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TAJUK CADANGAN PENYELIDIKAN: Enhancing speaking skill through Madlipz
Apps:An innovative 21st Century Learning Tool

UNIVERSITI YANG DI POHON

Bil Institut Pengajian Tinggi yang Nama Kursus/ Jumlah keseluruhan jam kredit
dipilih Program yang ditawarkan
1. UNIVERSITI PEDIDIKAN MASTER 42
SULTAN IDRIS EDUCATION
(TESL )
2. USM MA 40
(LINGUISTICS
AND ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
STUDIES
3. UM

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1.0 Introduction
English language learning has always become a topic that is discussed by
Malaysian educators regardless of their teaching levels and has been a crucial issue in
Malaysian education all these years. Not only that, it has always been an accepted norm
regard that Malaysians need to have good proficiency in English language in order to
become a successful individual especially in securing job in the private sector and if not
they are considered to be put in the disadvantaged position (The Star Online, 12 June
2016). Thus, many measures have been taken to improve the command of English
language.
In relation to this, Malaysia Employers Federation (MEF) states that more than
90% employers state the urgent need for graduates to improve their English proficiency
in order to be employable. It has been reported that some fresh graduates, school
leavers, and even diploma holders are unable to even construct proper sentences nor
make themselves understood in a conversation during job interviews (The Star, 2017).
The Education Ministry laments that students struggle and are unable to master
communicating in English even after learning the language for 13 years at primary,
secondary and matriculation levels…” (Hammim, 2011).
The cruel reality of students who are unable to string together coherent sentences
in English after 13 years of schooling, propels educators to examine the factors behind
the said failure (Daily Express, 2015; Sani,2016).From the academia perspective,
educators are of the opinion that remedial action needs to be addressed at the school
level as university professors admit that they are unable to solve the said problem within
the short stint of time that students are in the university (Sani, 2016). The spiraling
problem of graduates’ lack of communication skills is traced back to the foundation laid in
English language proficiency classrooms in the formative school years, as this is where
alonger period of engagement is available with the students.
Many linguistics and ESL teachers agree on that students learn to speak in the
second language by "interacting". Communicative language teaching and collaborative
learning serve best for this aim. Communicative language teaching is based on real-life
situations that require communication and mastery of speaking skill. By using this
method in ESL classes, students will have the opportunity of communicating with each
other in the target language. In brief, ESL teachers should create a classroom
environment where students have real-life communication, authentic activities, and
meaningful tasks that promote oral language. http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kayi-
TeachingSpeaking.html.
This can occur when students collaborate in groups to achieve a goal or to complete a
task given. Yet, it is believed that such measures have yet to show positive results. Thus,

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21st century learning tool which includes digital literacy can help to create a better
communicative environment for learners.
In many ESL classrooms in Malaysia, there is limited access to the exposure of
technology has become an inevitable part of education. In various field of studies, the
use of technology has enhanced the quality of research. In the case of English Language
Teaching, the focus has to be on all the four skills could be done through a combination
of technology and face to face interaction. David Crystal(2010) in his book on language
and internet shares his view on the paradigm shift in the thought process of the present
generation as:
An emphasis, which formerly was on technology, has shifted to be on people and
purposes. And as the Internet comes increasingly to be viewed from a social perspective
,so the role of language becomes central.
http://keeperofthesnails.blogspot.com/2006/10/david-crystal

2.0 Problem Statement

Malaysia students tend to be reserved about voicing their own opinions. Some feels oral
expression or open argumentation brings embarrassment and public disgrace.
For the longest time, Malaysian government has taken countless measures in
ensuring its citizen to acquire good command of English language. However, speaking is
one of the skill that is least mastered by Malaysian students. Many failed to realise that
speaking is the essential tool for communication in the 21st century classroom. Students
need to practice the language to build up fluency.
It is believed that effective material or media used in English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) classes is a crucial aspect of the teaching method. Also, good teaching media can
stimulate the students’ interest and encourage students’ participation in learning practice
(Heinich, 1993; Abdulrahman, 2017). Thus, it is believed that modern technologies
enhance speaking skill. Therefore, this study attempt to propose a new 21st century
technological learning tool to enhance students speaking skill.
This is coherent with CEFR syllabus which emphasises on keeping interaction going in
longer exchanges by asking a speaker to slow down, speak up or repeat what they have
said. Hence, students need to be given the opportunity to experiment English Language
in a formal or informal context.

3.0 Literature Review

Of all four key language skills, speaking is deemed to be the most important in learning a
second or foreign language. As stated by Ur (1996), speaking included all other skills of
knowing that language. Speaking is "the process of building and sharing meaning

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through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney,
1998). Speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching, it's an art of
communications and one of 4 productive skills, that must be mastered in learning foreign
language. Good speaking skills are the act of generating words that can be understood
by listeners. According to Brown and Yule (1983), speaking is the skill that the students
will be judged upon most in real-life situations. It is an important part of everyday
interaction and most often the first impression of a person is based on his/her ability to
speak fluently and comprehensively. So, teachers have a responsibility to prepare the
students as much as possible to be able to speak in English in the real world outside the
classroom. Despite its importance, for many years, teaching speaking has been
undervalued and English language teachers have continued to teach speaking just as a
repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues. However, today's world requires that the
goal of teaching speaking should improve students' communicative skills.

A research by Astuti (2013) who examined the factors that impacted the lack of English
speaking performance in Indonesia found that her respondents likewise admitted that
they felt timid to communicate in English and there were feeling of uncertainty and
nervousness. This indicated how the understudies' speaking focus was influenced no
matter of having the knowledge of the language. Media such as movie with subtitle may
be effective in holding students’ interest. Canning-Wilson (2000) discovered in a large-
scale survey that student tended to prefer entertainment movies to documentaries in the
classroom.
In the present scenario, technology has become a handy tool for both teachers and
learners. It enables the teachers to teach in more interesting and innovative ways and in
the process also makes learning fun and can certainly add another dimension.
Technologically advanced tools such as Blogs, Face book, Skype, Twitter, Whatsapp
and Instagram along with sufficient use of gadgets like Smart phones, laptops or PCs
have changed the physical classroom into a world of possibilities for learning English as
a second language.
This is relevant to Multimedia learning theory which is to investigate the effects of
multimedia strategies on learning. Multimedia typically refers to the presentation of
material in two forms: auditory/verbal and visual/pictorial (Mayer, 2001). The strategies
have included PowerPoint®(Mayer & Johnson, 2008), games (Moreno & Mayer, 2004,
2005), and computer-assisted video learning (Gay, 1986) in a variety of content areas, in
addition to auditory and video media. Mayer’s (2001) cognitive theory of learning is
activated through five steps: (a)selecting relevant words for processing in verbal working
memory, (b) selecting relevant images for processing in visual working memory, (c)

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organizing selected words into a verbal mental model, (d) organizing selected images
into a visual mental model, and (e) integrating verbal and visual representations as well
as prior knowledge.

One of the media that is effective to use in English language teaching is movie clips
through Madlipz Apps. Through movie media, the students will use their two
multisensory, sounds and sight at the same time when doing listening practice.
Moreover, movie media can attract students’ focus and concentration more than only
audio or visual media. Besides, Hruby (2010) also said that audio visual media such as
video may increase the students’ motivation and will make the students happy and fun
when doing listening practice that may affect the students to be more participated in
teaching listening skill process.

4.0 Objectives
The aim of this research is to make the students as better communicators by
incorporating vocal paralinguistic features in their communication through Madlipz Apps,
which would probably enrich their speaking skill.
The main purpose of this study is to analyse the effectiveness of using Madlipz to
enhance speaking competency of second language learner through real-life situation role
play. The researcher aims to examine if using modern technology such as movie clips
can be engaging and helpful in handling real life situations in the 21st century. Hence,
adaptation of this method is hoped to create a motivating and enjoyable 21st century
classroom learning, provide authentic visual context and an exposure to a real life
situation varied language use.
The researcher also believes that by employing this approach to the students it would
contribute to more important findings that would help teachers or educators out there to
understand the phenomenon better and try to overcome problems arise pertaining to
English as second language learning
5.0 Significance of Study
“English teachers have been using films in their classes for decades” James Johnson.
However, re-enacting and revoicing movie clips are rarely done in our classrooms.
Malaysian students’ learning relies heavily on face-to-face delivery dominated by the
teacher and generally lacks student centeredness and dialogues. Therefore, Malaysian
students value learning outcomes rather than the process of learning. Hence, important
learning processes such as evaluative thinking, interpersonal communication, leadership
development, real-life conversation are neglected.

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In relation to this, Alias & Jamaludin (2005) state that Malaysian students apply three
basic cognitive strategies which are rehearse and elaborate through copying, organize
information through visual organizers and seeking instructor assistance whenever
difficulty arises. Why? Malaysian students are exam oriented and work towards getting
paper qualification for a job.
The Bloom’s taxonomy in the 21st century classroom emphasises on creating,
evaluating, analyzing, applying, understanding and remembering. Thus, using movie
clips is coordinated with the 21st century Bloom’s Taxonomy as it provides platform in
creating, fluency building, application, and innovation.
Not only that, this study will help the teachers or educators to realize the importance of
verbal communication in a realistic setting. According to Flynn (1998) video help the
students to understand the instruction more than a textbook because video bring
language in the context of life in realistic settings to the classroom. When someone
watches a movie or even a clip, feelings and emotions are elicited, facts and reaction
from video such as anger, excitement, laughter, relaxation, love or bore.2009)
By realising the importance of using authentic real world movie content, the teachers
would be able to help the students to practice the soft skills and communication skills
needed to take part in the global communities. Furthermore, this study would aid
teachers or educators to have good understanding of essential communication tool and
discovering innovative technology to teach speaking in classroom. By knowing this,
teachers are to facilitate students in their learning by scaffolding and assist them in the
zone proximal development thus let the students explore English language learning by
themselves. Teachers also have to be open in all possibilities to help students’ language
learning.

6.0 Research Questions

a) Does Madlipz improve students’ speaking skill by incorporating vocal paralinguistic
features?
b) Does Madlipz promote motivating real-life interactive learning for students?
c) How does Madlipz help enhance long term memory?
7.0 Methodology
Data will be obtained through observations, open-ended questionnaire, pre-test & post
test with selected candidates.
These data will be analyzed and interpreted qualitatively.
The study will be conducted on Form 1 and 2 students with low oral proficiency (taken
from oral test) in English but had scored well in their written exams.
They are high achievers who rarely speak English at home or outside the classroom.

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Researcher will analyze students speaking skill through Madlipz and capture the
students’ performance on various aspects of communication such as fluency, cohesion ,
pronunciation and use of correct lexical.
In the 21st Century classroom, students are interested in using instant voiceover as an
entertainment such as Dubsmash and Tick Tok. They are willing to adopt the dialogue,
accent and pronunciation that are related to the clips and video. As a result, the
participants adopt the gesture and accent from the video clippings that they have
watched, practiced and in turn improved their communication skills. They are willing to
adopt the dialogue, accent and pronunciation that are related to the clips and video. As a
result, the participants adopt the gesture and accents from the concept. This is the motif
of the researcher that the form 1 and form 2 students should improve their vocal
paralinguistic features, in a methodology in which the learner willingly participate to
shape their speaking skills through a model presentation. This in turn leads to the
eloquence of speech which ultimately leads to eloquence of thought. However, it is
important to choose clips according to the CEFR topics.
The researcher will use Madipz method in which the learner easily adopts the accent,
body language, tone, articulation of what they listen to. Besides, rehearsing, recording
and editing spoken work digitally allows pupils to improve their pronunciation, boost their
confidence, extend their speaking and listen back as many times as they like . Using
Madlipz Apps is similar to video-conferencing and face-to face interaction through online
virtual worlds are becoming increasingly popular as vehicles to promote language
learning.

Bibliography:

English Language Teaching, 7(1),19.

Astuti, D. K. (2013). The Gap between English Competence & Performance

(Performance:

The Learners Speaking Ability). In FLLT Conference Proceedings by LITU (Vol. 2,

No. 1, pp. 660-670).

Rebecca Rajaendram (Sunday, 12 Jun 2016) English skills vital for all The Star Online
retrieved from

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2016/06/12/english-skills-vital-for-all/

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(Saturday, 21 Jan 2017) English proficiency still a big problem for many M’sian grads The
Star Online

retrieved from https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/01/21/english-proficiency-still-

a-big-problem-for-many-msian-grads/#dBJwZoqweRUy6rRF.99

retrieved from: http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kayi-TeachingSpeaking.html.

Al-Jamal, D. A., & Al-Jamal, G. A. (2013). An investigation of the difficulties faced

by EFL undergraduates in speaking skills. English Language Teaching, 7(1),19.

Astuti, D. K. (2013). The Gap between English Competence & Performance

(Performance:The Learners Speaking Ability). In FLLT Conference Proceedings by LITU

(Vol. 2,No. 1, pp. 660-670).

Mayer, R. E. (2001). Multimedia learning. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Mayer, R. E., & Johnson, C.I. (2008). Revising the redundancy principle in multimedia

learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(2), 380–386.

Ur, P. (1996). A course in language teaching, practice and theory. Cambridge University

Press.13

Chaney, A.L., and T.L. Burk. (1998). Teaching Oral Communication in Grades K-8. Boston:

Allyn&Bacon.

David Crystal,(2010) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, University of Wales,

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Suggested course overview:

Activity
1 Discussion on topic and research layout
2 Research and two years overview plan

3 Discussion
4 Sampling

5 Thesis writing

6 Field Work

7 Thesis submission

8 Viva

Full Time (Minimum 1.5 years to maximum 2 years)

Expected Duration :September 2019- September 2021

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Venue :Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris

Program : Master Education (TESL)

Kod : ME03PPL

GRU6014 Research Mesthods in Education 4 Credit - Research Method

BIR6024 Qualitative Research Methods and Approaches 4 Credit - Research Method

BIP6014 Methods and Materials for ESL Teaching 4 Credit

BIL6014 Grammar of English 4 Credit - Major

BIP6024 Assessing Language Competence 4 Credit

BIL6034 New Englishes 4 Credit

BIS6014 Issues in Teaching and Learning of Literature 4 Credit - Education

BIL6054 Discourse Analysis 4 Credit

BIP6034 ESL Course and Syllabus Design 4 Credit

BID6006 Project Paper 6 Credit - Project

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