Kemahiran Bertutur Bahasa Melayu oleh Murid Cina: Teori Analisis Kontrastif

Speaking Skills in Malay Language by Chinese Student: Contrastive Analysis Theory

Abstract

The acquisition of Malay as a second language, either verbally or non verbally among the non-Malay students, is still in question. It is observed that the problems of pronunciation is still prevalent among the non-Malay students. Hence, the objectives of this study are twofold; (i) to identify the level of proficiency of the speaking skill of Malay language among Chinese students, and (ii) to analyse the errors made in the speaking skill of Malay language by Chinese students based on contrastive analysis theory. The respondents were 27 Chinese Form 1 students in SMK Ampang Pecah, Kuala Kubu Baharu, Selangor. The initial design of the study was spurred by library research and observation. The instruments used in data collection included notebooks, questionnaire, recorder and texts for speech test. The data were analyzed by contrastive analysis theory by Robert Lado (1957). The findings showed that there were four aspects of pronunciation errors related consonants produced by the respondents. They were (i) sound replacement, (ii) sound addition, (iii) sound abortion, (iv) and grammatical errors. This study also shows that the pronunciation errors were due to the influence of their native language, which is Mandarin language, and the interlingual factors of the respondents that have caused them to be weak in the mastery of Malay language. In terms of implication, this study provides some understanding on the importance of mastering oral speech in Malay language through appropriate grammatical usage and pronunciation , especially among the second language speakers of Malay.