Basic Literacy Instruction in the Standard-Based English Language Curriculum in Malaysian Primary Schools
Keywords:
English literacy, basic literacy, approaches to teaching literacy, phonics instruction, synthetic phonics approachAbstract
The Standard-Based English Language Curriculum (SBELC) for Malaysian national primary schools was designed to help pupils achieve 100% basic literacy in the language after three years of schooling at foundation level. Basic literacy becomes the focal point in this paper since the operational proficiency in English is still much lower. Furthermore, literacy in English is the key feature of Shift 2 in the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 that needs to occur to ensure that every child is proficient in
English. The English language curriculum specifically recommends the use of synthetic phonics approach in teaching basic literacy to Year 1 and 2 of national primary schools. This paper reviews the theory and practice of basic literacy instruction using synthetic phonics approach that serves as the framework in SBELC.
