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A RESEARCH PROPOSAL:
TEACHERS’ PRACTICE IN ENHANCING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING
COMPETENCY- FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TEACHERS
PREPARED BY:
SURIANI BINTI MOHD KASIM (2015478772)
PREPARED FOR:
DR JOHAN EDDY LUARAN
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITI TENOLOGI MARA
SHAH ALAM
2015
�1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENT PAGE
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Research Problem
1.3 Research Objectives
1.4 Research Questions
1.5 Research Hypothesis
1.6 Operational Definitions
1.6.1 Teacher
1.6.2 Practice
1.6.3 Communicative
1.6.4 Secondary school
1.6.5 Competency
1.7 Limitations of the Study
1.8 Significance of the Sudy
3
4-6
6-8
8
9
9
10
10
10
10
11
11
12
13
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Speaking Competency
2.3 Communicative Language Teaching
2.4 Characteristics and Principles of CLT
2.5 Conceptual Framework
14
15
15-16
17-18
19
20-21
Chapter 3: Methodology
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research Design
3.3 Population and Sample
3.4 Instrument
3.5 Data Collection
3.6 Data Analysis
22
23
23
23-24
24-25
25-26
27-28
Bibliography 29-32
Appendices 33-35
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Chapter 1:
Introduction
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1.1 Introduction
Human is the only species on earth that has reach a higher level of communication in
which they are not only using it to satisfy their urging needs like food or sex anymore, but also to
express their feelings, to share their thoughts, to discuss on problem solving, to deliver
knowledge and so on. Due to that, languages later exist and develop to meet the interaction
purpose and to make the communication more efficient. The evolution of human language is one
of the most important and interesting evolutionary events in the history of life on our planet
(Maynard Smith & Szathmary, 1995; Nowak et al, 2002).
According to Crystal (2003), English is regularly perceived to be the global language that
is used for cross-cultural communication by people from around the world. There are many
factors influencing the high status of English language in comparison with other languages, some
that have been identified are; political, financial, religion, media and so on. Currently, English
language rules in many important fields including science, medical, industry as well as
education.
As a developing country that is currently striving to be at par with other developed
countries, Malaysia is now involved actively in the mentioned fields, which directly resulting in
the increase of the English language importance locally. In aiming the Vision 2020; to be a
developed country, the global economic progress rapidly, making the human capital development
a key for Malaysia. We are relying on the Philosophy of Education in continuously enhancing
individuals’ potentials as highlighted, for it is through education that holistic and integrated
individuals are produced. By concerning with this effort we can also produce knowledgeable,
ethical and responsible citizen towards themselves and the nation.
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The developments in the past thirty years reflect the changes in views regarding grammar
and the emphasis to be given to grammar in language teaching. From being the center of the
pedagogic plan (Rutherford, 1978), grammar assumed a secondary, and sometimes even
nonexistent, role. The changes in views regarding the role in grammar in language teaching have
brought about changes in language teaching and syllabus design. Teachers’ practice in classroom
has also changed from Grammar Translation Method; in which stress is given on accuracy of the
language, to Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) which focus more on the fluency, the
communicative outcome of learning the language.
The response of language teachers to the change in syllabus from a more traditional,
grammar-based syllabus to a communicative one has not always been favorable (Etherton, 1979).
This is also quite evident from our experience with the communicational syllabus, implemented
in the 1970's, which many teachers were unhappy with (Gaudart, 1986). One of the reasons why
many teachers were dissatisfied with the communicational syllabus was that it didn't make
explicit references to grammar. The only "content" specified throughout the syllabus were the
situations according to which language activities were to be planned. This made the teachers feel
that "the students were not learning anything", that they were merely involved in role-plays upon
role plays, and that those who were responsible for adopting the syllabus were merely "jumping
on the bandwagon" (Mohd Asraf, 1995). Indeed, according to Rodgers (1984), the earlier
communicational syllabus intentionally downplayed the role of grammar, and this was justified
by the designers as "releasing teachers and students from their structural chains”.
From the researchers’ perspectives, Malaysia current English syllabus has been going
through some changes in meeting the communicative purpose. Back then the syllabus focused
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more on grammar aspect until recently, when the communicative purpose has been highlighted in
the revised syllabus that we see they are implementing communication-related topics like
phonetics, English for specific purpose and many more. It is good in a sense we finally realize
the sole purpose of the language existence at the first place; which is to serve an effective
communication. We just have to ensure the execution of what is in the paper so that the desired
results can be obtained.
1.2 Research Problem
English, being an important medium of communication at both intra-national and
international levels, takes the status of a second language in the country. In Malaysian schools,
English is taught as an important subject at both primary and secondary levels alongside other
subjects. The teaching of English as a second language has seen various approaches and methods
being introduced and implemented to enhance the learning process of acquiring the second
language among non-native speakers. Nevertheless, as the motivation for learning English in
schools among most of language learners, especially those who are from rural areas, is mainly
intrinsic, i.e. to pass the examinations rather than to communicate with others using the second
language. The students’ fluency in oral English is comparatively low compared to their
performance in writing. The findings of an action research carried out by one of the researchers
in this study, regarding her students’ performance in Speaking Skills for Malaysian University
English Test (MUET) Speaking (800/2), revealed that 50% of the candidates were marginal
speakers and another 50% were limited users of the language. These limited speakers of English
�6
were reported as not taking the initiative to participate in group discussions (Amizura Hanadi &
Zaiton Abdul Majid, 2003).
With the demand of mastering English as a global language in the global market, many of
the local graduates are faced with the prospect of unemployment as they“ failed to secure jobs
because of their lack of competence in the English language, evident particularly during
interviews” ( Chan & Tan, 2006). This inevitably points to the low performance of these students
in communicating in English orally. The greatest challenge for English teachers, especially at the
tertiary level, therefore, is to encourage these second language learners to communicate orally
using English, in order to prepare them for the demands of the job market. As such, increasing
learners’ oral competency among second language learners has always been the primary concern
of second language teachers.
A Communicative Language Teaching Approach (CLT) has been applauded by many as
one of the effective approach to enhance students’ communicative competence. This is so, as the
principles that underlie the approach focus on enhancing one’s communicative competence in
using English for various purposes in various settings with various speech communities. In fact,
since late 1970’s, Malaysia has adopted a communicative approach in the teaching of English as
a second language to replace the structural-situational syllabus of English, where the
communicative syllabus was fully implemented in the upper secondary schools in 1977 (Chan &
Tan, 2006).
However, after a number of years learning English in school as a compulsory subject, the
low performance of the second language learners, especially in oral communication, still remains
a problem, yet, to be solved. This calls for an understanding of the teachers’ attitudes and beliefs,
�7
as they are the agents of implementation of various teaching approaches in language learning. As
such, the attitudes and beliefs of teachers regarding the effectiveness of the CLT approach in
second language classrooms need to be re- examined, as it will contribute to an informed
decision regarding the use of the approach in second language classrooms to enhance oral
competency among Malaysian students. As claimed by Pham (2006), “those who do not have a
thorough understanding of CLT, can hardly develop practices appropriate to the learning context,
thus they easily return to traditional teaching”. In a similar note, (Razmjoo & Riazi, 2006),
“While most teachers profess to be following a communicative approach, in practice they are
following more traditional approaches”.
1.3 Research Objectives
The research is served with the purpose to meet the objectives as follow:
1.3.1 To identify the level of interactivity of teachers’ practice in classroom.
1.3.2 To analyze the secondary school students’ speaking competency level.
1.3.3 To investigate how does the teachers’ practice influence the secondary school students’
speaking competency level.
1.3.4 To determine ways to improve the secondary school students’ speaking competency level.
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1.4 Research Questions
The research is also served with the purpose to answer questions as follow:
1.4.1 What is the extent of interactiveness of teachers’ practice in classroom?
1.4.2 Which level of speaking competency that the secondary school students are in?
1.4.3 How does the teachers’ practice influence the secondary school students’ speaking
competency level?
1.4.4 What are the ways to improve the secondary school students’ speaking competency level?
1.5 Research Hypothesis
The research hypothesis is provided as follows:
The more the teacher implements Communicative Language Teaching in her or his
practice in classroom, the higher students’ speaking competency likely to be.
�9
1.6 Operational Definitions
The research main key terms are defined as follow:
1.6.1 Teacher
Oxford dictionaries define teacher as a person who teaches, especially in a school.
Teacher can be recognized as someone whose business occupation is to instruct.
Moreover, teacher can also be referred as someone who instructs others in religion; a
preacher; a minister of the gospel; sometimes, one who preaches without regular
ordination. For the purpose of this research, teacher is identified as a person who is
involved in any teaching and learning process and also activities whether formal or
informal.
1.6.2 Practice
Oxford dictionaries give practice a definition of the actual application or use of an idea,
belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it. For the purpose of the research,
practice is defined by the way teachers in school teach in classroom, which influenced by
the teachers’ personal beliefs, exposure and knowledge.
1.6.3 Communicative
According to Hybel & Weaver (2004), the term ‘communication’ brings the definition of
interacting with others to share information and beliefs, exchange ideas and feelings,
make plans and solve problems. In this study the communicative purpose brings the
definition of an effective way of interacting in formal situations like office or other
professional industry field.
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1.6.4 Secondary school
Secondary school in Malaysia is considered as high school. Students attend secondary
school in the age of 13 and usually graduate at 17. There is an optional form (Form 6)
also known as Pre- University. The Form 1 until Form 3 students are lower secondary
students, while Form 4 until Form 6 are upper secondary students.
1.6.5 Competency
A competency was defined in the literature from various perspectives.Numerous scholars
have attempted to pin down a definition for competency. (Quinn, Faerman, Thompson,
McGrath et al, 1990) indicated that competencies were associated with knowledge and
skills for implementing certain assignments or projects effectively. For the purpose of the
research, competency combining with the word speaking, present the definition of the
ability to orally communicate in English language, grammatically as well as accordingly,
based on the context in which the language is being used.
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1.7 Limitations of the Study
After giving it a thought and consideration, some limitations are expected to be faced by
the researcher. First of all, the research will be involving only schools in Bentong, Pahang. In this
area, communication through English language is not that extensive so maybe Communicative
Language Teaching (CLT) is not widely practiced. The teacher and students there might not see
the research as something relevant and related to them.
As it is a quantitative research, a big number of sample size is required in order for the
findings to be valid to be generalized to a certain extent. Using only one class and refer to only
one teacher’s practice is not enough so the researcher must visit many schools to get feedback
from as many participants as possible, that consumes more time and energy.
However, as Bentong only has limited number of secondary schools, so it is expected to
get smaller sample size than it should. Due to the small sample size, the researcher is expected to
also face another problem which is lack of available or reliable data. It requires the researcher to
limit the scope of the analysis and it is also a significant obstacle in finding a trend and a
meaningful relationship.
The researcher might also face limitation from longitudinal effects. The time available to
investigate the research problem and to measure change or stability over time is pretty much
constrained by the due date of the assignment. Therefore, the researcher might have to cut short
certain process in order to gather and analyze the data quickly.
�12
1.8 Significance of the Study
This research is significantly important in finding out the root problem as to why the
teachers’ practice has consistently failed or not, in helping students with their communication
skill. As stated, it is important to address this issue so that potential students are to meet the
criteria demanded in most of the professional industry.
First of all, this research will be most beneficial to the teachers. They will come to their
awareness of the importance to enhance students’ communication skill in any way they can. They
can identify in which area they have actually gone wrong in implementing communication in
their lessons. From there, they can actually improve their methods and approaches in helping
students with their communication skill. Students must be made able to use the language
practically in the classroom, not just learning it on surface.
Apart from that, the findings of this research would also help the school authorities. The
school authorities could look at the root problem identified and may take action to overcome the
issue. In doing so, school would get an overall view of what works best for their students. Hence,
a further action and improvement may be taken in the future to improve students’ English
language communicative proficiency.
Last but not least, this research would also be a good reflection for the Ministry of
Education and school authorities and serve as a source of information. Findings obtained from
this research could be used in the development of the curricular by organizing a program or
training necessary for both teachers and students. Therefore, we are hopeful that the students’
communicative proficiency can be improved to a satisfying level.
�13
Chapter 2:
Literature Review
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2.1 Introduction
This chapter reviews the literature relating to the area of teachers’ practice in classroom
and how does it influence students’ speaking competency. There are many kind of practices on
the ground, teachers’ preferences are typically based on the their believes in education, natural
characteristics, exposure, knowledge and others. At the end of this chapter, a conceptual
framework is provided in order to illustrate a clearer picture about the research.
2.2 Speaking Competency
Talking about speaking competency, there has been a misconception of how similar or
difference between the word competency and proficiency. Do they mean the same? If not, how
do they different from each other? It seems like the main concern here is which one is more
desirable.
The concept of communicative competence was proposed by Hymes (1972), who
claimed that the study of human language should place humans in a social world. The definition
of communicative competence is what a speaker needs to know in order to communicate in a
speech community (Hymes, 1972). For example, in everyday situation, a competent speaker does
not only know how to grammatically produce language, but can also make sense of the level of
appropriateness in which the context of the language is being used. That is how a competent
speaker is different from a proficient speaker. A proficient speaker’s language knowledge is only
limited to show a good command of language grammatically. In relation to this, Ying (2010)
argues that communicative competence refers to a language learner’s ability to use the target
language successfully in real world communication.
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According to Hymes (1972), competence should be viewed as “the overall underlying
knowledge and ability for language which the speaker-listener possesses.” That means, the
concept of communicative competence lies around the level of knowledge regarding the
language and how well can they put it appropriately in different context. Hymes (1972) proposed
four sectors of communicative competence. First, “whether or not something is formally
possible” refers to the notion of grammatical competence. It is related to the level of accuracy in
term of grammatical when the speaker produce language. Second, “whether something is
feasible” deals with its acceptability, in addition to being grammatically possible. Third,
“whether something is appropriate” means that a sentence should be appropriate to the context in
which it is used. Finally, “whether something is in fact done” implies that a sentence may be
grammatically correct feasible, and appropriate in context, but have no probability of actually
occurring (Hymes, 1972). It can be argued that communicative competence consists of
knowledge of linguistic rules, appropriate language usage in different situations, connection of
utterances in a discourse, and language strategies.
It is very important for an individual to speak competently rather than proficiently, as it
can help in creating good impression, establishing healthy relationship and others. For students,
it is very beneficial to help them maintain good relationship with peers, or maybe even get good
marks in presentation. Not only that, speaking competently can help them in their later stage of
life, when they have to deal with interview and on set career life.
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2.3 Communicative Language Teaching
When it comes to teachers’ practice in classroom, there is one approach that has been
practiced widely all around the world, or at least it has been the preferred approach, replacing the
previous approach, as it seems to address the language purpose better, which is to communicate
competently. The latest approach mentioned is Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), while
the approach before that is Grammar Translation Method.
There are many previous researches done on CLT, and researchers seem to have their
own opinion. Ying (2010) argues that CLT is an approach to the teaching of second languages
that emphasis interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language. It is
also referred to as a “communicative approach to the teaching of foreign languages” or simply as
the “communicative approach” (Ying, 2010). In relation to this, Larsen-Freeman (2000) argues
that CLT aims broadly at the theoretical perspective of a communicative approach by enabling
communication. Communicative competence is the goal of language teaching by acknowledging
the interdependence of language and communication (Larsen-Freeman, 2000).
Based on what CLT stands for, it is quite obvious that it defines the language teacher, in
addressing the need for students to be communicative competence, therefore implements more
interactive approach in her or his classroom. In relation to this, Ellis (1997) also supports that the
pedagogical rationale for the use of communicative approach in a language teaching class
depends in part on the claim that they will help develop learners’ communicative skills and in
part on a claim that they will contribute incidentally to their linguistic development. It is stressed
here that, in order to use language perfectly, it is important that the language teaching should not
only focus on the content, but also producing it competently. Other researchers also argue that
�17
there is considerable debate as to appropriate ways of defining CLT, and no single model of CLT
is universally accepted as authoritative (McGroarty, 1984). However, according to Richards and
Rodgers (2001), CLT starts with a theory of language as communication, and its goal is to
develop learners’ communicative competence.
It also states that communicative competence is the ability to understand the logical basis
of linguistic competence (Finch, 2003). According to Finch, there are three types of logic: the
first one is formal logic, which is connected with the rules which govern valid argument and gets
us so far in understanding the basis of communication. Then to be fully competent, we need
knowledge of natural logic, which means understanding what people are trying to do through
language. In addition to these two logics, we also need to understand the force of our utterance,
which requires us to understand the meaning of our utterances according to its social context or
particular situational settings. Gonzales (1995) supports this, by arguing that communicative
competence includes mastery of language that is needed to handle various situations.
As so, when it is put onto class practice, language is taught to students based on everyday
situation like conversing through telephone, giving or asking for direction or applying for a job.
Not only the content must be related to on set communication, but also the way how teachers
teach must be interactive enough, students must be given the opportunity to actually use, explore
and practice the language in individual or group works. In doing that, teachers may also take into
account other factors to make the lesson more interesting and relevant, for example given
students now are more fond to social media, teachers can teach them using maybe youtube and
conduct activities like role- play, writing blog and so on.
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2.4 Characteristics and Principles of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
CLT has become popular and widespread in second foreign language teaching (Brown,
1994). It is the opposite to the traditional way of teaching and learning session in which teachers
are viewed as the ‘sage on the stage’, the knowledge giver, the central of the process.
Meanwhile, CLT gives a rather new role for the teachers, as the ‘guide by side’, in which
students are given more opportunity, an active participant in the session. This learner- centered
approach gives students a greater sense of “ownership” of their learning and enhances their
motivation to learn English (Brown, 1994).
CLT, besides focusing on the communication, also gives new role for students in the
teaching and learning session. Students must negotiate meaning and relation between the content
and situation. Students are expected to actively engaged in negotiating meaning by trying to
make them understood and in understanding others within the classroom procedures and
activities (Richards & Rodgers, 1986). Teachers, leaving their previous roles, must also actively
play their new roles in the new approach. First of all, as the class will be interactive in which
students will speak a lot, teachers must play their role as the facilitator in which teachers prompt
when students seem to not know what to say and also control when the students seem to be off
topic. The teacher is also a co-communicator who engages in communicative activities with the
students (Larsen-Freeman, 2000). In addition, the teacher acts as analyst, counsellor, and group
process manager (Richards & Rodgers, 1986).
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2.5 Conceptual Framework
Figure 2.1: Schematic Diagram of the Conceptual Framework of the Study
The study seeks to the extent of teachers practicing Communicative Language Teaching
(CLT) in their classroom and its effect on the students’ competency in speaking. Data gathered
through the interview and classroom observation are analyzed based on the conceptual
framework as Figure 2.1. In the process of assessment on the extent of CLT implementation, this
study looks into the activities conducted in class and lesson presentations. Meanwhile for
�20
TEACHER’S PRACTICE
COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING
GRAMMAR TRANSLATION
METHOD
HIGH COMPETENCY IN SPEAKING
LOW COMPETENCY IN SPEAKING
effects of the teachers’ practice
preference depends on teacher’s believes, natural characteristics, exposure
and knowledge
students’ speaking competency, data are extracted through their engagement in classroom. Data
are gathered through:
1. survey on the learning techniques;
2. survey on the teachers’ attitude towards CLT approach in classroom;
3. classroom observations in which the researcher analyses the nature of student- teacher
interaction.
Furthermore, this study also looks into the problems and constraints encountered by
teachers in implementing the CLT approach in their respective classes. For example, the
interference of the shifting from traditional method to a new one; the ideas of CLT are different
from the educational values and traditions of many EFL settings (Burnaby & Sun, 1989; Li,
1998). Grammar-based examination instruction, large class size, and students’ low proficiency
have also influenced CLT practices. Low-English proficiency also deters teachers from using
CLT (Li, 1998; Liao, 2000; Yu, 2001; Nunan, 2003; Littlewood, 2005).
The output of the study is the design of an action plan for an in-service teacher training
program. The in-service teacher training aims to ensure quality language instruction, strengthen
English language skills, and acquaint participants with more recent development in CLT
methodologies, classroom resources, pedagogical skills and career development materials.
�21
Chapter 3:
Methodology
�22
3.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the discussion is on the methodology implemented in the research from
planning, gathering to analyzing data. Specifically, the focus is on the Research Design,
Population and Sample, Instrument, Data Collection and Data Analysis.
3.2 Research Design
The study employs the quantitative research approach since it provides a more
appropriate opportunities for the researcher in addressing the research objectives and to better
evaluate the extent of the research findings based on the data gathered.
Specifically, a survey research design is employed as it accommodates a quantitative or
numeric description of trends, attitudes or opinion of a population by studying a sample of that
population (Creswell, 2014). The design is meant to identify the interactive level of a teacher’s
practice in classroom, to identify students’ speaking competency, to relate how the teacher’s
practice influences students’ speaking competency and therefore to determine ways to improve
on effective teachers’ practice.
3.3 Population and Sample
Population is the group of interest to the researcher, the group to whom the researcher
would like to generalize the result of the study (Jack, Norman, Helen et al 2012). In educational
research, the population of interest is usually a group of people given like students, teachers and
others who possess certain characteristics that are likely to help gaining a desirable data. The
population of interest for the research are teachers in secondary school in Bentong, with no
�23
preference given to which level of students they are teaching as they can all relate to the teachers’
practice.
A sample refers to a subset of the desired population from which information is collected
(Fraenkel & Wallen, 2003; Gay and Airasian, 2000.) In the research, the sample are Form 4
teachers in the mentioned school. They are chosen as they are teaching students at the right age
in which they should be able to speak competently by now. The research employs convenient
sampling in which the researcher will randomly picks on any available form 4 English teacher
during the visit to the school.
3.4 Instrument
There are 3 instruments used in the research. The first one and can be considered as the
main instrument is interview. It is the most important instrument as it is designed as such, to
collect information from teachers related to their practice in classroom and their students’
speaking competency. Specifically for the purpose of this study, the interview is designed to be
semi- structured. In semi- structured interview, some questions asked are predetermined and their
responses are recorded and transcribed.
The second instrument used in the research is class observation. Some checklist or rubrics
are prepared before the class observation to check the teachers’ practice and students’ speaking
competency. It is some kind of a double check of whether or not the information they gave in the
interview is valid.
The last instrument is questionnaire. Specifically for the purpose of the research, the
questions are designed to be close- ended and the measuring is based on the Likert Scale. Likert
�24
scale is a principle of measuring attitudes toward a certain topic using a series of statements in
which participants have to respond to by selecting a scale that best describes their degree of
agreement or disagreement. It uses fixed choice responses format, specifically effective to
measure not just attitudes, but also opinions and skewness level. The scales measure levels of
agreement and disagreement. The elements mentioned in the questionnaire are chosen as they are
very helpful to extract information such as what are the teacher’s difficulty and challenges in
practicing CLT in their classroom. The information is very important as they can be analyzed and
action plans can be suggested and recommended to address the issue and hopefully an
improvement can be done.
3.5 Data Collection
There are 2 types of data collection method employed by the researcher in the study. The
first one is primary data collection and the second one is secondary data collection. Primary data
is all the data gathered through the interview, classroom observation and questionnaire responses
by the participants. Secondary data is basically any supporting data gathered from books,
journals or articles, related to the topic.
The process of collection for primary data can be summarized as follow:
�25
Figure 3.1: Flow of the Primary Data Collection process.
�26
Instruments Preparation.
- Involving research on studies with similar topic. Questions are modified as to fit the specific
purpose for the research.
Permission to Conduct Research.
- Involving getting the formal research letter from UiTM.
- Involving asking for permission to conduct the study on desired population and sample from
the person in charge of the school.
Visit to School.
- Involving conduction of the interview, observation of the classroom and distribution of the
questionnaires, which is on weekday during office hour, classroom session.
Questionnaire Collection.
- Involving questionnaires collection, rechecking of the counts.
Survey Analysis.
Involving the data gathered analysis.
3.6 Data Analysis
As the research employs quantitative method, therefore the data obtained through the
questionnaires can be screened and analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics
through Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The raw data will be keyed in through the
system and descriptive statistics generated can be used in order to analyze and interpret
information. Thus, by using SPSS system, descriptive statistics about all items can be analyzed
more effectively and accurately. The information will then be analyzed and presented in the form
of charts and tables.
On the other hand, data that are collected through other instruments given interview and
classroom observations are analyzed manually. Overall, the data analysis can be summarized in
this table:
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Table 3.1: Data Analysis in Regards of the Research Objectives
Research Objectives Instruments Analysis
1. To identify the level of
interactivity of teachers’
practice in classroom.
Interview (Questions 4-7) and
Classroom
Observation( Checklist no.
1-10)
The validity of data gathered
through interview will be
validated through classroom
observations.
2. To analyze the secondary
school students’ speaking
competency level.
Interview (Question 8 and 9)
and Classroom Observation
(Checklist no. 11 and 12)
The validity of data gathered
through interview will be
validated through classroom
observations.
3. To investigate how does the
teachers’ practice influence
the secondary school students’
speaking competency level.
Interview and Classroom
Observation
The validity of data gathered
through interview will be
validated through classroom
observations.
4. To determine ways to
improve the secondary school
students’ speaking
competency level.
Questionnaire The challenges in adopting
CLT are determined in order
to come up with appropriate
solutions.
�28
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Appendices
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
The interview will include open- ended questions dealing with teachers’ attitudes toward
some of the important features of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). It is also to check
where do their students’ speaking competency stand as a result of their practice.
1. Age:
2. Your qualifications:
3. Your work experience:
4. What do you think about the use of pair and group work activities in the classroom?
5. Which one do you think English teachers should emphasize in class: fluency or accuracy?
Do you think teachers should provide contrived forms or selected forms in context? Do
you think teachers should mostly speak English in the classroom?
6. What do you think about selective error correction? Who should correct students errors,
student him/self, peers, the teacher? Why?
7. What should be the role of the teacher in a communicative classroom? What do you think
the major responsibilities of teachers are?
8. Do your students actively participate in classroom?
9. Do you consider your students as competent speakers?
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APPENDIX B: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION CHECKLIST
Yes No Field Notes (Related
Comments)
1. Provides learners with activities that have to be carried
out in pairs or groups.
2. Provides contrived forms.
3. Provides forms in context.
4. Minimal use of L1
5. Corrects selected errors.
6. Tolerates learners’ errors.
7. Encourages learners to correct each other’s errors.
8. Encourages learners to self-correct themselves.
9. Dominates classroom situations
10. Monitors classroom situations.
11. Students actively participate in classroom.
12. Students interact appropriately with each other.
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APPENDIX C: QUESTIONNAIRE ABOUT CHALLENGES IN ADOPTING CLT
The following are some challenges that other teachers had in adopting CLT. Have you
come across these difficulties or do you think they might be difficulties for you in adopting CLT
in your classes? Try a scale (tick 1), how much of an issue is: (1: no problem, 2: manageable
problem, 3: major difficulty).
1 2 3
1. Teachers' lack of sufficient spoken English competence.
2. Teachers' lack of target culture (English) knowledge.
3. Teachers' little time to prepare communicative materials.
4. Students' low-level English proficiency.
5. Students resist communicative class activities.
6. Not enough authentic teaching materials to use.
7. Traditional grammar-based examinations.
8. Large class size.
9. The differences between EFL and ESL teaching contexts.
10. Lack of training in CLT.
11. Lack of effective and efficient assessment instruments.
12. Communicative competence.
13. Lack of support from administration.
14. Teachers' misinterpretation of CLT.
15. Unsuitability of Western educational assumption in Asia.
Other/s (indicate)
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
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