Introduction
Learning English as a Second Language (ESL) in Malaysia is not an easy learning pathway for most of the pupils. Although most of the primary ESL learners pursued kindergarten studies, they still encounter lots of difficulties in learning English Language, specifically in mastering the English vocabulary. According to Carol Pua et al. (2015), vocabulary is a basic tool for developing language skills. It is essential for ESL learners to master English vocabulary prior to the four language skills which are listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. David Wilkins in Thornbury (2002) stated that a person without grammar knowledge can convey very little whereby nothing can be conveyed without the knowledge of the vocabulary in a language. When ESL learners master English vocabulary which served as the basic part to the language, it is believed that the pupils can share their views and thoughts in any forms successfully.
Based on the research conducted by Wendy (2012) on English Language Teaching and Learning Issues in Malaysia, it was found that pupils experienced difficulty speaking fluently due to unfamiliarity with the English vocabulary. It is also proven by Radzuwan et. al (2017) that the majority of the pupils are not proficient in English except those from the middle and upper-middle class families who speak English as their first language. Therefore, it is clear that primary ESL learners need to develop their vocabulary in order to use the language to communicate with others. In this research, the researcher will be focusing on the effectiveness of foldable such as a mini book in guiding pupils in mastering one of the parts in vocabulary which is concrete nouns.
RESEARCH PROBLEM
In Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, English language is one of the important subjects which is compulsory throughout the school from Primary to Upper Secondary. Teaching primary ESL learners at the age of 9 is very challenging as compared to teaching adults because they get distracted very easily.
The case of ESL learners was not capable of using English vocabulary in their communication with each other is a popular topic and being researched by the researchers. Thang et al. (2011) claimed that Malaysian pupils display poor effort in learning English even though its importance is generally acknowledged. Melor and Saiful (2017) also claimed that the proficiency of the English language among Malaysians has not seen much improvement since 1970. In order to solve the issues, teachers, education ministry and policy makers need to be attentive and take more initiatives to resolve this in order to produce pupils who are proficient in English language. As stated by Afiqah, et al. (2017), mastering vocabulary will increase pupils’ motivation to communicate in their environment confidently. Furthermore, Rahman et al. (2017) also said that ESL learners always tend to forget the words that they have learnt in the class after some time due to lack of opportunity and limited hands-on experience to use them in meaningful contexts. Thus, it is the teachers’ role to select suitable materials for the teaching of vocabulary.
In the current Education system, problems stemming from the teachers’ teaching and learning strategies such as chalk and talk strategies, mainly focus on textbooks and even the teachers’ English language proficiency contribute further to the problem. According to Rochyani (2017), English lesson is often delivered not in a meaningful way and thus caused the language competence could not be achieved properly or according to the curriculum plans. There should be a much deeper approach to teaching English by creating more meaningful English lessons rather than the surface level approach of teaching by rote memorisation and repetition (Ho, 1999).
Despite problems related to English teachers, based on experiences and observations as a teacher, most poor learners possess the desire to improve yet they are hindered by the lack of guidance in learning and mastering the English vocabulary.
JUSTIFICATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PROBLEM
21st century learning is the most recent framework that was developed with input from teachers to define the skills and knowledge pupils need to acquire in order to succeed in work and life. 21st century learning skills focused on 4C’s which are creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration which is essential to prepare pupils for the future (Ledward and Hirata 2011). According to Kolk (2011), a 21st century classroom must prepare all pupils to be active learners in their own studies. Teachers need to help pupils to be more engaged in the learning process (Jesica & Melor 2016). Therefore, one of the ways that teacher can use in teaching pupils to present their output for own reference is using foldable. It is part of the organiser that help pupils to retain and recall information anytime they want (Casteel & Narkawicz 2006).
Besides, Nation (2001) proposed that ESL learners should know a large number of words as this may be useful for them in the long term as learning vocabulary should not be in a short term goal. Therefore, immediate actions or initiatives have to be taken to equip young generations with adequate English Language skills. Rochyani (2017) also strongly emphasised that basic English of children places focus on vocabulary. When the primary ESL learners manage to master English vocabulary, they can choose the correct and proper words to be spoken during a conversation with different people, in different environment and situation (Rilly, 2017). Although learning vocabulary helps with communication, some pupils still could not master learned vocabulary and used it in daily conversations.
Based on the writer’s experience in teaching in an urban school, the writer’s pupils which is primary ESL learners tend to misspell the vocabulary especially concrete Nouns. A concrete noun names something that you can see or touch such as cat, classroom and soldier. Although recognising a concrete noun is easier than an abstract noun where pupils can only think about and describe it without seeing and sensing it, pupils do not get to memorise the spelling of the vocabulary. It was found that pupils scored 1 out of 4 questions in the section of fill in the letters accordingly based on the picture of the words given in the English Paper 2. Although the picture of the concrete nouns and some letters of the word are given, pupils still face difficulties in filling in the missing letters. Therefore, these learning difficulties should be attended to in order to improve pupils’ English language skills.
Some pupils fail in keeping the vocabulary learnt in mind as they might have different ways of memorisation skills which differ from individual to individual. To address this issue, a practical approach is needed to encourage these learners to acquire learning on how to memorise the Concrete Nouns and to take their learning beyond the classroom walls.
DEFICIENCIES IN OUR EXISTING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PROBLEM
Even though the focus of memorisation vocabulary has been documented by most of the past researchers, there are limited researches which cover the most recent problems faced by the pupils in memorisation of Concrete Nouns which are one part of the language vocabulary skills. This paper attempts to fill in this gap by providing a more effective and fun way in memorising Concrete Nouns for Malaysian primary pupils by using Foldable. It is learned that not every teacher has been introduced to the wonderful world of foldable (Orsborne 2012).
Teaching vocabulary development of primary ESL learners’ language has become a concern among educators around the world because it is a well-known fact that success in vocabulary development is essential to success in school and self-sustenance especially in this age of global information dissemination (Oluwayomi 2017). On this issue, it has been observed that there seems to be a dearth of maximum application of visual aids to teaching the vocabulary of English Language.
Foldable is a three-dimensional, often colourful organizer that cater to pupils with different multiple intelligences in organising, review and remember many kinds of information. According to Melanie & Diann (2012), a Foldable is one particular type of graphic organizer that requires pupils to simultaneously use visual and kinesthetic skills in learning. One of the types of Foldable being used to teach concrete nouns is mini book. Foldable is also a hands-on activity that helps pupils to be part of their own learning where pupils need to make their own mini book by using A4 colour papers. When Foldable is applied in teaching and learning concrete nouns, pupils get to learn the words with the aid of visual and produce their own learning aids in a fun way. It is believed that pupils get to understand better and retain the information learnt easily by using Foldable (Saadet, 2015). The strong visual appeal of the picture in foldable can speed up the learning process and help pupils to memorise and recall information effectively (Brinkmann, 2003).
As suggested by Rahmayanti, et al. (2016), a teacher should give more space and time for pupils to do the independent work by letting them learn in a group. Having one of the learning tools, Foldable can be the materials which teachers should grasp and used in enriching the teaching and learning lessons as pupils can engage in the fun and interesting lesson which enable pupils to master the knowledge learnt easily. Pupils will have active participation towards their learning.
THE AUDIENCES THAT WILL BENEFIT FROM THE STUDY
The teacher is found to be the main affected audiences of this study as it provides insight into how Foldable function as effective teaching and learning materials and technique used for ESL language learners when developing their vocabulary skills. According to Jantmary & Melor (2014)., English teachers are always looking for ways and measures to improve their teaching and learning in schools, they are suggested to use a variety of methods in keeping the pupils interested and motivated to learn English. By having knowledge in providing a fun and interesting lessons, the pupils are able to show more learning interest in learning vocabulary especially on the Concrete Nouns. Besides, the result of the research also provides a deeper understanding of the students’ perceptions and attitudes towards the use of foldable in learning vocabulary.
According to the researcher Kemp and Dayton (1985) as cited in Bradshaw (2003), pupils get attracted to visual aids which arouse their interest in learning the language throughout the lesson. Thus, teaching vocabulary through the use of Foldable has become one of the fun or creative ways for English language learners because they provide independent learning, owning the book and to learn it outside the classroom zone without any restriction in time and resources.
Secondly, primary ESL learners are also the targeted audience to be a useful information to help them in learning and remembering the new word that has been taught in the classroom lessons. ESL learners can utilise this learning skills in learning any other languages vocabulary skill. Other than that, government and policy makers can be benefited from this research as they can adapt this learning method in Malaysia Education system so that the English teaching and learning will be more interesting to replace rote learning style.
PURPOSE, OBJECTIVE, QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES
PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH:
The purpose of this study is to investigate the pupils’ perceptions of how Foldable assisted in memorising concrete nouns in English language. It is also to find out the pupils’ attitudes towards the use of foldable in English concrete nouns.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of this research are:
1. To investigate pupils’ perception towards the use of Foldable in memorising Concrete Nouns.
2. To investigate pupils’ attitudes towards the use of Foldable in memorising Concrete Nouns.
RESEARCH QUESTION:
The research questions in this study are as follow:
1. What are the pupils’ perceptions of using Foldable to memorise Concrete Nouns?
2. What are the pupils’ attitudes of using Foldable to memorise Concrete Nouns?
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS:
The research hypothesis in this study is as follow:
Primary ESL learners in which using Foldable to learn Concrete Nouns will improve their memorisation in learning Concrete Nouns.
OPERATIONALLY DEFINE EACH VARIABLE
Perceptions
According to Campbell (1967) cited in Ahen (2009), perception is a process where one will form an impression about someone or something. Johnson (2010) defined perception as an external factor which concerns one’s view, understanding, belief, or reaction to an innovation. An individual observation will deliver genuine judgement or belief which influenced the attitudes of an individual towards things or events to occur in the surrounding. The perception in this research is referring to the use of Foldable towards the memorising of concrete nouns.
Attitudes
Attitudes guide and direct an individual’s behaviour (Ahen 2009). Gardner (1985) also points out that attitude is an evaluative reaction to some referent or attitude object, inferred on the basis of the individual’s beliefs or opinions about the referent. Attitude is more to how human perform their thinking or their reaction toward certain things or matters as concluded by Ahem (2009). An individual positive or negative attitude depends on the perception of the matters. As attitude is considered as an essential factor influencing language performance (Eshghinejad & Gritter 2016), the researcher takes into consideration in collecting the data towards the learners’ attitudes.
Perception and attitudes are closely related as perception is the root of thinking which resort to the beliefs that influence human attitude. Hence, the current study was conducted in order to identify the perceptions among the primary ESL learners which influenced their attitude toward the use of Foldable to memorise concrete nouns.
Foldable:
Foldable is part of a graphic organiser which helps an individual to retain and recall information anytime they want (Casteel & Narkawicz, 2006; Zike, 2008). It is a useful 3D interactive graphic tool for teachers to be used in teaching and learning session where active participation of the pupils found in their own learning as Foldable involved their kinesthetic and visual sense. Not only that, it also produces the sense of ownership (Kis, 2012). Pupils will have fun and engaging way to create a learning tool for themselves especially kinesthetic learners because they involve in hands-on activity. Visual learners are also intrigued as well as they learn best in a visual form tool. By having this, learners attention span can be improved as they concentrated on the subject matter while given hands- on experience (Kis, 2012).
In this research, one of the types in Foldable, mini book is chosen to be applied in memorising concrete nouns. Pupils will produce a small 8-page foldable book on which they are going to write the vocabulary and stick the pictures given in the book. The steps in making the 8-page foldable book (International Paper Company 2016) are below:
1. Take a piece of colourful paper. Place it on your desk so that it is in landscape orientation.
2. Fold it horizontally. Be sure to fold it neatly and to make a firm crease across the paper. Then, fold it again and a third time.
3. Now, unfold the paper so that it is just folded in half. You should see the indentations of four rectangles.
4. Cut the middle vertical crease just one square.
5. Next, unfold the entire page.
6. Now, fold it into half. You should have four squares across.
7. Open the hole that you cut. It should form a diamond.
8. Push the left and right corners of the diamond together.
9. It will form an 8-page book with a very thin spine.
10. Number the pages by writing the number of each page on the lower right corner.
Concrete Nouns :
A noun is word describing who or what in a sentence, it can be person, animal, place or thing ( Iskak, 2016). Concrete Noun is a type of noun which is word for physical object that can be perceived by the senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. For example, table and chair are two things that we can touch and see. Words that are not physical object such as sad and happy are not concrete nouns. It can be in singular or plural forms for concrete nouns. According to Yuyun et al. (2013), concrete noun can be found in most of the English subject. As learning vocabulary related to concrete noun is important, pupils should master this knowledge before other grammar in English.
Primary ESL learners:
Under Malaysia’s national education system, children will be undergoing six years of primary education at the age of seven (Sedigheh 2014). There are three primary school types in Malaysia, which are the National schools (SK), National-type Chinese schools (SJK(C)), and National-type Tamil schools (SJK(T)) (Othman & Muijs, 2012). For this research, the focus is placed in a primary Chinese school (SJK(C)) in an urban area. In Malaysia primary school, the Primary School Standard Curriculum known as KSSR is used nationwide which based on twelve principles formulated by the Ministry of Education to transform education arena in Malaysia and particularly the ESL context (Sedigheh 2014). In urban area, the primary school facilities and environment are well-equipped for the 21st century classrooms.
ESL learners refer to those pupils with limited English proficiency and insufficient command of the English language. For this research, ESL learners are referring to learners who are at the age of 9 and pursuing Primary 3 in the Malaysia primary school. They are not native English speaker and English is mostly primary learners’ second language or even their third language (Amanda 2018).