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COMPARE AND CONTRAST: KBSR AND KSSR ENGLISH TEXTBOOK YEAR 4

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INTRODUCTION
The global educational assessment scenario has progressively moved from

the prevailing examination and testing culture to a more flexible assessment culture
where a wider range of assessment techniques is being implemented in the
classroom (Linn & Miller, 2005 quoted by Suzieleez, Venville and Chapman, 2009). In
line with the changing trends in assessment, in Malaysian context, School Based
Assessment has been introduced into schools under the Primary School Standard
Curriculum (KSSR). Both policymakers and educators in Malaysia introduced School
Based Assessment as a catalyst for educational reform (Gurnam, Chan and Sarjit,
2011). The Malaysian Examination Syndicate believes that School Based
Assessment is any form of assessment that is planned, conducted, examined and
reported by teachers in schools involving students, parents and other bodies (Adi
Badiozaman, 2007 quoted by Chan & Gurnam, 2011).
KBSR being the pioneer for many trials that the National Education Board
wanted toperform on Malaysian students. KBSR was more about integrating all the
skills especially in English Language Teaching (ELT) classrooms where the language
skills such as speaking, writing, listening and reading are emphasized at a very basic
level. We experienced the curriculum where it practically more about working on
language across curriculum objective.
This refers to having the national language, Malay Language used as the
medium of instruction for all the subjects except English Language subject. Now, we
are going to touch on KBSR and KSSR in the aspect of contents, language
skills/focus covered and the text types used in teaching the reading and writing
skills. KBSR focuses on how to prepare students with basic language skills that
can be used in daily life communication meanwhile KSSR focuses on improvising the
already basic learned skills to a better and effectively communication accordingly.
Being this as the aim for KSSR, it was implemented in early 2011 with new-toMalaysians approach, the Modular based syllabus. For primary school, the syllabus
of English Language is divided into two main components, Level 1 compromising
Year 1, 2 and 3 and Level 2 compromising Year 4, 5 and 6. Four modules such as
Listening and Speaking (Module 1), Reading (Module Two), Writing (Module Three)
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and Language Arts (Module Four) will be taught in Level 1 whereas grammar will be
added to these four modules in Level 2. Both curriculums use textbook as their
primary source of knowledge guidance in classrooms as it provides the standard
content and learning for the students. The method of English Language teaching
might be slightly different but attractive and at the same time, interactive for the
students.
Since Language Arts is introduced to this curriculum, we believe it provides
an alternative for the teachers to actually come up with various ideas to convey a
meaningful lesson in a way which all the students enjoy. This leads to studentcentered lessons where activities such as forum, debate, role-play and even some
language games for example Scrabble and Boggle for the students to learn the
language by heart. We personally experienced every radical increase in learning
English Language when our teacher actually used all the methods above to provide
an efficient lesson for us. This is why we believe with a curriculum like KSSR, it will
help the students to actually learn the language as natural as it can be and also for
enjoyment purpose. The noticeable change would be the elevation from 3M as in
Mengira (Arithmetic), Membaca (Reading) and Menulis (Writing) to 4M by
maintaining the 3M but adding one more, Menaakul (Reflection) to it. We honestly
believe that this extra component actually helps to build a positive minded student
since he or she can reflect on the potentials and works on it to be successful. This is
a good thing because not everyone has the chance to realize their potentials and end
up making more wrong decisions than they actually should. The differences between
these both systems can be shown here:
KSSR
Curriculum design is based on 6
areas: Communication
Spiritual, Attitude and Values
Humanitarian
Physical and Aesthetical Development
Science and Technology
Curriculum Materials
Curriculum Standard documents
Design of the Curriculum:
Modular
The elements of creativity and
innovation, entrepreneurial, information
technology and communication
Focus:
4M (Reading, Writing, Counting and
Reasoning)

KBSR
Curriculum design is based on 3
areas: Communication
Man and his environment
Self
development of the individual
Curriculum Materials
Study syllabus
Design of the Curriculum:
Linear
Elements of analytical and creative
thinking skills
Focus:
3M (Reading, Writing, and Counting)

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THE CONTENTS: KBSR AND KSSR ENGLISH TEXTBOOK YEAR 4

The English Year 4 KSSR Textbook content is designed to equip pupils with

basic language skills and knowledge of the English language to enable them to
communicate effectively in accordance to the Standard Document while for KBSR,
the English Year 4 textbook was written in package was hopes to fulfill the linguistic
needs of the varied primary school pupils who come from different language and
ethnic backgrounds as outlined in the current KBSR English Language Syllabus for
Year 4. The package is based on learner-centeredness and comprises the Pupils
Textbook, the Teachers Guide, and MyCD that has been written in such a way that
they complement and supplement each other and hence they can be used
independently or together.
The English Year 4 for Primary School English Language Curriculum (KSSR)
content are divided into 15 units and presented under four themes the World of Self,
Family and Friends, the World of Stories, and the World of Knowledge whereas in the
Pupils Textbook Year 4 KBSR consists only 10 units based on the three broad
contexts as the World of Personal Relationships, World of Stories, and World of
Knowledge. The units are designed in such way that the pupils move from their
home and school to the neighborhood, and to the states of Malaysia. In each unit, its
begin with a concept page that is designed to stimulate pupils interest.
Compare to the Pupils Textbook, the English Year 4 KSSR textbook contain
incorporates the 12 educational emphases to equip pupils to face the challenges of
the real world. The modular approach taken in the textbook provides pupils the
opportunity to focus on and develop specific language skill in this order:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Listening and speaking.

Reading
Writing
Grammar
Language arts.

Unlike KSSR English Year 4 textbook, the materials and activities in the units
of KBSR Pupils Textbook are designed to equip pupil with basic skills and knowledge
of the English language to enable them to communicate, both orally and in writing, in
and out of school. The language skill such as listening, speaking, reading, and
writing, also the language contents such as vocabulary, sound system, and grammar
are taught in context in an integrated manner. Besides teaching the required learning
outcomes, each unit in this Pupils Textbook incorporates additional knowledge
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information and ICT activities. The activities also introduce the language skills to be
learned in a meaningful way and each unit ends with a review page that aims to
consolidate the learning items for each unit.
UNIT CONTENTS IN ENGLISH TEXTBOOK YEAR 4: KSSR AND KBSR
KSSR
UNIT
UNIT
UNIT
UNIT
UNIT

1 : Our Community
2 : Spending Wisely
3 : Yesterday and Today
4 : Be Safe
5 : Rosemary and the Four Gutsy
Gnomes
UNIT 6 : Care for the Sea
UNIT 7 : Blogging
UNIT 8 : The Prince and the Thieves
UNIT 9 : Our Solar System
UNIT 10 : Unity in Diversity
UNIT 11 : The Insect Investigators
UNIT 12 : Good Values
UNIT 13 : Work Hard, Work Smart
UNIT 14 : Harmony in the Jungle
UNIT 15 : Going Places

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KBSR
UNIT 1 : What do you like?
UNIT 2 : Looking Good
UNIT 3 : Healthy Living
UNIT 4 : Story Time
UNIT 5 : Getting Connected
UNIT 6 : Moving Around
UNIT 7 : Living in Harmony
UNIT 8 : More Stories
UNIT 9 : Come Rain or Shine
UNIT 10 : Malaysia, My Country

KBSR AND KSSR: THE LANGUAGE SKILLS / FOCUS COVERED.

Actually, both the KBSR and the KSSR English Year 4 do have a few obvious

differences in terms of skills focused. First of all, KBSR focuses only 4 basic skills in
the curriculum content whereas KSSR focused on 5 skills. The skills that are focused
in KBSR are listening, speaking, writing and reading. Meanwhile, the skills focused in
KSSR are listening, speaking, writing, reading and language arts. However, both
listening and speaking are combined together in the KSSR as they are interrelated to
one another. Since those skills are merged, the 5 skills are presented into 4 modules
which are listening & speaking, reading, writing and language arts.
The skills emphasized in the first module of the KSSR syllabus are listening
and speaking. Although the teaching emphasizes more on learner-centered activities,
the activities are mostly conducted according to the teachers model. Here, in Year 4,
the pupils will listen to the stories, songs and poems from various materials which
they will need to respond and give feedback towards it. For example in Unit 1: Our
Community, start with Lets talk where the pupils has to look at the picture printing
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onto their textbook and they have to answer orally according to the questions given.
At the end of the unit, this Year 4 KSSR Textbook provides material for students to
read contemporary literature and answer based on citation. Both listening and
speaking are seen as core skills of early literacy. Pupils need to listen first before
speaking thoughts, ideas and feelings.
For reading and writing skills, both Year 4 syllabuses shared the same
objectives and aims. The additional skill in KSSR which is not in KBSR is language
arts. This skill is purposely added in the KSSR Year 4 with the aim to explore the
power of story, rhyme or song such as The Inventor of USB Flash Drive, Little Red
Riding Hood and The Wolf or The Great Wall of China to activate the pupils
imagination and interest; thus encouraging them to use English language widely.
Here, the pupils will be encouraged to plan and produce simple creative works as to
provide an opportunity to integrate and experiment what they have leant in the other
3 modules.
The KSSR Year 4 syllabus is an improved version of the previous one. There
are several areas that were improved and seen to be good improvements of the
content. Firstly, the objectives have been altered to suit the current global needs.
Pupils are not prepared for examinations or just plain usage of the language, they are
prepared for something more. Something that is more valuable than just lessons.
Pupils are believed to have the ability to use the language to the fullest, to
communicate appropriately and b able to use appropriate language, style and form
through a variety media. Grammar is taught implicitly through the proposed modules.
Pupils are not exposed with the engineering of the language but more too getting to
know the language. Vocabulary acquisition is emphasized in KSSR Year 4.
This is such an important key to let the young learners in getting into the
language without burdening them with grammatical jargons during the early years of
education. In the modules, listening and speaking is integrated into one solid module.
This is to ensure that pupils are ready to listen and then respond to stimulus. These
two skills complement each other and could not be separated as two different skills.
Lastly, language arts are finally embedded into the syllabus. Previously, we are all
aware that materials as such do exist and it has been used throughout schooling
years but it not included in the KBSR Year 4. Only now the KSSR has a specific
element for language arts, providing enough guidance for teachers to teach language
arts to students.
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KBSR AND KSSR: THE TEXT TYPES USED IN TEACHING THE READING

AND WRITING SKILLS.

The students are to be given written task to do for each topics or learning
units. The purpose of giving such task is to reinstate the pupils understanding toward
their learning activities that they have had undergone. This will somehow to help
them to understand and reinforce learning processes in their mind. In the table below,
it will show the differences in general of a comparison between the two text types.
As a whole, the textbook were designed as to meet the requirement of the
policy of the day. Therefore upgrading of the syllabus need to be done accordingly, to
enable the learner to develop their mind to greater high. It is very important to have
textbook that will help to challenge the pupils mind and the give them the opportunity
to explore the new technology (ICT) as future generation will rely to such technology
in their daily life.
4.1

Reading Skills
The teaching of reading skills overview is:
4.1.1

Enables pupils to become independent readers who are able to

comprehend a text effectively and efficiently.

4.1.2

Begins at the word and phrase levels before progressing to sentence

recognition and reading at the paragraph level.

4.1.3

Focuses on basic literacy with the use of phonics.

4.1.4

Teaches pupils to extract specific information from a text and respond

to a text with their own ideas and opinions.

In order to achieve the abovementioned, content and learning standards have

been devised progressively. The teaching of reading in the early stages begins at the
word and phrase levels before progressing to sentence recognition and reading at
the paragraph level. Gradually, pupils are taught to extract specific information from a
text and to respond to a text with their own ideas and opinions.
The content standards above are achieved through learning standards that
have been devised carefully throughout primary schooling. Learning standards have
been developed from recognition of sounds in order for pupils to acquire the sounds
of the English language before learning to blend and segment words. This is further
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developed through vocabulary activities to widen pupils vocabulary. By the end of
Year 6, pupils are able to read and demonstrate understanding of text for information
as well as read for enjoyment.
The learning standards begin with basic literacy which has been developed
incrementally in this manner:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

distinguish the shapes of the letters;

recognize and articulate phonemes;
blend and segment words;
apply word recognition and word attack skills to acquire vocabulary;
read and understand phrases, simple sentences and texts; and
Read independently for information and enjoyment.

The reading aloud strategy is also encouraged in the first two years of primary
education. Teacher reads aloud a text to pupils. Implementing this strategy allows
teachers to model reading. Here, articulation and pronunciation of words by the
teacher have to be as precise as possible for pupils to efficiently imitate and
reproduce correctly. This strategy effectively engage pupils in a text that may be too
difficult for them to read on their own, hence, pupils sit back and enjoy the story.
Teachers should also carry out shared reading strategies in the classroom:
i.

During shared reading, the teacher and pupils read together, thus
allowing pupils to actively participate and support one another in the

ii.

process of reading.
Teachers point to the text as they read slowly for word recognition and
to build a sense of story.

Ultimately, the objective of getting pupils to read a variety of texts enables

pupils to see how grammar is used correctly so that they can emulate them in their
productive skills; speaking and writing. Reading for enjoyment and pleasure in
seeking information and knowledge should be inculcated in pupils. Pupils are also
trained to give their own ideas and opinions in order to become efficient readers.
The content and learning standards for reading skill:
i.

By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils will be able to

demonstrate understanding of a variety of linear and non-linear texts
in the form of print and non-print materials using a range of strategies
to construct meaning.

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ii.

iii.

Able to apply word attack skills by:

a. Grouping words according to word categories.
b. identifying words similar in meaning
c. identifying words opposite in meaning
Able to read and understand phrases and sentences in linear and

iv.
v.

non-linear texts.
Able to read and understand simple and compound sentences.
Able to read and understand a paragraph with simple and compound

vi.

sentences.
Able to apply dictionary skills to locate words.
a. Entry points.
b. Exit points.

By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils will be able to read
independently for information and enjoyment.
i.

4.2

Able to read for information and enjoyment with guidance:

a. Fiction
b. non- fiction

Writing Skills
To achieve the abovementioned, content and learning standards have been

devised progressively. The teaching of writing in the early stages begins with prewriting activities to develop pupils visual skills as well as develop hand-eye
coordination. This is later developed to writing letters of the alphabet and copying
words, phrases and simple sentences. Pupils begin constructing simple sentences
with the teachers guidance and later develop to become independent writers by the
end of primary schooling.
By the end of the six year primary schooling, pupils will be able to:
i. Form letters and words in neat legible print including cursive writing.
ii. write using appropriate language, form and style for a range of
purposes
iii. Write and present ideas through a variety of media.
Content standards are achieved through learning standards that have been
devised carefully throughout primary schooling. Learning standards have been
developed progressively, from acquiring fine motor control of hands and fingers to
copying writing activities, before being taught to write with guidance linear and nonlinear texts using appropriate language, form and style. The use of various media is
also encouraged and pupils can create both linear and non-linear texts with guidance
or independently.
The Content and Learning Standards for writing are:
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i.

By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils will be able to form
letters and words in neat legible print including cursive writing.
a.

Able to write in neat legible print with correct spelling:

b.

Able to write numerals in neat legible print with correct spelling:

ii.

Phrases
simple sentences

numeral form
word form

By the end of the 6 year primary schooling, pupils will be able to write
using appropriate language, form and style for a range of purposes.
a.

Able to complete:

b.

Able to write with guidance

c.

simple sentences
compound sentences
questions
Able to punctuate correctly:

d.
iii.

linear texts
Non-linear texts.

exclamation mark
comma
Able to spell common sight words.

By the end of the 6-year primary schooling, pupils will be able to write
and present ideas through a variety of media using appropriate
language, form and style.
a.

Able to create simple texts using a variety of media with

guidance:

5.0

non-linear
linear

CONCLUSION
As the need to develop the country into a well-developed country by the year

2020, it is clear that the Malaysian Government is trying to improve the Education
system as meet the demand of human capital in future. In the KSSR textbook ICT
learning is to be given great emphasis (... especially with the introduction of the newly
declared Education Development Plan PPPM). The learning model of the
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developed country in the world has been scooped up to be implemented in the
system as enable the plan achievable.
The revolutionary change in KSSR from KBSR is the assessment and the
amount of exposure one student gets out from their syllabus. KBSR is very much
exam-oriented approach where the students are assessed formatively according to
their academic performance in examinations meanwhile KSSR is a combination of
both formative and summative assessment where the teacher will assess more on
development of skills and it is done more individually. This is a great feature of
KSSR, we would say. We believe with KSSR being implemented students will have
more chances to succeed as they can develop many skills and assessed accordingly
to land themselves in a satisfaction side of life.
The amount of exposure we meant here was the themes that are integrated in
lessons such as Science, Technology and Humanity for a better understanding.
Based on what we learned in Teaching Methods, this part of the curriculum is more or
less like the Content-Based Approach where the teacher focuses on the target
language and how it is used effectively to convey the lesson using the bigger scale
content.

References
1.

Lim Peck Choo, Gurnam Kaur Sidhu, Azman Azlna Azmar (2008) English
Year 4 Textbook KBSR, Kuala Lumpur, Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka
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2.

Lim Eng Seong, Lee Poh Lin, Khor Hui Min (2013), English Year 4 SK KSSR,
Kuala Lumpur, Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka.

3.

Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). Teaching the spoken language. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

4.

Brown, H.D. (1994). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to

language pedagogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.

5.

Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching english as a second or foreign language (2nd

ed.) (pp. 81-106). Boston: Heinle and Heinle.

6.

Hedge, T. (2000) Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom.

Oxford: Oxford University Press

7.

Johnson, K (1982) The deep-end strategy in communicative language

teaching. In Communicative Syllabus Design and Methodology
Pergamon Institute of English

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