RELIGACIÓN

Yazarlar: Siti Nor Mulia Abd Rahhim, Mohd Said Nur Ehsan

Konular:-

Anahtar Kelimeler:Differentiated instruction,Tertiary education,ESL context,Language attitude,Effects.

Özet: Modern education has acknowledged the importance of differentiating lessons to meet multifarious needs for learning within a single classroom. The diverse needs are especially evident in language classrooms as they are often comprised of learners with different levels of proficiency and motivated by different learning triggers. This study examines the impacts of differentiated instruction (DI) on ESL students’ language attitude in a tertiary education setting following a four-week classroom intervention. Through the longitudinal study, 21 second semester students (age 18) from a matriculation college in South Peninsular, Malaysia were involved. The student-participants’ English language attitude was measured through three constructs, namely cognitive, affective, and behavioural and was analysed and reported separately before they were amalgamated to form a general report of language attitude. Through a purposive sampling, the participants were selected and their learning styles were using Grasha-Reichmann Scale Survey prior to the intervention. Driven by the learning style preference test results, differentiated learning activities were designed to accommodate the different types of learning style preference. The intervention, which spanned four weeks, included a pre- and post-test based on Gardner’s Attitude and Motivation Test Battery to measure and re-measure the participants’ language attitude. The findings revealed no statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the pre- and post-test. However, a new pattern was identified when the three constructs were ranked as opposed to previous studies. Some pedagogical implications were discussed at the end of the paper for ESL instructors to consider in enriching their teaching repertoire.

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