Visioning a world class university is certainly an appropriate target for a university. Realizing this vision would need an expansion of knowledge and greater English proficiency as in this period of history, English is the language of IT which is an important key to acquiring knowledge. Using a sample of 40 level one students from UiTM Dungun this study found that in tandem with studies done elsewhere, extensive reading does seem to make a difference in the proficiency level of the students. Further the study also found that students who have a positive predisposition towards English read more and achieved better grades. However the study found no difference in the amount of reading done by boys and girls. The study discussed qualitatively the ability of teachers to inculcate the reading interest in the students, thus it is a triangular study which employs quantitative and qualitative means.
Abstract-This paper discusses a study which explored a method of integrating literature in English Language proficiency courses at University technology Mara, (UiTM) Terengganu, Malaysia. A quasi-experimental study was conducted on two intact groups; the control and experimental groups respectively. Both groups underwent a eight week experiment whereby one short story, The Burden of Sin by S. Karthigesu was taught to the control group using the routine reading and comprehension teaching approach while the experimental group was taught using the reader response approach adapting Ibsen's The I Model text exploration and literary devices. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted on the data using two nonparametric tests: the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test to determine the significance difference between the pretest and posttest scores; and the Mann-Whitney U test to determine the significant difference between the scores of the experimental and control groups. The results proved to be substantially significant; that by integrating literature in the language curricula, students can learn the four skills -listening, speaking, reading and writing-more effectively because of the literary promoting cultural, higher-order thinking and motivational benefits that fortify it.Index Terms-English Language teaching, essay writing, experimental study, literature based language instruction
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