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UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA BORANG PENGESAHAN STATUS TESIS
JUDUL : INVESTIGATING ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON
THE USE OF AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING ENGLISH
SESI PENGAJIAN : 2008/2009 Saya NURUL AZIE YANTY BINTI MD. YUSOP
(HURUF BESAR)
mengaku membenarkan tesis (PSM/Sarjana/Doktor Falsafah)* ini disimpan di Perpustakaan Universiti Teknologi Malaysia dengan syarat-syarat kegunaan seperti berikut:
1. Tesis adalah hakmilik Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. 2. Perpustakaan Teknologi Malaysia dibenarkan membuat salinan untuk tujuan pengajian sahaja. 3. Perpustakaan dibenarkan membuat salinan tesis ini sebagai bahan pertukaran antara institusi
pengajian tinggi. 4. ** Sila tandakan ( √ )
SULIT
(Mengandungi maklumat yang berdarjah keselamatan atau kepentingan Malaysia seperti yang termaktub di dalam AKTA RAHSIA RASMI 1972)
TERHAD
(Mengandungi maklumat TERHAD yang telah ditentukan oleh organisasi/badan di mana penyelidikan dijalankan)
TIDAK TERHAD
(TANDATANGAN PENULIS) (TANDATANGAN PENYELIA)
Alamat tetap: 56, PARIT RESIK, JALAN YUSOF, DR. HANITA BINTI HASSAN 83600, SEMERAH, NAMA PENYELIA BATU PAHAT, JOHOR DARUL TAKZIM Tarikh: 22 APRIL 2009 Tarikh: 22 APRIL 2009
CATATAN: * Potong yang tidak berkenaan. ** Jika tesis ini SULIT atau TERHAD, sila lampirkan surat daripada pihak
berkuasa/organisasi berkenaan dengan menyatakan sekali sebab dan tempoh tesis ini perlu dikelaskan sebagai SULIT atau TERHAD.
Tesis dimaksudkan sebagai tesis bagi Ijazah Doktor Falsafah dan Sarjana secara penyelidikan atau disertasi bagi pengajian sebagai kerja kursus dan penyelidikan atau Laporan Projek Sarjana Muda (PSM).
√
This Bachelor’s Project Report Has Been
Approved and Accepted By
DR. HANITA BINTI HASSAN
Bachelor’s Project Supervisor of Modern Languages Department,
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
On Behalf of
Faculty of Education
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
INVESTIGATING ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF
AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING ENGLISH
NURUL AZIE YANTY BINTI MD. YUSOP
This Project Report is Prepared As a Requirement for The Bestowal of
Bachelor of Science and Education (TESL)
Faculty of Education
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
APRIL 2009
ii
“I admit that this project report ( Title: INVESTIGATING ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING ENGLISH.) is my own piece of work except for citations and summaries whereby each and everyone of their sources has been duly acknowledge.”
Signature :
Name of Writer : NURUL AZIE YANTY BINTI MD. YUSOP
Date : 22nd April 2009
iii
Specially dedicated to Abah,
Alfatihah,
Md. Yusop b. Gimon
(1955-2006)
May Allah bless his soul
And to all my beloved family and friends
Without all of you, I am nobody
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, my highest gratitude and syukur Alhamdulillah goes to
Allah SWT who gave me strength and confidence in completing this thesis. I would
like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Hanita Hassan for the
guidance, encouragement, critics and kindness that she offered to me during this one
whole year of completing the thesis. I would also like to express my gratitude to Mr.
Ghazali Bunari who offered help and motivation for me throughout this semester.
No man is an island. I would love to express my highest gratitude to my
family, especially to my mum, Puan Masnom Jasmat and my sister, Mazura Huraizah
who gave endless support and motivation and never failed to encourage me to finish
this thesis.
I am also highly indebted to my closest friends, Mohd Zamri, Nurul ‘Atiqah,
Nurliyana, Awis Rumaisya, Noor Izzati and Mohd Ramzan for their endless support
and the valuable friendships they offered to me. Without them, I would never be able
to sail through the journey of final year. Thank you guys for always be there for me,
wiping my tears and sharing my happiness. The same goes to all my fellow Teslians
who always support and encourage each other for the past four years. The friendships
we built shall not end here.
Thanks for the support, encouragement, love and understanding that all of
you offered to me. I am grateful to have many wonderful persons in my life who
always stick with me through thick and thin. Thank you.
v
ABSTRACT
Using authentic materials for teaching English is not a new issue. Various studies have been conducted to investigate teachers as well as students’ perceptions on the use of authentic materials in teaching and learning process. Results showed that many teachers are keen with the idea of using authentic materials in their teaching since they bring many benefits to both teachers as well as students. Therefore, this small-scale study was aimed to investigate the issues of authentic materials in language teaching from a different perspective. The aims include investigating teachers’ perceptions on the benefits as well as challenges that they faced while using authentic materials. Other than that, this study also identifies the types of authentic materials that most teachers frequently used in teaching. This quantitative study used questionnaire in order to elicit teachers’ responses regarding the topic. Thirty teachers who were pursuing their master in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Skudai were selected as the respondents. The questionnaire results reveal that all of the teachers are interested in using authentic materials in teaching. However, in terms of the frequency in using authentic materials, their responses mostly range from ‘never’ to ‘seldom’. It is also found that most teachers have positive perceptions towards the benefits of using authentic materials in teaching. Nonetheless, for the challenges, their level of perceptions is medium, which indicates that challenges are not the main factor that stops them from using authentic materials. This study also reveals that authentic materials are able to motivate students in learning the language. On the other hand, the time constraint is the utmost challenge for the teachers in using authentic materials in teaching. There are few limitations in this study such as the small number of respondents and there was no interview conducted. For future research, it is recommended that the study could be done in a bigger group of respondents and interviews could be conducted to triangulate the outcomes.
vi
ABSTRAK
Penggunaan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran Bahasa Inggeris bukanlah satu isu yang asing dalam bidang pendidikan. Banyak kajian telah dijalankan untuk mengkaji pandangan dan persepsi guru-guru serta para pelajar tentang penggunaan bahan autentik dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Keputusan menunjukkan kebanyakan guru menunjukkan minat terhadap penggunaan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran mereka kerana ianya membawa banyak faedah kepada guru dan juga pelajar. Maka, kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengkaji isu-isu penggunaan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran melalui perspektif yang berbeza. Kajian ini meliputi persepsi guru tentang faedah serta cabaran yang mereka hadapi dalam menggunakan bahan autentik. Selain itu, kajian ini turut mengenalpasti jenis bahan autentik yang kerap digunakan oleh guru-guru. Kajian kuantitatif ini dijalankan menggunakan kaedah soal selidik dan seramai tiga puluh orang guru Bahasa Inggeris yang sedang melanjutkan pelajaran di peringkat sarjana dalam TESL (Pengajaran Bahasa Inggeris sebagai Bahasa Kedua) di Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Skudai telah dipilih sebagai responden. Keputusan soal selidik menunjukkan kesemua guru berminat untuk menggunakan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran mereka. Walaubagaimanapun, dari segi kekerapan penggunaan bahan autentik, kebanyakan responden didapati tidak pernah menggunakan ataupun jarang menggunakan bahan autentik. Dalam kajian ini juga didapati kebanyakan guru mempunyai persepsi yang positif terhadap faedah yang diperoleh dari penggunaan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran. Namun, mereka mempunyai persepsi yang sederhana terhadap cabaran yang mereka hadapi. Ini bermakna cabaran-cabaran tersebut bukanlah faktor utama yang menghalang mereka dari menggunakan bahan autentik. Kajian ini juga menunjukkan bahawa bahan autentik mampu memotivasikan pelajar mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris. Manakala faktor kekangan masa merupakan cabaran paling utama yang dihadapi oleh guru apabila mereka menggunakan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran. Terdapat beberapa halangan dalam kajian ini seperti bilangan responden yang kecil serta tiada temubual dijalankan. Untuk kajian pada masa hadapan, adalah dicadangkan supaya kajian dapatdijalankan dalam kumpulan yang besar serta temubual dapat dijalankan untuk mengesahkan penemuan hasil kajian.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER TITLE PAGE
THESIS STATUS APPROVAL
SUPERVISOR’S APPROVAL
TITLE PAGE i
RESEARCHER’S ADMITTANCE ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
ABSTRACT v
ABSTRAK vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS vii
LIST OF TABLES xi
LIST OF FIGURES xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES xiv
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview of the Study 1
1.2 Background of the Study 4
1.3 Statement of the Problem 5
viii
1.4 Research Objectives 6
1.5 Research Questions 7
1.6 Significance of the Study 7
1.7 Scope of the Study 8
1.8 Conclusion 8
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction 9
2.2 Definitions of Authentic Materials 9
2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Using
Authentic Materials in Classroom
12
2.4 Studies on the Use of Authentic Materials in
Language Teaching
19
2.5 Conclusion 23
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction 24
3.2 Research Design 24
3.3 Sample of the Study 25
3.4 Research Instrument 26
3.5 Data Analysis 27
3.6 Limitations of the Study 28
ix
4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 Introduction 29
4.2 The Use of Authentic Materials by Teachers 29
4.3 Perceptions on the Use of Authentic Materials
In Teaching
37
4.4 Perceptions on the Benefits of Using Authentic
Materials in Teaching
39
4.5 Perceptions on the Challenges of Using Authentic
Materials in Teaching
45
4.6 Overall Level of Perceptions on the Use of
Authentic Materials in Teaching
50
4.7 Conclusion 51
5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Introduction 53
5.2 Summary of the Study 53
5.2.1 The Use of Authentic Materials in
Teaching
54
5.2.2 Perceptions on the Benefits of Using
Authentic Materials in Teaching
54
5.2.3 Perceptions on the Challenges of Using
Authentic Materials in Teaching
55
5.3 Conclusion of the Study 56
5.4 Implications for the Classrooms 56
x
5.5 Recommendations for Further Research 58
REFERENCES 60
Appendices A-C 65-83
xi
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE
4.1 The Use of Authentic Materials (according to rank) 30
4.2 Mean of Perceptions on the Benefits of Using Authentic 43
Materials in Teaching
4.3 Mean of Perceptions on the Challenges of Using Authentic 48
Materials in Teaching
4.4 Overall Levels of Perceptions on the Use of Authentic 50
Materials in Teaching English
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE
4.1 Bar Graph of mean (M) of the Use of 32
Authentic Materials
4.2 Perceptions on the use of Authentic Materials in 38
Teaching
4.3 Perceptions on the Benefits of Using Authentic 40
Materials
4.4 Perceptions on the Challenges of Using Authentic 45
Materials
xiii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
EFL - English as a Foreign Language
ESL - English as a Second Language
ELT - English Language Teaching
TESL - Teaching English as a Second Language
UTM - Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
NIE - Newspaper in Education
NSTP - New Straits Times Press
KBSM - Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah
xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX TITLE PAGE
A Questionnaire 62
B Reliability Tests Results 68
C Results of Frequencies of the Items 71
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview of the Study
According to Kitao and Kitao (1997), “language instruction has five
important components; students, a teacher, materials, teaching methods, and
evaluation”. One of the elements is material. In teaching, one of the most
challenging parts is always how to attract and maintain students’ attention in the
classroom. Materials used could be the answer to this challenge. The use of suitable
materials in teaching could help learners to retain their attention span in classroom by
making them engaged with the materials. Traditionally, most of English teachers will
resort to use textbooks in teaching because textbooks provide them with materials
that are in line with the curriculum and specifically designed for language learning
purposes. However, sometimes textbooks can be very boring. According to Nilsson,
cited in Daskalos and Ling (2005), ‘textbook used in class does not provide the
student with interesting topics; therefore the textbook should be banished’. This
argument is an example of starting point that leads scholars to study about other
materials that could be used in classroom in order to overcome this problem and
hence, authentic materials could be the answer.
2
According to Richards and Rodgers (1986), “the role of instructional
materials in English language teaching is to further indicate the content of the subject
matter, to better define the primary goals of the materials, for example to present
content, to practice content, to facilitate communication between learners, or to
enable learners to practice content without the teacher’s help (p. 25). The role of
materials in teaching is thus not something that we can overlook. Materials help
teachers to achieve the objectives of their lessons, as well as helping learners to
understand the subject matter taught. Materials also play an important role in
determining the method and approach that teachers use in teaching. Material is one
the important element and it is the teachers’ job to choose and determine which
materials are suitable to be used with their students. English teachers use various
types of materials, ranging from authentic materials such as newspapers and
magazines to non-authentic materials such as texts found in English language text
books. Lundahl, cited in Daskalos and Ling (2005), defines authentic materials as
materials that are not being simplified in terms of the language structure. Sarney
(2007) defines authentic materials as texts that are not being edited and originally
designed for native speakers, not for language learning purposes.
Baddock ( 1983) says that since mid-1960, the use of authentic material
which is newspaper has been accepted in EFL (English as a Foreign Language)
classrooms. English teachers all around the world also started to use newspapers in
classroom. The role of authentic materials has become more prominent in language
teaching. According to Sanderson (1999), “newspapers have become the choice of
these language teachers as newspapers are invaluable source of authentic materials,
and their use in the language classroom is very much in keeping with current
thinking and practice in teaching pedagogy” (p. 3).
Local English newspapers in Malaysia such as The New Straits Times and
The Star provide language learners with current updates on things that happened in
the
3
country. The language is being presented in contexts which language learners are
familiar with. This could help language learners in terms of motivation. De Roche
(1983), Heitzman (1986) and ANPAF (1990), said that the use of newspapers in
language teaching is effective since they can motivate content learning and also help
in developing language skills. By using authentic texts that are familiar to them, their
motivation to read will increase because they know they are reading something that
is closely related to their environment and culture. Maley (1993), stated that
language learners find newspapers motivating because they offer interesting,
relevant, topical, and varied information. The variety of sections in a newspaper
such as advertisements section, news section, readers’ opinions section as well as
comic strips sections bring some values or concern to learners. The use of authentic
materials can help teachers in terms of varying the activities for classroom.
According to Grundy (1993), “language teachers tend to use newspapers in three
ways: to develop various language competencies, including reading comprehension
and grammar/vocabulary work; to focus on aspects of the target society and its
culture; and to stimulate discussions of issues raised by the articles” (p. 3).
In Malaysia, a programme called Newspaper In Education or NIE has been
introduced in January 6, 1985 by The New Straits Times Press (NSTP). The purpose
of this programme is to provide the knowledge to the educators on how to turn
newspapers into effective teaching tools. Realizing the effectiveness of using
newspapers in helping students to acquire the language, NSTP took another step in
the year 2005. A programme called ‘New Straits Times’ School Sponsorship
Programme’ was launched by the Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin
Hussein on August 15 in which the Ministry of Education and NSTP cooperated to
supply the newspapers to schools. This step was taken due to the fact that the
ministry saw the benefits that newspapers brought to the students in terms of
improving their English proficiency. This shows that in Malaysia, the benefits that
authentic materials bring to the students and teachers have been recognized and taken
seriously by the Ministry of Education.
In a nutshell, the importance of the type of instructional materials provided
for language learning cannot be set aside. The materials used have significant roles
4
and effects in learning and teaching process. Materials chosen must be in line with
the goals of the teaching itself. Teachers have the right to choose materials that suit
the learning styles of students as well as appropriate with teachers’ ideology in
teaching. However, when choosing materials for teaching, it is important for the
teachers to know the benefits as well as the drawbacks that they might encounter
while using the materials. This study therefore provides readers with the perceptions
of English language teachers in utilizing the authentic materials in their language
teaching. This study also covered the level of the usage of authentic materials in
their teaching, as well as their perceptions on the benefits and challenges of using
authentic materials in their classroom.
1.2 Background of the study
Hutchinson and Waters, cited in Nunan (2003), define authentic texts as
materials that are not originally constructed for language teaching purposes.
Authentic materials provide readers with extensive exposure to the language that is
in context. According to Larsen-Freeman (2000), “whenever possible, ‘authentic
language’ – language as it is used in a real context- should be introduced to the
learners” (p. 125). Based on studies conducted by various researchers, it has been
found that using authentic materials is effective and actually could help students to
improve their language skills such as in reading and also listening. A study
conducted by Palmer (1991), shows that with the use of authentic materials, which
in this case, newspapers, indicates that in fifty five days of teachers using
newspapers, students improve more on in terms of reading and writing compared to
students who were taught with traditional materials. Various studies also show that
the use of authentic materials could help to boost students’ motivation as well as
their interest in learning English. However, those
studies also concluded that there are disadvantages in using authentic materials in
English language classroom, whether in the preparation or in the implementation
5
phase of using authentic materials, especially in terms of time. Few studies
conducted in Malaysia, such as the research on the effectiveness of using English
language newspapers in teaching metaphors to form two students by Foong Yin Pui
(2003) showed that the use of newspapers are not effective in terms of teaching
metaphors. Students cannot answer the questions when they solely depended on the
newspapers. However, when she used newspapers to teach grammatical items, it had
proven to be very effective. In other study conducted by Veerakumar Subbiah (2005)
on the use of cartoon and comic strips to improve students’ abilities to make
sentences by using subject-verb agreement, students showed slight improvement on
their performances. Students also seemed motivated and enthusiastic to participate in
class. These different results generated researcher’s curiosity in knowing the types
of authentic materials that teachers frequently used in teaching and also their
perceptions on the benefits as well as the challenges that they encounter while using
authentic materials in the classroom. This is to ensure that teachers will be clear with
what they are dealing with, when they make use of any authentic materials for the
teaching and learning process.
1.3 Statement of the Problem
Various researches show that by incorporating authentic materials in teaching
English can help learners learning English, especially in terms of increasing the level
of motivation of the students. Sarney (2007) points out that by using authentic
materials, it will help to bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world. A
study conducted by Israelsson (2007), show that the use of authentic materials
provides learners with an environment where they forget that they are actually
learning. He also mentioned that authentic materials could provide learners and
teachers the most valuable experience in language teaching and learning process.
These benefits contribute to the successful language learning process, be it on the
teachers or students’ side. However, there are also a few disadvantages in using
6
authentic materials in teaching English. Sarney (2007) says that the use of authentic
materials is time consuming, especially in terms of preparation. He also points out
that teachers lack necessary skills in exploiting authentic materials. This study is
conducted to investigate the perceptions of English teachers on the issue of using
authentic materials in English language classroom. Based on the benefits of using
authentic materials that other studies have shown, it is important to know to the types
of authentic materials teachers mostly use in their teaching. Other than that,
teachers’ perceptions on the benefits as well as the challenges that they encounter
while incorporating authentic materials in their teaching, are also being studied.
1.4 Research objectives
At the end of this study, researcher hopes to find out:
i. The types of authentic materials that are most frequently used by teachers.
ii. The perceptions of English teachers on the benefits of using authentic
materials in classroom.
iii. The perceptions of English teachers on the challenges of using authentic
materials in classroom.
1.5 Research questions This study is specifically designed under these three research questions:
i. What are the types of authentic materials most frequently used by
teachers?
7
ii. What are the English teachers’ perceptions on the benefits of using
authentic
materials in the classroom?
iii. What are the English teachers’ perceptions on the challenges of using
authentic materials in the classroom?
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