Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development

APPROACH FOR TEACHING GRAMMAR IN IBAN SECONDARY

SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

Felisia Tensing

Bachelor of Education with Honours

(Teaching English as Second Language)

2009

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak FSKPM

BORANG PENYERAHAN TESIS

Judul:

SESI PENGAJIAN: 2005 – 2009

Saya

mengakui membenarkan laporan projek ini disimpan di Pusat Khidmat Maklumat Akademik,

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak dengan syarat-syarat seperti berikut:

1. Hakmilik kertas projek adalah di bawah nama penulis melainkan penulisan sebagai projek

bersama dan dibiayai oleh UNIMAS, hakmiliknya adalah kepunyaan UNIMAS.

2. Naskhah salinan di dalam bentuk kertas atau mikro hanya boleh dibuat dengan kebenaran

bertulis daripada penulis.

3. Pusat Khidmat Maklumat Akademik, UNIMAS dibenarkan membuat salinan untuk pengajian

mereka.

4. Kertas projek hanya boleh diterbitkan dengan kebenaran penulis. Bayaran royalti adalah

mengikut kadar yang dipersetujui kelak.

5. * Saya membenarkan/tidak membenarkan Perpustakaan membuat salinan kertas projek ini

sebagai bahan pertukaran di antara institusi pengajian tinggi.

6. ** Sila tandakan (√)

SULIT (Mengandungi maklumat yang berdarjah keselamatan atau

kepentingan Malaysia seperti yang termaktub di dalam AKTA

RAHSIA RASMI 1972).

TERHAD (Mengandungi maklumat TERHAD yang telah ditentukan

oleh organisasi/ badan di mana penyelidikan dijalankan).

TIDAK TERHAD

Disahkan oleh

(TANDATANGAN PENULIS) (TANDATANGAN PENYELIA)

Alamat tetap:

(Nama Penyelia)

Tarikh: Tarikh: ______________________

CATATAN * Potong yang tidak berkenaan.

** Jika Kertas Projek ini SULIT atau TERHAD, sila lampirkan surat daripada pihak berkuasa/

organisasi berkenaan dengan menyertakan sekali tempoh kertas projek. Ini perlu dikelaskan

sebagai SULIT atau TERHAD.

FELISIA TENSING

DR. TING SU HIE

D/A TENSING MORIK, KLINIK

KESIHATAN SERASOT, HOSPITAL

DAERAH BAU, 94000 BAU, SARAWAK.

APPROACH FOR TEACHING GRAMMAR IN IBAN SECONDARY SCHOOL

TEXTBOOKS

Statement of Originality

The work described in this Final Year Project, entitled

“Approach for Teaching Grammar In Iban Secondary School Textbooks”

is to the best of the author‟s knowledge that of the author except

where due reference is made.

__________________ ___________________

(Date submitted) (Student‟s signature)

Felisia Tensing

14035

APPROACH FOR TEACHING GRAMMAR IN IBAN SECONDARY

SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

FELISIA TENSING

This project is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a

Bachelor of Education with Honours

(Teaching English as a Second Language)

Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development

UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK

2009

The project entitled Approach for Teaching Grammar in Iban Secondary School

Textbooks was prepared by Felisia Tensing and submitted to the Faculty of

Cognitive Sciences and Human Development in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for a Bachelor of Education with Honours (Teaching English as a

Second Language).

Received for examination by:

_____________________

(Dr Ting Su Hie)

Date:

_____________________

Grade

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me the

possibility to complete this thesis.

It is difficult to overstate my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Ting Su Hie.

With her enthusiasm, her inspiration, and her great efforts to explain things clearly

and simply, she helped to make research project completion possible for me.

Throughout my research-writing period, she provided encouragement, sound

advice, good teaching and lots of good ideas. I would have been lost without her.

I would like to thank the head of Iban panitia from S.M.K Sebuyau, Miss

Tingang Dukun, for her generosity and kindness to help in terms of the sample of

study as well as the invaluable time spent for the extra Iban lessons.

I am indebted to my friends for providing a supportive and fun

environment to learn and grow. I am especially grateful to Lim Swee Hoon,

Angeline Hii, Puah Yann Yann, Suhaida Suid, Mohd. Azril and Nor Azma for

helping me get through the difficult times, and for all the emotional support,

comraderie, entertainment, and caring they provided.

My deepest gratitude goes to my family for their unflagging love and

support throughout the ups and downs in the life that we share together.

Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank the Almighty God, for

it is under His grace that I learnt that I have not been forsaken, despite all the tests

in the past four years of study in UNIMAS.

v

ABSTRACT

APPROACH TO TEACHING GRAMMAR IN IBAN SECONDARY

SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

Felisia Tensing

This study examined the approach to teaching grammar in Iban secondary school

textbooks. The specific objectives were to identify the grammar items focused, the

types of grammar practices and the grammar approach employed based on the

grammar features and flow of activities in the grammar sections. The 5 selected

textbooks were the official and compulsory teaching and learning materials used

in Iban educational setting, which were provided by Ministry of Education

Malaysia and designed according to the national curriculum. Decoo‟s (1996)

refinement of inductive and deductive approach to five modalities were adapted as

the checklists for the analysis. The findings showed that the grammar items

focused on the learning of language parts and structures, the grammar practices

found were the mechanical types which involved heavy drills and controlled

production, while Decoo‟s Modality A (Actual Deduction) or known as deductive

approach were the dominant teaching used in all the 5 textbooks. It was found that

Form 5 textbook was entirely deductive compared to Form 2 with the ratio of

1:24, Form 3; 1:3.85, Form 4; 1:7 and Form 1; 1:2.25. Therefore, the result

indicated that Iban grammar teaching reflected the structural view of language

learning. The findings of the study would provide beneficial feedback to the

organisations and educationists involved in the material development and

manipulation, which specifically refers to Iban language.

vi

ABSTRAK

PENDEKATAN UNTUK KAEDAH PENGAJARAN TATABAHASA

BERDASARKAN BUKU TEKS BAHASA IBAN UNTUK SEKOLAH

MENENGAH

Felisia Tensing

Matlamat utama kajian ini dijalankan adalah untuk menyelidik tentang kaedah

pengajaran tatabahasa di dalam buku teks bahasa Iban untuk sekolah menengah.

Objektif spesifiknya adalah untuk mengenalpasti item tatabahasa yang

ditekankan, jenis praktis tatabahasa dan pendekatan tatabahasa berdasarkan

ciri-ciri tatabahasa dan aliran aktiviti yang terdapat di dalam bahagian

tatabahasa. Lima sampel buku teks yang dipilih merupakan bahan pengajaran

dan pembelajaran yang rasmi dan diwajibkan penggunaanmya di dalam

pendidikan bahasa Iban. Selain itu, kelima-lima buku teks tersebut disediakan

oleh Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia dan direka bentuk berdasarkan kurikulum

kebangsaan. Perbaikan dan penapisan daripada pendekatan induktif dan deduktif

oleh Decoo (1996) kepada lima modaliti telah diadaptasi sebagai senarai

semakan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa item tatabahasa difokuskan

kepada pembelajaran tentang bahagian dan struktur bahasa, praktis tatabahasa

pula terdiri daripada jenis mekanikal yang melibatkan latih tubi yang berat dan

produksi yang terkawal, manakala Modaliti A (Deduksi Sebenar) oleh Decoo atau

dikenali sebagai pendekatan deduktif merupakan kaedah pengajaran yang

digunakan secara dominan di dalam kelima-lima buku teks tersebut. Buku teks

Tingkatan 5 adalah keseluruhannya deduktif manakala Tingkatan 2 dengan

nisbah 1:24, Tingkatan 3; 1:3.85, Tingkatan 4; 1:7 and Tingkatan 1; 1:2.25.

Kesimpulannya, hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa pengajaran tatabahasa Iban

menggambarkan pembelajaran bahasa dari sudut pandangan struktural. Hasil

kajian ini membekalkan maklum balas yang berguna kepada organisasi dan ahli-

ahli akademik yang terlibat dalam pembangunan dan manipulasi material, secara

specifiknya berkenaan dengan bahasa Iban.

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

ABSTRACT v

ABSTRAK vi

LIST OF TABLES x

LIST OF FIGURES xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction: Learning a language 1

1.2 Sociocultural background of Iban 4

1.3 Research problem 5

1.4 Aim and objective of the study 6

1.5 Significance of study 6

1.6 Operational definition of terms 7

1.6.1 Iban language 7

1.6.2 Iban textbooks 8

1.6.3 Grammar item 8

1.6.4 Grammar practice 9

1.6.5 Approaches to teaching grammar 9

1.7 Scope of study 10

viii

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Grammar over time 12

2.1.1 Reason for the shifts in the approaches 15

to grammar teaching

2.2 Approach to grammar teaching in the textbooks 17

2.3 The core approaches in grammar teaching 19

2.3.1 The deductive and inductive approaches in 20

grammar teaching

2.3.2 Refinement of the deductive and inductive 21

approaches into five modalities

2.3.3 Covert and overt in the five modalities 22

2.3.4 The approach to teaching grammar 24

in grammar activities

2.4 Grammar terminologies 30

2.4.1 Units of language 30

2.4.2 Parts of sentence 32

2.4.3 Parts of speech 33

2.5 Summary 37

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research design 39

3.2 Textbooks sampling 40

3.3 Instrument 41

3.4 Data collection procedures 52

3.5 Data analysis 52

3.5.1 Analysis of grammar items 53

ix

3.5.2 Analysis of grammar practices 55

3.5.3 Analysis of grammar approach 56

3.6 Limitations 59

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 What is/are the grammar item(s) focussed in the Iban textbooks? 60

4.2 What is/are the type(s) of grammar practice in the Iban textbooks? 64

4.3 What is/are the grammar approach(s) in Iban textbooks? 73

4.4 Discussion 79

4.5 Summary 82

CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Summary of study 84

5.2 Implication of the findings 87

5.3 Recommendations for future research 89

5.4 Conclusion 90

REFERENCES 92

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Descriptive tables for grammar items 100

Appendix B: Descriptive tables for grammar approach (flow of activities) 104

x

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1 Units of language 31

2 Description of unit of language 31

3 Part of sentence 32

4 Noun 33

5 Pronoun 34

6 Verb 34

7 Adjective 35

8 Adverb 35

9 Determiner 36

10 Preposition 36

11 Conjunction 37

12 Checklist A: Criteria of grammar approaches (five modalities) 43

13 Checklist B: Identify grammar approach 45

(in one teaching continuation)

14 Descriptive table for grammar items 46

15 Descriptive table for grammar practices 48

16 Descriptive table for grammar approach (flow of activities) 50

17 The straight sentence 53

18 The inverse sentence 53

19 Identification process on unrecognised iban grammar item 54

20 The grammar items in the 5 Iban secondary school textbooks 61

21 The grammar practices in the 5 Iban secondary school textbooks 65

22 The grammar approach in textbooks (five modalities) 73

23 The categorisation of approaches into inductive and deductive 78

xi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1 Grammar activities on noun adjectives and adverbs 25

2 Grammar activities on prepositions 26

3 Grammar activities on possessive adjectives and 27

imperatives sentences

4 Grammar activities on noun, pronoun and adjectives 28

5 Grammar activities on preposition “for” and “since” 29

xii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CDC Curriculum Development Centre

KBSM Secondary School Integrated Curriculum

MOE Ministry of Education

PMR Lower Secondary Evaluation

SPM Malaysia Educational Certificate

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This introductory chapter provide an overview of the study which includes

introduction, background of study, statement of problem, and the objectives of the

study. It is then followed by the operational terms used, the research significance

and the scope of the study.

1.1 Introduction: Learning a language

The primary part of learning a language is generally seen as learning its

grammar. Although grammar may not be able to provide an entirety of rules

explanation for all language structures at a time due to the language evolution

(Larsen-Freeman, 1997), a language learning program should view grammar as a

“means by which people interact with one another” (Joyce & Burns, 1999, p. 54).

This implies the inevitable vital role of grammar in structural view of language

2

learning in which it is contrasting with the functional perspective due to the view

of vocabulary as the building blocks of a language.

There are various arguments on how to acquire grammar in order to

develop language competency. More often than not, the distinction of approaches

to grammar is made between two realms, which are the traditional and

communicative approach. Both approaches then become the theoretical

underpinning of various methods which either shares the similarity in terms of the

view of grammar or the principles of language learning with the dominant

pioneers. The most traditional view of language is the structural (Richards &

Rodgers, 1994, p. 17), which emphasises on the part and parcel of language,

namely the rules and structures, while at the same time, promotes behaviouristic

theory in its accuracy practice (i.e. drill and rote memorisation). Above all,

grammar is taught deductively due to the focus on the knowledge about language.

In contrast, the communicative syllabus which embodies the functional view

highlights that learning occurs when language is used to communicate in an

authentic communication and fluency is prioritised over accuracy (Rodgers, 2001)

as learners would induce the understanding along the process.

In light of functional view, the communicative approach is seen as on

innovative way to teach language while teaching materials and curriculum

guidelines have been proclaimed as reflecting the goal of communicative

competence (Savignon, 2001, p. 13). Asia is not an exception with regards to the

popular materialization of Communicative Approach as the role of explicit

instruction and grammar explanation has been downplayed (Chew, 2005).

However, in the realm of education in Malaysia, teacher typically prefers to stick

to the old ways as a washback from examination (Fauziah Hassan & Nita Fauzee

Selamat, 2002), despite the changes to communicative approach. Based on the

interviews conducted by Fauziah Hassan and Nita Fauzee Selamat (2002),

textbook was identified as one of the factors influencing the phenomenon since

textbooks has become the key component in most language programs (Noreen

Nordin & Arshad Abdul Samad, 2007). For most of Malaysian teachers, textbooks

3

provide the foundation for the content of lessons, the balance of the skills taught,

as well as the kinds of language practice the students engage in during class

activities (Noreen Nordin & Arshad Abdul Samad, 2007). This issue is not

unfamiliar as a previous study by Pillay (1995) revealed that teachers, especially

in rural areas are largely dependent on textbooks (in Pillay & North, 1997, p. 9).

This led the discussion into the issue of teaching approach implied in the

textbook which indirectly affects the way teachers teach, particularly those

teachers who are dependent on the textbook. As indicated that textbook would

influence the teacher‟s way of teaching, it is essential to look at the approach

contained in a textbook. In view of this, it is to be noted that the Malaysian

educational system also shared similar awareness stated by Savignon (2001, p. 13)

with regards to communicative approach as the innovative language teaching.

This is reflected through the shift of syllabus from the structural to the

communicative as Rogers (1981, p. 20) mentioned that “most Malaysian upper

secondary teachers were becoming acquainted with the new syllabus in 1977”.

Despite the development of new syllabus in 1990 which is currently known as the

Secondary School Integrated Curriculum (KBSM), the syllabus is still based on

the communicative approach with the changes in terms of overt grammar teaching

(Ting, 2007). Pertaining to the grammar approach implied in textbooks and at the

same time reflecting the syllabus, a study by Chung (2006) had shown the

discrepancies between the textbook design and the national curriculum. Her

research in terms of the extent to which Malaysian English textbooks comply with

the communicative approach in the area of grammar teaching revealed that the

textbooks still retain the structural method of English language learning.

4

1.2 Sociocultural background of Iban

Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia as it covers 37.5% of the total area

of the country (Sarawak Electronic Government, 2008). Based on the Yearbook of

Statistic 2005, Sarawak has a population of 2.31 million which constitutes 27

major ethnic groups (cited in Sarawak Electronic Government, 2008) with diverse

language and culture. The Iban population is estimated to be 603, 735 people,

forming the largest community of Sarawak (Sarawak Electronic Government,

2008).The Iban people, also known as the Sea Dayaks, deviated from the “true”

Malays of Sumatra and Malay Peninsula due to the fact that they do not practice

the Muslim Malay culture (Asmah Omar, 1981, p. 2). Thus, Iban people are also

regarded as proto-Malays for the similarity of physical characteristic and language

(Asmah Omar, 1981, p. 2).

Iban language education history began since 1968 for primary education

but it is only formalised as part of national curriculum in 1988 (Dayak Cultural

Foundation, 1995). In the same year, Iban language is included in the lower

secondary syllabus (Dayak Cultural Foundation, 1995). The historic moment of

Iban education began when the teaching and learning of Iban language as one of

the main language spoken in Sarawak, along with Malay and English (Ahmad

Sipon as cited in Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia, 2006) has been made official as

the Education Ministry has standardised the Iban language for use in schools and

agreed to make it a subject in the Malaysia Education Certificate (SPM) in 2008

(The Star Online, 2006). The former Malaysian Education Director, Ahmad Sipon

(2006) announced that the educational materials and activities will be designed

based on the handbook called Standardised Iban Language System used in School

after signing the declaration of the use of Iban language in schools (as cited in

Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia, 2006).

5

The objectives of the Iban Secondary School Integrated Curriculum

(KBSM) Language Syllabus emphasise on equipping learners with daily

communicative needs and effective social interaction aside from fostering and

preserving the Iban culture and heritage (Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2007).

The Iban curriculum specification supplied by the Ministry of Education (2003),

which is based on the Integrated Curriculum, states the goal of language learning

as encompassing language skills with the ability in using the language knowledge

(i.e grammar and language system) appropriate to context and topic (p. 5).

Moreover, the teaching and learning strategies suggested cover the focus on

learner-centred, communicative competence in different contexts and thematic

teaching and learning (Ministry of Education, 2003, p. 9). Ultimately, these

elements of communicative approach are envisaged in the Iban textbook, due to

the role of textbook as the “first conceptualisation of syllabus” (Hutchinson &

Torres, 1994).

1.3 Research problem

The approach in Iban textbooks is uncertain for there has been little

research done which involve textbooks analysis to examine the grammar approach

employed. This is possibly due to „de novo‟ issue because the formal education of

Iban as indigenous language is still developing and fairly recent. According to

Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia (2006), Iban is a new elective subject tested for

SPM which only recently started in 2008 although it has been taught earlier for

primary schools and has become part of the Lower Secondary Evaluation (PMR).

Thus, the refinement and production of Iban textbooks and teaching aids by the

Education Ministry were implemented in 2006 based on the Standardised Iban

Language System used in School (Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia, 2006).

With regards to the teaching of Iban as indigenous language, the real status

of Iban teaching approach is not known. Hence, it is an area of interest to discover

how Iban language is taught. Due to the role of textbook as being reflective of

curriculum innovation (Hutchinson & Torres, 1994), there is a possibility that the

6

teaching approach would be depicted through the textbook. In terms of curriculum

innovation, the foreseeable approach in Iban grammar teaching would be the

Integrated Syllabus. However, this possibility would be refuted with regards to a

previous study done by Chung (2006) that shows incongruity between the

approaches implied in Malaysian English textbook with the syllabus advocated by

the Ministry of Education. Based on these reasons, this paper attempts to unearth

the underlying approach of grammar presentation in Iban secondary textbooks.

1.4 Aim and objective of the study

This study is aimed to investigate how Iban grammar is taught by

analysing the textbooks used in Malaysian secondary schools. The specific

objectives of this study are:

i. To identify the grammar items focused in the Iban textbooks;

ii. To examine the type of grammar practices in the Iban textbooks;

iii. To find out the grammar approach by studying the sequence/continuation of

the activities within and across the unit.

1.5 Significance of study

The findings of the study would provide description on how Iban grammar

is taught through the textbook analysis. This analysis would be useful to provide

feedback to the educational administrator, specifically the Textbook Division

under the Ministry of Education as they aimed to provide textbooks which are in

line with the Integrated Syllabus (Ministry of Education, 2008). In other words,

the findings of this study can be used to see if there is any room for improvement

with regards to the existing textbooks so it can better reflect the syllabus.

Moreover, the findings would also reveal the approach to grammar teaching

implied in the textbooks.

7

In view of the awareness of the pedagogical influence the textbooks have

on teacher‟s practice and also with the fact of limited available teaching materials

for Iban teaching, the result of study would be useful to the material developers as

well as to the teachers. The findings which concerned with the existing approach

to grammar teaching in the textbooks could be used as a reference by the material

developer in designing future resource books or additional materials for Iban

language teaching and learning. On the other hand, the teachers whom largely

dependent on the textbooks that has become the main resource and official

teaching material would be made aware of the embedded approach in the

textbooks so they can make amendments where necessary or use as it is to adjust

with their learners or objectives in ensuring better grammar teaching.

Moreover, the teaching of Iban language had just recently been fully

implemented in 2008 as it is the time when Iban was started to be taught in Form

5 level and included as one of the tested subjects in SPM. This has become the

underlying reasons of limited research on the area of Iban language teaching,

particularly with regards to the approach contained in the textbooks. Therefore,

this study would offer empirical research data concerning the teaching of Iban as

the indigenous language.

1.6 Operational definition of terms

1.6.1 Iban language

The language addressed in present study is based on the Iban Language

System used in school (Curiculum Development Centre, 2006) which refers to the

standardised Iban language and outlined by the Iban Spelling system (Dayak

Cultural Foundation, 1995). The standardised Iban language taught in school is

applicable in and comprehensible to the majority of Iban in Sarawak due to its

omission on any particular regional or cultural influence (Harry Usup Umbar &

Mawas Nalau, 2005, pp. 1-2). Also, the Iban language referred to in this study is

relevant within the formal and educational context. Specifically, the language

8

addressed in the study is restricted to the written Iban in the secondary school

textbooks.

1.6.2 Iban textbooks

The textbooks in this research are defined as the Iban secondary school

learning materials which is also the only source of formal educational material for

Iban language. These textbooks design are based on the syllabus and curriculum

specification in adherence to the national education philosophy. The selected

textbooks consist of:

i. Bahasa Iban Tingkatan 1 (Iban Language Form 1) by Jimbun Tawai,

Mensan Jete, and Sidi Aji (2003);

ii. Bahasa Iban Tingkatan 2 (Iban Language Form 2) by Geoffrey Singgon,

Harry Usup Umbar and Missey Munji (2004);

iii. Bahasa Iban Tingkatan 3 (Iban Language Form 3) by Geoffrey Singgon,

Harry Usup Umbar and Jimbun Tawai (2005);

iv. Bahasa Iban Tingkatan 4 (Iban Language Form 4) by Jimbun Tawai, Harry

Usup Umbar and Frankie Uning (2006);

v. Bahasa Iban Tingkatan 5 (Iban Language Form 5) by Geoffrey Singgon,

Harry Usup Umbar, Peter Ballack and Timothy Salang (2007).

1.6.3 Grammar item

The grammar item is refers to the list of Iban grammar items taught in the

Iban textbooks. For the purpose of this study, the Iban grammar items will be

translated to the English grammar terminologies based on the handbook;

Standardised Iban Language System used in School (Ministry of Education,

2007). The examples of Iban grammar items are jaku betandu (reduplicative),

rambai jaku (phrases), jaku nama (noun), jaku penempat (preposition) etc.

9

1.6.4 Grammar practice

In this study, grammar practice or task refers to the student‟s performance

on observable activity which assesses their understanding on the Iban grammar

item that has been taught in the textbooks. The grammar practices are confined

within the translation and interpretation of written instructions in the Iban

textbooks. The interpretation of grammar practice is based on the verbs used to

instruct the learner to perform an activity. The examples of Iban grammar

practices are: identification (uji kelala), fill-in-blanks (isi lapang), complete

sentence (tembuka ayat) etc.

1.6.5 Approaches to teaching grammar

The approaches to grammar teaching studied in this research are confined

to the core approaches which refers to the inductive and deductive (Widodo,

2006). For the purpose of present study, the approaches to teaching refer to

Decoo‟s (1996) five modalities, namely:

Modality A: Actual deduction,

Modality B: Conscious induction as guided discovery,

Modality C: Induction leading to an explicit summary of behaviour,

Modality D: Subconscious induction on structured material, and

Modality E: Subconscious induction on unstructured material.

10

1.7 Scope of study

The scope of this study revolves around the analysis on the data of

grammar items, the nature of the practices, the flow of activities and the

continuation throughout the textbooks. This study focuses on the grammar

description, rather than looking into the effectiveness of practices or the value of

each grammar item. Therefore, the analysis takes account of the existing

grammar features in terms of the grammar items, practices and approach as well

as the interaction or the correlation between those features from one to another.

This is due to the purpose of analysis which is to describe the readily existing

grammar features contained in the 5 selected samples in order to identify how

Iban grammar is taught in the textbook.

This chapter had included the overview, introduction, background of

study, statement of problem, and the objectives of the study, followed by the

operational terms used, the research significance and the scope of the study. The

next chapter will be dealing with the literature review on the subject of study.