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Perubahan Paradigma Pemikiran Ke Arah Pendidikan Berkualiti

THE USE OF MWEG TO ENHANCE THE WRITING CONTENT OF
6AK2 STUDENTS’ ESSAYS IN MUET 800/4 QUESTION 2

Haeza binti Haron
Kolej Tingkatan Enam Haji Zainul Abidin,Georgetown, Pulau Pinang

Abstract 11

The aim of this study is to examine how MWEG in the WhatsApp application can be utilised as a
device to enhance the writing content for MUET students. The focus of the study is the students’
essay-writing competency for MUET 800/4 Question 2. MUET (Malaysian University English Test)
is an obligatory examination in the Malaysian education system to evaluate the English language
proficiency level of higher secondary school students before they can commence tertiary education
in local universities. The selected respondents were 17 students from 6AK2. The study found that
significant improvements can be observed in the content of the students’ essays after they were
given exposure to the MUET Writing Experimental Group or MWEG. The implications of the results
were deliberated, and recommendations were also suggested. There were marked improvements
in the content of the students’ essays as a result of employing MWEG in the WhatsApp application.
The changes can be seen in their increased competency, classroom engagement and academic
attainment, apart from their improved writing. Future studies can gain from an extended or longitudinal
study to establish whether the improvements obtained in this study can remain consistent and
sustainable over a long period of time using this method.

Keywords: MWEG, WhatsApp Application, Essay Writing, Effects on Language Learning, MUET

1.0 REFLECTION OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

One of the fundamental building blocks of English language acquisition is writing
competency. The skill of writing, which in itself is challenging to acquire, especially by
non-native English language learners, contributes significantly towards the mastery of
the language. According to Andrews and Thoms (2008), a considerable amount of time is
required to enable students to practice writing in English before they become skilful. This
is primarily because writing also requires the development and exploration of ideas and
the competency to strengthen the ideas with supporting evidence and arguments through
extensive practice. Ideas that the students wish to convey can be presented using different
types of writing such as informative writing, argumentative writing or persuasive writing. To
do so successfully, it is crucial to encourage students to explore different types of inputs,
points of view, thoughts, background information and beliefs offered by numerous materials
and learning tools. Not only will they become well-informed, their interests in writing will
also be boosted.

A pre-requisite for entrance to Malaysian tertiary education is The Malaysian University
English Test (MUET). The writing component in Paper 4 (code 800/4) of the MUET
examination is one of the four papers that students have to answer in the MUET exam.

Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia 183