REFERENCES / SOURCES

UiTM PTAR library online database : EZACCESS (http://ezaccess.library.uitm.edu.my/menu)

The journal database selected were specified according to field : EDUCATION

This led to a few databases such as EBSCO : Academic Search Premier , SAGE Journals (524 Titles) and Wiley Online Library . 

Some of the journals are multidisciplinary such as Wiley Online Library with 44 titles. 

Other than that, previous teaching materials from my undergraduate studies in Victoria University of Wellington were also used as they are highly relevant to the research: 

• ALIN 201 (Applied Linguistics - Teaching of Speaking and Listening)
• LANGTCHG 102 (Classroom Management and School Experience - Motivation and classroom management studies)
• EPSY (Educational Psychology - Motivating Learners, McInerney & McInerney 2006 as text)

Furthermore are my artifacts of teaching experiences and practicums in MJSC Transkrian (2009), Langkawi(2009) and Tumpat (2012). 

There are some aspects of teaching that are still the same and some have changed.  

Similarities : teaching method, teaching resources, school culture.

Changes : technology used, the incoming of newly overseas trained teachers (such as myself).

Research Questions :

1.      To what extent does school status influence students’ motivation to learn English speaking and writing skills?
2.      What types of learning activities in the English speaking and writing class influence students’ motivation to learn?
3.    What type of feedback from observations helps teachers to improve their teaching efficacy and gain confidence to diversify the pedagogical methods used in classroom(s)?

What I had used to calculate my sample for questionnaires  RQ 1 & 2 :

http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html = three form four classes at each college

(28 x 3 = 84 students @ each college)
(84 x 4 = 336)

n = (28 x 6 @ college) x 4 colleges
   = 652

Recommended sample size at 95% confidence level = 242.

Therefore, my estimated sample size is accepted at 336.


Questionnaires :

RQ 1 - VARK Questionnaire 'How Do I Learn Best'  (Learning Styles)
          - http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

RQ 2 - World Languages' Learning Activity Types. (Learning Activities)
         - I'll be adapting only speaking and writing activities as both are relevant to this research and    specification of the research.
        - http://activitytypes.wmwikis.net/file/view/WorldLanguagesLearningATs-Feb2011.pdf

RQ 2 - Nunan & Lamb (1996) Motivational Questionnaire (Motivation)

All the questionnaires are related to one another as learning styles affects the choice of preferred learning activities. Preferred learning activities influences motivation, if present in the classroom.

After receiving feedback from the first draft, there are several key things to be repaired.

1) The use of terms
2) Defining the terms appropriately in order for specification. The more specific the better.
3) Research Questions order DOES represent sequence of research area to be studied.
4) Approach is mixed method and the design is causal-comparative study.
5) When it is causal-comparative, there needs to be a study of difference to be asked in the research     question.

What I have come up with.. here goes

TOPIC : 

The difference in English language speaking and writing proficiency among urban and rural secondary schools students : A comparative study between form 4 PKP MJSC and non-PKP MJSC students.

Purpose :

The purpose of this research is to investigate what is it that is/are causing the differences in English language speaking and writing abilities among the students. The investigation will be looking at three core components which are the location of the colleges (urban/rural status), the students and the teachers.

Significance :

The findings from the research is hoped to provide insights on what kind of organization and activities that are working in the Bitara colleges that may be similar or can be adapted into other colleges. These findings could be a guide to direct on what kind of improvements in teaching styles and exposure that may increase students’ motivation to speak and write better in English. As funding is the central issue in governmental schools, MARA schools does not face those problems are they are well funded. Therefore, other determining factors that contribute to student performance could be thoroughly investigated.

Approach :  Quantitative

Design : Causal comparative

Techniques : 

• Questionnaires with open-ended question to be administered to three form 4 classes at each college.
• Semi-structured interview with four English teachers who teach one or more form 4 classes at each college.
• Semi-structured interview with six form 4 students at each college.
• Expert teacher will be interviewed as well if present.

Problem Statement :

How does the location of schools positively affects students’ learning of English?

How does variation in teaching styles influence students learning outcome?

Does school status contribute to students’ motivation?

Are students in better performing colleges more motivated to improve their English than others?

RQs

• 1.     What kind of feedback from observations helps teachers to improve their teaching efficacy?

          

• 2.     To what extent does school status influence students’ motivation to learn English?

           

• 3.     What do students view as challenging and boring activities in the English speaking and writing class?

         Definitions :

Proficiency is determined through the use of English through speaking and writing as these are the 2 skills that measure students’ knowledge of English more reliably. This is because students are tested in the comprehension of the language to be able to produce it. In contrast to listening and reading, the students may identify and pronounce English words correctly without the need to understand the meaning.

                                                                                       (Hassan & Rasiah, 2011)

Urban schools : located in an area with a population of more than 10,000 people

Rural schools : located in an area with a population of less than 10,000 people

                                                                                                            (Ler, 2010)

Limitations :

• The research is limited in its scope as data is only collected from 4 MJSCs (2 Bitara : Taiping, Jasin, Balik Pulau and 2 lower ranking colleges : Tumpat, TUn Ghazali Shafie, Muadzam Shah).

• 4 teachers and 6 form four students will be interviewed.
• At least 2 teachers who have been recently observed by their superior or MARA.

• Interview with students may involve code-switching as some students may not really understand the questions in English. Local dialects such as Kelantanese might also be used by students in which researcher might face problem in interpretation and transcription (Ler, 2010, Talif & Edwin, 1990)