UPM Institutional Repository

“I doesn’t know English”: beliefs and practices in the teaching of speaking in ESL classroom


Citation

Spawa, Clarvie M. Charles and Hassan, Fauziah (2013) “I doesn’t know English”: beliefs and practices in the teaching of speaking in ESL classroom. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 21 (2). pp. 449-460. ISSN 0128-7702; ESSN: 2231-8534

Abstract

“What happened to the 11 years of learning English? A distinction in SPM but cannot speak in English?” Poor communication proficiency among Malaysian learners has become a national problem. Speaking proficiency in ESL is important if Malaysia wants to produce a generation of global communicators, which is in line with the country’s mission to become a fully developed nation. However, we often hear of grievances that many Malaysian graduates are not employed due to their poor communication skills in English. This study seeks to investigate challenges faced by ESL teachers in developing students’ speaking skills. The study involved 47 ESL teachers and 100 students who represented different regions in Malaysia. The respondents were chosen using purposive sampling. Meanwhile, semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data, which were then analyzed using content analysis. The results suggest that both teachers and students perceive speaking as an important language skill. However, teachers face numerous challenges in translating this belief into practice. This has led to a mismatch between what teachers and students perceive they need and the actual practice in the classroom.


Download File

[img]
Preview
PDF
“I doesn’t know English” Beliefs and Practices in the Teaching.pdf

Download (334kB) | Preview

Additional Metadata

Item Type: Article
Divisions: Faculty of Educational Studies
Publisher: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press
Keywords: ESL; Oral communication skills; Mismatch between beliefs and practice
Depositing User: Mohd Hafiz Che Mahasan
Date Deposited: 29 Oct 2015 04:02
Last Modified: 29 Oct 2015 04:02
URI: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40659
Statistic Details: View Download Statistic

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item