Secondary School English Teachers’ Knowledge and Practice on CEFR- Aligned English Curriculum
Main Article Content
Abstract
The Ministry of Education aligned the national English curriculum with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to increase the quality and standard of English Language. The success in implementing this educational reform is highly dependent on teachers. Teachers need to have sufficient knowledge in the incorporation of CEFR in their teaching to develop the ability of students to meet targeted CFER levels of English proficiency. The purpose of this study is to identify the teachers’ level of knowledge and practice on CEFRaligned English curriculum. A total of 148 teachers who teach Form 1 and Form 2 English from the secondary schools in Pulau Pinang were involved in this study. The instrument of this study was a closed-ended questionnaire adapted from K?r (2011) and Ngo (2017). The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Inferential analysis was conducted using Pearson correlation and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test. The findings showed that the level of knowledge (M = 3.49, SD = 0.58) and practice of teachers (M = 3.50, SD = 0.55) on CEFR-aligned English curriculum were moderate. Also, there was a strong relationship between teachers’ knowledge and practice on CEFR-aligned English curriculum. There was a significant difference existed in the level of knowledge and practice on CEFR-aligned English curriculum based on demographic factor namely the type of training received by teachers on CEFR. The findings of this study implied that the training and workshops ought to be conducted frequently as a support for teachers towards the implementation.
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Ali, S. K. S., Hassan, M. Z. C., & Jani, J. (2014). Efikasi kendiri guru Pendidikan Jasmani terhadap pelaksanaan pengajaran mata pelajaran Pendidikan Jasmani. Jurnal Kurikulum & Pengajaran Asia Pasifik, 2(3), 43–51.
Anuar, A., & Nelson, J. (2015). Pengaruh kompetensi kemahiran guru dalam pengajaran terhadap pencapaian akademik pelajar dalam mata pelajaran Sejarah. Jurnal Kurikulum & Pengajaran Asia Pasifik, 3(2), 1–11.
Aziz, A. H. A. A., Rashid, R. A., & Zainudin, W. Z. W. (2018). The enactment of the Malaysian common European framework of reference (CEFR): National master trainer’s reflection. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8, 409–417. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v8i2.13307
Azli, N., & Akmar, A. (2019). Implementation of CEFR-aligned assessment tools in Malaysian ESL classroom. Asia Proceedings of Social Sciences, 4(2), 7–10. https://doi.org/10.31580/apss.v4i2.688
Caroline, L. D., & Abdul Said Ambotang. (2014). Profesionalisme guru novis dalam pengurusan pengetahuan, kesediaan mengajar dan kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi (KBAT) terhadap pelaksanaan pengajaran. Paper presented at Seminar Kebangsaan Integriti Keluarga, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 11 December.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education. Milton Park, Abingdon: Routledge.
Cuban, L. (1993). How teachers taught: Constancy and change in American classrooms 1890–1990 (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. New York, NY: Pearson College Division.
Ernest, P. (1989). The knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes of the mathematics teacher: A model. Journal of Education for Teaching, 15, 13–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260747890150102
Faez, F., Taylor, S., Majhanovich, S., & Brown, P. (2011). Teacher reactions to CEFR’s task-based approach for FSL classrooms. Synergies Europe, 6, 109–120.
Fennely, M. G. (2016). The influence of CEFR on English Language Education in Japan. Bulletin of Shikoku University, 46(A), 109–122.
Floris, F. D. (2013). English language teaching in Japan issues and challenges: An interview with Toshinobu Nagamine and Masaki Oda. English Language Teaching World Online: Voices from the Classroom (ELTWO), Retrieved 1 April 2014 from http://blog.nus.edu.sg/eltwo/2013/06/23/english-language-teaching-in-japan-issues-andchallenges-an-interviewwith-toshinobu-nagamine-and-masaki-oda/
Franz, J., & Teo, A. (2017). A2 is normal: Thai secondary school English teachers encounters with the CEFR. RELC Journal, 49(3), 322–338. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688217738816
Hafizan, M., & Ahmad, A. (2017). Pengaruh pengetahuan isi kandungan terhadap aplikasi pengajaran yang berkesan dalam kalangan guru-guru Sejarah. Paper presented at International Conference on Global Education V “Global Education, Commonwealth, and Cultural Diversity”, Universitas Ekasakti, Padang, 10–11 April.
Hasnah, I., & Jamaludin, B. (2017). Kompetensi guru bahasa Melayu dalam menerapkan kemahiran berfikir aras tinggi dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Melayu; Malay Language Education (MyLEJ), 7(1), 56–66.
Hiew, W., & Murray, J. (2018). Issues with effective design of an ESL teacher professional development programme in Sabah, Malaysia. MANU Jurnal Pusat Penataran Ilmu & Bahasa, 28, 51–75. https://doi.org/10.51200/manu.v0i0.1582
Hosseinifar, S-R. (2017). CEFR in UAE public schools: Pedagogical impacts [Master’s thesis], American University of Sharjah. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11073/8707
IBM Corp. (2016). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.
Jerome, C., & Stephens Gunams Samuel, M. (2017). Not quite what it seems: Rethinking the way we view teachers’ beliefs and practices – A case study of a Malaysian ESL Teacher. 3L The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 23(4), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.17576/3l-2017-2304-01
Jimbo, H. (2011). A comprehensive study on the framework of English language teachers’ professional development in Japan. JACET Research on Educational Issues. Retrieved from http://www.waseda.jp/assocjacetenedu/2010_report_j.pdf#page=159
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607–610. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447003000308
K?r, E. (2011). Language teacher education within the context of CEFR and applications in Turkey [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Ankara: Ankara University.
K?rkgoz, Y. (2008). A case study of teachers’ implementation of curriculum innovation in English language teaching in Turkish primary education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(7), 1859–1875. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2008.02.007
Liu, L., Jones, P. E., & Sadera, W. A. (2010). An investigation on experienced teachers’ knowledge and perceptions of instructional theories and practices. Computers in the Schools, 27(1), 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/07380560903536256
Lo, Y. Y. (2018). English teachers’ concern on Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): An application of CBAM. Jurnal Kurikulum dan Pengajaran Asia Pasifik, 6(1), 46–58.
Mat Nor@Ahmad Nor, Mohamad Nurul Azmi, Kamarudin, Nurzatulshima, Abdul Manaf, U., & Kalthom, Mohd Puad. (2017). Pengetahuan kandungan dan kemahiran pedagogi guru dalam kurikulum Reka Bentuk dan Teknologi (RBT): Analisis kajian rintis. Paper presented at The Graduate Research in Education Seminar (GREduc), Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, December, 410–418.
Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2013). Malaysia education blueprint 2013–2025 (preschool to postsecondary education). Putrajaya: Ministry of Education Malaysia.
Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2014). Malaysia education blueprint annual report 2013. Putrajaya: Ministry of Education Malaysia.
Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2015a). Education for all 2015: National review report (Malaysia). UNESCO.
Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2015b). English language education reform in Malaysia: The roadmap 2015–2025. Putrajaya: Ministry of Education Malaysia.
Mizell, H. (2010). Why professional development matters. Oxford, OH: Learning Forward.
Mohamed, M., & Ahmad, F. (2010). Persepsi guru yang mengikuti program khas pensiswazahan guru terhadap pengajaran dan pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris, Unpublished manuscript, 1–8.
Mwangi, N. I., & Mugambi, M. (2013). Evaluation of strengthening of mathematics and science in secondary education (SMASSE) program: A case study of Murang’a south district, Kenya. International Journal of Education Learning and Development, 1(1), 46–60.
Ngo, X. M. (2017). Diffusion of the CEFR among Vietnamese teachers: A mixed methods investigation. Asian EFL Journal, 19(1), 9–32.
Nguyen, V. H., & Hamid, M. O. (2015). Educational policy borrowing in a globalized world: A case study of Common European Framework of Reference for languages in a Vietnamese University. Journal of English Teaching, Practice & Critique, 14(1), 60–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-02-2015-0014
Nor Atikah. (2018). Kemahiran interpersonal guru terhadap sikap dan tahap motivasi pelajar dalam mata pelajaran Kimia di Cameron Highlands. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris.
Nurul Farehah Mohamad Uri, & Mohd Sallehhudin Abd Aziz. (2018). Implementation of CEFR in Malaysia: Teacher’s awareness and the challenges. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 24(3), 168–183. https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2018-2403-13
Nurul Hudaa Hassan, Nik Mohd Rahimi Nik Yusof, & Kamarulzaman Abdul Ghani. (2010). Pengetahuan pedagogi isi kandungan bagi tajuk Isim Ai-Adad Wa AlMa’dud dalam kalangan guru bahasa Arab sekolah menengah. In Prosiding Seminar Penyelidikan Siswazah (pp. 31–42). Bangi: Penerbitan Fakulti Pendidikan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Ono, Y., & Ferreira, J. (2010). A case study of continuing teacher professional development through lesson study in South Africa. South African Journal of Education, 30(1), 59–74. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v30n1a320
Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2018). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Piccardo, E. (2011). Assessment recollected in tranquillity: The ECEP project and the key concepts of the CEFR. In E. D. Galaczi, & C. J. Weir (Eds.), Exploring language frameworks: Proceedings of the ALTE Krakow Conference, July 2011, Studies in language testing, 36, (pp. 187–204). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Rahman, A., & Haslynda, N. (2014). From curriculum reform to classroom practice: An evaluation of the English primary curriculum in Malaysia. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of York.
Razali, F., Mohd Yusoff, N., & Osman, R. (2017). Kefahaman guru pada pelaksanaan kurikulum 2013 dalam membuat modul pembelajaran di SMKN 3 Kota Banda Aceh. Paper presented at the International Conference on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ICSoTL 2017), UUM EDC Hotels & Resorts, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia, 4–5 April.
Reyneke, M., Meyer, L., & Nel, C. (2010). School-based assessment: The leash needed to keep the poetic ‘unruly pack of hounds’ effectively in the hunt for learning outcomes. South African Journal of Education, 30(2), 277–292. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v30n2a339
Shihiba, S. E. S. (2011). An investigation of Libyan EFL teachers’ conceptions of the communicative learner-centred approach in relation to their implementation of an English language curriculum innovation in secondary schools. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Durham.
Sidhu, G., Kaur, S., & Lee, C. (2018). CEFR-aligned school-based assessment in the Malaysian primary ESL classroom. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8(2), 452–463. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v8i2.13311
Thirusanku, J., & Yunus, M. M. (2014). Status of English in Malaysia. Asian Social Science, 10(14), 254–260. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v10n14p254
Turnbull, M. (2011). Stakeholders’ meeting on the implementation of CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) in Canada. Ottawa, ON: The Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.caslt.org/pdf/SHM_Report.pdf
Vallax, P. (2011). The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: A critical analysis of its impact on a sample of teachers and curricula within and beyond Europe. [Doctoral dissertationUniversity of Waikato]. Retrieved from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/5546/thesis.pdf?sequence=3
Yakışık, B. Y., & Gürocak, F. Ü. (2018). A comparative study of perceptions about the ‘Common European Framework of Reference’ among EFL teachers working at state and private schools. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching. (IOJET), 5(2), 401–417.