Abstract
It is widely claimed that many university students were found to be unprepared for the reading demands placed upon them. To provide students with an understanding of the features of the discourses they may encounter, this study investigates lexical bundles (LBs) used in the reading passages of Malaysian University English Test (MUET), a compulsory entrance examination for tertiary education. More specifically it aims to compare and contrast the functional types of LBs found in arts and science-based reading passages. A specialised corpus of MUET test papers made up of only the reading passages categorised into two main traditional disciplines; arts and science was built using WordSmith Tools Version 5. The lists of LBs of the identified disciplines were generated using WordSmith Tools Version 5. The generated data was then analysed qualitatively based on Hyland’s (2008) Functional Taxonomy. Findings revealed that although the number of LBs in both disciplines shows significant difference, many similar LBs are found. Science-based passages employ more research-based LBs whereas arts-based texts employ more participant-oriented LBs. These findings seemed to confirm that the functions of LBs are specific to particular disciplines. Hence, explicit teaching of LBs should be considered in schools and two separate sets of MUET reading tests where the first comprises of texts adopted from the scientific and technological context while the other made up of texts from the social sciences should be designed to accommodate both arts and science stream pre-university students. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/GEMA-2015-1501-05
Highlights
Malaysian University English Test ( MUET) is an English proficiency test taken by thousands of Malaysians annually
Only the reading component is analysed because “reading is clearly primary to any definition of literacy” (Venezky as cited in Lee, 2004, p. 2) which is reflected in the 40% weightage of the total marks allocated to the reading test in MUET
In view of the issue on reading difficulty among university students and benefits students can reap if they have a sound knowledge of lexical bundles (LBs), this study aims to: i) investigate LBs that are commonly used in MUET ii) identify the functional categories of LBs in MUET iii) compare and contrast functional types of LBs in arts and science-based texts
Summary
Malaysian University English Test ( MUET) is an English proficiency test taken by thousands of Malaysians annually. It is used as a stepping stone to tertiary education (Malaysian Examination Council, 2008) and as a means to determine university graduates’ language proficiency when they enter the workforce (Lee, 2004). 2) which is reflected in the 40% weightage of the total marks allocated to the reading test in MUET. One of the reasons for this heavier weightage is because university students are expected to read more than to write (Lee, 2004).
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