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International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Identifying English Vocabulary Levels of Malaysia Year 5 Primary School Students

Florina Wang , Hamidah Yamat

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i12/6669

Open access

Despite numerous actions taken by the government sectors in uplifting the standard of education by introducing Education for all, in primary schools, there are emerging areas of concern that require urgent attention, particularly on acquiring English language vocabulary at the early years. Vocabulary is fundamental in any language as it is a key feature in order to make oneself understood. Limited knowledge of vocabulary hinders acquisition of English language as the students particularly faced obstacles in remembering and retrieving the words learnt, lack of opportunities in practicing English and use of rote memorisation strategies in vocabulary acquisition. Thus, this paper discusses a part of a study which aimed to identify the vocabulary knowledge on adjectives, nouns and verbs among a group of 36 Year 5 primary school students who sit for an adapted version of the Vocabulary Levels Test of Nation (1983). The findings indicate that 58 % which was 21 students had low vocabulary knowledge on nouns and 72% (26 students) on verbs. However, 50% (18 students) of the participants’ vocabulary on adjectives were in the intermediate level. Hence, the findings provide some insight for English teachers or educators, parents and students themselves to know in depth of the level of the students’ English vocabulary. Thus, it is vital for future researchers in implementing suitable strategies for vocabulary acquisition after determining the students’ vocabulary level among the Year 5 primary school students in Malaysia for successful language acquisition.

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In-Text Citation: (Wang & Yamat, 2019)
To Cite this Article: Wang, F., & Yamat, H. (2019). Identifying English Vocabulary Levels of Malaysia Year 5 Primary School Students. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(12), 62–76.