supported by the positive outcome of the
simulation run at Oklahoma State University. In many regards, this EAP class was similar
to the tertiary classrooms of Malaysia. Both are heterogeneous in ethnicity and majors.
Participants in GOLDEN RICE came from eight different countries and nine different
majors; tertiary classrooms in Malaysia often have at least three ethnic and linguistic

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groups and just as many majors. Malaysian classrooms could derive similar benefits in
regard to the acquisition of the academic skills that students need. Furthermore, the
collaborative and experiential nature of learning that is fostered by simulations boosts
students’ motivation and confidence. The increase in motivation and the development of
skills in the learner-centred simulation empowers students to use language appropriately,
thus fulfilling the principal aim of developing communicative competence and the
academic skills in students.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adams, D. and Hamm, M. (1996) Cooperative Learning: Critical Thinking and
Collaboration Across the Curriculum. Springfield, Il: Charles Thomas.
Barnes, D. and Todd, F. (1977) Communication and Learning in Small Groups. London:
Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Coleman, D.W. (1995) An extended simulation/game for ESL composition. In D. Crookall and
K. Arai (Eds.), Simulation and Gaming across Disciplines and Cultures: ISAGA at a
Watershed, 14–19. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Crookall, D. and Arai, K. (1995) Preface: Interdisciplinarity and interculturality. In D. Crookall
and K. Arai (Eds.), Simulation and Gaming across Disciplines and Cultures: ISAGA at a
Watershed, xi–xxi. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Crookall, D. and Oxford, R. (1990) Linking language learning and simulation/gaming. In D.
Crookall and R. Oxford (Eds.), Simulation, Gaming and Language Learning, 3–26. New
York: Newbury House.
Druckman, D. (1995) The educational effectiveness of interactive games. In D. Crookall and
K. Arai (Eds.), Simulation and Gaming across Disciplines and Cultures: ISAGA at a
Watershed, 178–187. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Freiermuth, M. (2002) Connecting with computer science students by building bridges.
Simulation and Gaming 33(3): 299–315.
Gaudart, H. (1991) Using board games in large classes. English Teaching Forum 29(2): 22–
26.
Gaudart, H. (1999) Games as teaching tools for teaching English to speakers of other
languages. Simulation and Gaming 30(3): 283–291.
Halleck, G.B. (1990) Simulation in an ESL class. Simulation and Gaming 21(1): 86–92.
Halleck, G.B. (1995) Academic integrity: Description of a simulation/game. In D. Crookall and
K. Arai (Eds.), Simulation and Gaming Across Disciplines and Cultures: ISAGA at a
Watershed, 37–44. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Halleck, G.B. (2001) From ISAGA ‘94 to AILA ‘99. Simulation and Gaming 30(1): 86–92.
Halleck, G.B., Moder, C. and Damron, R. (2002) Integrating a conference simulation into an
ESL class. Simulation and Gaming 33(3): 330–344.
Hessler, K., Whetten, R., Loopstra, C.A., Shriver, S., Pesaresi Penner, K., Ziegler, R.,
Fletcher, J., Torrie, M. and Comstock, G. (2002) Golden rice. In G. Comstock (Ed.), Life
Science Ethics, 307–310 and 358–368. Ames: Iowa State University Press.
Hill, J. (2002) Playing with “The Three Pigs”: Not just for children. Simulation and Gaming
33(3): 330–344.

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Jordan, R.R. (1997) English for Academic Purposes: A Guide and Resource Book for
Teachers. London: Cambridge University Press.
Moder, C., Seig, M.T. and Van Den Elzen. (2002) CIMARRON VALLEY: A simulation-based
EAP composition curriculum. Simulation and Gaming 33(3): 330–344.
Salies, T. (2002) Promoting strategic competence: What simulations can do for you.
Simulation and Gaming 33(3): 280–284.
Scarcella, R. and Crookall, D. (1990) Simulation/gaming and language acquisition. In D.
Crookall and R.L. Oxford (Eds.), Simulation, Gaming and Language Learning, 223–
230. New York: Newbury House.
Slavin, E. (1991) Student Team Learning: A Practical Guide to Cooperative Learning.
Washington DC: National Education Association.
Spelman, M. (2002) GLOBECORP: Simulation versus tradition. Simulation and Gaming
33(3): 376–394.
Tomlinson, B. and Masuhara, H. (2000) Using simulations on materials development courses.
Simulation and Gaming 31(2): 152–168.

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 Are the Teaching Practices of Preschool Teachers in
22 Accordance with the Principles and Learning
Components of the National Preschool Curriculum?
LILY LAW

INTRODUCTION
In Malaysia, preschool education which began in the 1950s existed on a rather limited
base, that is it catered only to certain sectors of the people. Preschools were then
operated by either individuals or private agencies and located in urban areas; preschool
education was available for urban children whose parents could afford the fees. Thus,
children from low socio-economic group and rural areas were deprived of preschool
education. The conditions of preschools then were that teachers were untrained and the
emphasis was on the 3Rs that is, “Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic” (Norhazizi Lebai
Long, 2006).
Thanks to the development of major cities and towns in Malaysian states such as
Selangor, Johore and Perak in the 1960s, there was an enormous expansion of preschools.
The government was concerned and a call was made to monitor the increasing number
and managerial conditions of preschools. This lead to the implementation of Akta
Pelajaran 1961, P.U. (A) 414 Kaedah-kaedah Pelajaran (Kindergarten/Sekolah Asuhan)
(Pendaftaran). However, again, children from low socio-economic group did not fare any
better, and this forced the government to provide preschool education in collaboration
with some governmental agencies.
Subsequently, the early 1990s saw the Ministry of Education (MOE) making the next
reform. The responsibility for preschool came under the MOE and preschool got its
“National Preschool Curriculum” (Ministry of Education, 2001). The ministry
established the Annex Programme, a programme where a preschool is added to an
existing primary school to meet the needs especially in areas lacking in preschool
education.
The National Preschool Curriculum is a small document and among its contents are the
principles on which the document is based and the learning components. The principles
are the centre of the curriculum: holistic and individual development, fun and meaningful
learning, and lifetime learning. The learning components of the curriculum comprise of
language and communication, Islamic/spirituality and moral, cognition, socio-emotion,
physical, and creativity. According to the Ministry of Education (2001), teaching and
learning activities which integrate the principles of the preschool curriculum enable

257
children to experience holistic development while they are learning. Educational
practices which are developmentally appropriate are most effective when they are
attuned to the way children develop and learn (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). Teachers
are encouraged to adapt activities according to their children’s abilities, interests and
lesson learnt. Although the preschool curriculum states the principles and learning
components, however it does not lay down the means by which these should be attained
(Samuelsson & Sheridan, 2004). It is primarily left to the preschool teachers to interpret
and adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of their groups of preschoolers. The ways in
which the principles and learning components are put into practice, however, may differ
from preschool to preschool.
The national curriculum, in ensuring quality of preschool education, requires preschool
teachers to obtain the minimal a certificate in education and some form of teacher training
in the early childhood; each class is limited to 25 preschoolers and under the supervision
of a teacher and an assistant teacher.
One major issue in early childhood education today is the concern for what is perceived
as the academic nature of the curriculum (Sprey, Dlamini & van Hee, 1997). The
preschool curriculum is considered as the standard perimeter and content for the teaching
and learning activities conducted in preschools, and is designed to develop children’s
potential holistically through flexible, fun, non-formal, safe and conducive learning
(Musa Muhammad, 2001). Undeniably, preschool within a Malaysian context is getting
children ready for primary school by ensuring that they are equipped with knowledge and
skills to construct meaningful knowledge (Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, 1999).
However, preschool teachers must demonstrate that the activities to develop them define
the principles in which the preschool curriculum is based.
The statement is further supported by a six-month observational study conducted by
Casidy et al. (2003) on one North Carolina preschool, involving the preschool teachers
and 15 preschoolers. The finding of their study reveals that a preschool teacher must
possess the knowledge and be able to facilitate learning for individual children. The
teachers must understand children’s development and how young children learn. Of
importance is to be able to determine children’s abilities, individual personalities, family
cultures and priorities. In order that teachers are able to create a stimulating and
educational environment, teachers must observe and understand children’s interests and
play. These teachers showed their abilities to capture crucial information that was
relevant to the studied group of children and to utilize it as the basis of their curriculum,
and to transform “ordinary’ preschool activities into an extremely rich and stimulating
learning environment.
Thus, it is evident that preschool teachers are indeed responsible in constructing and
planning successful preschool activities in catering to children’s needs and interests. The
role that they play is rather crucial to the development of the preschoolers and the
dissemination of the curriculum itself, as given proper guidelines without proper
guidance the implementation of the curriculum would be more of a failure than when the
situation is reversed (Juanita Selvi Andrew & Nor Hashimah Hashim, 2004).

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Excellence in preschools requires staff who are properly trained to work with children
(Chiam, 1999). In order that the programme produces the expected outcomes, teachers
who are entrusted with the responsibilities must have the knowledge and the skills to do
so. The calibre of preschool teachers is essential in being able to provide activities that
will incorporate knowledge and skills. Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak (1999) sums it all
when he argues that they must be equipped with the “ability to reason, think through a
problem, see challenges in difficult situations and make reasoned decisions” (p. 11),
qualities essential in preschool teachers to meet the complex and challenging 21st
century.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The specific objectives of the study were: (1) to find out the teaching and learning
activities designed and conducted by the teachers, (2) to find out their reasons in the
selection of the activities and (3) to find out whether they perceived the activities
reflected the National Preschool Curriculum goals.
The researchers acknowledge that the views presented in this study are just from 30
individual preschool teachers. So, it is not representative of all preschool teachers.

METHOD

Participants

A total of 30 MOE preschool teachers within the Kuching district participated in the
study. They were selected for accessibility to their schools. These MOE preschool
teachers were from diverse ethnic and social background and had varying lengths of
teaching experiences. They were MOE preschool teachers who had undergone the
required training on early childhood education or preschool education and their
qualifications were recognized by the MOE.

Data Collection and Procedures

The selected group of preschool teachers were interviewed for their views. Consent to
collect data from the preschools and the teachers were sought from the MOE and the
Sarawak State Education Department. Consent was also sought from the teachers for the
sessions to be recorded before the interviews started, and the teachers were told that they
would have the right to remove any part of the interview if they wished to; the completed
transcriptions were shown to them. Teachers were assured that neither their teaching nor
their classroom settings were evaluated in the study and that confidentiality of the
preschools and teachers was held with utmost care.
The interviews were conducted outside of school hours or at a prearranged time

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convenient to the teachers. This was to avoid disrupting the preschool teachers in their
teaching. Interviews were conducted at the workplace of the teachers and were in either
Bahasa Malaysia or English. So teachers had the option of the language she or he was
comfortable with using.
The study investigated the teaching and learning activities conducted in the MOE
preschools. The preschool teachers were interviewed using semi-structured questions
and responses were further probed for in-depth information. The interviews, sought for
data on background information of the preschool teachers and for answers to the purpose
of the study.
The data were organized and analysed to find answers to the questions the study set out to
find.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This section describes the results on the 30 preschool teachers’ choice and their rationale
and reflection for their choice of the teaching and learning activities.

Teaching and Learning Activities Designed and Implemented by the Preschool

Teachers

The preschool teachers revealed that the teaching and learning activities they designed
and implemented in their preschools were based on the National Preschool Curriculum.
The activities encompassed the six learning components as spelt out in the curriculum,
and incorporated themes and learning through fun. The excerpts below are evidence of
this trend.

Excerpt 1

The teaching and learning activities must be effective. Effective according to the
kemahiran and sukatan. Must be according to the syllabus. (T12)

Excerpt 2

Yes. Firstly we have yearly plan by referring to the curriculum, the syllabus then… so the
syllabus is our guideline. The first that we refer to. The priority the top ranking. When we
feel it is not suitable, then we plan according to experience. (T4)
The National Preschool Curriculum is, therefore, the ultimate guideline for the teachers;
the first thing that they had to refer to when planning and designing teaching and learning
activities. It is, to them, the “top ranking” as referred by T4; that acts as a means to
coordinate and enhance preschool educational quality, acting as the standard reference
document to all preschools in the country (Abdul Rafie Mahat, 2001). Curriculum is an
organized framework that delineates the content children are to learn, the process through

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which children achieve the identified curricular goals, and the context in which teaching
and learning occur (Branscombe et al., 2003).
The National Preschool Curriculum incorporates and integrates six learning components
namely: language and communication, cognitive development, Islamic/spiritual and
moral, socio-emotion development, physical development, and creativity and aesthetic
into its syllabuses. These are further divided into themes and subthemes, hence adopting
the term thematic approach. This is a crucial element which should be implemented in the
teaching and learning activities for the preschool teachers in this study. The following
excerpts illustrate the teachers’ views.

Excerpt 3

After the students listen they speak. Then they read. It has to be integrated with other
components because sometimes like for example when we teach BM, we see that they
had no mood and no classroom control so we add in art activities so there is an
integration there. Or we integrate socio-emotion. Sometimes accidentally we implement
it. (T8)

Excerpt 4

The teaching and learning activities planned firstly follow the theme then from the theme
is divided into subtheme, the theme is the topic for our lessons. Lagipun, if we don’t have
topic how are we going to teach, what we are going to teach. We can’t teach blindly. With
theme I know what to teach them. (T9)
The thematic approach is the managerial aspect of developing teaching and learning
activities in the preschool. Through the theme chosen for the particular time within the
school year, children have the opportunities to acquire skills as stipulated in the National
Preschool Curriculum goals.
Another aspect which preschool teachers have to take into consideration is to make
learning fun. Learning through play or fun learning is an essential concept in the teaching
of preschool children, given the nature of their age. Excerpts 5 and 6 below illustrate the
preschool teachers’ perceptions of fun learning approach.

Excerpt 5

Memang. Fun learning is the concept for preschool. Bermain sambil belajar. Ini memang
konsep pendidikan prasekolah. So, any activity such as language and communication, in
cognitive component, socio-emotion, moral, creativity aesthetic memang we terapkan
fun learning activities. For me, I look at students’ situation. If we teach them seriously, too
academic, they’ll get bored fast because they feel pressured. We ask them to do this, that,
must finish... There must be a bit of fun there. (T14)

Excerpt 6

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Yea… normally yes. Because if they like to play I will do it in a more of games and if
they like to write I will do it more on paper. If they like the dough, I will do it like doing
some mould. (T1)
The fun learning approach that is wholeheartedly supported by these preschool teachers
is naturally the core of how children learn. The element of play helps children gain
experiential learning that will prepare them for school (Liew, 2006), and interaction
allows flexible, adaptive, imaginative and innovative behaviour (Bruce, 2004), moulding
each of them into a whole person who is able to keep balance of his or her life in the fast
changing world.

Teachers’ Reasons in the Selection of the Teaching and Learning Activities

The preschool teachers stated their justification for the activities chosen in their work
with the kindergarteners. They identified the need to cover the syllabuses under the
National Preschool Curriculum as one reason for the selection of the activities. The
following excerpts illustrate the reasons from two of the preschool teachers interviewed.

Excerpt 7

Memang follow the huraian sukatan. The syllabus. As teachers we must follow the
huraian as our children will be assessed when they masuk primary one. Kalau children
tak pandai, cikgu prasekolah disalahkan. Not good for nama cikgulah. (T17)

Excerpt 8

Huraian memang ikut. It is important sebab our kanak-kanak will be going to primary
one and there are certain things they are expected to perform. Our kanak-kanak will
tertinggal kalau mereka tak pandai. (T29)
The syllabus is important to these preschool teachers in ensuring that the children they
teach are equipped to meet the tasks they would face on entering primary one. The
teaching and learning activities of these preschool teachers then are the means by which
the children achieve the goals. The National Preschool Curriculum, from which the
preschool teachers developed the syllabus, is an organized framework that delineates the
content children are to learn, the process through which children achieve the identified
curricular goals, what teachers do to help children achieve these goals, and the context in
which teaching and learning occur (Bredekamp & Rosegrant, 1992).
In addition, preschool teachers in this study cited consideration to kindergarteners’
readiness to learn, abilities and interests as the other reason for their choice of the
teaching and learning activities, as is referred to in the excerpts below.

Excerpt 9

Follow students’ readiness. If they don’t know numbers, so have to teach numbers lah

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after they know the numbers baru pindah to the operation aspect their readiness in
participating is the activity planned. Must see how far they are able to do. (T3)

Excerpt 10

Yes, we must follow their abilities and interest. We want to achieve the objectives so
what we teach, we see how’s the children. If they are weak and slow, we follow
activities suitable for them. (T17)

Excerpt 11

If children like to play, I will do the activities in a more games and if they like to write, I
will do it more on paper. Like when we teach Bahasa Malaysia, sometimes students have
no interest so we add art activities to the teaching of Bahasa Malaysia. (T4)
The preschool teachers are aware of the importance of making sure that their activities
are geared towards their students’ interests and abilities and their readiness to learn:
achieving the objectives for a lesson, and transforming “ordinary” preschool activities
(Cassidy et al., 2003) so that a more constructive teaching and learning engagement can
take place.

Extent of the Teaching and Learning Activities Designed Reflected the National
Preschool Curriculum

From the Figure 22.1, 7 of the 30 preschool teachers (23%) felt that the learning and
teaching activities they conducted have achieved 90% of the National Preschool
Curriculum goals. However, 12 teachers (40%) perceived that their success rate has been
80%, and another 5 (17%) felt that they achieved only 70% success rate. On the other
hand, 3 preschool teachers (10%) gave a perception of 60% success rate and another 3
(10%) rated themselves as having successfully achieved 50% of the goals in the National
Preschool Curriculum.

Figure 22.1 Perceptions of preschool teachers in achieving goals of national preschool curriculum
(MOE preschool teachers from Kuching District who participated in this study)

The 30 preschool teachers explained the rating they have given to their success in
achieving the goals in the National Preschool Curriculum. The following excerpts
demonstrate some of the explanations.

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Excerpt 12

So far syukurlah, some of my students can read. I can’t say 100% of them can read.
Around 90% lah that can be considered know how to read. And know alphabet. Reading
is the most important and suku kata. Simple words, simple sentences. Suitable to their
abilities as preschool children. Tahun 1 tidak ada masalah. (T21)

Excerpt 13

Around 80% lah… The remaining 20% tu have ponteng problem, family problem, weak
because there is no follow up to what the teacher teach. When they go home they don’t
practise and parents do not cooperate. Most of the time... (T15)

Excerpt 14

20% not achieve because some of them are slow learners … I’ve come across a few of
them although we mention (huruf) “A” berkali-kali, tomorrow they forget. Slow learner.
But 80% just now can read, count and write properly lah... (T19)

Excerpt 15

Activities… because for me we are lack of experience and… materials. Lack of training
because some of us don’t know how to follow how can we do it.. have to be creative
ah… most of the activities depends on the materials depends on the environments
depends on their standard of abilities. (T1)

Excerpt 16

I would say about 50%… if compared with children in town, mungkin mereka pernah
tuisyen dan bagi ibu bapa yang educated kan mereka boleh ajar. Tapi untuk selalunya
ibu bapa latar belakang mereka kerja kontrak… Mereka tidak berpendidikan tinggi
kan… kalau mereka ada TV radio di rumah kan. Tengok kartun di rumah. (T14)
The preschool teachers gave various explanations; they measured based on their
children’s abilities to perform in the 3Rs, that is, reading, writing and arithmetic. The
preschool teachers also cited lack of sufficient time and the pressure of ensuring their
children to be able to read and write. Some of the teachers directed the explanation to
their students’ own learning capacity, and some to their socio-economic background. The
lack of support from students’ parents is also given as an explanation for the rating of
goals achieved. Another factor which influenced students’ academic performance is the
preschool teachers own proficiency in the field of teaching this level. Their lack of
teaching experience and the know-how of using materials are acknowledged as possible
contributing factors to students’ level of achievement.

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CONCLUSION
The study set out to examine 30 preschool teachers and their teaching and learning
activities to meet the requirements of the National Preschool Curriculum. The responses
from the preschool teachers showed interesting findings which could help to further
strengthen the implementation of the curriculum within the classroom setting. The
preschool teachers religiously follow the National Preschool Curriculum and the syllabus
in order that the goals are met. They viewed that because children are assessed on
entering primary one, hence their reputation is at stake when the children they taught for a
year failed to perform. They face the dilemma of on one hand, to make sure that children
know the 3Rs and on the other hand, to make learning fun for the preschoolers. The
preschool teachers have to resort to the academic nature of teaching children. In addition,
these preschool teachers have to draw upon their ingenuity to develop teaching and
learning activities to meet the challenges of following children’s interests, abilities and
readiness. The national curriculum has contributed to the teachers’ awareness about how
children learn, besides the training they have received. Their feeling of insufficient in
achieving a total success in the preschoolers’ learning could be explained to their
professional competence. They know about all that can be done with and for their
preschoolers but they faced factors which limited their capabilities. In view of these,
efforts should be taken to highlight the continuity of goals for preschoolers are carried
through to primary one. Although this is a study on 30 preschool teachers, the research
has yielded insights that will allow for room towards improving the implementation of
the National Preschool Curriculum.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abdul Rafie Mahat. (2001) National Preschool Curriculum. http://myschoolnet.ppk
.kpm.my/sp_hsp/pra_sek.htm (accessed 8 August 2007).
Branscombe, N.A., Castle, K., Dorsey, A.G., Surbeck, E. and Taylor, J.B. (2003) Early
Childhood Curriculum: A Constructivist Perspective. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Bredekamp, S. and Copple, C. (Eds.). (1997) Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early
Childhood Programs. Washington DC: NAEYC.
Bredekamp, S. and Rosegrant, T. (1992) Reaching Potentials: Appropriate Curriculum and
Assessment for Young Children. Washington DC: National Association for the Education of
Young Children.
Bruce, T. (2004) Developing Learning in Early Childhood. London: Paul Chapman
Publishing.
Casidy, D.J., Mims, S., Rucker, L. and Boone, S. (2003) Emergent curriculum and
kindergarten readiness. Childhood Education 79(4): 194–199.
Chiam, H.K. (1999) Toward Excellence in Early Childhood Education: The Way Forward.
Selangor: Pelanduk Publications.
Juanita Selvi Andrew and Nor Hashimah Hashim. (2004) A Study of the 2002 Malaysian
Preschool English Language Curriculum: A Comparison with Other Countries. Selangor:
Pelanduk Publications Sdn. Bhd.

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Liew, R. (2006) The role of play in Malaysian national preschool education. Forum:
innovations in service delivery. http://omep.docuserve.comau/papers/Lies,% 20Ruth .pdf
(accessed 11 September 2007).
Ministry of Education. (2001) National Preschool Curriculum. http://myschoolnet.ppk
.kpm.my/sp_hsp/pra_sek.htm (accessed 8 August 2007).
Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak. (1999) Towards excellence in early childhood education:
Policies and practices in the 21st century. In H.K. Chiam, Fatimah Haron, Mogana
Dhamotharan and Amy Bala (Eds.), Excellence in Early Childhood Education, 3–14.
Selangor: Pelanduk Publications Sdn. Bhd.
Musa Muhammad. (2001) National Preschool Curriculum. http://myschoolnet.ppk.kpm
.my/sp_hsp/pra_sek.htm (accessed 8 August 2007).
Norhazizi Lebai Long. (2006) Isu-isu dalam Pelaksanaan Program Pendidikan Prasekolah
di Malaysia. Bangi: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Samuelsson, I.P. and Sheridan, S. (2004) Recent issue in the Swedish preschools.
International Journal of Early Childhood 36(1): 7–22.
Sprey, M., Dlamini, B. and van Hee, J. (1997) Teaching academic subjects in Swazi
preschools. International Journal of Educational Development 17(3): 285–293.

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 The Contribution of Language Planning on Military
23 Terminology
MOHAMMAD ALSHEHAB

INTRODUCTION

English can be said to have been the language of newly invented technology. Jordan as a
developing country is encouraged to adopt this language as a second language to keep
abreast with scientific developments, as they are essential for nation building. Recently,
new English words are used to express new concepts, techniques and inventions that
come into existence. These words have developed more rapidly during the last decades
that dictionaries can by no means capture. This development (Nida, 1964), has brought to
Arabic serious linguistic problems of expressing this ever expanding wave of newly
found concepts and techniques for which no equivalents in Arabic exist. Although
coinage, borrowing, transliteration and other means of transfer were created for a huge
bulk of English scientific terminology.
Some efforts have been carried out by Arab language academies to find the exact Arabic
equivalents for the foreign scientific and military terms as quickly as possible in an
attempt to cope with the scientific progress. Among these is the military academy in
Jordan. This paper aims at investigating the contribution of language planning on military
terminology. It will provide recommendations for the applications of language planning
on military terminology at the national level in Jordan. This paper will deal with the five
types of language planning and the contribution of language planning on military
terminology.

LANGUAGE PLANNING
Language planning (LP) is characterized by a variety of visions across decades by a
variety of scholars. Some scholars, Haugen (1969) and Das Gupta (1973), think of LP as
language forms and standardization by language academies. Other scholars like Rubin
and Jurnud (1971), Karam (1974), and Jurnud and Das Gupta (1971) described LP as
change in the code system of a language and they focus on problem solving through
formulation and evaluation. At the same time, LP is delineated as problem solving by
Fishman (1974). Other scholars (Tauli, 1974), believed that LP is needed to improve
language and to create new ones at various levels. Finally, Cooper (1989) describes LP
as a proposed effort to control behaviour of others without authorized agencies.

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Nahir (1977) views, language planning is geared towards purifying, reviving, reforming,
standardizing or modernizing languages to enhance communication within and between
nations and to encourage feelings of unity and solidarity.

TYPES OF LANGUAGE PLANNING

These types could contribute on military terminology to enhance communication process

in the military field. Nahir (1977) classifies these types as the following:

Language Purification

To purify a language is generally an attempt by LP agencies to set down correct usage to

defend and to preserve the purity of the language (Fishman, 1971). However, purification
is specifically a plan that precedes modernization. In language, a purification plan needs
a policy formulating body like the Arab academies. Their function is to oppose changes
in the orthography, grammar and vocabulary of the languages they seek to purify.
Recently, language purification per se is becoming a type of language plan to take a more
moderate position with regard to modernization. Regarding the military terminology,
academies deal with the new concepts of purification as there are a lot of military terms
were eliminated as a result of cancelling the old weapon from the service. Consequently,
new military terms were created to be used in the military field to face the development
in the military equipment. Thus, the military terms pass through planning processes issued
by the policy body in the academy that deals with military.

Language Revival

Language revival is generally an attempt to bring back a language that once was but no
longer is “a normal means of conversation and communication” among people (Nahir,
1977, p. 110). No revival procedures were taken except unifying military terms within
Arab countries. Revival procedures were in use in Arab academies, unifying the military
terms to all military personnel in the Arab world, as Arab possess various dialects. In the
field of military terminology (Jalabneh, 1991) points out that the Arab military academies
including institutes and private organizations have issued pamphlets and compiled
dictionaries for military terms that are used in every army across the Arab countries.
Because of the significance of military terminology, efforts were taken by military to
investigate and when necessary, to purify the military terms that are issued by Arab
military organizations. Consequently, military experts added these new military terms to
the unified dictionaries.

Language Reformation

Language reform takes place in some languages. Languages, said Nahir (1977), need to
be reformed and purified. New policies may be need by decision makers to purify a
language of foreign words that have been used and acquired during the period of a foreign

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power in a country. Regarding the military terms, there is no need for this process as
Jordan depends on the West for building its army. Thus, they focus on English expressions
to deal with the names of these weapons and equipment. This reformation takes place in
two stages, opposite to its original concept as new military terms were added by
translating them into Arabic, while the others fall under the control of arabicization, for
example, “Tow Missiles”. This term is added to the military field as a borrowed word
transliterated regarding morphological and phonological Arabic characters. The term
“Two” which is a name of weapon is arabicized, while the term missile is translated into
Arabic as “Saruukh” or “Qathifah”.

Language Standardization

Nahir (1977, p. 115) stated, “Language standardization is defined as a process whereby

one language or dialect spoken in a region (usually a single political region) becomes
accepted as the major language of the region for general usage.” His opinion was adopted
by a higher committee in the academy of Jordan and others in the Arab countries for
organizing dictionaries and implementing many military terms and words collected from
all military fields in the Arab countries. The military terms and expressions eventually
should had the same meaning all over the Arab countries (standardized) to enable
personnel in the Arab armies to communicate easily and confidently without relying on
loan words.

Language Modernization

Nahir (1977, p. 117) pointed out, “Plans to modernize a language’s lexicon generally deal
with efforts to update vocabulary and special terminologies.” Thus, regarding military
terms, a codification aspect of planning where many new military words in the academy
are devised to be revived and reformed to fit the new scientific and technological aspects
that could create lexical modernization. Language modernization in the military academy
starts with reviving, reforming and unifying the existing military terminology. Then plans
were issued to use these terms to express new scientific and technological military terms.
These military terms will be utilized in communication through military purposes.
Decision makers and experts in the military academy are informed to observe and
evaluate the usage of the new military terms.

ARABICIZATION PLANNING

Arabicization means only translating a term into Arabic. The verb form of this word is
“to arabicize” which means to transfer into Arabic. Different linguists defined
arabicization differently. Each linguist has defined it from his point of view reflecting the
linguistic situation within which he is embedded. Numan (1981) viewed the concept of
“ta’reeb” as a mean of liberation and modernization to achieve the goal of national,
cultural and political independence of the Arabs.
Many Arab scholars and writers tend to use the term “arabicization” or arabization as a

269
synonym for the term “translation”. Hence, it is necessary to distinguish between them.
Translation focuses on the meaning and style of one language when transferring to
another. Arabization, however, concentrates on using Arabic letters to form foreign terms
that is transliterated. For example, the English term for “computer” in Arabic is
“kumputer”.
Sayadi (1982) states that there are two different versions of arabicization with two very
different focuses. Firstly, the arabicization espoused by the East Arab countries which
focuses on lexical expansion. This involves the rendering or coining of new military
words either from existing roots or through translation of foreign terms, and the adoption
of already existing words through borrowing from foreign languages or reviving and
revitalizing words of older usages in the same language. Secondly, the arabicization
espoused by the North African Countries which attempts to introduce Arabic as
replacement for the foreign languages being used in different walks of life. The focus is
on making Arabic the only language in administration and daily life. They oppose and
reject all those who are against arabicization and are intent on making Arabic the
language of the heart and soul.
Regarding the military terms, the topic of arabicization planning is very important to be
mentioned when discussing language planning and terminology planning in the Arabic
culture. When foreign military terms are planned by decision makers and specialized
academies to find the exact equivalent in Arabic, they translate these foreign military
terms into Arabic. They add these equivalents to the specified dictionaries and pamphlets
to be used by military personnel in all Arab armies. It is not easy to find an Arabic
equivalent for every foreign term, therefore, decision makers resort to different kinds of
coinage or arabicization. For example, “Shoulder-held Redeye”,

, “Redeye” is arabicized as . The English

expression “Dragon Medium Antitank Missile” , the term
“Dragon” could not be translated, so it arabicized as “Dragon”.
As mentioned above, it could be seen that arabicization is a way of expressing liberty and
modernization, it leads to patriotism and national identity. It is actually a language
planning movement.

TERMINOLOGY PLANNING
Sager (1990) indicates that terminology is the study and field of activity related to
collecting, describing, processing and producing terms regarding specialized domains to
use one or more languages. Terminology has a double function, which is represented
throughout lexicographers and dictionaries to serve language users.
Terminology planning, generally, is the decision making done by authorized bodies to
carry out the intents, purposes, and goals of specialized fields. Military terms were

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treated similar to other technical terms when they were planned. Terms that are planned
are altered in some way (purified, reformed, standardized, revived, modernized) to
enhance communication within and between Arab armies.
Moreover, the planned military terminology involves term choice, term policy
formulation, term policy codification, term policy elaboration, term policy
implementation and term policy evaluation. Such a code of military terms, for example,
was issued through military pamphlets and unified Arab dictionaries. As an example, old
and recent terms are compiled into Arabic–English, Arabic–French and Arabic–Russian
dictionaries to accommodate the development of military inventions, equipment and
weaponry within this field.
Al Abd Alhaq (1989, 1994) defines terminology planning as a process, which refers to
activities and deliberate efforts to plan for corpus, status and acquisition of terms.

Corpus Term Planning

Cooper (1989) points that corpus term planning refers to purely linguistic issues such as
coining new terms, reforming their spellings and adopting them. It refers, in short, to the
creation of new forms by word coinage process, the modification of old ones, or the
selection from alternative form in a spoken or written code. Term cultivation, reform,
standardization, selection, codification, elaboration and modernization represent
instances of corpus term planning. These processes are dealt with when military terms
are planned to be used in various military fields. Different branches in the army have
their own different pamphlets regarding their terms and expressions; for example artilery,
armour, infantry.

Status Term Planning

Al Abd Alhaq (1996) indicates that status term planning refers to the allocation of terms
to given functions. Term allocation is defined as authoritative decisions to maintain,
extend or restrict the range of uses (functional range) for a term in a particular setting.
Thus, status term planning refers to deliberate efforts to influence the allocation of term
functions among speech communities. Therefore, coining specialized terms in different
functions is a target for status term planning. Regarding the military terms, they are
classified into tactical, legal, administrative, communicative and maintenance. Each of
them is set up in a specified pamphlets and booklets.

Acquisition Term Planning

Al Abd Alhaq (1994) maintains that acquisition term planning is mainly concerned with
the teaching and learning of newly coined terms. Thus, term teaching is an object of
policy making. This new dimension of term planning is useful for increasing the users or
the uses of the specialized terminologies. When planning is directed towards a term’s
use, it falls within the rubric of status term planning. However, when it is directed toward

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increasing the number of users – speakers, listeners or readers – then a separate analytic
category for the focus of term planning seems to be justified. In order to understand
military terms, military courses are given to military personnel at all levels in the military
academies and in their units. They are taught regarding their specified field branches and
text classifications.

Recommendations Regarding Language Academy

The following recommendations could be taken into account:

1. Coordination between the Jordanian military academy and Jordanian universities
should be encouraged. It is an active factor for improving the translation
processes.
2. Collaboration between the Jordanian language academies and other
organizations that are involved in translation activities should be increased.
3. More compulsory courses highlighting techniques for translation should be
offered in the Jordanian academies and universities to sharpen the skills of
military personnel required to help in translation activities.
4. A specific approach for military translation should be adopted within the
Jordanian English curricula. This approach could be accomplished by selecting
and integrating a set of units including different types of military translation.
5. At least one of the translation courses offered to military personnel should cover
the subject of military translation and its problems.
6. The military academy and other Jordanian academies should increase efforts to
improve the pamphlets circulated among military personnel by providing updates
on military terms, expressions, loan words and their equivalents for all military
branches.

CONCLUSION
Language planning plays a significant role in contributing the military terminology as in
other scientific terminologies. Language planning provides fruitful insights for military
terminology planning, because planning military terms can satisfy the needs of military
personnel in dealing with military life. Military terms are planned and arabicized through
various stages in order to be utilized precisely and confidently in such a national matter.
Plans are made to utilize military terms to express new scientific and technological ideas,
using new technical terms in various military fields. These military technical terms could
cope with different branches in the army.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Al Abd Al Haq, F. (1989) Implication of language planning into arabicization in Jordan.
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Al Abd Al Haq, F. (1994) Toward a theoretical framework for the study of planning
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Bentahila, A. (1983) Language Attitudes among Arab – French Bilingualism in Morocco.
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Cooper, R. (1989) Language Planning and Social Change. Cambridge: Cambridge
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Das Gupta. (1973) Language planning and language policy: Analytical outline of the policy
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24 The EFL Constructivist Classroom
HOSNA HOSSEINI

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, constructivism has received considerable attention in education. Many

changes in school curricula, teachers’ instructional strategies and organizational
arrangement have occurred. Most education reform efforts and changes have proposed a
more constructive model of teaching. Constructivism offers a sharp contrast to traditional
language instruction and curricula. According to Ravitz et al. (2000), the transmission-
versus-constructivism is in terms of the theory of student learning, social structures and
the role of teachers.
The traditional transmission instruction is based on a learning theory through which the
students passively absorb the information. The teacher is seen as the authoritative source
of knowledge having all the responsibilities in the class; on the other hand, the learner is
regarded according to Richards and Rogers (2001) as the bench-bound students waiting
for teachers to take in knowledge. To Williams and Burden (1997), the learners are
resisters or receptacles. Thus the students fail to function with the language in real and
communicative context. Cannella and Reiff (1994) suggest this orientation to be a
“banking” model, the teacher loads the students with deposits of information and the
students store information until needed. Furthermore Celce Murcia (2001), who cites
Weinstein’s view or transmission of knowledge relies on linguistic structures, language
skills, specific content; while, a “constructivism or meaning-making” approach assumes
that knowledge is not transmitted from teachers or sources to the learners, but meaning is
constructed.
Notwithstanding the fact that the traditional teaching is a prevailing paradigm for many
instructors, they are influenced by educational reforms and adopted a constructivist
model of teaching. Classroom activities, curricular content and the designs tend to have a
constructivist flavour. The tenets of constructivist perspective are based on the theory that
understanding arises when the learners are engaged in relating new information to their
schema. This view underscores that knowledge is invented, not passively transmitted, so
the learner has idiosyncratic knowledge of the world. The core of pedagogy is the notion
of the teacher as reflective practitioner and the metaphors of individual or democratic
explorers devoted to the learners. The purpose of this article is to enhance all educators
and teachers’ knowledge of effective constructivist practices. It also hopes to shed light
on the cognitive processes that are associated with learning a foreign language.

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Constructivist Theory of Learning

Constructivism is a theory of learning rather than teaching. Tobin (1993) has labelled it a
referent, not a method for teaching. Many researchers such as Reagan (1999) advocates
that this approach ties to epistemology of learning theory. However, the questions of
epistemology or the ways we think about knowledge are closely linked to all facets of
instruction. In foreign language education, epistemology has undergone a considerable
change which influenced the pedagogical practice and this results in constructivist theory.
Furthermore, since this theory of learning challenges the tradition in philosophy,
Glasersfeld (1992) uses the terms of “post-modernist” and “post-epistemological”.
Constructivism is a metaphor assuming the learners as constructive agents in a social
context. It offers a view which rejects the domination of mindless behaviourism. This
perspective, as Brown (2001) notes, emphasizes the construction of individual
interpretations of reality, in fact, there may be many personal views of understanding the
word. The learners are responsible for building their own knowledge and learning is an
active and collaborative process. Knowledge in this view, as Fosnot (1996) adds, is
“temporary, developmental, non-objective, internally constructed, and socially mediated
(p. 5).” Thus, knowledge is created and discovered by the learners through interactions
with environment. Audrey Gray in Master’s thesis entitled “The road to knowledge is
always under construction,” asserts that constructivist model develops critical thinking
and fosters independent and inquisitive learners who are the makers of meaning and
knowledge, not the passive receivers of information. The learners as meaning-makers, in
constructivist EFL classrooms, invent the concepts by subsuming the new experience into
prior knowledge. So, this approach is anchored on cognitive psychology.
It is worthwhile mentioning that constructivism is not a single entity. There are two
competing types of constructivism. The first perspective is stated in the work of
Glasersfeld (1992) as radical constructivist. This view is not quite new, dating back to
Jean Piaget. This construct is a cognitive view emphasizing the idea that the individual
knowledge is the construction of the world that one experiences. The learners construct
their learning in relevant environment and enjoy the higher level thinking and problem
solving strategies.
Piaget’s theory (1973) is grounded in the significance of cognitive development and the
state of disequilibrium in learning. He believes that the developing child builds cognitive
structures or mental maps. As the child grows, his cognition becomes more sophisticated,
that is, mental activities move from a few innate simple to highly complex forms. He also
explains that when the learners encounter a new experience or a new situation, a state of
disequilibrium or imbalanced is developed. Then they alter their thinking and restore
equilibrium. This balance is possible by the complementary processes of assimilation
and accommodation.
Similarly, Kelly (1991), proposing the theory of personal constructs, presents that we
interpret the world through our versions which we construct; therefore, according to
Richardson (1997), people combine what they know with new ideas. Kamii et al. (1991)

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also states that, “individuals do not acquire knowledge by internalizing it directly from
the outside but by constructing it from the inside, in interaction with environment” (p. 18).
The social constructivism, having its roots in Vygotsky’s work (1978), is the alternative
to radical constructivism. The social constructivism accepts the individual’s construction
of the knowledge, still it focuses on the sociocultural context necessary for learning. In
this view, people construct meaning and social context of learning modifies it. Thus, the
difference between radical and social constructivism is the point of emphasis; while
Piaget deals with cognitive predetermined stages in development, Vygostsky is concerned
with social setting and education for social transformation. In fact, Vygotsky’s theory
underlies the role of cultural transmission in education; whereas Piaget’s developmental
stages restrict the role of school learning in growing intellectual development.
It must be noted that the other researchers such as Henriques (1997) offers four faces of
constructivism as: information processing, social constructivism, interactive
constructivism and radical constructivism. Then he states that all types of constructivism
involve information processing, and interactive constructivism falls between the social
and radical constructivist perspectives. Moreover, Holiday (1988) summarizes the
process of learning and develops interactive constructivism when he realizes that
understanding is not a linear phenomenon but switching back and forth between new
information and knowledge networks called schema.
In summary, Schwandt (1994) defines constructivism as the integration of cognitive,
social and linguistic features. To create meaning, the learner must use his cognition and it
is only feasible when the cognitive power is interwoven to language and social
knowledge.

DISCUSSION

Constructivist Frameworks in Foreign Language Education

Although constructivism is not a theory of teaching, it has influenced pedagogy and

practice. Several researchers and practitioners propose the characteristics of a
constructivist-based classroom (see Wolffe & Mcmullen, 1996; Kaufman, 1996;
Richardson, 1997; Mackinnon & Scarf-Seatter, 1997).
In literature, the concepts of constructivism are operationalized for teaching and suggest a
framework for a constructivist environment. It is represented by a variety of ways such
as: anchored instruction, situated cognition and apprenticeship learning. Problem-based
learning is the offshoot of Vygotsky’s theory labelled as the zone of proximal
development in which scaffolding, the process of guiding the learner from known to
unknown, is a significant concept in teaching (see Williams & Burden, 1997; Mirhassani,
2003). The learner’s previous construction, beliefs and attitudes are the other
assumptions of constructivism employed in teaching. Bruner (1966) explains the benefits
of discovery learning and recognizes that feeling of self-confident and taking risks are

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fundamental in learning. Then Hadley (2003), following Jean Piaget’s view, emphasizes
mental structure or organization. According to cognitive approach, people are born with
the capacity to organize experience. Thus, new information is learned when it is
integrated into this structure. To Nunan (1999), the most comprehensive model of
experimental learning is formulated by Kolb (1984). He suggests that the prerequisite of
learning is a bridge from the known to the new via immediate experience and then a
transformation process. Brown and Collins (1989) refer to “situated cognition” and stress
the role of context related to knowledge and learning. They contend that the constructivist
environment, where the making of knowledge is interactive, inductive and collaborative,
encourages the use of cognitive apprenticeships, coaching and modelling.
Articulating the constructivist learning design, researchers explain six important factors:
Situation, Grouping, Bridge, Questions, Exhibit and Reflection. They state that teachers
are to arrange the situations so that students become the constructors of meaning, problem
solvers and decision makers. To do so, they group the students and materials and build a
bridge between their present knowledge and what they might learn. Questions facilitate
the other elements. Teachers further encourage the students to exhibit their thinking and
solicit their reflection about new material via a verbal presentation, making a graph or
playing a role. Similarly, enumerate five E’s in a constructivist classroom: Engage,
Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate.
Jonassen (1991) refers to a number of principles applied by educators and cognitive
psychologists in a constructivist environment. The first principle is creating a real-world
environment and helping learners interpret multiple views of the world. The second
focuses on the role of the teacher as a coach and the student as a discoverer and the last
stresses knowledge construction.
Influenced by constructivism, K-12 collaborators examined the relationship between the
employment of teaching strategies relying on Constructivist Learning Model (CLM) and
the students’ attitudes toward science. The design for the mentioned investigation was a
pre-test, post-test, control group-experimental group design. At first they tested the
students’ attitudes. After a four month period during which the experimental group
received instruction consistent with the CLM, both groups were retested. The data were
analysed and the null hypothesis stating that no change would occur between the two
groups in their attitudes because of the exposure to CLM strategies was rejected F(1,247)
= 8.04, P < 0.005). The corresponding hypothesis indicated a positive change of the
students’ attitude. The findings confirm that CLM strategies have positive effects on
attitudes and instruction.
Bonnstertter (1999) reveals that “teacher preparation programme” must be converted
from a traditional top-down authoritarian approach to a more constructivist climate and
the goal of the programme must rely on the belief that those who do the doing, do the
learning. In summary, he says:

I must tell you that we will, at times, by trying things in this course that ultimately will
not work and we will fail. But please remember that if we intend to increase our

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 successes, we must create a climate where failure is not only okay expected from
time to time. I know that we will learn as much or more from these failed attempts as
we do from our successes. (p. 2)

Dias and Hassard (2001) designed a teacher education programme on the basis of the
constructivist theory. It is grounded in the work of Piaget (1973), Vygotsky (1978) and
Von Glasersfeld (1991). The programme environment tends to be interactive and
reflective. They advocate the novice teachers face transition shock from university
studies to the teaching, so they must be exposed to teacher education programmes in line
with constructivism. The two researchers examined the first year teachers who were
graduates of a particular preservice programme. Their teaching was far more effective
and fruitful.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SECOND/FOREIGN LANGUAGE

EDUCATION
Since knowledge cannot be transmitted from the knowledge bearer to another,
“constructivist learning” has emerged as a prominent approach to learning. This view
promotes an environment in which the learner tends to investigate, invent and infer. A
constructivist climate encourages reflection, cognitive conflict and peer interaction.
Despite traditional, teacher-centred pedagogies that restrict students’ involvement in a
learning process and focus on “covering the material”, student-constructivist teaching
would argue that presentation is merely one step of teaching. Instruction in a
constructivist perspective is based on the students’ prior experience and the subsumption
of the new concepts into their cognitive networks. In addition, it encourages authentic
tasks, problem-based thinking and reflection on what has been learned.
The results yielded through the study may be helpful to both teachers and students.
Teachers might abandon “the jugs and mugs” theory, in which the teacher is regarded as a
large jug of knowledge which fills the mugs or learners, and adopts cooperative learning.
Teachers accept that students are not “blank slates” and the autonomous students have
already discovered interactions with environment. Indeed, the instructors have to take
into account the role of basic concepts in cognitive structures. They recommend the
students to incorporate new knowledge into their background and to pay close attention to
the construction of meaning since learning is the result of mental construction. They also
consider each brain is unique, so teaching must be multifaceted.
The findings may also aid syllabus designers to offer well organized new curricula that
enhance the students’ mental growth. The curriculum, emphasizing cognitive, emotional
and social factors, is a rational and holistic approach to teaching. In addition, scaffolding
is an effective form of teaching. They also give rise to the notion of the spiral curriculum.
The teachers first teach the fundamental concepts and then build upon these ideas.
Curriculum development occurs through personal development not through imposition of
new idea on teachers. In addition, the focus of instruction is on experiential and project-

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based learning. The underlying assumption is: to really learn something, the students need
to discover with their own eyes; in fact, to do things or make things is the cornerstone of
learning, put simply, the goal of instruction is applying knowledge in a real world
context.
Programmes influenced by constructivism attempt to help students to test their own
methods and to know the value of learning from their mistakes. Be brief, the goal of
education is achieved by challenging learners who employ guessing and intuitive
thinking. Moreover, assessment is based on the ability to use the content. Stressing
authentic tasks not mechanical drills, the teachers can use assessing work samples and
projects rather than traditional tests.
Hence, the present study may be fruitful for syllabus designers in organizing the
curriculum relying on “constructivist epistemology”; more instructions for teachers to
employ a humanistic philosophy, an experiential learning and a transformational view of
knowledge. It may also shed light on assessment evaluation.

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 The Role of EFL Teachers’ Knowledge in Current
25 EFL Curriculum Reform: An Understanding from a
Reconstructionist Perspective
ZHANG XIAOHONG

INTRODUCTION
In the last two decades, the rapid economic development of China and the widely
perceived priority of English as a global language have caused a great amount of
rethinking in the area of EFL curriculum, including the approaches to teaching and
learning. Subsequently, a nationwide EFL curriculum reform in secondary schools in
China was carried out in 2001, accompanied by a new EFL curriculum including English
Curriculum Standards (ECS). ECS aims to enhance students’ comprehensive competence
in using the English language in order to meet the challenges of globalization in China
(Ministry of Education, 2001). This new goal has resulted in a series of changes in EFL
teaching and learning. The changes include a shift from a focus on teaching knowledge of
language to a focus on developing students’ comprehensive competence in using the
language, a shift from teacher-centred and grammar-translation method to a student-
centred and task-based teaching method and a shift from only employing summative
assessment to a formative one (Ministry of Education, 2001; Wang, 2007; Zhong, Cui &
Zhang, 2001). Compared with the previous curriculum reform, the current EFL reform has
more overtly presented its distinguishing characteristics and pedagogical criteria (Wang,
2007).
These changes related to the perceived role of language education in China pose new
challenges for teachers and require them to transform their teaching and constantly to
update their knowledge (Pinto, 2004). Teachers play a vital role in any change occurring
in education as they are the essential disseminators and practitioners of new ideas
embodied in their classroom teaching (Wang, 2007). However, the role of teachers who
are situated within the curriculum reform may be seen from quite different perspectives
(van Driel, Verloop & Beijaard, 2001). Traditional perspectives regard teachers as an
authority for students and have a dominant role in delivering knowledge in classroom
teaching (Ornstein, 2007). Ornstein (2007) suggests that contemporary perspectives
regard teachers as a guide for learners and an agent of change for curriculum reform, and
that contemporary perspectives must embrace cooperation and collaboration between
teachers and students and encourage students to develop independently.
Even though teachers’ professional development has gained attention around the world

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from diverse perspectives (Cheng & Wang, 2004; Hu, 2005; Ritchie, 1998; Shulman,
2007; van Driel, Verloop & Beijaard, 2001), very little research has emphasized the role
of teachers’ knowledge from a contemporary perspective and the role of EFL teachers’
knowledge as it relates to curriculum reform, in Chinese secondary schools in particular.
In this paper, I have examined the role of EFL teachers in EFL curriculum reform in
Chinese secondary schools from a contemporary perspective which focuses on
“reconstructionism”. Moreover, research on teachers’ knowledge might help educators
understand the role of teachers in regards to curriculum reform and increase the success
of reform, as suggested by van Driel, Verloop and Beijaard (2001). I have extended such
considerations to this research in the Chinese context.
This research paper begins with reconstructionism as its theoretical framework which
includes an investigation of the role of teachers and that of their knowledge, and then
focus on EFL teachers’ theoretical and practical knowledge presented in curriculum
reform. The analysis of this research establishes that EFL teachers’ knowledge has acted
as an influential role in implementing the current EFL curriculum reform. This research is
based on: relevant documents; research literature on teachers’ role and teachers’
knowledge; my own personal experience as an EFL teacher in Chinese secondary schools
for more than 20 years between 1983 and 2006; and my contributions as a participant in
various levels of EFL teacher education, specifically within the framework of current
EFL curriculum reform.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: RECONSTRUCTIONISM

Reconstructionism has been accepted as one of the theoretical foundations in education

(Brameld, 1977; Ozmon & Craver, 2008). Reconstructionism assumes that “society is
essentially problematic, and addresses issues such as social injustice, problems and
inequities” (Adamson & Morris, 2007, p. 268). Education is recognized by
reconstructionists as a means to address perceived social problems and to seek
educational methods of bringing essential changes to social and economic systems
(Brameld, 1977). Thus, society and education are the two main premises for
reconstructionism, and both of them require constant change and reconstruction in order
to cope with each other (Ozmon & Craver, 2008).
Moreover, reconstructionism embodies a perspective about curriculum that suggests
“nothing can be preserved forever” and “change is inevitable” (Ornstein, 2007). This
perspective is accepted as an influential factor in curriculum development (Ornstein,
2007). From a reconstructionist’s view, teachers, as an agent of change in curriculum
reform, are concerned with the problems inherent in culture and schooling and help with
social and educational development (Liston & Zeichner, 1991, cited in Parks, 2006).
Also, teachers can help students to “become aware of problems confronting humankind”
(Ornstein, 2007, p. 8). Accordingly, teachers are required to maintain a position of
transformative qualities of their work as educators for implementing the new curriculum,
as Gwele (2005) argues. This perspective suggests that teachers are required to have an

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adequate knowledge base and constantly update their knowledge to cope with reform.
Following the suggestions by van Driel, Verloop and Beijaard (2001), teachers with
appropriate knowledge may exert profound influences on educational change, which is
the underlying focus of this paper.
Reconstructionism has been employed as a theoretical framework in this research
because its approach is consistent with the current Chinese political and social cultural
mores. Choosing a theoretical perspective underlying curriculum cannot keep away from
its cultures (Tobin & Dowson, 1992). Chinese culture has been strongly influenced by
collectivism and socialism that addresses the significance of social requirements or
concerns (Biggs, 1996; Brislin, 1993; Guan, Ron & Xiang, 2005; Rao, 2006). For
example, education in China “must serve socialist modernization drive, must integrate
itself with production and labour, so as to cultivate socialist builders and successors
featuring an all-around development in morality, intelligence, physique etc.” as stated in
the Educational Law in 1995 (The Educational Law of the People’s Republic of China,
1995, cited in Yang, 2005, p. 28). The current EFL curriculum reform has been initiated
to help China meet the challenges of rapid economic development in the 21st century (Li,
2007; Wang, 2007; Zhong, Cui & Zhang, 2001). This action is also consistent with a
reconstructionist perspective which has been mentioned previously. Thus, it can be seen
that the basic tenets embodied in the Chinese cultural background has created a fertile
ground for reconstructionism to be employed in this study.

METHODS

This research has adopted a case study approach in North East China selecting informants
from two contrasting regions. Since EFL teachers were the direct classroom practitioners
in the current EFL curriculum reform, they were the appropriate informants of my
research. The participants were selected from a number of schools in each region as a
single school could not provide adequate participants and they had to be recruited from
other schools within the same region. Therefore, a total of 42 participants were invited
for a survey, 21 from each region. Sixteen participants from the 42 were then chosen for
in-depth interviews. Twelve of the 16 participants had at least 15 years’ teaching
experience and four of them had 5 to 10 years. Questionnaire data have revealed that
52% of the EFL teachers have a two or three-year diploma from teachers’ college, 43%
of them have a bachelor’s degree (a four-year degree) and only 5% have a master’s
degree (which indicates another two or three years’ additional learning). After the
questionnaire was completed, the audiotaped face-to-face interviews were carried out in
a conference room and a private office. Interviews lasted between 15 and 60 minutes and
were transcribed verbatim. As this is part of a PhD study, this paper has only adopted
part of the data which is related to this research. Additionally, as this is a very small
scale investigation, questionnaire data were analysed using Excel for the purpose of
calculation and interview data were analysed based on Creswell’s (2007) work.

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OUTCOMES
The outcomes presented in this paper focus on EFL teachers’ theoretical and practical
knowledge which plays an influential role in implementing the reform in North East
China. In this paper, EFL teachers’ theoretical knowledge is perceived as their required
knowledge of linguistics which is included in knowledge of subject matter studied by Hu
(2005). Such knowledge is the focus of EFL teachers’ theoretical base in this paper. EFL
teachers’ practical knowledge is conceived as their knowledge of reform context and
beliefs of teaching methods based on the research conducted by van Driel, Verloop and
Beijaard (2001). Practical knowledge refers to “the integrated set of knowledge,
conceptions, beliefs and values teachers develop in the context of teaching situation” (van
Driel, Verloop & Beijaard, 2001, p. 141). Also, EFL teachers’ practical knowledge in
this paper is tied to Hu’s (2005) “contextual knowledge (CK)” and Shulman’s (2007)
“pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)”.
In this research, the questionnaire data have found that EFL teachers show their passion
for the current EFL curriculum reform in China and feel very confident about their
knowledge required. However, the in-depth interview data suggest that for some of the
EFL teachers, their enthusiasm and their confidence levels were lower than initially
indicated. From a reconstructionist view, this is understandable that although these
teachers as socialist citizens, are responsible to submit to or support the government and
its policies, they found it difficult when they actually implemented the reform.

EFL TEACHERS’ THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE

Questionnaire data show that the majority of EFL teachers have a good knowledge of the
theoretical bases of language teaching. Though only 2% feel strongly confident in having
such knowledge, 52% are confident; 24% feel slightly confident, 14% feel slightly less
confident in it and 21% of them felt less confident in this. Meanwhile, 7% of EFL
teachers considered that they had no good knowledge of it at all. In conjunction with this
survey, an in-depth interview was conducted with respect to teachers’ theoretical
knowledge, as summarized further.

TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR AND SOCIAL-CULTURAL

THEORY
Knowledge of linguistics as one of the most important parts of knowledge of subject
matter is required by EFL teachers (Fradd & Lee, 1998; Hu, 2005). Transformational
grammar (TG) identified by Chomsky (1957), is one of linguistic concepts which was
applied in language teaching in the 1960s and early 1970s, and it identified rules
formulation which was significant for language teaching (Hubbard, 1994). As Smith et al.
(2006) argue, TG is used to explore language structure and attempts to illustrate the
creation of language. This indicates that working with the concept of TG may enable

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language teachers to understand ways in which language come into being and develop as
well as ways in which language learning can be brought about. Working with the concept
of TG can also help teachers to identify the way in which to enhance students’ language
competence (Lakoff, 1973).
According to Germain and Seguin (1995, cited in Renou, 2001), knowledge about
grammar of foreign language is quite essential in language teaching and learning as it can
enable students to have more explicit, comprehensive knowledge of language which may
enhance students’ confidence in learning foreign language. TG attempts to “take the
sentence patterns from structural linguistic analyses and drill them into students through
pattern practice” (Hubbard, 1994, p. 49). In addition, TG, as one of linguistic theories or
as a source of pedagogical perspectives, has made widely contribution to an
understanding of language structures basically (Hubbard, 1994). Hubbard (1994) further
argues that linguistic theory has been used to apply in language teaching and if it is
approached pedagogically, valuable insights can be generated by teachers, who can pass
them on to their students in some cases.
Since EFL teachers in China mostly accept to adopt grammar-translation method in their
teaching based on the Chinese cultural context (Jin & Cortazzi, 2002; Yu, 2001; Zheng &
Davison, 2008), it is necessary to have the concept of TG to be covered in an
introductory linguistic course in teacher education programmes.
Social-cultural theory (SCT) originally conceived of by Vygotsky, has its implications in
language teaching and learning (Lantolf, 2000). As Kininger and Belz (2005) argue, SCT
offers a productive way in which to generate an understanding of the development of
foreign language learning and proposes “a principled way toward documentation and
explanation of the specific manner in which intercultural interaction fosters language
development in particular contexts” (p. 370). SCT related to “second language
acquisition” is detailed in Lantolf and Throne’s (2006) work. This theory helps language
teachers to understand the principles underlying language teaching and learning including
task-based teaching from a psycholinguistic perspective as Foley (1991) proposes. Task-
based teaching is one of the changes appearing in current EFL reform in Chinese
secondary schools which expect EFL teachers to adopt it in their classroom teaching.
SCT has its potential to enable EFL teachers to further understand language teaching and
reform.
However, interview data in this study show that EFL teachers in North East China have
little knowledge of these theories, and the majority of them have never heard of it. When
the interviewees were asked about their awareness of TG and SCT, Fang said, “I started
to work as an EFL teacher in 1981 and I learned psychology and pedagogy, but I have
never heard the theories you mentioned above,” and Hua stated, “No, never, and we had
no such courses at school.”
These teachers’ perspectives related to TG and SCT signify that they did not study the
knowledge of linguistics when they had preservice teacher education. As described in the
previous section, 12 of the total 16 participants have at least 15 years’ teaching

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experience and all of them graduated from teachers’ college during the time above.
Additionally, these participants’ perspectives also imply that they did not have any
training about this after their graduation. This phenomenon is consistent with my personal
learning experience and Hu’s (2005) investigation that EFL teacher education
programmes at teachers college between 1984 and 1993 paid little attention to the
knowledge of linguistics. Although teacher education programme for top level EFL
teachers for reform has recognized the importance of linguistic knowledge, no such focus
has been introduced for general level or school level teachers.

INTERCULTURAL KNOWLEDGE
Cultural contexts have appeared in the new EFL curriculum in Chinese secondary schools
and are the prominent characteristics of this new EFL curriculum. These have also been
identified by EFL teachers in North East China. As Wei stated, “While the new textbook
is getting much better as more foreign cultural contents have been involved in it and it
really looks much better.” Hong also commented, “And it is the most prominent feature
that culture has been laid out in this new curriculum.”
This new content appearing in the new curriculum indicates that EFL teachers are
supposed to have relevant knowledge so as to cope with new global challenges. The
interview data show that EFL teachers seriously lack this sort of knowledge, particularly
those who graduated between 1984 and 1993, Chu said:

[F]oreign cultures or customs might refer to a course. Nevertheless, the course has
appeared in some universities recently. I didn’t take this course when I studied at
school due to the social contexts then.

Cultural studies have the potential to significantly enhance the task of language teaching
and they can also be related to language teachers’ teaching methods (Byram, 1997). Hu
(2005) proposes that EFL teachers should have known the “cultures of English-speaking
peoples” which can be included in the subject matter knowledge. Lacking intercultural
knowledge might influence language teaching and culture to others in particular (Byram,
1997).

EFL TEACHERS’ PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE

As described in the previous section, EFL teachers’ practical knowledge in this paper
includes the knowledge of the reform context and their beliefs of teaching methods which
are detailed further.

Knowledge of Reform Contexts

Questionnaire data have strongly highlighted that these participants have attained a
competent knowledge of the contexts of curriculum reform. Interview data have further

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confirmed this point. As Qing said:
From my understanding, education is the most important issue for a country to
achieve revival and to progress. If education in China can keep up with the social
development, so must China’s science and technology as well as other various
aspects. And thus, English has been recognized as a tool language. Since China
attempts to engage with international trades, to be involved in the global village,
English, as a consequence, might be regarded as a key to the door and also as a kind
of a tool. Hence, the new EFL curriculum reform is to adapt to the social
development, and to keep up with reform, opening up in China. Also, the curriculum
reform should keep up with the trends of the times. Educational reform has to be a
pioneer among all the other reforms, the economic reform in particular.

Chu added:

With the development of China and its reform and open up, there were more and
more communication between China and other countries. You know, some foreign
products were imported in China, and China’s were exported to foreign countries as
well. These exchanges increased many learning opportunities for the Chinese people
and also challenge them about their language competence. Besides, some graduates in
China have recognized that they have difficulties in listening and speaking as well as
their communication in English when being abroad in particular. In order to solve the
problems and to promote China to engage with other countries, the curriculum reform
occurred.

These EFL teachers’ perceptions have shown a recontructionist’s view and indicated that
of teachers is concerned with the problems appearing within the country and understand
the significance of implementing the EFL curriculum reform. Likewise, these EFL
teachers’ statements have further acknowledged a reconstructionist perspective in that
education is used as a means to bring essential changes in social and economic systems,
in the Chinese context in particular, as discussed above.
Moreover, the following EFL teachers’ statements have further clarified the role of
reconstructionism in this study. Jun said, “[T]he reform might be regarded as [a] tidal
current and we are compelled to or we have to,” and in a further comment, “And in other
words, we might say that we are compelled to adopt a system and new teaching criteria
as well as a new curriculum.”
From the responses above, it suggests that these EFL teachers are quite aware that they
have to do what their country expects them to do as it is a socialist and collective country.
This is the essential demand for being a teacher and it is consistent with the concept of
reconstructionism as discussed earlier.

Beliefs of Teaching Methods

Questionnaire data highlight that the majority of EFL teachers in North East China feel a
passion for coping with ECS in their classroom teaching. Based on these survey data,
interview data have further been explored. When EFL teachers were asked how they think

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changing teaching methods to enhance students’ competence and to cope with reform, Qin
said:
I have to change, as you know, in the past, it was teacher-centred and teachers
dominated the classroom. And they were the speakers while the students were the
listeners. However, it has changed that students play the key roles in the classroom
and their teachers only act as a guide. Consequently, the old teaching methods ought
to be changed with changes in the new textbook.

However, different voices were also heard from the in-depth interviews. As Lian said:

In terms of teaching methods, the traditional ones, at present, are presented more in
teaching practices, according to my own, sometimes, I feel it quite easy to use the
traditional teaching methods in order to avoid trouble or to save time.

Wei added:

We still focus on explaining knowledge and grammatical points with traditional

teaching methods because it is quite easy for these teachers to keep using the
conventional teaching methods such as “a word class” which refers to teachers as a
speaker in class.

Teachers’ perspectives above indicate that they still adopted the traditional teaching
methods as these are easy or convenient for them to engage with. As van Driel, Verloop
and Beijaard (2001) argue, it is difficult for teachers to change their deep-rooted teaching
ideas as they hate to risk changing their teaching practice which has long been proven
workable and satisfactory. Further, these EFL teachers’ perspectives indicate that they
have not completely comprehended the potential of the new teaching method which refers
to the task-based teaching as they lack solid theoretical knowledge as discussed
previously.
Interview data have made obvious the reasons for EFL teachers to restate their beliefs of
the new teaching methods. Xu said:

As an English teacher, I usually try my best to teach students in English. But

sometimes I lost my confidence in using English, using the new teaching methods, as
when I saw the students’ results of the exam, my mind would be changed.

Wei also said:

In addition, it might contribute to the exam-oriented education in China. You know,
we have to cope with exams, and the exam contents between the past and the present
have not been changed a lot, and those old contents or fashions still present in exams
now.

These teachers’ perspectives reveal that problems begin to appear in assessment systems
and these issues have been still dominated these teachers’ educational ideas and their
classroom teaching. It is imperative for educational departments to be aware of these
problems and to seek relevant solutions to change this status quo. This consideration is

289
consistent with what the concept of reconstructionism entails and it is also what this
paper is concerned with.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This research serves as a starting point to examine the implementation of EFL curriculum
reform through EFL teachers’ knowledge in North East China. Very little research has
been conducted to focus on secondary school teachers’ knowledge in reform through
empirical studies, EFL teachers’ knowledge from a reconstructionist’s perspective in
particular. This paper has demonstrated that these EFL teachers lack solid, linguistic
knowledge, including knowledge of TG and SCT and intercultural knowledge which are
required for their preservice preparation and for their training prepared for the new
curriculum. More specifically, EFL teachers, who graduated from two- or three-year
teachers’ college, have no knowledge of linguistics at all as they have never had such
courses or training previously.
Lacking adequate theory might influence teachers’ understanding their teaching and
learning as well as reform which has been demonstrated previously. Van Driel, Verloop
and Beijaard (2001) argue that teachers’ PCK occurs based on their knowledge of
subject matter. Data in this paper further confirm this point. Qin stated:

I think we are weak in such theory. If we have got some, perhaps we have generated
it from our own research and from our gradual accumulation in teaching experiences,
rather from the professional training before or after work. Thus, I don’t think that we
could comprehend our practice with high cognition as we have little knowledge of the
language itself including its application and its usage.

Ju added:
I think we really lack such kind of theory such as linguistics. You know, whenever
you come across some problems in your work, perhaps you are so anxious to look
for some theories to explain the issues. I think the theories might be useful at this
time.

She further expressed:

Although the process for implementing this reform actually lasts long, we, the
classroom teachers still cannot completely understand some of its details. As you
know, we have not got enough theoretical bases to support us and we have to
consider it from the practical point of view.

This paper also reveals that although EFL teachers understand the reform contexts and
embrace the ideal of reform, they might find it difficult to implement. EFL teachers’
inadequate theoretical knowledge has strongly influenced their practical knowledge
embodied in EFL teachers’ beliefs of teaching methods. This paper further reveals that
although the reform attempts to renovate assessment system throughout the country, some

290
educational departments or schools have not adopted such requirements. These institutes
still embrace exam-oriented education which has strongly influenced EFL teachers’
practical knowledge.
Since reconstructionism entails challenging the status quo and regards teachers as an
agent of change in reform, they have to take up the responsibilities for implementing
curriculum reform. From a reconstructionist perspective, teachers are required to
maintain a position of transformative qualities of their work as educators for
implementing the new curriculum (Gwele, 2005). EFL teachers in North East China are
supposed to constantly update their knowledge so as to meet the new challenges of social
development. Thus, it is imperative for these educational institutes in North East China to
reinforce EFL teacher education and to make up EFL teachers’ knowledge shortage.
Teacher education should be carried out hierarchically in terms of EFL teachers’
requirements. For example, EFL teachers who graduated from teachers’ college between
1984 and 1993 should be the focus group.
Moreover, this research paper has the potential to remind EFL teachers in North East
China to constantly update their theoretical knowledge so that they can improve their
practical knowledge to meet the challenges of reform. It is expected for educational
departments or local schools to reform their assessment system. This might help EFL
teachers to focus on the new teaching methods and help students enhance their language
competence in a sense. Recognizing the role of EFL teachers’ knowledge helps EFL
teachers themselves further understand their role playing in reform. This is what
reconstructionism advocates.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My thanks are due to many people who helped me in the course of writing this paper, and
I would especially like to thank Dr. Margaret Zeegers, Associate Professor, Jim Sillitoe
and Barry Golding on their helpful comments on the previous version of this paper. I am
also grateful to Third International Language Learning Conference (3rd ILLC) 2008 for
this publication.

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 Using Materials Development to Bridge the Gap
26 Between Theory and Practice
BRIAN TOMLINSON

INTRODUCTION

Bridging the gap between theory and practice and between practice and theory is a big
problem in English language teaching. The literature is full of articles and books
presenting language learning research results and theories of language learning.
Unfortunately much of this literature is written by academics with little experience of the
classroom and is written for fellow academics rather than classroom teachers. Language
classrooms are full of teachers with experience and skill in helping learners to acquire
language but with very little idea of how to make their teaching as principled and
effective as possible. Unfortunately they are either unaware of the theories in the
literature, they are aware of the theories but do not really understand them or they are
aware of the theories but do not know how to apply them. Language learning coursebooks
are full of activities which publishers think administrators and teachers expect to find in
coursebooks. Unfortunately many of these activities, such as dialogue recitation, listen
and repeat, meaningless substitution drills and gap filling, have neither justification from
the research literature nor from the anecdotal reports of most teachers. And yet in many
countries and institutions teachers are asked to follow their coursebooks as scripts rather
than to use them as resources for local and principled adaptation. In Tomlinson (1998) I
have specified this problem in greater detail and I have outlined principles for materials
developers to follow in order to help teachers to facilitate language learning in
principled and effective ways. In this paper I am going to suggest that the best way of
ensuring that what teachers and learners do in the language classroom is appropriate,
principled and effective is to involve teachers in materials development.

BENEFITS OF MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS

Looking back over a career of forty years of trying to foster language teacher
development I am convinced that involving teachers in materials development is the best
way of stimulating development. I have found this to be true in initial teacher training, in
in-service training, in lesson preparation and in materials development projects with the
dual purpose of producing both locally effective materials and teacher development.
Ideally facilitators should be involved who have both the knowledge of recent
developments in language learning theory and experience and awareness of classroom

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practice. However I have found it is also extremely useful if teachers get together to
produce materials for their mutual use even if no “expert” is available to guide and
stimulate them. This is what happened, for example, on the English program in Indonesia
when teachers from nearby schools got together on Monday afternoons to produce the
materials they were going to use during the week (Tomlinson, 1990, 2003d).
I have found that teacher involvement in materials development can have the following
benefits.
It can facilitate the understanding, acceptance and effective implementation of curriculum
change. This happened, for example, when thirty teachers were involved in writing a new
textbook for Namibian secondary schools (Tomlinson, 1995, 2003d), when thousands of
Indonesian high school teachers were being introduced to the communicative approach
through writing materials to implement it (Tomlinson 1990, 2003d) and when twenty five
teachers at Bilkent University in Ankara were writing new textbooks to implement a new
institutional curriculum.
It can develop awareness of ways of facilitating language acquisition and development
(Tomlinson, 2007a). This certainly happened when I ran initial teacher training courses at
Language Resources in Kobe, Japan and when Hitomi Masuhara and I ran materials
development workshops in Botswana, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Vietnam. It also
happens every year on the MA in English Language Teaching and Materials Development
at Leeds Metropolitan University when we get participants to evaluate, adapt and
produce materials for specific learning contexts and in so doing to raise questions which
they then seek to answer from the literature on second language acquisition.
It can raise the self-esteem and confidence of teachers. This was demonstrably true on the
PKG English Program and on the Namibian textbook project when teachers amazed and
delighted themselves by showing that they could produce principled and effective
materials for their learners (Tomlinson, 2003d). See Canniveng and Martinez (2003),
Lyons (2003) and Popovici and Bolitho (2003) for further discussion of the confidence
raising value of teacher involvement in materials development.
It can ensure the relevance of new materials to the needs and wants of their actual users.
This has certainly been the case when I have specified actual learning contexts and users
for evaluation, adaptation and production tasks, either in realistic simulations (Tomlinson
& Masuhara, 2003) or in relation to their own students.
It can facilitate the development of critical, creative and analytical skills if teachers are
not just imitating prescribed models but are involved in principled, criterion referenced
evaluations (Tomlinson, 2003b), in adaptations to achieve specified objectives for
specified learners (Saraceni, 2003; Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2004) and in creating
materials to achieve impact and engagement.

WAYS OF HELPING TEACHERS TO BENEFIT FROM

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MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

Emphasizing the Need for New Materials

I usually start a materials development course or workshop by making teachers aware of

the need for them to develop new materials and of their ability to do so. One way I do
this is by giving them a commonly agreed principle of language acquisition (e.g.
“Learners need meaningful experience of the language in actual use”) and getting them to
evaluate and then adapt what they typically do in their classrooms in relation to this
principle. Another way I do this is by shocking them into an awareness of the
unsuitability of many of the materials they use with their students by reading them a
satirical letter from a new teacher in which he describes how it is important to degrade
the learners so that they are humble and at a distance (Carroll, 1855). I get the teachers to
say in what ways the letter reminds them of the materials they use and then for each point
they make I get them to evaluate actual examples of materials and to suggest
improvements to them. In this way I have got teachers to become aware of the dangers of
top-down approaches, of interrogative approaches, of approaches which underestimate
learners and distance them from the materials and of types of materials which have no
apparent relation to the lives of their students. Often the teachers are pleasantly amazed
how easy it often is to come up with ways of making the materials more suitable for their
learners and more potentially valuable.

Demonstrations of Innovative Materials

Early on in materials development workshops and courses I demonstrate innovative

materials not as models to emulate but as experiences to reflect on in order to open minds
and possibilities. I do this by asking the teachers to become a specified level of learners
and to use the materials as those learners would. After this experience I get the teachers
to analyse the procedures in the materials and to try to specify the principles which these
procedures are informed by. Then I get the teachers to evaluate the materials in relation to
specified universal and local criteria (Tomlinson, 2003b) and to suggest changes they
would make if they were using these materials with their learners. So, for example, I
might demonstrate materials which involve a TPR Plus activity (Tomlinson, 1994) in
which the students act out a story all together as it is read out by the teacher or a text-
driven activity in which the students first of all respond personally to an affectively and
cognitively engaging text before using the text to make discoveries for themselves about
language use (Tomlinson, 2003c). If such materials are new to the teachers it can be very
illuminating for them to try to find ways in which they could use them effectively in the
contexts in which they teach.

DISCUSSION OF CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENTS

When teachers have experienced a number of types of innovative materials I usually get
them to discuss in groups a number of deliberately controversial statements. The groups

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then report their findings, the facilitator gives their views and presents any relevant
anecdotes, research findings or theories and then a plenary discussion takes place. The
teachers keep the statements and their notes on them and later on in the course or
workshop the statements are discussed again to see if the teachers have anything different
to say about them. Here are four examples of the twelve statements I often use to provoke
discussion.
1. Classroom materials should always make sure that learners actually use English
rather than just practice it.
2. Learner accuracy and fluency are the main aims of language teaching.
3. Learners should be helped to use high level skills from the very beginning of the
language learning process.
4. Reading materials should not contain vocabulary and structures which the
students have not yet been taught.

EVALUATION OF MATERIALS

One of the most demanding but useful activities I do with teachers on materials
development courses is to get them to conduct rigorous criterion-referenced evaluations
of the effectiveness of materials for specified contexts of learning the procedure I use is
as follows.
1. I get the teachers individually to write down statement of beliefs which reflect
what they think facilitates language acquisition for any learner regardless of age,
level, objectives or context of learning. The teachers share these beliefs and note
down other people’s beliefs which they agree with.
2. Groups of teachers work on the development of universal criteria by turning their
statements of beliefs into specific and answerable questions for use in pre-use
evaluations of any type of material (e.g. the statement that “materials should
engage learners affectively” becomes the criterion “to what extent are the
materials likely to engage the learners affectively?”).
3. Each group develops a profile for a particular learning context (e.g. age, gender
and level of the learners, duration and intensity of the course, objectives of the
course, size of the classes, qualifications of the teachers etc.). Usually I get
teachers to develop a profile for a context of learning they have no experience of
to ensure they have to really think about what they are doing rather than to rely on
their previous repertoire (Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2003).
4. Each group develops local criteria relevant to their profile (e.g. “To what extent
are the activities practical with a class of 50 students?”)
5. Each group is given (or better still finds) materials which might be appropriate
for their profile. They evaluate each set of materials using both their universal

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 and local criteria and then make and justify a selection of materials.
6. Each group develops materials for the same target users in their profile in order
to satisfy the universal and local criteria they have established.
See Tomlinson (2003b) for more details of procedures for evaluating materials.

ADAPTATION OF MATERIALS

After the teachers have experienced a rigorous criterion-referenced evaluation of

materials I get them to adapt materials to suit the needs and wants of specified users of
the materials. The procedure I use is as follows:
1. Evaluation of materials in relation to the target users in a profile.
2. Specification of deficiencies of the materials plus decisions on improvements
needed.
3. Modification of the materials (i.e. changes to the existing materials such as
reduction, expansion, deletion, addition and rephrasing which make the materials
more suitable for their users).
4. Supplementation of the materials (i.e. extra materials providing what is missing
from the existing materials in relation to satisfying the needs and wants of the
target users).
For more information on materials adaptation see Islam and Mares (2003), Tomlinson
and Masuhara (2004) and Saraceni (2003).

CRITICAL MODELLING
Another procedure I use with teachers on courses, workshops and projects is one in
which they are presented with a model framework through demonstration and discussion.
They use the model to develop materials for a specified context of learning, they evaluate
their materials and the model, they modify the model to suit their own universal and local
criteria and they then make use of their modified model to write materials for their own
students.
For an example of a text-driven flexible framework which I used for critical modelling
on the Namibian textbook project and have since used many times on courses, workshops
and projects see Tomlinson (2003c).

MATERIALS WRITING
The main activity of any materials development course, workshop or project is obviously

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materials writing. This could be for practice and development, for the teacher’s own use,
for use by a group of teachers, for institutional use or for publication. What I have found
in all these situations is that in order to ensure the quality of both the materials and the
development experience it is important that:
1. The materials are developed in order to satisfy universal and local criteria.
2. The writers frequently monitor their materials in relation to their criteria.
3. The writers ask other teachers to use their materials and to report back to them
on their experience.
4. The writers ask other teachers to evaluate their materials and to suggest
improvements.
5. The writers conduct a while-use evaluation of their materials when they are first
used.
6. The writers conduct a post-use evaluation of their materials after they have first
used.
7. The writers modify their materials after their while- and post-use evaluations
[see Tomlinson (2003b) for information about while- and post-use evaluation].
I have also found it extremely useful for teachers to:
1. Give presentations to other teachers and at conferences in which they
demonstrate and discuss their materials.
2. Write articles for other teachers and for publication in which they demonstrate
and discuss their materials.
3. Develop theoretical rationales for their materials which they use in their
presentations and articles and in introducing them to other teachers.
4. Conduct action research on their own and on other people’s materials in which
they collect systematic data on the use and effectiveness of the materials [see
Tomlinson (2007b) for an example of such action research].
The procedures above form real life assignments on the MA in English Language
Teaching and Materials Development at Leeds Metropolitan University and have led to
students gaining awareness, skills and self-esteem as well as to prestigious conference
presentations, articles publication and materials publication.
For more information about ways of helping teachers gain from the potential benefits of
materials development see Tomlinson (2003d).

CONCLUSION
After many years of running materials development courses, workshops and projects I am

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convinced that they are the best way of helping teachers gain self-esteem and confidence,
awareness of what facilitates language acquisition and development and success as
classroom teachers, and that they are also the best way of developing materials which
meet the needs and wants of learners.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Canniveng, C. and Martinez, M. (2003) Materials development and teacher training. In B.
Tomlinson (Ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching, 479–489. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Carroll, L. (1855) Letters to his child friends. In P. Bourdieu, J. Passeron and M. de Saint
Martin. (1994) Academic Discourse, 2. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Islam, C. and Mares, C. (2003) Adapting classrooom materials. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.),
Materials Development in Language Teaching, 86–100. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Lyons, P. (2003) A practical experience of institutional textbook writing: Product/process
implications for materials development. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Materials Development in
Language Teaching, 490–504. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Popovici, R. and Bolitho, R. (2003) Personal and professional development through writing:
The Romanian textbook project. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Materials Development in
Language Teaching, 505–517. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Saraceni, C. (2003) Adapting courses: A critical view. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Materials
Development in Language Teaching, 72–85. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tomlinson, B. (1990) Managing change in Indonesian high schools. ELT Journal 44(1): 25–
37.
Tomlinson, B. (1994) TPR materials. Folio 1(2): 8–10.
Tomlinson, B. (1995) Work in progress: Textbook projects. Folio 2(2): 26–31.
Tomlinson, B. (1998) Introduction. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Materials Development in
Language Teaching, 1–24. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tomlinson, B. (Ed.), (2003a) Developing Materials for Language Teaching. London:
Continuum Press.
Tomlinson, B. (2003b) Materials evaluation. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Developing Materials for
Language Teaching, 15–36. London: Continuum.
Tomlinson, B. (2003c) Developing principled frameworks for materials development. In B.
Tomlinson (Ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching, 107–129. London:
Continuum.
Tomlinson, B. (2003d) Materials development courses. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Developing
Materials for Language Teaching, 445–461. London: Continuum.
Tomlinson, B. (2003e) Humanising the coursebook. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Developing
Materials for Language Teaching, 162–173. London: Continuum.
Tomlinson, B. (2007a) Some similarities between first and other language acquisition and
development. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Language Acquisition and Development: Studies of
Learners of First and Other Languages. London: Continuum.
Tomlinson, B. (2007b) Recasts in meaning focused activities. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.),

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 Language Acquisition and Development: Studies of Learners of First and Other
Languages. London: Continuum.
Tomlinson, B. and Masuhara, H. (2003) Using simulations on materials development courses.
In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Materials for Language Teaching, 462–478. London: Continuum.
Tomlinson, B. and Masuhara, H. (2004) Developing Language Course Materials. Singapore:
RELC.

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 Teething Problems in Materials Development for
27 Teaching Social Interaction Skills in English
TING SU HIE AND DIANA CAROL

INTRODUCTION

The professional universe of language teaching is undergoing a shift from using textbooks
to producing materials for classroom instruction (Dubin, 1995). This has arisen from an
emphasis on learner needs and the sociocultural context of learning.
In designing a course, there are three main areas of decision-making which are analyzing
learner’s needs and monitoring learner’s progress, selecting what needs to be taught and
sequencing the elements of the course to make learning as effective as possible (Feez,
1998). Feez also stresses the place of both diagnostic and achievement assessments for
course evaluation to improve course design processes. The cycle of curriculum
development usually begins with needs analysis, followed by the design and
implementation of materials, evaluation of materials and subsequent revision of the
materials (Wiles & Bondi, 1998).
A review of research related to materials development for language curricula indicates
that attention tends to be concentrated on the design phase. Many papers have put forward
innovative ideas for designing materials to teach language skills: writing (e.g. Khan,
1988; Kwah, 1999; Mukundan, 1988), reading (Ali, 1988; Lim, 1991; Nambia, 1993;
Wong & Abdullah, 2003), listening (Mac, 1990) and speaking (Patel, 1988; Ngeow,
1988). Fewer deal directly with the curriculum development process, for example,
adaptation of ESL textbooks (Hoe, 1988), considerations in language syllabus design
(Kaur, 1990) and adaptation of syllabi to match learner’s needs and interests
(McCracker, 1998).
Even fewer report the process of curriculum implementation and evaluation. Hildago,
Hall and Jacobs (1995) provide insights gained by various groups of materials writers in
producing language teaching materials in the Philippines. Various issues in the curriculum
development and implementation stages are brought up but there are not enough of these
kinds of empirical evidence to shed light on pitfalls to avoid in materials design or
strategies to adopt to enhance effectiveness of materials to produce intended learning
outcomes.

AIM OF THE STUDY

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This action research arose out of a need to systematically monitor and evaluate the use of
a newly-designed curriculum for the teaching of social interaction skills in English at a
tertiary institution. The aim of this paper is to describe teething problems in the
implementation of a language curriculum for teaching English for Social Purposes. The
objectives of the study were:
1. to identify aspects of the course materials that instructors were able or unable to
use as intended, and
2. to identify areas overlooked in the design of the materials so that subsequent
modification can be done.

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

Teaching and Learning Materials

The teaching-learning materials for the English for Social Purposes course focusing on
oral interaction skills were designed based on the genre-based approach and the concept
of scaffolding. The main aim of this course was to increase students’ level in English in
social language skills. The target learners were students with limited English language
proficiency, defined as those with Malaysian University English Test (MUET) Bands 1 to
3. These students were required to enroll in the English for Social Purposes course
Levels 1 and 2 as a prerequisite for enrolling in other generic English Language courses.
The concept of scaffolding students’ learning was incorporated to ensure that students of
limited English language proficiency were given enough guidance to enable them to move
beyond their present levels of mastery of the language. The materials were designed to
reflect the process of the teacher passing over control of the learning to the students when
they are ready. The early part of each learning unit is characterised by the teacher
providing a great deal of input in the field-building and modeling stages, and the later
part of the unit contains activities performed independently by the students.
We believe that this is a better approach than the teacher taking on the rather passive role
of a facilitator throughout the teaching-learning process, especially when teaching
students with limited proficiency in English. Students without adequate general
knowledge of the field, vocabulary power and grammatical knowledge of English would
not have the resources to produce independent output without considerable help from the
teacher. By scaffolding their learning in these areas, the students are helped to operate
above their entry level specific competencies, and this leads to learning.
The genre-based approach was adopted as the theoretical framework instead of the
commonly-practised communicative approach because the former is a recent
development in language pedagogy and it has been found to be effective in the teaching of
writing in English in second language situations (see Baxter, n.d.; Bhatia, n.d.; Haq, 2006;
Henry & Roseberry, 1999). We took the approach further and used it to design materials

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for teaching oracy skills. In the genre-based approach, language is viewed as a
“communicative resource” (Feez, 1998) for negotiating meanings, and chunks of language
(texts) are produced to achieve certain communicative purposes through the use of typical
discourse features and language functions.
The coursebook for this course is divided into 11 learning units, with a specific
communicative purpose for each unit. For example, Learning Unit 2 looks at describing
people while Learning Unit 4 covers interacting in the classroom. Each unit presents an
integrated approach to the teaching of social interaction skills using a unifying topic or
theme. The vocabulary and grammatical structures are taught in the context of the theme,
for example, for effective classroom interactions with the lecturer, students need to be
able to use expressions for interrupting, expressing disagreement of opinions and asking
for clarification. These language structures are highlighted instead of tenses, subject-verb
agreement or forms of questioning which are general grammar problems. Making these
grammatical mistakes does not have as serious consequences as the inability to use polite
expressions to interrupt or to express contradictory opinions in a formal lecturer-student
relationship.
An “integrated approach” to teaching the various skills is adopted, whereby the materials
for one type of activity are adapted for other activities while a significant part of the
linguistic material remains relatively constant (Ali & Thurgood, 1991). The unit begins
with a session to build students’ background knowledge on the topic, followed by three to
four dialogues. In the listening comprehension questions, students’ attention is slowly
drawn to the use of appropriate expressions, and openings and closings of conversations
with that particular communicative purpose. The fourth dialogue is usually one where the
register is inappropriate to the social context to demonstrate the importance of
appropriate language use.
Next, language structures relevant to the communicative purpose are highlighted, and
these are practised in role-plays which move from gapped dialogues to line dialogues
and finally to independent role-plays. Reading texts and writing tasks are also
incorporated to ensure integration of language skills where relevant although the focus is
on oracy skills.
Given the constraint of time (4 hours of instruction per week over 13 weeks in the
English for Social Purposes course) and the lack of an English-speaking environment in
the tertiary institution where this study was conducted, the genre-based approach was felt
to be an effective approach for teaching students with limited English language
proficiency. Students are taught how to communicate effectively for a specific social
purpose using relevant language structures and discourse level structures, and they
practise using these immediately in simulated situations.

PARTICIPANTS
The participants of this study were 22 instructors teaching the English for Social

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Purposes course and about 850 undergraduates placed in 34 classes. Some of the
instructors had taught the course before and the textbook used then was Nunan’s (2001)
Expressions: Meaningful English Communication, Book 1 and Book 2. The newly-
designed curriculum for this course was first implemented from July to October 2006,
and the instructors had to make adaptations to suit the pedagogical approach of the
curriculum. How successfully they used the materials as intended will be described in
Results and Discussion.

DATA COLLECTION

For this study, the main technique for data collection was observations by the coordinator
of the course, one of the key persons involved in the design of the teaching and learning
materials for this course. The observations were conducted to evaluate whether the
materials were effective for teaching the intended learning outcomes, and whether they
were used as intended. The observation sessions were spread over one semester. The
instructors were observed only once during the semester for a duration of 30 to 60
minutes. Attempts were made to observe how materials for different parts of the units
were used – not necessarily the same unit because the organisation of the units was
similar. A total of 17 out of 22 instructors were observed. Notes were taken and the
lessons audiotaped but some of the recordings were unclear due to background noise and
distance from the tape recorder.
In addition, instructors were asked for their views of each learning unit through a course
evaluation questionnaire. In the questionnaire, they were also invited to provide
qualitative comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the unit. Their qualitative
comments proved to be more informative than the questionnaire responses, as will be
explained in the next section.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The observation data and course evaluation feedback data were analyzed for results on
aspects in which the materials met expectations, aspects in which the materials were used
as intended (or not as intended), and aspects overlooked in the design of the materials.
For the last two categories, appropriate strategies were also suggested based on the data,
aims of the course and the pedagogical principles underlying the materials design.
A point to note when referring to frequencies in the tables – the numbers for each aspect
of the learning unit do not add up to the total number of instructors observed (17) because
the teaching of each instructor was not observed for the whole unit. It is not the aim of
this study to evaluate the instructors but to find out how the materials were used or not
used as intended.

Aspects in Which the Materials Met Expectations

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An analysis of the course evaluation questionnaires showed that instructors had positive
perceptions of various aspects of the course materials: content, staging, pace, workload,
difficulty level and teacher’s notes. However, their qualitative feedback told a different
story (reported in the next subsection). Features of materials which have stood the
classroom test will be described in this section.

Interest and familiarity

The texts (dialogues, reading texts, role-play situations and writing tasks) which touched
on various aspects of student life came across as relevant and interesting to the
instructors. Instructor 9 suggested the inclusion of more fun articles such as gossips about
celebrities instead of “serious” topics. In fact, the question of interest and familiarity is
very important to both instructors and students. Based on her experience of developing
materials for tertiary level expository writing in the Philippines, Fortez (1995) concluded
that:

[I]f students find the text interesting, they are likely to exert more effort to understand
it. Also, if the text is on a familiar topic, learners can more easily identify with it. …
they [the teacher] can provide more relevant inputs [sic] about the topic. This will
increase teachers’ enthusiasm which, in turn, can greatly motivate learners. (p. 77)

Although the materials are generally interesting and familiar to the users, there is still
room for improvement because observations indicated that some instructors were not
able to generate as much interest about the topics as expected.

Formality in social context

This course stresses the change of register with social context and draws students’
attention to how the levels of formality in language use can change with the interactants.
Role relationship and status differential are highlighted. The learning units alert students
to various instances when they might have sounded rude due to their choice of
expressions and language structure for conveying their meanings. Instructor 20 reported
that “some [students] were surprised that some of their behaviours were actually rude.”
In this respect, the materials have achieved one of its purposes, that is, to teach students
how to use politeness strategies in English.

Ample opportunities to use the English language to perform various functions

In addition, the materials have met expectations pertaining to adequacy of oral practice
for students to develop social interaction skills in English: “sufficient materials for
practice” (Instructor 15) and “sufficient and many exercises/ samples to practise on”
(Instructor 10). In general, each unit provides four listening texts for input and eight for
guided and independent role-plays. Students also learnt how language features change
from face-to-face interactions to other modes of communication such as emails and
telephone conversations. Our goal was the development of the students’ ability to use
language as a resource for conveying meaning rather than as a means to demonstrate

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correct sentence forms.
Having described characteristics where the materials met the expectations of the
instructors, we move on to the curriculum developers’ assessment of whether instructors
used the materials as intended, and if not, why and how to overcome this problem in the
subsequent use of the materials.

Aspects of Materials that Instructors Were Able or Unable to Use as Intended

Data from observations indicate the materials did not sit well with many instructors who
are used to coursebooks with grammar drills and reading comprehension and writing
tasks. The two distinctive concepts underlying the design of the materials, scaffolding and
the genre-based approach, did not seem to be caught by many of the instructors, as
evident in the manner in which the materials were used (see Table 1 in the Appendix).

Field-building

Most of the teaching sessions observed were the initial field-building stage. Of those
observed, there were some who skimmed the surface in extending students’ general
knowledge on the topic but many demonstrated the skill to build up students’ background
knowledge. An excerpt illustrating good field-building is as follows in a session looking
at:
Focus on yourself, indulge yourself, pamper yourself, what does it mean? You
can guess the meanings of these words, indulge, pamper. Do the things that make you
feel good again. Indulge, pamper. So what are the things that you can do, you can
indulge yourself in or pamper yourself. Shopping? Shop for the things that you like to
buy, that you feel happy about it. Travel? Yes. Go sightseeing, go to places that you
enjoy. What else? Painting yes, that is a way to enjoy yourself. Any others? Go to
the theme park. Yes, go on the rides. Yeah? Something that you enjoy, that can help
you ease your grief. Something that you think you can do to love yourself? Clubbing?
Yes, you may enjoy clubbing. Some may enjoy eating certain types of food, for
example, chocolate, depending on one’s personality. Right, indulge yourself, pamper
yourself, means that you do something that will make you feel good again. You are
going through a tough time right now, so be good to yourself. Loving yourself is the
best gift that you can give yourself. (Instructor 12)

Instructor 12 did not stop at defining “indulge yourself” but went on to describe a range
of things people do to indulge themselves. In many other instances instructors seemed to
“touch and go” in discussing the topic. They were not able to pick up on the students’
responses to take the discussion further. The students might not have adequate knowledge
of the topic but the instructors could not fill in the void.
The superficial field-building could be due to unfamiliarity of instructors with current
issues affecting young people (e.g. the use of Bluetooth technology in mobile phones) or
they might not have felt the need to dwell on a particular topic. The inadequate field-
building is of concern because when students do not have adequate general knowledge of

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the topic or the vocabulary to talk about it, they are not ready to perform the role-plays in
the latter part of the learning unit. It may be necessary to suggest topics and vocabulary
for instructors to discuss in the field-building. Fuller lists of words and expressions
which students could use should be included to provide language support.

Cultural and social knowledge

The instructors observed were able to expand the materials to include relevant
information on cultural norms and practices, social etiquette as well, where relevant. The
dialogues were set in the Malaysian context and sometimes only focused on certain ethnic
groups (e.g. menu of a Chinese-style wedding dinner at a hotel or the Hari Raya open
house practices of Muslims). Students from other cultural groups may not have adequate
cultural information to fully understand the context and the significance of meanings made
in the dialogues. Instructors were expected to use the dialogues as a springboard for
discussion about other related cultural norms and practices. For example, Instructor 5
talked about Western parties, birthdays and graduations:

Birthdays and graduations…er..in Western countries, especially in America, when

students finish their schooling which is in our country equivalent of Form 6 or Form 5
examination. They have got a party, graduation party. They will be dancing and so on
but we don’t have to here. Did you all have a party after you finished your Form 5?
Well, when I was studying, because I studied in a mission school, our KH teacher, he
was an Anglican priest so we had a party at the club near the school. It was a dinner
party to celebrate the end of our Form 5, the exams. It is good to do that but some of
you next time when you become teachers or lecturers, it is good to do that for your
students.

In other parts of the lesson, Instructor 5 talked about topics considered taboo in the
Western context but appropriate in the Malaysian context, for example, asking about
someone’s age and marital status. Providing cultural and social background information
for the dialogues transports the students from the classroom back to the real world they
live in. It may be a good idea to include topics for discussion in the revised version of the
material.

Change of language with formality of situation

A distinctive feature of the materials is the teaching of register. The materials explicitly
draw attention to how formality of language changes with context and role-relationships
of participants in a social interaction. Because of this, instructors highlighted the change
in register to students but some instructors were more adept at doing this than others. For
example, Instructor 2 explained how interactants who are usually formal with each other
switch to informal greetings when the situation is informal:

Imagine now we are in a class, the situation is formal, we have Majlis Berkenalan,
for example. I want to get to know you better so everyone is dressed in jeans, baju
kurung, all dress pretty, not for lessons so the situation will be a social gathering. So,
when you see me in the classroom, in this context, you don’t have to be so formal.

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 You can say Hello Miss? Ok? So two things ah, you have to remember, formal and
informal situations, remember the context, where you are? And what is the purpose?
That will determine your greeting.

In fact, Instructor 2 suggested marking the formality of situations and role-relationships in

dialogues on a “formality line” as a reminder to instructors and students alike. This idea
will be incorporated in the subsequent edition of the materials.
Where the teaching of formality of language is concerned, a listening text is usually
included in the learning unit to illustrate the social inappropriateness that results from the
use of politeness markers that is out of sync with the social context, for example,
interrupting lecturers who are talking with each other with “hello, hello” instead of
“excuse me”. However, Instructor 15 felt uncomfortable with such dialogues and viewed
them as setting bad examples for students to follow. Sometimes drawing attention to
negative consequences works better than urging emulation of good models.

Organisational structure of texts

The genre-based approach to language teaching emphasises how information is structured

in a text to achieve a communicative purpose. For types of interactions with clear staging
such as introducing oneself, ordering food and drinks, and extending and responding to
invitations, the stages are highlighted in the language focus section. For each stage,
alternative expressions for fulfilling the purpose of that stage are suggested and they
usually range from formal to informal expressions (e.g. “Can I get you a Coke?” and
“Coke for you?” for offering drinks). Instructors were expected to draw students’
attention to the typical sequence in which different kinds of information are presented to
effectively fulfill the communicative purpose.
Elements of the teaching of the organisational structure of texts came through in the
lessons observed. A good example of how this is done was demonstrated by Instructor 5:

Now, how did Jason open the conversation? How are you, long time no see?
Remember I have told you. I said that even when you go out shopping, you must
have an introduction, you must have the body of whatever you are talking about and
you must have the conclusion. The conclusion is, Oops I must go now, my lecturer is
here, isn’t it? Just like your writing of essay. You must have the introduction, the
body and the conclusion. Speaking also the same thing, even when you speak on the
telephone. When you phone your friends, what do you say first? Hello, is that Ang
speaking? This is Maznah. You know. That is your introduction. Then you talk about
who, who is it. Have you heard about Alice? She stole Maznah’s boyfriend, that is
the body of the conversation right? Then you say really, where did it happen? how
did it happen? Blah blah blah and so on. That is the body of the conversation and
then you say ok, goodbye. I have to go now. I think my water is boiling on the stove.
That is the conclusion.

However, there is a tendency to stop at the mention of essential kinds of information

without moving on to the sequencing of the information.

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Teaching of grammar in context

One aspect of the materials where materials designers and instructors were at odds with
each other was the teaching of grammar. Following the genre-based approach, grammar is
taught in context, that is, language forms are taught in relation to the functions they
express. The language structures selected are those pertinent to achieving the
communicative purpose of the text. These structures are only pointed out after students
have listened to a few conversations and understood how meanings are made in such
types of texts. Then students are taught how to use such language structures correctly and
appropriately in related spoken or written contexts, with perhaps sample sentences being
written on the board to facilitate explanation.
However, in lessons where the teaching of grammar was observed, it seemed that
instructors were keener to mention linguistic labels for grammatical structures than to
offer in-depth explanation on why and how to use these structures – as illustrated in the
teaching of sequence connectors in describing procedures.

Jason, can you cook rice? There are certain procedures that you follow. Right? Did
you learn to cook rice? You need to learn or not? Yes? So someone helps you? That
person will tell you how many cups of rice. Then what do you do after that? We have
to wash the rice and use a certain amount of water. Right? We have to follow.
(Instructor 13)

Prior to talking about cooking rice, Instructor 13 mentioned many other examples of
procedures such as buying a car and using a new handphone. She roughly talked about the
steps but did not use sequence connectors. Then she announced to the students that
sequence connectors such as first, second and next should be used in explaining
procedures and stopped there. Further explanation on the how and why of using sequence
connectors in describing procedures should have followed. For language structures to be
taught effectively, it may be necessary to list the steps outlined above for a sample lesson
in the Teacher’s Notes.
As for good general language methodology teaching practices, surprisingly, there is little
awareness that the first listening is for gist and the subsequent rounds of listening are for
details – factual, inferential and interpretative comprehension. Obsession with
grammatical accuracy is evident particularly in feedback after student role-plays although
research has shown that fossilised grammatical errors cannot be easily changed. For
example, Instructor 14 stopped students in the middle of the role-play to ask them whether
they should say “at the third floor” or “on the third floor” and even asked the other
students if they were sure of the correct answers. In such cases, accuracy stood in the way
of students’ attempts at meaning-making. Instructor 7 had an unobtrusive way of
suggesting the appropriate prepositions for students to use when she saw that they were
stuck. With her help, the students with limited English proficiency were able to complete
the task of giving directions.
It takes more than explicit Teacher’s Notes to ensure that materials are used as intended

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because of deep-seated beliefs on how language should be taught. However, the least that
materials writers can do is to help instructors understand the rationale for various aspects
of the materials. “Teachers must be able to figure out an instructional material for them to
use it.” Cochingo-Ballesteros (1995, p. 55) stressed this as one of the important lessons
learnt from her experience designing spoken English handbooks and audiotapes for
elementary grades.

Aspects Overlooked in the Design of Materials

The analysis of the instructors’ comments in the course evaluation questionnaire showed
that the main problems in the design of the materials were (a) the curriculum developer’s
assumption that the materials are self-explanatory, (b) monotony in the types of tasks for
language practice and (c) unavoidable technical problems.
First, the flawed assumption that materials are self-explanatory and instructors
understand the pedagogical principles for the design of the materials and have the
knowledge to fully utilise the “skeletal” contents of the materials. The main problem with
this is the section on language structures where the information is given in a table and is
not accompanied by grammar drills of tasks. Instructors were at a loss on what to do with
them. They probably did not notice that the gaps in the gapped dialogues were the
selected language structures taught for that learning unit or they did not realise that they
had to point out how these structures should be used in subsequent role-plays. Similarly,
when reading texts were given to provide background knowledge for discussion,
instructors reported not knowing what to do with them although the oral discussion
questions were given. More explicit Teacher’s Notes will have to be provided.
Second, the need for greater variety in task-types. Instructors 2, 8 and 15 provided
creative suggestions such as getting students to describe their roommate. Some of these
suggestions will be taken up in the revision of the materials. In providing an insider’s
account of a textbook project, Richards (1995, p. 107) stressed that “every exercise
should have some novel or special feature, that is some special twist to make it more
appealing and original.” The present materials seemed too much of a routine and lacked
pizzazz. While the monotony of task-types can be addressed, the structure of learning
units will be maintained because it is based on the concept of scaffolding and the genre-
based approach.
Finally, the technical quality of the recording and clarity of graphics in the materials is
regrettable. This has caused a great deal of frustration among instructors and students.
The development of the materials, particularly the fine-tuning, took longer than
anticipated and the presentation aspects of the materials were compromised due to the
time constraint.
One aspect that is unsettling for instructors but is intended by the curriculum developers
is the omission of sample answers to prevent the phenomenon of instructors checking for
correct answers. The idea is for instructors to discuss the answers with students, thus
generating opportunities to develop oral interaction skills.

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DISCUSSION
In developing materials for the English for Social Purposes course, we encountered the
problem that Richards (1995) highlighted in his experience of producing language
teaching materials:

Instructional materials are sometimes unsuccessful because they make assumptions

about teachers and learners which are not reflected in the materials. …Successful
materials on the other hand, have clear goals and procedures, produce the kinds of
learning outcomes they were designed to teach, are at an appropriate level of
difficulty, and have “value” for both teachers and learners in terms of interest,
usefulness, or relevance. (p. 109)

We had assumed that instructors would understand the intentions of various tasks in the
learning unit and the procedures that students should follow in completing a task. We
were aware that the pedagogical approach was new to instructors but we did not
anticipate that they would have difficulty shifting gear and instead would stick to the
familiar practices of teaching English.

CONCLUSION
We translated the genre-based approach into a set of materials generally workable for
both students and teachers for the teaching of social interaction skills in English. The
materials were slanted towards strengthening listening and speaking skills, but also
provided opportunities for the students to improve their reading and writing skills related
to social communicative purposes relevant to their university life. However, the actual
implementation of the curriculum fell somewhat short of the ideal situation as envisioned
during the design of the materials due to some instructors’ unfamiliarity with the
pedagogical principles underlying the designs of the materials. This study highlights the
importance of instructor training to ensure that materials are used as intended.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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 Principles to Follow When Adopting and Adapting
28 Textbooks and Materials
EARL D. WYMAN

ADOPTING AND ADAPTING CLASSROOM MATERIALS

The selection of textbooks and materials to be used in a classroom is usually done by

supervisors and curriculum committees, but individual teachers sometimes have that
responsibility and opportunity as well. All teachers face the challenge of deciding how to
use the already-selected texts and materials for their individual and specific classrooms.
The intent of this paper is to outline the principles that can guide professionals in
adopting (selecting) and adapting (changing) textbooks and other materials for use in
either a programme or a specific classroom.

THE BABY AND THE BATHWATER

When considering the importance and value of adopting and adapting materials, an
English proverb comes to mind: Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. Freshman
teachers frequently have not learned how to analyse their lessons, and when a lesson goes
badly (and teachers with any degree of expertise have bad lessons), teachers may be
tempted to reject the technique without recognizing that the problem was not the technique
itself but some detail of how it was used. An example of such a time comes to mind.
A few years ago, but at a point in my career when I had more than 20 years of experience,
I had two of my teacher trainees observe an ESL Speaking class that I was teaching. I had
decided to use the strip story as a technique with my class, and at the conclusion of the
lesson, I wished that I had videotaped the class – because everything that can go wrong
with a strip story went wrong for me that day.
Because the class had about 25 students, I had decided that I would divide the class into
two groups and begin by having each group work with a different story, which the groups
would later switch. The first thing that went wrong was that I forgot to arrange for a
second classroom for one of the groups to use. I tried to resolve this by sending one group
outside into a courtyard that proved to be very hot. The challenges continued.
I had explained the technique to each group and had begun distributing the strips for them
to memorize when I realized that I had more strips than there were students. I had not
considered this and decided I would have to give two sentences to one of the students.

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They then began to listen to one another’s sentences in order to determine the sequence.
One group had the sentence, “She turned around and glared at the couple,” and the
students were having a terrible time trying to make sense of it because there was no
female antecedent for “she”, and there was no couple. I eventually realized the sentence
belonged in the other story.
The other group, however, had very little problem assembling their story. One said, “I
think I have the first sentence,” and he recited it. The girl sitting next to him said, “I think
mine is next,” and she gave hers. The girl sitting in the next seat announced that her
sentence would fit next, and so on around the circle. I had forgotten to shuffle/scramble
the sentences, and in a very brief time, they had completed the task and sat looking at me
with that what-was-so-difficult-about-that look on their faces.
Meanwhile the other group was still trying to figure out who the “she” and “the couple”
were, and even after I deleted that sentence, the story was extremely difficult because
there were 13 sentences in the story (including the two that one student had tried to
memorize and recite) and even when correctly assembled, the story was rather difficult
for them.
The lesson was a disaster. And if I had been less experienced as a teacher, I would have
felt completely justified in abandoning the idea of using the strip story as a technique.
Being much experienced, I did not wait long to analyse the lesson and to identify the
(many) reasons why the lesson had failed. It was not the strip story technique that was at
fault, but rather the numerous failings on my part as the instructor that had caused the
problems. As a result, I did not reject the strip story technique because I had been so
incompetent in using it – I did not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
In fact, the very next class period, the baby was retained and the bathwater had been
disposed of. I used the strip story technique again, and the result was as I knew it could
be. This time I divided the class into three groups with 8 instead of 13 sentences in each
story, I also planned for optional sentences which could be deleted to accommodate the
actual number of students who attended the class that day, I colour-coded the strips to
make sure the sentences belonged in the same story, I scrambled the strips before handing
them out. It was not all that revolutionary a process.
The point for recounting this less-than-wonderful experience is to demonstrate how
adopting and adapting are on-going activities for all teachers whether novice or
experienced, and to outline a systematic and organized approach to choosing and altering
materials and techniques for the language classroom.

THE AGE FACTOR

The age of the students the materials will be used with is the first factor that must be
considered, and although the terminology for labelling the different groupings varies from
country to country and school system to school system, these groupings are essentially the

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same. What leads to the uniform grouping of students by age has mostly to do with the
maturity of the students and the characteristics of each, and since maturation develops
independently from chronological age, the following groupings and the ages associated
with each must be accepted as generalizations.

Preschool is the first grouping, and this is the age when students are roughly less than
five years old. These children have spent the first years of their lives with a primary
care-giver and immediate family members, and at this age they demand and receive a
great deal of individual attention. One of the primary objectives in preschool
environments is to assist children in learning to be a part of a group and to share attention
as opposed to monopolizing it. They need to learn many new group behaviours: to eat,
sleep and play on a schedule; to share attention and toys; to participate in choosing and
being part of activities selected by and of interest to others; to meet and get along with
“strangers” – people from beyond the circle of immediate family and close friends. In
contrast to later school experiences, the preschools themselves tend to be very close to
the home of the child or the workplace of one of the parents, and in terms of language, the
curriculum for preschoolers is introductory: letters, numbers, colours; family members
and familiar animals; games and activities that introduce and practice these. The younger
the student, the more essential it is that activities and learning is meaningful and relevant
to the children, and teachers of these students must consider the shortness of their
attention spans and their low tolerance for ambiguity. Perhaps the most important
characteristic of these young learners is that their primary motivation is “play”.

Elementary or primary is the next older grouping, and this group is approximately five
to 12 years of age. We assume that these children have been introduced to and have
developed skills in functioning as a part of a group that consists of others from their
immediate neighbourhood. Where the circle familiar to preschoolers consists of
immediate family and close friends, elementary students are expanding their circle to
include members of other families who live close by but are not as well-known as those
known by preschoolers. Elementary schools tend to be small and close to home where the
students are familiar with most of the stores, parks and community interests; the students
tend to be from similar socioeconomic backgrounds, and, typically, these elementary-age
children are being taught the basics of communication and learning frequently referred to
as “the 3Rs”. They are also expected to function in larger groups and are becoming aware
of characteristics which make people different from one another.

Secondary children are generally thought of as being “teenagers”, a term which conjures
up a wide variety of reactions and images. One of the most dramatic changes at this time
of life is the shift from focus on and attention to family to preoccupation with friends and
even exclusive interest in them. The key to most of what teenagers are interested in and
what they do is “socialization” – making and relating to their peers that they see and want
to have as friends. Their interest shifts to the awareness of clothing, language, activities,
food, idols, heroes, and stars that they perceive will make them fit in with those they want
to have as friends. Because secondary schools are larger and draw from a number of the
smaller elementary schools around them, the diversity of students increases. At a time in

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life when they are anxious about how to make friends from similar or familiar
backgrounds, they are meeting people with a wider variety of experiences.

Adult learners are those who have completed high school and have entered
the world beyond. Where children are focused on play and secondary students
on socializing, adults are focused on “work”. Being able to be independent
and self-reliant are characteristic motivations for this age group; and for the
younger adults, education and training are typically a high priority. Adult
second language learners can be divided into two groups according to their
primary motivation for learning, those who need basic survival skills and
those who need specialized skills for employment.
In summary, students can be divided by age into four groups, each of which
has a dominant drive or motivation for learning. Preschoolers, up to five
years of age, are motivated by the desire to play. Elementary students, 5 to 12,
are motivated by interactions with family and an increasing number of family-
based relationships. Secondary students, ages 12 to 18, are motivated by peer
relationships – friends. Adults, beyond high school, are motivated by work as
a means of achieving independence; when adults are second language
learners, learning the language is seen as the means of being able to survive in
the new environment. The more thoroughly familiar a teacher is with these
age groupings and the characteristics of students in each, the more appropriate
the use of materials will be.

THE PROFICIENCY FACTOR

Adopting and adapting materials for a language classroom is also affected by the
proficiency levels of the students; and proficiency levels are basically divided into four
groups: basic literacy, beginner, intermediate and advanced. Once again, these
classifications are based on generalizations since no clear demarcation between the
groups can be drawn.

Basic literacy students are those who are learning the basics of the language: the
recognition and production of letters, both upper and lower case, and the sounds
associated with them, as well as numbers and simple punctuation. As they become more
capable, these students begin to work with simple and common words or short common
sentences learned as chunks such as “howeryu”.
Beginner level students have become familiar with the alphabet, numbers and a few
simple words, and now they are essentially developing vocabulary. At the lower levels
of beginning proficiency, nouns and verbs are the primary focus with adjectives and
adverbs also being learned. The vocabulary tends to be concrete and familiar words, and
as proficiency develops, these students begin to formulate and use simple sentences. They
begin to identify individual words in the chunks they have learned.

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Intermediate students have a growing vocabulary of content words, but they are now
becoming increasingly able to produce sentences. Initially they produce simple sentences
and develop an increasing ability to use compound and complex structures. As they
approach the advanced level, they demonstrate the ability to construct multiple sentences
on the same topic which can be classified as paragraphs, but they tend to be simple
paragraphs both in terms of structure and vocabulary and are limited to familiar topics.
These paragraphs can be either in oral or written language, but they are paragraphs by the
fact that they are multiple sentences on a single topic.
Advanced level students are increasingly competent at producing a variety of structures
including compound-complex sentences, again in both speaking and in writing. They can
construct paragraphs with more and more ease, and they become capable of producing
multiple paragraphs on a single topic, an essay.
Again, this classification of proficiency levels is oversimplified, but it serves the
purpose of being able to adopt and adapt materials for language learners. Basic literacy
students have one basic objective which is to learn the alphabet and numbers, beginners
are dealing with vocabulary building of concrete and familiar words, intermediate
students produce sentences with developing skill, advanced proficiency is demonstrated
with the production of multiple paragraphs on a single topic. As proficiency develops for
any of these students, they begin to function with the skills of the next level, and on some
topics may be unusually competent or incompetent depending on opportunity and interest.
This simple classification does not address the fact that language learners are seldom
consistent in their proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing. They can also
vary remarkably in their proficiencies with grammar and vocabulary. Nevertheless, for
the purpose of selecting materials to be used with a group of students, these
classifications are useful. To the extent the material is not suitable, adaptation is needed.

THE METHOD OF PROCESSING FACTOR

“Method of processing” is what some might refer to as preferred way of teaching and
learning. Educators have developed the terms “top-down”, “bottom-up” and “integrative”
to describe what is intended by the use of the word processing in this discussion, but
difficulty can be experienced when the attempt is made to classify a classroom activity as
clearly one or the other.
Top-down activities are those that are intended to create an interest in and a general
familiarity with a topic. They are frequently very general or broad, and they are often
criticized as being unconnected to an educational objective. Common activities that are
top-down in nature might be field trips, guest speakers, video clips, or movies, For many,
they are the essence of the “whole language approach”, for they create a common

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experience about and for which language can be taught and learned. A field trip to a
senior citizen’s home might familiarize the students with the way elderly people are cared
for, and the visit can lead to other classroom activities that focus on specific vocabulary
development, reading assignments, discussion groups or writing tasks. In music training,
a choir director might require his singers to listen repeatedly to a musical recording prior
to the sections practicing their own parts and eventually putting the four parts together. At
the beginning of a course for trainees learning how to teach reading, a bowl of salad was
given to each student. As they ate the salad, they were assigned to identify the ingredients
and to create the recipe that would enable another person to make it. The uses of a field
trip, an audio recording or a fruit salad are examples of what is referred to as a top-down
approach or moving from the general to the specific.

Bottom-up activities, in contrast, move from the specific to the general and tend to focus
on the subskills which combine to create a skill. Driving a car is a skill which consists of
a combination of multiple subskills, and learning to drive a car is a useful example of a
skill that involves a bottom-up approach. The learner may sit in a car with no key in the
ignition and no gas in the tank, and simply follow the instructions to shift the gears, from
Park to Reverse to Park to First, to Second, etc., sitting perfectly still in the garage but
nevertheless learning to drive. Similarly, learning the meaning of the various road signs
can be done completely away from any vehicle, but this learning is an essential part of
becoming a competent driver. Developing the skill of reading comprehension begins with
learning to recognize the letters of the alphabet, learning the meaning of indentations,
identifying main ideas, and many other subskills, many of which precede actually reading
for comprehension. Teaching individual subskills may appear to have little to do with the
ultimate task, but the bottom-up approach is unavoidable.

Integrative activities combine the top-down and the bottom-up approaches and this is the
approach that is most often followed. One ESL writer, in discussing the pros and cons of
the two approaches, suggests that expecting a teacher to use one or the other was
comparable to expecting a cow to walk on either its right legs or its left. The cow is
going to use both right and left legs to walk, and a teacher is going to use both top-down
and bottom-up approaches in teaching. Those involved in selecting and adapting
textbooks and materials for the classroom consider both approaches to be appropriate
and useful, and the use of one or the other exclusively is rather difficult to find or to
imagine.

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Put Them All Together

Three factors have been introduced here in a simplistic and generalized way; volumes
could and have been written on any one of the classifications identified within all three of
them. The descriptions are acknowledged as being generalizations and simplifications to
help the uninitiated select and adapt materials for classroom use.
The next step is to put these three factors together in such a way as to utilize the
information in the task of adopting and adapting. To accomplish this, the three factors and
their subdivisions are combined in the following matrix (see the next page), the age factor
represented by a column down the left, the proficiency level by a row across the top and
the method of processing by a column down the right. Each box on the matrix is divided
with a diagonal line to account for both top-down and bottom-up techniques; each
triangular space is numbered for convenience in referring to the different combinations
that might describe a class.

Using the Matrix Adopt Materials

To become familiar with the matrix, find triangle #2 and identify the characteristics of
this class. This particular class is a basic literacy class of preschoolers doing a bottom-
up activity, and these students would perhaps be playing a game which would be teaching
them the alphabet. Next, find #19 and describe this class. Hopefully, you identify this one
as a beginner level secondary class doing a top-down activity. As beginners they could
be primarily focused on developing vocabulary, and as teenagers, their interest would be
in the entertainers and stars that enjoy current popularity.
Triangle #30 is an intermediate level class of adult students who are learning the
language for general “survival” purposes and are using a bottom-up activity. An example
of an activity that might be pursued with them would be a worksheet on which they
identify a series of sentences according to the sentence structure –simple, complex,
compound or compound-complex. The topic of the sentences would be something that
was of interest and relevance to that particular class: custodial work, a particular
occupation, obtaining translation and interpretation services, making appointments with a
doctor.
A Matrix Guide for Adopting and Adapting ESL Materials

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Triangle #15 would be an advanced level class of elementary students doing a top-down
activity. An example of this could be watching a 15-minute segment of a Disney movie
such as Finding Nemo or The Rescuers with the follow-up activity to be a discussion
about what happens next in the story.
A #20 class would be beginner level secondary students in a bottom-up activity:
developing a list of action verbs observed in a series of pictures or video clips of
popular movie or television starts.
A #23 class would be advanced level secondary students doing a top-down activity. Such
an activity might be assigning the students to watch and write a 150-word summary about
a specific half-hour sitcom. In the next class, the students could be paired to read one
another’s paragraphs and discuss the summaries.

USING THE MATRIX TO ADAPT MATERIALS

The matrix can be used, as seen in the examples above, to select or adopt materials, and
the second application of the matrix is for adaptation purposes. The examples used above
can be used to demonstrate. Just as some forms, charts or tables are very clear and

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meaningful to the person who created them and much less clear to others, adaptations are
more obvious to the person who makes them. The need to adapt and the way to adapt vary
greatly, and discussion and explanation are often necessary. These are some examples.
The #15 class is advanced elementary students using a top-down activity, in this case a
Disney clip leading to a discussion of what follows. If adapting this for a #19 class, the
nature of the #19 needs to be identified and the differences between the two classes as
well. The #19 is a beginning secondary top-down class, and the significant adjustments
would require changing from sentence to word in terms of proficiency, from childhood
family and friends to teenage socializing, using a movie clip. Adapting would suggest the
need to change to developing vocabulary using a movie or video clip about those things
that are of importance to teens. Using a popular movie clip and pausing it from time to
time to ask them to list the picture words they have seen that are focused on clothing, for
example, and adjectives they want to know to describe what they have seen.
Adapting the #20 (beginner secondary bottom-up) activity for a #38 (academic English,
for example, intermediate, bottom-up) would mean adapting the activity of listing action
verbs about movie stars to, perhaps, combining sentences about volcanoes.
As a final example, adapting the #23 (advanced secondary top-down) watching a sitcom
and writing a summary could be adapted for a #12 (beginner elementary top-down). To
do this the teacher would move from sentence to word proficiency level and make a
change from a sitcom to a children’s book for learning the words needed to talk about the
picture. “What begins with a ‘B’?”

CONCLUSION

The intent of the matrix is not to confuse (although that has proven to be the case with
some teachers), but to systematically remind users of the variables introduced by
differences in age, proficiency, and learning or teaching style. Teachers who develop the
ability to adopt and adapt in a meaningful way will find additional and extensive
applications for their reservoir of teaching ideas. Sometimes we do not need more ideas
as much as we need skill in adapting those ideas we have already acquired for use with a
different class.

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 Politeness Strategies as an Incorporated Component
29 in Material Development
NORHISHAM MOHAMED AND ALAUYAH JOHARI

INTRODUCTION

Politeness can be treated as socially correct behaviour within a culture. Politeness is also
defined by the concern for the feelings of others and showing awareness and caring for
others as opposed to impoliteness or rudeness. It used to be considered as the norms of
the upper class conduct. Politeness is also viewed as ways in which speech acts are
performed. It is a concept on how things are said as opposed to what things are said.
Politeness is a social norm which is expected by speakers and hearers in conversations.
Conventions of politeness vary considerably between language communities. Inability to
understand this social aspect may lead to failure to communicate successfully. However,
what are these conventions that exist in a given language community? It is therefore the
aim of this study to look at how these social norms can be observed and described in a
homogeneous Malay academic setting.

BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Observations at typical Malaysian public service counters show the following features.
They include absence of basic linguistic features which should be present in the
encounters, specifically service encounters. They are the absence of greetings in
openings. In closings, where customers thanked the service providers, no response was
given by the service providers. In other cases, the address form used by speakers to
address the listeners as a politeness strategy is taken otherwise by the listeners. For
example, the use of kinship address like sister or aunt to old listeners (especially by
speakers who do not appear that much older than the listeners) is taken as being impolite
by the listeners while the speakers mean to convey otherwise (that is to be polite).
Obviously, based on these situations, there seem to be no agreement on what Malaysians
perceive as polite.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The aim of this study is to look at the features which constitute linguistic politeness and
how Malay speakers employ them as politeness strategies in making and responding to

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requests to different set of hearers in a homogenous Malay academic institution.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Meir (1995) suggests that politeness is best defined as appropriate behaviour in context.
Politeness can be treated as a fixed concept, as in the idea of “polite social behaviour”,
or etiquette, within a culture.
According to Brown and Levinson (1987), there are basically four politeness strategies
which speakers employ in a speech act. They are:
1. Bald on-record strategy
2. Positive politeness strategy
3. Negative politeness strategy
4. Off-record indirect strategy
A Homogeneous Malay Academic Institutional Setting refers to Universiti Teknologi
MARA (UiTM), which is a public university which has more than 90% of its population
consisting of the Malay ethnic group. It is the most homogenous Malay academic
institution in Malaysia. Institutional setting is a formal organizational setting as opposed
to any informal setting.
Request means politely or officially asking for something. In particular, this study will
focus on the strategies used in making and responding to requests which are referred to as
“request token” (Harris, 2003, p. 30).

SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF STUDY

This study applies only to Malay speakers in a homogeneous Malay academic institution.
Although there are other ethnic groups in Malaysia, they may employ different politeness
strategies, as politeness is culture specific. This means that what is considered polite by
Malay speakers may not be recognized as so by other speakers even though they are also
using Bahasa Malaysia.
This study will cover the present time period to see what constitutes linguistic politeness
and how the Malay speakers employ politeness strategies in this homogeneous Malay
academic institution at this particular point in time.
The study is also limited to the use of politeness strategies in making and responding to
requests. Since politeness is in relation to the performance of “face threatening acts
(FTAs)” (Brown and Levinson, 1987), so then making and responding to requests pose
threats to face, and are therefore face threatening acts.
Another foreseeable limitation to this study is code-switching. This means to change in
languages within a single speech event (Saville-Troike, 2003, p. 48). In this context, the

326
languages involved are Bahasa Malaysia and English. As data will be based on
recordings of real or genuine interactions between speakers in making and responding to
requests, it is not possible to monitor or control the choice of language by the speakers.

LITERATURE REVIEW

For the purpose of this study, the face-saving view of Brown and Levinson (1987) is
used. Brown and Levinson (BL) view politeness as a means of meeting others’ needs for
respect and autonomy. This is because most researchers have based their works on
Brown and Levinson’s model compared to others. Their model presented in the book
entitled Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage is considered to offer the most
comprehensive discussion on politeness and is said to be the most influential work on
politeness.

BL Concept of Face

Brown and Levinson (1987) base their theory of politeness universals on the concept of
face, following Erving Goffman (1967). Face is the public self-image that all individual
adult members of society possess. The positive face is the desire to be liked, accepted,
admired, respected, appreciated or approved by others. The negative face is the desire or
the need to have personal rights, territories, freedom to action and freedom from
imposition or to be unimpeded. All participants in spoken interaction emotionally invest
in face and it is in their mutual interest to constantly maintain each other’s face.

BL concept of FTA

This refers to acts of speech or non-verbal communication that makes it difficult for the
hearer or the other party to maintain positive or negative face. An intrusion on another
person’s face is a potential FTA.
Threats to positive face refer to negative evaluations (disapproval, criticism,
disagreement, contradiction, reprimands, complaints), indifference to hearers’ interests
(refusals, rejections, non-cooperation, bad news, touchy topics, embarrassing topics).
Threats to negative face refer to predictions of the hearers’ future acts (orders, advice,
suggestions, reminders, threats, warnings), statements that hearers are required to accept
or reject (offers, invitations, promises, requests).
Speakers may choose to perform an FTA or not. If they choose to perform an FTA, they
may decide to do it on-record or off-record. According to BL, the basically four
politeness strategies which speakers employ in a speech act are:
1. The bald on-record strategies do nothing to minimize threats to the hearer’s
“face”. They are on-record strategies without redressive action.

327
 2. The positive politeness strategies are on-record strategies with redressive
actions.
3. The negative politeness strategies also recognize the hearer’s face. However,
they also recognize that you are in some way imposing on them and you respect
their freedom of action and freedom from imposition.
4. Off-record indirect strategies take some of the pressure off the hearer. They flout
Grice’s conversational maxims by being indirect, vague, incomplete or
overdone, not explicitly relevant.

Weaknesses of BL

BL politeness model is based on a study of three languages. They are: South Indian Tamil
(from a village in the Coimbatore District of Tamilnaidu), Tsetzel (a Mayan language
spoken in a community of Tenejapa in Chiapas, Mexico) and English (from both sides of
the Atlantic) (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 59). These form part of the basis for criticism
of BL model. A study of only three different cultures is said to be too ambitious to
represent a universal view of politeness.
In contrast to BL, other researchers have taken a more complex view of politeness. While
BL focus on interaction in informal contexts and at discourse levels on short stretches of
talk by individuals, Harris (2001), Mills (2003) and others argue that politeness needs to
be viewed from the perspective of the communities of practice (developed by Wenger,
1998) and at discourse level over stretches of talk in more institutional contexts.
If we were to accept both models as working together to give us a more comprehensive
understanding of the concept of politeness, then politeness is related to the concept of
face which individuals have and work to maintain in conversation. It is a mutually
accepted concept. However, politeness can be interpreted at an individual level or at the
level of a community of practice (consisting of individuals). What is considered polite
varies from situations or contexts which may be formal (institutional) or informal.
Mills (2003) proposes a more complex model of the way that politeness and impoliteness
operate. She moved towards looking at the communities of practice (developed by
Wenger, 1998) and in relation to language and gender by Eckert and McConnell-Ginet
(1998, 1999), rather than individuals, which arbitrate over whether speech acts are
considered polite or impolite.

Factors Affecting Politeness Strategies

The factors which affect the choice of politeness strategies by speakers include
solidarity, power, gender, age and context. Solidarity refers to the closeness between
speaker and hearer. This may operate within the group or by an individual speaker in a
particular situation.

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METHODOLOGY

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

The review of literature in politeness strategies suggests that the most influential model is
that of Brown and Levinson (1987). Others (Wenger, 1998; Eckert & McConnell-Ginet,
1998, 1999; Mills, 2003; Harris, 2003) have also developed their understanding of
politeness based on BL with a major shift in the concept of politeness, which moved from
the notion of politeness being an individual concept in an informal situation and based on
individual speech acts to the concept of politeness being determined by the communities
of practice in a formal or institutional context at a discourse level over stretches of talk.
The conceptual framework developed is therefore based on the assumption that the BL
model of politeness strategies can be applied in the study of politeness strategies by
Malay speakers with modification based on later works by Mills (2003) and others.
Therefore, politeness is determined by the communities of practice, as opposed to
individual judgement and that it is not based on individual speech acts but at a discourse
level over stretches of talk in a formal or institutional context as opposed to informal
context.

Legal and Ethical Issues

In order to overcome any legal as well as ethical issues, informed consent must be
obtained from the researched. So for the purpose of this study, informed consent will be
obtained from subjects by adapting Johnstone’s Sample 4.1 – Certification of Informed
Consent Form (2000, p. 44).

Sampling

A sample of five respondents will represent each group to be studied. The group referred
to include five male and five female lecturers, five male and five female non-academic
staff, and five male and five female students.

Research Methodology

A qualitative method is employed in this research. It is based entirely on fieldwork where

data is collected as it occurs in real time. It involves direct first-hand recording of speech
events by participants carrying out their daily activities. It involves looking at politeness
at only one academic institution which is UiTM. It is considered as a strategic case
selection as there is only one homogeneous Malay academic institution in Malaysia. It
aims to describe the politeness strategies employed and not quantify them.

Testing Validity and Reliability in Qualitative Research

For the purpose of this study, triangulation can be defined as a validity procedure where

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researchers search for convergence among multiple and different sources of information.
Triangulation which will therefore result in features of a good qualitative study include:
1. thick descriptive account of recorded and transcribed data,
2. intensive investigation over time, and
3. use of multiple approaches-triangulation where data is recorded at different
settings (in the same campus), different participants (students, lecturers and other
staff) and at many campuses.

Data Collection and Analysis

Data is collected using voice recorders to record request tokens, making field notes of the
context and conducting interviews with the chosen sample or respondents. Analysis
involves transcribing and conducting a conversation analysis of the data collected.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES
The expected outcomes include the identification of different linguistic features as
politeness strategies among Malay speakers, and the most significant contribution to
knowledge and the nation is to document a description of the politeness strategies by
identifying their realization in the linguistic forms which the speakers use to demonstrate
them.

IMPLICATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHING

MATERIALS
So, how will this study contribute to material development? It is hoped that a description
of Malay politeness will surface and this description can be used by material developers
to incorporate the notion of Malay politeness as described in this institutional context.
Readers who will join this institution as members of this community of practice will
become more aware of what is perceived as polite and will hopefully function more
successfully in this community. This is important as a success of a communicative event,
in this case a request, depends on whether the members play their roles as expected
which means a polite request will hopefully result in a positively polite response as
politeness is a social norm which is expected by both parties involved in this request
token.
The task lies upon the material designers to translate the resultant Malay politeness model
into real linguistic items to be taught and discussed in class. Learners vary from the very
young to the older ones. As mentioned earlier, politeness is developed in the growing up
process as partly acquired informally and partly taught formally. Therefore, it is
suggested that politeness at a higher level should be treated as a specific topic in the text

330
as opposed to indirect exposure in materials for younger learners.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, this study hopes to describe and document what is considered as politeness
strategies in a Malay academic setting. The findings can then be used to develop and
design materials for classroom use so that communication becomes more successful as
the social norm which is now clear to both parties, is adhered to.

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 List of Contributors
Alauyah Johari
Language Studies Academy
Universiti Teknologi MARA (Kedah)
Malaysia
Ambigapathy Pandian, Professor
School of Education
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Penang, Malaysia
Amy B.M. Tsui
The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Anna Christina Abdullah
Professor Madya Dr.
School of Education
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Penang, Malaysia
Brian Tomlinson
Visiting Professor
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds, United Kingdom
Collin Jerome
Centre for Language Studies
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
Diana Carol
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
Earl D. Wyman
Bringham Young University-Hawaii
Hawaii, USA
Ena Bhattacharyya
Management and Humanities

333
Department
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
Perak, Malaysia
Hosna Hosseini
Islamic Azad University
Quchan, Iran
Inranee R. Liew
Disted Stamford College
Penang, Malaysia
Leily Ziglari
Islamic Azad University of Najafabad
Esfahan, Iran
Lily Law
Centre for Language Studies
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
Mahanita Mahadhir
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
Malini Ganapathy
Penang Free School
Penang, Malaysia
Mariah Ibrahim
Middle East Technical University
Ankara, Turkey
Ma’ssoumeh Bemani Naeini
PhD student at Universiti Sains Malaysia
Penang, Malaysia
Islamic Azad University
Mashhad Branch, Iran
Mohamad Jafre Zainol Abidin, Dr.
School of Education
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Penang, Malaysia
Mohamed Abu Bakar
Curriculum Development Centre
Ministry of Education
Putrajaya, Malaysia

334
Mohammad Alshehab
PhD student at Universiti Sains Malaysia
Center for Language Studies and
Translation
Penang, Malaysia
Mohd. Saat Abbas
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Merbuk
Kedah, Malaysia
Nafiseh Salehi
PhD candidate in TESL
Universiti Malaya
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Norhisham Mohamed
Senior Private Secretary
Deputy Minister Office
Ministry of Human Resources
Putrajaya, Malaysia
Peggy Tan Pek Tao
School of Languages, Literacies and
Translation
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Penang, Malaysia
Punitha Vayaravasamy
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bedong
Kedah, Malaysia
Rahim Kaviani
PhD candidate
Universiti Malaya
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Rouzbeh Khalili
Esfahan University of Technology
Esfahan, Iran
Saabdev Kumar Sabapathy
Currently a student at the Faculty of
Educational Studies
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Selangor, Malaysia
Saraswathy Thurairaj

335
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
Selangor, Malaysia
Sarjit Kaur, Professor Madya Dr.
School of Humanities
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Penang, Malaysia
Shahrina Md Nordin
Management and Humanities
Department
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
Perak, Malaysia
Shashi Naidu
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma, USA
Shobha Shinde
Department of Comparative Languages
and Literature
North Maharashtra University
Maharashtra, India
Siti Rafizah Fatimah Osman
Academy of Language Studies
Universiti Teknologi MARA (Perlis)
Malaysia
Sohel Ahmed Chowdhury
University of Chittagong
Chittagong, Bangladesh
Su-Hie Ting
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
Suzihana Shaharan
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan
Tikam Batu
Kedah, Malaysia
Swagata Sinha Roy
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
Selangor, Malaysia
Ting Su Hie
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

336
Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
Wong Chiew Lee
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (Lelaki)
Methodist
Penang, Malaysia
Yahya Che Lah
School of Distance Learning
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Penang, Malaysia
Zhang Xiaohong
School of Education
University of Ballarat
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

337
About This Book
This book reflects an exceptional collection of articles, literature reviews and research
findings primarily linked to curriculum and material development activities. The book
covers various aspects from the theoretical frameworks and research findings that govern
curriculum and material development processes to actual classroom practices that
incorporated learners’ needs and contexts. Articles and research findings selected and
presented in this book are primarily based on practicing school teachers’ interest. In
addition to its wide coverage in terms of topics and contents, the book authors and
contributors are from both local and abroad. This book is intended for university
students, curriculum planners, teachers, school administrators and teacher trainers that
serve as guide for courses in language material design and curriculum and instruction.

338
339
Índice
Cover 2
Half Title Page 3
Title Page 4
Copyright Page 5
Contents 6
Preface 9
Abbreviations 10
Introduction 12
1. Innovative Ideas to Promote Creative Literacy Practices — Sarjit
15
Kaur & Malini Ganapathy
2. Innovative Strategies in English Teaching – Learning in the Rural
31
Context — Shobha Shinde
3. The Use of Adapted Movies from Novels (The Kite Runner and
The Namesake) as a Way to Stimulate Reading for Malaysian 38
Students — Saabdev Kumar Sabapathy & Swagata Sinha Roy
4. Role-Play: Taking the Line of Least Resistance — Siti Rafizah
50
Fatimah Osman & Mohamad Jafre Zainol Abidin
5. A New Horizon in Writing Classes: Increasing Learners’
63
Autonomy — Leily Ziglary & Rouzbeh Khalili
6. Language Learning Strategies: Current Issues — Nafiseh Salehi &
71
Rahim Kaviani
7. Pedagogy of the Heart: Understanding Resistance in the English
Language Classroom — Mariah Ibrahim & Mohamad Jafre Zainol 77
Abidin
8. Students’ and Teachers’ Preferences of ESL Classroom Activities
87
— Punitha Vayaravasamy & Anna Christina Abdullah
9. Innovative Ways of Teaching English and Foreign Languages —
97
Peggy Tan Pek Tao
10. What Do They Really Need? Developing Reading Activities to
105
Explore the Elements in Literary Texts — Collin Jerome
11. The Teaching of Writing: Looking at the Real Classroom Scenes
127
— Mohd. Saat Abbas, Suzihana Shaharan & Yahya Che Lah

340
12. Feedback in Process Genre-Based Approach to Teaching
Technical Writing — Shahrina Md Nordin, Norhisham Mohammad 139
& Ena Bhattacharyya
13. Lesson Plan and Its Importance in English Language Classroom
152
— Sohel Ahmed Chowdhury
14. Unteaching Strategies: An Approach Based on Error Analysis,
Learners’ Learning Strategies and Task-Based Instruction — Ma 163
’ssoumeh Bemani Naeini & Ambigapathy Pandian
15. Letting Communicative Purpose Direct Teaching of Grammar:
Using the Text-Based Approach — Su-Hie Ting & Mahanita 184
Mahadhir
16. Annotations in Multimedia On-Screen Text in Comparison to the
Printed Text in Enhancing Learners’ of Process-Based Expository 194
Text in Malaysia — Saraswathy Thurairaj
17. Transforming ESL Teaching by Embedding Information and Web
205
Literacies into the Classroom — Sarjit Kaur & Wong Chiew Lee
18. Scary Spiders and Beautiful Butterflies: A Creative Multimedia
Approach to Develop Information Literacy Skills in the Integrated 221
Science and English Classroom — Inranee R. Liew
19. The ESL Curriculum as an Additional Resource for Making
228
Meaning — Amy B.M. Tsui
20. Speaking in the Language Curriculum: The Challenges of
238
Presenting — Mohamed Abu Bakar
21. GOLDEN RICE: Using Simulations in EAP Classes — Shashi
250
Naidu
22. Are the Teaching Practices of Preschool Teachers in Accordance
with the Principles and Learning Components of the National 257
Preschool Curriculum? — Lily Law
23. The Contribution of Language Planning on Military Terminology
267
— Mohammad Alshehab
24. The EFL Constructivist Classroom — Hosna Hosseini 275
25. The Role of EFL Teachers’ Knowledge in Current EFL
Curriculum Reform: An Understanding from a Reconstructionist 282
Perspective — Zhang Xiaohong
26. Using Materials Development to Bridge the Gap Between
341
Theory and Practice — Brian Tomlinson 295
27. Teething Problems in Materials Development for Teaching Social
303
Interaction Skills in English — Ting Su Hie & Diana Carol
28. Principles to Follow When Adopting and Adapting Textbooks
316
and Materials — Earl D. Wyman
29. Politeness Strategies as an Incorporated Component in Material
325
Development — Norhisham Mohamed & Alauyah Johari
List of Contributors 333
About this Book 338
Back Cover 339

342