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Parallel 4

English For The Teaching Of Mathematics And Science(ETeMS):

Some Aspects Of The Preparedness Of Teacher Trainers,
School Teachers and Teacher Trainees
Wrutheran Sinnadurai
Maktab Perguruan Kuala Terenganu

Wrutheran Sinnadurai ABSTRACT

is the Head of the
Science Department.
His area of In view of the implementation of the teaching of science and mathematics
specialization is in
mathematics and in Malaysian schools in English since January 2003, this study sought to
science education. gain some insight into the preparedness of various groups of people
He has published a directly concerned with this implementation, namely, school teachers,
number of articles and
research paper and he lecturers at Teacher Training Colleges, KPLI teacher trainees and KDPM
is currently working on Semester Six teacher trainees. The results show that the school
a paper entitled Second
Language Learning teachers are the most prepared, attributing much of their preparedness to
And Its Implications for
the Teaching of the ETeMS courses. The college lecturers and the teacher trainees, on
Science and the other hand, show less preparedness with a substantial number of
Mathematics in English
in Malaysian Schools. them lacking in confidence to face this change.

Rationale
After ten years of teaching in Malaysian secondary schools and another eighteen
years in a Teacher Training College, the researcher has made this observation that
most Malaysian students may be able to write in English fairly well but seem to have lots
of difficulty expressing themselves through spoken English. This is also the observation
of many other teachers and lecturers of the English Language. Furthermore, this
phenomenon seems prevalent in many countries where English is learnt as a second
language (Poedjosoedarmo, 2002).

While in most of the other countries where English is learnt as a second language,
this phenomenon may be expected, the Malaysian setting is quite different. At one time,
when English was the medium of instruction in most of the Malaysian schools, spoken
English of the average Malaysian was good, as good at least as the average
 ELTC ETeMS CONFERENCE 2003: MANAGING CURRICULAR CHANGE
2 4 DECEMBER 2003.

Singaporean. In 1970, when the medium of instruction was switched to Malay, the
proficiency in spoken English, as well as the general fluency in the language, began to
decline. Today, the proficiency in spoken English of the average Malaysian is
comparable to those in countries where English has always been taught as a second or
foreign language.

Recognizing this decline in proficiency, the Prime Minister of Malaysia made a

landmark announcement on 17 May 2002 (The Star) of the possibility of reintroducing
English-medium schools. After much debate and discussion, both in public and private,
the decision was announced (New Straits Times, 21 October 2002) on the limited
reintroduction of English as the medium of instruction for all Mathematics and Science
subjects. The implementation was to be gradual starting in January 2003 (Ministry of
Education, 2003) with the first year of all primary and secondary schools as well as the
Lower Six and Matriculation classes.

The main concern of parents and the general public was the ability of Mathematics
and Science teachers to handle the change. While most people concede that the
teachers should not have too much difficulty with the reading and listening skills, much
apprehension has been directed towards the speaking skill of these teachers. Many
English Language courses have been implemented since September 2002 to prepare
the affected teachers to effectively manage the change, especially in the area of
classroom language. Many studies, by various agencies of the Ministry of Education, are
now underway to assess the effectiveness of the language used by teachers in the
Mathematics and Science classroom.

Purpose of the Study

Being a Teacher Trainer the researchers intention was to study some of the
implications of this change amongst three groups of subjects:
Teacher Trainers lecturers of Mathematics and Science in Teacher Training
Colleges. They were required to use English in their teaching beginning January
2003.
School Teachers currently teaching science for Form One in English and have
already undergone ETeMS courses; and

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KPLI students - would-be Mathematics and Science teachers who are currently
undergoing a one-year Diploma in Education course at a Teacher Training
College. They can be expected to teach Mathematics and Science in English
when they are posted to schools in 2004.

In the past one year all three groups of subjects were required to use English in the
teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science. As such they were all actively
engaged in improving their proficiency in English. This study will therefore seek to
answer the following questions:
1. How do these three groups of respondents perceive their ability to use English in
the teaching of Mathematics and Science?
2. In the past one year, by how much did the command of English improve amongst
the three groups of respondents?
3. How much English were the KPLI students exposed to while in the University and
in the Teacher Training College?
4. To what extent did ETeMS help the Form One Science teachers to teach in
English?
5. How much English did the Form One Science teachers use in teaching Science in
the past one year?
6. How much English did the Mathematics and Science lecturers use in their classes
in the past one year?
7. What support will Mathematics and Science lecturers need to help them in the
teaching of their subjects in English?

The Study Sample

The sample consisted of 65 Mathematics and Science lecturers from five Teacher
Training Colleges, 86 Form One Science teachers in Terengganu, and 71 KPLI
students majoring in Mathematics or Science in one of the Teacher Training Colleges.

Instrumentation
Three instruments were used in the study. They were in the form of
Questionnaires (Appendices A, B and C) with the minimal of responses required from
the respondents to answer the research questions. Each Questionnaire was used with
the appropriate group.

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Procedure
The Instruments were constructed by the researcher such that the data elicited will
help answer the research questions. The instruments were validated by two experienced
Teacher Trainers from the College one from the English Department and the other
from the Science or Mathematics Department.
The Instrument for the lecturers was administered to them by their respective
Heads of Department. The questionnaires were sent to the five colleges and returned by
post sometime in October 2003. The questionnaire for the teachers was administered
on the last day of the ETeMS (Phase Two) course held for them in Kuala Terengganu in
September 2003. The questionnaire for the KPLI students was administered to them
during normal class hours during the month of October 2003.

Data Analysis
The data collected from the Mathematics and Science lecturers were analyzed
and tabulated to reflect their overall responses towards English in various aspects. Table
1 shows the amount of English used by these lecturers in the past one year (January to
September 2003) with the different course participants. Four different aspects have been
considered delivery of lessons, explaining concepts, answering students questions,
and class discussions.

Table1: Amount Of English Used By Mathematics And Science Lecturers From

January September 2003

Less More
20 to 41 to 61 to
than than
40% 60% 80%
20% 80%
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
Delivering the lessons / lectures 4 4 10 18 11
K.D.P.M. Explaining concepts 4 7 11 16 9
(N = 47) Answering students questions 4 9 12 11 11
Class discussions 5 8 14 12 8
K.P.L.I. Delivering the lessons / lectures 2 1 9 12 25
(N = 48) Explaining concepts 2 4 8 14 20
Answering students questions 3 2 11 13 19

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Class discussions 3 3 9 17 16
Delivering the lessons / lectures 0 4 3 5 10
P.K.P.G. Explaining concepts 0 5 4 7 6
(N = 22) Answering students questions 1 4 5 4 8
Class discussions 1 5 4 6 6

The data indicate that a great majority of the lecturers are using English at least
40% of the time. Only a few seem to be struggling with the language in all four aspects
of classroom activity. A comparison of the means for each component (as shown in
Table 2) further shows that lecturers teaching the KPLI classes use more English than
those teaching the KDPM or PKPG groups.

Table 2: Comparison of The Use Of English For The KDPM, KPLI and PKPG Groups

K.D.P.M. K.P.L.I. P.K.P.G.

Mean S.D. Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
Delivering the lessons / lectures 3.60 1.19 4.16 1.07 3.95 1.17
Explaining concepts 3.40 1.21 3.96 1.15 3.64 1.34
Answering students questions 3.34 1.27 3.90 1.17 3.64 1.29
Class discussions 3.21 1.23 3.83 1.16 3.50 1.26

A comparison of means indicates that the amount of English used with the KPLI
group is significantly higher (at = .01) than that used with the other two groups for all
four components. Furthermore, the amount of English used with the PKPG group is
significantly higher (at = .01) than that used with the KDPM group, again on all four
components.

With increased use of English over the past one year, the command of the
language amongst the lecturers seems to have also increased. Table 3 tabulates the
perceived increase in five different aspects.

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Table 3: Perceived Increase In The Command Of English Amongst Mathematics And

Science
Lecturers Over The Past Year

Very A Fair Very

(N = 62) Nil
Little Amount Much
Ability to understand spoken English 5 6 22 29

Ability to understand English texts 5 4 24 29

Ability to write in English 5 10 24 23

Ability to speak in English 4 7 27 24

Confidence to speak in English 5 8 25 24

The lecturers were also requested to rate themselves on their ability to use English
in five types of classroom activities; Table 4 summarizes their responses.

Table 4: Self Rating of Science and Mathematics Lecturers On Their Ability To Use
English

Very Very
Poor Fair Good
(N = 65) Poor Good
Deliver Science or Mathematics lessons in
0 3 16 27 19
English.
Explain Mathematics or Science concepts
0 2 17 29 17
in English.
Carry out classroom discussions in
1 2 24 19 19
English.
Set tests and examinations in English. 1 3 18 24 19
Understand textbooks and other resources
0 0 15 27 23
written in English.

Hardly anyone considered himself/herself very poor on his/her ability to use

English in the classroom, while very few of them considered themselves poor. Almost
all of them considered themselves at least fair on their ability to use English. However
when the lecturers confidence to speak in English was correlated with their use of
English in the classroom, a significant correlation was obtained as shown in Table 5.

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Table 5: Correlation of Lecturers Confidence to Speak in English to The Use of English

in Their Classes

Confidence to speak in English

(N = 65)
Deliver Science or Mathematics lessons in
0.36**
English.
Explain Mathematics or Science concepts in
0.27*
English.
Carry out classroom discussions in English. 0.31*

Set tests and examinations in English. 0.28*

Understand textbooks and other resources written
0.23
in English.
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

On the kind of resources and courses that may be needful in coping with using
English for the teaching of Mathematics and Science the responses were mixed as
shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Resources And Courses Needed By Mathematics And Science Lecturers For
Teaching In English

Not Could Be Very Much

(N = 65) Needed
Needed Helpful Needed
Lecture notes / modules in English 2 20 23 20

Reference books in English 1 11 27 26

English Proficiency courses 13 14 24 14

In-house training for teaching in
16 11 25 13
English
Computer software for improving
13 15 15 22
English proficiency

The need for English Proficiency courses, In-House Training, and Computer software
were viewed with some apprehension by many of the lecturers but lecture
notes/modules and reference books were generally considered needful.

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The Form One Science teachers who responded to the Questionnaire had
attended both phases of ETeMS, and its effect on their ability to handle the change to
English is recorded in Table 7.

Table 7: Helpfulness Of Etems For Form One Science Teachers

A Fair
Nil Very Little Very Much
N = 86 Amount
f % f % f % f %

Confidence to speak in English 0 0 10 11.6 56 65.1 20 23.3

Confidence to teach Science or
0 0 10 11.6 51 59.3 25 29.1
Mathematics in English.
Ability to prepare lessons to be
0 0 11 12.8 55 64.0 20 23.3
taught in English.
Ability to deliver your lessons in
0 0 8 9.3 61 70.9 17 19.8
English
Ability to engage in class
1 1.2 16 18.6 55 64.0 14 16.3
discussions in English.

For most of these teachers, ETeMS helped them at least a fair amount in their
confidence and ability to use English in the classroom.

As for the amount of English that these teachers use in teaching Mathematics or
Science in Form One, a considerable amount seems to be used as shown in Table 8.

Table 8: Amount Of English Used In The Teaching Of Science In Form One

Less
20 to 41 to 61 to More
than
40% 60% 80% than 80%
20%
f % f % f % f % f %
Delivering the lesson 0 0 7 8.1 23 26.7 34 39.5 22 25.6
Explaining 0 0 10 11.6 32 37.2 31 36.0 13 15.1
Answering pupils questions 1 1.2 7 8.1 30 34.9 30 34.9 18 20.9
Class discussions 5 5.8 12 14.0 29 33.7 32 37.2 8 9.3

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With the increasing usage of English by these teachers since the beginning of
the Year 2003, their command of the language can be expected to have increased.
Table 9 displays their own perception of this increase.

Table 9: Increase In The Command Of The English Language Amongst Form One
Science Teachers In The Past Year.

A Fair
Nil Very Little Very Much
Amount
f % f % f % f %
Ability to understand spoken
0 0 3 3.5 59 68.6 24 27.9
English
Ability to understand English texts 0 0 4 4.7 54 62.8 28 32.6
Ability to write in English 0 0 11 12.8 68 79.1 7 8.1
Ability to speak in English 0 0 7 8.1 66 76.7 13 15.1
Confidence to speak in English 0 0 15 17.4 60 69.8 11 12.8

In addition, the teachers rating of themselves on their current ability to use English
in the classroom appears encouraging as seen in Table 10. A large majority of them
consider themselves at least fair for each of the abilities on the use of English.

Table 10: Self Rating of Form One Science Teachers On Their Ability To Use English

Very Very
Poor Fair Good
Poor Good
f % f % f % f % f %
Deliver Science or
Mathematics lessons in 0 0 3 3.5 35 40.7 44 51.2 4 4.7
English.
Explain Mathematics or
0 0 3 3.5 46 53.5 32 37.2 5 5.8
Science concepts in English.
Carry out classroom
1 1.2 4 4.7 41 47.7 36 41.9 4 4.7
discussion in English.
Set tests and examinations in
1 1.2 5 5.8 38 44.2 38 44.2 4 4.7
English.
Understand textbooks written
0 0 2 2.3 24 27.9 42 48.8 18 20.9
in English.

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Just as in the case of the Mathematics and Science lecturers, the teachers
confidence to speak English also correlates significantly with the use of English in the
classroom. Furthermore, the number of years of teaching also correlates with it as
shown in Table 11.

Table 11: Correlation of The Teachers Teaching Experience and Confidence to Speak
in English to Usage of English in the Classroom

Confidence to speak Teaching Experience

(N = 86) in English (in years)
Deliver Science or Mathematics
0.34** - 0.25*
lessons in English.
Explain Mathematics or Science
0.38** - 0.17
concepts in English.
Carry out classroom discussions in
0.44** - 0.35**
English.
Set tests and examinations in English. 0.40** - 0.26*
Understand textbooks and other
0.30** - 0.41**
resources written in English.
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

The negative correlations for Teaching Experience indicates that the younger
teachers rate themselves more highly on their ability to use English in the classroom.

The data collected from the KPLI students majoring in Mathematics and Science
at the Maktab Perguruan Kuala Terengganu seem to suggest that they have not been
exposed to very much English while in the university. Table 12 summarizes their own
perception as to the amount of English used.

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Table 12: Amount of English Used In the University as Perceived by the KPLI
Mathematics and Science Students

Less More
When you were in the 20 to 41 to 61 to
than than
University how much English 40% 60% 80% Mean
20% 80%
was used in the following: (2) (3) (4)
(1) (5)
Lectures 16 19 18 9 9 2.66

Assignments 25 23 12 2 9 2.25

Tutorials 28 23 9 5 6 2.13

Class discussions 39 16 8 4 4 1.85

Textbooks 3 9 9 20 30 3.92

Other reference material 3 5 8 25 30 4.04

The KPLI students response to the amount of English used in the Teacher
Training College shows that much less English was used than in the University. This is
despite the circular from the Teacher Training Division of the Ministry of Education
requiring most of the courses to be done in English for the KPLI Mathematics and
Science students beginning January 2003. Table 13 gives the details of the amount of
English used.

Table 13: Amount of English Used In the Teacher Training College as Perceived by the
KPLI Mathematics and Science Students

Less More
During your KPLI course at 20 to 41 to 61 to
than than
MPKT how much English 40% 60% 80% Mean
20% 80%
was used in the following: (2) (3) (4)
(1) (5)
Lectures 27 24 14 6 0 1.99

Assignments 23 27 19 2 0 2.00

Class discussions 33 23 13 2 0 1.77

Reference material 15 22 17 15 2 2.54

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Although the KPLI students think that little English was used in the Teacher
Training College, their command of English seems to have increased over the year they
were in the College. This is attested to by the data in Table 14.

Table 14: Increase In The Command Of The English Language Amongst KPLI
Mathematics and Science Students at the Teacher Training College In The Past Year.

In the one year that you have been in MPKT

by how much has your command of the Very A Fair Very
Nil
English Language increased in the following Little Amount Much
areas?
Ability to understand spoken English 2 22 46 1

Ability to understand English texts 2 15 52 2

Ability to write in English 2 29 39 1

Ability to speak in English 2 33 36 0

Confidence to speak in English 3 37 29 2

In addition, the students rating of themselves on their ability to use English in the
classroom appears encouraging as seen in Table 10. The majority of them consider
themselves at least fair for each of the abilities on the use of English.

Table 15: Self Rating of KPLI Mathematics and Science Students On Their Ability To
Use English

V. Poor Poor Fair Good V. Good

Deliver Science or Mathematics

1 8 45 15 2
lessons in English.
Explain Mathematics or Science
0 15 39 17 0
concepts in English.
Carry out classroom discussion in
0 11 48 12 0
English.
Set tests and examinations in
0 14 39 17 1
English.
Understand textbooks written in
0 1 35 31 4
English.

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When the three groups of respondents are compared on the increase they have
experienced in the command of English over the past one year, all of them have
experienced some increase. The means for this increase are juxtaposed in Table 16 for
easy comparison.

Table 16: Increase In The Command Of The English Language Amongst the Three
Groups In The Past Year.

Mean Response
Maths and Form One KPLI Maths
Science Science and Science
Lecturers Teachers Students
Ability to understand spoken
3.21 3.24 2.65
English
Ability to understand English texts 3.24 3.28 2.76

Ability to write in English 3.05 2.95 2.55

Ability to speak in English 3.15 3.07 2.48

Confidence to speak in English 3.10 2.95 2.42

The means are based on the responses of each group where 1 = Nil, 2 = Very Little, 3 =
A Fair Amount, and 4 = Very Much

The three groups were also compared for the rating of themselves on their ability
to use English in the classroom. Table 17 shows the comparison.

Table 17: Self Rating of The Three Groups On Their Ability To Use English In The
Classroom

Mean Response

KPLI
Mathematics Form One
Mathematics
and Science Science
and Science
Lecturers Teachers
Students
Deliver Science or Mathematics lessons
3.95 3.57 3.13
in English.
Explain Mathematics or Science
3.94 3.45 3.03
concepts in English.

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Carry out classroom discussion in

3.82 3.44 3.01
English.

Set tests and examinations in English. 3.88 3.45 3.07

Understand textbooks written in English. 4.12 3.88 3.54

The means are based on the responses of each group where 1 = Very Poor, 2 = Poor,
3 = Fair, 4 = Good, and 5 = Very Good

It appears that on all aspects the lecturers rate themselves better than the
teachers and the teachers in turn rate themselves better than the KPLI students

Findings and Discussion

Research Question 1: How do these three groups of respondents perceive their ability
to use English in the teaching of Mathematics and Science?
Based on the summary of results in Tables 4, 10, 15 and 17, it is evident that the
lecturers and the teachers are quite able to handle the use of English in their teaching
while the KPLI students appear to be apprehensive in this matter. It may be that the
lecturers are more exposed to the use of English and are already using the language in
their teaching. Likewise, the teachers are already using the language and have attended
the ETeMS courses which have helped them greatly. The KPLI students are rather new
to this change and the reality of the switch of language probably has not hit them yet.
Looking at their responses it may be necessary for them to undergo courses like ETeMS
to help them.

Research Question 2: In the past one year, by how much did the command of English
improve amongst the three groups of respondents?
Tables 3, 9 and 14 seem to indicate that with increased usage of English in the
past year all three groups have experienced increases in the command of English. A few
of the lecturers have recorded no increase and a check of their response sheets
indicates that they were already very proficient in English even before the switch took
place. Table 16 further shows that although the KPLI students command of English
increased over the year, the increase was significantly (at the 0.05 level) less than the
increase recorded by the lecturers and teachers.

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Research Question 3: How much English were the KPLI students exposed to while in
the University and in the Teacher Training College?
The KPLI students seem to have been exposed to more English in the University
than in the Teacher Training College. Tables 12 and 13 attest to this. A comparison of
the means shows a significantly higher (at the .01 level) use of English for reference
materials and lectures in the university than in the teacher training college. In the
University English was used about 40 to 60 percent of the time, whereas in the Teacher
Training College it was only about 20 to 40 percent.

Research Question 4: To what extent did ETeMS help the Form One Science teachers
to teach in English?
For most of the teachers ETeMS seems to have been helpful. Table 7 shows that
for about 90% of them ETeMS helped at least a fair amount. The teachers confidence
to speak in English and to present their lessons in English, have shown encouraging
improvement.

Research Question 5: How much English did the Form One Science teachers use in
teaching Science in the past one year?
Based on their responses in Table 8, it is clear that the teachers have been trying
hard to use English in their lessons. Although they are at different stages of proficiency,
more than 80% of them have used English at least 40% of the time. Furthermore, about
one-quarter of them have used English at least 80% of the time. A comparison of the
teachers confidence to speak English with the amount of English used in the classroom
(Table 11) shows a very high correlation ( = .01). In addition the same table shows a
negative correlation between teaching experience and English usage, indicating that the
younger teachers are using more English.

Research Question 6: How much English did the Mathematics and Science lecturers
use in their classes in the past one year?
As for the Mathematics and Science lecturers, the majority (> 80%) of them have
used English at least 40% of the time. However the amount of English used for the three
main programmes (KDPM, KPLI and PKPG) show significant differences. Tables 1 and
2 show that most English was used for the KPLI programme and the least for the KDPM
programme. The reason for this could be that the KPLI students were more proficient in

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English and the lecturers could use more English in the lessons. The KDPM and PKPG
students are generally known to be weaker in English. Table 5 further shows that the
confidence to speak English correlates significantly with the amount of English used in
the classes.

Research Question 7: What support will Mathematics and Science lecturers need to
help them in the teaching of their subjects in English?
On the need for resources and training the Mathematics and Science lecturers
were divided on some of the items (Table 6) especially on courses and materials for
improving English proficiency. However, most of them thought that lecture notes,
modules and reference materials in English were needful.

Conclusion
On the whole, the change to English for the teaching of Mathematics and Science
has been received well by the three groups studied teacher trainers for Mathematics
and Science, Form One Science teachers, and the KPLI students who will begin
teaching Mathematics or Science in the year 2004. Although the amount of English used
by the three groups is not very much, the start has been made and we can expect it to
increase in the years to come. Furthermore, the confidence shown by the three groups
to speak English and to teach Mathematics and Science in English is encouraging.
The Form One Science teachers seem to have benefited much from the ETeMS
courses. These courses have given them the impetus to confidently handle the change
to teaching Science in English. The college lecturers seem to be the most prepared to
handle this change, probably because of the wider exposure and the greater use of
English in their duties. Despite that, some of them seem to need proficiency courses and
possibly a course or two may help. The KPLI students seem to be the worst off. The
amount of English used in their classes appears to be insufficient. Maybe more
emphasis ought to be given to the implementation of the use of English in the teacher
training colleges.

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References

Ministry of Education Malaysia (2003). Circular letter 3/2003, KP(PP) 0053/7/(64).

Muguntan, V., and R.Sario (2002, May 17). English for two subjects. The Star, pp.1,3.

Poedjosoedarmo, G. (2002). Using digital resources to create recording for language

classrooms. Guidelines 21: June 2002

Ridzuan, A., and Gerald, J. (2002, October 21). Decision rests with cabinet. New Straits
Times, pp. 1, 6.

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Lecturers
Appendix A

Please respond to this questionnaire as honestly as possible. All information you give
will be kept confidential. Your cooperation is most appreciated.

Sex: Male / Female

Experience as a teacher in school _______________ years

Experience as a lecturer in the College _______________ years

A. Please indicate all the levels at which you are teaching Science or Mathematics in
your College by putting a tick in the appropriate space. (Science includes all
science-based subjects, and Mathematics includes all mathematics-based subjects)
Course Science Mathematics
K.D.P.M.
K.P.L.I. (Secondary)
K.P.L.I. (Primary)
P.K.P.G.

B. In the last eight months how much English did you use in the following ?
(Please put a tick in the appropriate space)
Less More
20 to 41 to 61 to
than than
40% 60% 80%
20% 80%
Delivering the lessons / lectures
Explaining concepts
K.D.P.M.
Answering students questions
Class discussions
Delivering the lessons / lectures
Explaining concepts
K.P.L.I.
Answering students questions
Class discussions
Delivering the lessons / lectures
Explaining concepts
P.K.P.G.
Answering students questions
Class discussions

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C. In the last eight months by how much do you think your command of the English
Language has increased in the following areas? (Please put a tick in the appropriate
space)
Very A Fair Very
Nil
Little Amount Much
Ability to understand spoken English

Ability to understand English texts

Ability to write in English

Ability to speak in English

Confidence to speak in English

D. Presently how would you rate yourself on the following?

(Please put a tick in the appropriate space)
Very Very
Good Fair Poor
Good Poor
Deliver Science or Mathematics lessons in
English.
Explain Mathematics or Science concepts
in English.
Carry out classroom discussions in
English.
Set tests and examinations in English.
Understand textbooks and other resources
written in English.

E. To what extent will the following be needful as you cope with using English in the
teaching of Science and Mathematics ? (Please tick the appropriate space)
Not Could Be Very Much
Needed
Needed Helpful Needed
Lecture notes / modules in English

Reference books in English

English Proficiency courses

In-house training for teaching in
English
Computer software for improving
English proficiency

Thank you for your cooperation.

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 ELTC ETeMS CONFERENCE 2003: MANAGING CURRICULAR CHANGE
2 4 DECEMBER 2003.

Teachers
Appendix B

Please respond to this questionnaire as honestly as possible. All information you give
will be kept confidential. Your cooperation is most appreciated.

Sex: Male / Female

Experience as a teacher _______________ years

Experience teaching Mathematics _______________ years

Experience teaching Science _______________ years

A. If you are teaching Science or Mathematics at the following levels please state your
subject in the appropriate column.
Level Subject (s)
Year 1
Form 1
Lower Six

B. If you have attended any of the ETeMS courses please complete the table below.
Course Date Place
ETeMS Phase 1
ETeMS Phase 2

C. How much did the ETeMS courses help you in the following? (Put a tick in the
appropriate box).
Very A Fair Very
Nil
Little Amount Much
Confidence to speak in English
Confidence to teach Science or
Mathematics
in English.
Ability to prepare lessons to be taught in
English.
Ability to deliver your lessons in English
Ability to engage in class discussions in
English.

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 ELTC ETeMS CONFERENCE 2003: MANAGING CURRICULAR CHANGE
2 4 DECEMBER 2003.

D. When you teach Science or Mathematics (in Yr 1/ Form 1 / Lower 6) how much
English do you use in the following?:
Less More
20 to 41 to 61 to
than than
40% 60% 80%
20% 80%
Delivering the lesson

Explaining

Answering pupils questions

Class discussions

E. In the last eight months that you have been teaching Year 1, Form 1 or Lower Six,
by how much has your command of the English Language increased in the following
areas?:
Very A Fair Very
Nil
Little Amount Much
Ability to understand spoken English

Ability to understand English texts

Ability to write in English

Ability to speak in English

Confidence to speak in English

F. Presently how would you rate yourself on the following?

Very Very
Good Fair Poor
Good Poor
Deliver Science or Mathematics lessons in
English.
Explain Mathematics or Science concepts
in English.

Carry out classroom discussion in English.

Set tests and examinations in English.

Understand textbooks written in English.

Thank you for your cooperation.

21
 ELTC ETeMS CONFERENCE 2003: MANAGING CURRICULAR CHANGE
2 4 DECEMBER 2003.

Appendix C

Please respond to this questionnaire as honestly as possible. All information you give
will be kept confidential. Your cooperation is most appreciated.
Age: ____________ Years Sex: Male / Female
Grade for English in S.P.M.: ___________ M.U.E.T. Grade: __________

Name of University Attended:

_________________________________________________
Degree: __________________ Subject Major: ______________________

A. For each of the following put a tick in the appropriate box.

Less More
When you were in the University how 20 to 41 to 61 to
than than
much English was used in the following: 40% 60% 80%
20% 80%
Lectures

Assignments

Tutorials

Class discussions

Textbooks

Other reference material

B. For each of the following put a tick in the appropriate box.

Less More
During your KPLI course at MPKT how 20 to 41 to 61 to
than than
much English was used in the following: 40% 60% 80%
20% 80%
Lectures

Assignments

Class discussions

Reference material

22
 ELTC ETeMS CONFERENCE 2003: MANAGING CURRICULAR CHANGE
2 4 DECEMBER 2003.

C. For each of the following put a tick in the appropriate box.

In the one year that you have been in MPKT
by how much has your command of the Very A Fair Very
Nil
English Language increased in the following Little Amount Much
areas?
Ability to understand spoken English

Ability to understand English texts

Ability to write in English

Ability to speak in English

Confidence to speak in English

D. For each of the following put a tick in the appropriate box.

How would you rate yourself on the Excellen Very

Good Fair Poor
following? t Poor

Deliver Science or Mathematics

lessons in English.
Explain Mathematics or Science
concepts in English.
Carry out classroom discussion in
English.
Set tests and examinations in
English.
Understand textbooks written in
English.

Thank you for your cooperation.

23