CURRENT RESEARCH IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

YOLANDA BEH
RELC

At this time, reports from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are provided.
These describe research projects in progress or recently completed by
candidates for M.A. or Ph.D. degrees who are sincerely thanked for their
positive responses to the call for reports. Constant awareness of language-
related research is useful, hence researchers are encouraged to send reports
for publication to the e-mail, fax or mailing address below. These reports
should include the title, description of research, name of the principal
researcher and others, if any, and the sponsoring or financing body. If
preferred, a form can also be e-mailed or sent by mail to the researcher. The
contact address is as follows:

Head, Library and Information Centre

SEAMEO Regional Language Centre
30 Orange Grove Road
Singapore 258352
Republic of Singapore
E-mail: ybeh@relc.org.sg
Fax: (65) 734 2753

INDONESIA

A Comparative Study of the Teaching of Writing to Indonesian

University Students Under Two Instructional Modes

This study compared students’ writing performance under two

instructional modes - Individual and Pair Work. It also investigated
students’ perceptions of the two modes of instruction.

A total of 90 pre-intermediate English major students, 31 males and

59 females, from one writing class (Writing 4) at the University of Haluoleo
Kendari in Indonesia participated in this study. Their ages ranged from

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21-23. They were multiethnic, with Lls including Butonese, Tolakinese,
Javanese, Makassarese, and Buginese. They were in year three of their
university studies. They were randomly assigned to one of two groups:
Class A, the individual condition, consisting of 30 students (10 male and
20 female); and Class B, the group work condition, consisting of 60 students/
30 dyads (21 male and 39 female).

The data were collected over a period of seven weeks. Three topics
to be written on using the personal recount genre were used. The first
two topics were used as classroom written exercises. The third topic was
used for data analysis. The two groups wrote essays under the same
condition, namely, the same topic, the same length of composition (200-
250 words), and the same writing duration (150 minutes).

In the individual condition, the students worked alone to write the

assigned text. They could only discuss the task with the teacher. In the
pair work condition, the group members worked individually studying the
model of the personal recount genre and generating their own ideas about
the topic. Then, they paired up to discuss their ideas with their partner
and combined their ideas to write a rough draft. Each member of the group
had an assigned role: drafter or editor. The drafter had the functions of
making a rough draft based on the ideas or main points on which they agreed.
The editor had the functions of praiser, time keeper, and checker (who
checked the draft in such areas as fidelity to the model) in order to help
their partner write the draft. Questionnaires and interviews for the two
conditions were used to gain further information on the students’
perceptions of the two instructional modes. Classroom observation was
conducted for the pair work condition only in order to identify the
collaborative skills applied during paired writing activity.

A two-tailed t-tests result showed that students in the group condition

(pair work) wrote essays that were significantly better overall than those
written by students in the individual condition. The efficacy of group
writing was also supported by data from the questionnaire and interviews
in which students appeared to have more positive perceptions of writing
in groups compared to writing alone. They indicated that writing in pairs
was good because they could share ideas and provide other forms of help

to each other.

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 Dissertation (M.A.(Appl.Ling.)) - National University of Singapore.

Principal Syahrir Mappe

researcher: Lecturer
UPT Bahasa/Bahasa Inggris
Haluoleo University Kendari
Sulawesi Tenggara
Indonesia

Sponsoring or Eastern Indonesia Universities Development Project

financing body:
Students’ Vocabulary Size and Their Lexical Richness in Composition
This study investigated primarily the students’ vocabulary size (receptive
and productive) and lexical richness in composition and examined whether
both the size and the richness might differ among the students with varying
levels of English proficiency. It also examined whether the students’
vocabulary size correlated with their lexical richness and whether the size
and the richness individually correlated with their writing quality.

A total of 90 first-year to third-year English maj ors at Haluoleo University

in Indonesia participated in the study. The students were asked to take
vocabulary size tests and to write a 300/350-word composition to provide
material for measuring lexical richness and writing quality.

The findings indicated that students with varying proficiency levels

differed in vocabulary size but not in lexical richness. A significant correlation
was only observed between the students’ receptive and productive vocabulary

size and between their productive vocabulary size and writing quality.

Dissertation (M.A.(Appl.Ling.)) - National University of Singapore.

Principal Numia
researcher: Lecturer
UPT Bahasa/Bahasa Inggris
Haluoleo University Kendari
Sulawesi Tenggara
Indonesia

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Sponsoring or Eastern Indonesia Universities Development Project
financing body:

MALAYSIA

Translating Adj ectives : An Analysis of Internal Structures and Meaning

Extensions

This research is an analysis of the meaning of Malay adjectives and their

translation into English. Adjectives are one of the lexical categories that are
difficult to translate because of their close association with culture. The process
and product in translating adjectives from two aspects, namely, their internal
structures and meaning extensions will be investigated. The analysis will utilize
the cognitive semantic framework, specifically, the radial structure networks
(Lakoff, 1987) and the description of meaning will utilize the prototype theory
as introduced by Rosch (cf. Lakoff 1987; Aitchison 1995; Ungerer & Schmid

1996). This corpus-based research derives data from an anthology of short

stories by National Laureate Shahnon Ahmad and its translation by Harry
Aveling. Three (3) categories of adjectives namely, adjectives for measurement
(ukuran), senses (indera) and colour (warna) were processed using the Oxford
Concordance Program (OCP) which can produce various types of information
such as a word list, concordance, frequency and word distribution using the
various commands available. Findings from this research will be able to provide
guidelines for translation of texts that are rich in cultural aspects.
Thesis (Ph.D.) - Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Principal Norsimah Mat Awal

researcher: Lecturer
Department of Bahasa Melayu and Translation
Faculty of Language Studies
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia .

43600 UKM Bangi

Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia

Sponsoring or Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

financing body:

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 SINGAPORE

A Study of Teacher Perceptions Regarding the Teaching and Testing of

English in Primary Schools in Singapore
The aim of this research was to explore the phenomenon of English language
teaching and testing in primary schools in Singapore through the perceptions
of teachers. Data from a survey of 58 primary school teachers and informal
in-depth interviews with four of them provide the basis for the findings
summarised below.

The study found that teachers overwhelmingly have a positive instrumental

view of English and see it as playing an important role from both a national
and international perspective. Though teachers strongly favour incidental
language learning, they also see a central role for grammar and grammar teaching
in the learning of English. On the issue of testing, teachers felt that instead
of teaching to tests (teachers unanimously reported that tests influenced teaching)
their teaching should incorporate greater variety in materials and activities (to
cater to individual student needs) and carry out more continuous assessment
of pupils’ learning. Interestingly many teachers see a place for Singlish
(colloquial English in Singapore) in the classroom for fostering rapport and
heightening awareness of the differences between the standard form and the
colloquial form, especially in language use.
The research noted a mismatch between teachers’ views in support of
incidental language learning and their teaching practice involving traditional
written work, testing and grammar exercises. A similar mismatch was also found
as regards language testing. While most of the teachers reported teaching to
tests, many did not think such tests were accurate measures of language ability.
To a great extent, the mismatch between their opinions and actual practice can
be explained by the constraints teachers face in the classroom - lack of time,
heavy overall workload, large classes and heavy emphasis on examinations.
Dissertation (M.A.) - National University of Singapore.

Principal Christine Parimala Gopal

researcher: Lecturer (Part-Time)
Singapore Institute of Management
461 Clementi Road
Singapore 4688866

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Different AttitudesfViews of the English-Educated Chinese Towards the
Speak Mandarin Campaign

Since 1992 the Government has hoped to encourage more English-

educated Chinese to speak Mandarin. This dissertation is an attempt to study
the responses of the English-educated Chinese towards the following key
issues in the Speak Mandarin Campaign: Mandarin and Chinese identity,
Mandarin and Chinese culture, Mandarin and Chinese unity, and Mandarin
and economic opportunities with China. Through linguistic analysis of three
Internet articles, this study specifically aims to find out the attitudes/views
of English-educated Chinese on the following: (a) Does speaking Mandarin
help Chinese to cultivate a sense of their Chinese identity? (b) Does speaking
Mandarin help to preserve Chinese culture? (c) Does speaking Mandarin help
to preserve unity among Chinese? (d) Does speaking Mandarin benefit
Singaporeans in business dealings with China? The findings in this study
basically seek to establish the link between language and identity, language
and culture, language and ethnic unity, language and economic function.

Dissertation {M.A.(Eng.Studies)) - National University of Singapore.

Principal Patrick Ng Chin Leong

researcher: Lecturer (Part-time)
Centre for English Language and Communication
National University of Singapore
Kent Ridge Crescent
Singapore 119260

Analysis of Target Culture in China’s English Textbooks : Comparison

and Reflections

This dissertation reports findings of the analyses of two series of English

textbooks used in China in terms of representation of target culture and of
the United States in particular. Through contextual analysis, content analysis,
and linguistic analysis, the study has determined and compared respective
features of representing target culture in both series of textbooks. It is shown
that the 1990’s series contains more cultural information and describes both
positive and negative sides of the United States; however, the 1980’s series
does not include adequate cultural content and presents a distorted picture
of the United States. The findings are interpreted with respect to relevant
literature and different contexts when the two series of textbooks were written.

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 In addition to some pedagogical implications, a cultural syllabus for English
teaching in China is proposed. Recommendations for future research have
also been made to help researchers design a similar study in the field of
textbook analysis.

Dissertation (M.A.(Appl.Ling.)) - National University of Singapore.

Principal Gao Di
researcher: Chinese Teacher
Australian International School of Singapore
201 Ulu Pandan Road
Singapore 590468
Effects of Adjunct Questions on Children’s Reading of Expository Texts
The primary focus of the research was to determine, in general, the
effectiveness of adjunct questions on children’s reading of expository texts.
Specifically, the relative effects of the factual and higher order adjunct
questions were also evaluated. Two expository texts were used and each
text was read by 108 Primary 5 pupils (11-year-olds) after stratification
on language ability and random assignment to one of the three conditions
: two experimental, the Factual Question (FQ) condition and the Higher
Order Question (HQ) condition, and one control. In the FQ condition, the
subjects read the text and answered explicit factual questions inserted after
the relevant segments without receiving feedback. In the HQ condition,
the subjects received higher order questions which were implicit inference
questions. In the control, no questions were given. After an interpolated
task, a 12-item short-answer post-test consisting of repeated and new items
was administered for each text, followed by a questionnaire. Unlike the

reading phase, look backs were not allowed at the post-test stage. A
subsequent interview with selected subjects was conducted.
Results from thisstudy showed that adjunct questions significantly
facilitatedperformance for one post-test and not the other. Where the
adjunct questions were effective, the treatment groups obtained
considerably higher scores on repeated test items than the control but not
on new test items. Overall, the treatment groups did not differ significantly,

regardless of the type of adjunct questions they received. Among the

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interesting findings from the questionnaire data are that most subjects used
only (re)reading as their study strategy and that the text on which subjects
performed with significant difference was perceived as more unfamiliar.
An important educational implication from the findings of this study
is that adjunct questions should probably be inserted in expository texts,
especially when their topics are unfamiliar, to help children focus on
important content and content relationships. Practitioners can manipulate
the question type to insure the learning of specific types of information
critical to the goals of instruction. In conclusion, more research is needed
to ascertain the variables, such as familiarity of content and text structure,
that influence the effects of adjunct questions on children’s reading of
expository texts.
Dissertation (M.A.(Eng.Studies)) - National University of Singapore.

Principal Eileen Tan Siok Yee

researcher: HOD/Maths
Tao Nan School
49 Marine Crescent
Singapore 449761

Metacognitive Knowledge, Strategy Use and English Oral Skills

Development : The Case of a Singapore School
This study aims to (1) explore the metacognitive knowledge or beliefs
held by Singaporean secondary school students about English oral skills
learning and development, (2) uncover the effects of this knowledge on
students’ use of oral skills learning strategies and on their oral skills ability
(3) compare students’ metacognitive knowledge system with that of their
teachers. The data are collected from 304 students and 6 teachers of English
from a neighbourhood secondary school. The instruments used to elicit
the data include self-constructed questionnaires (students’ and teachers’
versions), interview schemes (students’ and teachers’ versions), and
students’ journals. It is hoped that the results of this study will enrich the
research literature in the area concerned and provide some implications
for the learning and teaching of oral skills in Singapore schools in general,
and, in particular, the school being studied.

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 Dissertation (M.A.) - Nanyang Technological University

Principal Zhang Donglan

researcher: Research Student
National Institute of Singapore
Nanyang Technological University
469 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 259756

Sponsoring/ National Institute of Education

financing body: Nanyang Technological University

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