CHAPTER ONE

1.0

INTRODUCTION
1.1

The Background of the Study

Action research generally came to be understood as an action reflection and cycle of

planning, acting, observing and reflecting. This cycle can be described as the process of
action research as. We review our current practice, identify an aspect we want to improve,
imagine away forward, try it out, and take stock of what happens. We modify our plan in light
of what we have found and continue w ith the action, evaluate the modified action and so on
until we are satisfied with that aspect of our work.
For me as the final year pupils in the Institut Pendidikan Guru, we are required to do
an action research on a selected issue to be diagnosed and ways to improve on it. This is done
as to the needs of completing the PISMP course. The research would be done along the
course of our third phase practicum.
For this action research, I have came out with a few topics, but finally I came out on
how to deals with the problems of young learners especially from my school that pupils are
mostly not interested in reading english books. The research is focused on motivating
children to read books in English and enhance understanding by using big books as a tool to
promote reading. Big Books are magnified or enlarged versions of children's books, usually
narratives and are considered to be one of the most effective ways of getting young children
involved with into reading.
For this research, I have provide some valuable facts why reading in english is
important and beneficial and what makes you a good teacher. I hope all the information and
valuable facts gained from this thesis will help me to improve and enrich my teaching
practice and demonstrate achildren that reading in Eenglish is fun. Every class in primary
schools now spends part of each literacy lesson looking at a book together, but it is difficult

for thirty children and a teacher to discuss the contents of the book and for them to share and
view one book of an ordinary or small size. Hence the large format book is designed for the
whole class to share and participate in the instructional program. This big book could perhaps
offer an excellent way to develop literacy, in particular, the learning of new vocabulary and
enhancing comprehension of texts, as well as the appreciation of literature in primary schools
in Malaysia. The advantage of the big book is it comprises self contained double page spreads
display of appealing colorful photographs, fact files, board games and stories of our daily life
which capture the distinctive physical and cultural aspects of life in Malaysia
A good quality big book can be the basis of a brilliant lesson which allows all
the children to enjoy reading the text, learning varied sentences and new words, in line with
the literacy framework stipulated in the syllabus. However, merely enlarging an existing book
will not be adequate without good illustrations. Some books have small print, which could be
a disadvantage to pupils sitting at the back of a classroom. This may result in them losing
focus of any discussion that is taking place.
Big books are a valuable tool in the teaching of English for children in Malaysia as
English is their second and third language. Teachers agree that using big books can improve
the development of the four language skills. The introductory part of the lessons, which
include the reading and discussion of the big books, followed by activities based on the theme
of the book, promote pupils' interest in learning English. Children's confidence in using
English can be enhanced. In addition, using the big book creates a relaxing learning
environment (Normaliza Abd Rahim et.al, 2008).
Positive attitude towards reading can also be fostered among pupils through the use of
the big book. For instance, Morris et. al (2003) points out that pupils age 7-9 years old seem
to have a positive attitude towards lessons using the big book. Sitting on the floor and
listening to the teacher reading appears to be a highly enjoyable and positive experience.

For the research, I will try to provide some valuable facts clarifying why reading in
English is important and beneficial and what makes a good teacher of reading. I hope all the
information and valuable facts gained from this diploma thesis will help me to improve and
enrich my teaching practice and demonstrate children that reading in English is fun.

1.2

The Reflection of Past Teaching Experience

I have been to three different schools for my practicum. For the first practicum, I went
to SK Felda. In this school, the use of English language is only during school time, and to be
exact pupils only learn English during English lesson. The pupils are mostly from farmer and
plantation workers who are not so able to use English at home. Thus the results, pupils are
weak in English and only depends on the teacher to learn. For the second school, I went to
SK Oran for two month. As a teacher, It was an enjoyable experience for me as the
surrounding is warm and I got support from the teachers there. As in teaching, the same
problems from the first practicum also occurs here. The pupils are not exposed to learn
English covertly from their surroundings. It is quite challenging task to teach a year three
without any interest in learning English.
I realise that quite a lot of pupils from all these schools are having that pupils have
problem not interested in reading especially English, and this is also happening in my new
school for the practicum phase 3. From my experiences of attending these schools, I can
relate that both pupils in each schools needs something new to trigger their interests in

reading English books. During the teaching and learning lesson, I have done a lot of activities
to grab the pupils attention to read in English. There are poem reciting, choral reading, jazz
chant, choral speaking and other fun activities. These activities looks enjoyable for pupils, but
not as there is one activity that I find very interesting for the pupils and can suit the teaching
and learning session well that is using big book.

From my experiences and observations, In planning a lesson for the teaching and
learning, I have conducted activities by using big book especially for language arts and
reading class. I have been using big book during practicum phase 1, phase 2, and also phase
3. So I have gone through some experiences by using the big book and its effects on the
process of teaching and learning. That is why I am using big book as my focus on the action
research because of the experience that I have.

CHAPTER TWO
2.0

THE FOCUS OF RESEARCH

2.1
Problem Statement
The issue is pupils are mostly not interested in reading especially English. Pupils from

my school are not interested to read. As we all know, this will influence their language
development and knowledge about the subjects. From reading, pupils can gain a lot of benefit
such as expanding their vocabulary, boost creativity,improve writing skills, enhance memory
and analytical thinking. So, if the pupils are neglected in reading, what should we do to grab
their attention and have them to sit down and read?
When teaching English to young learners, I recognised the fact that children at
primary schools read very much for practice, which means that they only when they are asked
to, however, they do not read much for pleasure. I believe that presenting language through
big books and activities related to big book is one of effective ways of teaching and learning
English.
Through reading or listening stories from the big books, children develop their
imagination, creativity and making predictions. It involves them into the learning process and

thus they absorb the language naturally and with fun. The problem is that the pupils in my
school do not read much for pleasure in their free time and their ability to use the knowledge
extracted from the book is very low. I chose this topic as I would like to imrove the pupils
interest in reading find the most suitable and efficient methods and activities motivating
children to read books in English by using the big book.
2.2

Preliminary Investigation

Children are being told that books and reading are good for them. They hear it
especially from their teachers at school. However, teachers should be able to motivate
children to read. Reading books has both social and emotional value. It significantly
influences the childs language development and communicative skills. In one analysis of
vocabulary development, through reading books and television programmes, it was found
that even in preschool childrens books it was noticed that there was more sophisticated
vocabulary than in adult television shows (Temple 435).
Moreover, it has been proved that early readers show better results on language
screening tests than children who started to read later (Morrow 105). By reading books,
children can develop their fantasy and imagination, creativity, their general knowledge of the
world, moral and culture values. Furthermore, reading enables the children to dream and
enriches their lives. If teachers are capable of inspiring children to read, they can help them to
think of books as a great source of new knowledge, pleasure and fun and thus encourage
children to want to be readers.
From the statement above, the teacher has entered the year 2 class to conduct a
preliminary investigation on the pupils. Before conducting the research, a questionnaire
(Appendix 1) was produced as the preliminary test in this study. Question items in the
questionnaire was constructed to determine the pupils reading habit, perception and attitude

of pupils' interest generally in reading English books. The questionnaire consists of 5

questions. Pupils had answered the questionnaire and the results is gained and had been
analyzed.

2.3

Analysis of Preliminary Investigation

This questionnaire is basically general question asked to 4 selected pupils in year 2. The
question basically related to the personal pupils attitude towards English subject and attitudes
towards reading. This part consist of 5 questions.

Questionnaire question (1) :

I love reading English books.

The findings from the results shows that 2 over 4 pupils love to read English books. 2
of them answered yes while the other one answered no. This shows that half of the
respondents love to read in English. Both of the pupils said that they love to read English.
Pupils who answered no explained that they dont know the meaning of some words in the
story. Without whole understanding of the story, it is quite boring for the pupils to read. The
result of the findings is shown in figure 3 below:

YES

NO

Figure 3: Question 1 questionnaire score

Questionnaire question (2) :

My parents reads story books to me at home.

The findings from the results show that only one respondent answered yes and the
others answered no. From these results, we can see that the parents are not reading books to
their children and only let their children read at school. From my knowledge, one of the
parents of the pupils is teachers. After a few questions, the pupil (s4) said that her parents
usually ask her to do homework or read with the help of her older siblings. For other pupils,
their parents only make sure that they do their homework, and only help when asked by their
children. The results of the findings is are shown in figure 4 below:

YES

NO

Figure 4: Question 2 questionnaire score

Questionnaire question (3) :

I read English books during my free time.

The findings from the results show that only one respondent answered yes while the
others answered no. From this result, we can see that the most respondents did not have the
interests to read English books during their free time except for (s4). From my knowledge,
(s4) parents were both teachers, so the access to English books is available at home. For other
pupils, they answered that they usually read Malay books and prefer to read Malay books
rather than English books. The results of the findings are shown in figure 5 below:

YES

NO

Figure 5: Question 3 questionnaire score

Questionnaire question (4) :

I went to the library to read books

The findings from the results show that only one respondent answered no while the
others answered yes. From this result, we can see that the respondents go to the library to
read books. The respondent that answered no (S2) might have problems in accessing the
library or he didnt have the opportunity to go to the library. The results of the finding are
shown in figure 12 below:

YES

NO

Figure 6: Question 4 questionnaire score

Questionnaire question (5) :

When I read I look at the picture.

The findings from the results show that all respondents answered yes. From these
results, we can see that the respondents find book with more pictures is more interesting than
with fewer pictures. The respondents might be attracted to the illustration design of book with
lots of colours. One pupil (s2) said that he will not read book that have no pictures. The
results of the findings are shown in figure 7 below:

YES

NO

Figure 7: Question 5 questionnaire score

2.4
Criteria of Selection
Big Books are a valuable tool in the teaching of English. Teachers agree that using
Big Books can improve the development of the four language skills. The introductory part of
our lessons, which include the reading and discussion of Big Books, followed by activities
based on the theme of the book, promote pupils' interest in learning English. Children's
confidence in using English can increase and using Big Books creates a relaxing learning
environment.
Pupils have a positive attitude towards Big Book lessons. Sitting on the floor and
listening to the teacher read appears to be a highly enjoyable and positive experience. In
addition, they enjoy the language games in groups or pairs that often follow the reading of
Big Books. Pupils usually are on task during pair/group work. They are willing to take risks

and work collaboratively on art work. Pairs and groups are enthusiastic about reporting their
work. There is always increased motivation, enjoyment and participation in Big Book
lessons.
When teachers choose Big Books, they should look for a degree of repetitive language
structure; themes that would interest and motivate pupils, and bright, colourful illustrations.
Pupils show enthusiasm for the illustrations each time the teacher turns a page. Pupils' facial
expressions and their oral expressions are clear indicators of their interest in the illustrations.
They encourage creative responses. They inspire many of the less able pupils to respond in
English, thus encouraging responses from all ability levels.
All students of differing abilities are interested in big book. They are motivated by the
big book and they respond well to questioning and reading with the teacher. They usually
respond to the best of their abilities and clearly display a very high degree of interest in the
lesson.

2.4.1 Use of Big Book for Reading

1. The Value of Learning English through Reading
According to Halliwell, language teaching should be combined with real life.
However, teachers should bear in mind that reality for children involves fantasy and
imagination as well (qtd. in Bobulov 15). Therefore, the role of imagination and fantasy,
being an indispensable part of all childrens books, are essential for childrens motivation to
learn English. To help children develop their language skills through reading books, teachers
can provide children with books where varieties of language are incorporated. Some
childrens books are focused on the sounds of language, and thus provide childrens language
stock with new phonemes. Other books enable to develop syntactic complexity and the use of
various adjectives and adverbs, such as the book Were Going on a Bear Hunt. Craft books
force children to understand and follow directions.

Big books enable them to make their own stories. Realistic books, such as the book
Silly Billy, deal with childrens everyday problems. Discussions of these problems encourage
children to express themselves, their feelings and worries through the foreign language.
Poetry and nursery rhymes help children to learn rhymes, introduce them to figurative
language and encourage them to recite poems. The exposure to the language they hear and
use, when discussing the language of books, leads to the childrens acquisition and
immediate, spontaneous usage of the new language (Morrow 95). The more of input they get,
the more easily they automatize the language and use it without thinking about it.
2. Using Childrens Big Book in English Language Classroom
One of the aims of all teachers of English should be their effort to motivate and support their
learners to read books in English. Moreover, the teachers should be able to inform children
how to read effectively, which is the problem for the majority of pupils especially in the rural
area. Using books in English language classroom is unquestionably one of the most effective
means of teaching English. Nowadays modern concept of foreign language teaching offers
various activities coming out from the usage of foreign language literature.
By reading books in the classroom, especially big book, and the use of various pre-,
while-and post-reading activities such as storytelling, games or drama, children can start to
view the reading as a pleasurable, interesting and fun activity. Krashen notices that reading
for pleasure can lead to the comprehensible input (Lightbown, Spada Theoretical
Approaches). Moreover, the great advantage of using literature in foreign language
classroom is its socialising factor as well as the fact that children have the opportunity to
build upon their previous knowledge and experience. All of these make children feel safe and
create a stress-free and friendly environment, essential for successful foreign
language learning (Bobulov 18).

2.4.2 Activities through the Big Book in the Classroom

The Big Book is a rich source of many activities which promote reading and meet
curriculum objectives (Strickland, 1988; Strickland and Morrow, 1990; Cassady, 1988).
Depending on the developmental level of the pupils and the teaching objectives, different
strategies can be used.
(1) Activating Prior Knowledge
Before the actual reading the teacher can ask the children what they think the story is going to
be about by engaging in a discussion of the title and the illustration on the cover page. By
using clues from the text and their background knowledge, children are encouraged to make
inferences and formulate predictions, a strategy that all proficient readers indulge in.
(2) Modelling the Thinking Process
Strickland (1990) suggests that the teacher occasionally use the first reading to demonstrate
how readers think when they read a text. As the teacher reads the story enthusiastically, she
thinks aloud about her own understanding. She models self-queries such as, "I wonder if this
story is going to be about...", "This is a little confusing but I will keep on reading to find out
more", "This is a new word. Could it mean...?" or "If I were..., I wouldn't do it because ...".
The pupils, as they observe the teacher, soon realise that reading involves bringing together
what they already know with what they actually see in print, in order to construct their own

meaning. This is particularly significant for the less proficient readers, many of whom think
that reading is limited to accurate decoding.

(3) Tracking Print

As the teacher reads aloud, she follows the text with her hand or a pointer. This
ensures that the children can see exactly what the teacher is reading and they learn to
associate sound with the printed symbol. Children who learn to finger point demonstrate
higher levels of concepts of print and phonemic awareness (Morris et.al, 2003). In the same
vein, the teacher can introduce terms of book language such as 'word', 'sentence', 'page',
'author' and 'title' in naturally occurring contexts, e.g. "I like this word because it reminds me
of...".
(4) Encouraging Skills of Prediction
As the teacher reads aloud, she can pause at suitable junctures to allow pupils to
predict the words or phrases that should follow. The children will carry out the task easily and
with pleasure because they have heard the words being repeatedly read and also because of
the rhyming structures. Similarly at strategic points teachers can stop and ask children to
predict what will happen next in the story. Besides the sense of fun and active involvement
that is encouraged, children are also being trained to use the story line to anticipate and
predict.

2.5 Definition of terms

1. Big book
2. Storytelling
3. Predictive
4. Extensive reading
5. Phonological skills
6. Reading literacy

CHAPTER THREE
3.0 OBJECTIVES/QUESTIONS OF RESEARCH

THIS research is mainly to examine the extent to which the use of big book in teaching and
learning to promote reading English and enhance pupils understanding on the story taught by
the teacher.
3.1 Research Objectives
1. To Identify the students' perceptions and behaviour towards reading.
2 To identify the best option to enhanve pupils interest and understang in reading English
book.
3 To determine the effectiveness of the big book in teaching English and enhance pupils
understanding.
4 To determine whether the story telling activities by using big book is suitable to be used
in teaching English in the year two classroom.

3.2 Research questions

1. Would the use of big book able to promote reading to pupils and increase their
interests in reading?
2. Would the graphics and illustration can help to improve pupil understanding of the
sentence in the story?
3. Do big books can become a better teaching aid rather than normal books?
4. Are the attitudes of pupils towards big books more positive compared with the other
method of learning?

CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 TARGET GROUP/PARTICIPANTS
The population in statistics includes all members of a defined group that we are
studying or collecting information on for data driven decisions. A part of the population is
called a sample. It is a proportion of the population, a slice of it, a part of it and all its
characteristics. A sample is a scientifically drawn group that actually possesses the same
characteristics as the population if it is drawn randomly. By using random samples, I can
generalize the population that I am interested in.
For this study, Set of pupils involved in are randomly selected. 4 person has been
chosen that comes among 21 pupils of year 2 Bestari .To make it fair and not biased, pupils
involved is two boys and two girls. From my research through their record book, these pupils
have a balanced academic achievement, but have different family background. Three out of
four pupils lives in a rural area with no English environment. Their access to English books
are also limited where their parents did not provide them with English books. The parents of
the other one remaining pupils is a teacher and the access to English books is available at
home.

CHAPTER 5
5.0 PLAN OF ACTIONS
5.1 Procedures of Actions
In carrying out the research in to investigate the effectiveness of using big book to
promote reading and enhance pupils understanding, the researcher followed a few certain
procedures of actions. The procedures of actions that had been carried out were as followed:
WEEK ONE
Selection of participants
4 pupils from year 2 were chosen as the respondents in the research.
The participants were named as Participant s1, s2, s3 and s4.
Preliminary Investigations
The respondents were given the questionnaire focusing on their behaviour and perceptions
towards reading.
Data analysis of the preliminary investigations.
To analyse and interpret findings collected from the collecting data process to know pupils
interests, behaviour and perceptions.

WEEK TWO
Pre-test
Pupils were given the pre-test after the lesson without using the big book.
The method used is by reading aloud the story and pupils were required to answer each
questions based on their understandings.
Pupils were given the text on a paper during the teaching and learning session.
Data analysis of the pre-test
To analyse and interpret findings collected from the collecting data process to determine
pupils achievement before the recommended intervention.

WEEK THREE
Recommended intervention
The recommended intervention is applied to improve pupils achievement.
Big books were used during the teaching and learning session through different strategies
such as reading aloud and storytelling.
Post-test
To acquire information and data of how well the participants had done after being carried out
recommended intervention.
The post-test were designed exactly the same as pre-test so that the comparison of the results
of pre-test and post-test can be analysed easily and clearly.
Data analysis of the post-test
To analyse and interpret findings collected data fron the post-test

WEEK FOUR
Questionnaires
To find out information/opinion/view of respondents of reading in English as a whole
and about the big book.
To collate information about opinion/view of respondents after recommended
intervention been carried out.
Data analysis of the questionnaires
To analyse and interpret findings collected from the collecting data process to test the
effectiveness of the recommended intervention.

Report writing
Writing full report of all the details of the research as well as reporting about findings
of the research.

5.2 METHODS OF COLLECTING DATA

In total, four pupils from year 2 Bestari participated in the study. All of them has been
involved in administered questionnaire and pre-test and post-test. The four respondents
provided comments and ideas on the use of the big book. The questionnaire comprises 25
questions from 2 parts. The pre-test and post-test compromise on pupils understanding about
the story that comes in 10 questions.

5.2.1 Pre-test and Post-Test

Pre-Test
A written test is given to selected pupils after the teaching and learning activities through read
aloud activities. Pupils are provided with plain text of the story My Cat and teacher read
aloud the story. Pupils then continue the lesson with chain reading and each of them was
involved.

After the activities are done, pupils were given the test to know their understanding
about the story. This test consists of 10 questions that requires pupils to choose the right
answer whether it is A, B, or C (Appendix C). It aims to measure the level of pupil
understanding and comprehension of what has been taught. Pupils are required to answer all
questions within 10 minutes of the test. After a pre-test, responses are collected, reviewed and
analyzed to determine the scores to get the grade point averages and percentages to allow the
researcher to assess pupils' mastery of the story studied.

Post-test
Post-test is conducted in the second mode of teaching and learning after the researcher
uses the big book as a tool in the teaching and learning session. This test uses the same set of
questions to the pre-test that has been conducted earlier. Its aim is to assess the extent of
pupils understanding of the story taught by teachers using the big book. Pupils answers are
collected and reviewed to determine their scores and are analyzed to obtain the average
scores, grades and percentage. The results are then compared with the pre-test results in order
to see if there are any positive or negative results after the big book has been used.

Each pupil has the opportunity to get maximum marks of 10 and a minimum score of
0 for both test. These values are converted to a percentage. Pupils scores are calculated by
the number of correct answers and the scores are then divided by the total scores of 10 and
multiply by 100 to find the marks of pupils in percentage.

5.2.2 Questionnaire
Questionnaire (Appendix 1) was used as the preliminary investigations on the
respondents. Question items in the questionnaire was constructed to determine the perception
and attitude of pupils' interest generally in reading English books and the use of big book in
the classroom to improve pupils understanding. For the method of collecting data,
questionnaire also had been used on the respondents (Appendix 2). All respondents were
asked to respond to a written questionnaire. This questionnaire is the heart of the survey in
other words it is a substitute for personal link between the researcher and the respondents.

However, the format and content of the questionnaire also can influence respondents
results. The weakness of the questionnaire sometimes can cause problems for overall
conclusion. This is because the interpretation of the behaviour of an individual is something
that is quite difficult to be explained. In this study, the researcher uses 'yes' and 'no' questions
just because they are appropriate and suitable to the age of the respondents. This can ensure
pupils ability to answer each of the questions given.

This questionnaire consists of more specific questions that have been conducted to 4
selected pupils from 2 Bestari. Respondents were asked to answer all questions related to the
pupils perceptions towards the use of big books in the classroom and ability to increase
interest and understanding of the story being taught. This part consists of 20 questions.

CHAPTER SIX
6.0 Interpretation of data

6.1 Pre and Post test

Pre and post test questions were conducted and pupils answers are reviewed and evaluated to
determine the level of pupils' understanding and mastery of what was gained during the
teaching and learning process. Analysis is performed based on a set of research questions.
Data were analyzed in tables and graphs as below.

Score Points
Right Answer
Wrong Answer
Table 1

Score Value
1
0

Interpreting scores of pre and post-test answers

In this study, there were 10 multiple choice questions designed to identify pupils'
understanding of the story told during the big book activities. Each question has 3 answers
and pupils have to choose the right one based on their understanding (APPENDIX 1). Overall
score for this test is 10 marks. If the respondent is able to answer correctly the items given,
this means that the pupils have no problem of understanding in the classroom. If the answer
given is wrong, then there is the problem of understanding during the teaching and learning
session. From Table 2, the minimum score is 0, maximum score is 10 scores are then
categorized into the following levels as in Table 2:

Score
0-3
4-6
7-10
Table 2 : Test score grading

To show the results of the study, the researcher will interpret the data in terms of percentages
of the 10 questions. The average score of 7-10 showed a positive acceptance of the pupils.
Low mean score of 0 to 3 indicates a negative reception from the pupils. All the analysis in
this study will be evaluated and correlated in order to obtain accurate and valid results. The
results are in table 3 below:

Item
Pre-test
percentage
Post-test
percentage

S1
4/10
40%
10/10
100%

S2
7/10
70%
7/10
70%

S3
5/10
50%
8/10
80%

S4
7/10
70%
10/10
100%

Table 3: Overall score of multiple choice questions results

Analysis of pre and post-testing

Pre-test
In the first week of teaching, the method carried out by the researcher is using simple read
aloud method where the researcher reads aloud the text in the story and pupils follow the
reading. After teaching has been conducted, the researcher gave a special test to see whether
the pupils achieved the objective of the learning or not. Pupils results are recorded and
analyzed to know the level of pupils' achievements. Available results of pupils are as follows:
Item
Pre-test
percentage

S1
4/10
40%

S2
7/10
70%

S3
5/10
50%

S4
7/10
70%

Table 4: Pre-test results

Table 4 above shows marks obtained by pupils from pre-test results showing that the
pupils did not understand the contents of story my cat taught by the teacher. The results of

this test has shown that pupils only understand on certain parts of the sentence in the story.
For pupil 1 (S1), he had correctly answered only 4 over 10 of the questions (APPENDIX 1).
He answered wrong for question 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. For S2, he answered 7 questions
correctly and that is the highest marks from all of the respondents. He got the wrong answers
for question 6, 8 and 9. The third pupil which is S3 only got half of the questions correct. She
answered 5 questions wrong, that is question 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9. The last pupil (S4) got 7 out of
10 which is the same with S1. She answered wrong on question 7, 8, and 9.
All in all, we can see that for question 1, 2, 3 and 5, all four pupils answered correctly
where for questions 8 and 9 all pupils answers are wrong. The questions that all pupils
answered correctly mostly about animals name, colours, and the characters in the story. They
can answer the questions mostly because they have learned the topics in the previous lesson
and familiar with the vocabulary used in the sentence. For question 8 and 9, the question is
about the cats behaviour and adjectives. We can see that pupils cannot choose the right
answer. This is because pupils might not understand the meaning of the sentence due to
unfamiliar vocabularies.

Pre-test Students score

80
70
60
50

Students score

40
30
20
10
0
s1

s2

s3

s4

Figure 1: Pre-test pupils score

Based on figure 1, no pupils are in low score marks, which is from 0 30%. For s1,
he scored 40% which means he is in the intermediate level. Another pupil who is in
intermediate level is s3 where she score 50% from the full marks. The other two pupils which
are s2 and s4 are remarkably in excellent level where both scored 70%.

Post-test
After intervals of one week, the teacher teaches the same story but using different
approaches, namely the use of big book in teaching and learning to improve the extent of
pupils understanding and interest in reading in English. The teacher has conducted a
storytelling session by using the big book. After that, the teacher once again give the same
test with the previous test questions to assess and see whether or not the learning outcomes is
achieved after the use of big book. Pupils results are recorded and analyzed. Results of the
analysis are in table 5 as follows:

Item
S1
Post-test
80/10
percentage
80%
Table 5: Post-test results

S2
7/10
70%

S3
9/10
90%

S4
10/10
100%

Marks obtained by pupils from post-test results have shown that there are positive
improvements made by pupils after the storytelling session using the big book. Pupils
understanding about the story my cat mostly has improved compared to the pre-test results

except for one pupil. The results of this analysis shows that pupils understanding is increased
and only certain parts of the sentence in the story they still have issues in understanding the
sentence. For pupil 1 (S1), in the pre-test, he had correctly answered only 4 over 10 of the
questions. He answered wrong for question 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 but during this post-test, he
managed to score on 8 questions, an improvement by 4 questions.
For S2, he does not manage to show any improvement from the storytelling. As
recorded, in the pre-test he answered 7 questions correctly, that is the highest marks from all
of the respondents. The post-test maintains the same results where it is supposed to show
some positive improvement. He still got the wrong answer for question 6, 8 and 9. The next
pupil which is S3 whom only got half of the questions correct during the pre-test, managed to
improve to 9 correct answers. The last pupil (S4) shows remarkable results where she got
100% correct answers after the storytelling session. During the pre-test, she only managed to
get 7 correct answers.

Post-test Students score

120
100
80
Post-test Students score
60
40
20
0
s1

s2

s3

s4

Figure 2: Post-test pupils score

Based on figure 2, there are no pupils in low and intermediate score marks, which is
from 0 30%, and 40 60%. This is a big improvement to the results where two pupils able
to improve from intermediate to excellent score level. Also, this means that there is no
negative results after the storytelling by using the big book is conducted. For s1, he managed
to double his score from 40% to 80%. S3, who is also in intermediate level during the pretest, managed to score 90% that also brought her to excellent score level. Meanwhile, s2 still
maintains his results at 70%. He is the only pupil who doesnt show any improvement. The
last pupil which is s4 still manages to impress where she scored full marks that is 100%.

Analysis of Questionnaire

This part consists of more specific questions that has been done to 4 selected pupils from 2
Bestari. Respondents were asked to answer all questions related to the pupils perceptions
towards the use of big books in the classroom and ability to increase interest and
understanding of the story being taught. This part consists of 20 questions.
Based on figure 8, for question 1 and 2, half of the subjects agreed that it is the first
time they see a big book being used in the classroom. They were also excited when the
teacher used the big book for storytelling. From the illustration of the big book they can guess
what the story is all about. These were the evidence that the teacher managed to get when
listening to the pupils whispering to their friends when they saw the teacher holding the big
book. Comments from a number of the pupils in Malay were translated such as the following:

Look at that big book, it is very big

I never saw a book that big,
I have a cat at home

For question 3, 4 and 5, all of the pupils agreed that they were excited and love it
when the teacher uses the big book in the storytelling session. The respondents were happy
when the teachers started the storytelling activity by using the big book. These can be seen in
their comments: I am so happy now, Look, the big book, I love the big book, I like the
big book, and I am so happy. This excitement could be seen in their facial expression. They
were seen smiling and whispering to their friends when they saw the teacher holding the big
book.

4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5

YES

NO

1.5
1
0.5
0
Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Figure 8:

Q1 Is this the first time you see a big book?

Q2 Have your previous teacher use the big book in the classroom?

Q5

Q3 I like when teacher use the big book for storytelling.

Q4 I am excited to see the big book in the classroom.
Q5 I love it when teacher starts the storytelling by using the big book.

As for question 6, 3 respondents mentioned that they understand the story when the
teacher used the big book for storytelling. Some of the positive comments made by some of
them are: I love to listen to my teacher, My teacher has good voice, I love looking at the
big book while listening to the teacher, My teacher can make different kind of voices, and
My teacher is good in storytelling, I love to listen to my teachers storytelling as he has
good voice.

For question 6 (Q6), when asked about their understanding of the story from the big
book, 3 persons of the subjects said that they understood the story in the big book. Some
subjects pointed out:
I understand the story very well,
I love the ending part of the story,
I want to listen to the story again, and
I understand the story completely,.

For the other pupil, he is able to understand some parts of the story but cannot manage
to know the flow of the story. The subjects points out:

what is the end of the story?

what is the meaning of this sentence?

According to graph 2 above (Q7), 2 persons stated that they understood the whole
story from the big book. They gave reasons like, I understood the whole story and I can
even tell my friends about the story; .The subjects are then asked to volunteer to retell the
story when asked by the teacher. A high percentage of the subjects agreed that they could not
retell the story due to shyness and lack of confidence (Q8). The subjects mentioned that I
dont want to retell the story, I am very shy, I know the story but I dont want to retell the
story and No, I dont want to retell the story. For question 9, a large percentage of 3
persons of the subjects agreed that they liked to sit on the floor while listening to the story
from the big book. They were seen rushing to sit right in front. Their comments in the
interview concur with this finding. These can be seen below:

I would run to sit in front when I saw the teacher with the big book,
I love to sit on the floor to listen to the story from the big book, and
I can really see the big book clearly if I sit on the floor.

The only one pupil that answered no for (Q9) said that she did not like when have to
compete with other pupil to get the best place. She prefers to stay at the back and sit on the
chair. When asked what they would do if they did not understand the story related by the
teacher from the big book (Q10), all of the pupils agreed that they will ask the teacher

directly during the storytelling session. They mentioned that they love how the teacher
explains the story with the facial expression and intonation.

4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
YES
2

NO

1.5
1
0.5
0
Q6

Q7

Q8

Q9

Q10

Figure 9

Q6 I understand the story when teacher use the big book for storytelling.
Q7 I understand the whole story when teacher use the big book for storytelling
Q8 I can story tell the story after the teacher story tell the story from the big book
Q9 I like to sat on the floor while listening to the teacher using the big book for storytelling
Q10 I will ask the teacher if I dont understand the story that the teacher story told from the
big book

For Q11, more than half the subjects, 3 persons of the subjects agreed that they would
ask their friends if they did not understand the story. When the subjects were asked the reason
why some of them kept quiet during the lesson, they said that they would only like to confirm
the story and gave their views to the peers. Some of the comments made are: I would ask my
friends if I dont understand the story, I like to explain to my friends if they dont
understand the story, I actually understand the story and I want to help my friends by telling
them the story again, and I love talking about the story again. The remaining 1 person of
the subjects disagreed by saying that they would not ask their friends if they did not
understand the story. This was because they probably did not like to interrupt the flow of the
story. This was mentioned by a few subjects who said that I would rather listen to the
teacher, and I would prefer to concentrate well.

According to figure 10 below, majority of the subjects of the subjects agreed that they
liked to see beautiful illustrations in the big book (Q12). They commented as follows: Look
at that beautiful pictures, Look that is really beautiful, Really fantastic pictures, and I
like that!.

For questions13 and 14, all the subjects agreed that they liked the colour in the big
book and they liked to see the cartoon illustrations in the big book. Their comments include
the following: Wow, I like the colours, Good pictures, Look at that one, I love the
colours on that page and Wow, beautiful. Also, they mentioned that That cartoon looks
real, I like the eyes of that rabbit, I wish I can draw like that, and That girl looks so
pretty. All the conversations were followed by their smile when they looked at the
illustrations. They were seen happy and contented while looking at the illustrations.

For question 15, all subjects also agreed that they liked to see the illustration while
listening to the story from the big book story related by the teacher. The subjects agreed and
happy when they said I loved it when we have storytelling because I can see the pictures, I
would prefer to look at the illustration when the teacher is telling us stories and I like the
illustration there. Figure 1o presents the results of pupils responses to five questions
pertaining to the big book and their reactions towards the illustration in the big book.
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5

YES

NO

1.5
1
0.5
0
Q11

Q12

Q13

Q14

Q15

Figure 10

Q11 I will ask my friend if I dont understand the story that the teacher story told from the big
book
Q12 I like to see beautiful illustration in the big book
Q13 I like to see the colour in the bog book
Q14 I like to see the cartoon illustration in the big book

Q15 I like to see the illustration while listening to the teacher

In relation to question 16, majority of the subjects said that they would look at the
illustrations while reading the words in the pages while the teacher was telling the story from
the big book. The subjects mentioned, I will read on my own and look at the pictures,
When the teacher is telling us stories from the big book, I read and look at the pictures at the
same time, I love looking at the pictures in the big book and I can read very well when the
teacher shows me the big book.
For Q17, 3 of the subjects agreed that they would use their fingers to point at the
characters that they liked in the big book. The subjects also mentioned I love to point at the
best characters, I would prefer to point at the animals there, and That is not the character
that I like. The subjects felt that they would understand the story more if they use their
fingers to point at the pictures. For question 18, a similar percentage of the subjects 3
respondents agreed that they would tell their friends sitting next to them about the
illustrations when the teacher was using the big book for storytelling. They pointed out: I
would tell my friends, I would share with my friends, and I would tell my friends if they
dont understand. The remaining of the subjects disagreed to tell their friends. This might be
due to the fact that they would prefer to concentrate more on the listening to the teachers
voice when reading from the big book.
For question 19, half of the subjects agreed that they understood the story more by
looking at the characters in the big book. Respondents that agree with the question pointed
out : I understand the story more by looking at the characters, I love the story when I see

the characters and The characters are beautiful and I understand the story better whereas
both that disagree cannot give proper comments. For the last question, that is (Q20), all
respondents agreed that they will read the big book alone after the storytelling session. They
also mentioned that they would prefer to read the book alone after storytelling because they
would be able to appreciate the illustrations more. They said I want to read the book on my
own now, I love to see the pictures from the big book on my own, and I love when I look
at the pictures on my own.
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5

YES

NO

1.5
1
0.5
0
Q16

Q17

Q18

Q19

Q20

Figure 11

Q16 I will see the illustration while reading the words in the pages where the teacher is
storytelling
Q17 I will use my finger to finger point the character I like in the book
Q18 I will talk about the illustration in the book with my friend
Q19 I understand the story more by looking at the characters in the big book

Q20 I will read the big book alone after the storytelling session

7.0 FINDINGS
8.0 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

9.0 REFERENCES
Bobulov, Ivana, et al. Childrens and Juvenile Literature: Written in English. Nitra:
Pedagogick fakulta UKF [Faculty of Education UKF], 2003. Print.

Morris, R.G, et al (2003) Elements of a neurobiological theory of the hippocampus: the role
of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity in memory. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. Biol Sci.
358: 773 786.
Normaliza Abd Rahim, Noraien Mansor, Wan Roselezam Wan Yahya, Arbaie Sujud, and Siti
Nur Aliaa Roslan (2009) Childrens Emotions and its Social Meaning. Journal of
Interdisciplinary

of

Social Science. Vol 4: No 1. Pp 171-176.

Walton, R (2008) The Book of Illustrations 2. Harper Collins. United Kingdom.

Morrow, Lesley Mandel. Developing Literacy in Preschool. New York: The Guilford
Press, 2007. Print.
Temple, Charles, et al. All Children Read: Teaching for Literacy in Todays Diverse

Classrooms. USA: Pearson education, 2005. Print.

Lightbown and Spada. Theoretical Approaches to Explaining Second Language

Learning. Mood-link-a: Faculty of Education. Web. 10 Nov. 2009
<http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=true&id=53833>.

IATEFL Young Learner 2009 1. Cantebury: IATEFL Young Learner and Teenager
Special Interest Group Publication, 2009. Print.

Slattery, Mary, and Jane Willis. English for Primary Teachers: A Handbook of
Activities and Classroom Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print.

10.0

APPENDICES