CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1

Introduction Throughout the years, there has been an inconclusive on-going debate on the

best methodology in teaching grammar. Siti Rohani Md. Zain (2007) and Corder (1988) claim that it is often suggested to teachers to teach grammar implicitly, rather than explicitly. This is also similar to Malaysian context where the teaching and learning of grammar is incorporated with communicative English. However, a lack of clear guidelines on grammar teaching fails to help teachers who encounter problems relating to this subject. The focus on grammar in second language teaching dated way back in early 1500s, where the Grammar-translation Method was introduced. Although form-focused instruction was rejected by researchers such as Noam Chomsky to make way to communicative language teaching, it has gradually regained its revival in present times, as stated by Yin (2006). According to M. Farahian (2011), researchers are beginning to notice the inadequacy of the communicative approach in language teaching and how it can be complemented by form-focused instruction. In 2011, the The Malaysian Ministry of Education introduced the new curriculum for its primary schools, which is the Standard Curriculum for Primary Schools (KSSR). It aims to equip students with basic literacy skills to enable them to communicate effectively in various contexts appropriate to their level of development (Modul Teras Asas Bahasa Inggeris Sekolah Rendah, Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia, 2010). In the English KSSR, language is taught through modules, which are: a) writing module; b) reading module; c) listening and speaking module; and d) grammar module. The Education Ministry has found that it is time to change the way English is taught after the integrated curriculum somehow fails to effectively do so. 1

Finally, after a long period of experiments and researches, the Ministry of Education agrees to include the grammar module with the other four basic language skills. This new curriculum is more thorough and embraces the holistic concept of education as emphasized in the Malaysian Philosophy of Education. The big question is: will it work?

1.2

Statement of Problem A research done by Maros, Tan, and Salehuddin (2007) found that students are

still facing difficulties in using correct grammar in their writing, despite having learnt English through six years in school; with the most prominent errors in a) the use of articles, b) the subject-verb agreement, and c) the copula be. According to Surina Nayan (2009), many of the university students are still having problems in applying grammar in their writing despite twelve years of learning English in school. Ismail (2010) points out that most Emirati students who are heavily exposed to grammar instruction throughout school years still face problems when conducting academic tasks in university. This is undoubtedly the aftermath from no proper knowledge of grammar starting from their school years, suggesting that something is still lacking in grammar instruction applied in schools. In Malaysia, the subject of English is taught three periods per week in Tamil schools (Rajendran, 2007; as cited by Suppiah, Subramaniam, and Michael; 2011). In a school where the use of mother tongue is more encouraged and more extensively used, teachers face another great challenge teaching the language, let alone teaching separate skills. Although communicative language teaching (CLT) helps in solving the issue, it does not help in the case of grammar (Suppiah, Subramaniam, and Michael,

2011). A research done by Marlyna Maros, Tan Kim Hua, and Khazriyati Salehuddin in 2007 found that rural schools are not faring any better. Despite using the same curriculum, students still face difficulty in learning and applying grammar in their communication. The situation in rural schools is worse than urban schools, as the former is generally with lower English proficiency. This suggests that something is indeed missing in our current English curriculum, particularly grammar. Outside Malaysia, researchs in several CLT programs have been conducted and it was found that despite students fluency being above average than those not receiving CLT, there is often a lack of grammatical accuracy and absence of nativelike abilities in written or oral production (Millard, 2000). This is also supported by Mozhgan Azimi (2012) who points out several research finding language indicating learners not progressing in grammatical points despite receiving a large amount of comprehensible input. This suggests that form-focused instruction is also essential in second language teaching. What is more important is that the evidences collected from past researches all points out that mere incorporation of grammar in all four language skills does not help students in achieving language accuracy.

1.3

Background of Study The Standard-Based English Language Curriculum for Malaysian Primary

Schools is divided into two stages to provide students with a strong foundation of the English language. The first stage is taught for Years 1, 2, and 3, while the second stage is taught to Years 4, 5, and 6. For Years 1 and 2, four modules are taught, which are Listening and Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Language Arts. Starting from Year 3 to Year 6, a fifth module, Grammar, will be introduced. The rationale to this

arrangement of stages is to develop students interest in their early school years to English before channeling their interest to the rules governing the language. This standard-based curriculum is still relatively new in Malaysia. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the introduction of the Grammar module in Malaysian primary schools and how it is executed. By this, this study attempts to look into the difference between the Grammar module and the way grammar was taught before the introduction of KSSR and whether the new approach is successful compared to the old one. To achieve this aim of research, observations will be conducted in one of the primary schools in the Klang valley area. Questionnaires will also be distributed to both the teacher using the module to teach as well as the students using the module to learn. In short, this research attempts to see if the introduction of Grammar module through Standard-based Curriculum in Malaysian Primary Schools fares any better than the incorporation of grammar in all four skills adapted from Communicative Language Teaching.

1.4

Aim of Study The aim of this study is to investigate the implementation of the grammar

module in primary schools and its effectiveness compared to the previous grammar instruction.

1.5

Research Questions 1) In terms of implementation, what is the difference between the grammar module and the previous grammar instruction? 4

2) Is the grammar module more effective compared to the previous grammar instruction? 3) What is the general perception of teachers and students to the grammar module?

1.6

Research Objectives Based on the research questions posed, this study attempts 1) To investigate the differences in the current grammar module and the previous grammar instruction; 2) To find out whether the grammar module is more effective compared to the previous grammar instruction; and 3) To explore the general perception of teachers and students to the grammar module.

1.7

Significance of Study This research seeks to explore a relatively new approach to teaching grammar

in Malaysia, particularly in primary schools. To date, the implementation of the KSSR syllabus is still not widely known in Malaysia as it was just introduced in 2011. Therefore, this research can provide an exposure of the new curriculum, especially the Grammar module, to Malaysian educators. Next, this research can also provide the knowledge about grammar instruction to Malaysian school teachers. Throughout the years, teachers have been struggling to 5

find the best ways to teach grammar in English and it is hoped that this research will shed some light on the best grammar instruction. Finally, this research will help secondary school teachers to anticipate the changes in curriculum when the KSSM (the new Standard Curriculum for Secondary Schools) is introduced later. As the KSSR includes Grammar in its implementation, it is highly likely that the KSSM will do the same. Thus, this research will also show that there are some implications of the Grammar module to ESL secondary classrooms.

1.8

Limitations of Study There are several limitations to this study, which are time constraint, the

sample of the study, and the omission of other modules. Time constraint is the biggest limitation because the school policy only strictly allows outsiders to conduct research on their students for a specific time period. Furthermore, this research is also conducted in a primary school in the Klang valley area while the researcher is undergoing practicum in a secondary school. Hence, research can only be done out of secondary school hours. The module is also very new in the Malaysian education system. Thus, it may take a longer time than this research allows to really analyse the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of the Grammar module. Secondly, the sample also contributes to the limitation of study as the researcher can only conduct the study on one class from one school of the whole population. The sample may also be unique in terms of their existing language skills, social background, learning styles and strategies, etc. Therefore, data obtained from this study may lack generalizability and validity.

The validity of this study might further be decreased because the research is only focused on the Grammar module and not others. There are many other contributing factors as to how an individual attain language accuracy and it can further be analysed if the research includes all five modules.

1.9

Definition of Terms

Grammar: Chitravelu (1995) defines grammar as the rules of a language. It is what governs the way the words are put together to transfer the meaning. Generally speaking, grammar is partly defined as the study of what patterns are acceptable in a language. (Mozhgan Azimi, 2012). For Wang (2010), grammar names the types of words and word groups that make up sentences not only in English but also in any language. Munir Shuib (2009) and Holtzman (1980) state that grammar is a system of explicit and formal rules constructed in such a way that they may generate a set of sentence. According to Shen (2012), grammar is the set of rules that describe the structure of a language and control the way that sentences are formed.

Module: For this study, the word module is defined in an academic context. According to Dictionary.com, a module is a separable component, frequently one that is interchangeable with others, for assembly into units of differing size, complexity, or function. The Cambridge Dictionary also agrees with this definition, stating that a module is one of the units that together make a complete course, taught at college or university or in this case, primary school. According to The Business Dictionary, a module is a standardized or self-contained segment that, when combined with other segments, form an educational course or a training program. Therefore, a module is a learning component that contributes to the whole curriculum, but is 7

standardized and can stand on its own. Based on these definitions, a grammar module is a specific learning component focusing on rules of language and is a part of the standard-based curriculum (KSSR).

Effectiveness: In accordance of this study, it is perhaps useful to clearly define this simple term. According to The Business Dictionary, effectiveness is the extent to which objectives are achieved and to which targeted problems are solved. Effectiveness is also defined as doing the right thing. This means that the effectiveness of the grammar module lies in its ability to improve students language accuracy. The Free Dictionary.com defines effectiveness as having the intended effect, or the capability to produce a strong impression or response. In this context, the module is not deemed effective only on the increase of test marks. Any positive effect of the module, that will seemingly continue in the future, is also deemed as effective.

1.10

Conclusion The governments effort to teach all language skills as a strong foundation to

students linguistic knowledge ought to be praised. This approach to teaching English is more holistic and meaningful as students get the opportunity to utilize the language in a variety of contexts related to their daily lives. Nevertheless, the application of curricular modules is still new in Malaysia. Therefore, this study acts as a preliminary research of the impacts of the module, particularly grammar. It is hoped that this research will provide an insight on the difference of the new and previous way of teaching grammar and highlight the positive aspects.