The Effect of a Genre-Based Pedagogical Approach on Orang Asli Students’ EFL Writing Performance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32890/mjli2022.19.1.4Keywords:
EFL, Orang Asli, education quality, empowerment, equal opportunities, genre-based pedagogical approach, EFL writing performanceAbstract
Purpose – In the 21st century, the importance of having good English proficiency in Malaysia and globally has impacted educators, especially in terms of their pedagogical practices. Although students are exposed to 11 years of English language instruction in Malaysia, Orang Asli students still possess low English proficiency and poor writing skills. This study aims to determine the extent to which the genre-based pedagogical approach is able to improve Orang Asli students’ English as a foreign language (EFL) writing performance and analyse their responses in using the genre-based pedagogical approach as a framework to improve their EFL writing performance.
Methodology – This quasi-experimental study included 78 students from a secondary school in Pahang, Malaysia. Participants were assigned to the experimental and control groups (N=39) to generate students’ pretest and posttest scores. Quantitative data from the students’ questionnaire were also triangulated with qualitative data from the focus group discussions with the experimental group.
Findings – The approach was effective in improving students’ descriptive writing and had a more significant effect than the mainstream process-based approach. Students reacted positively to the approach as they found it useful in improving their writing skills, which correlated with their improved test scores. Therefore, the genre-based pedagogical framework can be further enhanced by incorporating more grammar-related activities to meet the learning needs of Orang Asli students lacking in EFL writing skills.
Significance – The novelty of this study is that the framework has the potential to be implemented in Malaysian secondary schools and other indigenous’ educational contexts. Furthermore, this study can be a point of reference to stakeholders, English language teaching (ELT) practitioners and educators in terms of advocating a genre-based pedagogical approach in an EFL context.
References
Abdullah, F. S. (2009). Assessing EAP needs for the university: A genre-based approach. VDM Publishing.
Ahn, H. (2012). Teaching writing skills based on a genre approach to L2 Primary school students: An action research. English Language Teaching, 5(2), 2–16. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt. v5n2p2
Atkinson, D. (2003). Writing and culture in the post-process era. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12(1), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(02)00126-1
Aziz, S. F. A., & Taha, N. M. (2018). Teaching and learning approaches that intriguing Orang Asli students’ interests in school. Asian Journal of Social Science Research, 1(2).
Badger, R., & White, G. (2000). A process genre approach to teaching writing. ELT Journal, 54(2), 153–160. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/54.2.153
Barkman, S. J. (2002). A field guide to designing quantitative instruments to measure program impact. Purdue University.
Baskaran, L. M. (1988). The “New Englishes.” Language and Society. Hong Kong.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitatitve Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/11735
British Council. (2020). Genre. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/ article/genre
Chaisiri, T. (2010). Implementing a genre pedagogy to the teaching of writing in a university context in Thailand. Language Education in Asia, 1(1), 181–199. https://doi.org/10.5746/ leia/10/v1/a16/chaisiri
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational Research : Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cui, H., Han, Q., & Liu, J. (2010). A study on college English writing instructions for non-English majors. International Conference on Education and Management Technology, 544–548. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICEMT.2010.5657597
Curriculum Development Division. (2003). Huraian sukatan pelajaran kurikulum bersepadu sekolah menengah bahasa Inggeris Tingkatan 4. Putrajaya: Ministry of Education Malaysia.
Curriculum Development Division. (2018). Kurikulum standard sekolah menengah bahasa Inggeris dokumen standard kurikulum dan pentadbiran Tingkatan 4. Putrajaya: Ministry of Education Malaysia.
Darmi, R., & Albion, P. (2013). English language in the Malaysian education system: Its existence and complications. In M. M. Noor, M. M. Rahman, & J. Ismail (Eds.), Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling (pp. 175–183). 3rd Malaysian Postgraduate Conference (MPC2013).
Darus, S. (2010). The current situation and issues of the teaching of English in Malaysia. Ritsumeikan Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 22(1), 19–27.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2019). Statistik kanak-kanak, Malaysia, 2019.
Dirgeyasa, I. W. (2016). Genre-based approach: What and how to teach and to learn writing. English Language Teaching, 9(9), 45. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v9n9p45
Dripin, L. A. (2010). The genre-based approach to writing: Report writing for English for Science and Technology (EST) (master’s thesis). Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi MARA.
Education First. (2019). EF English Proficiency Index 2019. https://www.ef.com/epi
Examinations Syndicate. (2019). Pelaporan pentaksiran sekolah rendah 2019. Putrajaya: Ministry of Education Malaysia.
Gabrielatos, C. (2002). EFL writing: Product and process. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED476839
Hasan, M. K., & Akhand, M. M. (2010). Approaches to writing in EFL/ESL context: Balancing product and process in writing class at tertiary level. Journal of NELTA, 15(1–2), 77–88.
Hyland, K. (2003). Second language writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hyland, K. (2004). Genre and second language writing. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
Hyland, K. (2007). Genre pedagogy: Language, literacy and L2 writing instruction. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(3), 148–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2007.07.005
Hyon, S. (1996), Genre in three traditions: Implications for ESL. TESOL Quarterly, 30, 693–722.
Johns, A. M. (1997). Text, role and context: Developing academic literacies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kassim, Z. A., & Adnan, A. H. M. (2005). The English language performance of Orang Asli pupils at primary level in Perak: A case study. In K. Ariffin, M. R. Ismail, R. A. Aziz, M. Z. A. Latif, & K. L. Ngo (Eds.), English in education: Issues and challenges in the Malaysian classroom (pp. 29–42). https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.2509.6483
Khan, N. H. A. A. (2017). The English language needs of Orang Asli students in the Literacy and Numeracy Screening (LINUS) 2.0 Programme (master’s thesis). Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia.
Khodabandeh, F. (2014). Argumentation across L1 and L2: Examination of three instructional treatments of genre-based approach to teaching writing. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 968–975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. sbspro.2014.03.506
Lin, B. (2006). Vygotskian principles in a genre-based approach to teaching writing. NUCB JLCC, 8(3), 69–83.
Masron, T., Masami, F., & Ismail, N. (2013). Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia : Population, spatial distribution and socio-economic condition. Ritsumeikan Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 6, 75–115. http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/ re/k-rsc/hss/book/pdf/vol06_07.pdf
Mihat, W. (2016). ‘Bertehtuh’ English: The experience of a Temiar girl in acquiring English. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 1(2), 25–37.
Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2013). Malaysia education blueprint 2013-2025 (Preschool to post-secondary education).
Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2018). Pelan pembangunan pendidikan Malaysia 2013-2025: Laporan tahunan 2017. Putrajaya.
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2018). Job outlook 2019. Pennsylvania.
Nordin, S. M., & Mohammad, N. (2006). The best of two approaches: Process/Genre based approach to teaching writing. The English Teacher, XXXV, 75–85. http://www.melta.org.my/ ET/2006/2006_6.pdf
Nueva, J. C. (2016). Genre-based and process-based approaches to teaching news articles. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 24(1), 385–400.
Pawanchik, S., Kamil, A. A., & Yahaya, F. H. (2010). Indigenous students and the learning of English. Journal of Social Sciences, 6(3), 443–446. https://doi.org/10.3844/jssp.2010.443.446
Prodromou, L. (1995). The backwash effect: From testing to teaching. ELT Journal, 49(1), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.1093/ elt/49.1.13
Razak, S. N. A. (2019, June 20). Orang Asli tak mahu pindah. Sinar Harian. https://www.sinarharian.com.my/article/33430/ BERITA/Nasional/Orang-asli-tak-mahu-pindah
Renganathan, S. (2013). ‘A pet rabbit, bunny’: Teaching English to Orang Asli children, an indigenous community in Malaysia. International Proceedings of Economics Development and Research, 68(25), 145–151.
Renganathan, S. (2016). Educating the Orang Asli children: Exploring indigenous children’s practices and experiences in schools. Journal of Educational Research, 109(3), 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2014.945150
Rothery, J. (1996). Making changes: Developing an educational linguistics. In R. Hasan & G. Williams (Eds.), Literacy in society (pp. 86–123). London: Longman.
Silva, T. (1990). Second language composition instruction: Developments, issue and direction in ESL. In B. Kroll (Ed.), Second language writing: Research insights for the Classroom (pp. 11–33). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Steele, V. (2004). Product and process writing: A comparison. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/product-process-writing-a-comparison
Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Thanabalan, T. V., Siraj, S., & Alias, N. (2015). Evaluation of a digital story pedagogical module for the indigenous learners using the stake countenance model. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 14(2), 63–72.
Thoreau, M. (2006). Write on track : A guide to academic writing. Auckland: Pearson Education New Zealand.
Tribble, C. (1996). Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tuan, L. T. (2011). Teaching writing through genre-based approach. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 1(11), 1471–1478. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.1.11.1471-1478
UCLES. (2014). Assessing writing performance – Level B1. University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate.
UN General Assembly. (2015) Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. https://www.refworld. org/docid/57b6e3e44.html
Wahab, N. A., & Mustapha, R. (2015). Reflections on pedagogical and curriculum implementation at Orang Asli schools in Pahang. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 172, 442–448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.376
Wang, C. (2013). A study of genre approach in EFL writing. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(11), 2128–2135. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.3.11.2128-2135
Wreikat, Y. A., Kabilan, M. K., & Abdullah, A. C. (2014). The rural learning environment and pupils’ learning of the English language. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 22(1), 35–56.
Wu, Y. (2017). Reading for writing—The application of genre analysis in college English writing in China. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 7(10), 883. https://doi.org/10.17507/ tpls.0710.09
Yamat, H., Fisher, R., & Rich, S. (2014). Revisiting English language learning among Malaysian children. Asian Social Science, 10(3), 174–180. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v10n3p174
Yap, M. F. S. (2005). An experimental study of the genre-based approach to the teaching of explanatory Writing (bachelor’s thesis). Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
Yunus, M. M., & Mat, S. S. C. (2014). Writing needs and strategies of FELDA primary ESL pupils. Journal of Education and Human Development, 3(2), 1017–1035.
Published
Issue
Section
How to Cite
Research impact
Harvested 2026-09-09Counts differ between services because each indexes a different body of literature. None of them is the whole picture.
