Formative Assessment Practices in Malay Language Speaking Skills: Teachers' Feedback and Implications for Secondary Education in Malaysia

Abstract

In the Malaysian secondary education system, the teaching of Malay language is currently undergoing the transformation from examination-oriented to formative assessment which is a process of change towards improving student assessment. While the importance of this transformation is important to fulfil students’ needs and the country’s educational goals, there are still some concerns on how teachers perceive and practice this formative assessment, especially in teaching of Malay language. Therefore, this study attempts to explore teachers’ feedback for Malay language speaking skills on students in secondary school in Malaysia. This qualitative research employs a case study design on six secondary school teachers teaching form one and form two who were selected through purposive sampling. The six teacher-informants were selected from secondary school in one of the districts in the southern zone in Peninsular Malaysia. The study data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, and document analysis until the data reached the point of saturation. The findings of the study showed that all informants implemented expression of praise and immediate feedback to their students during the Malay language speaking skills assessment activities in the classroom. The findings of this study also indicated that the feedback given by teachers increase the motivation and student achievement in speaking skills. The authors recommend for future studies related to language assessment to identify other effective assessment to enhance student learning and improvement of teacher teaching method so that the national education system can run smoothly in line with Malaysian Standard Curriculum and Assessment Document (DSKP) especially in the Malay language curriculum.