Revisiting PULSE 2 Textbook after Three Years: Have Teachers Changed Their Mind?

Abstract

The present study aims to further explore Malaysian secondary English teachers’ perspective on the use of PULSE 2 in their language classrooms, after three years of its introduction in Malaysian secondary schools. The study is qualitative in nature, employing semi-structured interview as the approach for data collection the data. However, due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) the study was conducted through a Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) application, WhatsApp. ATLAS ti. was employed to perform the content analysis to the collected data. The findings revealed that the respondents preferred to use imported English textbooks with local modifications in their language classroom. Most of them also felt that the level of the language content and skills offered by PULSE2 did not match with their students’ abilities. They also reported grouses about the difficult foreign content of PULSE 2, which indicated that they have yet to change their mind about it even after using it for three years. It is suggested that relevant stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) to review the use of imported textbooks such as PULSE 2 in Malaysia, as this will bear an impact on the creation of the country’s version of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) called ‘CEFR-M’ as projected in the on-going English Language Education Reform in Malaysia by 2025. Not only that, selecting a textbook that is relatable, localized, and matches the students’ level is crucial in this COVID-19 era, where the new normal in education forces learning to be done remotely. Inevitably, there will be students who are less privileged, and their only hope to gain access to continuous education is through a textbook that can easily be used for self-study and is readily available, without having the needs to have access to advanced technological devices.

Printed Textbook and its Potential in Remote Learning during The Covid-19 Crisis

“…Meanwhile, the selection of the topics in the printed textbook should bear on public health, environmental concerns, and respect for all, and lessons drawn from COVID-19 itself and how they relate to their life in a greater sense (Chabbot & Sinclair, 2020). Not only that a printed textbook should also consider the local culture in its contents and topics, (Shak et al, 2021), to promote a sense of familiarity and relatedness among its potential users while lessening the anxiety of these users might experience in doing their remote learning individually. Even better, this printed textbook should strive to provide a balanced representation of foreign and local culture in its content, as suggested by (Deswila et al, 2021).…”

An Analysis of ‘PULSE 2’ Cultural Content and How Malaysian ESL Teachers Perceive IT

“…A few studies were conducted based on teachers' and students' perceptions of PULSE 2 in the secondary syllabus as they are the pertinent users of the current textbook. For instance, Shak et al (2021a); Johar and Azlina (2019) explored teachers' general perception of PULSE 2 in teaching and learning English in Malaysian schools. At the same time, Goh and Aziz (2020) attempted to explore the secondary school teachers' perception of the speaking activities in PULSE 2.…”

“…The bold decision to utilize foreign textbooks in Malaysian schools received mixed views from the stakeholders (Nazari & Aziz, 2020;Shak et al, 2021a). One concern is that the cultural content in the imported textbooks, PULSE 2 in the case of this study, is deemed as limited relevance to Malaysian students (Shak et al, 2021b).…”

“…Concerns about using the PULSE 2 textbook include the textbook's high lexical richness, high price points, and a lack of congruence between international and local materials. According to Shak et al (2021a), the lexis in the textbook is excessively complex and relatively high for Malaysian pupils, particularly those from rural areas. Various research also emphasizes this issue (Johar & Aziz, 2019;Goh & Aziz, 2020).…”

The Use of Imported CEFR-aligned English Language Textbooks in Malaysian Schools: Issues and Concerns

“…Additionally, Goh and Aziz (2020) discovered that 46% of the surveyed English teachers who used PULSE 2 disagreed that the Speaking activities in the textbook use language that is at the right level of their pupils' current English ability. And more recently, Ya Shak et al (2021) reported that some teachers felt that the grammar level in PULSE 2 could be challenging and unsuitable for the learners unless the learners aspire to become an English teacher later. Likewise, some parts of the textbook were also believed to be too difficult, while the others were deemed as too easy.…”