A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education

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PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS POETRY AMONG ESL SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN RENGIT, JOHOR

BY

NORKHALILA AZANY BINTI ABDULLAH

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education

Kulliyyah of Education

International Islamic University Malaysia

FEBRUARY 2019

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ABSTRACT

In order to nurture students with love and appreciation towards poetry, it is important for teachers to recognize their own perception and identify the attitudes of their students towards poetry which may affect students’ understanding towards the subject taught in future. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to see the attitudes of secondary school students towards the teaching and learning of poetry and the perceptions of secondary school teachers have towards the teaching and learning of poetry. Another purpose of this study is to see the relationship between gender and perceptions towards poetry, and to see the significant difference between gender and attitudes towards poetry. This study utilises the sequential explanatory mixed method introduced by Creswell (2003) where the mixed-methods of qualitative and quantitative methods are used as its research approaches. These methods involve the collections of data by interviewing the teachers and distributing questionnaires to students. This study is conducted in two secondary schools in Malaysia. The data of the study is retrieved from two schools in Rengit, Johor: SMK Tun Sardon and SMK Permata Jaya. 400 students and 4 teachers are the participants of the study. The findings show that both ESL teachers and students have positive perceptions and attitudes towards poetry. Besides, the finding identifies that there is a significant relationship between perception and gender as well as between attitudes and gender.

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اﻮﻓﱰﻌﻳ نأ ﲔﻤﻠﻌﳌا ﻰﻠﻋ ،ﺮﻌﺸﻟا لﺎﳎ ﰲ ﺮﻳﺪﻘﺘﻟاو ﺐﳊا ﻰﻠﻋ ﺔﻴﻤﻨﺗ ﰲ دﻮﻬﳉا ﺾﻌﺑ ﻦﻣ ﰲ ﻢﻬﻤﻴﻠﻌﺗ ﺮﺛﺆﻴﺳ ﻪﻧأ ﻰﻠﻋ ﺮﻌﺸﻟا ﻩﺎﲡ بﻼﻄﻟا تﺎﻗﺎﻃ ﻦﻋ ﺚﲝو بﻼﻄﻟا ءﻻﺆﻫ تﺎﺣﻮﻤﻃ ﺔﻴﻠﻤﻋ ﰲ ﻩﺎﲡ ﺔﻳﻮﻧﺎﺜﻟا بﻼﻄﻟا تﺎﺣﻮﻤﻃ ﻒﺻوو ﻞﻴﻠﲢ ﱃإ ﺚﺤﺒﻟا اﺬﻫ فﺪﻬﻴﻓ .ﻞﺒﻘﺘﺴﳌا ةدﺎﻣ ﰲ ﺔﻴﻤﻴﻠﻌﺗ ﺔﻴﻠﻤﻋ ﰲ ﺔﻳﻮﻧﺎﺜﻟا ﺔﺳرﺪﳌا ﰲ ﲔﻤﻠﻌﳌا تﺎﺣﻮﻤﻃو ،ﺮﻌﺸﻟا ةدﺎﻣ ﰲ ﺔﻴﻤﻴﻠﻌﺗ ،ﺮﻌﺸﻟا ﻩﺎﲡ تارﻮﺼﺘﻟاو ﺲﻨﳉا ﲔﺑ ﺔﻗﻼﻋ ﺔﻴﳘأ ﺢﻴﺿﻮﺘﻟ ﺚﺤﺒﻟا اﺬﻫ ﰲ ﺮﺧﻵا فﺪﳍاو .ﺮﻌﺸﻟا ﻖﻳﺮﻃ ﻦﻋ ﺚﺤﺒﻟا اﺬﻫ تﺪﻤﺘﻋاو .ﺮﻌﺸﻟا ﻩﺎﲡ حﻮﻤﻃو ﺲﻨﳉا ﲔﺑ ﺔﻗﻼﻋ ﺔﻴﳘأ ﺢﻴﺿﻮﺗو نﻮﻜﺘﻳ مﺪﺨﺘﺴﳌا ﺞﻬﻨﳌا اﺬﻫ .ﻒﻴﻜﻟاو ّﻢﻜﻟا ﻖﻳﺮﻃ ﻦﻣ ﻦﻤﻀﺘﻳ ﻪﻧأ ﻰﻠﻋ ((2013 ﻞﻳﻮﺴﻳﺮﻛ)) ﰲ ﺚﺤﺒﻟا اﺬﻫ نﻮﻜﻳو .ﲔﻛﱰﺸﳌا ﱃإ ﺔﻧﺎﺒﺘﺳﻻا ﻊﻳزﻮﺗو ﲔﻤﻠﻌﳌا ءﻻﺆﻫ ﻰﻠﻋ ﺔﻠﺑﺎﻘﳌا ﻖﻳﺮﻃ ﻦﻣ :ﺎﳘو ﺮﻫﻮﺟ "ﺖﻴﻐﻐﻳر" ﰲ ﲔﺘﺳرﺪﳌا ﻦﻣ تﺎﻧﺎﻴﺒﻟاو تﺎﻣﻮﻠﻌﳌا ﻊﲨ ّﰎو ﺎﻳﺰﻴﻟﺎﻣ ﰲ ﺔﻳﻮﻧﺎﺜﻟا ﺔﺳرﺪﳌا ﲔﻤﻠﻌﻣ ﺔﻌﺑرأو ﺐﻟﺎﻃ ﺔﺋﺎﻣ ﻊﺑرأ ﻦﻣ ﺎﻳﺎﺟ ﺎﺗﺎﻣﺮﻓ ﺔﻳﻮﻧﺎﺜﻟا ﺔﺳرﺪﳌاو نودﺮﺳ نﻮﺗ ﺔﻳﻮﻧﺎﺜﻟا ﺔﺳرﺪﳌا ﺔﻴﺒﻠﻏأ نأ ﺔﺜﺣﺎﺒﻠﻟ ّﲔﺒﺗ ﺎﻬﻴﻠﻋ لﻮﺼﶈا ﺔﻨﻴﻌﻠﻟ ﺔﺠﻴﺘﻨﻟا لﻼﺧ ﻦﻣو .ﺚﺤﺒﻟا اﺬﻫ ﰲ اﻮﻛرﺎﺷ ﻦﻳﺬﻟا ﺚﺤﺒﻟا اﺬﻫ ﰲ ﺮﻬﻈﻳ ،ﻚﻟذ ﻰﻠﻋو.ﺮﻌﺸﻟا ﻩﺎﲡ ﺔﻴﺑﺎﳚﻹا ﻢ ﺎﺣﻮﻤﻃ نوﺮﻬﻈﻳو نﻮﻘﻓاﻮﻳ ﲔﺻﻮﺤﻔﳌا .ﺲﻨﳉاو تارﻮﺼﺘﻟا ﲔﺑ ﺔﻧرﺎﻘﻣ ﺲﻨﳉا و تﺎﺣﻮﻤﻄﻟا ﲔﺑ ﺔﻗﻼﻋ كﺎﻨﻫ

ﺚﺤﺒﻟا ﺔﺻﻼﺧ

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APPROVAL PAGE

I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion, it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Education.

………..

Faizah Idrus Supervisor

I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Education.

………..

Ainol Madziah Zubairi Examiner

This dissertation was submitted to the Department of Language and Literacy and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Education.

………..

Muhammad Sabri Sahrir Head, Department of Language and Literacy

This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Education and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Education.

………..

Ismail Sheikh Ahmad

Dean, Kulliyyah of Education

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Norkhalila Azany Binti Abdullah

Signature... Date: ...

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COPYRIGHT PAGE

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH

PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS POETRY AMONG ESL SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND

STUDENTS IN RENGIT, JOHOR.

I declare that the copyright holders of this dissertation are jointly owned by the student and IIUM.

No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below

1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.

2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries.

By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy.

Affirmed by Norkhalila Azany Binti Abdullah

……..……….. ………..

Signature Date

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, it is my ultimate contentment to devote this work to my family especially my parents (Abdul Kahar Ahmad & Norhayati Hasbollah) and husband (Ahmad Naim Ahmad Kamal) who always belief in my ability to complete this work.

Thank you for your support, consideration and understanding. I won’t be able to accomplish this goal without them.

On top of that, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my friends and my colleagues who supported and encouraged me all these while for the completion of this work.

Lastly, a special thanks to Asst. Prof. Dr. Faizah Idrus for her continuous support, advice, instigation and consideration, and for that, I will be forever thankful.

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LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Page No.

3.1 Characteristics of the Population 27

3.2 Criterion of the Sample 30

3.3 Reliability Statistics for the Instrument 31

3.4 Sample of Item 32

3.5 Instrument Modification for Items in Questionnaire 35 4.1 Demographic Information of Respondents (Questionnaire) 41 4.2 Demographic Information of Respondents (Interview) 41 4.3 Means and Standard Deviation for Appreciation towards

Poetry Items

42

4.4 Means and Standard Deviation for Understanding of Poetry Items

44

4.5 Mean and Standard Deviation for Attitudes towards Poetry and Understanding of Poetry Items

47

4.6 T-test Result of Attitudes towards Poetry and Gender 49

4.7 Summary of Pre-Determined and Emerging Themes 51

4.8 Summary of The Expansion of Themes Based on the Gathered Data for Research Question 3

51

4.9 Summary of the Expansion of Themes Based on the Gathered Data for Research Question 4

55

4.10 Summary of Findings 58

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Page No.

2.1 The Study’s Conceptual Framework 22

3.1 The Study’s Sequential Explanatory Research Design 25

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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Poetry is one of literature components that need to be learned in English language classes in the Malaysian secondary schools. Literature component comes in a package;

poetry, short stories and dramas. In the Malaysia context, literature component especially poetry is viewed as something difficult to learn (Hashim & Nawawi, 1994, p. 73). Thus, teachers prefer to ask the students to read and memorise rather than learn and understand. Since the difficulty has aroused, it could be inferred that Malaysian English Second Language (ESL) students may encounter many language learning challenges in order to learn literature in English especially in learning poetry. This is due to the lack of positive perceptions and attitudes among Malaysian teachers and students towards the subject. Some teachers might be affected since the resources for new literature component are insufficient. As claimed by Chacko (2007) in his research, the “shortage of suitable texts, numerically large classes and insufficient resources for teachers compound the problem” (p. 1). This may result in the difficulty of the teachers to conduct the lesson if the resources for the subject is insufficient. Thus, students will lose interest towards the lesson taught.

Positive attitudes and perceptions towards poetry are found lacking among secondary school teachers and students (Vala, Doubalova, Sladova & Rerichova, 2012;

Harraldson, 2011). As they are expressing their dislike towards poetry, it shows that they are having least interest towards poetry. Therefore, this study aimed to see what

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kind of attitudes that secondary school students have towards poetry and perceptions that secondary school teachers have towards poetry.

This study was then initiated due to the researcher’s experience while teaching at SMK Tun Sardon, Rengit, Johor. The students are not interested with the poetry introduced to them which is part of new literature components that was being implemented in schools recently. The teachers reported that they were burdened to teach and distracted whilst teaching poetry for various reasons. Additionally, teachers claimed that teaching poetry is one of demanding tasks (Mohammad Khatib, 2011).

Moreover, the students were unhappy whilst learning poetry. They showed negative attitude. This is supported by Vala, Doubalova, Sladova, Rerichova and Fic (2014). The expressions showed by both teachers and students were bothersome as it might affect the teaching and learning process.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Since the School Based Assessment has been introduced, majority of the lower secondary schools students dislike and often shy away from poetry. The lack of interest in poetry is visible (Chacko, 2007, p.17). When the interest is lacking, it affects the comprehension (Ellis, 1994, p.526). Teachers and students are more likely to practise the notion of teaching and learning poetry for the sake of passing examination (Mohammad, 2004, p. 5), rather than appreciating the poetry itself. Most of the students learn poetry because it is a part of the curriculum (Nor Hashimah & Che Ton, 2012, p.

81).

As stated in the National Report Malaysia specifically in Development of Education, most of schools which give priority to good results are practicing examination-based learning (Ministry of Education, 2004, p. 8). Thus, understanding

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and appreciation of poetry are not seeable and are not being practiced among Malaysian Lower Secondary School students; Form 1 until Form 5. This phenomena is supported by Hashim and Nawawi (1994). In their study, they found that most of Malaysian literature students “are motivated to read novels and plays and even persevered with difficult and lengthy texts. The same kind of perseverance, however, is not seen when they confront poems, even seemingly easier ones.” (p. 73). Evelyn Sharminnie and S.Kunaratnam (2009) coined that a poem is not a preference item for ESL students due to its deviant use (p.2).

Some of the students are not interested with poetry introduced to them which is part of new literature components that was being implemented in schools recently. The lack of a positive attitude among students towards the subject, shortage of suitable texts, numerically large classes and insufficient resources for teachers compound the problem (Rosli Talif, 1995). Other than that, most of female students have better attitude towards second language acquisition compared to male students (Ghazali, 2008, p.5). This is quite an issue when female students possess positive attitudes while male students shows the vice versa. This is not parallel with what stated in Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (MEB) where students are expected to make significant gains in their development irrespective of their background or gender (Ministry of Education, 2013, p.23). All students need to have world class knowledge and skills, strong moral values, and able to compete with their peers regardless of their gender.

Besides, English language teachers seemed to have different perception towards poetry. This is supported by Haraldsson (2011) who said that majority of teachers think that poetry is less important part to learn in English language studies than novel (p. 4).

This negative perception will give effect to the students’ attitude as the teachers are responsible to shape their students’ attitude towards poetry. Malaysian secondary

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school students need to be nurtured with good attitude towards poetry for them to inculcate good moral values, understand foreign and local cultures, and interpret literary text creatively. Therefore, the students need to have good attitude towards poetry in order to learn better and instill all the positive values in learning poetry. This is the reason why teachers need to pay attention to students’ attitudes as this will “reinforce students’ knowledge of the English language - vocabulary and grammar- and foster their creative writing” (Kirkgoz, 2008, p. 208). Kirkgoz (2008) focused on students’

attitude to foster students’ writing. However, this present study focused on ESL secondary school students’ attitude towards poetry in order to see the variations of attitude possessed by students in Rengit, Johor towards poetry.

This study would be very helpful towards teachers and students in poetry teaching and learning process as the findings of this research will help Malaysian teachers to gain some insights to the root of the problem of the visible lacking of interest and it will eventually help them to curb the problem throughout their lessons as time passes by. Additionally, students can also be approached in a right and appropriate way for them to change their attitudes towards English poetry since the teachers already aware of their students’ attitude. Perhaps, students will have positive attitude towards poetry and could enhance their understanding towards the subject matter. Besides, students will be able to express their emotions and feelings while improve their personal involvement if they prefer to engage themselves with poem. This is because poems deal with universal themes and human concerns, thus they offer opportunities for students to project their thoughts out loud (Heath, 1996).

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5 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Four main objectives of this study are:

1) to identify what are the attitudes that Malaysian Secondary School students have towards poetry.

2) to determine whether there is any significant difference between gender and attitudes towards poetry.

3) to identify what are the perceptions of teachers on their approach towards teaching poetry.

4) to determine whether there is any relationship between gender and perceptions towards poetry.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Four research questions of this study are:

1) What are the attitudes that Malaysian Secondary School students have towards poetry?

2) Is there any significant difference between gender and attitudes towards poetry?

3) What are teachers’ perceptions on their approach towards teaching poetry?

4) Is there any relationship between gender and perceptions towards poetry?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

In order to nurture students with love and appreciation towards poetry, it is important for teachers to recognise their own perception and identify the attitudes of their students towards poetry which may affect students’ understanding towards the subject taught in the future. It is quite a big issue in English literature since the new literature component

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being introduced and implemented in schools recently. However, some research on literature suggested that research on attitudes towards poetry among Malaysian secondary school students has been ignored virtually though the problem can be seen clearly at school.

Several alternatives should be sought in order to instil good perception in teachers and foster students’ positive attitude towards poetry. Type of perceptions and level of attitudes discovered in this research will be very helpful for educational institutions in Malaysia. Teachers need to know their own perception to improve the effectiveness of their poetry teaching and learning. By the same token, students also need to know their attitude to encourage them to maintain positive attitude throughout the poetry lesson.

It is hoped that the findings of this research can be used by teachers and educators in schools for them to know and understand what is positive perception and attitude towards the teaching and learning poetry.

1.6 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF TERMS 1.6.1 Poetry

Poetry in this study confines to the collection of poems in the English syllabus ranging from Form 1 to Form 5. A poem is viewed as a composition of words with vague definition and it requires the reader to think of the suitable meaning in order to match the context. Readers in this study refer to students. Poetry consists of literal and figurative meanings which will lead the students to think critically and creatively.

Poetry requires the students to think out of the box as they need to interpret the literary text that they have read. In addition, they need to link the text to their culture,

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environment or situation conveyed in the poem with their own beliefs, experiences and understanding.

1.6.2 Understanding of Poetry

Understanding of poetry in this study mainly refers to students’ interpretation about the poems they learn in class whether it is affected by their attitudes or not. If so, what kind of attitudes do they possess.

1.6.3 Appreciation of Poetry

Appreciation of poetry in this study refers to the acknowledgement of value and meaning of the poem. It refers to students’ positive emotional connection to the poems learned. Poetry appreciation is a respect or an assessment of poetry as a literary work.

Experiences of students’ appreciation enhance positive moods and feelings of connection to the appreciated stimulus or to the nature of existence. Prior to appreciating poetry, students will indirectly get a chance to learn to understand and appreciate the problems of human life deliberately revealed by the author. Thus, poetry can ignite the students to be more sensible. By hearing or reading poems, students learn to be genuinely appreciative.

1.6.4 Perception

Perception is about how students withstand a situation or stimuli and then formulate their senses to produce meaningful experiences based their prior knowledge or experience. The receptiveness of students could be very selective and limited depending on their belief, motivation, personality as well as attitude. In this study, perception refers to teachers’ and students’ interpretation and how do they perceive poetry.

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8 1.6.5 Attitude

Students’ attitude which explain their success or failure. They will act it out whether they like the poem or not. This is one of the affective factors that affect students’ ability to learn English poetry. Attitude is often shaped by the social context and divided into two categories; positive attitude and negative attitude. Positive attitude can lead students to reach their full potential and maximize their learning experience. On the other side of the coin, negative attitude is considered as contagious as it might weaken students’

chances to succeed in comprehending the poems learn.

1.6.6 Gender

Gender usually used to differentiate between male and female students. It is often associated with certain type of behaviours. It is believed that male and female tend to have different perception and attitudes as they are biologically different because of the differences found in the brain.

1.7 CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter has given an overview of poetry in ESL Malaysian secondary schools. To maximize learning, it is important to know and understand the perception and attitude of teachers as well as students. This chapter has set the stage for the study with the background information of respondents and the design principles that guide the flow of the study development. It has addressed the gaps in the literature review which lead to the problem statement, highlighting the lack of emphasis on teachers’ perception and students’ attitude towards poetry. The study’s research questions were also stated and were aligned with the objectives. The results were hope to benefit the teachers and educators in schools for them to know and understand what is positive perception and

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attitude towards the teaching and learning poetry. Finally, the chapter ended with the working definitions of the terms used. The next chapter presents a review of recent research into perception and attitude towards poetry.

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CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of two parts. The first part gives an overview of perceptions and attitudes towards poetry and how it will affect the teaching and learning process. This part will also give an insight on genders and attitudes towards poetry followed by how attitudes towards poetry affect students’ appreciation of the poems learnt. The second part is about the relevant past studies of attitudes towards poetry discussed in published journals, articles or theses in order to show some of the significant findings of the early studies.

2.2 POETRY IN ENGLISH SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

2.2.1 English Language in Malaysian Secondary Schools

As mentioned by Hazita (2006), to achieve sustainable development as well as develop globally competitive citizenry for the new millennium, Malaysia was intent on keeping pace with the wave of globalization which was riding on scientific and technological advancements (p.101).

In 2012, the new Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (MEB) was launched after a comprehensive review of the national education system was conducted in 2011 (Hazita Azman, 2016, p.67). Thus, the English curriculum for secondary was revised to embed a balanced set of knowledge and skills such as creative thinking, innovation, problem-solving and leadership among the students.

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Henceforth, the KSSM for secondary education or the Standards-Based English Language Curriculum (SBELC) was introduced and fully implemented in 2017. The KSSM aimed to enhance the development of higher order thinking skills and emphasise the attainment of expected competencies by the students. This is in accordance with the established standards in the curriculum. The new curriculums aim to ensure that no child will be left behind and that every child, by the end of Form Five for secondary education, will acquire the literacy, numeracy and essential life skills (Ministry of Education, 2015).

The SBELC gives emphasis on basic reading literacy, phonics, penmanship, language arts and higher order thinking skills (HOTS) such as critical and creative thinking skills as well as reasoning skills. The SBELC is organized in a modular structure around themes that are designed to enable students to solve simple problems, make decisions and express themselves creatively (Curriculum Development Division, 2014).

For SBELC, standard British English is the preferred choice in terms of pronunciation, grammar and spelling. The number of English language hours is also increased. In this new curriculum English language is taught about 6 hours a week or 300 minutes to cover four modules: listening and speaking, reading and writing (Hazita, 2016, p 72).

Indeed the implementation of the new KSSM English curriculum, SBELC, is still in its early stage and its impact on the English language competency of the young students may still be early to gauge.

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2.2.2 English Poetry in the English Classrooms in Malaysia

As stated in Curriculum Development Division (2014), literature is a one hour lesson per week, focusing on the Literature component. Literature lesson acts as a platform where students collaborate and utilize their language skills to come up with projects such as performances and exhibitions based on the Literature component texts (Curriculum Development Division, 2014, p.8). To further enhance Literature learning, Learning Standards are designated for listening and speaking, reading and writing during Literature. Students get to explore and exploit various genres provided under the literature component such as novels, short stories, poems and dramas. These components helps students to gain exposure of aesthetic use of English language.

Students are expected to understand and respond to literary text (Ministry of Education, 2003, p. 16). In addition, the revised syllabus expects the students to understand poem and give opinion of the text using their own words. Understanding literary text means the ability to create personal meaning out of the text read.

Furthermore, students need to discover the significance of the text to their life experience and assign appropriate meaning based on their assumptions and expectations (Lazar, 1993, p. 100).

Poems are unpopular among Malaysian ESL secondary school students (Nor Hashimah & Che Ton, 2012, p.81). Timucin (2003) claimed that poetry lesson as “the deviant usage of language” which becomes the reason most of teachers regard poetry as “the most dreadful genre to teach” (p.8).

2.2.3 The Use of Poetry in ESL Teaching and Learning

Referring to the Malaysian education system, English is assigned as a second language (Thirusanku & Yunus, 2014, p. 254) and it is in line with the education policy in

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education

PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS POETRY AMONG ESL SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN RENGIT, JOHOR

BY

NORKHALILA AZANY BINTI ABDULLAH

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education

Kulliyyah of Education

International Islamic University Malaysia

FEBRUARY 2019

ABSTRACT

ﺚﺤﺒﻟا ﺔﺻﻼﺧ

APPROVAL PAGE

DECLARATION

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH

PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS POETRY AMONG ESL SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS AND

STUDENTS IN RENGIT, JOHOR.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW