An Evaluation of the Colors in Primary School English Textbook through Students’ Perceptions

Abstract

The Malaysian education system has transformed from the traditional to the modern, albeit keeping to textbooks as the main teaching material. Among the factors determining the quality of textbooks, color is an important one, especially in primary school textbooks. Suitably applied, it will enrich classroom instruction and aid the learning process. This research was designed to run in two phases, and the data collected were analyzed by SPSS software. In the first phase, the colors used in the pictures of Year-4 English textbook were evaluated. Next, the color preferences of 384 students in the fourth grade of national primary schools were collected. Data from the first phase show that out of 901 textbook pictures, 792, 733, and 412 respectively use primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Data from the second phase show the students highly interested in tertiary colors. The results of this study reveal important points for textbook quality improvement. Knowing what colors students like allows illustrators to consider age levels, not only when illustrating textbooks but also when creating pictures for other materials.