English Literary Texts used in Form Four AND Five English Literature Component ‘Revisit’

Abstract

This study is designed to revisit ESL teachers’ perceptions towards the literary texts used in upper forms English literature component in 2007 in comparison to the texts used in 2016. It is also to identify the changes in the selection of the literary texts from the first to the current phase. The data were analysed based on these ESL teachers’ perceptions in terms of the topic/content, language, culture and authenticity found in the literary texts. In the attempt of data collection, semi-structured interview was designed with twelve questions which were divided into the four different criteria. A number of twenty five form four and five teachers from different schools within the state of Sarawak were interviewed. The data obtained were compared with the data collected from a parallel study done in 2007. The findings appeared to indicate that there were some significant similarities and differences in these teachers’ perceptions towards the two different sets of literary texts used in upper forms in 2007 and 2016 based on the stated criteria.