ISSN: 2226-6348
Open access
Reading skills are crucial in ensuring academic success and language acquisition. English serves as a means of communication and access to resources necessary for the development of Malaysia. Yet, pupils residing in rural Sarawak struggle to develop their English language proficiency, particularly their reading skills. Thus, this study intends to investigate the best language learning strategies used to enhance reading skills among Year 5 primary school pupils in ESL classrooms in rural areas of Sarawak, Malaysia. The study adapted questionnaire from the Language Strategy Use Survey and Young Learner’s Language Strategy Use Survey. A total of 75 pupils from three rural primary schools in Sarawak, Malaysia answered 24 items in the questionnaire and the data was then analysed via the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The findings showed that pupils prefer utilising memory, social, and affective strategies when reading. This study provided an understanding of differing language learning strategies applied by the pupils in three Sarawak rural primary schools but it may not apply to all rural primary schools in Sarawak. Future research could include a larger sample size and cover more than one language skill primarily listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Abdullah, S. Y. M., & Ismail, Z. (2020). Malaysia: English as a second language in education and globalisation. In A. Kirkpatrick (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes (pp. 137-150). Routledge.
Al-Hoorie, A. H. (2018). Individual differences in second language acquisition. The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes (pp. 123-136). Routledge.
Azizan, N. A. (2018). The English language curriculum in Malaysia: A historical perspective. International Journal of Education and Practice, 6(2), 43-55.
Borleffs, E., Maassen, B. A. M., Lyytinen, H., and Zwartz, F. (2019). Cracking the code: the impact of orthographic transparency and morphological-syllabic complexity on reading and developmental dyslexia. Front. Psychol. 9:2543.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research (4th ed., pp. 1-673). Pearson.
Darusalam, G. (2017). Factors contributing to students’ speaking skill problems: A case study. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 7(3), 212-221.
Dawi, D. A., Hilary, H. B., David, M., Jospa, M. E. A. W., Igai, W. K. A., & Hashim, H. (2021). Language Learning Strategies Used for Reading Skill by Pupils in Selected Rural Schools in Sarawak. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(6), 1379–1390.
Dörnyei, Z. (2019). Motivation in second language learning (pp. 1-350). John Wiley & Sons.
Duke, N. K., & Bennett-Armistead, V. S. (2003). Reading and writing informational text in the primary grades: Research-based practices. The Reading Teacher, 57(7), 632-643.
Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2019). Teaching and researching reading (3rd ed., pp. 1-500). Routledge.
Green, J., & Oxford, R. L. (1995): A closer look at learning strategies, L2 proficiency, and gender. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 261-297.
Hassan, M. F., & Rahman, N. (2016). Reading habits among rural and urban Malaysian secondary school students. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 6(7), 1400-1408.
Ismail, Z., & Abdullah, S. Y. M. (2019). English in education policy and planning in Malaysia. In A. Kirkpatrick (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes (pp. 123-136). Routledge.
Jaikrishnan, S., & Ismail, H. H. (2021). A Review on Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used in Learning English as a Second Language. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11, 297-309.
Jawad Golzar, Shagofah Noor & Omid Tajik. 2022. Convenience Sampling. International Journal of Education and Language Studies. 1(2): 72-77
Leu, D. J., Forzani, E., Rhoads, C., Maykel, C., Kennedy, C., & Timbrell, N. (2015). The new literacies of online research and comprehension: Rethinking the reading achievement gap. Reading Research Quarterly, 50(1), 37-59.
Lin, J. (2019). Factors Related to EFL/ESL Readers’ Reading Strategy Use. International Journal of Translation, Interpretation, and Applied Linguistics, 1(1).
Livingston, E. M., Siegel, L. S., and Ribary, U. (2018). Developmental dyslexia: emotional impact and consequences. Aust. J. Learn. Diffic. 23, 107–135.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gregersen, T. (2018). The Oxford handbook of language learning motivation (pp. 1-600). Oxford University Press.
McNamara, D. S., & Magliano, J. (2009). Toward a comprehensive model of comprehension. In B. Ross (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation: Cognition in education (Vol. 51, pp. 297-384). Academic Press.
MOE (Ministry of Education Malaysia). (2015). English Language Reform in Malaysia: The Roadmap 2015–2025.
Ng, S. H., Lin, S. E., Lee, C., & Amini, M. (2020). ESL reading assessment tool for pre-schoolers in Malaysia. Berjaya Journal of Services and Management, 14, 3-16.
Oxford, R. L. (2017). Teaching and researching language learning strategies (pp. 1-400). Routledge.
Pressley, M., & Afflerbach, P. (1995). Verbal protocols of reading: The nature of constructively responsive reading. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Rajasagaran, S., Wui, J. W. J., Chun, T. W., & Hashim, H. (2022). Identifying Language Learning Strategies for Reading among Malaysian TESL Postgraduates in a Public University. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(6), 273 – 287.
Rohaizat, N., & Aziz, A. A. (2021). Systematic literature review of language learning strategies for reading skills in English for specific purposes among business students. International Journal of Academic Research in Business & Social Sciences, 11(12), 139-159.
Rojalai, A., Susaie, J. S., Balaraman, L., Manoharan, S. R., Mustafa, Z., & Hashim, H. (2021). Language Learning Strategies Used for Enhancing Reading Skills Among Year 6 Pupils of A Primary School in Selangor. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(6), 1186–1195.
Sani, S., & Ismail, H. H. (2021). Assessing the Use of Learning Strategies among Young Malaysian English as Second Language Learners. Creative Education, 12, 2124-2145.
Sarjit, K., & Yap, N. T. (2017). Policy and planning for English language education in Malaysia: The journey so far. In A. Kirkpatrick (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes (pp. 112-122). Routledge.
Shamsudin, S., & Ahmad, K. (2018). Reading strategies used by Malaysian ESL students. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(5), 1023-1032.
Thao, T. Q., & Long, N. H. C. (2021). English-majored students’ motivation in English Language Learning and their use of reading strategies: Research Perspectives. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, 37(1).
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Yusof, N. M., & Rahman, N. A. (2019). The use of reading strategies among ESL students in a Malaysian secondary school. KnE Social Sciences, 3*(22), 92-101.
(Michael et al., 2024)
Michael, B., Atin, M. O., Langka, V. E., Bolhan, N. S., Sivanganam, J., & Hashim, H. (2024). Investigating Language Learning Strategies to Enhance Reading Skills among Year 5 Pupils in Sarawak Rural Schools. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 13(3), 441–460.
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode