A case study on the impacts of changes to the teaching of reading in Malay in Negara Brunei Darussalam

The ability to read is one of the most crucial survival skills a person can possess. However, learning to read is a complex task for beginners. This is because every type of writing system presents challenges to beginning readers. Recent research argues that the most effective instruction results when a combination of methods/approaches to the teaching of reading is used by teachers to meet children’s needs. This research focuses on the teaching of reading to Primary One children in the developing country of Brunei where Malay is the first language. An exploratory case study was conducted to investigate the usefulness of implementing the balanced reading approach to the teaching of reading compared with the practices of the strongly traditional approach which pervades the current schooling system. The case study involved two primary government schools and aimed to find out how these two different approaches influenced the targeted Primary One children’s reading performance and achievement. Four broad categories of data were collected through classroom observations, interviews, questionnaires, and administration of reading tests. The results of the study showed both teaching practices can help the children progress in their reading performance but the balanced reading approach can help the children to progress more effectively. The results of the study also suggested that the balanced reading approach can be used as a recommended alternative approach to teach Malay reading in Brunei primary schools in order to promote meaningful learning that should meet the diverse children’s needs, interests and abilities. The result of the study also recommends that the current traditional reading approach practices of the teaching of reading be improved to be more effective in enhancing young children’s learning to read and beginning literacy experiences with Malay.