Abstract:

The problem of processing information in reading comprehension texts among English as foreign language (EFL) readers is a universal phenomenon. With regards to the problems in reading in the English language in the Malaysian setting, the current study attempted to examine the alignment at the design and procedure level of the Malaysian lower secondary English language reading curriculum in order to find out if the alignment factor could be one of the underlying causes of such phenomenon. The purpose of the present study was to analyse the alignment in terms of reading tasks types between the Malaysian Form Three ESL reading curriculum and its execution at the textbook level as well as at the instructional implementation level. This study adopted the framework for method of analysing the teaching of reading by Sidek (2011), which was a revised version of Richards and Rogers’ (2001) model on the method of analysis for language teaching. The reading-related statements were extracted from the Malaysian Form Three English Language Specifications document, the Malaysian Form Three English language textbook and from reading comprehension lesson observations. The present study adopted the reading task coding used by Anderson, Bachman, Perkin and Cohen’s (1991) which groups reading tasks into three different categories which are ‘identifying main ideas’, ‘identifying details’ and ‘drawing inferences’. The data in this study were analysed using straightforward percentages and compared among the three data sources in order to determine the alignments. The statistical error index for t-test served as the proxy for the alignment index. In terms of reading task types, the findings of the study reveal that the three main reading tasks categories of ‘identifying details’, ‘identifying main ideas’ and ‘making inferences’ are established to be the most prominent types of reading tasks in the curriculum. In terms of alignment, the findings show that in general the types of reading tasks in the Malaysian Form Three English Language Curriculum Specifications were not in alignment with the ones in the Malaysian Form Three English Language textbook and the reading tasks that teachers provided in the instructional implementation of reading comprehension. In sum, the findings of this study indicate that there are misalignments between what is recommended in the Malaysian Form Three English Language Curriculum Specifications document and what is proposed in the Malaysian Form Three English language textbook and what is implemented at the instructional level. This misalignment requires specific attention as the majority of Malaysian students are identified as facing difficulties in understanding reading passages in English at all school levels. Such misalignment needs to be addressed in order to fulfil the curriculum goal to effectively prepare students for academic reading in English at the upper secondary and post-secondary education levels. The findings of this study have implications on curriculum developers at the ministry level and EFL teacher training as well as textbook development not only in the Malaysian setting, but also in other EFL settings.

Keywords:

Curriculum, Second Language, Reading, Alignment, Textbook, Secondary Education.