Combating Sentence Construction Problems with 3D Tetrominoes

Abstract

As Malaysia combats issues of literacy, geographical gaps and inadequacy of teachers, Malaysian ESL learners weak grasp of the writing skill is also proving to be a hurdle for Malaysia’s education ministry. Weak mastery of this skill results in plummeting achievement rates in national examinations. Through this research, the researcher hopes to combat the issues faced by ESL learners in the field of sentence construction. Without a solid foundation of sentence construction skills, accuracy of content in terms of meaning will not be evident. Therefore, the researcher aimed to identify the effectiveness of the 3D Tetrominoes technique in improving the ESL learners’ sentence construction skills as well as to elicit their perceptions on the application of the 3D Tetrominoes technique. This qualitative action research was conducted with eight intermediate Year 5 participants from a sub-urban school in Hulu Selangor. Data collection methods included document analysis, interviews and observations which were analysed descriptively. The findings showed improvement in the ESL learners’ sentence construction skills and elicited positive perceptions on the use of the 3D Tetrominoes technique in creating fun and effective learning sessions to increase sentence construction skills. It is evident that ESL learners struggle with mastering writing skills, particularly in the area of sentence construction. It is hoped through this research that teachers would diversify their teaching and learning techniques to facilitate ESL learners’ learning.