How to Cite
Abstract
This study examines the extent to which using an English Remedial Instruction Course enhances the vocabulary of Form 3 Malaysian students at a rural school in Sarawak, Malaysia. The research questions addressed were: (1) What are the teachers’ beliefs, assumptions and knowledge (BAK) in regards to teaching remedial students?; (2) Is there a significant difference in vocabulary competency between pre- and post-test mean score for those who underwent the English remedial instruction course in an ESL classroom and the control group?; and (3) What are the students’ feedback regarding the use of remedial instruction in their ESL classroom? The vocabulary chosen for the study was taken from the Ministry of Education Malaysia Form 3 English Textbook Word List, mostly consisting of the common words used in the students’ daily lives. An 8-week remedial instruction course which employed a variety of teaching theory-based activities was designed as the intervention process for the study. Thirty students (experimental group) were chosen from an English language Form 3 low-achieving class to undergo the course while another 30 students (controlled group) underwent the traditional chalk-and-talk and memorisation learning method. Pre-test and post-test statistical results of the students showed there were significant differences using Remedial Instruction enhance the learners’ vocabulary. Learners’ perceptions regarding the English Remedial Instruction course yielded positive responses as gathered through the feedback survey. Educational policy makers could thus improvise workshops and seminars based on these data-proven remedial instruction activities.
References
Allen, V.R. (1970) Updating the Language Experience Approach. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED040831.pdf
Asher, J. J. (1969). The Total Physical Response Approach to second language learning. The Modern Language Journal, 53(1), 3-17.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1969.tb04552.x
Aslanabadi, H., & Rasouli, G. (2013). The effect of games on improvement of Iranian EFL vocabulary knowledge in kindergartens. International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, 6(1), 186-195.
Bowen, T. (2013). Teaching approaches: Total physical response. Retrieved from http://www.onestopenglish.com
Butler, Y. G. (2011). The implementation of communicative and task-based language teaching in the Asia-Pacific region. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31, 36-57.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190511000122
Ellis, R. (2004). The methodology of task-based teaching. Educational Foreign Language Research, 79.
Gardner, H. (2011). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Basic Books.
Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning. Oxford: Pergamon.
Ibrahim, N. A., & Mat Saman, N. (2010). A study of the cognitive reading strategies employed by ESL readers. Unpublished article, Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
Leake, M., & Lesik, S. A. (2007). Do remedial English programs impact first-year success in college? An illustration of the regression‐discontinuity design. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 30(1), 89-99.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17437270701207827
McKay, S.L. (2009). Teaching English as an international language: rethinking goals and approaches. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ministry of Education (2012). Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Preliminary Report). Retrieved from Ministry of Education website: http://www.moe.gov.my/userfiles/file/PPP/Preliminary-Blueprint-Eng.pdf
Rozana, S. (2015). Room for improvement. Retrieved from http://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/12/116794/room-improvement
Richards, W. (2015). Remedial Instruction Program. Georgia's School Superintendent.
Saville-Troike, M. (2012). Introducing second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511888830
Smith, L. (1995). English in Education. English in Education, 29(2), 1-57.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-8845.1995.tb01142.x
Taylor, M. (1992). The Language Experience Approach and adult learners. Center for Applied Linguistics. Retrieved from http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/LEA.html
Thornbury, S. (2004). How to teach vocabulary. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
Tomlinson, B. (2006). Materials development in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Van Uden, J. M., Ritzen, H., & Pieters, J. M. (2013). I think I can engage my students. Teachers' perceptions of student engagement and their beliefs about being a teacher. Teaching and Teacher Education, 32, 43-54.
Copyright Transfer Statement for Journal
1) In signing this statement, the author(s) grant UNIMAS Publisher an exclusive license to publish their original research papers. The author(s) also grant UNIMAS Publisher permission to reproduce, recreate, translate, extract or summarize, and to distribute and display in any forms, formats, and media. The author(s) can reuse their papers in their future printed work without first requiring permission from UNIMAS Publisher, provided that the author(s) acknowledge and reference publication in the Journal.
2) For open access articles, the author(s) agree that their articles published under UNIMAS Publisher are distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work of the author(s) is properly cited.
3) For subscription articles, the author(s) agree that UNIMAS Publisher holds copyright, or an exclusive license to publish. Readers or users may view, download, print, and copy the content, for academic purposes, subject to the following conditions of use: (a) any reuse of materials is subject to permission from UNIMAS Publisher; (b) archived materials may only be used for academic research; (c) archived materials may not be used for commercial purposes, which include but not limited to monetary compensation by means of sale, resale, license, transfer of copyright, loan, etc.; and (d) archived materials may not be re-published in any part, either in print or online.
4) The author(s) is/are responsible to ensure his or her or their submitted work is original and does not infringe any existing copyright, trademark, patent, statutory right, or propriety right of others. Corresponding author(s) has (have) obtained permission from all co-authors prior to submission to the journal. Upon submission of the manuscript, the author(s) agree that no similar work has been or will be submitted or published elsewhere in any language. If submitted manuscript includes materials from others, the authors have obtained the permission from the copyright owners.
5) In signing this statement, the author(s) declare(s) that the researches in which they have conducted are in compliance with the current laws of the respective country and UNIMAS Journal Publication Ethics Policy. Any experimentation or research involving human or the use of animal samples must obtain approval from Human or Animal Ethics Committee in their respective institutions. The author(s) agree and understand that UNIMAS Publisher is not responsible for any compensational claims or failure caused by the author(s) in fulfilling the above-mentioned requirements. The author(s) must accept the responsibility for releasing their materials upon request by Chief Editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
6) The author(s) should have participated sufficiently in the work and ensured the appropriateness of the content of the article. The author(s) should also agree that he or she has no commercial attachments (e.g. patent or license arrangement, equity interest, consultancies, etc.) that might pose any conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript. The author(s) also agree to make any relevant materials and data available upon request by the editor or UNIMAS Publisher.