Students’ Perceptions of the English Literature Component in Malaysian Secondary Schools

Document Type : Research article

Authors
E. S. Engku Atek 1
I. Hassan 2
M. N. Latiff Azmi 3
N. J. Azmi 1
M. H. Yah Alias 1
1 MA, Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia
2 PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia
3 PhD, Associate Professor of English Language, Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidinm, Malaysia
10.29252/LRR.11.5.125
Abstract
Students’ understanding of literature is often neglected, while curriculums are usually determined by educationists whose expectations might not suit the students’ ability. To achieve a positive learning outcome in the literature classroom, the students’ perceptions and interests must be accorded much consideration. Therefore, this study aims to determine students’ perceptions of the importance of the English literature component in selected secondary schools in Terengganu, Malaysia. The study employed a descriptive survey method in which a structured questionnaire was used as a data-gathering instrument. The data were gathered from a sample of 403 students across four different public secondary schools in Terengganu: SMK Kompleks Seberang Takir, SM Sains Sultan Mahmud, SMKA Dato Haji Abbas, and SMK Kompleks Gong Badak. The study found that the students have positive perceptions of the English literature component to a large extent. The students also believe that English literature enables them to develop their cultural awareness, critical thinking skills, as well as improve their English grammar and vocabulary. The moral-philosophical approach is the most preferred approach amongst the students, followed by the information-based approach and the language-based approach. It is envisaged that the findings of this study could be especially useful in the process of curriculum development, particularly in the Malaysian context. Besides, this study could raise teachers’ awareness of their students’ level of understanding of the English literature component

Keywords

Subjects

Ahmad, F., & Aziz, J. (2009). “Students’ perception of the teachers’ teaching of literature communicating and understanding through the eyes of the audience”. European Journal of social sciences, 7(3). Pp: 17-26.
Åkerlind, G. S. (2008). “A phenomenographic approach to developing academics’ understanding of the nature of teaching and learning”. Teaching in higher education, 13(6). Pp: 633-644.
Allen, M., Titsworth, S. & Hunt, S. K. (2009). Quantitative Research in Communication. London: SAGE Publications.
Alshammari, H. A., Ahmed, E. A., & Shouk, M. A. A. (2020). “Challenges to Studying English Literature by the Saudi Undergraduate EFL Students as Perceived by Instructors”. English Language Teaching, 13(3). Pp: 8-19.
Amer, A. A. (2003). “Teaching EFL/ESL literature”. The Reading Matrix, 3(2). Pp: 63-73.
Azmi, M. N. L., Hassan, H., Ali, E. M. T. E., Hidayah, A. T., Yah@Alias, M. H., Anas, M., Suhaimi, N. I. (2020a). “Teachers’ perceptions of Islamic self-identity formation through language learning among students in selected religious secondary schools”. International Journal of Society, Culture, and Language, 8(1). Pp: 20-32.
Azmi, M. N. L., Hassan, I., Ali, E. M. T. B. E., Hidayah, A. T., Anas, M. B., & Suhaimi, N. I. (2020b). “English Language Learning, Environment, and the Formation of Islamic Self-identity among Students in Selected Religious Secondary Schools”. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity, and Change, 11(7). Pp: 466-482.
Booth, S. (2008, May 5-6). Researching Learning in Networked Learning-Phenomenography and Variation theory as empirical and theoretical approaches [Paper presentation]. The 6th International Conference on Networked Learning, Halkidiki, Greece.
Bridget, L. S. H. , & Omar, S. (2007, June 14-16). Approaches adopted in the teaching of poetry for the upper secondary school students in Tawau town area [paper presentation]. The Second Biennial International Conference on Teaching and Learning of English in Asia : Exploring New Frontiers. Pahang, Malaysia.
Bussey, T. J., Orgill, M., & Crippen, K. J. (2013). “Variation theory: A theory of learning and a useful theoretical framework for chemical education research”. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 14(1). Pp: 9-22.
Candlin, C & N. Mercer. (2001). English Language Teaching in its Social Context. New York: Routledge.
Carroli, P. (2002). “Perceptions of literature: a comparison of students’ and educators’ views”. ELT Journal, 37(1). Pp: 30-35.
Cheng, K. K. (2016). “Issues in the Teaching and Learning of Children’s Literature in Malaysia”. Issues in The Teaching and Learning of Children, 9 (2). Pp: 1-14.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Method Approaches (2nd ed.). London: SAGE publications.
Dahlin, B. (2007). “Enriching the theoretical horizons of phenomenography, variation theory and learning studies”. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 51(4). Pp: 327-346.
Ghazali, S. N., Setia, R., Muthusamy, C., & Jusoff, K. (2009). “ESL Students' Attitude towards Texts and Teaching Methods Used in Literature Classes”. English language teaching, 2(4). Pp: 51-56.
Hişmanoğlu, M. (2005). “Teaching English through literature”. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 1(1). Pp: 53-66.
Hwang, D., & Embi, M. A. (2007). “Approaches employed by secondary school teachers to teaching the literature component in English”. Malaysian Journal of Educators and Education, 22(3). Pp: 1-23.
Ihejirika, R. C. (2014). “Literature and English language teaching and learning: A symbiotic relationship”. English Language Teaching, 7(3). Pp: 85–90.
James A. A. (2012). Media Research Method: Understanding Metric and Interpretive Approaches (1st ed.). London: SAGE Publication.
Keshavarzi, A. (2012). “Use of literature in teaching English”. Procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 46(2). Pp: 554-559.
Kow, Y. C. (2002). Literacy and Pre-school Children: Story-Telling Strategies. Malaysia: Sasbadi.
Krejcie, R. V., Morgan D. W. (1970). “Determining Sample Size for Research Activities”. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 1(30). Pp: 607-610.
Krishnasamy, J. (2015). “An Investigation of Teachers’ Approaches Employed in Teaching the English Literature”. Asian Journal of Education and e-Learning, 2(3). Pp: 136-145.
Lois H. R., and Gavin T. L. B. (2010). “Mixing interview and questionnaire methods: Practical problems in aligning data”. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 15(1). Pp: 1-19.
Mahzan, M. S. W., Alias, N. A., & Ismail, I. S. (2020). “Investigating the needs of developing a digital vocabulary learning material for Malaysian indigenous learners in ESL Classroom”. Journal of Nusantara Studies (JONUS), 5(2). Pp: 282-302.
Marton, F. & Tsui, A. (Eds.) (2004). Classroom Discourse and the Space of Learning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Marton, F. & Booth, S. (1997). Learning and Awareness. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Mengu, H.I. (2002). A Suggested Syllabus for the Drama Teaching Course in ELT Departments (Unpublished Master’s thesis), Hacettepe University, Turkey.
Mustafa, T., Kawther, P., & Rashid, S. (2020). “Investigation of Kurdish students’ perceptions of using literature as main material in the EFL speaking course”. Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities, 27(5). Pp: 88-62. ‎
Mustakim,S. S.,Mustafa, R.,Lebar, O., (2015). “Critical analysis of the supportive and suppressive factors”. Journal of Education and Learning, 2(6). Pp: 1-10.
Naser, S. H. M., & Aziz, A. A. (2017, August 23). Students’ perceptions of the text selection in the literature component [Paper presentation]. The National Pre-University Seminar, Selangor, Malaysia.
Ogunnaike, J. (2002). “Challenges of the teaching and learning of Literature in Nigerian Secondary Schools”. In I. Lawal, & Ohia (Eds.), Perspectives on Applied Linguistics in Language and Literature (pp. 307-320). Lagos: Stirling-Horden Publishers.
Othman, N. I., Shah, P. M., Karim, A. A., Yusof, A., Din, R., Ramli, N. A., & Salleh, N. S. M. (2015). “Personalizing learning of English literature: Perceptions and challenges”. Journal of Personalized Learning, 1(1). Pp: 104-112.
Paran, A. (2008). “The role of literature in instructed second language learning and teaching: An evidence-based survey”. Language Teaching, 41(4). Pp: 465-496.
Rashid, R. A., Vethamani, M. E., & Rahman, S. B. A. (2010). “Approaches employed by teachers in teaching Literature to less proficient students in Form 1 and Form 2”. English Language Teaching, 3(4). Pp: 87-99.
Runesson, U., (2005). “Beyond discourse and interaction. Variation: a critical aspect for teaching and learning mathematics”. Cambridge Journal of Education, 35(1). Pp: 69–87.
Sarac, S. (2003). A Suggested Syllabus for the Teaching of Poetry Course in ELT Departments of Turkey (Unpublished Master’s thesis). Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
Savvidou, C. (2004). “An integrated approach to teaching literature in the EFL classroom”. The Internet TESL Journal, 10(12). Pp: 1-6.
Sidhu, G. K. (2003). “Literature in the Language Classroom: Seeing Through the Eyes of Learners”. In G. Subramaniam (Ed.), Teaching of Literature in ESL/EFL Contexts (pp. 187-206). Petaling Jaya: Sasbadi.
Simpson, P. (2003). Language through Literature: An Introduction. Routledge.
Subramaniam, G. (2007). “Literature programme in Malaysian schools: then and now”. Teaching English in Malaysia, 1(1). Pp: 50-62.
Svensson, L. (1997). “Theoretical foundations of phenomenography”. Higher Education Research & Development, 16(2). Pp: 159-171.
Tan, K., (2009). “Variation theory and the different ways of experiencing educational policy”. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 8(2). Pp: 95–109.
Tavakol, M., & Dennick, R. (2011). “Post-examination analysis of objective tests”. Medical Teacher, 33(6). Pp: 447-458.
Timucin, M. E. T. I. N. (2001). “Gaining insight into alternative teaching approaches employed in an EFL literature class”. Revista de Filología y su Didáctica, 24 (1). Pp: 269-293.
Tseng, F. P. (2010). “Introducing literature to an EFL classroom: Teacher’s presentations and students’ perceptions”. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 1(1). Pp: 53-65.
Tutyrahiza, M. (2008). Teaching Reading Strategies Used by ESL Teachers that Facilitate Teaching and Learning Reading (Unpublished Master’s Thesis). University Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia.
Velu, J. (2010). “Psychometric analysis of lecturers' self-efficacy instrument”. HERDSA Annual International, 2(3). Pp: 65-96.
Zengin, B., Başal, A., & Yükselir, C. (2019). “Investigation into the perceptions of English teachers and instructors on the use of Literature in English language teaching”. The Reading Matrix, 19(1). Pp: 155-166.
Zhen, Z. (2012). “Characteristics and strategies of literature teaching in the EFL context in China”. International Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering, 5 (3). Pp: 35-43.
Language Related Research
Volume 11, Issue 5 - Serial Number 59
November and December 2020
Pages 125-144