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Writing English Essays Within Dominant Discourses In alaysian Schools

Tan, Kok Eng, (2006) Writing English Essays Within Dominant Discourses In alaysian Schools. Malaysian Journal of Educators and Education, 21 . pp. 23-45.

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Official URL: http://www.usm.my/education/publication/2%20tan%20(23-45).pdf

Affiliations

Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Educational Studies.

Abstract

Writing is one of the four English language skills taught and tested in the education system in Malaysia. At the upper secondary school level, students write a variety of text types, most of which conform to examination genres. Given a learning context that is examination-driven and teacher-centred, and a writing curriculum that is non-negotiable, how do students accomplish their writing tasks? Embedding the classroom in an institutional and a larger sociocultural context, this paper demonstrates how some students responded to teacher instructions such as "Read, understand, interpret, do" and "Strictly no discussion please." Data were taken from student interviews, teacher interviews, students' written products and classroom observations of writing lessons over the second half of the school year. Findings from the study show the students' compliance with their teacher's expectations and writing requirements for school and examination purposes. It was a strategy to "get it done" but within school sanctions. In out-of-school contexts, students were engaged in other contrasting types of writing in English which served other social purposes.


Menulis atau mengarang ialah satu daripada empat kemahiran bahasa Inggeris yang diajar dan diuji dalam sistem pendidikan di Malaysia. Pada peringkat menengah atas, pelajar menulis pelbagai jenis teks, kebanyakannya mengikut keperluan peperiksaan. Dalam suatu konteks pembelajaran yang berpandukan peperiksaan dan berpusatkan guru serta suatu kurikulum menulis yang mesti diikuti, bagaimanakah pelajar menyempurna-kan tugasan menulis mereka? Dengan meletakkan bilik darjah dalam satu konteks institusi dan sosiobudaya yang lebih besar, kertas kerja ini menunjukkan bagaimana pelajar memberi respons kepada instruksi guru seperti "Baca, faham, buat interpretasi dan menulis" dan "Perbincangan tidak dibenarkan". Data dikumpul daripada temu ramah dengan pelajar dan guru mereka, hasil penulisan pelajar dan pemerhatian kelas menulis pada bahagian kedua kalendar sekolah. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa pelajar memenuhi jangkaan guru dan keperluan sekolah serta peperiksaan. Strategi mereka ialah dengan menghabiskan kerja mereka mengikut kehendak sekolah. Dalam konteks di luar sekolah pelajar didapati menulis jenis penulisan yang berbeza dan yang memenuhi tujuan sosial yang lain.

Item Type:Journal
Keywords:English language, Study and teaching, Schools, Malaysia
Subjects:L Education
ID Code:6554

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