Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development APPROACH FOR TEACHING GRAMMAR IN IBAN SECONDARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS Felisia Tensing Bachelor of Education with Honours (Teaching English as Second Language) 2009 Universiti Malaysia Sarawak FSKPM BORANG PENYERAHAN TESIS Judul: APPROACH FOR TEACHING GRAMMAR IN IBAN SECONDARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS SESI PENGAJIAN: 2005 – 2009 Saya FELISIA TENSING mengakui membenarkan laporan projek ini disimpan di Pusat Khidmat Maklumat Akademik, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak dengan syarat-syarat seperti berikut: 1. Hakmilik kertas projek adalah di bawah nama penulis melainkan penulisan sebagai projek bersama dan dibiayai oleh UNIMAS, hakmiliknya adalah kepunyaan UNIMAS. 2. Naskhah salinan di dalam bentuk kertas atau mikro hanya boleh dibuat dengan kebenaran bertulis daripada penulis. 3. Pusat Khidmat Maklumat Akademik, UNIMAS dibenarkan membuat salinan untuk pengajian mereka. 4. Kertas projek hanya boleh diterbitkan dengan kebenaran penulis. Bayaran royalti adalah mengikut kadar yang dipersetujui kelak. 5. * Saya membenarkan/tidak membenarkan Perpustakaan membuat salinan kertas projek ini sebagai bahan pertukaran di antara institusi pengajian tinggi. 6. ** Sila tandakan (√) SULIT (Mengandungi maklumat yang berdarjah keselamatan atau kepentingan Malaysia seperti yang termaktub di dalam AKTA RAHSIA RASMI 1972). TERHAD (Mengandungi maklumat TERHAD yang telah ditentukan oleh organisasi/ badan di mana penyelidikan dijalankan). TIDAK TERHAD Disahkan oleh (TANDATANGAN PENULIS) (TANDATANGAN PENYELIA) Alamat tetap: DR. TING SU HIE D/A TENSING MORIK, K LINIK (Nama Penyelia) KESIHATAN SERASOT, HOSPITAL DAERAH BAU, 94000 BAU, SARAWAK. Tarikh: Tarikh: ______________________ CATATAN * Potong yang tidak berkenaan. ** Jika Kertas Projek ini SULIT atau TERHAD, sila lampirkan surat daripada pihak berkuasa/ organisasi berkenaan dengan menyertakan sekali tempoh kertas projek. Ini perlu dikelaskan sebagai SULIT atau TERHAD. Statement of Originality The work described in this Final Year Project, entitled “Approach for Teaching Grammar In Iban Secondary School Textbooks” is to the best of the author‟s knowledge that of the author except where due reference is made. __________________ ___________________ (Date submitted) (Student‟s signature) Felisia Tensing 14035 APPROACH FOR TEACHING GRAMMAR IN IBAN SECONDARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS FELISIA TENSING This project is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Education with Honours (Teaching English as a Second Language) Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK 2009 The project entitled Approach for Teaching Grammar in Iban Secondary School Textbooks was prepared by Felisia Tensing and submitted to the Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Education with Honours (Teaching English as a Second Language). Received for examination by: _____________________ (Dr Ting Su Hie) Date: _____________________ Grade ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me the possibility to complete this thesis. It is difficult to overstate my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Ting Su Hie. With her enthusiasm, her inspiration, and her great efforts to explain things clearly and simply, she helped to make research project completion possible for me. Throughout my research-writing period, she provided encouragement, sound advice, good teaching and lots of good ideas. I would have been lost without her. I would like to thank the head of Iban panitia from S.M.K Sebuyau, Miss Tingang Dukun, for her generosity and kindness to help in terms of the sample of study as well as the invaluable time spent for the extra Iban lessons. I am indebted to my friends for providing a supportive and fun environment to learn and grow. I am especially grateful to Lim Swee Hoon, Angeline Hii, Puah Yann Yann, Suhaida Suid, Mohd. Azril and Nor Azma for helping me get through the difficult times, and for all the emotional support, comraderie, entertainment, and caring they provided. My deepest gratitude goes to my family for their unflagging love and support throughout the ups and downs in the life that we share together. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank the Almighty God, for it is under His grace that I learnt that I have not been forsaken, despite all the tests in the past four years of study in UNIMAS. iv ABSTRACT APPROACH TO TEACHING GRAMMAR IN IBAN SECONDARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS Felisia Tensing This study examined the approach to teaching grammar in Iban secondary school textbooks. The specific objectives were to identify the grammar items focused, the types of grammar practices and the grammar approach employed based on the grammar features and flow of activities in the grammar sections. The 5 selected textbooks were the official and compulsory teaching and learning materials used in Iban educational setting, which were provided by Ministry of Education Malaysia and designed according to the national curriculum. Decoo‟s (1996) refinement of inductive and deductive approach to five modalities were adapted as the checklists for the analysis. The findings showed that the grammar items focused on the learning of language parts and structures, the grammar practices found were the mechanical types which involved heavy drills and controlled production, while Decoo‟s Modality A (Actual Deduction) or known as deductive approach were the dominant teaching used in all the 5 textbooks. It was found that Form 5 textbook was entirely deductive compared to Form 2 with the ratio of 1:24, Form 3; 1:3.85, Form 4; 1:7 and Form 1; 1:2.25. Therefore, the result indicated that Iban grammar teaching reflected the structural view of language learning. The findings of the study would provide beneficial feedback to the organisations and educationists involved in the material development and manipulation, which specifically refers to Iban language. v ABSTRAK PENDEKATAN UNTUK KAEDAH PENGAJARAN TATABAHASA BERDASARKAN BUKU TEKS BAHASA IBAN UNTUK SEKOLAH MENENGAH Felisia Tensing Matlamat utama kajian ini dijalankan adalah untuk menyelidik tentang kaedah pengajaran tatabahasa di dalam buku teks bahasa Iban untuk sekolah menengah. Objektif spesifiknya adalah untuk mengenalpasti item tatabahasa yang ditekankan, jenis praktis tatabahasa dan pendekatan tatabahasa berdasarkan ciri-ciri tatabahasa dan aliran aktiviti yang terdapat di dalam bahagian tatabahasa. Lima sampel buku teks yang dipilih merupakan bahan pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang rasmi dan diwajibkan penggunaanmya di dalam pendidikan bahasa Iban. Selain itu, kelima-lima buku teks tersebut disediakan oleh Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia dan direka bentuk berdasarkan kurikulum kebangsaan. Perbaikan dan penapisan daripada pendekatan induktif dan deduktif oleh Decoo (1996) kepada lima modaliti telah diadaptasi sebagai senarai semakan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa item tatabahasa difokuskan kepada pembelajaran tentang bahagian dan struktur bahasa, praktis tatabahasa pula terdiri daripada jenis mekanikal yang melibatkan latih tubi yang berat dan produksi yang terkawal, manakala Modaliti A (Deduksi Sebenar) oleh Decoo atau dikenali sebagai pendekatan deduktif merupakan kaedah pengajaran yang digunakan secara dominan di dalam kelima-lima buku teks tersebut. Buku teks Tingkatan 5 adalah keseluruhannya deduktif manakala Tingkatan 2 dengan nisbah 1:24, Tingkatan 3; 1:3.85, Tingkatan 4; 1:7 and Tingkatan 1; 1:2.25. Kesimpulannya, hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa pengajaran tatabahasa Iban menggambarkan pembelajaran bahasa dari sudut pandangan struktural. Hasil kajian ini membekalkan maklum balas yang berguna kepada organisasi dan ahli- ahli akademik yang terlibat dalam pembangunan dan manipulasi material, secara specifiknya berkenaan dengan bahasa Iban. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv ABSTRACT v ABSTRAK vi LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF FIGURES xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction: Learning a language 1 1.2 Sociocultural background of Iban 4 1.3 Research problem 5 1.4 Aim and objective of the study 6 1.5 Significance of study 6 1.6 Operational definition of terms 7 1.6.1 Iban language 7 1.6.2 Iban textbooks 8 1.6.3 Grammar item 8 1.6.4 Grammar practice 9 1.6.5 Approaches to teaching grammar 9 1.7 Scope of study 10 vii CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Grammar over time 12 2.1.1 Reason for the shifts in the approaches 15 to grammar teaching 2.2 Approach to grammar teaching in the textbooks 17 2.3 The core approaches in grammar teaching 19 2.3.1 The deductive and inductive approaches in 20 grammar teaching 2.3.2 Refinement of the deductive and inductive 21 approaches into five modalities 2.3.3 Covert and overt in the five modalities 22 2.3.4 The approach to teaching grammar 24 in grammar activities 2.4 Grammar terminologies 30 2.4.1 Units of language 30 2.4.2 Parts of sentence 32 2.4.3 Parts of speech 33 2.5 Summary 37 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research design 39 3.2 Textbooks sampling 40 3.3 Instrument 41 3.4 Data collection procedures 52 3.5 Data analysis 52 3.5.1 Analysis of grammar items 53 viii 3.5.2 Analysis of grammar practices 55 3.5.3 Analysis of grammar approach 56 3.6 Limitations 59 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 What is/are the grammar item(s) focussed in the Iban textbooks? 60 4.2 What is/are the type(s) of grammar practice in the Iban textbooks? 64 4.3 What is/are the grammar approach(s) in Iban textbooks? 73 4.4 Discussion 79 4.5 Summary 82 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS