English language education in rural schools in Malaysia: a systematic review of research

Tahfiz Students' Perception of Game-based Learning for English Language Education

“…The need to transform Malaysia into a high-income and economically developed country requires the development of an English-educated workforce among Malaysians (Renganathan, 2021). Education plays a role in the development of good communication skills among Malaysians from various backgrounds, religions and ethnicity (Zulkefly & Razali, 2019).…”

“…Aligning with the worldwide demand for quality language teaching, materials and resources, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has made it compulsory for Malaysians to learn the language at an early age (Abas & Jaffri, 2017;Krish et al, 2019). This is to ensure that all Malaysian children are provided with an education that enables them to develop the English language skills necessary for their future employability irrespective of gender, family background and socio-economic status (Renganathan, 2021). However, many students, especially from rural areas, still view English as a foreign language that is only practised during classroom lessons due to inadequate exposure and practice (Zulkefly & Razali, 2019;Renganathan, 2021).…”

“…This is to ensure that all Malaysian children are provided with an education that enables them to develop the English language skills necessary for their future employability irrespective of gender, family background and socio-economic status (Renganathan, 2021). However, many students, especially from rural areas, still view English as a foreign language that is only practised during classroom lessons due to inadequate exposure and practice (Zulkefly & Razali, 2019;Renganathan, 2021). This makes the teaching of English challenging for rural area learners.…”

“…Hence, there is a need to improve the English language teaching and learning methods in rural-based schools. According to Renganathan (2021), who conducted a systematic review of research on English language education in rural schools in Malaysia, the number of publications reporting research related to it was rather low, emphasising the dearth of research concerning English language teaching in rural schools in Malaysia. Nearly 80% of the studies were carried out in primary schools compared to secondary schools (Renganathan, 2021).…”

“…According to Renganathan (2021), who conducted a systematic review of research on English language education in rural schools in Malaysia, the number of publications reporting research related to it was rather low, emphasising the dearth of research concerning English language teaching in rural schools in Malaysia. Nearly 80% of the studies were carried out in primary schools compared to secondary schools (Renganathan, 2021). Hence, this study is important because it is focused on tahfiz secondary school in a rural area, and is among the earliest studies pertaining to this subject matter in Malaysia.…”