ELIZABETH AEGIDIUS 1

KK0970087
THE EFFECT OF CODE-SWITCHING AND THE STUDENTS ENVIRONMENT ON
MASTERING ENGLISH FOR STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA

Purpose of study
The purpose of this study is to determine the problems of mastering English for students in Malaysia.
Even though students spend between 11-13 years (6 years in primary school and
between 5 7 years in secondary school) learning English, there are still a portion of
students who are still not able to master the language upon completing secondary
school. There are various factors that could have contributed to this such as,
teachers using the first language to deliver the lesson and students environment.
Background to the study
A lot of English teachers in Malaysia use the first language (Malay) to teach English (code-switch) to
make it easier for the students to learn. According to Huerta-Macias (1992), elaboration happened
when the speaker wanted to add extra information or details on a topic in another language, and for
this study, in English. Moreover, the students environment also contributes to the problem on
mastering the English language for them. According to Morrow & Paratore (1993), the use of

literacy with families that involves the observation and description of literacy events that
occur in the routine of daily lives.
Scope of Study
This study will only focus on students from secondary schools.
Research Methodology
Research population/sample
The population for this study will be students from S.M. St. Michael, Penampang. The sample would
be 33 students from class 2 Bestari.
Proposed data collection method/instruments
Questionnaires would be used as the instrument to collect data for this research.
Data analysis
The data collected will be analysed quantitatively by using the appropriate descriptive and inferential
statistical techniques.
Expected result of the study
It is expected that result will reveal the problems of mastering English among students in Malaysia.
References
Jacobson, R. (2002). Language Mixing in Multilingual Malaysia. Available at: online
http://www.crisaps.org/newsletter/backissue/Rodolfo%20Jacobson_summer2004.pdf

Morrow, L.M., & Paratore, J., (1993). Family Literacy: Perspectives and practices. The
Reading Teacher, 47(3), 194-200.
Teale, W. H. (1994). Home background and young childrens literacy development. In W. H. Teale &
Sulzby, E. (Eds.) Emergent literacy: Writing and reading (pp. 173-206). Norwood: Ablex.