Research Proposal

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE AMONG RURAL

STUDENTS

NORSYAHIDAH BINTI JAAFAR

Contents 1.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3

1.2 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................................. 3

1.3 Research Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 4

1.4 Research Questions ........................................................................................................................ 4

1.5 Research Hypotheses ...................................................................................................................... 5

1.6 Operational Definitions ................................................................................................................... 5

1.6.1 English Language Proficiency ..................................................................................................... 5

1.6.2 Rural schools ....................................................................................................................... 5

1.7 Limitations of the Study .................................................................................................................. 5

1.8 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................................. 5

1.9 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 6

Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 7

2.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 7

2.1 Peer Pressure and Motivation .......................................................................................................... 8

2.2 Attitudes towards English ................................................................................................................. 9

2.3 Teaching Methodology ................................................................................................................... 10

2.4 School Culture and Society ............................................................................................................. 12

2.5 Influence of Islamic Teaching on the Learning of English ............................................................... 13

2.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 14

Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................................... 15

3.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 15

3.1 Research Design .............................................................................................................................. 15

3.2 Population and Sample ................................................................................................................... 15

3.3 Instrumentation .............................................................................................................................. 16

3.4 Data Collection ................................................................................................................................ 16

3.5 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 17

3.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 17

Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 18

1.1. Introduction

As Malaysia is gearing up towards globalization, the need of producing human capital that is

competitive not only locally but also internationally is becoming a daunting task. Our children need to

be prepared to face the highly globalized world by being multilingual, and English, being the lingua

franca of the world, is one of the languages that needs to be mastered. In order to achieve this vision,

every single children in Malaysia needs to be proficient in all aspects of English language, be it writing,

reading, speaking or listening.

As second language learners this can be quite intimidating since English is not our mother tongue.

There are a lot of factors that can help or hinder the process of second language acquisition. SLA, or

Second Language Acquisition, is a process where a L2 learner learns a second language. This process

happens subconsciously, and is typically occur during communicative situations. (Johnson, 2001).

According to Gass and Selinker (1992) in (Johnson, 2001), second language acquisition is the

“development of communicative competence and the transfer of competence in a first language to a

second language”. On the other hand, according to Bialystok & Hakuta, (1999); Lalleman, (1996); Yule,

G., (1996) in (Johnson, 2001), second language learning is normally conscious, and the build-up of

knowledge takes place in classrooms where formal education happens.

From both views, it is clear that in order to be successful in our mission to produce proficient students

in English language, steps must be taken to ensure that students are enriched in two ways –

consciously and subconsciously – in class and outside of class. This will be challenging to carry out,

especially in rural areas, where students’ contact with English is very limited, especially outside class

hours.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In Malaysia, it is safe to claim that English language is the second language to many Malaysians that is

gaining in importance as the preferred language in our country. It is undeniable that in some sectors,

especially private, a good command of English is preferred over our national language. This causes an

alarm as it is reported that graduates emerging from the Malaysian education system are failing to

meet the expectations of prospective employers due to a lack of critical thinking skills and poor

communication (Bernama, 2012). Haggag (2012) in (Bernama, 2012) stated that seven out of 10

graduates who come to recruitment interviews fail the English language competency test set by the

clients, and this lack of proficiency in English limits their ability to communicate beyond the borders

of Malaysia and this lowers their confidence and curtails their ability to add value in the workplace.

The existing education system, first implemented in 1970, is believed to be the culprit of the

deteriorating standard of English language proficiency in Malaysia among students. This is due to the

change of the medium of instruction from English to Bahasa Melayu, making English as only a mere

subject in schools. This has proven to leave a very bad impact to the students as in May 2002, the ex-

Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has voiced out his concern about a high

number of unemployed graduates in Malaysia, due to their lack of proficiency in English - a number

amounting up to 44,000 graduates (Tan Yao Sua, Santhiram R. Raman, 2007).

The challenge is when not all children are capable to be proficient in English, especially those at-risk

students residing in rural areas in Malaysia. According to Ee Chop Ler (2010), there are five factors

affecting English proficiency among rural students, which are; peer pressure and motivation, attitudes

towards English, teaching methodology, school culture and influence of Islamic teaching on the

learning of English. Students in rural areas face more difficulties and hurdles in their lives that may

cause failure to grasp even the basic command of English language. Due to this fact, something must

be done to rectify the problem. Therefore, this research intends to examine the factors contributing

to proficiency in English as a second language among rural students.

1.3 Research Objectives

The research objectives of this study are:

i. To measure the level of English language proficiency among rural students.

ii. To critically examine the factors contributing to proficiency in English as a second language

among rural students.

iii. To suggest ways to improve proficiency in English as a second language among rural

students.

1.4 Research Questions

The research questions of this study are:

i. What is the level of English language proficiency among rural students?

ii. What are the factors contributing to proficiency in English as a second language among

rural students?

iii. What are the ways to improve proficiency in English as a second language among rural

students?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

Not applicable.

1.6 Operational Definitions For the purpose of this study, a few operational definitions have been used. They are:

1.6.1 English Language Proficiency The ability to perform well with different language tasks, refers to the use of an expanded set of

vocabulary to express oneself fully, and also implies a certain level of comprehension in English

language (Wisegeek, n.d.).

1.6.2 Rural schools Ministry of Education in its scheme to increase the performance of rural schools has listed out five

categories of rural schools based on basic facilities, communication and parental socio-economic

status (MOE/EPRD, 1996), but the purpose of this study, only two will be taken as the operational

definition. They are:

i) Remote schools – schools without any basic infrastructures and facilities, located in areas that are

isolated.

ii) Traditional village schools – schools that are situated in Malay villages but the population has low

socio-economic status, with moderate infrastructure.

1.7 Limitations of the Study

The findings of this research may not be applicable to all rural area students in Malaysia as the sample

of this research is exclusive to students in a chosen rural school in Pekan district, Pahang and the

sample size is small and not representative to the total number of rural area students throughout the

country.

1.8 Significance of the Study

Majority of Malaysian graduates failed to get jobs because of their poor proficiency in English

language. Therefore, this research intends to examine the factors contributing to proficiency in English

as a second language among rural students so that corrective measures can be taken by Ministry of

Rural and Regional Development, thus improving the rural students’ proficiency in English language,

giving them a better chance for their future.

The findings of this research is also beneficial to schools and educational practitioners in rural areas

so that appropriate practice can be adapted in schools and societal level in order to increase the level

of English language proficiency among rural area students.

1.9 Conclusion This chapter has covered the introduction, statement of the problem, research objectives, research

questions, operational definitions, limitations of the study and significance of the study. The literature

review of the topic will be presented in the next chapter.

Chapter 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

The standard of English in Malaysia is deteriorating drastically, as evidenced in public examinations

like UPSR (Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah), PMR (Penilaian Menengah Rendah) and SPM (Sijil

Pelajaran Malaysia). According to The Star (8.11.2000), the number of candidates that managed to

pass their English paper was only a mere 60% since 2000. Additionally, only 49.6% rural students

passed their English paper compared to their urban comrades that managed to cinch 72.8% passes.

MOE (Ministry of Education) has put forth “a proposal to increase the performance of rural school”

(MOE/EPRD, 1996), “which listed out five categories of rural school based on basic facilities,

communication and parental socio-economic status”, which are:

i) Remote schools – schools without any basic infrastructures and facilities, located in areas that are

isolated.

ii) Traditional village schools – schools that are situated in Malay villages but the population has low

socio-economic status, with moderate infrastructure.

iii) Planned settlement schools – schools in estates and other areas of planned agricultural activities,

run by agencies such as FELDA.

iv) Sub-urban schools – schools that are situated next to towns, the socio-economic status of the

population is low but schools have good facilities and infrastructure.

v) High-risk schools – schools in urban or sub-urban areas, with low academic achievement,

disciplinary problems and the majority of students form low socio-economic background.

(Azman, n.d.)

It also safe to claim that English is merely but a subject in schools, rather than as a means of

communication. This is maybe due to the fact that teachers and education planners are more ardently

inclined toward exam-oriented syllabus that limits the use of English in real contexts. When students

are indoctrinate to learn English in order to pass the examination, they will just become robots, merely

absorbing or worse, memorising their English, rather than focusing on their desire and passion to learn

English for the sake of learning, thus leading to lack of interest and motivation among students and

subsequently, poor proficiency level in the said language.

Language learning is a very complex process, involving a lot of social variables such as motivation and

attitude. According to Thiyagarajah (2003), “the learning of English in rural schools in Malaysia has

always been a major problem for educators as they struggle to pull proficiency levels up against a

backdrop where the language is almost non-existent other than the few periods of English per week

where it is taught more as an academic subject than a language” (Peter Gobel, Siew Ming Thang,

Gurnam Kaur Sidhu, Sok Imm Oon & Yuen Fook Chan, 2013).

2.1 Peer Pressure and Motivation

Children spend most of their time in school, where they will be mingling and interacting with their

peers almost half of their day. Naturally, this would have some influence to their second language

acquisition, in this case, English. Azizi. Yahya, Noordin Yahya, Ooi Choon Lean, Abdul Talib Bon &

Sharifuddin Ismail has mentioned that socializing with teachers and friends is one of the factors that

can stimulate English acquisition (2011).

Leki (2007) has quoted Bakhtin and Vygotsky that “language learning cannot and do not take place

primarily in the brains of isolated individual learners but are instead inextricably bound up with social

factors as learners interact in human activities” (Normazidah Che Musa, Koo Yew Lie & Hazita Azman,

2012).

Ler (2010) stressed that, being young and vulnerable, students tend to turn to their peers for support

and acceptance. In order to get accepted, they are usually not willing to become too different from

the majority. This creates an unhealthy need to be acknowledged by their peers. As 99% of rural

students has inadequate exposure to English, they will actually try to please each other for solidarity

reasons and comradeship.

For example, Ogbu (1999); and Eggen and Kauchak (2004) have quoted that among Chinese students,

dropping their mother tongue to converse in English is considered as a cultural inversion in their

society as those who speaks in English is considered as estranging their peers and distancing their

families, thus leading these students to think that their success in English as snubbing their native

values and culture (Azizi. Yahya, Noordin Yahya, Ooi Choon Lean, Abdul Talib Bon & Sharifuddin Ismail,

2011).

Ler (2010) also mentioned that compared to their urban peers who hail from an environment where

they have regular contact in English and many of them come from well-off families where English is

used, rural students, on the other hand, are in an environment where English is not even considered

as a second language but a foreign language, and they have no awareness and chance to practice

English with their peers as their peers are also in the same boat. The socio-economic status of their

families causes them to have a very limited exposure to English, as it does not allow them easy access

to English materials (books, CDs, and even television in some cases). Due to this lack of exposure,

“students may have low self-esteem, lack of confidence and suffer from low motivational levels”

(Peter Gobel, Siew Ming Thang, Gurnam Kaur Sidhu, Sok Imm Oon & Yuen Fook Chan, 2013). There is

a strong correlation between the intensity of motivation with proficiency level, where students with

high intensity of motivation will perform better compared with students with lower intensity of

motivation (Ler, 2010).

Being pressured to fit in the cookie-cutter world, students are also petrified of making mistakes (i.e.

grammar mistakes) for the fear of being teased and laughed on by their comrades. These students

prefer to code-switch or worse, refrain themselves from using or conversing in English at all. Positive

peer influences is therefore crucial in influencing rural environment which embraces English speaking

environment. These students can help each other by reinforcing and motivating one another to learn

English.

2.2 Attitudes towards English

Positive perception leads to a positive attitude. Gobel has quoted Weiner (1986, 2000) that

“attributions come from a person’s self-perceptions, which influence their expectancy, values,

emotions, and beliefs about their competence, and in turn, their motivation”. (Ler, 2010) has also

quoted Gardner and Lambert (1959) that “success in language learning depends on the learner’s

attitudinal attributes such as attitudes towards the language learned and towards the speakers of the

language and culture”. In his study, he has shown that when students and teachers have positive

perception of the importance of learning English, their attitude towards the learning of English will

also be on the optimistic side.

On the other hand, Ler’s study has also shown how students perceive that their English learning is

mostly dependent on the teacher in classroom setting (2010). Even though with the high perception

level and positive attitude towards English, these rural students somehow still rely heavily on their

teachers compared to having a self-directed learning.

Students depend 100% on the teacher to provide them with activities and exercises compared to self-

study. This result is supported by Azman (n.d.) that English literacy in Malaysia is generally acquired

through schooled English, in other words, students in rural areas only have the opportunity to

experience and practice English during their class hours, during their English lessons to be exact

(Gobel, n.d.). Students are becoming too dependent on the teacher and somehow refused to be

responsible for their own learning. Reading and writing activities are considered strictly as

classroom/school activities, and since these activities are associated to school work, it seldom being

practised in home setting (Azman, n.d.).

Rural students also do not converse in English in their daily lives. Despite knowing that mastering

English is very important for their future, these students still feel obliged and unwilling to use English

in their daily communications (Normazidah Che Musa, Koo Yew Lie & Hazita Azman, 2012). According

to Normazidah Che Musa, Koo Yew Lie & Hazita Azman, one of the reasons why rural students refused

to learn English is because they do not see the immediate need to use the language in their culture.

Being in a culture where the first language (Bahasa Melayu) is truly being practised in every activities,

students do not feel pressured in using and practising English in the society. If any of them suddenly

decides to use it in any social context, he or she might get scorned or worse, ostracized by the

community. English is not considered as an important medium of communication because everybody

in the uses their mother tongue in their academic and also daily conversation (2012). Several

ethnographic studies conducted by Romero & Garza (1986), Thang (2004), Yoong (2004), Ratnawati

(2005), Samsiah, Kamaruzaman, Nurazila, Musdiana, Taniza (2009) and Rajadurai (2010) also proved

that rural students feel ‘forced’ to learn English, a language that they have no real purpose nor ability

to learn for (Gobel, n.d.).

2.3 Teaching Methodology

(Ler, 2010) has also discussed in his report about problems in learning English according to students’

responses. All the teacher respondents in his study agreed that boring teaching methods is one of the

problems in learning English. It shows that the teachers know about their teaching methods are

uninteresting but somehow they cannot do anything much. They also agree on the importance of

introducing new and fun activities in class such as movie watching, games, role plays, less examination

oriented exercises etc. to engage students’ interest in English. But when they are asked to further

explain why they did not do all the creative teaching methodologies, they mentioned that it is ‘difficult,

challenging and time consuming to teach English in rural setting’.

One of the teachers expressed his views in an interview session:

“At the end of the day, people are going to judge you on our students’ achievement”.

The teachers opted to use dry and dull traditional English teaching methods such as drilling, giving

worksheets, chalk and talk, etc. They end up doing ‘boring’ stuff that are guaranteed to attain the goal

of reaching the targeted examination results rather than ‘wasting time’ generating interactive student

activities that are fun and time consuming.

According to Azman (n.d.), English language teaching in rural schools mainly concerns on reading

passages. Other skills like listening, speaking and writing are treated like extensions from the reading

activity/exercise because they believe that by reading, it will somehow build students’ vocabulary and

grammatical concepts that can form their writing skills. Activities for listening and speaking are only

limited to the dialogues exercises in the textbooks.

Another teaching method that is being used by most English teachers in rural areas is by using

translation. From the research, it can be concluded that all teacher respondents agree that this is the

most effective way to get rural students to understand the meaning of English. Basically, the teachers

will revert to using Bahasa Melayu (or any other vernacular languages) in these circumstances: 1)

giving classroom management instructions. 2) describing meaning of words and concepts or ideas. 3)

explaining grammatical rules and concepts. 4) motivating and or consoling students. 5) giving

instructions on how to carry out task or activities (Azman, n.d.).

Azizi. Yahya, Noordin Yahya, Ooi Choon Lean, Abdul Talib Bon & Sharifuddin Ismail has also mentioned

about this phenomenon in their research. Translation method is generally used in English classrooms

where nouns and vocabulary are translated from the mother tongue (2011). To rectify this problem,

they have suggested that total immersion method, where “almost 100% of the school day is spent in

the L2, meaning that almost all subjects will be taught in the L2, should be applied” (Center, 2010).

Azizi. Yahya, Noordin Yahya, Ooi Choon Lean, Abdul Talib Bon & Sharifuddin Ismail also quoted Collier

(1992), Cunnigham & Graham (2000) and Krashen (1996) that this method is proven to help students

become proficient quickly.

One more problem that can be looked upon is the quality of the teachers in rural school. Ardi Marwan,

Bambang Sumintono & Nora Mislan has quoted Holloway (2002), Hudson & Hudson (2008) and

Malhoit (2005) that the lack of teachers’ quality is one of the problem in rural schools (n.d.). When

teachers lack quality needed to teach these underprivileged students, the quality of the students will

also deteriorate. Teachers also fail to grasp the real learning situation and the attitudes of the learners,

mistaking the attitudes with laziness and indifference. Teachers also have a low opinion and

expectation towards their students, frequently unaware of their own- do they have the right attitude

to meet the students’ expectations? (Ismail, 1994).

Teachers are also unaware of students’ different learning styles. Thiyagarajah (2003) has stated that

“if teachers can develop students’ awareness of language learning strategies and styles and actively

engage them in activities which focus on these strategies”, then the performance of rural students

can be boosted to a greater level (Ardi Marwan, Bambang Sumintono & Nora Mislan, n.d.). Teachers

should give rural students oppurtunity to use English so that they can experience the utility of the

language (Gobel, n.d.).

2.4 School Culture and Society

According to Peter Gobel, Siew Ming Thang, Gurnam Kaur Sidhu, Sok Imm Oon & Yuen Fook Chan, to

rural students, English language is not considered as a second language, but a foreign language, due

to their limited contact hours with the language (2013). This seems to correlate with Ismail that has

stated in his study that the status of English has actually moved from a second language to foreign

language (1994). English is not a language that they use at all whether in school environment nor in

their society (Peter Gobel, Siew Ming Thang, Gurnam Kaur Sidhu, Sok Imm Oon & Yuen Fook Chan,

2013). (Ismail, 1994) assumed that the higher degree of contact to English the learners attained, the

more proficient they are with the language. From these findings, it can also be concluded that it is of

“utmost importance that learners receive maximum support in terms of supportive and conducive

learning environment as well as adequate, meaningful language experience” (Normazidah Che Musa,

Koo Yew Lie & Hazita Azman, 2012).

From the data analysis form Ler’s study, it is clear that both students’ and teachers’ respondents

groups blame the school culture for not being supportive enough towards the learning of English. They

claimed that there is no reinforcement from the school that can encourage them to use English in

school environment. Most student respondents agreed that the school culture, rural society, teachers

and peers are to blame for the poor proficiency in English (2010).

Malay language has also being used widely as the medium of instruction and administration in schools,

thus leading to limited exposure and use of English among students, teachers and staffs. When

everybody in the school is conversing in Malay language, which is the more comfortable language as

it is their mother tongue, it will automatically create an atmosphere that is not conducive to use

English. This lead to the decrease of motivation to learn and teach English, especially in rural schools.

Students will also lose their initiative to communicate in English as they will resort to their mother

tongue for a more effective means of communication. (Ler, 2010) has mentioned about how the

authorities of the school should be the ‘role model’ for the students so that they can be encouraged

to use English more.

Besides school, there is also a lack of English language usage in the home environment and local

community. In Normazidah Che Musa, Koo Yew Lie & Hazita Azman’s study, it can be concluded that

rural students can be discouraged from learning and practising English by the attitude, interest and

support from the social surrounding they are in (2012). This is agreed by Ismail, that there are no

support for rural students to learn English outside of the classroom, as there are very minimum

exposure to English in their environment, especially in their homes (1994). When there is no support

from the society, it will be hard for the school to cultivate a culture that is positive for successful

English language development. Learning and using English outside of the classroom need to be

fostered as it can improve their proficiency in English through active use of the said language. (Ismail,

1994) has quoted Upshur (1968) that through informal situations where learners must make

communicative use of the language, learners will experience the most efficient language learning.

2.5 Influence of Islamic Teaching on the Learning of English

(Ler, 2010) has mentioned in his paper that because of the strong faith the rural community has

towards Islam, it somehow influence the process of English learning. He claimed that because of the

‘restriction’ that Islam has, it somehow curb the teachers and school community from using innovative

methods in teaching English. He gave an example which is teaching English through drama. He felt

that rural people won’t be supporting the staging of an English drama because of the ‘clash’ between

eastern and western culture, plus it will be considered ‘unIslamic’. Another example that he gave was

about how English movies, which are always being associated with violence, sex, anti-religion and anti-

Islamic, are being frowned upon by rural people, thus it is of no use to use these movies as teaching

aids.

On the other hand, the National Education Philosophy (NEP) itself contains the spirit of the Islamic

education philosophy, where Ministry of Education (1990c, p.5) has stated that NEP really believes on

the integration of individuals who are developed holistically so that to produce individuals who are

“intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious” (Kasim, 2012).

Kasim further explains that in Islamic tradition, seeking knowledge is deemed to be compulsory for all

Muslims, as being stated by the Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H himself. According to Al-Bukhari (n.d.),

the Prophet had also practised 21 teaching techniques to support his teaching method, and some of

them are worth mentioning here since they are related to this paper, which are: 1) the method must

not be boring to the listener; 2) using questions and debate; 3) using playful fun; 4) teaching using

stories and the accounts of the people that came before (2012).

Kasim has successfully proved that in Islam, there is no such thing as ‘restrictions’ in learning English,

as long as it is done to the accordance of Islam. Prophet Muhammad P.B.UH himself believes in the

significance of active teaching and learning. Further analysis of literature done by Abdullah (1994);

Abdullah (1995); Ghazali (2001); Hisham (1989); Mansoor (1983) and Nasr (1978) also proved that

there are a lot of interactive methods in teaching that are also being advocated by Islamic teaching

such as project based learning, independent learning, observation and experimentation, problem

solving, discussion, dialogue, reason and reflection and application (Kasim, 2012).

Kasim also quoted Sajjad (n.d.); Salimi & Ghonoodi (2011) and Zarei & Esfandiari (2008) that Islamic

education even recommends students-centred approaches very strongly, which is not totally

unfamiliar since Islamic philosophy of education deeply believes that students must be active and

responsible for their own learning process (2012).

2.6 Conclusion

From the literature review it can be concluded that language proficiency among rural students is being

affected by five cultural factors, namely peer pressure and motivation, attitudes towards English,

teaching methodology, school culture and society, and influence of Islamic teaching on the learning

of English. The research design and methodology will be presented in the next chapter.

Chapter 3

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

The purpose of this study is to measure the level of English language proficiency among rural students.

Other than that, the purpose of this study is also to critically examine the factors contributing to

proficiency in English as a second language among rural students. Last but not least, this study aims

to suggest ways to improve proficiency in English as a second language among rural students. This

chapter will discuss the research design and methodologies used in this study which cover the

population, subject, sample and sample selection, data gathering instrument, procedures employed

and data analysis.

In this research, the researcher will use mixed-design approach in order to collect the data. The

research design of this study is intended to discuss about the group that will be studied in this

research. Furthermore, the researcher will also explain about the group of individuals that the

researcher will draw from the population in purpose of this research. The methods that will be used

by the researcher in order to collect data for this research is also being discussed in detail. In addition

to that, the researcher will explain on the procedures that the researcher has to abide in order to

conduct the research. Lastly, the researcher will talk about how the data gathered from this research

will be analysed in order to answer the research questions.

3.1 Research Design

In order to collect the data needed for the research, the researcher will use mixed-design approach,

which includes both Qualitative and Quantitative approach. A survey research design will be used in

collecting quantitative data, while unstructured interviews will be held to collect qualitative data.

3.2 Population and Sample

The target population of the research are the English teachers and standard four, five and six students

from a rural primary school in Pekan District, Pahang. The school is chosen because of it is a rural

school, comprises of students that came from traditional Malay villages and aborigines settlements,

thus making the students the perfect population targeted for the purpose of this research. The sample

of this research will be based on a non-random sampling. The researcher will distribute surveys to 80

students as the sample of this research. The English teachers will also be involved as the sample for

this research. The researcher will conduct interview sessions with the English teachers in order to gain

a deeper insight to the matter at hand.

3.3 Instrumentation

The researcher chooses to use survey and interviews as the data gathering instruments for the

research. Eighty surveys will be distributed to the standard 4, 5 and 6 students from a rural primary

school in Pekan District, Pahang to get more in-depth information about the subject matter. The

survey will consists of 20 questions and Likert-scale responses for each question, all adapted from a

study conducted by Azizi Yahya, Noordin Yahya, Ooi Choon Lean, Abdul Talib Bon and Sharifuddin

Ismail (2011). The process was monitored by the researcher herself. A sample of the questionnaire

will be included in the appendix section.

In addition to that, the researcher will carry out interview sessions with English teachers that are

teaching standard 4, 5 and 6 students from a rural primary school in Pekan District, Pahang. The

questions that are going to be asked will complement the data gathered form the survey. The

interviews were recorded in a voice recorder for analysis.

Furthermore, the researcher will obtain the final exam results for English subject from the school

administration to further examine the level of proficiency in English language among standard 4, 5 and

6 students from a rural primary school in Pekan District, Pahang . The result will be analysed and

tabulated by the researcher.

3.4 Data Collection

Before the actual data collection can be carried out, a pilot study will be done on a smaller population.

The outcome from the pilot study will be taken into consideration so that necessary improvement can

be done to the survey and interview (if any). In order to distribute the surveys and to conduct the

interview sessions, the researcher will have to inform the students in order for the researcher to

gather them in a session to answer the survey. An endorsement letter form the Dean of the faculty

will be enclosed together with the questionnaire. A date will be set for everyone to come and answer

the survey in that one session. The same procedure will be done for the interviews. The day will be

set for the researcher to carry out the interview sessions with the teachers.

Before distributing the questionnaires, the researcher will introduce herself to the samples and give a

brief explanation to them so that they knew the reasons of their involvement in the research. In

addition to that, before each session of the interviews with the samples, the researcher will also brief

the teachers about the interview and the purpose of the interview. This will make the respondents

aware of the purpose of the interview and be more cooperative with the researcher.

The researcher will also make the effort by requesting the final exam results for standard 4, 5 and 6

students. This is to further clarify the level of English language proficiency among the sample.

3.5 Data Analysis

All data gathered form the questionnaire and the final exam results will be analysed and tabulated by

the researcher using the SPSS programme. From the analysis, the mean, median and mode will be

measured and summarized using descriptive statistics.

Meanwhile, the data gathered form the questionnaire will be transcribed, and memos will be taken.

The data will be analysed using tree diagram analysis. The data will be put under themes derived from

the literature review. Each theme will be explained thoroughly by the researcher so that the pattern

and meaning will be clear.

3.6 Conclusion

This chapter has explained about the research design, population and sample, instrumentation, data

collection and data analysis for this research. The findings of this study will be presented in the next

chapter.

Bibliography Azizi. Yahya, Noordin Yahya, Ooi Choon Lean, Abdul Talib Bon & Sharifuddin Ismail. (2011). Factors

contributing to proficiency in English as a second language among Chinese students in Johor

Bahru. Elixir Psychology 41.

Azman, H. (n.d.). English Language In Rural Malaysia: Situating Global Literacies In Local Practices. 3L

Journal of Language Teaching, Linguistics and Literature.

Bernama. (5 March, 2012). Local graduates fall short of employers’ expectations. Borneo Post Online.

Kuala Lumpur.

Center, P. P. (August, 2010). Successful Bilingual and Immersion Models/Programs. Research and

Evaluation. Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America: Kamehameha Schools Research and

Evaluation.

Gobel, P. (n.d.). Attributions to Success and Failure in English Language Learning: A Comparative

Study of Urban and Rural Students in Malaysia.

Ismail, J. (1994). Learning English in a Non-supportive Environment among Malay Learners in

Secondary Schools. Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum., 11-20.

Johnson, D. (October, 2001). ESL Resources. Retrieved from Centre for Adult English Language

Aquisition: http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/bibliographies/sla.html

Kasim, T. S. (2012). Teaching and learning experiences in Malaysian higher education: A case study of

a teacher education programme. Aukland, Australia.

Ler, E. C. (2010). Cultural Factors Affecting English Proficiency in Rural Areas. International Journal of

Arts and Sciences, 26-55.

Normazidah Che Musa, Koo Yew Lie & Hazita Azman. (2012). Exploring English Language Learning

And Teaching In Malaysia. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 35-50.

Peter Gobel, Siew Ming Thang, Gurnam Kaur Sidhu, Sok Imm Oon & Yuen Fook Chan. (2013).

Attributions to Success and Failure in English Language Learning: A Comparative Study of

Urban and Rural Undergraduates in Malaysia. Asian Social Science, 53-63.

Tan Yao Sua, Santhiram R. Raman. (2007). Problems and Challenges of Learning through a Second

Language: The case of Teaching Science and Mathematics in English in the Malaysian

Primary Schools . Kajian Malaysia, 29-52.

Wisegeek. (n.d.). What is language proficiency? Retrieved from Wisegeek clear answers for common

questions: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-language-proficiency.htm