Mohd Dzaquan Imran Mohd Alias, Abdul Halim Abdul Raof and Tina Abdullah
Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, Volume 29, Issue S3, December 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47836/pjssh.29.s3.18
Keywords: Common European Framework of Reference, differentiation techniques, formative assessment, teaching writing, young learners
Published on: 30 November 2021
The introduction of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)-aligned English syllabus into the Malaysian education system is a welcome initiative taken by the government as a part of “memartabatkan Bahasa Melayu, memperkukuhkan Bahasa Inggeris” to empower Malaysian citizens to compete in this era of globalization (Ministry of Education, 2015). The new initiative has also brought forth shifts in teaching approach and technique, and assessment method. Teachers must incorporate in their teaching, among others, formative assessment and differentiation techniques. It prompted a study to be carried out to obtain insights into the practice of teachers teaching CEFR-aligned syllabus. Five primary school teachers teaching five different writing classes to nine-year-olds participated in the study. Classroom observation protocol and guided reflective interview were used to obtain data for the study. The findings revealed that the classes were mainly teacher-centered, and teachers hardly used differentiation techniques. Several formative assessment elements were exhibited but not comprehensively. Teachers’ lack of training in CEFR and ineffective training system may be the cause of this observation.
ISSN 0128-7702
e-ISSN 2231-8534
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