ARTICLE 1 Levels of Writing Apprehension among Lower Secondary School Students

English in Malaysia was being perceived as the most prominent and reputable language since ages ago and especially in our current educational issues. The significance of the language could be seen through the government's decision to announce English as the second language of Malaysian Education. Malaysia has gone through several changes in educational policy especially regarding the language of the medium of instruction in schools. One of the purpose and objective of English language instruction in Malaysian Education system is to enable the learners to produce and write essays besides increasing their writing skills in English in a range of topics and in loads of different ways. However, not a lot of Malaysians have the aptitude to write in English clearly and expressively. This problem is not only a problem of students from rural areas but also students from the urban areas. Writing in Malaysian schools is being assessed as a part of examination of the English paper and as a necessity and requirement in furthering education at colleges and universities. A lot of students did not perform well in writing. Malaysian students have to go through compulsory writing subject in their examinations such as the PMR and SPM. The not-so-great performance of students in the English language is mainly related to their problems in the writing aspect. Problems in writing can be found among Malaysian school students. A number of Malaysian students have a "not-so-positive" attitude toward writing. Writing Apprehension is term mentioned by Daly and Miller (1975). "Writing Apprehension (WA) is a situation and subject-specific individual difference concerned with people's general tendencies to approach or avoid situations perceived to demand writing - especially when accompanied by some amount of evaluation". Hypothetically, those with low writing apprehension ought to achieve better on tests of writing skills than writers with higher level of apprehension. Anxiety or apprehension is referred to be one of the reason that could influence the process of learning of Malaysian students, and researchers like MacIntyre (1995),

and Gardner(1991) state that language courses are very prone to cause and provoke anxiety among students. Research have also revealed that students that make use of productive skills, like writing and speaking, are bound to experience a substantial quantity of apprehension in the course of learning (Hilleson, 1996; Zhang, 2001).

Retrieved from http://www.ukessays.co.uk/essays/english-language/language-of-malaysianeducation.php

ARTICLE 2 Writing English Essays Within Dominant Discourses In Malaysian Schools This article has shown the impact of the discourse of English language use and the regulatory power of the discourse of examinations in Malaysia on a group of secondary school students doing school writing. The discourse of examinations that narrows school writing to what is expected by examiners resulted in compliance and tactical or strategic responses from the students. Their approaches to the writing tasks include manipulating vocabulary and length, playing off grammar against content and writing within sanctioned topics. Moreover, students aimed to write just enough for them to get by in class and in the examination. Such engagement in writing discourages critical thinking and settles for mediocrity in standards. These findings are similar to the findings in Mohd. Sofi Ali's (2003) study of English language teaching in three primary schools in Malaysia which showed external expectations caused learning, improvement and performance to be associated and equated with good results in public examinations. In another study by Shaharan (2003) on the writing proficiency of a group of Form 3 (Year 9) students in a rural school in Malaysia, it was found that the writing teacher in her study believed that writing was best taught through guided or parallel writing and the use of model essays. Given the English proficiency level of her students and the limited time to cover the syllabus, this approach enabled her to introduce her students to all they needed to know for the PMR examination. This teacher's priority was not really to teach writing, but to expose her students to all the text-types required by the syllabus. These were a teacher's strategic ways to cope within the discourses of examinations and ESL. This article points to the need to interrogate the discourse of examinations that uses public examinations as the primary measurement tool in deciding a student's future in life. One possible way to reduce the negative effects of such high-stakes assessment on students' writing development is to introduce ongoing class-based assessment and writing projects which acknowledge the students' continuous efforts in their learning. When the focus is shifted from performance in a one-time high-stakes

examination to continuous writing development in class, students can experiment with writing outside examination genres. Additionally they can benefit from the use of the process approach prescribed in their English textbook for writing. There can be more opportunities for multiple drafting, consultations with the teacher for continuous feedback and planned student collaboration. Hopefully this will produce more careful and grammatically accurate work, as argued by Fathman and Whalley (1990), Ferris (1997), Frodesen and Holten (2003), and Shih (1998). In the Malaysian classroom, writing should be taught as a developmental process in which the students can enjoy self-expression in a variety of genres and learn to make meaning within certain constraints. This is consistent with the social practice discourse perspective of writing identified by Ivanic (2004). By Tan Kok Eng School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia

ARTICLE 3 Does Writing English has future in Malaysia whether for academic or non academic purposes? Even though the lack of exposure in making writing as a habit starting from the early age, English writing should be given more attention and focus because writing should be integrated with technology such as the internet and writing should not be focus only for academic purposes. . The main problem in writing the English language among the students in this country is first, weak command of English itself. Exam pattern oriented approach causes it to be monotonous and creativity of the students do not develop. apart from that. ICT elements not how applied in improving this weakness. Writing English at school level are more focused on the examination requirements and emphasis on creative writing itself is not emphasized. Furthermore, students are not exposed to the writers of English genre in our country.

Articles retrieved from The Star 2007 Archives

ARTICLE 4 Using Blogs To Promote Writing Skill In ESL Classroom The English language has been taught as a second language in all the Malaysian national schools so that it is very challenging to teach English in these schools. Moreover, in accordance with the globalization trend, English language has been instilled as a compulsory subject in curriculum for all the Malaysian national schools. English language learning in schools has always been linked with grammar, literature, exercises and drill activities that position teaching and learning a language as an educational activity that is related to the students personal development in everyday lives. Now, technology has totally influenced pedagogy as the new ways of teaching. With the growth of technology, Social Networking Sites (SNSs) have spread so rapidly and become the new phenomenon among the teenagers. Thus, SNSs are primarily concerned with people who already know each other, and use the Internet as one way of keeping their existing social connections alive, rather than for making new ones. The most popular SNSs are often associated with the broader context of Web 2.0 technologies, which came to widespread prominence towards the end of 2004. According to Boyd and Ellison (2007), SNSs can be defined as web-based services that allow individuals to articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection such as teacher and the students . However, the growing popularity of blogs as educational tools can be explained by research in this area. Some researchers have claimed that students writing skills improve when they blog. A study conducted by Kavaliauskiene & Vaiciuniene (2006) indicated that the experience of writing on blogs (for an audience) provides opportunities to help students improve their knowledge of English [7]. Nadzrah (2007) also found that blogs let students compose writing with

specific purposes that can encourage them to enhance their writing in the language constructively. There were lots of benefits and advantages cited by the lecturers during the interviews when blogs are used with their students. As indicated by one of the interviewees, blogs can help to seal the connection between the students and the lecturer. The lecturer added that, blogs help to gain free interaction so its more non formal, and there are no language barriers while writing in their blog. However, it wont be appropriate to simply say some improper commands of language to lecturer but it can be used in blog anytime. Students can also use blogs for education not totally for socialising. Students can ask about assignments and talk about lesson and etcetera. This statement was also supported by another quote from fellow lecturer saying that blogs help to, communicate more in written English rather than doing it face to face. They are not shy to express themselves better. The above statements generally suggest that there are lots of benefits in using blogs such as in interaction and expressing themselves. This also supports that blogs provide a platform for individual expression and support reader commentary, critique, and interlink age as subsequent steps. In other words, blogs foreground the individual.

By MELOR MD. YUNUS, JULIAN LAU KIING TUAN & HADI SALEHI Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

ARTICLE 5 Writing with the Computer: A Malaysian ESL experience

Computer technology has played a vital role in the current era and is widely endorsed in our society. Its introduction to the ESL classrooms coincides with developments in pedagogical theory and in our understanding of writing which shifted its focus from product-oriented, teacher-controlled approaches to a learner-centred in the classrooms. The use of computer programmes such as the word processor is an example of the shifting paradigm in writing classrooms. Many ESL instructors have, in general, agreed that the word processor is a motivating force in writing. It encourages and motivates students to go through their writing process: from generating ideas, text revising, pausing, reflecting, editing, and collaborating. As students go through their writing

process with the computer, they may adopt various strategies to facilitate them in completing a writing task. This paper reports on a survey of a group of undergraduate ESL students experience writing with the word processor in a computer-based writing course. The findings are discussed in light of implications for teaching ESL writing. More often than not, most ESL students would cringe when assigned to a task of writing. Although students may go through the process of several steps, starting with generating ideas (via various sources and methods), revising, getting feedback from various readers, and re-writing, many ESL students still find writing a daunting task. In general, it is often the elaboration of ideas that would normally stop them on their track. Although there may be ideas or facts derived from a brainstorming session or a mindmap that can be incorporated into their writing, often, the ideas expressed would lack depth. The struggle to produce the complete text becomes more complex if the writing task requires students to argue some topic or even drive a point home. Such a problem is compounded by the students incompetence in English. Today, thanks to the

availability of the computer which provides facilities such as the word processing programme, as this tedious task can be tackled head-on.

In Malaysia, the use of computer programmes such as the word processor has become increasingly popular in higher institutions. Many students have mastered the word processing skills and benefited from using the word processor, for instance, in completing their academic assignments. The possibility of using the word processor in writing has given new challenges to ESL instructors, in particular, writing instructors. As we are preparing and producing knowledgeable and skilled workforce for the new millennium, it is timely that students be encouraged to use the word processor in tackling the tedious ESL writing task.

The introduction of computer technology into the writing classroom is aimed at keeping the students abreast with its development and letting them have a more positive outlook on overcoming the difficulties in writing, as well as enabling them to have a more global outlook to the procurement of knowledge. Getting students to write through the traditional way of classroom tutorials can be boring and demotivating, as the weaker students need to constantly rely on the writing instructor for feedback on their writing. Thus, computer technology such as the word processor is seen as a beneficial tool that can overcome this aspect of writing. Moreover, it can inspire both students and instructors by making ESL writing interesting and relevant.

Although there has been no conclusive evidence to suggest that computer technology can enhance writing performance, word processing is no doubt a viable computer tool in making writing a less daunting and more fun task. The dynamics of ESL writing can be altered with the use of the computer in that the environment of a class can be changed from active to interactive. The word processor, combined with excellent teaching method and other information communication technologies such as e-mail and the Internet, will be a powerful and beneficial tool in writing and can r esult in improved teaching and learning skills of writing (Maddux, et al., 1997). The ESL writing instructors should, therefore, not regard the computer as a primarily technological

innovation but also as a pedagogical innovation. This will help them realise that they need not be computer experts in order to use a computer programme such as the word processor creatively, which in turn will make ESL writing a more fruitful and rewarding task.

by Sabariah Md. Rashid &Melor Md. Yunus Universiti Putra Malaysia Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia