UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

STUDY BEHAVIOUR, HOME ENVIRONMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH

NORASIAH BT HAJI ISMAIL

FPP 1995 8

STU DY BEHAV IOUR, H O M E E N V IRO N M ENT AND ACH IE V EM E N T I N E N GLIS H

By

NORAS IAH BT HAJ I ISMAIL

Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science

In the Faculty of Educational Studies, Universitl Pertanlan Malaysia

May 1995

ACKNO�EDGEMENTS

This study would not have been possible without the advice, contribution

and cooperation of various individuals. First and foremost I would like to

express my gratitude and appreciation to my Chairman, Dr. Jamali Ismail and

the members of my Supervisory Committee, namely, Dr. Gan Siowck Lee and

Dr. Haji Mohd Zain Mohd Ali for their invaluable guidance and encouragement.

I also wish to record my thanks to the following who helped to make this

study possible: . the Scholarship Division of the Ministry of Education for the

financial assistance throughout the duration of the programme; the Educational

Planning and Research Division for approving the research study; and the

Director of Education, Wilayah Persekutuan, for permitting me to carry out the

study in the participating schools.

My sincere thanks are also due to all the principals, teachers and students

of the fourteen participating schools, without whose cooperation this study

would not have been possible.

I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Linda, Zul and

Normi for helping me out with the statistics, and Fadzlon of UPM Graduate

School Office for her invaluable advice and encouragement. To the many friends

who gave me their views on my work, I would also like to extend my gratitude.

To my late parents, brothers, sisters and in-laws who are the source of

my inspiration. My special thanks are also due to my wonderful nephews and

nieces for their love and companion.

Above all, I am grateful to the Almighty Allah S.W.T., the source of my

life, wisdom and hope.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOW LEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii LI ST OF TAB LES . . . ... . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . vi LI ST OF FIGURE S . . . ................................................................. viii LI ST OF ABBR EVIATIONS ...... . . . . . . . .... . . ...... . .... . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . ix ABSTRACT ....... . . ..... . . .......... . . . . .. . . .. . . . .... . . . . . . . . . , . . .. . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . xi ABSTRAK ........ . ..... . . . ....... . . . . . . . "'''''' . . . . . . . .. . . . . ""'" . . . . . . . ... . . .... xiii

CHAPTER

II

INTRODUCTION .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . ............ . . .... . . .. . . .. 1

Role and Status of English in Malaysia . " .............. " 1

Statement of the Problem . . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . .... . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Obj ectives of the Study . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . .. . .. . . . . ..... . . . ... . . . 4

Operational Definitions of Terms . ........... . .. . ............. 6

Study Behaviour .. . . . .............. ..... . . ..... . . .... ......... . . 6

Home Environment . .. . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . ..... ... . . ". . . . . .. . . . . 6

Achievement in English . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . ". . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7

Significance of the Study .. . . . ..... . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 7

Limitations of the Study 8

LITERATURE REVI EW 10

Cognitive Theory . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ,....................... 11

Acculturation Theory . . . .... . .. . . . . .. . . ,........................... 12

Theoretical Framework of the Study .. .. .. . . . . . . . .. . . ... . . . 13

Research on Study Behaviour in Second Language Learning . . . . . . . . .. . ...... . ....... . . . .... . .. . . . . ....... . . . . 1 8

Research on Home Environment in Second Language Learning . .. . ...... . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. ..... . . 28

iii

I I I

IV

V

Page

METHODOLOGY . .. . . . .. . . ... . . . . . ... . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 41

Conceptual Framework of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Subjects and Locale of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Study Behaviour Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Home Environment Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Data Collection ........ . . . . . ........ . . . . . . .......... .. . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . 52

Data Analysis . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 57

The SRP 1990 English Achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... 57

The Relationships of Study Behaviour Variables with SRP Engl ish Grades . . . . . . ... . . .. . . . . . . ... . 58

The Relationships of Home Environment Variables with SRP English Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

The Relationships of Study Behaviour Variables and the Home Environment Variables .......... ............................ .. . ............. . . . . ..... 84

The Combined Effect of Study Behaviour Variables and Home environment Variables on Engl ish Ach ievement . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 87

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Summary

95

95

The Research Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

The Objectives

The Methodology

96

96

The Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 97

iv

Page

Conclusion ......... . .................................................. 98

Implications for Teaching and Learning .... . .......... . . .. 99

Recommendations for Future Research .................. 1 02

Bibliography 1 03

Appendix

A Correlational Matrix .................... .................... . ... . .... 115

B Study Behaviour Questionnaire .......... . ............. .. .... 1 1 7

C Home Environment Questionnaire .... ...... ... . . . .... ..... 1 23

D Sarjit Singh's Occupational Scale .. . ............ . . ..... . .... 1 31

Biographical Sketch ............... . .................................................. 1 33

v

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1 Distribution of Subjects by Schools .. .... .. ........ .... ..... ... 43

2 Distribution of Subjects by Sex .. . . .. .... .......... ...... ........ 44

3 Distribution of Subjects by Race .. ... .. .... . ............. . ...... 44

4 Distribution of Subjects by Area of Residence . ... . ........ 45

5 Distribution of Subjects by Parents' Educational Level . . . . . . . . . .......................... .............. . . . . . . . 46

6 Distribution of Subjects by Parents' Occupational Categories . . .. . . .. .... .. . . . . . . ... . .... . .. ... .. ......... 46

7 Distribution of Subjects by Parents' Income . .. . .... ... .... 47

8 Categories of Study Behaviour Questionnaire . . . . .. ..... 49

9 Categ.ories of Home Environment Questionnaire ........ 51

10 Distribution of Subjects by SRP English Grades . . . .. . . . . 58

11 Distribution of Subjects' SRP English Grades by Classroom Study Behaviour ....... . .... . . ................. . .. .... 59

12 Distribution of Subjects' SRP English Grades by Study Behaviour during Individual Study .................. 62

13 Distribution of Subjects' SRP English Grades by Interaction Behaviour Outside the Classroom . . .... . . ..... 64

14 Distribution of Subjects' SRP English Grades by Overall Study Behaviour . . . ..... ... . . ..... . . ..... .... . . . . . . . . . . .. . ... 67

15 Correlations Between Study Behaviour Variables and Students' English Achievement . . . . ....... . ... ... . . .. .... .. 69

16 Distribution of Subjects' SRP English Grades by Parental Socio-economic Status ......... ..... .... . ... . . ... ..... 73

17 Distribution of Subjects' SRP English Grades by Parental Attitude and Expectations ...... . . ......... .... . ..... . 75

18 Distribution of Subjects' SRP English Grades by Home Practices and Resources . .. . .... . . . . ... ..... ... .... ... . . . 78

vi

Table

1 9

20

21

Distribution of Subjects' SRP Engl ish Grades by Overall Home Environment .. . . .... . . . . . . .. .. . ... .. . . . . . . . . .. . .

Correlations Between Home Environment Variables and Students' English Achievement

Correlations Among Study Behaviour Variables and Home Environment Variables

22 Stepwise Mu ltiple Regression Analysis

Page

80

82

85

Using English Achievement as Criterion ... . .. . . . . . ........ . . 88

23 Correlational Matrix . . . . . . . . ................... . . . . . . . .... . .. . . . .. . .. . . . . 115

vii

Figure

1

2

3

4

LIST OF FIGURES

Bialystok Model of Second Language Learning ... ..... .

Cummins I nteraction Model of Bi l ingual Education .. .

Stern Model of Second Language Learning . . . . . .... . . .... ,

Conceptual Model Showing the Relationships between Home Environment, Study Behaviour and Ach ievement in Second Language Learning

viii

Page

14

16

17

42

SMAS

SMPT

5MB

SMAS

SMRA -

SMKB

SMTM

SMSS

SMDL

SMJC

SMJI

SMSA

SMPW -

SMKB

SBQ

HEQ

PSES

PAE

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Sekolah Menengah Aminuddin Saki (ABSS - Aminuddin Baki Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Padang Tembak (PT SS - Padang Tembak Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Bangsar (BSS - Bangsar Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Alam Shah (ASSS - Alam Shah Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Raja Abdullah (RASS - Raja Abdullah Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Kampong Batu (KBSS - Kampong Batu Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Taman Maluri (TMSS - Taman Maluri Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Sentul Baru (SBSS - Sentul Baru Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Datok Lokman (DLSS - Datok Lokman Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Jalan Cheras (JeSS - Jalan Cheras Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Jalan Ipoh (JISS - Jalan Ipoh Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Seri Ampang (SASS - Seri Ampang Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Puteri Wilayah (PWSS - Puteri Wilayah Secondary School)

Sekolah Menengah Kepong Baru (KBSS - Kepong Baru Secondary School)

Study Behaviour Questionnaire

Home Environment Questionnaire

Parental Socio-economic Status

Parental Attitudes and Expectations

ix

HPR Home Practices and Resources

HOME Home Environment

CLASS Classroom Study Behaviour

BEHAVE - Study Behaviour during I ndividual Study

INT I nteraction Behaviour Outside the Classroom

SB Study Behaviour

SRP Siji l Rendah Pelajaran (LCE - Lower Certificate of Education)

SA Student Achievement

x

Abstract of Thes is Presented to the Senate of U n iv ersit i P ertan ian Ma lays ia i n P artia l Fu lf i l ment of the Requ i rements for the Degree o f Master of Science.

C hairman:

Faculty:

S TUDY BE HAVIO UR, HOME ENVIRONMEN T AND AC HIEVEMEN T IN ENGLIS H

By

NORA SIA H B T HAJIISMAIL

MAY 1 995

Jamali Ismai l , Ph. D.

Educational Studies

This study was basical ly an attempt to obta in an ins ight i nto the

pattern of relationships among students achievement i n Engl i sh, study

behaviour variables and home environment variables. Specifical ly, the

study aimed to determine the relationship of each of the study behaviour

variables to student achievement in Eng lish, the relationship of each of the

home env i ron m ent variab les to student ach ievement i n Eng l ish, the

relationships among the study behaviour variables and home environment

variables, the combined effect of the various study behaviour variables

and home environment variable on student's achievement in Engl ish.

This study was conducted in fourteen secondary schools in Kuala

Lumpur. A total of 485 boys and 515 girls from Form Four Science, Arts

and Commerce streams were involved.

The independent variables in this study were study behaviour and

home enviro n ment. The analysis of data was based on two sets of

questionna i re , i . e . , the study behav iour questi onna i re and the home

environment questionnaire . The depend ent variable i n this study was

student achievement in the SRP Engl ish examination.

xi

From the results of the study and a review of related literature, it

i s i nferred that the independent variab l es stud ied had cons id erab le

i nfluence on the dependent variable. The study a lso revealed that the

three study behaviour variables and the three home environment variables

combined explained 27.6% of the total variance in English achievement;

the best s ingle predictor of Engl ish achi evement was classroom study

behaviour; and a substantial amount of variance i n Engl ish achievement

remained unexplained.

The find ings have sign ificant long-term i mp l ications for Eng l i sh

teaching and learning i n Malaysian schools. I n view of the importance of

study behaviours brought to l ight by this study, it is recommended that

good learning strategies be taught to students in schools to facil itate them

develop the right attitude towards Engl ish learn ing , and subsequently

relevant study behaviour that helps improve their performance in English.

It is also suggested that parents need to be kept informed of the objectives

and imp l ications of the Engl ish programme in schools so that they can

provide a supportive environment at home which may help their chi ldren

do wel l in English.

As th e study is a su rvey based o n l y on th e use of se l f-report

questionnaire on study behaviour and home environment, information

gathered from the questionna i re though valuab le is relatively l im ited .

Therefore it is recommended that a fol low-up study be carried out using a

more precise measure and shou ld inc lude a check of the self-reports

against actua l observations and i nterviews with teachers, parents and

learners.

xii

Abstrak tesis yang d i kemukakan kepada Senat U n iversiti Pertan ian Malaysia sebagai memenuhi sebahagian daripada keperluan untuk Ijazah Master Sains.

Pengerusi:

Fakulti:

CARA BELAJAR, PERSEKITARAN RUMAH DAN PENCAPAIAN BAHASA INGGERIS

Oleh

NORASIAH BT. HAJI ISMAIL

MEl 1 995

Jamali Ismail, Ph. D.

Pengajian Pendidikan

Kaj ian in i pad a dasarnya adalah percubaan untuk mempero leh

gambaran tentang bentuk pertal ian terhadap pencapaian pelajar dalam

Bahasa I nggeri s , pembo lehubah cara be laj a r dan pembo leh ubah

persekitaran rumah. Khususnya, kaj ian in i bertujuan untuk memastikan

pertalian tiap-tiap pembolehubah cara belajar dengan pencapaian dalam

bahasa Inggeris, pertalian tiap-tiap pembolehubah persekitaran rumah

d engan pencapaian pe laj ar dalam bahas.a I nggeris , perta l ian antara

pembolehubah cara belajar dengan pembolehubah persekitaran rumah,

kesan gabungan pembol ehubah cara belajar terhadap pencapaian

pelajar dalam bahasa I nggeris, dan kesan gabungan persekitaran rumah

terhadap pencapaian pelajar dalam bahasa Inggeris.

Kaj ian ini telah d ijalankan di empat belas buah sekolah menengah

d i Kua la Lum pur . Seramai 485 orang pe lajar le lak i dan 515 o rang

p e l aj a r p e r e m p u a n d a ri T i n g kata n E m pat S a i n s , Sastera d a n

Perdagangan telah terlibat.

xiii

Pembolehubah tak bersandar ialah cara belajar dan persekitaran

rumah. Penganalisisan data didasarkan pada dua set soalsel id ik , iaitu

soalsel id ik cara belajar dan soalselid ik persekitaran rumah. Sementara

pembolehubah bersandar pu la ialah pencapaian pelajar dalam mata

pelajaran bahasa I nggeris Sij i l Rendah Pelajaran.

Berdasarkan kepada keputusan kaj ian dan kaj ian-kaj ian yang

berkaitan, ianya boleh dirumuskan bahawa pembolehubah tak bersandar

m e mp u nyai p e n g aruh yang sederhana terhadap pembo l e h ubah

bersandar. Kaj ian in i j uga menunj ukkan bahawa pembolehubah cara

belajar dan pembolehubah persekitaran rumah m enerangkan 27.6%

dari pada j um lah varian pembolehubah bersandar dalam pencapaian

bahasa I nggeris; cara belajar dalam bi l i k darjah adalah penunj uk yang

paling baik dalam pencapaian bahasa Inggeris; dan banyak j umlah varian

pencapaian dalam bahasa I nggeris tidak dapat diterangkan.

Dapatan kaj i a n m e m p unyai i m p l i kas i j an g ka panj a n g yan g

s i gn if ikan da lam pengajaran dan pembelaj aran bahasa I ngg er is d i

s eko lah -seko lah d i M a l ays i a . O l e h sebab d a l a m kaj ia n i n i j e /as

menunjukkan bahawa cara belajar yang betul dalam bahasa Inggeris itu

penting , maka adalah dicadangkan bahawa cara-cara belajar yang bai k

dan berkesan diajarkan kepada pelajar-pelajar d i sekolah-sekolah untuk

membantu mereka membentuk sikap yang positif terhadap pembelajaran

bahasa I ng g e ri s s e rta cara be la jar yang bersesua ian yang bo l eh

meningkatkan kemahiran mereka dalam bahasa I nggeris. Dicadangkan

j uga bahawa ibu bapa per lu d iberitahu tentang obj ektif dan imp l i kasi

p rog ram bahasa I nggeris di seko lah-seko lah su paya m ereka d apat

xiv

memberikan kerjasama dari segi menyed iakan persekitaran yang sesuai

untuk membantu kejayaan anak-anak mereka dalam bahasa Inggeris.

Kaj ian ini hanya berdasarkan kepada soalsel idik laporan kend iri ke

atas cara b elaj a r dan persekitaran rumah . M ak l u mat yang d i perol e h i

ad alah terhad . Dl eh itu. adalah d i cada n g kan kaj ian s eterusnya perlu

menggunakan u ku ran yang lebih tepat serta mengadakan pemerhatian

dan temuduga dengan guru-guru, ibu-bapa dan pelajar-pelajar.

xiv

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Role and Status of English in Malaysia

Eng l ish in Malaysia today is officially d esc ribed as 'an effective

second language' (Platt and Weber, 1 980: 1 62) , a position reflected in the

fact that i t is taught from t h e fi rst year of m ost primary schools. T h e

reason for this status i s larg ely historical: Eng lish was the med i u m of

instruction in many schools and most tertiary institutions until 1 982 (Platt

and Weber, 1 9 80 : 1 61) . Hence, larg e numbers of Malaysians over the

age of twenty five h av e had the major part of the ir education in this

language and use it almost as well as they use Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese

or Tamil .

The 1 980's, however, represent an important phase in the planning

and devel o pment of the new English Language curriculum in Malaysia.

By this tim e the g rad ual process of chang ing the medium of instru ction

from English to Bahasa Malaysia has reached the tertiary level. The main

thrust of the govern ment's l anguage policy has been the re p lacing of

English by the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, throughout the public

sector (incl uding the education system) and as far as practicable, in the

p rivate s ecto r. The pOSitio n of Ba h asa M alaysia as t h e m ed i u m of

instructio n is secu rely establ ished in all secondary and tertiary ed ucation.

And all this has inevitably affected the position of English as the official

l a n g ua g e a n d a l s o t h e a m o u n t a n d qual i ty of E n g l i s h u s ed i n th e

education and the employment domains.

1

2

N evertheless, th e i m plem entat ion of Ba ha sa M alaysia as t h e

medium o f instruction in the Malaysian education system does not mean

that there i s no place fo r Engli s h . I n the e d u cati o n policy, Engl ish h as

been retained and gazetted �s the second most important language in the

education system and a compulsory subject in all Malaysian schools. The

need to be com petent in E nglish still exi sts because 'English h olds a

d o m i n at i n g p o s it io n i n i nternat io n al c o u n c ils a n d co m m e rc e , i n t h e

textbooks and literature of t h e wo rld . A command of it i s o n e of o u r

national assets' (Platt and Weber, 1 980: 1 62) .

Statement of the Problem

The official a i m s of the English Language prog ram me fo r u p p e r

secondary school are 'to equip the students with t h e skills and knowledg e

o f English t o comm unicate in certain everyday act iviti es a n d certain j o b

situations, and also to provide point of take-off for various post-secondary

school needs' (Keme nterian Pen d i d i kan Malaysia 1 989 : , 1 ) . I n oth e r

words, the programme seeks to en able the students to utilise the English

lang uage i n a meaningful and relevant way in the everyday context of

need to communicate.

In l ine with the offi cial aims of maintaining English as an important

second lang uage, it is taught in all National schools from Primary One to

Form Three. After six years of primary ed ucation and three years of lower

s e c o n d a ry e d u c at i o n , st u d e n t s a r e re q u i r e d to s i t fo r a n at i o n al

exam i n at i o n , i . e . , th e S i j i l R e n d a h Pelaj aran (Lower C e rt i ficate o f

Ed ucation) examination o r in sh ort the SRP in which English language i s

a compulsory subject. Those who pass this examination proceed to u pper

3

s econd ary e d u cati o n . O n ente r i n g t h e fi rst year o f u p p e r seco n d a ry

educatio n , i . e . Fo rm Fo u r, the students wi l l have been expo sed to the

English language for n ine years.

Despite this long exposure to Eng l ish language, students entering

Fo rm Fou r d iffe r w i d e l y i n t h e i r a b i l i ty to co m m u n icate effect ive ly i n

E ng l i s h . I n terms of abi lity, students range fro m those who can hardly

cope with basic communication needs to those who are very p roficient.

Parents, teachers and those concerned with ed ucation realise that the

l evel of English proficiency among the prese nt-day students has dro pped

d rastical ly. Althoug h the Min istry of Ed ucatio n has put in a lot of effort to

i mprove the standard of Engl ish in schools through the implem entation of

n ew c u rr i c u l u m, m eth odo l o g y, i n-s e rvi ce tra i n i n g a n d p ro v i s i o n of

fac i l i t ies in scho o l s , t h e wide d i sparity in a b i l i ty a m o n g p rese nt-day

students sti l l exists and warrants investigation. Therefore, based o n the

views presented above the researcher feels it is important to look at other

variables such as study behaviour and home envi ronment to fi nd o ut to

what extent these var iab les are related to students' ac h i ev e m e n t i n

English.

The process of Engl ish language learn ing is very much affected

by t h e stu d e nts ' study b e h av i o u r . Stu d i e s h av e s h o w n that stu d y

behaviour has a sign ificant effect u pon students' academic performance

(Biggs, 1 970, 1 972) . Many of our teachers also feel that a majority of the

stu d ents who are weak in E n g l i s h may n e ed h e l p in u s i n g t h e r i g ht

strategi es when learn ing Engl ish, but there is the question of knowi ng

w h e re a n d how to b eg i n rem edy i n g this pro bl e m . The i m p o rtan c e o f

having a supportive envi ro nment at home to help students improve their

4

English proficiency also can not be overlooked. Asiah Abu Samah (1 977)

in her study among Pri mary school pupils shows that home environm ent

positively affects primary pupils' language development. Since students'

study behavio u r and h o m e enviro n ment m ay i nfluence the i r levels of

p rofic ie ncy a n d affect t h e teachi ng-learn i n g situati o n , a stu d y of t h e

variables and their influence would help i n g iving a better understanding of

t h e situation. It is hoped that the fi ndings may serve as i n p ut in t h e

process of planning and preparing materials in the teaching of English as

a s e c o n d l a ngu ag e . I t is also h o p e d t h at c a refu l p la n n i n g a n d

preparation of teaching materials will successfully facilitate the teaching

and learning of English so that stud ents will be able to communicate

effectively in the language.

Objectives of the Study

Th i s stu d y i s p r i nCi pa lly c o n c e r n e d with a s s e s s i n g t h e

relationships among various variables of the study behaviour, variables

of the home environment and students' achievement in English.

More specifically, the study aims to investigate:

i) the relationship between the study behaviour variables and

students' ach ievement in English;

ii) the relationship between the home envi ronment variables

and students' achievement in English; and

iii) the relationship between the study behaviour variables and

the home environment variables.

5

These can be translated into hypotheses. They are hypothetical

statements which are to be val idated , Le.;

i) There are no s ignificant relationships between students'

ach i e v e m ent in E n g l i s h a n d each o f t h e fo l l ow ing

variables of the study behaviour:

a) Classroom study behaviour;

b} Study behaviour during ind ividual study;

c) Interaction behaviour outside the classroom;

d) Overall study behaviour.

ii) There are no sign ificant relationships between students'

achievement in Eng lish and each of the following variables

of home environment:

a) Parental socio-economic status;

b) Parental attitudes and expectations;

c) Home practices and resources;

d) Overall home environment.

ii i) There are no significant relationships among the study

behaviour variables and the home environment variables.

6

Operational Definition of Terms

Th i s sect i o n wi l l d ea l w i th d ef i n it i o n s of so m e c o n c e pt s o r

constructs which wil l be uti l ized in the study.

Study Behaviour

Study behaviour in the context of this study are operations or steps

used by a l earn er to faci l i tate t he acquis it i on , sto rage o r ret r i eva l of

information (Rigney, 1978).

I n th i s study, the study behaviour of a student i s o perat ional ly

defined and measured by the following variables:

a) C,Iassroom Study Behaviour

This measures what the students actually do or do not do in

a language class.

b) Study Behaviour During Individual Study

This measures what the students actual ly do or do not do

when they are studying Engl ish on their own.

c) Interaction Behaviour Outside the Classroom

This measures what the students actual ly do or do not do

when they are i nteracting with others outside the classroom.

Home Environment

The hom e e nv i ro n ment of a stude nt i s taken to compr ise t h e

fol lowing variables:

a) Parental Socio-economic Status

The socio-economic status is the reflection of the occupation

of the parents, their income and their level of education.

b} Parental Attitudes and Expectations

7

This measures the parents' attitudes towards the child's

English language education and their expectations of the

child's achievement in the language in school as perceived

by the child.

c} Home Practices and Resources

This serves to find out the kind of practices and materials

provided at home, to which the child attends or reacts.

Achievement in English

T here will be one measure of students' achievement in

English, i.e., the SRP national examination 1990.

Oral achievement is not included in this study because the oral

test is conducted by different examiners in different schools and as such,

the grades are not obtainable because they are strictly confidential.

Significance of the Study

This study looks at the relationships of study behaviour, home

environment and achievement in English. It is commonly assumed that

students' study behaviour has significant effect upon performance in

examination (Robinson, 1961). This assumption has given rise to a great

deal of research, much of which is summarized by O'Malley et al. {1985}

who conclude that strategy training is effective in improving the

performance of students on a wide range of reading and problem-solving

tasks (e.g., Wittrock et al., 1975; Brown et al., 1983; Chipman et al. in

8

P ress) and that fav o u rabl e st rateg i es d o co ntr ibute to acad e m i c

performance.

A n u mber of stud i es have a lso looked i nto the i nfl u ence of

home environment on chi ldren's scholastic achievement. These studies

show that there is indeed a relationshi p between home environment

and school attainment (Frazer, 1 973; Keeves, 1 975; Asiah Abu Samah,

1977; Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, 1973).

Although findings from these studies proved to be of tremendous

u s e i n fo rm u l at i n g a n d d i rect i n g ed u c at i o n a l p o l i cy , p e r h a p s , a

supplementary study wi ll serve well to provide directions in specific area of

education, e.g. , Engl ish language. These findings can then be uti l ized by

Engl ish teachers to improve the study behaviour of those students who

are weak in English and whose study behaviour deviates seriously from

the practices of the successful ones. It is also hoped that findings from

th is study can be used as a basis to adv ise parents on how they can

provide a favourable environment at home to help their ch i ldren do well

in Eng l ish. S i nce many of the e lements such as home practices are

actually mal leable and open to deliberate modification , such a step taken

to help children from disadvantaged home is practical .

Limitations of the Study

Study behaviour variables which are personal and individual traits

may not d iffer as such between urban and rural areas. Thus, fi nd ings

with respect to study behaviour can possibly be generalized to rural areas.

H owever, findings with regards to the nature and extent of relationsh ip

9

between achievement in English and the home environment variables

may not be generalized to students in the rural areas.

The approach adopted is the survey method. Since a national

survey is impossible for one person to undertake due to problems of

manageability and time constraint, the survey is limited in scope to

fourteen selected secondary schools from one location.

Finally, it has to be pointed out that although a number of variables

of the study behaviour and home environment have been included in this

study, there may well be some other variables which have been left out.

This study only attempts to investigate the components identified within

each of these two variables, i.e., the study behaviour factors and the home

environment factors. These components are used as the independent

variables in this correlational study.