Discovering Difficulties And Strategies In Malay Essay Writing As A Second Language Among Non-Native Students In Primary School

Abstract

Writing is widely acknowledged as one of the most challenging skills in elementary school Malay language curriculum for non-native student to master. This research aimed to discover the difficulties of faced by non-native students in primary school and their strategies to cope with their difficulties.  A qualitative study was conducted among five primary school teachers who taught Malay Language subject in Sarawak specifically chosen to elicit further information about the difficulties they encountered among non-native students when writing essay in Malay, as well as their strategies for overcoming these hurdles. They were selected through purposive sampling to actively participate in this study. The study involved meticulous conduction through semi-structured interviews, and the data were analysed using thematic analysis with NVivo 12. The results revealed pervasive issues, including (i) lack of vocabulary, (ii) lack of interest in writing (iii) language aspect difficulties and, (iv) difficulty in developing ideas. The strategies to deal with the difficulties that were implemented among non-native students including (i) a variety of instructional methods, (ii) utilize suitable teaching and learning resources and, (iii) incorporate engaging teaching and learning activities. This research was expected to contribute to minimizing the difficulties experienced by students in writing Malay essay through the strategy revealed in this study. Future research could involve designing and implementing intervention studies to assess the effectiveness of specific strategies in enhancing non-native students' writing abilities.