Pedagogical Practices of English Language Lessons in Malaysian Primary Schools: A Discourse Analysis

Abstract

Discourse analysis as a sub-discipline of linguistics is useful in understanding the teaching and learning process and practices of a language. In line with that, this article applies discourse analysis framework in discussing the classroom pedagogical discourse practices of English language lessons at primary school level in Malaysia. The discussion is based on three case studies conducted in the state of Melaka. The pedagogical discourse in the classrooms was observed, audio recorded and later transcribed and analysed. The pedagogical discourse analysed focuses on the teachers’ and students’ practices. Among the teachers’ practices identified were questioning, accepting and explaining where as the students’ practices were answering and listening. These pedagogical practices are discussed in relation to their types, place of occurrences in the discourse and their related examples. The discussion hopes to give details on how linguistics, especially discourse analysis, benefits in language pedagogy and at the same time, enlightens the practices of English language lessons in the classrooms

Teachers’ Feedback Practice and Students’ Academic Achievement: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Advances in the education landscape occurred when the government recognised that future generations must be equipped with the requisite skills to cope with a rapidly evolving and increasingly globalised world and job market. Nevertheless, teachers in Malaysia have obstacles in affording needed feedback in an examination-oriented environment due to several reasons, specifically, 1) dominance of superficial and rote learning in classroom assessment practices, 2) assessment materials are not critically reviewed and discussed with peers, 3) strong emphasis on grading instead of learning, and 4) assessments do not result in the desired washback effect (Mustaffa et al, 2011;Hazita, 2016;Hamzah & Paramasivan, 2017).…”

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“…This aspect, however, has largely been under-researched in the Malaysian setting (Habsah Hussin, 2006). The available literature had documented findings on teachers" questioning practices which are essentially associated with monologicality (e.g., teachers tend to ask most of the questions, ask typically display/lower cognitive questions, answer own questions) (Habsah Hussin, 2006;Rosniah Mustaffa et al, 2011;Sedigheh Abbasnasab Sardareh & Mohd Rashid Mohd Saad, 2013;Sedigheh Abbasnasab Sardareh et al, 2014). In specific reference to the three important dimensions of questioning discussed earlier, as most studies concentrated primarily on investigating the types of questions teachers ask in the classroom, this study extends the research focus to look at the use of wait time and reaction moves, alongside the use of different types of questions.…”

“…The frequency and percentage of display, referential, and rhetorical questions used by teachers in the classroom, in the following order, were 1,983 (69.1%), 407 (14.2%), and 480 (16.7%). Hussin, 2006;Noorizah Mohd Noor et al, 2012;Rosniah Mustaffa et al, 2011;Sedigheh Abbasnasab Sardareh & Mohd Rashid Mohd Saad, 2013;Sedigheh Abbasnasab Sardareh et al, 2014). They largely elicited only short and straightforward answers which were not used to engender further discussions in any dialogic manner.…”

“…Several studies focusing on questioning, an important instructional and interactional tool for stimulating dialogic interactions (Alexander, 2008), have pointed out unsatisfactory teacher questioning practices, for instance the prevalent use of lower cognitive questions (Habsah Hussin, 2006;Noorizah Mohd Noor, Idris Aman, & Rosniah Mustaffa, 2012;Rosniah Mustaffa, Idris Aman, Teo, & Noorizah Mohd Noor, 2011;Sedigheh Abbasnasab Sardareh & Mohd Rashid Mohd Saad, 2013;Sedigheh Abbasnasab Sardareh, Mohd Rashid Mohd Saad, Abdul Jalil Othman, & Rosalam Che Me, 2014). Given the curricular emphasis and pedagogical strategies teachers have been encouraged to use, which are largely communicative-based and higher-order-thinking oriented (MOE Malaysia, 2003;MOE Malaysia, 2012;Pandian, 2002), a more precise analysis into Malaysian classrooms is needed.…”

Formative assessment and feedback in the primary classroom: An interplay between teachers' beliefs and practices

“…Teachers attending professional learning and development courses were sceptical about how feedback could inform learning and raise students' achievement. Teachers were reluctant to use formative feedback as a classroom teaching strategy (Mustaffa, Aman, Teo Kok, & Noor, 2011) as they found it time consuming and disrupting to the normal classroom practice. While my interest was stimulated by the situation in Malaysian classrooms, it would have been difficult to conduct my study in that context, because formative assessment practices are less embedded in teachers' practice than they are in New Zealand.…”