Exploring the perception of UTAR undergraduates on the importance of English language / Indira Malani Munusamy

The importance of English Language for an English as Second Language (ESL) user to be competent in using target language has been circulating for many years. Functioning as a medium of instruction in education, the language plays a major role in terms of speaking, writing, listening and reading skill in Malaysia. However, there are still a handful students showed poor performance in English language. Using a purposeful selection of English Education students from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Kampar, Perak, this study aimed at obtaining the perceptions of participants towards English language learning, and obtaining possible solutions to solve the learners’ learning difficulties. The samples are a selection of 20participants who had completed their teaching practicum, and this study was conducted using questionnaires and open-
ended questions as the instrument. The findings showed participants were positively respond to the statements as stated in the questionnaire. The participants also provided a list of factors causing low proficiency in English and suggested a number of solutions to the authorities in the field of education to help in improving the learner’s English language learning