siti nur shuhada binti tarmazi - faculty of education · persediaan di dalam proses pengajaran dan...
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BABY STEPS IN UNDERSTANDING LITERATURE COMPONENT: SELECTED SHORT
STORIES AND POEMS : AN ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENT AND THE USERS’
PERCEPTIONS
SITI NUR SHUHADA BINTI TARMAZI
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
This Bachelor's Project Report Has Been
Approved and Accepted By
PUAN NORHIZA BINTI ISMAIL Bachelor's Project Supervisor of Modem Languages Department,
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
On Behalf of Faculty of Education
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
BABY STEPS IN UNDERSTANDING LITERATURE COMPONENT: SELECTED SHORT
STORIES AND POEMS : AN ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENT AND THE USERS'
PERCEPTIONS
SITI NUR SHUHADA BINTI TARMAZI
This project report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of
the degree of Bachelor Science and Education (TESL)
Fakulti Pendidikan
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
MARCH, 2004
"I admit that (his project report is my own piece of work except for citations and summaries whereby each and everyone of»t sources has been duly acknowledged."
Signature : Name of writer : SITI NUR SHUHADA BINTI TARMAZI Date : 15th MARCH 2004
i
DEDICATION
This study is dedicated to my beloved parents, sister and brother. They had been very
supportive while I was struggling to finish this study.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost I would like to extend my gratitude to ALLAH SWT for HIS
mercy and grace for allowing me to finally finish my thesis despite of all the
challenges that I had to go through.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude and sincere appreciation to all who have
helped in one way or another in this project. Special thanks are due to the following:
My supervisor, Puan Norhiza Binti Ismail, who has been very encouraging and
supportive with her precious support and guidance throughout this project.
My examiners, Puan Tina Binti Abdullah and Puan Norzarina Binti Sulong, who
have been the great help with their guidance.
My family members, Abah and Emak (Encik Tarmazi Bin Othman and Puan Shalhah
Binti Husain), sister (Siti Anis Adilah) and brother (Ahmad Syahiran) for all your
concern and care.
My coursemates, TESLians (2000-2004) and friends for your help and support.
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ABSTRAK
Persediaan di dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran adalah penting untuk
mencapai objektifnya. Pengajaran dan pembelajaran kesusasteraan Bahasa Inggeris
juga memerlukan persediaan dan perancangan daripada guru di dalam menyedia dan
menyampaikan pengetahuan dan pemahaman di dalam komponen subjek Bahasa
Inggeris tersebut. Guru perlu mahir merancang dan menyusun bahan pengajaran
yang sesuai untuk para pelajar. Kebolehan ini adalah berkaitan dengan keupayaan
seseorang guru di dalam memilih dan mengadaptasi pelbagai bahan pengajaran yang
terdapat di pasaran. Kajian ini telah dijalankan untuk mengkaji isi kandungan salah
sebuah buku kerja kesusasteraan Bahasa Inggeris iaitu Baby Steps In Understanding
Literature Component: Selected Short Stories And Poems. Ia menyediakan
pendekatan terhadap kajian isi kandungan buku tersebut dan juga analisa daripada
pandangan para penggunanya sebagai objektif kajian. Proses mengkaji isi kandungan
telah dilaksanakan berpandukan senarai kriteria dan data berkaitan pandangan para
pengguna telah diperolehi daripada soal selidik yang telah diedarkan. Hasil daripada
kajian tersebut, ianya dapat disimpulkan bahawa isi dan aktiviti-aktiviti yang terdapat
di dalam buku tersebut adalah sesuai untuk diadaptasi oleh para guru dengan
menekankan penggunaan persembahan secara visual dan menyediakan aktiviti-
aktiviti yang melibatkan pelajar di dalam persembahan drama dan lakonan karakter.
Di dalam melaksanakan kajian lanjutan, guru dan pelajar yang mewakili semua
pengguna perlu ditambah bilangannya untuk membentuk populasi yang lebih baik
dan di samping penggunaan soal selidik, proses temubual juga perlu disertakan.
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ABSTRACT
A preparation in a teaching and learning process is vital in achieving the
objectives. Teaching and learning English literature too needs preparations from the
teacher in providing and delivering the needed information and understanding the
component of the English language subject. Teachers need to be able to arrange and
organize suitable material for their students. This capability is related to the ability of
the teacher in selecting and adapting the various materials available in the market.
This study was carried out to examine the content of one of the coursebooks prepared
for English language literature; Baby Steps In Understanding Literature Component:
Selected Short Stories And Poems. It provides insight into the evaluation of the
content and the analysis of the users’ perceptions as the objectives of the study. The
process of evaluating was conducted with the guidance of an evaluation checklist and
the data of users’ perceptions were attained from the questionnaires distributed. From
the evaluation, it can be concluded that the content and exercises in the book suitable
to be used with few adaptation made by the teachers such as adapting the pictorial
presentation and creating activities, which involve the students in dramatizing texts
and role-playing characters. In suggestion for further research, teachers and students
that represent all users should be increased in number to form more reliable
population of study and besides using questionnaires for data elicitation, interviewing
users should be added too.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
CONTENT PAGE
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
ABSTRAK v
ABSTRACT vi
TABLE OF CONTENT vii
LIST OF TABLES xi
LIST OF FIGURES xii
LIST OF APPENDICES xiii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Background of Problem 1
1.2 Statement of Problem 3
1.3 The Objectives 4
1.4 Research Questions 4
1.5 Scope of Study 4
1.6 Significance of Study 5
1.7 Operational Definitions 5
viii
1.7.1 Baby Steps In Understanding
Literature Component: Selected Short Stories
and Poems 5
1.7.2 The Users 6
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 7
2.0 Introduction 7
2.1 The Definition of Materials Evaluation 7
2.2 The Process of Selecting Materials 8
2.3 The Significance of Evaluating Materials 9
2.4 The Criteria of Good Materials 10
2.5 The Methodology Used for Evaluating Materials 11
2.6 Research on Materials in Use 12
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY 13
3.0 Introduction 13
3.1 Methodology of The Research 13
3.2 The Research Design 13
3.3 The Material for Analysis 16
3.4 Samples 16
3.5 Instrumentations 17
3.5.1 Checklist for Material Evaluation 17
3.5.2 Questionnaire 18
3.6 The Methods of Data Analysis 19
3.7 The Research Procedures 19
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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 20
4.0 Introduction 20
4.1 The Analysis and evaluation 20
4.1.1 Overview of The Material 21
4.1.2 Objectives of The Material and the
School Syllabus 22
4.1.3 The Use of The Material 26
4.1.4 Students’ Level of Proficiencies 27
4.1.5 Analysis of The Teachers’ Perceptions 27
4.1.5.1 The Appearance of The Material 28
4.1.5.2 The Organization of The Topics and
Activities 29
4.1.5.3 The Teachers’ Perceptions Towards
The Content of The Material 30
4.1.5.4 The Activities 32
4.1.5.5 The Material As A Reference In
Understanding Literature 36
4.1.6 Analysis of The Students’ Perceptions 37
4.1.6.1 The Appearance of The Content 37
4.1.6.2 The Organization of The Topic
and Activities 38
4.1.6.3 The Content of The Material 39
4.1.6.4 The Activities 41
4.2 Discussions 42
CHAPTER V DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION 44
5.0 Introduction 44
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5.1 Summary 44
5.2 Limitations of Study 45
5.3 Pedagogical Implications 46
5.4 Suggestions for Further Research 47
REFERENCES 48
APPENDICES 49
xi
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
Table 4.1 The Frequency Methods of Using The Material by Teachers 26
Table 4.2 The Responses of Teachers on Item 1 28
Table 4.3 The Responses of Teachers on Item 2 29
Table 4.4 The Responses of Teachers on Item 3 31
Table 4.5 The Responses of Students on Item 3 39
Table 4.6 The Responses of Students on Item 4 40
Table 4.7 The Responses of Students on Item 6 40
Table 4.8 The Responses of Students on Item 5 41
Table 4.9 The Responses of Students on Item 7 41
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
Figure 4.1 The Percentage of Teachers’ Responses on Item 4 32
Figure 4.2 The Percentage of Teachers’ Responses on Item 5 33
Figure 4.3 The Percentage of Teachers’ Responses on Item 6 34
Figure 4.4 The Percentage of Teachers’ Responses on Item 7 35
Figure 4.5 The Percentage of Teachers’ Responses on Item 8 36
Figure 4.6 The Responses of Students on Item 1 37
Figure 4.7 The Responses of Students on Item 2 38
xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDICES PAGE
Appendix 1 : Questionnaire for Teachers 49
Appendix 2 : Questionnaire for Students 54
Appendix 3 : The Content of The Material 58
Appendix 4 : Reviews and Exam practices for ‘The Necklace’ 60
Appendix 5 : Introduction To Short Stories 68
Appendix 6 : Literary Elements At A Glance 69
Appendix 7 : Bonus Worksheets 72
Appendix 8 : Exam Bonanza 80
Appendix 9 : Introduction To Poetries 82
Appendix 10 : SPM Model Test 85
Appendix 11 : The Characters in ‘The Necklace’ 88
Appendix 12 : Pictorial Presentation of ‘The Necklace’ 90
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction
It is a new field of study for the Malaysian students to learn English literature.
It is a compulsory component in the English language subject in ‘Penilaian
Menengah Rendah’ (PMR) and ‘Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia’ (SPM) level. Teachers and
students of English language need a lot of references in teaching and learning this
new component of English language subject as well as the other main components of
it. Therefore, because of wide domain of exposure of usage and learning process by
Malaysian academicians, they tend to produce many literature coursebooks that
might be used as guidance and references.
1.1 Background of problem
English literature was introduced into Malaysian English language syllabus in
the year 2000. As stated by Chitravelu, Sithamparam and Teh Soo Choon (1995),
literature as input in the language class offers the advantages of variety and interest
in terms of content, theme and topic and language use. The Education Ministry of
Malaysia has drawn out the implementation of the English literature through the new
syllabus by using literature as stimulus and literature as context to offer these
advantages. Literature as stimulus can be done by exploiting students’ responses to
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the text to produce language, while in using literature as context, language based task
can be done by getting the students to explore, understand, evaluate, respond and
perform pieces of literature.
The students have to learn the literature through understanding the selected
novels, short stories and poems. Teachers can use literature as model of language
used as it shows how vocabulary, grammar and patterns of discourse may be used
effectively in various forms of writing to convey a message, appeal to the senses and
evoke a response. The process of teaching and learning English language needs the
exertion of fulfilling and achieving the satisfactory of understanding and
accomplishing oneself with the competencies that should be expended from time to
time.
The English teachers’ role is pointed out, as they have to prepare themselves
with all the requirements needed as the proficiency teachers in this field. At this
instant, for this new component of English language subject, the English teachers
have to prepare themselves with all the requirements of English literature. Drawing
back from the role of English teachers, one particular phenomenon that can be
focussed on is the role of teachers in evaluating and adapting the materials for their
students. In spite of this, the English language materials available on the market
make selecting the right coursebook a challenging task (Cunningsworth 1995).
There is wealth of published material for literature available on the market,
for example, several short stories published by Penerbit Mega Setia Emas. There are
Phantom of The Opera, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Pearl, The Return and Jungle of
Hope and other series of selected poems and short stories. Baby Steps In
Understanding Literature Component written by Helena Cheah is another published
literature coursebook that can be used as a reference in literature class. However it
needs to be evaluated in order to look at its content, on how it can be adopted for
better teaching and learning literature process.
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1.2 Statement Of Problem
It is important for a teacher to get prepared with the knowledge of his subject.
Teachers can refer to many sources of guidelines in preparing an effective teaching
and there are also various methods of preparing materials or teaching aids. In spite of
preparing his own material for teaching or adopting from other coursebooks, teacher
needs to be able to choose the most suitable reference to be used in the process of
teaching.
The experience of teaching English literature in Sekolah Menengah
Kebangsaan Bandar Kota Tinggi, drove the researcher to explore and prepare more
on the process of teaching this component of English subject. As a trainee, the
researcher was advised to use Baby Steps In Understanding Literature Component:
Selected Short Stories and Poems as one of the references in providing notes and
exercises for the students. Regardless to the effectiveness of the book, the researcher
was interested to conduct an evaluation towards this book. In particular, it was an
evaluation of the content by comparing it with the syllabus of curriculum
specifications for English forms four and five.
Even though it has been used for quite sometime, the evaluation of the
usefulness of this material in learning literature is still needed. The perceptions of
teachers and students as users need to be analysed. Therefore, this study was
conducted with its prior interest, to help teachers and school society to make a choice
of selecting the suitable English literature coursebook, and that was by evaluating the
content of Baby Steps In Understanding Literature Component: Selected Short
Stories and Poems.
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1.3 The objectives
The objectives for this study are:
1. To analyze the content of the Baby Steps In Understanding Literature
Component: Selected Short Stories and Poems in relation to the syllabus
proposed by the Ministry of Education.
2. To analyze the perceptions of the users in this case, the teachers and
students, towards the content of the Baby Steps In Understanding
Literature Component: Selected Short Stories and Poems.
1.4 Research Questions
This study attempted to answer the following research questions:
1. Are the content prepared according to the syllabus of English subject.
2. What are the perceptions of the users of this book.
1.5 Scope of study
The study mainly focussed on the content of the coursebook and the
perceptions and opinions of the users namely the English teachers and their students.
It also involved a group of English teachers and students. The researcher used to
survey the schools, which the teachers and students are using Baby Steps as a
reference in English literature lesson. There were 20 English teachers and 100
students from three schools in Kubang Pasu district chosen for this study. They were
chosen because these samples are currently using the coursebook. Therefore, they
gave better insight on the coursebook in terms of the activities used in the literature
teaching and learning process.
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1.6 Significance of the study
This study is significant because the findings are useful for the teachers and
the schools that are interested to use the Baby Steps for teaching and learning English
literature. It is hoped that the findings might help the English teachers in adopting the
activities and exercises provided in the material, in a better way based on the learning
outcomes or curriculum specifications of forms four and five, in order to achieve the
objectives of the English subject.
1.7 Operational Definitions
1.7.1 Baby Steps In Understanding Literature Component: Selected Short
Stories and Poems
The coursebook used for a reference in teaching and learning English
literature. It is a book containing simple and meaningful information and activities
about English literature that can be adopted by the English language teachers for
their teaching process as well as possible for the students in their learning process. It
is a revised edition, which is specially developed to help students understand the five
short stories; The Lotus Eater, The Necklace, The Drover’s Wife, The Sound Machine
and Looking For A Rain God and the six poems; Sonnet 18, Si Tenggang’s
Homecoming, There’s Been A Death In the Opposite House, The Road Not Taken,
Monsoon History and If, better. Each short story and poem is taught individually with
pictorial presentations and clear explanation on the literary elements of the text. At
the end of each specific area for each text studied, there are questions similar to Sijil
Pelajaran Malaysia examination questions. There are two extra sections of exercises
or enhancement provided; the Bonus Worksheets and Exam Bonanza.
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1.7.2 The users
The users namely for this study are the teachers and the students who are
currently using Baby Steps In Understanding Literature Component: Selected Short
Stories and Poems as their reference in teaching and learning English literature. They
are the samples from three schools from Kubang Pasu district; Sekolah Menengah
Kebangsaan Seri Mahawangsa, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Jitra and Sekolah
Menengah Kebangsaan Tunku Anum Tunku Abdul Rahman. 20 teachers and 100
students from the above schools, selected for this study.