Florina Wang1,2 & Hamidah Yamat2,2

SK Taman Keses, Ampang, Selangor, Malaysia1

Fakulti Pendidikan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2
Email: florinawang18@gmail.com1, hamidah_yamat@ukm.edu.my2

ABSTRACT
Vocabulary is a fundamental requirement ofin any language. language acquisition. Effective Commented [O71]: This should be the thesis statement

language use requires adequate level of vocabulary knowledge. Students with lLimited
knowledge of vocabulary in the target language size confronted obstacles in remembering
words resulting in lack ofhinders acquisition and learning of that language. language Commented [O72]: This should be the problem statement but
this does not indicate problem among primary school children
knowledge. This study presents a part of the a study which aimed to identify English vocabulary
level of Malaysian urban students which examine the word ofthe vocabulary knowledge on
adjectives, nouns and verbs among a group of elementary school Malaysian children . A
quantitative study on the total of 36 participants of PrimaryYear Five students were randomly
selected. They sat for theto sit for an adapted version of the Vocabulary Levels Test of Nation Commented [O73]: Why do on these children? And therefore
they are randomly selected?
(1983). The finding revealed most of them that % ( students) have fell short on the low
Commented [O74]: Must be exact number
vocabulary scale for the sectionknowledge on nouns and verbs. However, Malaysian urban
students’ vocabulary on adjectives are in the intermediate level. The study provides insight for Commented [O75]: Where did you get this? Are you comparing
rural and urban students? But yu only have 36 students?
teachers or educators to know in depth of the level of the students’ vocabulary. Thus, it is vital
for future researchers to find out suitable strategies for vocabulary acquisition in order to
increase the vocabulary level of the primary students in Malaysia. Commented [O76]: Implication and recommendation must be
specific
Keywords: Malaysian urban students, English vocabulary, vocabulary level

TESTING ON THE VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION ON TASK

BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING QUESTIONNAIRE

Chow Kuok Feng

Abstract

Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) has been widely used in the context of second language
acquisition which as it is believed it promotes actual language use. However, it is not widely Commented [O77]: This is your thesis statement.

accepted and implemented due to various reasons. There is also a lack of studies on the
implementation of TBLT particularly in primary schools. Hence, tThe purpose of thee
postgraduate research study discussed in this paper wasis to identify primary school English
teachers’ perception on TBLT. This study phenomenologically quantitative and the instrument
the researcher uses to collect the data is survey study employed a survey design. A
Commented [O78]: This should be the problem statement –
that one of the treasons could be related to teachers and therefore
you want to study teachers’ perception.
Commented [O79]: gap
Commented [O710]: Why do you want to say it is
phenomenological as this is just a surv ey on perception.

questionnaire was developed for data collection and piloted to test its validity and reliability.
Therefore, this pilot study conducted before the final study intended to explore any
methodological issues arising. Therefore, a survey questionnaire was developed and the
purpose of this study is to test the primary school English teachers’ perception on Task Based
Language Teaching survey The questionnaire which was adapted from Joen and Hahn’s Teacher
Questionnaire. The findings of the study focused on face validity, content validity, test-retest
validity and internal consistency reliability and some positive as well as negative responses
were received. In a nutshell, the instrument has a high face and content validity, fairly high
correlation coefficient as well as high level of Cronbach’s alpha. Commented [O711]: Here you need to include the findings for
face & content validity and reliability. Then you need to describe
the revision you need or have made on the instrument to ensure
Keywords: Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT), validity, reliability, questionnaire, that it can be used for the study. If the findings of the pilot is good,
then you can say that the instrument is valid and reliable.
validity and reliability test
Common Mistakes in Primary Year 6 English as Second Language (ESL) Pupils’ Sentence Commented [O712]: What is the difference between mistakes
and errors?
Construction Using Word-Phrase-Sentence (WPS) Pyramid Strategy

Cherryl Chandat

Abstract

Writing has been one of the difficult learning skills to be learnt in the English as Second
Language (ESL) classrooms in Malaysia. Pupils in the sub-urban or and rural areas such as Commented [O713]: This is your thesis statement

Saratok, Sarawak tend to make some major mistakes in sentence construction due to the lack of Commented [O714]: Should be errors

exposure towards English Language as well as lack of interest and motivation in learning the
language. This paper aimed to discuss on the common mistakes errors made by the ESL learners Commented [O715]: How does exposure, interest &
motivation affect writing?
in their English Language writing specifically on their sentencewhen constructing sentenceson
and thest the use of the Word-Phrase-Sentence (WPS) Pyramid strategy in helping them write
better . A pPre and post tests had were been given to the participants of ? (how many) Primary 6
ESL pupils in one of the primary schools in Saratok, Sarawak. The pre and post tests were given
before and after the teaching of sentence construction using Word-Phrase-Sentence (WPS)
Pyramid strategy. The research hadstudy unveiled that the WPS Pyramid strategy had helped the
pupils to improve their sentence construction ability in the ESL writing. The research isiThis Commented [O716]: Your findings should be the different
scores between the pre & post tests.
finding indicates that the WPS is a strategy that can be used in teaching writingsuggested to Commented [O717]: Implication must be specific

assist English Language teachers, ESL students and teacher trainees in the learning and teaching
of English Language.
Keywords: Writing, Common Mistakes, Primary ESL classroom, Sentence Construction, WPS
Pyramid

Reading Strategy Use Among Good and Poor Primary English as a Second Language Learners
 Christina Kiu Siaw Ling1,2, Hamidah Yamat2
SK Nanga Tada, Kanowit, Sarawak, Malaysia1
Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia2

ABSTRACT
Studies have shown that lLanguage learning strategies (LLS) assist contribute to English as a
Ssecond Llanguage (ESL) learners in their language learning process. However, there is still a Commented [O718]: Yr thesis statement

wide gap between the successful and less successful ESL learners in their language
competence.Nevertheless, there are still a worrying number of students who are not successful
as ESL learners; particularly in rural areas. Thus, the objective of this preliminary study was to Commented [O719]: Your problem statement

identify and compare the reading strategies employed by good and poor primary school ESL
students. 38 Level 2 students from a school situated at the outskirts area ofrural school in
Sarawak, Malaysia were involved in the study. Data was collected using a survey
questionnairethe Young Learners’ Language Strategy Use Survey that was modified from Cohen
and Oxford’s. (2002) Young Learners’ Language Strategy Use Survey. The data were then Commented [O720]: No ref in abstracts

analysed using descriptive analyses. The results showed that the good learners were inclined to
use reading strategies more frequently than poor learners. Therefore, the findings supported
the view that the use of LLS may be related to the learners’ proficiency level. Interestingly, the
findings also revealed that the good language learners attempted to use more the affective
strategies most frequently while the, whereas poor language learners employed compensation
strategies most frequently in reading.. The findings have significant implications for research on
LLS for ESL learners as well as teachers’ classroom instruction. Further studies could explore Commented [O721]: Be specific

the factors that boost or hinder the use of LLS among the learners in the language learning
process. Commented [O722]: What other factors or why are you
suggesting this?

Keywords: language learning strategies, ESL, reading strategies, good learners, poor learners

CORRELATION BETWEEN TEACHERS’ TEACHING STYLES AND PUPILS’

PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH UJIAN PENCAPAIAN SEKOLAH RENDAH (UPSR)
RESULTS

Estee-Laura Anak Anthony and Hamidah Yamat

Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Genaan, Sebauh, D/A PPD Sebauh, 97100 Bintulu, Sarawak

Abstract

English Language is one noted as a core of the important subjects being taught in at schools. It
is also included as a compulsory subject in national level examinations in Malaysia. Despite its Commented [O723]: Thesis statement

significance in education, English Language is considered as a killer subject among pupils and
the teachers themselves especially in rural areas. This could be seen from the unsatisfying Commented [O724]: Problem statement?

results every year. Thus, this study was aimed at determining the correlation between teachers’ Commented [O725]: Give exact figures – percentage of
failures?
teaching styles and pupils’ achievements in UPSR particularly in English Language sSubject. The
respondents of this study were of 10 teachers from 5 respective rural schools in Tatau District.
These respondents were purposely chosen based on their schools’ UPSR results for 3
consecutive years. The data on teachers’ profile such as gender, teaching experience and option
are also collected through survey. Based on theThe findings showed , all 5five dominant
teaching styles were employed - ……… (what are they) . The findings also demonstrated that
Delegator style was the dominant teaching style used by the teachers. Through this study, it is
hoped that more teachers are willing to diversify their teaching styles to help pupils achieve
greater results in examination.
Keywords: correlation, teachers, teaching styles, pupils, result
i-THINK Map in Organization of Ideas
in Argumentative Writing
Fadziana Fadhil1 Hamidah Yamat2
Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia 1
fadziana@smkdabb.edu.my1 hamidah_yamat@ukm.edu.my2
Abstract
Writing is an important skill, as it is a means of which must be mastered to effectively
transferring and exchanging ideas and thoughts. in the form of written language. However, the
skillIt is considered as the most difficult skill to be mastered by English as second language
learners as it involves not only knowledge on vocabulary and syntax but also organization and
sequence of thoughts. . Thus, this study is developed aimed to examine the use of i-THINK map
(tree map) in organising ideas in argumentative writing. The study used a quasi-experimental
design to collect the data and did not use the control group for comparison. The participants of
the study comprised 30 students from a sub-urban secondary school in Sepang, Selangor were
purposively chosen to, Malaysia. They were required to sit for the pre- and post-test to observe
their writing performance. An intervention during the pre-writing stage is was applied to
promote organisation of ideas in argumentative writing by using i-THINK map as a tool. The
findings of the paired sample t-test revealed the a statistically significant improvement of
Commented [O726]: How do you suddenly make the
connection to teachers’ teaching style. If you want to do so, then
your thesis statement should state that studies have shown that
there is a relationship between teachers’ teaching style and
students’ performance.
Commented [O727]: You need to add here about the studnets
performance. How did you choose the teachers – based on their
students’ UPSR performance – those with all students passed or
those will all students failed etc?
Commented [O728]: Why do you need these/ were these your
variables? If not, no need to add these.
Commented [O729]: How do you come to this conclusion?
Commented [O730]: You have mentioned it as a skill and
obviously for written work?
Commented [O731]: If you do this, then you’ll need another
sentence to connect i-think maps and writing. Why not straight
away begin with ithink maps as your thesis statement OR delete the
first sentence and begin with the second sentence and then add
one sentence that means I think maps may be used to help writing
Commented [O732]: Do not need this because it is known that
quasi experimental does not require a control group
Commented [O733]: Give the exact data – means/score
students' ability in organisation of ideas in argumentative writing. It is hoped that the findings
of the study would be useful to the teachers incorporating i-THINK maps in teaching to promote
students' writing skills. It is recommended that future study should emphasise on examining the
use of i-THINK map in the generation of ideas as well. Commented [O734]: Specific implication and recommendation
based on findings

Keywords: i-THINK map (Tree Map), writing skill, organisation of ideas, argumentative writing,

secondary school students.

CHALLENGES FACED BY TEACHERS IN USING SUPERMIND TEXTBOOK

Farah Farzana Binti Mohammad Din

Abstract

As it is believed that textbooks is one of theare important sources and guidance in

learning the second language, . Starting from 2017,the Supermind textbook had was
introduced in 2017 for been used in Year 1 and Year 2. This was classrooms to improve
the current English Language education in Malaysia to international standards using
theas aligned by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). As it is new in
Malaysia, the past studies done were focused more on the CEFR programme.the use of
the textbook is new, this paper presents and discusses on the study There is no further
study related to the challenges in using the textbook. Hence, this paper present and
discuss a part of study that focuses on identifying the challenges faced by teachers in
using Supermind textbook. 63 Primary school English teachers in Bukit China Zone were
involved. A Questionnaire with 5 likert’s scale Questionnaire had beenwas designed
using Google Form and mode was used to determine the highest frequency based on
the scale for each item. There are 20 items used which consists two subsets which are
physical make-up and practical concerns of the textbook. The data collected found out Commented [O735]: Just 20 items? Your objective is to
identify the challenges so what are the physical & practical aspects
that teachers faced challenges in using Supermind textbook as it does not help them in of textbook?
teaching English language in the classroom. The data gathered give teachers and policy Commented [O736]: You should write the challenges – that is
makers the insights about the textbook. In conclusion, it is strongly recommended that your findings

future planning need to be done in selecting new textbook.
Keywords : Textbook, Supermind Textbook, Challenges, Second Language Acquisition,
Low Primary School Teachers
Commented [O737]: How do you make the connection
between your findings and change of policy?
Commented [O738]: Be specific based on your findings, what
is recommended
Commented [O739]: Need to change these sentences

PUPILS’ PRE- AND POST-PERCEPTIONS ON COLLABORATIVE

WRITING INTERVENTION

Fatin Khairani Khairul ‘Azam1, Hamidah Yamat2

Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor
Email: fatinkhairani@gmail.com1, hamidah_yamat@ukm.edu.my2
 Article History: Received on ………………, Revised on…………., Published on……………………

Purpose of the study: Writing has always been perceived as a difficult subject for secondary school pupils
especially those in Form 1 as they are enrolled in a new education level and exposed to a new format of writing task.
For these pupils, writing is a task they would prefer to avoid doing. Incorporating collaborative writing into the
teaching module would improve their perceptions of writing through collaboration and communication with peers
during the intervention phase.
Methodology: This paper discusses a part of the a quasi experimental study on the use of collaborative writing
technique; that is the study. The pre- and post-perceptions of pupils on collaborative writing intervention was
identified using a quasi-experimental design of a pre-test and a post-test for a single group. The study had 30
participants comprised of Form 1 pupils from a one Pasir Gudang secondary school in Johor, Malaysia was
identified as the students were found to have difficulties in writing when they first entered school.. All participants
were required to sit for pre-survey and post-survey sessions to track their perceptions’ scores.the students responded
to the questionnaire before and after the use of collaborative technique in the writing classes.
Main Findings: The findings indicated that collaborative writing is an efficient intervention in teaching writing
skills as the perceptions of pupils were improved during post-survey. Commented [O740]: Give the students score on perceptions –
the post questionnaire score should be better if the perceive
Applications of this study: It is hoped that the outcome of this research would become useful to teachers’ collaborative works
incorporation of collaborative writing in teaching to improve pupils’ perceptions of writing. It is suggested that
future study should involve both survey and interview of the participants as well as their motivational factors in
collaborative writing. Commented [O741]: Summarize how collaborative works
based on your findings
Novelty/Originality of this study: Most studies have focused on collaborative writing using technologies.
However, this study focuses more on the intervention cycle in the classroom that can be used in all schools, be they
rural, suburban, or urban schools. Commented [O742]: Novelty means it is different from others
– so what is your study different from others and therefore
Keywords: Collaborative Writing Intervention; ESL Learners; Writing Skills; Writing Strategy; Perceptions authentic and novel?

STUDENTS ACCEPTENCE ON SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST COACHES (SISC+) COACHING

Francisca Lina ak Tujang, Hamidah Yamat

SMK Kapit No 2, Jalan Bleteh, P.O. Box 117, 96800 Kapit, Sarawak.
Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor,
Malaysia.

Abstract
Commented [O743]: How do you mean by this?
This conceptual paper presents and discusses a part of a study onto study the students’ acceptance
based onof School Improvement Specialist Coaches (SISC+) Coaching. The SISC+ program was introduced Commented [O744]: What is this?
to reduce the leakage of information in the delivery of the curriculum and improve teacher Commented [O745]: If you have a survey, this is not a
professionalism. However , there is an issue of impact on students’ performance in their learning. The conceptual paper

factors outlined in the paper are analyzed using Sociocultural Theory by Lev Vygotsky’s and Cooperative Commented [O746]: Why this school?
Learning Theory will be the basic for the theoretical framework . A survey were was conducted among Commented [O747]: Delete this as you have already
on 50 students from a secondary school at in Kapit, Sarawak. Findings were collected through a mentioned survey

questionnaire. The findings showed that SISC+ coaching received a positive acceptance from students. Commented [O748]: You cannot have this because you have
mentioned survey so this should be the implication of that positive
Conclusion from the literature stated that SISC+ coaching plays a positive roles in students acceptance
acceptance. So what does it imply>
,but the roles and process of SISC+ coaching should be taken into consideration. The paper ends with
Commented [O749]: What can you conclude and recommend
suggestion on future research on how SISC+ bring a major impact towards school performance. based on your findings?
Key words:-
Quizlet, Educational apps, grammar learning, grammar in Quizlet

CHALLENGES FACED BY UPPER PRIMARY ENGLISH TEACHERS IN

IMPLEMENTING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
Ain Julia Mohamad Jazuli1, Hamidah Yamat2
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 1
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 2

ABSTRACT
Teaching critical thinking skills to the pupils is prominent as to provide them with sufficient Formatted: Indent: First line: 0"
skills to compete in this 21st Century classroom. In Malaysia, the implementation of critical
thinking skills through in English language teaching aims to produce critical thinkers. However,
reports stated in the Malaysian Educational Blueprint (MEB) reported that shows that the school
leavers have failed to achieve the minimum proficiency in English that required them to apply
critical thinking skills. This action research was conducted to identify the challenges faced by Commented [O750]: How do you connect thinking skills and
English language?
upper primary English teachers in implementing critical thinking skills activities in they in
classrooms. A total number of 90 respondents from Tanjung zone schools answered 16 items of Commented [O751]: You must mention that the problem is
thinking skills is difficult to teach or integrated in teaching English
questionnaires through theon a Google Form questionnaire application. The data collected
foundFindings showed that out ____ (how many teachers) teachers disagree that the textbook
and materials provided are sufficient to support critical thinking skills activity. The teachers also
disagree that extracurricular activity and large classroom size allow them to apply critical Commented [O752]: Disagree? You mean extra curricular &
large classroom size allows critical thinking to be taught or
thinking lessons. Besides that, theThe respondents have were also neutral connotation on the integrated?
teachers’ training in developing their critical thinking pedagogical knowledge. This study is
important as to inform the policymaker that the current challenges that the upper primary school
teachers are facing and provide a platform to design intervention plan to support teachers in
school. The limitation of this study includes the restricted survey data collected as the items only Commented [O753]: How is it important?
covered the elements that the researcher intended to study concerning the practice of critical
thinking skills. Commented [O754]: Do not write the limitation. This should
be the implication or conclusion based on your findings.

Keywords: critical thinking skills, challenges, English teachers, textbook, extracurricular

activity, classroom size, teacher training