(384) PREPARATION FOR ACADEMIC READING IN ENGLISH FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: AN ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE READING CURRICULUM DESIGN AND PROCEDURE

摘要

The purpose of the present study was to determine how well the Malaysian Lower Secondary Englishlanguage curriculum prepares students for academic reading in English at the upper secondary andtertiary levels. The data in this study were in the form of comprehension reading passages in thegovernment mandated English language textbook as well as other passages that teachers used in theclassrooms for their English language reading comprehension lessons. In this study, readinginstructional design in the English language textbook was analyzed in terms of types and the length ofpassages with regard to grade-level. The types of texts analyzed were narrative and expository. Leslieand Caldwell's (2004, 2006) Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI 3 & 4) was used for coding the gradelevelof reading comprehension passages in the Form Three English language textbook. The findingsof this study show that the English language reading comprehension instructional design andprocedure in the Malaysian Form Three English language textbook and classroom implementation, aspart of the English language reading curriculum, only partially prepares the lower secondary schoolstudents in meeting the content area reading demand involving English at the upper secondary andtertiary level.