Improving Critical Malay Essay Writing Competency through Authentic e-Learning

Abstract

This study focuses on the significance of employing authentic e-learning strategies to improve Critical Malay Essay Writing among Chinese school students. Ministry of Education reports have highlighted the inadequate performance of Chinese school students in Malay essay writing, attributing this to their limited Malay language proficiency, inadequate thinking competencies, and minimal exposure to authentic e-learning environments. Consequently, a transformation in education is imperative, integrating multimedia technology to enhance essay writing skills and critical thinking abilities. The research implemented an authentic elearning environment, a multimedia technology platform, to facilitate this transformation. Employing a pre-experimental time series design, the study involved 33 students from a secondary school. The research instruments included Pre-Activity, Post1-Activity, and Post2-Activity essays, analysed using the Friedman Test and Wilcoxon SR Test through the SPSS application. The test results indicated a significant difference (p < 0.05) between Pre-Activity, Post1-Activity, and Post2-Activity, signifying a positive impact of the treatment on students' critical Malay essay writing competencies. The findings underscore the identification of five authentic e-learning activities crucial for supporting students in writing critical Malay essays. These activities merit inclusion in the critical essay writing curriculum. Additionally, this study proposes further research endeavours focusing on the implementation of these activities.