Development of English Language Camp Module: Reception and Perception of Asnaf Pupils in Malaysia

Abstract

The Asnaf-community in Malaysia, the financially underprivileged group of the Muslim society and thus the recipients of the zakat, typically represents the poor and the needy. Many of them are uneducated and therefore have limited knowledge to teach their children. Being poor, they could not afford to provide tuition classes for their children. This often resulted in their children having low academic achievement in school, particularly in the study of English as a second language. Some of these parents resort to sending their children to charity homes so that they could be looked after by more capable adults, and also be taught in the learning of English as a second language. A language camp module was developed to facilitate the children of a charity home in Selangor in building their confidence and motivation to learn English. It is important however that the module be evaluated. The aim of this study is to understand the reception and perception of the Asnaf-children towards the English Language Camp Module. This qualitative case study was conducted on 12 Asnaf-pupils. Focus group interviews were conducted to obtain their perception. The main results indicate that the language camp module has enhanced the students’ motivation in learning English and developed their confidence in speaking the language. Such a module therefore seems suitable not just for students who wish to improve on their language proficiency, but also for schools in the development of their school curriculum. The main implication of this study is that the language camp module could provide a step-by-step guidance to any English language camp facilitator in carrying out language activities in other similar contexts aimed at increasing language proficiency level