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UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA BORANG PENGESAHAN STATUS TESIS

JUDUL : INVESTIGATING ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON

THE USE OF AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING ENGLISH

SESI PENGAJIAN : 2008/2009 Saya NURUL AZIE YANTY BINTI MD. YUSOP

(HURUF BESAR)

mengaku membenarkan tesis (PSM/Sarjana/Doktor Falsafah)* ini disimpan di Perpustakaan Universiti Teknologi Malaysia dengan syarat-syarat kegunaan seperti berikut:

1. Tesis adalah hakmilik Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. 2. Perpustakaan Teknologi Malaysia dibenarkan membuat salinan untuk tujuan pengajian sahaja. 3. Perpustakaan dibenarkan membuat salinan tesis ini sebagai bahan pertukaran antara institusi

pengajian tinggi. 4. ** Sila tandakan ( √ )

SULIT

(Mengandungi maklumat yang berdarjah keselamatan atau kepentingan Malaysia seperti yang termaktub di dalam AKTA RAHSIA RASMI 1972)

TERHAD

(Mengandungi maklumat TERHAD yang telah ditentukan oleh organisasi/badan di mana penyelidikan dijalankan)

TIDAK TERHAD

(TANDATANGAN PENULIS) (TANDATANGAN PENYELIA)

Alamat tetap: 56, PARIT RESIK, JALAN YUSOF, DR. HANITA BINTI HASSAN 83600, SEMERAH, NAMA PENYELIA BATU PAHAT, JOHOR DARUL TAKZIM Tarikh: 22 APRIL 2009 Tarikh: 22 APRIL 2009

CATATAN: * Potong yang tidak berkenaan. ** Jika tesis ini SULIT atau TERHAD, sila lampirkan surat daripada pihak

berkuasa/organisasi berkenaan dengan menyatakan sekali sebab dan tempoh tesis ini perlu dikelaskan sebagai SULIT atau TERHAD.

Tesis dimaksudkan sebagai tesis bagi Ijazah Doktor Falsafah dan Sarjana secara penyelidikan atau disertasi bagi pengajian sebagai kerja kursus dan penyelidikan atau Laporan Projek Sarjana Muda (PSM).

√

This Bachelor’s Project Report Has Been

Approved and Accepted By

DR. HANITA BINTI HASSAN

Bachelor’s Project Supervisor of Modern Languages Department,

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

On Behalf of

Faculty of Education

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

INVESTIGATING ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF

AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING ENGLISH

NURUL AZIE YANTY BINTI MD. YUSOP

This Project Report is Prepared As a Requirement for The Bestowal of

Bachelor of Science and Education (TESL)

Faculty of Education

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

APRIL 2009

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“I admit that this project report ( Title: INVESTIGATING ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING ENGLISH.) is my own piece of work except for citations and summaries whereby each and everyone of their sources has been duly acknowledge.”

Signature :

Name of Writer : NURUL AZIE YANTY BINTI MD. YUSOP

Date : 22nd April 2009

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Specially dedicated to Abah,

Alfatihah,

Md. Yusop b. Gimon

(1955-2006)

May Allah bless his soul

And to all my beloved family and friends

Without all of you, I am nobody

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, my highest gratitude and syukur Alhamdulillah goes to

Allah SWT who gave me strength and confidence in completing this thesis. I would

like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Hanita Hassan for the

guidance, encouragement, critics and kindness that she offered to me during this one

whole year of completing the thesis. I would also like to express my gratitude to Mr.

Ghazali Bunari who offered help and motivation for me throughout this semester.

No man is an island. I would love to express my highest gratitude to my

family, especially to my mum, Puan Masnom Jasmat and my sister, Mazura Huraizah

who gave endless support and motivation and never failed to encourage me to finish

this thesis.

I am also highly indebted to my closest friends, Mohd Zamri, Nurul ‘Atiqah,

Nurliyana, Awis Rumaisya, Noor Izzati and Mohd Ramzan for their endless support

and the valuable friendships they offered to me. Without them, I would never be able

to sail through the journey of final year. Thank you guys for always be there for me,

wiping my tears and sharing my happiness. The same goes to all my fellow Teslians

who always support and encourage each other for the past four years. The friendships

we built shall not end here.

Thanks for the support, encouragement, love and understanding that all of

you offered to me. I am grateful to have many wonderful persons in my life who

always stick with me through thick and thin. Thank you.

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ABSTRACT

Using authentic materials for teaching English is not a new issue. Various studies have been conducted to investigate teachers as well as students’ perceptions on the use of authentic materials in teaching and learning process. Results showed that many teachers are keen with the idea of using authentic materials in their teaching since they bring many benefits to both teachers as well as students. Therefore, this small-scale study was aimed to investigate the issues of authentic materials in language teaching from a different perspective. The aims include investigating teachers’ perceptions on the benefits as well as challenges that they faced while using authentic materials. Other than that, this study also identifies the types of authentic materials that most teachers frequently used in teaching. This quantitative study used questionnaire in order to elicit teachers’ responses regarding the topic. Thirty teachers who were pursuing their master in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Skudai were selected as the respondents. The questionnaire results reveal that all of the teachers are interested in using authentic materials in teaching. However, in terms of the frequency in using authentic materials, their responses mostly range from ‘never’ to ‘seldom’. It is also found that most teachers have positive perceptions towards the benefits of using authentic materials in teaching. Nonetheless, for the challenges, their level of perceptions is medium, which indicates that challenges are not the main factor that stops them from using authentic materials. This study also reveals that authentic materials are able to motivate students in learning the language. On the other hand, the time constraint is the utmost challenge for the teachers in using authentic materials in teaching. There are few limitations in this study such as the small number of respondents and there was no interview conducted. For future research, it is recommended that the study could be done in a bigger group of respondents and interviews could be conducted to triangulate the outcomes.

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ABSTRAK

Penggunaan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran Bahasa Inggeris bukanlah satu isu yang asing dalam bidang pendidikan. Banyak kajian telah dijalankan untuk mengkaji pandangan dan persepsi guru-guru serta para pelajar tentang penggunaan bahan autentik dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Keputusan menunjukkan kebanyakan guru menunjukkan minat terhadap penggunaan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran mereka kerana ianya membawa banyak faedah kepada guru dan juga pelajar. Maka, kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengkaji isu-isu penggunaan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran melalui perspektif yang berbeza. Kajian ini meliputi persepsi guru tentang faedah serta cabaran yang mereka hadapi dalam menggunakan bahan autentik. Selain itu, kajian ini turut mengenalpasti jenis bahan autentik yang kerap digunakan oleh guru-guru. Kajian kuantitatif ini dijalankan menggunakan kaedah soal selidik dan seramai tiga puluh orang guru Bahasa Inggeris yang sedang melanjutkan pelajaran di peringkat sarjana dalam TESL (Pengajaran Bahasa Inggeris sebagai Bahasa Kedua) di Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Skudai telah dipilih sebagai responden. Keputusan soal selidik menunjukkan kesemua guru berminat untuk menggunakan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran mereka. Walaubagaimanapun, dari segi kekerapan penggunaan bahan autentik, kebanyakan responden didapati tidak pernah menggunakan ataupun jarang menggunakan bahan autentik. Dalam kajian ini juga didapati kebanyakan guru mempunyai persepsi yang positif terhadap faedah yang diperoleh dari penggunaan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran. Namun, mereka mempunyai persepsi yang sederhana terhadap cabaran yang mereka hadapi. Ini bermakna cabaran-cabaran tersebut bukanlah faktor utama yang menghalang mereka dari menggunakan bahan autentik. Kajian ini juga menunjukkan bahawa bahan autentik mampu memotivasikan pelajar mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris. Manakala faktor kekangan masa merupakan cabaran paling utama yang dihadapi oleh guru apabila mereka menggunakan bahan autentik dalam pengajaran. Terdapat beberapa halangan dalam kajian ini seperti bilangan responden yang kecil serta tiada temubual dijalankan. Untuk kajian pada masa hadapan, adalah dicadangkan supaya kajian dapatdijalankan dalam kumpulan yang besar serta temubual dapat dijalankan untuk mengesahkan penemuan hasil kajian.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITLE PAGE

THESIS STATUS APPROVAL

SUPERVISOR’S APPROVAL

TITLE PAGE i

RESEARCHER’S ADMITTANCE ii

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

ABSTRACT v

ABSTRAK vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

LIST OF TABLES xi

LIST OF FIGURES xii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xiii

LIST OF APPENDICES xiv

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview of the Study 1

1.2 Background of the Study 4

1.3 Statement of the Problem 5

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1.4 Research Objectives 6

1.5 Research Questions 7

1.6 Significance of the Study 7

1.7 Scope of the Study 8

1.8 Conclusion 8

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction 9

2.2 Definitions of Authentic Materials 9

2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Using

Authentic Materials in Classroom

12

2.4 Studies on the Use of Authentic Materials in

Language Teaching

19

2.5 Conclusion 23

3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction 24

3.2 Research Design 24

3.3 Sample of the Study 25

3.4 Research Instrument 26

3.5 Data Analysis 27

3.6 Limitations of the Study 28

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4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Introduction 29

4.2 The Use of Authentic Materials by Teachers 29

4.3 Perceptions on the Use of Authentic Materials

In Teaching

37

4.4 Perceptions on the Benefits of Using Authentic

Materials in Teaching

39

4.5 Perceptions on the Challenges of Using Authentic

Materials in Teaching

45

4.6 Overall Level of Perceptions on the Use of

Authentic Materials in Teaching

50

4.7 Conclusion 51

5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Introduction 53

5.2 Summary of the Study 53

5.2.1 The Use of Authentic Materials in

Teaching

54

5.2.2 Perceptions on the Benefits of Using

Authentic Materials in Teaching

54

5.2.3 Perceptions on the Challenges of Using

Authentic Materials in Teaching

55

5.3 Conclusion of the Study 56

5.4 Implications for the Classrooms 56

x

5.5 Recommendations for Further Research 58

REFERENCES 60

Appendices A-C 65-83

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LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE

4.1 The Use of Authentic Materials (according to rank) 30

4.2 Mean of Perceptions on the Benefits of Using Authentic 43

Materials in Teaching

4.3 Mean of Perceptions on the Challenges of Using Authentic 48

Materials in Teaching

4.4 Overall Levels of Perceptions on the Use of Authentic 50

Materials in Teaching English

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LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE

4.1 Bar Graph of mean (M) of the Use of 32

Authentic Materials

4.2 Perceptions on the use of Authentic Materials in 38

Teaching

4.3 Perceptions on the Benefits of Using Authentic 40

Materials

4.4 Perceptions on the Challenges of Using Authentic 45

Materials

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL - English as a Foreign Language

ESL - English as a Second Language

ELT - English Language Teaching

TESL - Teaching English as a Second Language

UTM - Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

NIE - Newspaper in Education

NSTP - New Straits Times Press

KBSM - Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah

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LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX TITLE PAGE

A Questionnaire 62

B Reliability Tests Results 68

C Results of Frequencies of the Items 71

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview of the Study

According to Kitao and Kitao (1997), “language instruction has five

important components; students, a teacher, materials, teaching methods, and

evaluation”. One of the elements is material. In teaching, one of the most

challenging parts is always how to attract and maintain students’ attention in the

classroom. Materials used could be the answer to this challenge. The use of suitable

materials in teaching could help learners to retain their attention span in classroom by

making them engaged with the materials. Traditionally, most of English teachers will

resort to use textbooks in teaching because textbooks provide them with materials

that are in line with the curriculum and specifically designed for language learning

purposes. However, sometimes textbooks can be very boring. According to Nilsson,

cited in Daskalos and Ling (2005), ‘textbook used in class does not provide the

student with interesting topics; therefore the textbook should be banished’. This

argument is an example of starting point that leads scholars to study about other

materials that could be used in classroom in order to overcome this problem and

hence, authentic materials could be the answer.

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According to Richards and Rodgers (1986), “the role of instructional

materials in English language teaching is to further indicate the content of the subject

matter, to better define the primary goals of the materials, for example to present

content, to practice content, to facilitate communication between learners, or to

enable learners to practice content without the teacher’s help (p. 25). The role of

materials in teaching is thus not something that we can overlook. Materials help

teachers to achieve the objectives of their lessons, as well as helping learners to

understand the subject matter taught. Materials also play an important role in

determining the method and approach that teachers use in teaching. Material is one

the important element and it is the teachers’ job to choose and determine which

materials are suitable to be used with their students. English teachers use various

types of materials, ranging from authentic materials such as newspapers and

magazines to non-authentic materials such as texts found in English language text

books. Lundahl, cited in Daskalos and Ling (2005), defines authentic materials as

materials that are not being simplified in terms of the language structure. Sarney

(2007) defines authentic materials as texts that are not being edited and originally

designed for native speakers, not for language learning purposes.

Baddock ( 1983) says that since mid-1960, the use of authentic material

which is newspaper has been accepted in EFL (English as a Foreign Language)

classrooms. English teachers all around the world also started to use newspapers in

classroom. The role of authentic materials has become more prominent in language

teaching. According to Sanderson (1999), “newspapers have become the choice of

these language teachers as newspapers are invaluable source of authentic materials,

and their use in the language classroom is very much in keeping with current

thinking and practice in teaching pedagogy” (p. 3).

Local English newspapers in Malaysia such as The New Straits Times and

The Star provide language learners with current updates on things that happened in

the

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country. The language is being presented in contexts which language learners are

familiar with. This could help language learners in terms of motivation. De Roche

(1983), Heitzman (1986) and ANPAF (1990), said that the use of newspapers in

language teaching is effective since they can motivate content learning and also help

in developing language skills. By using authentic texts that are familiar to them, their

motivation to read will increase because they know they are reading something that

is closely related to their environment and culture. Maley (1993), stated that

language learners find newspapers motivating because they offer interesting,

relevant, topical, and varied information. The variety of sections in a newspaper

such as advertisements section, news section, readers’ opinions section as well as

comic strips sections bring some values or concern to learners. The use of authentic

materials can help teachers in terms of varying the activities for classroom.

According to Grundy (1993), “language teachers tend to use newspapers in three

ways: to develop various language competencies, including reading comprehension

and grammar/vocabulary work; to focus on aspects of the target society and its

culture; and to stimulate discussions of issues raised by the articles” (p. 3).

In Malaysia, a programme called Newspaper In Education or NIE has been

introduced in January 6, 1985 by The New Straits Times Press (NSTP). The purpose

of this programme is to provide the knowledge to the educators on how to turn

newspapers into effective teaching tools. Realizing the effectiveness of using

newspapers in helping students to acquire the language, NSTP took another step in

the year 2005. A programme called ‘New Straits Times’ School Sponsorship

Programme’ was launched by the Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin

Hussein on August 15 in which the Ministry of Education and NSTP cooperated to

supply the newspapers to schools. This step was taken due to the fact that the

ministry saw the benefits that newspapers brought to the students in terms of

improving their English proficiency. This shows that in Malaysia, the benefits that

authentic materials bring to the students and teachers have been recognized and taken

seriously by the Ministry of Education.

In a nutshell, the importance of the type of instructional materials provided

for language learning cannot be set aside. The materials used have significant roles

4

and effects in learning and teaching process. Materials chosen must be in line with

the goals of the teaching itself. Teachers have the right to choose materials that suit

the learning styles of students as well as appropriate with teachers’ ideology in

teaching. However, when choosing materials for teaching, it is important for the

teachers to know the benefits as well as the drawbacks that they might encounter

while using the materials. This study therefore provides readers with the perceptions

of English language teachers in utilizing the authentic materials in their language

teaching. This study also covered the level of the usage of authentic materials in

their teaching, as well as their perceptions on the benefits and challenges of using

authentic materials in their classroom.

1.2 Background of the study

Hutchinson and Waters, cited in Nunan (2003), define authentic texts as

materials that are not originally constructed for language teaching purposes.

Authentic materials provide readers with extensive exposure to the language that is

in context. According to Larsen-Freeman (2000), “whenever possible, ‘authentic

language’ – language as it is used in a real context- should be introduced to the

learners” (p. 125). Based on studies conducted by various researchers, it has been

found that using authentic materials is effective and actually could help students to

improve their language skills such as in reading and also listening. A study

conducted by Palmer (1991), shows that with the use of authentic materials, which

in this case, newspapers, indicates that in fifty five days of teachers using

newspapers, students improve more on in terms of reading and writing compared to

students who were taught with traditional materials. Various studies also show that

the use of authentic materials could help to boost students’ motivation as well as

their interest in learning English. However, those

studies also concluded that there are disadvantages in using authentic materials in

English language classroom, whether in the preparation or in the implementation

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phase of using authentic materials, especially in terms of time. Few studies

conducted in Malaysia, such as the research on the effectiveness of using English

language newspapers in teaching metaphors to form two students by Foong Yin Pui

(2003) showed that the use of newspapers are not effective in terms of teaching

metaphors. Students cannot answer the questions when they solely depended on the

newspapers. However, when she used newspapers to teach grammatical items, it had

proven to be very effective. In other study conducted by Veerakumar Subbiah (2005)

on the use of cartoon and comic strips to improve students’ abilities to make

sentences by using subject-verb agreement, students showed slight improvement on

their performances. Students also seemed motivated and enthusiastic to participate in

class. These different results generated researcher’s curiosity in knowing the types

of authentic materials that teachers frequently used in teaching and also their

perceptions on the benefits as well as the challenges that they encounter while using

authentic materials in the classroom. This is to ensure that teachers will be clear with

what they are dealing with, when they make use of any authentic materials for the

teaching and learning process.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Various researches show that by incorporating authentic materials in teaching

English can help learners learning English, especially in terms of increasing the level

of motivation of the students. Sarney (2007) points out that by using authentic

materials, it will help to bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world. A

study conducted by Israelsson (2007), show that the use of authentic materials

provides learners with an environment where they forget that they are actually

learning. He also mentioned that authentic materials could provide learners and

teachers the most valuable experience in language teaching and learning process.

These benefits contribute to the successful language learning process, be it on the

teachers or students’ side. However, there are also a few disadvantages in using

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authentic materials in teaching English. Sarney (2007) says that the use of authentic

materials is time consuming, especially in terms of preparation. He also points out

that teachers lack necessary skills in exploiting authentic materials. This study is

conducted to investigate the perceptions of English teachers on the issue of using

authentic materials in English language classroom. Based on the benefits of using

authentic materials that other studies have shown, it is important to know to the types

of authentic materials teachers mostly use in their teaching. Other than that,

teachers’ perceptions on the benefits as well as the challenges that they encounter

while incorporating authentic materials in their teaching, are also being studied.

1.4 Research objectives

At the end of this study, researcher hopes to find out:

i. The types of authentic materials that are most frequently used by teachers.

ii. The perceptions of English teachers on the benefits of using authentic

materials in classroom.

iii. The perceptions of English teachers on the challenges of using authentic

materials in classroom.

1.5 Research questions This study is specifically designed under these three research questions:

i. What are the types of authentic materials most frequently used by

teachers?

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ii. What are the English teachers’ perceptions on the benefits of using

authentic

materials in the classroom?

iii. What are the English teachers’ perceptions on the challenges of using

authentic materials in the classroom?