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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction
Sidek, 2010). According to Bruthiaux (2004; 415), “English has all the key
characteristics that make it likely to remain the dominant worldwide language”. The
importance of the English language has been established universally as a tool for
internalization (Pennycook, 1994; Tollefson, 1995). For example, in Hong Kong, the
shift from English to Chinese language instruction was rejected by many education
the second language for students from primary to secondary school. English is a
English has also seen as a main language in areas such as education, administration
and trade to continue study to the higher levels, to hold the proffessional positions to
be absorbed into the administrative and public service of Malaysia and to be legalised
in posts, all requires passing grade English, Lim Hock Yuan in (Evelyn lim, 2003).
language; the language of technology, the language used globally, the language that
will enable developing nations to survive. English is taught as a subject from year one
in all Malay medium primary schools and year three in Chinese and Tamil schools.
However, in higher educations, most of the reference widely used as texts are in
condition that it plays an important role in the social, economic and educational life of
the students (Manjet, 2012). In addition, regarding the decline in the English language
and the need to improve English language proficiency among students, the Ministry
technical and vocational subjects that was introduced by the British in 1987 to train
local youths as technicians and engineers (Ramlee Mustapha, 1999). Basic technical
and vocational education under the Ministry of Education begins at the primary
school level. Whereby, students are introduced to the study of pre-vocational subjects
that cover various aspects of manipulative skills. As the students progress into the
subject, which exposes students to various basic vocational skills. The upper
secondary level (Form 4 and Form 5) is where technical and vocational education
formally commences. The technical and vocational schools offer the same core
but in addition, students are required to take selected technical and vocational subjects
The teaching of English for specific purposes (ESP) was flourished in the
1950s and 1960s. However, ESP gained popularity and became a vital and innovative
for the teaching of English in the 1970s. This is because much of its infancy, ESP was
dominated by the teaching of English for Academic Purposes (EAP); most of the
material produced, the course descriptions written and the research carried out were in
the are of English for academic Purposes. As the main branch, English for Academic
Purposes (EAP) was developed and offered for many reasons: to help international
students reach their full academic potential, to expose these students to the
many developing countries, Jordan, Dudley-Evans & St. John in (Momtazur rahman,
2012).
Purposes (ETP) is taught 3 semesters for certificate courses and 5 semesters for
diploma courses. It is exactly called by English for specific purposes (ESP). The
course content for ETP prepares students with fundamentals study skills in
hunting, and description of object / product specification. These skills will initially be
Malaysian polytechnic graduates thronugh the Graduate Tracer Studies (2004 to 2008)
confirmed the concern expressed by the employers when the respondents opined that
they lacked skills to converse and write in English. Responses from open-ended
questions obtained from the graduates on the quality of teaching and learning in the
policy makers in Malaysia in the 1990s (Ridge, 2004). In line with language
Tsui and Tollefson (2006) labelled proficiency in the English language as the “global
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2003). Communication in terms of language skills are listening, speaking, reading and
extremely important because most of the target language input is obtained through the
channel of reading.
and of sharing information and ideas. Like all language, it is a complex interaction
between the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge,
refinement.
become a key for knowing the meaning of a text and opening the reader’s mind.
Readers comprehend the texts better when they are able to relate to the text as it is
teachers activate background knowledge by the use of text previewing which can be
6
in school and out of it while reading habit influences to what extend someone can
understand and command his reading skill (Zurina Khairuddin, 2013). Therefore,
reading attitude is a key for reinforcing reading skill. Reading attitude is an integral
part of the development and use of lifelong reading skills. Having positive attitudes
reading attitudes affect the students' ultimate academic success by increasing the
amount of time that is spent on reading. Whether students read or not is largely
determined by their attitudes toward reading. If students do not like to read or think
reading is boring, negative attitudes are likely to hold back their reading
improvement. Poor readers generally have more negative attitudes than good
foundation for learning and academic achievements. In the world today, the ability to
read English fluently will be useful particularly if one needs to obtain information
electronic data bases through the Internet, it is reading, more than any of the other
English language skills, that offers access to information. The ability to read has long
been considered by literate societies to be one of the basic building blocks affecting
of literacy are even more important as we move through the 21st century. In fact, we
are now exposed to more information that requires reading and synthesizing. Now we
depend on our reading abilities in every area of our life: our careers, assembling
read, comprehend and evaluate complex information have never been greater. Jobs in
Learning to read and then improve and sustain reading skills involves a variety
industrialized nation, Malaysia has made many conscious efforts to improve and
develop literacy so that it will achieve a literacy rate of 100% by the year 2020. The
country still has a long way to go but there are positive indications that the literacy
rate is increasing. The World Education Report (1993) states that Malaysia then had
one of the lowest literacy rates (78.4%) compared to her other Southeast Asian
neighbors like Singapore (100%), Indonesia (81.6%), Thailand (93%), and the
million, the Malaysian literacy is 85%. It indicates that there has been an increased
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effort to improve the quality of instruction, much research has been conducted to
break down and understand the complex process of reading (Interjit S, 2014).
study. This emphasis is necessary considering that reading is not a skill that can be
a text for variety of purposes and in a wide range of contexts (Allen & Bruton, 1998).
reading skills in English language especially among the primary students. This can be
seen through the introduction of reading programmes such as ‘The Structured Early
Reading Programme’ which aims to inculcate a love for reading at a young age.
Schools are given ‘big books’ to be used with students through an extensive induction
programme (UNESCO, 2004). Presently, there is also a move to include the literature
positive reading habits among the young school children as stated in Krishnasamy &
Reading is a skill that must be learned, yet the process of learning to read can
become pleasurable and easy for some students or displeasing and complicated for
others. Some will employ reading as a learning opportunity while others will avoid it
because they find it complex and they struggle at it (Wallace, 2007). This could be the
reason why students nowadays are said to be lacking the interest in reading, Ley,
Schaer & Dismukes in Zurina (2013). A Malaysian Reading Profile Survey conducted
in 2010 also reported that Malaysians who are at the age of 10 and above only read
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This number is worrisome (Imran Ariff, 2010). He also stated that students
nowadays have higher interests in reading; nonetheless, they still do not adopt
reading as a habit.
On the other hand, developing good reading skill will help poor readers keep
up with their classmates, open new worlds to them, and help them succed in life.
Students who are not good readers fall behind their classmates. They don’t understand
the lesson and they come to school unprepared. By learning to read, these students can
keep up with their classmates. They can learn their lessons and be active participants
in class. When students improve their reading skills, they can travel to different places
and experience new ideas without ever leaving their classrooms. Students who can’t
read well will know only what they see around them. Students who are poor readers
are severely handicapped. Someone without good reading skills will have to work at
most manual jobs. Good readers, on the other hand, have the whole universe open to
them. They will have the possibility to learn any job that interests them.
skillfull and not perplexed when finding technical english materials. Most text that
much of the text that students will encounter is expository. Students also generate
their own knowledge in science and technical courses by the nature of the activity-
contents (materials) are found in publications such as: Reference books, Newspaper
fiction, Scientific papers, Article abstracts, Biographie, Magazine articles, Lab reports
and Field studies. Students often treat expository text found in science textbooks as
just a listing of facts. By first understanding the different ways in which scientific and
between successful and unsuccessful learners. These two groups of learners were
Studies found that major differences lie in aptitude, learning strategies, beliefs and
learning behaviors (Huang & Tsai, 2003). For example, the behaviors of
motivation, or persistence. In class, they need more personal attention, take longer
time to finish a learning task, often skip class or attend class late, and often delay or
Prior to this study, little was known about the level of reading knowledge, skills and
students in technical secondary schools in Perak. Therefore, a new study was needed
mother tongue and not widely spoken at home, they tend to face problems in reading
skills. Some of the problems that can be identified here are, students are unable to
express their ideas the way it should be; students prefer to communicate with their
peers in their mother tongue rather than the second language; students have
difficulties to comprehend what they are reading and having difficulties pronouncing
certain words which leads them to do any reading in English at all (Salehuddin, 2002).
Studies on the mastery of the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and
writing) and reading habits indicated that although students perceived English to be
important for their academic needs, the language was mostly used for reading
purposes only (Tan cited in Othman, 2005; Kaur & Thiyagarajah, 1999). In ranking
the importance of the skills, students ranked writing as their least competent skill and
regarded speaking and reading as the most important skills needed to master the
language. Pandian as cited in Mohamad Jafre (2011) revealed that only 20% of the
Malaysian populations are ‘regular readers’ and the rest 80% are ‘reluctant readers’ of
English language materials. It was also found that students’ purpose of reading is only
to pass exams. Malaysian students were reluctant to read for information or pleasure.
It was also added that if this phenomenon was left unattended, the future of Malaysia
terms of grammar and vocabulary (Tok Hoon Seng, 2006). This study indicated the
level of their English proficiency is low. Continuous observation revealed that this
situation existed due to the lack of exposure to English in their daily life, as well as
lack of interest in learning and using English. Furthermore, they do not have much
interest in reading materials in English language because they do not understand what
is being read. Therefore, they perform badly in their public examinations like PMR
and SPM. Furthermore, recent statistics from the education department showed that
Generally, the eight year students at junior high school have been able to read
a text in English, although they still make mistakes. It is not unusual because English
is a foreign language. They can read, but it does not mean that they like to read. They
will read only when the teachers ask them, or when they are going to face an
examination. Reading has not been a culture in Malaysia society, whereas by reading
most common of communication, with which all teaching – learning activities are
In the technical and vocational system, this situation is worsened where most
of the students who attended technological and vocational courses tended to be those
who had rather minimum proficiency particularly in the English language. With the
policy imposed i.e. English language as the medium of instruction, students found it
13
difficult. Many of them even suffer low self-esteem. The lack of proficiency in
English language can seriously affect the students’ overall academic achievements.
Although research on language learning strategies has prospered since the 1980s,
rather limited study was done in the Malaysian context (Mah 1999; Mohd Amin 2000;
Faizahani 2003).
materials are reading materials that are related to the subject such as textbook,
magazine, journal, etc. Most of the scientific papers, journals and engineering graphs
are written and marked in English. Therefore this situations demand them to have
enhance student’s ability especially reading skill to comprehend what they learn and
Reading technical material is the main concern in this study as the level of
The purpose of this study was to analyze reading competency on English technical
technical materials.
This study attempted to answer several research questions such as the following:
6. Are there any significant differences in reading knowledge, skill, and attitude in
of different demographics?
7. Are there any relationships between reading knowledge and reading skill, reading
The study is based on the theory of Spencer & Spencer (1993) model focusing on
elaborated about the three variables; knowledge, skill and attitude as the core aspects
of competency in reading. In accordance with the theory of the study, two separated
variables are independent variables comprising of knowledge, skill and attitude and
reading aspect means that knowledge, skill and attitude can determine a proficiency of
a reader in reading technical materials. Since the reader have good or insufficient
have been affected by the independent variables. According to the Spencer & Spencer
strategies which enhance the efficicacy of communication and enable the learner to
Figure 1.1 indicated that conceptual framework of this study. In the conceptual
framework, the reseacher took only one of the two models put forward by Spencer &
cluster of related knowledge, skills, and attitudes that affects a major part of one’s job
(a role or responsibility), that correlates with performance on the job, that can be
measure against well-accepted standards, and that can be improved via training and
development”. In learning process, a student will have good knowledge and skill if
there is good or positive attitude glued in him because the aspect of attitude is
determining the knowledge and skill in which attitude manifests it in habit, interest,
reading habit is important for the development of personalities and mental capacities.
extent of the amount and intensity of pursuing the reading activity. In this case,
variable is gender, and language used at home students’ residence location and
parents’ job.
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Independent Dependent
variables Variables
Reading Purpose
Reading Interest
Moderator Reading Preference
Variables
Demographics:
There were several limitations of the study that were identified. This research only
discusses the level of reading competency including the reading skill, and reading
selected for this study were limited to 120 students of technical secondary school
(SMT) in Perak, Malaysia. The subjects are form four students only. The researcher
restricted the respondents selection only to form four since the students were not
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involved in any public examinations. Respondents from form three and five were not
allowed by the schools partly because they were involved in public examinations such
knowledge, skill and attitude that were minority from preponderance aspects
discussed by the previous researchers. Conclusions of the study could be better if the
research data engaged the tehnical secondary schools in the entire country which
could provide more accurate answers to the researchh questions that were posed.
The result of the study is expected to assist secondary technical secondary schools
learning process that is affected to student’s learning results. Practically, the result of
the study could give contribution to increase the effort of learning quality in technical
secondary schools (SMT) in Perak. In detail, the expected study can be useful for:
guidance to find out whether the learning during this time has been administered well
or not. Lastly, for other researchers, it is expected that the findings of the study can
provide a guidance about reading competency to develop student’s skill and creativity.
In this part the researcher employed some operational definitions adopted from the
one of expert theory only. There are some terms used in this reseacrh needed to be
1.8.1 Reading
Reading is known as one of the most important aspects of any language and it
becomes an essential tool for lifelong learning for learners. Reading is a visual
process that begins with one´s ability to use ones´s vision to interpret graphic
(as in reading a book or reading music). In English language classroom, reading is one
of the most emphasized skills to study. This emphasis is necessary considering that
Reading knowledge is an aspect needed in reading to analyze and justify the kind or
model of reading or text. Knowledge is often defned as a belief that is true and
justifed. This defnition has led to its measurement by methods that rely solely on the
that a person knows or does not know something. The reader uses knowledge, skills,
and strategies to determine what the meaning is. These include: linguistic competence
20
Reading skill is an essential skill for learners of English as a second langugae. It is the
most important skill to master in order to ensure success not only in learning English,
but also in learning in any content class where reading in English is required. With
strengthened reading skills, learners will make greater progress and development in
all areas of learning. Reading activity requires strong and efficient skill in order to
become a good reader and success in academic. Successful learning is come from
Reading with a purpose means approaching texts with a specific goal and when
possible, students can be asked to read a text from a specific point of view, depending
on what the text might suggest. In the classroom, students can be given reasons to
read that approximate their purposes in a variety of real-world situations. They can
read ads for apartments to find one that fits a particular set of requirements, look
through movie listings and reviews to decide whether to see a particular movie, or
of it. Hence, students need to have high reading interests. Attitude and interest
toward reading can be related in association with feeling and learners’ spirit to learn
feeling that intrigues to what is read and take it continuously for example magazines
and newspapers were found to be the most preferred reading materials of teenagers
since their reasons for leisure reading were for entertainment and for acquiring
information.
development and use of lifelong reading skills. Positive reading attitudes affect the
students' ultimate academic success by increasing the amount of time that is spent on
reading. Whether students read or not is largely determined by their attitudes toward
reading. If students do not like to read or think reading is boring, negative attitudes
22
are likely to hold back their reading improvement. Poor readers generally have more
pertaining to science and technology. In this study, technical materials include science
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
23
2.0 Introduction
This chapter discusses about the previous studies and theoritical views relevant to the
field of study conducted by the researcher. The theoritical views were obtained
through some journals and theses related to the research title. In this section, the
researcher examines the knowledge, skill and attitude in reading English technical
of vocational and technical schools. It describes the research on reading and technical
secondary education consist of the second after primary phase of formal education
system that occurs during adolescence. It is a link between primary and higher
education, which keeps balance between them and provides raw material higher
countries approach universal primary education. The global Education for All (EFA)
labour force combined with the growth of knowledge based on economies give a
sense of urgency to the heightened demand for secondary education. In today’s world,
secondary education has a vital mission – one which combines the policy peculiarities
of being at the same time terminal and preparatory, compulsory and post compulsory,
uniform and diverse, general and vocational. Secondary education is now being
graduates for higher education and/or the labour market, Secondary education needs
education, three years of lower secondary education, two years for upper secondary
Students in lower secondary schools take core subjects, Malay, English, Science,
examination.
pursue two years of study in upper secondary (form 4 - form 5). Since the
implementation of the open certificate, students are required to take five compulsory
subjects that are (1) Malay Language, (2) English Language, (3) Mathematics, (4)
Inclined academically students can choose between the two main streams. Students
who are interested in science will take Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Additional
Mathematics and English for Science and Technology. If the art streams are preferred,
students will take Integrated Science and any other non-science subjects such as
accounting or commerce.
During the past decades, the technological and vocational system in Malaysia has
examinations and the high value culture places on academic performance, most of the
students who choose to attend technological and vocational colleges tend to be those
who do not perform well in academic subjects. Better performing students usually do
not choose technological and vocational education schools, but instead choose general
2005).
vocational schools into colleges. The move produced 13,000 skilled workers in four
years’ time. This was being done under the Education Ministry’s vocational education
the pioneer programme that began before. Currently, the schools offered basic
vocational education which was only a stepping stone for the pupils to further pursue
their studies, the ministry’s technical and vocational education (Ahmad Tajudin Jab,
2012). The ministry have collaborated with private colleges, especially in high impact
According to Ahmad Tajudin Jab (2012), the new vocational colleges admited
taken by all Form Three students in both government and private schools throughout
the country. Technical schools maintained their traditional functions, and students
have learned basic vocational education there before they went into specialised fields
ministry has stressed having robotic studies as a subject in technical schools as it was
In Malaysia, there are many types of schools such as national schools, technical
Purposes (ETP) is taught 3 semesters for certificate courses and 5 semesters for
diploma courses. It is exactly called by English for specific purposes (ESP). Besides,
English is taught for mathematics and science with more semesters at technical and
vocational school. Based on the function, technical and vocational have their own way
institution that specializes in providing students with the vocational education and
technical skills they need in order to perform the tasks of a particular job. Vocational
schools are traditionally distinguished from two-year junior colleges and four-
year universities by their goal to impart job-specific training and education to students
who are typically bound for blue-collar jobs in the workforce, rather than the aim to
While many schools have largely adhered to this convention, the purely vocational
focus of other trade schools has since begun to shift "toward a broader preparation
that develops the academic" as well as technical skills of their students, following the
In line with the system, vocational and technical shools are included in
Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) that have further journey to be
complex set of reasons that included budgetary constraints and criticisms of the World
Bank in the early 90's on its direction and focus. The World Bank had argued at the
time that the cost of technical and vocational education was too high compared with
the returns to the economy, that the quality of training was poor and that there was
considerable mismatch between training and the needs of industry. Simply put, the
delivery of vocational education and training was not cost-effective. However, since
the beginning of the new millennium, a fresh awareness of the critical role that TVET
can play in economic growth and national development has dawned among policy
makers in many Asian countries and within the international donor community.
is reflected in the various Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers that governments have
developed in collaboration with The World Bank. In its poverty reduction strategy
training to facilitate integration into the labour market; talks about strengthening
vocational training; Singapore links vocational education and training with education
of the youth and the development of technical and entrepreneurial skills; focus on
linking TVET to businesses while Filipihine emphasises the need to promote self-
employment through skills development. Other countries that have prioritised TVET
Since TVET is concerned with the preparation of learners for employment, through
the provision of knowledge, skills and attitudes desirable in the world of work, its
remains the country’s hope of reducing the high level of widespread poverty and
deprivation because whether on the farm, the clinic, in the office, at sea, in the mines,
in the forest, at the workshop, or the dressmakers, among others, the science or
enhancing economical, social and industrial development. This is the reason TVET
programmes in Malaysia should match current and future labour market needs. A
standard TVET is expected to mobilize resources needed to face the present problems
and future challenges. Due to its concentration on the actual needs of labour market
and focus on the output, it designs flexible programmes that serve the needs of
production and service sectors and design practices and learning experiences that best
serve job requirements, Johanson and Adam in Samue (2013). In today’s knowledge
societies to unlock their potentials, expand their horizons and adapt to changes in the
dynamic world. TVET provides a mix of knowledge and career focused, hands-on,
and skills based education that is needed to run the productive sectors of the economy
and build the nation. Quality technical and vocational education and training (TVET)
occupational skills.
It has been researched about ESP that ESP is very important for science and
technology. There have been many researchers did it, one of them is Robinson in
Mansoor et.al, (2013). Robinson argued that ESP philosophy can be used in order to
carry out the specific needs of the learners. Thus, Engineering learners have an
explicit English language need that focuses to develop ESP courses according to the
different engineering fields’ requirement in order to meet certain needs of the learners.
These courses follow the principles based on ESP needs analysis theory. Because, it is
a fact that without ESP need analysis principles, no ESP courses whether it may
One of the major goals of higher education is to cultivate students’ attitudes, habits
and competence as a lifelong learner. Knowles in Min-hsun, (2005) pointed out that
teachers have to help learners develop the attitude and concept that learning is a
lifetime process, and learners need to be equipped with the skills of self-directed
lifelong learning. Applying the idea to language learning, language learning itself is a
31
lifelong task, and language learning strategy is the skill for learners’ self-directed
learning strategies refer to the specific actions, behaviors, steps or techniques that
students use to improve their progress in apprehending, internalizing and using the
certain level, but there are differences in the frequency and choice of use among
different learners. It appears that successful language learners have the ability to
ways according to their own learning needs (Oxford, 1990). Thus, to facilitate the
strategy is a key point for instructors to pay attention to Technological and vocational
education has played an important role in the educational system for decades.
attention in the local media. Lack of English language proficiency has often been
Ahmad Yasruddin (2005). Jawhar in Wan Mohd Haniff (2002) stated that in the
in the English language. Various surveys have been carried out on employers in
relevant industries to gauge whether graduates are meeting industry needs and the
recurring theme that emerged from these surveys has been the lack of English
32
language skills among fresh graduates and workers (MoHE, 2008; The World Bank,
2005; Ambigaphaty & Aniswal, 2005; Sibat, 2005). In general, these studies implied
that the majority of graduates and workers were limited users of English especially in
writing and speaking. Academics and the government have expressed their concern
over the deteriorating level of English proficiency among the students in Malaysian
schools and universities. In 2000, the Malaysian Ministry of Education introduced the
Malaysian University English Tests (MUET) with the objective of enhancing the
the English proficiency of students when they enter universities or the job markets.
MoHE (2006) and Pawanchik (2006) however, revealed that more that 50 % of
MUET scores were either in Band 1 (extremely limited user), 2 (limited user) or 3
(modest user). Studies on the mastery of the four skills (listening, speaking, reading
and writing) and reading habits indicated that although students perceived English to
be important for their academic needs, the language was mostly used for reading
purposes only, Tan cited in Othman (2005; Kaur and Thiyagarajah, 1999). In ranking
the importance of the skills, students ranked writing as their least competent skill and
regarded speaking and writing as the most important skills needed to master the
language (Othman, 2005). Pandian as cited by Girdharan and Enriquez (2002) on the
were reluctant readers of English language materials. The lack of proficiency in the
Stapa and Mohd Jais (2005) where students stated that the English programme that
they went through before their practical training was inadequate in preparing them for
This ranged from failure in both written and oral communication skills to
Mardziah (2005), the concept of English for Special Purposes (ESP), will achieve
technical terminology, and 5) professional jargon. The author also suggested that
assessment process. Curry, Sherry and Tunney in Noor Izma (2005) report of a project
to identify the transferable skills graduates believed had been important to them in
their careers since graduation. One of the main findings of the survey showed that oral
communication skill was ranked as the most important transferable skill, ahead of
This finding is consistent with another study (Kwok, 2004) where students
recognized the importance and the need to develop oral and written communication
skills. In the Malaysian polytechnic education system, English for Technical Purposes
(ETP) is taught for 3 semesters for certificate courses and 5 semesters for diploma
34
courses. The course content for ETP prepares students with study skill, information
processing skill, reading skill, and oral communication skill. Other skills in ETP
the Graduate Tracer Studies (2004 to 2008) confirmed the concern expressed by the
employers when the respondents opined that they lacked skills to converse and write
in English. Responses from open-ended questions obtained from the graduates on the
students’ skill or ability can be measured and seen to what extend they can master the
contents of the material and comprehend the meaning of the contend of the text as
The materials can be text, articles, papers, or books. Thus, if students can
In this research, technical materials is the content of reading that contains of technical
matters. Obviously, technical material is reading materials that related to the subject
sub headings, bold-faced words, pictures, diagrams, charts, bullet points, objectives,
In technical and vocational schools, reading is one of the most impotant skill
that have to be mastered by the students to obtaint their achiement in reading and
learning. Reading has been a core of language learning skills and an essential tool for
lifelong learning for centuries. Malaysian’s language classroom scenario looks upon
reading as a toughest task amongst the students in comprehending English texts. Facts
bringing the best in comprehending what has been read. In Polytechnic System,
and preferred. Students want variety and look into many modes for aspiration
Reading is known as one of the most important aspects of any language and it
becomes an essential tool for lifelong learning for learners (Noorizah, 2011). However
it appears that Malaysian students largely are facing the problem of comprehending
English texts. These can be seen in the poor performance of the students
appropriate learning materials in the classroom. Over the years linguist / researcher /
educators have been debating in order to decide the most appropriate reading
36
that there is something about the type of reading text that should be looked into and
analyzed carefully.
in Shanty Subbarau (2013). Since many criterion need to be taken into account
in the selection process including students’ interests. Aries also pointed out that no
matter how difficult or easy the text might be, it will still be problematic for students
if it it’s not tackling their interest. Hence, the first step of selecting material for
students is that; choose a text that that is based on students’ interest as what stated by
materials. The materials which are selected on the basis of students’ preferences
messages sent by other people and expressing our own feelings and ideas using facial
expressions, voice tones, gestures, spoken words and sentences. Language is used
everyday is almost every situation – at home and in our communities. People use the
language to transmit family and cultural values to their children and pass on their
personal histories. Language supports social relationships and allows people to think
and learn. Language development can be divided into two areas of receptive language
child can understand of what he/she hears said by others or interprets from gestures
and sign. Expressive language is the term by which the child’s spoken language or
Receptive language skills (reading and writing) are relatively passive and the
child can often rely on using the redundancy (extra or dulpicate information) which is
built into spoken language to supply contextual cues to fill in the gaps or help
interpretation. As a result, most children understand more of what is said to them then
they are able to tell to others because their receptive language skills are often further
advanced then their expressive skills. Expressive language skills require the child to
the child has to take the idea it wants to communicate, build up a seriesof words
which describe what is to be communicated and then produce the sounds which the
other person will interpret as that the child wants to say. This is the area of most
number of skills and abilities. Linguists continue to work to define what it means to
know a language. In the 1980’s, the linguists Michael Canale and Merrill Swainii
refined and elaborated. So, English proficiency is the the ability to speak, read and/or
write in English. To be considered truly proficient, one should have advanced abilities
In many parts of the world, reading has traditionally been the skill most emphasized
in FL and EFL situastions, and this is still true today inspite of the current emphasis
on oral/aural approaches. Reading has been the most emphasized skill in traditional
language (FL) instruction in many countries (Susser & Rob, 2001). Reading can not
be regarded as a set of mechanical skills to be learned once and for all, but rather as a
complex process of making meaning from a text for variety of purposes and in a wide
range of contexts (Allen & Bruton, 1998). It should be considered that reading in
English is essential for learners’ academic success, and therefore teachers and
classroom actions.
ingenuity in reading. If the material is good and interesting, it will be very much
desirous to be read and understood, but if the material is not interesting and
monotonous, it will be very much left by the reader. Therefore, materials in reading is
very much lifted and taken into consideration. According to Dechant cited by
Macceca (2007), reading is a visual process that begins with one´s ability to use ones
39
It refers to understand what is read, so readers must be able to cognitively process the
words by drawing meaning from their own experience and knowledge to understand
college-level courses. That is, college students who are more proficient readers are
most likely to experience more success in their courses (Kim & Anderson, 2011). It is
not only to increase knowledge but also to build maturity and widen awareness of
contemporary issues. A good reading habit is an important tool for the development of
personalities and mental capacities. The reading habits of young people in Malaysia
have long been the concern of educators and policy makers. Studies in Malaysia have
reported that Malaysian students read very little (Kaur & Thivagarajah, 1999). Many
of them prefer to watch television and video than reading for information or leisure.
Malaysian teachers have often complained about the poor reading habits among their
students. Pandian (2000) found that the majority of university students are “reluctant”
readers in English language materials. Based on his study, the Chinese were behind
the Indian and Malay students as habitual readers in the English language. However, it
cannot be said that Chinese students do not read, as many available reading materials
are in Chinese.
40
students due to the impact of digital media made available through the internet (Liu,
2005). Recreational reading has changed for young adults and students in an era of
eBooks and laptops and hours spent online. Students have been known to be very
receptive to different forms of media. With the advent and evolution of the internet,
information can be transmitted quickly. Reading time using digital media is made
shorter by skimming and browsing the hypertexts that are less structured and non-
linear. Liu (2005) found that younger people can tolerate more time reading screen-
based materials. However, students tend to print out material (for school) to read
more slowly.
A study conducted by Nor Shahriza and Amelia (2007) focused on the gender
and choice of reading material by university students revealed that university students
spend a significant amount of time reading newspapers, academic books and websites.
Not surprisingly, they reported that IT-based students tend to use electronic resources
more than art based students. Kaur and Thivagarajah (2000) did a study on the
English reading habits of students at University Sains Malaysia and found that
students are motivated to read in English as they knew that it would improve their
English proficiency so as to get good grades in their courses. The students spent little
time on leisure reading but 3-5 hours a week on literary works and ELT books.
Similarly, Yang (2007) found that in many EFL situations, English is learned as an
examination subject rather than a tool for life. Most students do not use English
outside the classroom so they read English books only as requirement and not for
leisure.
41
Many studies have been conducted to identify the nature of the reading habits
of individuals. Among them are studies on reading that have been done on teenagers
or young people, on college students and adults (Gallik, 2000), and on specific
cultures and society such as Malaysia. The research on online reading is still new and
progressing in the Malaysian context. Most of Malaysian students are able to read
formal education. However, even equipped with literacy skills particularly reading
skills, the reading habits of students are still at an unsatisfactory level (Mozihim in
Mohamad Jafre, 2011). Reading habits among Malaysians recently surprised the
“reading has become an enveloping habit for Malaysians with most reading an
average of eight to twelve books per year” (Teh in Mohamad Jafre, 2011). As the
internet is a part of the technological and digital culture of the teenagers; therefore,
online reading would better suit teenagers compared to reading printed materials or
books.
has been conducted to break down and understand the complex process of
reading (Denton & Fletcher, 2003). Learning to read and then improve and
nation, Malaysia has made many conscious efforts to improve and develop literacy so
that it will achieve a literacy rate of 100% by the year 2020. The country still has a
42
long way to go but there are positive indications that the literacy rate is
increasing.
The World Education Report (2007) states that Malaysia then had one of
the significant improvements in literacy levels. According to the 2000 Census, more
than 91% of the population above 10 years who were attending or had attended
school) are literate. This is in line with school enrolments. Malaysia has achieved
than 96% of primary-aged children were enrolled in 2005. There are no significant
gender disparities in primary enrolment rate. The percentage of children who Year
One and successfully reach Year Six had improved from 96.7% in 1989 to 98.1% in
2005.
And involves many complex skills: the ability to perceive printed words, to skim for
information and then perhaps read intensively. With almost everyone in Malaysia
owning a data based computer or phone, digital reading is much easier to access
rather than the “hard copy” books which is costlier and occupy space. But why is that
Malaysian are not reading enough and how do we inculcate the reading habits
amongst them especially conditioning the younger ggeneration to have a passion for
reading. Research has proven that Malaysian are poor readers especially adults whilst
children prefer to read in preparing for their examination rather than read for
Many studies have been done on reading and researchers are looking for
changes in reading patterns due to the widespread use of the internet and the use of
alternative reading resources notably using hypertexts and multimedia resources (Liu,
2005). Pandian (2000) raised two major concerns involving Malaysian readers.
According to him, only 20% of the Malaysian populations are ‘regular readers’ and
the rest are ‘reluctant readers’. Students’ purpose of reading is only to pass exams.
Malaysian students were reluctant to read for information or pleasure. Pandian (2000)
also says that if this phenomenon is left unattended, the future of Malaysia would
environment. With a vast and speedy amount of available digital information people,
particularly the young, are spending more time reading electronic materials (Liu,
2005; Ramirez, 2003). More time is spent on skimming and browsing for information
on the internet. As students spend time on skimming and browsing for information,
they develop a mode of thinking creatively and critically. The habit of reading is an
essential life skill. Reading is not limited to increase in knowledge but it also builds
maturity and character, sharpens thinking, and widens awareness in social, economic,
political, and environmental issues. Reading is not a process that is inculcated over
nightly; it takes effort and hard work. inculcating a reading habit pays off handsomely
Readers comprehend the texts better when they are able to relate to the text as it is
teachers activate background knowledge by the use of text previewing which can be
meet their goals. It is a public good, in that, there is no additional cost when shared
with other users and others cannot be excluded from using it once it is created.
Knowledge is generally divided into two types, namely, knowledge about technology
and knowledge about attributes or tacit knowledge. The latter refers to knowledge
to catch the meaning in a passage because knowledge can be able to remember the
experience of the reader in some fields of reading or passage. The more the reader
have knowledge the better the reader in analyzing a passage of reading. That’s way
by reading knowledge hystory in which many comprehension are taken and deepen to
It is a public good, in that, there is no additional cost when shared with other
users and others cannot be excluded from using it once it is created. Knowledge is
generally divided into two types, namely, knowledge about technology and
knowledge about attributes or tacit knowledge. The latter refers to knowledge gained
knowledge are activated through reflection and recording. One of the simplest
bring to mind and state, write down, or otherwise record what they know (Susser,
2000).
Sometimes, a reader should read more than once to be able to understand the
meaning. This condition can be different with some people. Fagan as cited in Lina
Hsu (2008) also explained that reading proceess with the series of connections which
and monitoring. All of these processes depend on the reader purpose. In the L2
comprehension context, the process of reading is much more complex than only
decoding specific words. Cameron (2005) explains that “comprehension a text needs
skills and knowledge. All the skills and knowledge are connected to construct a
meaningful meaning. After the reader decodes the letters, it is then processed into
morphemes and trying to know the meaning of words. It is then linked into sentences
and the text. For the last step, the reader connects the information from the text with
that two major factors account for differences in reading comprehension: a language-
46
language (L1) to second language (L2) reading. Thus, some researchers claim that
already knows about a topic has been demonstrated to be more effective than
knowledge through reflection and oral elaboration during text reading was a more
effective strategy than taking notes on main ideas and their corresponding details.
Prior knowledge and background knowledge are parent terms for many more
The research studies selected and reviewed for this article targeted the parent concepts
prior knowledge/background knowledge for study, and in discussing these studies and
47
throughout the remainder of this article, these two terms are used interchangeably
knowledge promotes better learning and higher performance, but different research
methods are needed to establish such a causal relationship. In the sections below we
consider research findings that speak directly to the ability of prior knowledge to
influence academic outcomes. In the first section, we discuss research findings from
studies that have investigated instructional approaches for building students’ prior
knowledge. In the second section, we discuss findings from research studies that have
the course of these discussions we identify instructional approaches that the research
indicates can effectively support students’ use of background knowledge and improve
than peers who received direct instruction on an irrelevant topic area. Teaching
teachers might also help to counteract the detrimental effects that incoherent or poorly
approach such as previewing, where students are presented with introductory material
before they read specific texts. Such introductory material may include important
Graves et al., (1983), students were given previews of narrative texts that included a
plot synopsis, descriptive list of characters, and definitions of difficult words in the
story. Thus, students were given both a framework for understanding the stories and
important background information. Students not only liked the previews but made
students felt better prepared to write a research paper when they took part beforehand
and in-class sharing and discussion. While this study does not show any direct impact
preparedness might raise their engagement and/or motivation, translating into better
duration of instruction, grade level, and ability level. None of these factors have been
routinely investigated, and the studies we have reviewed do not identify any of them
as notably influential. On the contrary, these studies support the effectiveness of direct
Stevens (2006) and Graves et al., (2006) demonstrates effectiveness for grades five,
seven, eight, and ten and with students with poor reading ability as well as students
from “average classes.” After controlling for reading ability in the sample, Stevens
comprehension. Thus, this approach appears to be effective for a range of grade levels
and student populations. Additional research is needed to extend these findings and
investigate more comprehensively the factors that might influence the success of
comprehension. As a whole, the research base provides good evidence to support the
of text (Pressley, Johnson, Symons, McGoldrick & Kurita, 1989). There are a variety
of strategies for helping students to activate prior knowledge. We have divided this
direct instruction approach, teachers might consider one more indirect, such as
nimmersing students in field experiences through which they can absorb background
combined reading trade books, journal keeping, fields trips that put students in
technique. However, the data is too preliminary to clearly establish the effectiveness
of the approach or clarify which of its elements are most valuable (National Center on
Reading is one of the most important activities any successful student does in
any course of study. It is important to note that reading is an active process; students
need to apply strategies that will enable them make sense of what you read. Reading
for lifelong learning for all learners. In order to face the 21st century, education has to
prepare these learners to adapt to social and technological changes that are taking
continued education, for the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, for gaining
the computers. Thus the achievement of quality basic education calls for the
development of good reading habits of both young and adult learners (Noorizah
Noor, 2011).
be trained in effective reading skills. The expert divide reader into two criteria: they
are skilled and unskilled readers. Skill readers are those who are included in
intermediate and advanced level, whereas unskilled readers are those who are
beginners in reading. Unskilled readers do not reread are those who are beginners in
reading. “ Unskilled readers do not reread the parts in which inconsistencies occur
when given passages containing inconsistent information, and they fail to ask
questions or request assistance to clarify difficulties” They just read without bothering
about the content of the reading matter. For them, being able to pronunce words
correctly is a proof this at they can read well. They also dislike asking others when
they do not understand something in a pass (Abdul Wahab & Mulikat Bola, 2012).
respond to new demands and changes in jobs and reading for pleasure or
to read and ultimately reducing illiteracy has been a major agenda in Malaysia.
When adults in today’s age who can read, choose not to read, they are likely to create
term reluctant readers to people who can read but do not read and the term
reluctance to describe the phenomenon of people who can read but choose not to
reading to be meaningful, it is essential that young people learn not only to read
but they cultivate reading behavior for lifelong learning. While new forms of
reading texts (mass and multimedia) have emerged, it is still not certain if
communications technology will be used to maintain their reading for pleasure and
Although Malaysia has a fairly high literacy rate and a good educational
system, the reading habit has not developed as it should. Relatively recently,
reading research has broadened in scope to consider the way in which social
accepted to occur not only in the classroom, but also within social settings, at home
and in the wider community, including the public library. International research
and family members as they combine languages, illiteracies and cultural practices
in other words, beyond the school gates, children’s learning is supported and in
turn supports the learning of others, in ways that are not necessarily recognized
or understood within the school. It is much better to begin with to take books to
the people than to expect people to come to libraries to look for books. There are two
reasons for this. The first reason is that people do not go to libraries because it is not a
culturally familiar thing to do. The second reason is that if people do pluck up
53
courage and venture through library doors they often find that it is such an alien
place that they leave as soon as possible and do not come back. Almost all our
valuable life- enriching habits are given to us by our parents, our peers or our
Reading skills are important among the four language skills. Students
must have ideas about reading skills and sub-skills. Jordan (1997) suggests these
1. Prediction
If students want to participate actively in the class, they are likely to perform
extra work on their own in order to improve their reading skills, Wilson in Roszainora
Setia (2012). When students are intrinsically motivated, they are undertaking an
activity for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provides, or the feeling of
54
motivated, students tend to employ strategies that demand more time and effort, and
that enable them to process information more deeply. Students with an intrinsic
orientation also tend to prefer academic tasks that are moderately challenging,
whereas extrinsically orientated students gravitate toward tasks that are low in
degree of difficulty. Extrinsically oriented students are inclined to put forth the
minimal amount of time, energy, and effort necessary in order to receive the
maximum reward, Fatimah, & Vishalache, 2006 in Puteri Rohani Megat (2012).
Students are more active when they are performing extra work on their own to
Intrinsic motivation has more potential benefits than extrinsic motivation. Students
should be provided with sufficient homework and class work in order to help
skills require active reading, White in (Inderjit, 2007). Being active readers mean
students have to engage with the text, both mentally and physically. Students should
do the tips: skim ahead, jump back, and highlight the text when they are studying.
They should make specific observations about the text. Students should skim and
scan homework and class work assignments to get the general idea of its contents.
Instructors should provide class-related topics that are exciting and interesting. The
best instructors tell stories related to topic; when students are taking a quiz or exam,
55
they will remember the story associated with the lecture to recall the information.
courses. Practice exercises in class and homework help students to remember the
information for quizzes and final exams. New words appearing in the scripted
materials are printed on a flipchart. In this way, students could see and take careful
notice during the discussion of each new word as it is used in a textbook illustration,
and is identified and printed on a chalkboard. These new words are referred to in the
When you are reading, make it pleasurable and fine a quiet place. Make
your reading time your favourite time of day like have some good tea or coffee.
Find a quiet place that you are comfortable and be easy to understand what
you read. A quite place will make you peace. If you find yourself stressful
while reading the book, don’t continue reading under pressure like that.
Reading is for pleasure, so don’t push yourself too hard that you can quit reading
forever, or even if you can read, the outcome won’t be so good either. After
to read efficiently after finishing their secondary education. However, even equipped
with literacy skills particularly reading skills, the reading habits of students are still at
mindset and be more proactive in guiding and cultivating reading habits among
children from a young age. The people that are culturally closest to us and who are
Reading begins at home and parents are the key indicators on whether their
child is acquiring the habit of learning. Children at a tender age are like sponge
feeding into their minds knowledge and information from their parents which act as
their role model. Conditioning the child with positive reading habits must be
inculcated at this young age to provide a strong pillar and platform for them to create
a passion in reading. Teachers in schools are busy with their daily stressful job of
educating children and this require the parents to push the extra mile in spending time
reading and this will improve the social bondage between them. If our youth spend
their free time in reading and cultivate critical thinking, we will have less social
problems such as illegal racing, wild sex, baby-dumping, drug-taking and so on.
Another aspect of reading skill is the learning of speed reading which enables one to
read and understand much faster and more knowledge in a shortest time. Speed
comprehensive manner is like any ability, something people can develop over time
(Guthrie, 2002).
reading habits in Malaysia showcased that tertiary level students spent less time
reading than they used to before joining the university. A similar result was found in a
reading habit survey. The survey indicated that even though most subjects had high
level of motivation and attitude, only about two third of the subjects did spend time
57
on reading English materials outside class hours. Two third who spent time on
reading, almost half of them spent only less than one hour a week on English reading
The habit of reading improved someone’s reading skill. Therefore, the issue of
reading whether it is for learning or leisure is important since it helps broaden young
people’s experiences and knowledge. Many studies have been conducted to identify
the nature of the reading habits of individuals. Among them are studies on reading
that have been done on teenagers or young people, on college students and adults and
reading topics, processes and outcomes. Motivation can be in the form of intrinsic
(internal) and extrinsic (external) factors. When the desire to read is controlled
externally, for example, to meet teachers’ or parents’ expectations, readers are only
extrinsically motivated because they may not be interested to read but they want
Francis Robinson developed the SQ3R method of self- regulated reading. College
reading in order to help them learn more effectively. Proficient reading skills give
more expertise within their professional fields. There are four items that
proficient readers partake of. First, students have a reason for why they are
58
reading and how they will read. Second, students know their skill process when
they read. Third, students keep track of their reading comprehension. Finally,
passages. The SQ3R method includes survey, question, read, recite and review
overview the text and understand the main points and how this information is
structured. Using the survey part of this reading method, students will skim the
textbook chapter to see the overall structure, decide which reading method will be
best based upon the headings and view the larger image of the chapter to
understand the reading. By knowing what the textbook chapters are about,
students can provide questions to promote critical thinking skills (Guthrie, 2002).
adopt or avoid a reading situation (Alexander & Filler, 1976). Attitude and interest
toward reading can be related to feeling and their willingness to read. Reading
children develop a positive attitude towards reading at a young age. Positive reading
attitudes lead to positive reading experiences. Wang (2000) explains that children’s
future success in reading was determined by their literacy development, and children’s
reading habit is determined by their attitudes toward reading. Reading attitude also
fulfils a pivotal role in the development and use of lifelong reading skills
Reading attitudes can produce major barriers to the students, especially in the
academic and it would also impact the development of information literacy and the
ambitious to be information literate people where the product know how to find,
evaluate and use information effectively whether the information they select comes
resources. Attitude toward reading are defined as an individual’s feeling about reading
(2011).
and reading because by having attitude, students can direct their way of learning in
their skills (writing and reading). Reading is one of skill that needs attitude toward it
problem for many students in learning like motivation, interest and prefernce.
60
along a continuum ranging from positive to negative. Most attitudes have three
concerning actions toward the object Some attitudes are acquired through firsthand
achievement as those students who engage more regularly with reading achieve
significantly higher results. Yet, to date, studies that evaluate children’s reading
are focused only on intellectuanl gifted children or children with learning difficulties,
but the research about the relationship between academic achievement and reading
attitude is scarcely dearth. Much of the evidence has consistently linked reading
attitude with ability, but studies also do exist that show that there is no correlation
that drive students to choose whether they will engage in an persist with the
more traditional motivation constructs with cognitive theory and social theory.
limited; it now includes the individual’s personal goals, values, beliefs, cognitive
61
processes, and academic abilities, as well as the interactions occurring within the
culture and situation. Therefore, motivation for reading is a crucial entity for
successfully engaging in the reading process because it is the element that what
activates and maintains students’ engagement throughout the entire reading process,
McGough, Bennett, & Rice, 1996). They have social goals in that they share
their thoughts and feelings related to their interpretations of the text with their
peers and their families. They have strategic goals in that they use a variety of
comprehension strategies during the reading process that enable them to obtain their
knowledge goals. That is, they are able to successfully use an array of strategies to
Successful readers also have personal goals in that they read a variety of genres, in
various settings, and across time. In contrast, readers who are disconnected with the
reading process avoid reading. They rarely enjoy reading. They do not have a purpose
for reading, they do not have goals, nor are they able to seek understanding
of the text by using strategic, personal goals, Cambourne in (Habibah Elias, 2011).
and reading achievement. Some researchers believe that by increasing the student’s
competence in reading and by increasing the belief in reading abilities, the motivation
to read will also increase. By increasing this motivation, it can increase reading
activity and in turn, increase knowledge and academic success. Students with and
62
without learning disability are consistently found to differ in their motivational and
behavioral profiles. For example, students with and without learning disability
more time reading than other students and as a result attain higher levels of
The definition of reading has undergone through many improvements. In the past,
reading was meant to interpret visual information of any given codes or systems,
Lone in Subhasini and Balakrishnan (2013). However, after that, reading became
more complex and involved the understanding process of a whole text composed of
written signs (Fisher, 2004). Smith and Robinson in Subhasini (2013) define
Toit (2001) suggests reading as a process of thinking, recalling and relating concepts
under the functioning of written words. Irvin (1998) describes the reading process as
interaction between the writer’s mind with what is on the page within a particular
context that causes readers to comprehend what they read. Furthermore, Williams in
Balarishnan (2013) defines reading as a process in which a reader looks at a text and
understands what has been written. He further states that reading does not
mean a person needs understand everything he reads because people read for
different reasons and purposes. Thus, reading can define as ability to recognize,
Malaysian educators have often complained about the poor reading habits
among their students. Based on the study by Kaur and Thiyagarajah in Subhasini
(2013), Malaysian students read very little. They prefer to watch television and
video compared to reading for information or leisure. Similar results are also
found by Pandian (2000), Frank Small and Associates (2006) and the Malaysian
National Library (2006). In the survey by Malaysian National Library (2006) with a
sample of 60,441 respondents, it was found that the literacy rate has slightly
on how to behave, either negative or positive; and the reading attitude refers to
Attitude Acquisition (McKenna, Kear & Ellsworth, 1996) suggests that the
individual’s reading attitude develops over time as a result of three factors: (i)
normative beliefs (how one’s friends view about reading); (ii) beliefs about
towards reading differs according to the kind of reading to be performed and the
discuss reading attitudes with reference to a particular type or use of reading (Taylor,
The way to read a book or a text depends very much on a reason for reading it. This is
why it is so important to know the reading purpose. Someone should read a question
looking at quickly to find out the date of an event. The kind of reading someone do in
class or for his homework is different from how he read a novel for pleasure in the
summer vacation. If someone know his reading purpose – perhaps by looking first at
the questions he must answer after reading – he can choose the best reading method.
If a teacher gives a student something to read and doesn’t tell him what he need to
find out from the text or what student will do after the reading, ask the teacher is the
best way.
There are many purposes planned by people in reading and it depends on the
materials they want to read whether academic or non academic materialsa. Besides, it
also based on the target people want to reach whether for getting knowledge or
done for various purposes which are for learning or studying, for having fun, for
survival and for working. Reading for learning or studying consists of the reading
done to support, unite and clarify as ideas as well as to add to our knowledge about
the reader reads. A tenageer for example, will be motivated to read a teenage
setting, reading is diferent. A student needs a deep understanding about the text to
answer the questions related to the text. Sometime he needs to write it back more than
one to get the main idea and comprehend the text well. Further, Grabe and Stoller
(2002) said the purpose of reading are: reading to search for simple information,
reading to skim quickly, reading to learn from texts, reading to read information and
reading to write ( to search for information needed for writing), reading to critique
Furthermore, there are some purposes of reading that are for pleasure, for a
general impression, for organizing reading and study, for learning content or
procedures and for language learning. Thus, it is clear that there is a wide of specific
purposes for which we may read and that our specific purposes may change during the
course of reading a single text. Thus the questions we ask our students to consider will
vary according to the both the nature of the text and the level and background of our
students. It provides a selection for the selection of questions for different group of
students and different context of study. It also provides a basis for considering the
When reading purposes and text is clear, the reader should be in a position to
consider the most appropriate of reading to adopt. When reading for pleasure, a
certain degree of ‘skipping’ can be tolerated; when reading in order to organize study,
it is usually sensible to start by ‘skimming’ the text for key signal of content etc. But
66
reading for the learning of content, or procedures, requires slower reading, reading in
depth, and time for reflection. Reading for learning the language will require a
particularly in EFL where the pre dominant exercises are aimed at ‘getting the gist
and/or is at the skimming and scanning of test which, by their very nature, need to be
important at this stage that we examine the terms commonly used to describe such
reading activities both in course book and in the research literature, Grabe and Stoller
(2002).
Skilled readers do not read blindly, but purposely. They have an agenda, goal,
or objective. Their purpose, together with the nature of what they are reading,
determines how they read. They read in different ways in different situations for
different purposes. Of course, reading has a nearly universal purpose: to figure out
what an author has to say on a given subject. When we read, we translate words into
meanings. The author has previously translated ideas and experiences into words. We
must take those same words and re-translate them into the author’s original meaning
using our own ideas and experiences as aids. Accurately translating words into
few people are skilled at translation. Few are able to accurately mirror the meaning
the author intended. They project their own meanings into a text.
67
In general, then, we read to figure out what authors mean. Our reading is
further influenced by our purpose for reading and by the nature of the text itself. For
example, if we are reading for pure pleasure and personal amusement, it may not
matter if we do not fully understand the text. We may simply enjoy the ideas that the
text stimulates in us. This is fine as long as we know that we do not deeply understand
the text. Some of the various purposes for reading include : a. Sheer pleasure: requires
no particular skill level, b. To figure out a simple idea: which may require skimming
enter, understand, and appreciate a new world-view: requires close reading skills in
working through a challenging series of tasks that stretch our minds, and e. To learn a
new subject: requires close reading skills in internalizing and taking ownership of an
organized system of meanings. How you read should be determined in part by what
you read. Reflective readers read a textbook, for example, using a different mindset
than they use when reading an article in a newspaper. Furthermore, reflective readers
read a textbook in biology differently from the way they read a textbook in history.
Having recognized this variability, we should also recognize that there are core
reading tools and skills for reading any substantive text, some of which will be the
focus of this and our next few our columns (Ting, 2003).
Studies on the mastery of the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and
reading habits indicated that although students perceived English to be important for
their academic needs, the language was mostly used for reading purposes only (Tan
cited in Othman, 2005; Kaur & Thiyagarajah, 1999). In ranking the importance of the
68
skills, students ranked writing as their least competent skill and regarded speaking and
reading as the most important skills needed to master the language. Mohamad Jafre on
revealed that only 20% of the Malaysian populations are ‘regular readers’ and the rest
purpose of reading is only to pass exams. Malaysian students were reluctant to read
for information or pleasure. It was also added that if this phenomenon was left
who were ‘retarded’ in terms of knowledge, intelligence and maturity Mohamad Jafre
in Pandian (2011).
various reading materials like academic books, magazines, newspapers and journals
(US Department of Education, 2005). One who does not know how to read or does
not like to read will likely be archaic as he or she fails to benefit from the opportunity
to gain access to the wide range of knowledge. Besides, when readers read to get
Eskey in (Zurina Khairuddin, 2013) who stated that by reading, one learns to
read and becomes better at reading. Due to this, people who read extensively
can become good readers as they are exposed to new words. As a result, they will
language materials could determine their attitudes towards reading (Marrero, 2009).
She also stated that students will employ the attitude that they have adopted towards
69
reading (2009). Furthermore, students in the English language classroom come from
different cultures and backgrounds (Grabe, 2003). Due to this, they vary in terms of
and out of it. Hence, students need to have high reading interests. Attitude and
interest toward reading can be related in association with feeling and learners’ spirit to
learn or in this situation it can be said best with readers’s spirit to read (Nor Shariza
Abdul Karim, 2007). Walberg and Tsai in Haslina (2011) said that a positive attitude
toward reading is one of the stronggest correlates of reading achievement. The activity
reading habits is often considered in terms of the amount of materials being read, the
Reading interests often refer to the selection of subject matter or preference for
a genre of literature being read. It is therefore often equated that an individual has
developed a reading habit and interests when such activity is repeatedly carried out
voluntarily for leisure. Krashen (1993) believes that this habit and interests could be
individuals of different age, gender and are greatly inluenced by the internal factors
such as home, motivation and attitude as well as the external factors such as peers,
schools, teachers, and the library facil- ities available to the individuals. Apart from
that, many students were actually not negative to reading but gave priority to other
activities such as sports, social life and school work. They would read during
70
convenient times such as during school breaks or after completion of major projects.
Several researchers have found that light reading does not automatically result in an
when students are outside the school compound. Furthermore, the US Department
read in their spare time or at home or whether they like to go to the library. Besides,
reading interest is also defined by the number of books read in a month and the
number of times students read in a week and the favourite genres and types of English
reading materials.
Anderson, Fielding and Wilson (1988), Stanovich (1986) and Walberg and Tsai
(1984), reading interest has a strong positive relationship with the success of
students both in school and life. When students read, they will gain more knowledge
and this will help them to have wider and broader perspectives on certain issues.
Besides, Anderson, Fielding and Wilson (1988) found that students’ reading interest is
one of the best predictors of a child’s growth in reading. In addition, other research
also revealed that reading interest has been linked and related to vocabulary
Guthrie & Wigfield; Taylor, Frye & Maruyama; Anderson, Fielding & Wilson,
linked to academic success as students who love to read will be able to write well and
have more ideas which will make them more creative and innovative (Grabe,
71
2003; Stansberry, 2009). This means that students who have little or no interest in
reading will not be able to force themselves to pick up a book and read for academic
purposes, let alone to read for pleasure. This is maintained by UNESCO (1983) who
stated that students who do not like to read at an early stage will not adopt reading
the differences based on genders. A study conducted by Coles and Hall revealed that
10 to 14 year-old male students read less frequently than female students (2002).
Another study showed that more female students reported that they enjoy
reading and rate themselves as confident and independent readers (Gambell &
Hunter, 2000). The female students in this study also described that they read for
pleasure for 15 minutes or more every day. These research illustrate that female
interests among year four students. From a sample of 166 students, she discovered
there is no significant difference between male and female students in terms of how
many books they read in a month. However, in the same study, Sapiah (2000)
discovered that there is a significant difference in terms of the choice of genres based
on gender. A more recent study by Nor Shariza and Amelia revealed that there were
some differences between male and female Bachelor of IT and Bachelor of Arts
yet to adopt the habit of reading (Imran Ariff, 2010). In other words, there is quite
a number of Malaysians still do not read for pleasure nor they read when they have
the time. This is proven by the Malaysian Reading Profile Survey conducted by the
indicated that only 87% of Malaysians adopt the habit of reading in which this
number is meant for reading in both the first and second language. Apart from that,
according to this reading profile, only 29% of the population uses the library and this
amount of time in reading newspapers, academic books and websites due to the
demands from doing assignments, instead of for pleasure (Nor Shariza & Amelia,
2007). In the Malaysian Reading Profile Survey in 2010, it was revealed that
Malaysians above 10 years old read at the average of eight to twelve books a year
(National Library of Malaysia, 2010). Apart from that, the reading habit in Malaysia is
still considered an issue although 93% of Malaysians are literate (Imran Ariff, 2010).
Senu, as cited in Imran Ariff, (2010) also mentioned that every family in
Malaysia only spends RM50 yearly to buy books and this is a small amount of money
This shows Malaysians still have not adopted the habit of reading. A
study by Imran Ariff (2010) discovered that students have interests in reading,
however, they have not reached to a point where they take reading as a habit. A
Chinese Malaysian students found that 48% of the respondents in the study stated that
they read during their spare time. These students mentioned that they mostly read
newspapers, magazines and comics (Mohamad Jafre, Majid & Ooi, 2011).
However, it is also found that only 20% of the respondents read to pass time and 10%
indicated that they read because they believe reading is fun. In addition to this, the
result of this research also indicated that the only two students out of 60 students read
novels or story books for more than four hours per day (Mohamad Jafre, Majid
& Ooi, 2011). These findings show that Malaysian Chinese students still do not
television or the video medium instead of through reading books or other reading
materials. This shows that Malaysians prefer to watch televisions or videos than read.
Similar findings were found by Kaur and Thivagarajah (1999) who revealed that
for pleasure and as a result, they read very little. Other than that, another
research found that the majority of the students were considered as reluctant
There are a number of studies that have been conducted which related to the
present study. Nomakhosazana (2002) have conducted a study, looking into the
74
Grade 11 ESL students’ reading preferences. The study also has elicited some
other important aspects for instance, role played by people in their surrounding
as well as the environment in promoting a love for reading. The findings show
that learners are most interested in reading magazines and newspapers as well
as topics related to love, sport and politics. Mothers seem to play a more
important role than either fathers or teachers in inculcating reading habits among
students. What emerged from this study is that reading is seen as a means to obtain
information about topics which perceive as important, but is not seen as a means of
independently finding out about their school subjects which suggests that schools
popular magazines, horror story, mysterious and other few other topics when they are
outside of school. Apart from that, the middle school students also mentioned that
they enjoy reading comics. As for the genres of assigned book, it is found that that the
students enjoyed both the genres of fiction, and non-fiction but most favourably
choose a topic of fantasy, adventure, horror and humour, which indicate to the fiction
genres. Some studies have reported that girls, more than boys, are mostly
highlighted by Arnstead (2004) who. And again, magazine has been listed as one of
the most preferable materials chosen by the students although the topic of interest
differs across gender. As for the girls, they enjoy reading magazines about teen issues
and pop culture people while the boys read magazines about people of interest to
teens and sports magazines. They also reported that Back-of-the-book summaries and
75
series books are primary influences on what they choose to read. Again, family
levels. Bremner (2000) surveyed the leisure reading choices of rural teenagers and
found this at their reasons for leisure reading was for entertainment and for acquiring
information. Magazines and newspapers were found to be the most preferred reading
behaviors are slightly varied. Preference studies are those that look at children's
expressed attitudes toward reading, and they indicate what children might read if
given the opportunity. Reading interest studies, on the other hand, examine actual
reading behaviors of children by analyzing the books children have indeed read.
In literate societies reading is a vital element in the life of most adults both in
terms of amount of time spent reading and correlation of reading. Findings from a
national survey of a large number of adults in the United States indicated this at the
average adult spent approximately two hours per day reading. Responses from a
representative sample of adults in the United States showed that 90% read
newspapers, 81% read magazines, and 83% read books. Responses from an American
survey indicated that half of those questioned had read five or more books in the
previous year and 20% had read 20 or more books. In Canada, 81% of adults reported
76
reading newspapers, 71 report reading magazines, and 61% report reading books for
leisure. A survey of the reading habits of adults in 15 European nations found that
averaged across countries, 87% of the respondents regularly read newspapers, 82%
read magazines, and 58% had read books in the previous year (Krashen, 2003).
students due to the impact of digital media made available through the internet (Liu,
2005). Recreational reading has changed for young adults and students in an era of
eBooks and laptops and hours spent online. Students have been known to be very
receptive to different forms of media. With the advent and evolution of the internet,
information can be transmitted quickly. Reading time using digital media is made
shorter by skimming and browsing the hypertexts that are less structured and non-
linear. Liu (2005) found that younger people can tolerate more time reading screen-
based materials. However, students tend to print out material (for school) to read
more slowly.
A study conducted by Nor Shahriza and Amelia (2007) focused on the gender
and choice of reading material by university students revealed that university students
spend a significant amount of time reading newspapers, academic books and websites.
Not surprisingly, they reported that IT-based students tend to use electronic resources
more than art based students. Kaur and Thivagarajah (1999) did a study on the
English reading habits of students at University Sains Malaysia and found that
students are motivated to read in English as they knew that it would improve their
English proficiency so as to get good grades in their courses. The students spent little
77
time on leisure reading but 3-5 hours a week on literary works and ELT books.
Similarly, Yang (2007) found that in many EFL situations, English is learned as an
examination subject rather than a tool for life. Most students do not use English
outside the classroom so they read English books only as requirement and not for
leisure.
The technology driven lifestyle is definitely changing the reading habits of the
young. Studies on reading among college students have gained much attention in
recent years due to the impact of the digital media. More and more students are using
technology to satisfy their information needs. Books, newspapers and other printed
media are now considered old-fashioned. Such traditional media have to adapt to meet
the challenges of a new age. Several news websites and on-line news providers such
as Malaysiakini have been started to compete with the printed media and major book
publishers have made many of their latest publications digital. In July 2010, the
news/information sites in Malaysia. According to the release, the report found that 5.5
million Malaysians age 15 and above who went online visited a news/information site
Many studies have been conducted to identify the nature of the reading habits
of individuals. Among them are studies on reading that have been done on teenagers
or young people, on college students and adults. The research on online reading is still
new and progressing in the Malaysian context. Most of Malaysian students are able to
read efficiently after finishing their secondary education. However, even equipped
with literacy skills particularly reading skills, the reading habits of students are still at
78
“reading has become an enveloping habit for Malaysians with most reading an
average of eight to twelve books per year”. As the internet is a part of the
technological and digital culture of the teenagers; therefore, online reading would
better suit teenagers compared to reading printed materials or books (Mohamad Jafre,
2011).
Many studies have been done on reading and researchers are looking for
changes in reading patterns due to the widespread use of the internet and the use of
alternative reading resources notably using hypertexts and multimedia resources (Liu,
2005). Pandian (2000) raised two major concerns involving Malaysian readers.
According to him, only 20% of the Malaysian population are ‘regular readers’ and the
rest are ‘reluctant readers’. Students’ purpose of reading is only to pass exams.
Malaysian students were reluctant to read for information or pleasure. Pandian (2000)
also says that if this phenomenon is left unattended, the future of Malaysia would
intelligence and maturity. Many researchers are captured by the emergence of the new
digital environment. With a vast and speedy amount of available digital information
people, particularly the young, are spending more time reading electronic materials
(Liu, 2005; Ramirez, 2003). More time is spent on skimming and browsing for
information on the internet. As students spend time on skimming and browsing for
information, they develop a mode of thinking creatively and critically. The habit of
reading is an essential life skill. Reading is not limited to increase in knowledge but it
also builds maturity and character, sharpens thinking, and widens awareness in social,
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Reading is described as a complex process of making meaning from a text, for variety
of purposes and in a wide range of contexts (Allen & Bruton, 1998). Reading is a
encoded by a writer and ends with meaning which the reader constructs (Goodman,
grammatical knowledge, experience with text and other strategies to help them
understand a written text. Additionally, in the reading process, readers use their
background knowledge about the text’s topic and structure along with their linguistic
knowledge and reading strategies to achieve their purpose for reading. During the
reading process, the brain seeks to maximize information it acquires and minimize
effort and energy used to acquire it (Goodman, 1995). In reading process, it becomes
very complex and intricate for some peole to get comprehension when they reading
very dense, technical material in text book. There are some ways of basic of reading
process, among others are: preview, over preview, read, final review and Recite / Talk
Gough and Tunmer (1986) proposed the simple view of reading, in which reading
for the data, and it reminds us that the ability to decode words is absolutely
essential for skilled reading; those with either very low decoding skills or very
or word reading is often the bottleneck that prevents readers from attaining higher or
verbal ability, is also essential. Verbal ability is a key component of intelligence, and
vocabulary, grammar, the ability to make inferences, etc. Decoding provides a more
(Kintsch, 2009). Those pieces of information can come from long-term memory (prior
knowledge), but in reading comprehension at least one piece must come from the text.
operation takes up space there too. As we read, we update our mental representation
of the text’s meaning; these mental representations are known as mental models or
processed, the lower-level units are integrated into higher-level units; long-term
generalized mental or situation models. For readers with rich knowledge, a word such
as democracy evokes and brings to life many ideas without taking up additional
working memory space; for readers with less relevant knowledge, the word itself may
take up one or more spaces, with no additional information brought along “for
free”. Comprehension is enhanced when the contents of working memory are higher-
level units; children struggling to identify words are unlikely to be able to attain even
equally important to remember this at the processing of lower-level units does not
guarantee the comprehension of higher level units, Kintsch in Charles Perfetti &
how these levels interact. Successful word recognition (either pronunciation, or, more
the higher levels of comprehension. If some words cannot be recognized, the higher
levels can compensate to some extent. Unknown words can be inferred in some
cases; however, this is more difficult than it sounds, it can only work for some
kinds of words and only for a small number of words in any text, and it is very
82
processing intensive. Once words have been recognized, the question of word
meaning arises, it is possible to make sense of text when the meaning of some words
becomes impossible.
processing, words are formed into phrases, and phrases are formed into more abstract
(grammar). Just as several words can be processed into one phrase, several
phrases can be processed into one idea. Comprehension is at the phrase or idea level
results in a relatively shallow understanding of what the text stated directly, often
particular ones as main ideas, or constructs main ideas from them, and then
general topic of the text, helps the reader identify lower-level information. It is
and especially to see the deeper implications of the text, Kintsch in Charles Perfetti &
The textbook is considered to be the basic didactical tool which provides the
necessary for pupils during their education. It may seem that a written textbook
forms the basic material for teachers as well as for pupils (Prucha et.al.,2003).
and technology into words and sentences. However, it should not contain only an
amount of information because it plays an important role also during the whole
principles and all phases of learning. There are many secondary schools in Malaysia
which use those textbooks which were published many years ago. Thus, they do
not include the newest information. Although many teachers point on the bad
economic situation within education system, the truth is that there are no newer
textbooks available at the market. A textbook, as the main aid for students, is one
of the most important factors which influence the efficiency of learning processes.
different levels of education were evaluated. However, nowadays there are many
books published for business reasons and not for pedagogical aims.
84
are several factors which can be evaluated. First of all, a textbook includes
many facts which must be divided into logical order. The text itself has to be
comprehensible and readable. The textbooks can be evaluated based on the text
itself, based on the assignments related to the text, based on students’ and
teachers’ opinions, etc (Chráska, 2007; Turek, 2002). Thus, the aim of the
survey was to evaluate the current condition of textbooks for vocational education
Malaysia.
In the end of part of chapter II, there are some summaries drawn out to make the
discusses the theoretical views by which the present study underpinned and
summaries are:
developing human resource either from primay or university. Primary and secondary
technical and vocational education under the Ministry of education begins at the
primary school level. The goverment has determined that the Technical and
Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sectors as the main route in providing
highly-skilled human resources and also one of the key drivers of economy for
model taken from Spencer & Spencer, while competence produce some aspects or
variables used in the research. The variables used are knowledge, skill and attitude
comprising purpose, interest and preference. From all, the aspects are integrate in one
3. Theories
views are relevant to the field of study conducted by the researcher. In this section,
throuh the literature review, the researcher examines the knowledge, skill and attitude
in reading English technical materials and a brief role of education in Malaysia made
several experts.
4. Reading in Malaysia
Reading is becoming a big issue in which many students have not good ability in
challenging, and influent in learning and obtaining well achievement so that research
Meanwhile students are only frequent in reading materials out of them such as novel,
game, story book which are not related to technical materials at all. It is supposed that
the students are accustomed with reading especially english reading technical material
By having habit toward reading, students will have good knowledge and skill
in it. Furthermore, knowledge and skill are sharpened and toughen with attitude
mean students have objective before reading too many materials. Interest means
students are being interested before reading a material or when they are looking at a
title book and when they are reading the material partly or fully. Preference means
students have options to read or they can choose whatever they like to read around the
materials. Which materials they choose is showing the willingness of reading well or
This research clearly distinguish between concepts, constructs and variables so that
the reader knows the difference between the broad concept/construct that are
interested in and the variables that you use to measure these concepts/constructs (e.g.,
it means that technical material as the primary and English material as the secondary
construct the variable, the research focused on English technical materials in which
the materials are being the factor that influence or measure the students proficiency in
reading. In this case the research measures students’ proficiency from the aspects of
knowledge, skill and attitude. In terms of knowledge aspect, the variable contains of
Technical materials becomes the main matter as a focus on the research because the
materials are very useful to be researched in which from technical materials, the
researcher can see and measure to what extend the students are able to master the
88
contents of the material and comprehend the meaning of the contend of the text as
much as they read comprising of words, sentences, vocabularies, grammars, etc. The
materials can be text, articles, papers, or books. Thus, if students can understand them,
Obviously, technical material is reading materials that related to the subject or course
pertaining about technical, science and mathetic at book, magazine and other source
bold-faced words, pictures, diagrams, charts, bullet points, objectives, oulines that is
Reading technical materials requires a different skill set than reading for
pleasure. In this set of activities, there will be an emphasis on strategies that can assist
with reading technical materials. The students is supposed to keep a notebook for
these activities, and have the following materials: highlighter, pencil, pen and eraser.
Learning how to handle the quantities of information, and how to process this, is an
main idea are just a few skills needed to process information efficiently. Similarly in
reading process of technical materials, a lot of people have question on how to get
comprehension when when they are reading very dense, technical material in text
book. There are some ways of basic of reading process, among others are: preview,
and ingenuity in reading. If the material is good and interesting, it will be very much
desirous to be read and understood, but if the material is not interesting and
monotonous, it will be very much left by the reader. Therefore, materials in reading is
very much given priority to and taken into consideration by the researcher.
There are many factors that may contribute to the less encouraging
second language without appropriate learning materials in the classroom. Over the
of research shows that there is something about the type of reading text that should be
Choosing reading materials whether they are preffered or not for students
willingness process including students’ interests and preference. English that becomes
the first problem will add much burden forstudents to understand technical materials
as the problem as well because of their lack of abilities toward the them.
In Malaysia there are many streams of educations such as national schools, technical
English for Technical Purposes (ETP) is taught 3 semesters for certificate courses and
5 semesters for diploma courses. It is exactly called by English for specific purposes
(ESP). Besides, English is taught for mathematics and science with more semesters.
Therefore it is very important to make English priority subject to learn and teach at
and Training) which educate people to work and seek a chance of jobs. In Malaysia,
TVET have been established and promoted as the way of increasing economic, social
through the provision of knowledge, skills and attitudes desirable in the world of
overemphasized. TVET remains the country’s hope of reducing the high level of
widespread poverty and deprivation because whether on the farm, the clinic, in the
office, at sea, in the mines, in the forest, at the workshop, or the dressmakers, among
nsystem. TVET by itself does not create jobs, but is beneficial when it is associated
with the actual needs of the labour market. This is the reason TVET programmes in
8. Reading Process
There are two types of processing occur when people are reading: “bottom-up” and
“top-down”. In bottom-up processing, words are formed into phrases, and phrases are
formed into more abstract units called propositions or ideas; these processes require
technology into words and sentences. However, it should not contain only an amount
of information because it plays an important role also during the whole education.
Even reading for vocational education have to follow didactical principles and all
phases of learning. There are many secondary schools in Malaysia which use those
textbooks reading which were published many years ago or varieties of sources.
Thus, they do not include the newest information. Furthermore, although many
teachers point on the bad economic situation within education system, there are no
newer textbooks available. A textbook, as the main aid for students, is one of the most
comprehend what contents or ideas of texts or materials delivered from the source of
reading.
There are several different levels in reading that is interconnected each other to show
the level of ability, skill and comprehension of the reader. It is very complicated to get
the meaning when someone reads. Because of that, it is important to put the reader
himself in what level they are. Therefore, the reader can know his ability, skill and
competent or proficient reader. Too much disruption also always happen when read.
reading. In reading level, successful word recognition (either pronunciation, or, more
the higher levels of comprehension. If some words cannot be recognized, the higher
levels can compensate to some extent. Unknown words can be inferred in some
cases; however, this is more difficult than it sounds, it can only work for some
kinds of words and only for a small number of words in any text, and it is very
processing intensive. Once words have been recognized, the question of word
meaning arises, it is possible to make sense of text when the meaning of some words
becomes impossible.
processing, words are formed into phrases, and phrases are formed into more abstract
(grammar). Just as several words can be processed into one phrase, several
phrases can be processed into one idea. Comprehension is at the phrase or idea level
93
results in a relatively shallow understanding of what the text stated directly, often
particular ones as main ideas, or constructs main ideas from them, and then
general topic of the text, helps the reader identify lower-level information. It is
CHAPTER 3
94
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of the research design, population and sample,
A quantitative research survey method was used in this study. Questionnaires were
distributed to measure the levels of skills and attitudes. Attitude consisted of purpose,
interest, and preference. The questionnaires used in this research were modified from
The population of this study constituted form four students from four technical
secondary schools in Perak. Based on the data provided by the Perak State
(2001) table of sample size, a total of 120 respondents (30%) were required from a
population of 400. The sampling procedure utilised for the current study was simple
Table 3.1 shows four schools that were selected for this study.
Table 3.1
Schools Sample
3.3 Instrumentation
The research instruments used in this study were a set of questionnaires and a set of
scale and widely used in a research study using a scale of agreement. If the responses
to statements are related to each other, the researcher can employ a scale value of 5 to
Table 3.2
Five Likert Scale ranking
Score Scale
5 Strongly agree
4 Agree
96
3 Uncertain
2 Disagree
1 Strongly disagree
parents’ education level, students’ residence location and languages spoken at home
point Likert scale items (Strongly Agree, Agree, Uncertain, Disagree and Strongly
Disagree).
In order to ensure the data analysis was smoothly run, some items in the
were computed as ‘Students’ Reading Skill’. The second 8 items in section C were
presumed as ‘Students’ Reading Preference. In part E, the items were about the
frequency and material of reading students prefer to. The items were scored on a 5
point Likert scale. Each item was rated from 1 – 5 as seen in the Table 3.4.
Table 3.3
49,50
Table 3.4
Items based on the measured aspects
Scale Frequency
1 Never (none)
16 times / month)
everyday)
Norani (2007)
3.3.2 Test
Test was one of the techniques employed to collect data. The purpose of reading
reading knowledge level. In the test, the researcher asked students to answer 15
items in the test were applied most because they are effective in assessing
comprehension (Nana, 2009: 25). Each correct item was given 5 with a total score of
98
100. If a student made one mistake they would lose a score of 5. All of the questions
The test consisted of four different criteria; main idea, supporting detail,
inference and making conclusions. Before applying the test to the students, the
researcher gave explanation about the test that are materials content, instructions and
allocated time of the test. The duration of the test was 60 minutes. The test questions
provided four possible answers (a, b, c, and d), but there was only one correct answer
from these options. The tests were undertaken by 120 form four students of four
selected technical secondary schools; SMT Slim River, SMT Teluk Intan, SMT Lebuh
Catur and SMT Pesiaran Brush, Ipoh. The data were matched with the criteria of
scores related to their knowledge level in reading. Table 3.5 shows the criteria of
scores that classified students into appropriate levels of knowledge according to their
Table 3.5
Criteria of score
Score Scale
0 – 33 Poor
34 – 66 Average
67 – 99 Good
100 Excellent
approval letter from Ministry of Education, the proposal was assigned to Perak State
permission from headmasters with the attached approval letter from Ministry of
Education Malaysia and Perak State Department of education before undertaking the
research to four schools in Perak. Nonetheless, discussion with schools about the
A pilot study was conducted on March 14, 2012 in which a total of 30 form four
students from SMT Slim River took part. The purpose of the pilot study was to test the
provide the research team with the early feedback on the construction of the
questionnaire.
with the Alpha value obtained in this study being 0.76. According to Alias Baba
(1997), if the Cronbach’s alpha is less than 0.6, it means that the instrument used has a
low reliability. If the alpha value is within 0.7, the instrument is acceptable. Sekaran
Uma (2006) stated; although no specific limitations can be used for determining the
reliability coefficient for the particular gauge, the coefficient of reliability more than
100
0.6 is often used and referred to as the acceptable minimum. Acceptable reliability
value is between 0.6 to 1.0. Table 3.6 shows the general rules of Cronbach's Alpha
Coefficient Size.
Table 3.6
To measure the validity of the instrument, construct and content validity were
used. To test a construct validity, experts’ judgments are necessary. Content validity
ensures that the measurement of a set of items is adequately and represently revealed
concept. The more items reflect the scale or the whole concept measured, the greater
the content validity. Content validity is a function of how well the dimensions and
elements of a concept have been described, (Sekaran, 2006), experts were appointed
In the current study, the faculty appointed a panel of experts to verify the
validity of instruments. The purpose of the verifying construct validity was to seek any
101
opinions from the experts on how improving the instruments. After the experts verified
the experts is three individuals and they are experts in their own areas” (Sugiyono,
3.6 Variables
Both dependent and independent variables were used. The independent variables were
reading knowledge, reading skills and reading attitude; reading purpose, reading
interest, and reading preference. Meanwhile dependent variable was reading technical
that are gender, parents’ education level, students’ residence location and spoken
A quantitative method was used to analyze all of the data obtained from the survey
using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20. The results were
presented in term of the frequency (ƒ), percentage (%), mean, and standard deviation,
Table 3.7
CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS
103
4.0 Introduction
In this chapter, research data were reported, summarized, and interpreted based on
descriptive statistic and inferential statistic. The researcher used SPSS Version 20 for
analysis of the data. The data were organized and analyzed according to the research
level, students’ residence location and language used at home are presented in Table
4.1. Majority of the respondents were males (53.3 %) and the rest were females (46.7
%). In terms of parents’ education level, most of them were secondary school leavers.
The majority (74.2 %) of their fathers possessed secondary school qualifications while
only about one-fourth (25.8 %) were university graduates. Similarly, about one-fourth
secondary school leavers while one fourth possessed university degrees (26.7)
respondents spoke only their mother tongue. While, the rest (40.0 %) spoke mixed-
language at home with the exception of only one respondent (0.8%) who used only
live in cities and only about one-fourth (26 %) of the respondents live in rural areas
(Table 4.1).
104
Table 4.1
Variables n (%)
Gender:
1.Male 64 53.3
2.Female 56 46.7
Fathers:
Mothers:
1. City 88 73.3
2. Rural 32 26.7
Total 120
100
105
In this study, the students were given a 60-minute reading comprehension test to
measure their reading knowledge. Based on the results of test, the students’ marks of
reading knowledge were categorized as poor (0-33), moderate (34.66), good (67 – 99)
Table 4.2
6. How do people use the hot water from a solar 6.04 1.74
13. Does solar energy come from the sun? 5.22 1.17
Based on the Table 4.2, the top three items which scored highest means were:
2. Do many people make electricity for their house with photovoltaic cells
The overall mean was (M= 5.91; SD= 1.10) which means that majority of the
respondents were at the moderate level. Meanwhile, the overall standard deviation
value was 1.96. This indicates that the answers were somewhat polarized. Items with
high standard deviations in items number 1, 2, 11, 12, 13 and 14 indicates high
variability in the responses. It means the level of reading knowledge based on mean
Based on the Table 4.3, there are the top three items. The first highest mean was “I
imagine scenes of what I am reading” (M= 4.25; SD= 0.89) which means that the
respondents strongly agreed that they imagine scenes of what they are reading. The
107
second highest mean was “ I focus on key words, and phrases to expedite reading”
(M= 4.10; SD = 0.97). This means that the respondents agreed that they focus on key
words, and phrases to expedite reading. The third highest mean was “I try to
understand the new vocabulary of the text thoroughly (M= 4.09; SD= 0.75). This
means that the respondents agreed that they try to understand the new vocabulary in
Table 4.3
Items Mean SD
13 I look for the words that are bold faced, 3.52 1.06
italics, or in a different font size, style,
or color for identifying main ideas
Nevertheless, the three bottom means were; the first lowest mean was “I make
guesses about up-coming information in the text (M=3.18; SD= 0.97). This means
that the respondents were unsure whether they make guesses about up-coming
information in the text. The second lowest mean was “I rephrase what I am reading in
my own words. This depicted that the respondents slightly agree to think of what they
are reading in their own words (M=3.20, SD= 0.97). The third lowest mean was “For
intensive reading, I am aware of the time limit for reading the text. This means that
109
the respondents were not sure that whether they are aware of the time limit for
The overall mean was 3.69 which means that the majority of the respondents
were at the high level or agreed (M= 3.69, SD= 0.96 ). Meanwhile, the overall
standard deviation value was 0.96. This indicates that the responses were somewhat
polarized. Items with high standard deviations such as items 2, 4, 5, and 13 indicates
high variability in the responses. Table 4.3 shows means and standard deviations for
the aspects of reading skill. The overall standard deviation value was 0.96. This
With regard to reading purpose, there are the top three items. The first highest mean
was “I read English materials for self-development (M= 4.30; SD=0.86). This means
the majority of the respondents strongly agreed that they read for self-development.
The second highest mean was I read English to ease me to master grammar of
English (M=3.86; SD=1.03). This means the respondents have their intention to
master grammar of the language. Next, the third highest mean was I read English
materials for academic purpose (M=3.80, SD=1.00). This depicted the respondents’
Nevertheless, the three from bottom means were; first, the lowest mean was “I
read English to ease me to write in English” (M= 2.77; SD= 1.06). This means that
the respondents were unsure if they read in English for the purpose of improving their
110
writing skills or not. The second lowest mean was “I read English materials as a
hobby” (M= 2.99; SD= 0.99). This means that the respondents were uncertain
whether they read English material as a hobby. Similarly, the third lowest mean was
“I read English to get many vocabularies” (M=3.05, SD=1.03). This means that most
In terms of standard deviation, items 2, 3 and 8, they were relatively high. This
shows the high variability in the responses. Overall, the results demonstrate that the
respondents have many different reasons for being intended in reading in English.
Table 4.4 shows means and standard deviations for the aspect of reading purpose.
Table 4.4
Note: Indicator of mean, 1.00 – 1.80; Strongly disagree, 1.81 – 2.60; Disagree, 2.61 – 3.40;
Uncertain, 3.41 – 4.20; Agree, 4.21 – 5.00; Strongly agree.
Pertaining to reading interest, the top three items with highest mean were: The first
SD=0.86). This means that the majority of the respondents strongly agreed that they
enjoy reading in English. The second highest mean was, “I choose English materials
based on whether it is interesting or not (M=3.86; SD=1.03). This indicated that the
respondents strongly agreed that they chose reading materials that they find
interesting. The third highest mean was “I also read comics, newspapers, magazines,
and novels in English” (M=3.80; SD=0.95). This showed that the majority of the
respondents agreed that they preferred to read comics, newspapers, magazines, and
novels.
Meanwhile, the first lowest mean was “I frequently forget another subject
when I am reading English” (M=2.67; SD= 1.17). This means that the respondents
were unsure whether they compete with their friends to read materials in English. The
second lowest mean was “of all the English materials available, I prefer to read
textbooks (academic book) (M= 2.77; SD= 1.06). This depicted that the respondents
were unsure whether they prefer to read textbook from all the English materials. The
third lowest mean was “I compete with my friends to read (M= 2.87; SD= 1.03). This
indicated that the respondents were not sure whether they compete with their friends
to read or not.
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Table 4.5
The standard deviations for items 2, 4, 9 and 10 were rather high which
indicate the responses were polarized. Overall, the results demonstrate that the
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respondents have many different reasons for being interested in reading in English.
Table 4.5 shows means and standard deviations for the aspect of reading interest.
Concerning reading preference, the top three items were also elaborated with highest
mean. The first highest mean was “English writing on computer” (M=4.08;
SD=1.28). It was demonstrated that the respondents utilized computer as a source for
English reading material more than the other media. The second highest mean was
“Fiction books (story books) (M=3.70; SD=1.06). It stated that fiction books (story
books) were the second in popularity among the reading sources. The third highest
mean was Newspaper (M=3.53; SD=0.92). This means that the respondents
Table 4.6
Similarly, the three from bottom means were also elaborated with mean score.
The first lowest mean was “religion book in English” (M=2.24; SD=1.17). It showed
that the respondents seldom read religion book in English. The second lowest mean
was “library reference book” (M=2.78; SD=0.76). This means that Library Reference
books (M=2.78; SD=0.76) were sometimes read by the respondents. The third lowest
mean was “Journal articles” (M=2.82; SD=0.82). This shows that journal articles were
seldom read by the respondents. Meanwhile, the standard deviations for items 6, 7, 8,
10, 11, and 15 were rather high which show the high variability in the responses.
Overall, the results demonstrated that the respondents have different reasons for being
preferred in reading in English. Table 4.6 shows means and standard deviations for
reading skills, a t-test was used. Table 4.7 shows that the mean value of females
(M=4.23, SD=.107) was higher than male students (M=4.15, SD=.152). The result
also shows that there was a significant difference at p< 0.05 (t=-3.297, p=.001). This
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indicates that female students tend to have higher reading skills than their male
counterparts.
Table 4.7
_____________________________________________________________________
Gender n M SD t df p
__________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
The results in Table 4.8 show that there was no significant difference among the
respondents whose fathers graduated from secondary school and those whose fathers
graduated from university in reading skill. Likewise, the results in Table 4.9 show that
the education level of the mothers had no significant effect on reading skills.
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Table 4.8
_____________________________________________________________________
Fathers’ education n M SD t df p
level
Table 4.9
_____________________________________________________________________
Mothers’ education n M SD t df p
level
A t-test was also used to determine if a significant difference exists among students
who are from cities and those who are from rural areas in reading skill. The analysis
of the t-test shown in Table 4.10 reveals that there was no significant difference at p>
0.05 (t=0.041 p=.967). This means that students did not significantly differ in their
Table 4.10
_____________________________________________________________________
Location n M SD t df p
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
To determine if students who use Malay language at home differed from students who
speak more than one language or speak English exclusively at home, one-way
analysis of variance test (ANOVA) was deemed appropriate. Data in Table 4.11
shows that there was no significant difference among these two groups of students
(Malay speakers and those who speak mixed-language at home) (F=2.546, p=.083) in
Table 4.11
The results of ANOVA test in reading skill based on language used at home
purpose by gender. As shown in Table 4.12, the results reveals that there was a
significant difference in the mean scores of male (M=3.31, SD=.190) and female
students (M=3.44, SD=.140). More specifically, female students scored higher than
Table 4.12
_____________________________________________________________________
Gender n M SD t df p
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
The results in the Table 4.13 showed that there was no significant difference in
reading purpose among respondents whose fathers graduated from secondary school
with respondents whose father graduated from university. Similarly, the result in Table
4.14 also showed that there was no significant difference in reading purpose among
respondents whose mothers graduated from secondary school with the respondents
Table 4.13
____________________________________________________________________
Fathers’ education n M SD t df p
level________________________________________________________________
Table 4.14
Mothers’ education n M SD t df p
level
Again, t-test was used to compare the reading purpose based on the students’
residence location. The results in Table 4.15 demonstrated that there was no
significant difference in reading purpose between students living in cities and those
Table 4.15
_____________________________________________________________________
Location n M SD t df p
_____________________________________________________________________
T-test was used to compare the reading purpose based on language used at home
( malay language, mixture of Malay). The results in Table 4.16 demonstrated that
there was no significant difference in reading purpose between students who use
Table 4.16
The results of test T- test in reading purpose based on language used at home
Language n M SD t df p
used at home
With regards to gender, the results in Table 4.17 showed that there was significant
difference between the mean scores of male and female students (t=-2.155, p=.033).
This means that students did not significantly differ between male and female students
Table 4.17
_____________________________________________________________________
Gender n M SD t df p
_____________________________________________________________________
In terms of the respondents fathers’ education level, t-test analysis in Table 4.18
showed that there was no significant difference among students whose father of
different education level secondary school and university graduates (t=.542, p=.589).
Similarly, Table 4.19 shows no significant difference in their reading interest based on
Table 4.18
_____________________________________________________________________
Fathers’ education n M SD t df p
level________________________________________________________________
Secondary school 31 3.51 .142 .542 118 .589
graduates
Table 4.19
Mohers’ education n M SD t df p
level
Regarding students’ residence location, data in Table 4.20 shows that there was no
significant difference between students living in cities and those who live in rural
Table 4.20
Location n M SD t df p
To see if there is a significant difference based on language used at home, T-test was
used. The result of T-test in Table 4.21 revealed that significant difference exist in
reading interest within comparison of the two components of language used at home;
Table 4.21
Language at n M SD t df p
home
Concerning gender, the result in Table 4.22 shows that male students (M=3.28,
preference. Nevertheless, it did not showed a significant difference between male and
female students.
Table 4.22
Gender n M SD t df p
In regard to with parents’ education levels, Table 4.23 shows that there was no
education background (t=.129, p=.898). Similarly result were also found among
This revealed that there was no significant difference in reading preference based on
Table 4.23
_____________________________________________________________________
Fathers’ education n M SD t df p
level________________________________________________________________
Table 4.24
_____________________________________________________________________
Mothers’ education n M SD t df p
level________________________________________________________________
When examining students’ residence location, the result in Table 4.25 shows that cities
dwellers obtained same mean score as rural areas dwellers. Therefore, no significant
difference was found between students lives in cities and those who live in rural areas
(t=.113, p=.910).
126
Table 4.25
n M SD t df p
When considering language used at home, T-test was also used. Data in Table 4.26
demonstrated that p < 0.05 within comparisons of the two components of language
used at home. Thus, significant difference exists in reading preference between the
Table 4.26
Language at n M SD t df p
home
Table 4.27 shows that reading knowledge did not relate significantly with any of the
variables, so it did not exist among the variables. However, relationships existed
among other variables at moderate level, such as between reading skills and reading
purpose (r=0.532) and also with reading interest (r=0.536). Reading purpose was
also related significantly with reading interest (r=0.567) and reading preference with
Table 4.27
The results of the Pearson Product
Correlations
Preference
Reading
Reading
Reading
purpose
Reading
interest
skill
Pearson
N
Pearson
N
128
Pearson
N
Pearson
N
Pearson
CHAPTER 5
5.0 Introduction
This chapter summarizes and discusses the research findings in terms of knowledge,
skills and attitude in reading English technical materials among technical secondary
5.1 Summary
This study is a survey research using both descriptive and inferential statistics in data
analyses. The purpose of this study was to analyze the current status of knowledge,
skills and attitude in reading among form four students in technical schools in Perak.
This study was also intended to measure relationships among variables and to identify
was distributed to form four students. The students were also given a set of 60-minute
Based on mean scores of items in reading knowledge, the results showed that
the level of reading knowledge gained by the students was at the moderate level
(M=5.91; SD= 1.10). As for 60-minute reading comprehension test to measure their
reading knowledge, slightly more than half of the students (63, 53%) scored at
moderate scale.
The level of reading skill was found to be at a high level (M= 3.69; SD=
0.96). The respondents strongly agreed in three items which showed highest means
and phrases and understanding of new vocubalary. As for reading purpose and
reading interest, the respondents showed a high variability in their responses. In other
words, the perceptions’ respondents denoted varying responses for their purpose and
interest toward reading. For reading purpose, respondents strongly agreed the most
and academic purpose. In terms of reading interest, they strongly agreed that reading
is very important for them to increase knowledge (M=4.30; SD=0.86) and they are
131
interested toward reading comics, newspapers, magazines and novels. As for reading
preference, they strongly agreed that they prefer the most in writing English in
As for demographics, based on gender, this study showed that male students
scored significantly higher in reading skills, reading purpose, reading interest and
reading preference than their female counterparts. This study also indicated no
significant difference existed in reading skill among respondents with parents from
different educational background. Similar results were also revealed in reading skills
among respondents from different place of residence and spoken language at home.
In terms of reading purpose, this study showed that the respondents whose
father received secondary school education achieved significantly higher mean scores
than those whose parents graduated from university. On the contrary, significant
difference did not exist in reading purpose among respondents with mothers of
reading purpose among students living in urban and in rural areas. Based on spoken
language at home, students who use English exlusively at home and those who speak
Malay and mixture of Malay and English showed significant difference in reading
purpose.
background did not differ significantly. Respondents living in different localities also
showed no significant difference in reading interest. Similar results were also found in
reading preference among respondents who live in urban and in rural areas. In terms
132
of spoken languages at home, it was found that there was a significant difference in
reading interest among respondents who speak different languages at home. Similar
results were also found among respondents who speak different languages at home in
reading preference.
This study also found positive relationships among reading skill, reading
purpose, reading interest and reading preference. The variables which gained highest
relationships but at moderate levels were reading skills and reading purpose (r=0.532)
and reading interest (r=0.536); reading purpose and reading interest (r=0.567) and
5.2 Discussion
The findings of this study showed that reading knowledge of the respondents were at
moderate level and they achieved moderate scale in reading comprehension test.
These results are in consistent with the findings of Catherine et al., (2009) who
indicated that the level of reading knowledge of secondary school students was
moderate. However, findings put forward by Anderson & Freebody (1981); Wilson
& Fielding (1988) and Stavonich (1986) indicated that more than half of students at a
school performed high level and only two third of the students performed at moderate
level.
In this study, reading skill of the respondents was reported to be high. This is
contradictory with Nor Fadila Mohd Amin & Adibah Abd. Rahim (2010) who stated
133
that the levels of reading skill among technical and engineering students were at a
moderate level. Essentially, the lack of English reading skill is likely to explain why
students seemed rather ambivalent in their views about the importance of using
Respondents reported high level in their reading purpose. It is interesting to note that
important reason given by the respondents for reading purpose. Surprisingly, three
items which scored the highest mean were “I read English materials for self
This revealed that the main reason for reading was to gather knowledge and
firstly he or she must determine the purpose of reading a material. When the student is
aware of the purpose, then it will be easier to determine the appropriate reading
techniques to use. This is in line with the earlier studies conducted by Abdullah
Hassan & Ainon Mohd (2002) which emphasized two important things in the reading
process; to know the purpose and be able to focus. Furthermore, Muhlise (2009)
part of life in which they can get information as a source of knowledge. However,
most of those who borrowed books from library cannot find the books they were
134
interested in. Students usually preferred reading texts from the internet and best-seller
books.
This study demonstrated that the respondents’ perceptions on reading interest were
slightly moderate. Three items which scored the highest mean were reading is
interest” and “reading comics, newspapers, magazines, and novels in English. These
contradict with the findings of Zurina Khairuddin (2013) who stated that the form
four students had a rather low interest in reading English reading materials as most of
them have never read English reading materials and did not have any preferred genres
or types of English reading materials. Interestingly, this is consistent with the findings
of Abdul Wahab Olanrewaju Issa (2012) who revealed that the majority of the
lecturers’ textbooks in English. Only a small percentage of them indicated that they
preferred reading novels, newspapers and magazines in English. This does not present
a favourable image of positive reading habits; since both notebook and textbook
readings are essentially forced reading. They do this for utilitarian purposes such as
was primarily for examinations reason. However, this is not in line with the findings
by Naemah (2003) who indicated that the level of reading interest among students
was very poor. As an average, they only read one book or magazine and five
This study demonstrated that the respondents’ perceptions on reading preference were
also moderate. Reading preference refers to see how frequent and what types of
materials they prefered to read. Respondents agreed that they read for knowledge and
interest and comics, newpapers, magazines and novels are reading material they
prefer most.
This is in line with the research conducted by Abdussattar and Gladys (2009)
who indicated that newspapers were the most preferred for reading. Fiction was
favoured over non-fiction. Another study conducted by Nor Shahriza and Amelia
(2007) revealed that university students spend a significant amount of time reading
In terms of the amount of time spent and the types of prefered reading
materials, the findings of this study also corresponded to those of Gan Say Eng
(1999) who highlighted that the reading volume of students was not impressive with
the majority read only four to ten hours per week. This meant that on the average,
they spend about an hour or less for reading per day. This study found that they spent
most of their reading time on newspapers and magazines. These indicators showed
5.3 Conclusions
136
Results from the current study, revealed that respondents’ reading knowledge, reading
interest and reading preference were at moderate levels while their reading skills and
reading purpose as they perceived were at high levels. Thus, their English literacy is
skills while at school and they also have clear purpose of reading but they do not
show much interest and preference in reading. Therefore, it is crucial for instructors to
effectively teach students with a better strategies and tehniques in order to attain
must start with bottom-up and top-down cognitive strategies before proceeding to
more difficult metacognitive skills. Students must be provided with ample exercises to
equip them with more innovative reading strategies. Teachers should not assume that
their students have acquired proficiency in English language as these skills are
difficult to master and need longer time to develop. Therefore, students must be
motivated and inspired to learn. It is suggested that instructors do not only force
students simply to read but rather teach them how to read using a variety of strategies
reading purpose, reading interest and reading preference as compared to their male
counterparts. Students whose parents used their mother tounge at home need to
an integrated manner.
5.4 Recommendations
Based on the research findings, discussions and conclusions, the following is a list of
text, and also, instill reading interest, reading habits and preference. Teachers
should give more reading drills and exercises in the classrooms, while
undertake steps to review and revise the present English language curriculum
iv) As most respondents stated that reading is one of the most complicated skills
that as more students practise reading comprehension, the better they will
become in reading skills and knowledge. Teachers need to exhibit a good role
vi) Teachers need to develop students with greater access to quality English
and bulletins.
vii) Reading technical materials in English is one of the most difficult skills to
and motivation toward the importance of English language for students’ career
and livelihood. Schools should create conducive atmosphere that can enhance
technical materials.
This current study is conducted to form four students in selected technical schools.
depth study is recommended to identify other factors that may influence reading
knowledge, reading skills and reading attitude. The researcher would like to suggest
and quasi-experiments be used in research design. This will enhance the validity and
reliability of data. Furthermore, sampling frame for future studies should cover also
abilities toward one’s academic achievement and job performance. There is also a
achievement and socio-economic status of family that may have influence toward
reading.
140
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