The CEFR-aligned curriculum: Perspectives of Malaysian teachers
List of Authors
  • Mah Zhi Jian , Paramjit Kaur

Keyword
  • This paper examines the perceptions of primary school teachers regarding the introduction of the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR) in the Malaysian school curriculum in 2018. This study employed a 4-point Likert scale questionn

Abstract
  • This paper examines the perceptions of primary school teachers regarding the introduction of the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR) in the Malaysian school curriculum in 2018. This study employed a 4-point Likert scale questionnaire adapted from Nguyen (2017) and Teoh (2018). The data were collected from 500 primary school teachers using a questionnaire that included 11 close ended items and one open ended item. An online version of the questionnaire was distributed to primary school teachers all over Malaysia using the snowball sampling method. The findings showed that the majority of teachers had positively perceived the implementation of CEFR-aligned English curriculum (M=2.82). However, many teachers also indicated that they faced many challenges related to the implementation of the CEFR-aligned curriculum (M=2.24). This study concludes that although the teachers showed a positively viewed the CEFR-aligned curriculum, they may not be able to implement the curriculum successfully as they encountered certain challenges related to it. Curriculum reforms and changes need to take into account teachers’ concerns and provide them with support in order to optimize learning and teaching. Teachers’ concerns and perspectives need to be taken into account as they are major stakeholders that ensure the outcome of language policies.

Reference
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