Kong, Kit Yi (2023) A study on the effectiveness of feedback guidelines in improving students’ writing skills in SMJK Yuk Kwan. Final Year Project, UTAR.
Abstract
In Malaysia, there is a major examination that is needed to be taken by students at the secondary school level which are Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). Writing skills are one of the most important skills as it carries a lot of marks, and students need to write two essays in their examination papers. As writing is so prevalent in both the industry and higher education, it is crucial. Students won't be able to interact effectively with lecturers, companies, colleagues, or essentially anyone else if they lack the ability to express themselves in writing (Walsh, 2019). Akinwamide (2012) states that writing skill is the most arduous task to accomplish in the classroom. It is the hardest skill to master as students need to include many aspects in their writing such as grammar, vocabulary, plot, and even organization. Tan Sri Khair Mohamad Yusof, board member of the Ministry of Education (2016), indicated that students' writing skills still need to be enhanced. Students need guidance in their writing, and that is why students will need feedback from teachers to help improve their writing skills. According to Zaru and etc (2013), it is commonly accepted that feedback can improve students' engagement and productivity if the provided is appropriately given and thoughtfully chosen. Feedback can be essential as it helps students to identify mistakes made which enables them to do corrections and made improvements. According to Wahyuni (2017), in a learning course, teacher feedback helps students become more aware of their strengths and limitations, and it is believed that they would be able to use their strengths to overcome their deficiencies by comprehending the feedback provided. For instant, students who can write essays with good organization and minor mistakes in their grammar are clueless about how to improve their writing; feedbacks provided by teachers can aid them to identify their weaknesses in vocabulary and allow them to overcome it in an attempt to strengthen their writing skills. However, due to the lack of standardized guidelines for teachers to provide feedback, it is difficult for students to correct their mistakes and identify space for improvement. In this study, the researcher would like to focus on the writing skill of students in Chinese Secondary Schools (SMJK). Chinese secondary school is known as “Sekolah Menegah Jenis Kebangsaan” (SMJK) where mandarin is the main medium of instruction. Even with the policy of “Bilingual Program DLP” that is launched in 2012, there are still a lot of Chinese Secondary Schools (SMJK) that use Mandarin to deliver classes for non-language subjects such as Mathematics and Science. These will result in a lower level of proficiency in English for students in Chinese Secondary Schools. Therefore, students will rely more on the teachers in language subjects such as English and Malay, especially in their writing. Teacher feedback is one way for students to improve their writing as they are able to identify their strengths and weakness and try to overcome them. Based on the research conducted by Plaindaren & Shah (2019), the authors suggested that standardized guidelines should be done to have adequate feedback. Teachers can follow a certain rubric or guideline while they are marking the student’s papers and giving feedback to them. Therefore, it is important for this research to be conducted as it can help educators to identify the efficacy of standardized feedback guidelines in boosting students’ writing skills.
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