Problems Causing Low English Proficiency

7/27/2019 Problems Causing Low English Proficiency

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Essay types:

Title 1 Expository: Future tense

Title 2 Comparison

and contrast:

Past-tense

Title 3 Descriptive: Present tense

RESEARCH YEAR PROBLEMS REASONS

Voon Foo 2007 Lack of English

language proficiency

Musa, Lie, &

Azman

2012 cultural or linguistic

problems

2012 Need longer class time

to write;

Not familiar with

topics;

Difficult when writing

academic essays

- diff procuring ideas foressay outlines;

- construct sentences in L1before translating to

english;

- constantly hv to referdictionaries;

- academic essays requiresynthesising,

paraphrasing, citing;

- no exposure to academicwriting when at school

MarlynaMaros, Tan

Kim Hua,

and

Khazriyati

2007 L1 interference the learnershave difficulties in using

correct English grammar in

their writings. Three most

frequent

errors are wrong use of articles,

subject-verb agreement, and

copula be. The study

claims that although not all

errors are due to mother tongue

interference, a large number

of errors identified suggestinterference of the Malay

grammar.

Nor

Hashimah

Jalaludin et

al.

2008 thelinguistics differences are

shown to be one of the

major factors influencing

students

inability to successfully

acquire English literacy.

- students have problems withaffixes and plural inflections

as these linguisticsvariables

do not exist in Malay

language.

- The study also confirms thatthe differences inthe

syntactical structures

between the Malay and

English language contribute


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to thewrong use of copula

be, subject-verb-

agreement and relative

pronouns.

- thestudy maintains that,

apart from the linguisticsobstacles, the social

surroundings such

asunenthusiastic attitude,

lack of interest towards

learning the language and

theenvironment that do not

encourage learners to use

the language have worsened

the effort of acquiring the

language.

SaadiyahDarus and

Kaladevi

2009 Students have problemsin applying correct

grammatical rules in their

writings

- identify commongrammatical errorsmade by

the students are Subject-

Verb agreement and wrong

use of singular and plural

forms.

- In addition, wrongapplication of verb tense,

inappropriate word choice

andprepositions are

common among theparticipants.

- Findings of this study implythat students have not yet

mastered basic grammatical

structures even though they

have gone through 10 years

of learning English.

Siti Hamin

Stapa and

Abdul

HameedAbdul Majid

2006 use of Bahasa Malaysia

in teaching writing

promote better writing

literacy amonglimited proficiency

English learners

- use of L1 promotesideas generating

activities among

limited proficiency ls-

Razianna

Abdul

Rahman

2005 L1 promotes English

writing

students resort to explain an

incomprehensible or difficult

English passage using Bahasa

Malaysia and the translation

facilitates their comprehension

of the English text.

Mohd Sofi

Ali2008 reports that teachers

in his case study

primarily use BahasaMalaysia to teach


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English because of the

pressure

to get good grades in

examinations.

Nambiar,

NorainiIbrahim and

Pramela

2008 show that language

learning strategies arestill underutilized and

underdeveloped among

the participants and this

poor use of learning

strategies could

account for the students

weaknesses in reading

English text

Koo 2008 Blames exam-oriented

system tht we have

teachers tend to concentrate on

the teaching of grammar and

neglect thecommunicative aspects of

language learning in their

teaching

Ambigapathy 2002 students are required to

learn too many

grammatical skills, which

are then tested via

examinations

- This eroded communicativecompetence

- hence emerged a new classof students who could pass

examinations and continue

to the tertiary level without

actually being able to usethe English language

productively in a

communicative event

-Ministry of

Education2003 classroom

teaching is highlycharacterized by teacher-

centred approaches and

chalk-and-talk drill

method

Ambigapathy 2002 drilling using past-yearexamination questions,

work sheets and exercise

books

Hazita

Azman2009 English literacy among

Malaysian learners

are highly conceptualized

through school

experience

English language learning is

presented as

learning a set of language

mechanics with fixed ways of

using the language; isolated

from its communicative use. It

is presented as a neutral set of

language systems; to belearned and mastered for


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specific classroom situations.

Ahmad Mazli

Muhammad2007

Nambiar

Zaira Abu

Hasan

2008 Ls are found to have

limited vocabularyknowledge and weak at

understanding long

sentences or sentences

with difficult words

insufficient

vocabulary knowledgeinevitably affects the learners

performance

Rosemala

Ismail

Koo 2008 asserts that literacy

practices that emerge

from within this context

will continue to produce

learners who look at

knowledge as learning of

a fixed body of

information which can be

regurgitated and applied

without much comment

and critique.

- Causes of limited English proficiency:

- English is viewed as a difficult subject to learn.- Learners depend on the English teachers as authorities.- English is used only to answer teachers questions and spoken- during English class.- Learners tend to depend heavily on translation and dictionary use- to find meanings.- There is a lack of support to use English in the home- environment and the community.- Learners are found to have limited vocabulary as English reading- materials are not always available.- Learners display unwillingness and lack of motivation to learn

- English as they do not see the immediate need to use the- language.- Learners have inadequate or insufficient exposure to the- language as there is a limited opportunity to use English outside- the classrooms.- English is not perceived as an important medium for- communication as they use Bahasa Malaysia both for academic- and personal interactions.- Learners express unwillingness and high anxiety to use English- to communicate despite acknowledging that English is important

- for their future.- There is a mismatched between policy and practice in the


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- Malaysian ELT curriculum; the policy as envisaged in the school- curriculum cannot be fully implemented in schools because of- the over-riding concern for examination.

Source: Ambigapathy (2002; 2006); Fauziah Hassan & Nita Fauzee Selamat (2002), MohdSofi Ali (2008), Naginder (2006), Noor Hashimah Abdul Aziz (2007), Razianna Abdul

Rahman (2005), Rosemala Ismail (2008), Zaira Abu Hasan (2008).

In writing this part of your research paper, keep in mind the following:

Clearly describe the framework, concepts, models, or specific theories that underpin your study . Thisincludes noting who the key theorists are in the field who have conducted research on the problem you areinvestigating and, when necessary, the historical context that supports the formulation of that theory. This latterelement is particularly important if the theory is relatively unknown or it is borrowed from another discipline.

Position your theoretical framework within a broader context of related frameworks, concepts, models,or theories. There will likely be several concepts, theories, or models that can be used to help develop aframework for understanding the research problem. Therefore, note why the framework you've chosen is theappropriate one.

The present tense is used when writing about theory.

You should make your theoretical assumptions as explicit as possible. Later, your discussion of

methodology should be linked back to this theoretical framework. Dont just take what the theory says as a given! Reality is never accurately represented in such a simplistic

way; if you imply that it can be, you fundamentally distort a reader's ability to understand the findings that emerge.Given this, always note the limitiations of the theoretical framework you've chosen [i.e., what parts of the researchproblem require further investigation because the theory does not explain a certain phenomena].

Conceptual Framework vs theoretical frameworkConceptual framework

After formulating the theoretical framework, the researcher has to develop

the conceptual framework of the study. A concept is an image or symbolic

representation of an abstract idea. Chinn and Kramer (1999) define a

concept as a complex mental formulation of experience.

While the theoretical framework is the theory on which the study is based,

the conceptual framework is the operationalization of the theory.

Conceptual framework is the researchers own position on the problem and

gives direction to the study. It may be an adaptation of a model used in aprevious study, with modifications to suit the inquiry. Aside from

showing the direction of the study, through the conceptual framework, the

researcher can be able to show the relationships of the different

constructs that he wants to investigate.

1. The conceptual framework is the schematic diagram which shows the

variables included in the study.

2. Arrows or line should be properly placed and connected between

boxes to show the relationship between the independent and dependent

variables.

3. All the independent and dependent variables should be clearly

discussed and explained how these would influence the results of the

study.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework of the study is a structure that can hold or

support a theory of a research work. It presents the theory which

explains why the problem under study exists. Thus, the theoretical

framework is but a theory that serves as a basis for conducting research.

1. The theoretical framework consists of theories, principles,

generalizations and research findings which are closely related to the

present study under investigation. It is in this framework where the

present research problem understudy evolved.

2. Authors of these theories and principles should be cited. As much

as possible research findings and theories should be correct.

Formulating the Theoretical FrameworkPurpose:

1. It helps the researcher see clearly the variables of the study;


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2. It can provide him with a general framework for data analysis;

3. It is essential in preparing a research proposal using descriptive

and experimental methods.

Based on the foregoing example, how should the theoretical framework

formulated?

1. Specifies the theory used as basis for the study

2. Mentions the proponents of the theory

3. Cites the main points emphasized in the theory

4. supports his exposition of the theory by ideas from other experts;

5. Illustrates his theoretical framework by means of a diagram; and,

6. Reiterates his theoretical proposition in t

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Problems Causing Low English Proficiency