Usage of Kegugan to Increase Mastery of Prefixes Among Year Three Pupils

Abstract

This action research is aimed at improving the practice of teacher pedagogy in enhancing the prefix meN- to the Malay language subjects among Year 3 students using the KeGuGan technique. A total of five Year 3 students at one of the primary schools in Ipoh, Perak identified did not master the prefix remuneration of the study. KeGuGan (Kekal-Gugur-Ganti) technique is a graphic map technique that requires students to write the word prefix, meN- in order based on i-Think thinking maps. Instruments for collecting research data involve pre and post-tests, observations, and interviews. The findings show that there is an increase in the percentage of 60% and 70% of student mastery in the prefix meN through the pre and post-tests conducted after intervention using the techniques. While the level of understanding, focus, and involvement of students also increased during teaching and learning sessions through observation. The findings of the interview show that the KeGuGan technique is an easy-to-understand and is used to enhance the student's level of understanding in mastering the prefix meN-. This study shows that the KeGuGan technique is successfully enhancing student mastery and improving the teacher's pedagogical practice in the prefix meN. Such techniques are also in the process of helping Malay language teachers improve the quality of their teaching and learning.

Keywords: KeGuGan techniques, prefix, graphic maps, teacher pedagogical practices

Introduction

The grammatical aspect is one of the language skills that are essential to be understood and learned by the students in the Malay Language subject. The mastery of good grammar can help students to converse with the correct language system and produces quality written literature (Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia [KPM], 2017). Karim et al. (2015) define grammar as a field that focuses on word formation and the sentence development process of a language. One of the grammatical aspects needed to be mastered by the students is prefixes. According to Abdullah and Yusof (2015), Muhammad and Shari (2020), the prefix is a form of Malay Language morphology that produces derivatives of verbs, besides pluralization and replications of works to increase the value of the Malay vocabulary.

Compared to other word formation processes, the process of affixation is a complex process, as the affixes consist of bounded morphemes that are paired with the basic word to form the derived words. The affixation of the Malay Language vocabulary includes prefixes, suffixes, infixes, and confixes. This research focuses on prefixes, namely the meN- affixation that acts as the prefixes of verbs. Moreover, the Content Standard that is focused on is 5.2 Understanding and usage of word formation according to contexts, meanwhile, the Learning Standard is 5.2.1 Understanding and usage of prefixed adverbs according to contexts (KPM, 2017).

Based on the previous teaching and learning reflections, the researcher identified a few students with a lack of mastery for the prefix concepts, especially the meN- prefix in their writings. This issue can be observed when the students are having difficulties spelling the prefix meN- correctly, namely when writing their sentences. For example, ‘Abang mengunting pokok menggunakan gunting pemangkas’. Based on the sentence before, the correct prefix to be used is the meNG-, forming the word menggunting. Ahamad et al. (2020) state that a student’s weakness in vocabulary caused them to use the wrong affixes that can distort the meanings of the sentences.

On the other hand, the researcher also identified that the student was unsure of the PKTS rule, whereby the rule involves the removal of the first letter of the root word P, K, T, and S when receiving the prefix meN-. For example, in the root word of ‘tolong’ when receiving the prefix of meN-, the letter ‘T’ was removed and replaced with the letter ‘N’, forming the word menolong. This factor can cause confusion and a lack of understanding of the correct affixation usage, leading to writing inaccurate prefixes (Narayanan & Subramaniam, 2021). In addition, the researcher also observed passive participation and lack of attention by students toward their teachers during learning sessions. This can be derived to be caused by the lack of application of Pendidikan Abad Ke-21 (PAK21) strategies and teaching methods by the teacher, causing the lack of interest from the students. Therefore, the teachers should choose appropriate strategies and techniques to nurture excitement in the students during classes (Razak & Mahamod, 2021).

To understand and prove the issue faced by the students in understanding the prefix meN-, the researcher performed an initial survey to collect data using three methods, which are document analysis, observations, and written diagnostic tests. From the initial survey, it is found that students had problems understanding the prefix meN- and the general rule of PKTS. As evidence, as many as eight students earned grades D and E. Meanwhile, the most common grade received by the students was the C grade, with nine students obtaining the grade.

Based on the work done by the students, the researcher detected a few students wrongly wrote the prefix meN- especially in sentence formation such as portrayed in Figure 1. Then, the researcher also performed structural observation of five aspects. Based on the instrument of observation, a number of students could not identify and write the prefix meN-. Furthermore, the students gave minimal attention to their teachers and lacks interest in their learning sessions. Consequently, the researcher suggests one technique known as KeGuGan (Kekal, Gugur, Ganti) to overcome the problems faced by the students when writing the prefix meN- correctly.

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Problem Statement

The focus of this action research is to increase the mastery of meN- prefixes among year 3 students in Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar Baru Putera, Ipoh, Perak. The researcher made this issue a research question after observing most students’ lack of mastery in the usage of meN- prefix, especially when involving the PKTS rule. Students would inaccurately use the meN- in sentence writing causing their sentences to be wrong and grammatically incorrect which can affect their marks in writing (Mokter, 2019). Hence, the researcher introduced the KeGuGan technique, which is a graphical map that had been adapted based on the i-Think flowchart to aid the students use the prefix meN- correctly. The researcher chose the i-Think map as the main idea to produce this technique due to its short, concise, and attractive nature, which can ease the process of students effectively understanding the information given (Baker & Mohammad, 2021).

This research focus is chosen based on a few criteria such as manageability, importance, usability, control, collaboration, and relevance to schools. From the manageability perspective, the researcher developed the KeGuGan technique to overcome the problem of meN- prefix incorrect usage among students. In addition, this technique has high manageability because the researcher is able to use a multitude of methods to collect the data to display its effectiveness towards student learning. For example, methods such as observation, pre-test post-test, and interviews. From the importance standpoint, this research can increase the understanding of students regarding the usage of meN- prefix when learning vocabulary, especially in which involves the PKTS rule through the KeGuGan technique. Thus, teachers can apply the KeGuGan technique during their teaching and learning sessions as a teaching aid.

Besides that, this research has high usability, meaning that teachers can apply this technique in grammatical subjects and other language skills. Teachers can utilize the KeGuGan technique to teach students from different classes that are facing a similar problem with the usage of meN- prefixes. The next criteria are the control whereby the researcher performed the KeGuGan to assist the students in remembering and forming new prefixes. The researcher constructed interactive multimedia ‘Pengembaraan Imbuhan’ to explain the KeGuGan technique effectively and provide interactive training to attract the student’s interest in learning.

From a collaborative standpoint, this research was done collaboratively by the researcher with the management of the school and fellow teachers. The researcher had discussed with counselors to acquire background information on Year 3 Gamma students, and the problems they face during class. Next, the researcher also cooperated with lecturers as a source of reference to discuss the issue faced when conducting this action research. Last but not least, this action research is relevant to schools through the usage of KeGuGan technique which can increase the mastery of meN- prefix application among students, and be the point of reference for teachers when applying KeGuGan during teaching and learning sessions.

Research Questions

Research Methods

This action research is based on Kurt Lewin’s Research Model for overcoming the issues faced by students based on the proposed actions that have been planned. According to Lewin (1946), action research shows a cycle of steps that has four steps, namely planning, action, observing, and reflecting. Figure 2 showed the steps taken based on the Kurt Lewin Research Model to solve the student’s problems in mastering the prefix usage of meN-.

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Research implementation

Consequently, the researcher has implemented actions after identifying the student's problem by using KeGuGan technique to help Year 3 students master writing meN- prefix, especially involving the PTKS rule. Figure 3 shows the steps taken by the researcher to perform this study. On the other hand, Figure 4 shows the explanation of KeGuGan Technique.

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Findings

Pre-Test and Post- Test Result

Based on the results of the scores of the two tests that have been collected, the researcher has analyzed by comparing the scores to see the effectiveness of the intervention carried out on the performance of the study participants as shown in Figure 5.

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Based on the comparison of these two tests, it was found that the percentage of a test score increased in the range of 60% to 70%. For PK1 and PK2, the increase in score is as much as 70%. On the other hand, PK3 and PK4 experience an increase of as much as 65%. Finally, PK5 had an improved score of up to 60%. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher found that 100% of the study participants had achieved an excellent level of mastery and obtained an A grade in the post-test compared to the results of the pre-test.

Conclusions

Based on the research findings obtained, it can be concluded that the KeGuGan technique can help students improve their mastery of the prefix meN-. This can be proven based on the post-test results of the five research participants who showed a significant improvement after undergoing the intervention. During the implementation of this study, there are several strengths that have been identified, which are the application of entertaining educational elements such as storytelling techniques and elements of laughter when implementing interventions for research participants. The fun education approach makes the learning session more relaxed and fun, leading students to be motivated to learn (Unjong & Seruji, 2022). Next, the perceived strength, which is the application of ICT elements by using interactive multimedia to attract students' interest to follow the intervention introduced. The application of information and communication technology (ICT) elements is very important in teaching and learning sessions so that it is more interesting and effective and can improve the quality of teachers' teaching (Zakaria et al., 2017).

The next strength that is seen is the KeGuGan technique formula that was created can increase students' mastery of the prefix meN-. This formula is constructed to make it easier for students to remember the letters that need to be dropped and replaced when a base word starts with the letters P, K, T, and S combined with the prefix meN-. Jamil and Halim (2018) stated that the usage of formulas in learning can increase students' memory to master a topic faster. The proof is that students make fewer mistakes in writing with the prefix meN-, which is proven through the results of the post-test that has been performed.

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