English language being taught in Malaysia has been delivered to the pupils and students via comprehensive curriculum legislated by the Ministry of Education. Up until now, the curriculum has been staged to the third times of improvement. Start off with the KLSR or Kurikulum Lama Sekolah Rendah and KLSM or Kurikulum Lama Sekolah Menengah from the 60s until 80s, next The Integrated Curriculum for Primary or Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah (KBSR) and The Integrated Curriculum for Secondary or Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM) have been implemented (Pusat Perkembangan Kurikulum, 2003). Later, the Ministry of Education has introduced a new curriculum with the first batch has been taught using this curriculum in 2010.
Comparing all three curriculum’s framework, the KLSR and KLSM are the most curriculum that have been neglected the teaching of listening and speaking. However, even though the KBSR and KBSM have been implemented the listening and speaking skill in the curriculum, thus it have been proven that the method and strategies being installed within this curriculum are not enough to boost pupils and students proficiency in listening and speaking in English (Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum, 2013). Referring to that issue, the ministry has been installing some new methods and strategies to improvise and enhance the teaching of listening and speaking towards pupils and students; collectively being called “learning is fun” method or didik hibur (Dr. Zailah Zainudin, 2013).
This method comprises a lot of interesting activities such as chanting, singing, modelling clay making, paper folding, gardening, public speaking, storytelling, public reading, and so much more. Ironically, even though the ministry has build such a good curriculum, if the teacher is not capable and interested or don’t even want to try to use the method legislated to teach listening and speaking in English, there is nothing can be done to help the pupils or students to enhance their listening and speaking skills. From my observation in my school, listening and speaking are being taught equally important as reading and writing. For the moment, there are two curriculum being used to do this which are KBSR (standard 5 to 6) and KSSR (standard 1 to 4).
Precisely, there are some issue arise between both curriculum. Teachers who are teaching using KBSR have the tendency to neglect the teaching of listening and speaking compared to those who are teaching using KSSR. In order to gouge out this issue, I have interviewed two teachers in my school who are teaching English. Puan Khadijah Othman is teaching standard 5 while Puan Puspa is teaching standard 3. A few questions have been asked to determine either it is true that teaching of listening and speaking is neglected or given less importance in their English class.
From my point of view, to discuss about the teaching of listening and speaking that being neglected in the ESL classroom especially in Sekolah Kebangsaan Lurah Bilot, Bentong, Pahang, the discussion can be divided into three parts which are curriculum structure, teaching aids and teacher readiness. According to Puan Puspa, the new curriculum introduced by the ministry is complete with all four communicative skills which are reading, writing, speaking and listening. Plus, all four skills are being written obviously on the text book as the guide for teachers, parents and pupils. Compared to the KBSR, the speaking and listening structure are not emphasize on the text book. Only teachers can understand and able to get the teaching structure of both skills from the yearly teaching plan and curriculum specification.
Referring to the KSSR’s textbook, each unit on the textbook have been divide to four parts which resemble the four days of pupils learning about English in a week (according to the new curriculum). Introduction, listening and speaking, reading and writing and lastly language arts; there are all sections of each unit being taught by each week. Still, the skills are being divided into two regimes which include production and reception skills (reading – writing; listening – speaking). Using theme-based instruction, all four skills can be integrate depends on the teacher. The structure presented previously regarding days and what skills need to be taught is just the guideline. Teachers are allowed to mix and match the skills depending on the theme structured on the text book. This method coherent with what being discussed by Brown (2007) in his book, “Theme-based courses tend to focus on topics, situations, or “themes” as one of their organizing parameter”.
Stating that, we can see that listening – speaking and reading – writing are being taught and given importance equally without any bias in SK Lurah Bilut where all the English teacher that teaching standard 1 until standard 4 which using the new curriculum; KSSR are teaching all four skills equally without any disregard. On the other hand, the old curriculum; KBSR which also been implementing the all four basic skill, is not segmenting implicitly the skills on the textbook. So teachers have the option to choose any skills or to integrate any skills that they want to teach according to the curriculum specification. Thus, most of the teacher likely to choose teaching much more easy skills such as reading and writing instead of listening and speaking.
Secondly, the teaching aids needed to teach speaking and listening somehow can be a troublesome for some teachers. Some schools are provided with various supply of teaching aids either it was given by the ministry or handmade by the teacher while other schools are not equipped with that. Harmer (2007), suggested that teaching listening should be used various type of medium comprehended via various activities such as jigsaw listening, message – taking, music and sound effects, news and other radio genres, poetry, stories and monologues. All of this activities require a lot of aids. Before the computer technology hits globally, teacher normally use radio, tape, VHS player and disc to aid the teaching of listening session. But now, teacher can use a lot of gadget to teach listening and speaking. The problem arises now are within the teacher itself.
According to Puan Puspa, “There shouldn’t be any problem regarding the issue of teaching listening since all teacher are all equipped with laptop, compact disc and speaker”. Even though Puan Khadijah Othman is also agree with Puan Puspa, she argues that the teaching aids and support module and system given by the ministry is different for both curriculum. The new curriculum seems to get a lot more attention and being focus for the time being. All module and support materials including textbook, teacher’s guidebook and assessment kit are all equally emphasizing all four language skills.
However, in KBSR, the structure and framework of this curriculum is a bit loose regarding emphasizing of listening and speaking. Thus, the teaching aids given by the ministry are not focusing on both skills but loosely integrating all skills and giving the option for teachers to choose by themselves and implement it in the classroom. This later, effecting the interest of the teacher to teach all four skills with equalization since the need to choose freely without any constraint the output of the learning session. Puan Khadijah Othman added, “Compared to the new curriculum, KBSR is quite loose and not so comprehensive and systematic as the new one”. She also mentioned that the new curriculum obligated the teachers to follow the framework given which already covers all aspect of language skill systematically. This package come with completed set of aids and references which allow teacher to use it with much work. Can be conclude that the teaching aids for teaching listening and speaking play such a big role in maintaining teacher’s motivation to teach listening and speaking effectively.
The third aspect to discuss about either the teaching of listening and speaking is neglected or not is teacher’s readiness. To get ready, someone need to be prepared. As Napoleon Bonaparte said, “Preparation is the glorious victory”, teachers need to be prepared to accommodate the new dimension of teaching technology within this new ages. Thus, a lot of senior teacher having difficulties with this fast rapid growth of technology and tend to get tired to use of sort of technologies in their teaching. Nowadays, teaching listening and speaking requires the use of new gadget and applications. New gadgets and applications being created everyday all over the world and can be share easily with the help of globalisation. It is not only the teacher that need to get updated with the technology, the kids also seems to be interested with this issue. They tend to know and master on how to run a new gadget and use a new applications without any major help from an adult.
So, the teacher need to use all sort of new technologies in order to compete the competency of the kids with the technology. If the teachers are remains at the same old state, their way of teaching also will be the same and it seems to be boring to the kids since the kids have a better knowledge with the technology. According to Harmer (2007), teacher need to fulfil two criterion in order to get ready for teaching speaking and listening. Teacher need to have four basic skills which includes managing classes, matching tasks and groups, variety activity and able to find suitable destination to carry out the lesson since teaching listening and speaking require a quiet and conducive ambience. Furthermore, Harmer (2007) also added that the teacher need to acquire four basic knowledge in managing teaching of listening and speaking which are the language system, materials and resources, classroom equipment and keeping up-to-date.
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