Research Proposal

Final draft Research Proposal
Finally I've completed my Research proposal. Hopefully I can continue using the same topic for my dissertation but I have to  read up more. so anyway, click below for the final draft of the proposal.


Faridatul's Research Proposal

Research Outline

1.1 Introduction

• Teaching English Literature at a primary level in Malaysia was introduced in the year 2003 as an effort to increase the English Proficiency level among primary students.
• The Curriculum Development Centre director stated “Primary Literature Project was introduced in the school curriculum to strengthen pupils’ proficiency in English five years ago” (Kaur, 2008)
• It was introduced not only to increase the proficiency level in the language but also to encourage students to read more and at the same time help students cope with the implementation of learning Science and Mathematics in English.
• English Literature was only introduced from year 4 until year 6 pupils.
• In 2009, the government decided to stop the implementation of teaching science and mathematics in English as it did not show any positive results (Khoo. S & Chapman. K, 2009).
• It also mentioned that the teachers’ English proficiency should be improved first as to ensure the success of the implementation.

1.2 Literature review

• Researches done on teaching literature at the primary level in Malaysia are scarce.
• Even though the understanding if literary text discussed in the classroom are not tested for the national exam, UPSR it still benefits the pupils in the long run
• Literature helps to promote academic literacy and thinking skills.

1.3 Statement of problem

• The teaching methods used in teaching literature classes are not creative enough.
• Teachers usually follow books strictly in interpreting the literature.
• The attitudes of the teacher teaching literature reflect the ways literature is taught in class. 

1.4 Purpose of study

            To find the correlation between the teachers attitudes and the teaching methods used in literature class at Primary schools in Malaysia.

1.5 Research Questions / Hypothesis

1. What is the teachers’ attitude towards teaching English Literature at school?
2. How does the teacher teach the subject?
3. What is the students’ reaction towards literature at that age?
4. To what extent does the teaching method affect students attitude in learning literature at a young age?

 1.6 Research Methodology

• Primary instrument: Collecting data and information from questionnaires – use the Likert scale
• Secondary instrument: classroom observation and focused interview
• Questionnaires will cover two parts;

                  - demographic profiles (e.g subjects’ background in teaching, age, gender                           and etc.)

                  - five points likert scale is used referring to the subjects interest in                                       teaching English Literature.

1.7 Limitations and delimitations

            This research is only done on selected primary schools within Klang Valley.

• It is not done on rural schools due to time constraints.
• The number of students sampled for the experiment is little as the researcher intends to generalize.
• The experiment will only be tested during regular teaching classes.

 1.8 Significance of the study

• The proposed research has the potential to improve the quality of the teachers in teaching literature from primary level by identifying the weakness of the teaching methods used today and to develop it.
• Creative teachers are needed to teach these subjects at school so that it will enhance the students’ interest in English literature at a young age and foster them to think critically and analyze what they have been reading.
• In today’s world, critical thinking skills are important as it is required in every phase of a person’s life be it, school, university or work.

 1.9 Definition of terms

• Language proficiency - to have the knowledge and the ability to communicate                                           affectively,  meaningfully and fluently in a given language.
• Likert scale – a five point scale which is one of the tools used to measure attitude.

Research proposal outline – 2^nd draft

Title: The relationship between teachers ’ attitude and approach in Teaching literature in Malaysian Primary school context.

1.1  Introduction

·         Teaching English Literature at a primary level in Malaysia was introduced in the year 2003 as an effort to increase the English Proficiency level among primary students.

·         The Curriculum Development Centre director stated “Primary Literature Project was introduced in the school curriculum to strengthen pupils’ proficiency in English five years ago” (Kaur, 2008)

·         It was introduced not only to increase the proficiency level in the language but also to encourage students to read more and at the same time help students cope with the implementation of learning Science and Mathematics in English.

·         English Literature was only introduced from year 4 until year 6 pupils.

·         In 2009, the government decided to stop the implementation of teaching science and mathematics in English as it did not show any positive results (Khoo. S & Chapman. K, 2009).

·         It also mentioned that the teachers’ English proficiency should be improved first as to ensure the success of the implementation.

1.2  Literature review

-          incomplete

1.3  Statement of problem

·         The current teachings in Literature have not yet  met The ministry of education’s objectives in implementing  Literature at school (Diana Hwang & Amin Embi, 2007; Gurnam Kaur & Sarjit Kaur, 2010)

·         The teaching methods used in teaching literature classes are not creative enough which makes the lesson uninteresting (Siti Norliana et al, 2009; Radzuwan Abd. Rashid, Malachi Edwin. V. & Shireena Basree, 2010)

·         Teachers usually follow strictly to the text books  and the help of commercial workbooks in interpreting literature (Siti Norliana, 2008; Gurnam Kaur & Sarjit Kaur, 2010)

·         The attitudes of the teacher teaching the class reflects the way literature is taught (Fauziah Ahmad, 2008; Fauziah Ahmad & Jamaludin Aziz, 2009)

·         The Literature lesson that what conducted in class were mostly teacher centered (Diana Hwang & Amin Embi, 2007; Radzuwan Abd. Rashid, Malachi Edwin. V. & Shireena Basree, 2010)

1.4  Purpose of the study

These are the objectives of the research:

i.                    To determine primary school teachers’ attitude in teaching Literature.

ii.                  To investigate the attitude and perception of teachers towards teaching Literature.

iii.                To identify the pedagogical preferences that the teacher have in teaching the subject.

iv.                To discover the relationship of teaching method and teachers’ attitude towards literature.

To find the relationship between the teachers’ attitude and the teaching methods used in literature classes at urban Primary school level in Malaysia.

1.5  Research Questions

The purpose of this study is achieved through looking into the following research questions:

i.        What is the teachers’ attitude and perception towards teaching English literature at primary school?

ii.      What are the methods and approaches used in teaching the subject?

iii.    Is the teachers’ attitude towards literature manifested in the approach towards teaching literature?

1.6  Research Methodology

·         This study incorporates only qualitative methodologies.

·         The instrument:

o   Classroom observation

o   in-depth interview

1.7  Limitations ad delimitations

This research is only done on two primary schools within Klang Valley.

• It is not done on rural schools due to time constraints.
• The number of teachers sampled for the experiment is little as the researcher intends to generalize.
• The experiment will only be tested during regular teaching classes. 

1.8  Significance of the study

1  The proposed research has the potential to improve the quality of the teachers in teaching literature from primary level by identifying the weakness of the teaching methods used today and to develop it.

2        Creative teachers are needed to teach these subjects at school so that it will enhance the students’ interest in English literature at a young age and foster them to think critically and analyze what they have been reading.

In today’s world, critical thinking skills are important as it is required in every phase of a person’s life be it, school, university or work

RESEARCH PROPOSAL - 1st draft

Introduction

            Teaching English Literature at the primary level in Malaysia was introduced in the year 2003 as an effort to increase the English skills level among primary students. The Curriculum Development Centre director stated “Primary Literature Project was introduced in the school curriculum to strengthen pupils’ proficiency in English five years ago” (Kaur, 2008). It was introduced not only to increase the proficiency level in the language but to also encourage students to read more and at the same time help students cope with the implementation of learning Science and Mathematics in English. English Literature was only introduced to year 4 until year 6 pupils.

            In 2009, the government decided to stop the implementation of teaching science and mathematics in English as it did not show any positive results (Khoo. S & Chapman. K, 2009). The government also believed that teachers’ English proficiency should be improved first so as to ensure the success of the implementation.

           

            Therefore, I would like to conduct a research on the teaching methods teachers incorporate in teaching English Literature at the primary level and the teachers’ attitude towards teaching the subject.

* This outline was refined after meeting with Dr.Izaham. After the meeting, it made it really clear to me how to conduct this research. I was so relieved. Alhamdulillah. I've also settled the Presentation and now just the write-ups for the research proposal and then done with it. Need to do a lot of research on this topic though if I want to carry it to my dissertation. Wish me luck~

Background/Review of the Literature

            There are numerous researches done on teaching literature in secondary schools, which includes researches on the attitudes of the students towards literature, the methods used in teaching and also the materials used in the classroom. However, researches done on teaching literature at the primary level in Malaysia are scarce.

           

            Even though the understanding of the literary text discussed in the classroom are not tested for the national exam, Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) (Kaur. S, 2008) it still benefits the pupils in the long run. As Ghosn. I (2002, p. 173), stated that in preparing children for the English-medium instruction classroom, literature helps to promote academic literacy and thinking skills.

            Ideally, the teaching approach used in classrooms should fit into these criteria; firstly, when students read from the text they can relate it to the socio cultural aspects and subsequently they are able to relate from their personal experience and make meaningful interpretations and evaluate it through deeper analysis. (Siti Norliana et. al, 2009, p ).

            The study done by Siti Norliana et. al(2009, p) found that students are less motivated to learn literature if the teachers follow strictly by the book. The teachers discussed mostly on basic ingredients of the literature like the plot, summary, theme and characters as those are the matters that would be included in the national exams. Thus the students are more prone to be exam oriented.

The question now is:

1) What is the teachers’ attitude towards teaching English Literature at school?

2) If English Literature is not included in the national exams, how does the teacher go about teaching the subject? Will they take the subject lightly?

3) How about the students’ reaction towards literature at that age? Will it enhance the students’ interest in English Literature?

Method and Design

            The study will be conducted by collecting data and information from the questionnaires as a primary instrument. Then classroom observation and focused interview will be used as secondary instruments. The questionnaires will cover two parts; the first component will focus on the demographic profiles for instance the subjects’ background in teaching, age, gender and socio-economic status. The second component will use a five points Likert scale to the subjects’ interest in teaching English Literature. Classroom observation will be conducted to examine the different methods of teaching and another set of questionnaires will be given to the students to evaluate the teaching methods.

            Lastly is the interview with open-ended questions aimed at gathering more in-depth information concerning the student’s reaction towards the methods used and whether they enjoy the subject taught by the teacher.

Significance and Conclusion 

            The proposed research has the potential to improve the quality of the teachers in teaching literature from primary level by identifying the weakness of the teaching methods used today and develop it.  Smita Mujumdar (2010, p.215), metioned that the teachers play an important role in the classroom as to train the mind of learners in developing their feeling in an appropriate way thus creative teachers are needed to teach this subject at school so that it will enhance the students’ interest in English literature at a young age and foster them to think critically and analyze what they have been reading. According to Aly Ameer (2003, p.68), when the students read literature it enables students to make multiple inferences about the story thus it allows creative and critical thinking in the classroom atmosphere. In today’s world, critical thinking skills are important as it is required in every phase of a person’s life be it, school, university or work.

References

Aly Anwar Ameer. (2003). Teaching EFL/ESL literature. The reading Matrix, 3, (2), 63-73

Ghosn, I. (2002). Four good reasons to use literature in primary school ELT. ELT Journal, 56, (2), 172-179

Simon, Khoo & Chapman, K (2009, March 12). Decision on teaching Maths, Science in    English by month's end. The Star. Retrieved from        http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/3/12/nation/200903121742            34&sec=nation

Simrit Kaur (2008, May 25). Exposed to Literature. The Star. Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2008/5/25/education/21245304&sec=education.

Siti Norliana Ghazali, Roszainora Setia, Chittra Muthusamy & Kamaruzaman Jusoff. (2009). ESL Students’ Attitude towards Texts and Teaching Methods used in Literature Classes. English Language Teaching, 2, (4), 51-56

Smita A. Mujumdar. (2010). Teanching English Language and Literature in a non-native Context. Langauge in India, 10, 210-216


RESEARCH PROPOSAL - FINAL