The use of MULTIPUNC in improving year 2 pupils’

use of punctuation

Visali Vijayaraj, Shevany R K Anumanthan, Ilavarasi Vasu, Pirvita Singgaravi and

Dr Melor Md Yunus
Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
visali0311@gmail.com

Technology is foraying into the field of education. More teachers are breaking out of their shell of old
school teaching methods and experimenting with the latest applications in the technology market to
enhance the classroom experience for the pupils. Thus, this action research focuses on the implementation
of MULTIPUNC to improve writing skill. This thought led the researchers to innovate using the software
called PowerPoint and developing it into MULTIPUNC. This study is aimed to determine the extent to
which using MULTIPUNC is effective in helping Year 2 pupils to improve punctuation in writing. The
research participants involved are ten Year 2 pupils from a primary school located in Petaling District,
Selangor. The research involved the use of two different teaching methods, which were the traditional
method and MULTIPUNC. MULTIPUNC is developed using PowerPoint and gaming visuals. The action
research designed gathered data from the ten Year 2 pupils using TEST 1 & TEST 2 results and
questionnaire. The finding of this study showed that the MULTIPUNC was more effective in improving
pupils’ understanding of the correct usage of prepositions of place among Year 2 pupils.

Key words: punctuation, improving, Year 2 pupils, MULTIPUNC, use

INTRODUCTION

In the current wave of globalization and the modern era, teachers have to equip themselves to

fulfil the challenges in teaching English as a second language. The integration of Information and

Communication Technology (ICT) in the English language subject may give vital impacts in enhancing

the learning session. A goal has been set by the Ministry of Education which is by the year 2011 all
schools in Malaysia should be using computers to teach Mathematics, Science and English language

(Naresh, Raduana and Jeffrey 2008). In other words, the integration of ICT in the English Language

subject has implemented since then.

Based on Nordquist (2014), he mentions that punctuation is fundamental in teaching and learning

processes, but not many will comprehend the extent of its importance. Most of the pupils are ignorant

about the rules of punctuation. More time and effort should be spent on teaching punctuation to reduce

these problems. Based on the written work of pupils in the primary schools that the researchers were

teaching, it is evident that they were facing difficulty in punctuation accurately.

DuVivier (2004) also mentioned that it is important to recognize punctuation as an evolving tool

or else others would label you as ignorant. The major problems faced by pupils were adding full stops,

not putting capital letter for the starting of every sentence. Some pupils kept repeating the same mistakes

even though it has been introduced or taught in the classroom. Thus, punctuation is one of the common

mistakes that can be found in pupils' written work during teaching and learning processes. The objective

of the study is to determine the extent to which the use of MULTIPUNC in improving Year 2 pupils’

punctuation in writing. Interviews and tests will be the methods used to collect data. Consequently,

integrating useful approaches into lessons and gradually raising pupils’ awareness will help in improving

their punctuation which leads to the innovation called MULTIPUNC.

LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Ur (2012), teachers are also encouraged to use various interesting strategies in

teaching grammar so that learning becomes effective, interesting, fun, and relevant. Grammar is also

taught in context to ensure pupils understand, grasp and apply grammatically correct structures in speech

and writing (Ministry of Education, 2012). In this modern era, proper English usage seems to have flown

out of the window (Dunaway, 2013). While this punctuation phenomenon may have started as a
generation gap, it is being adapted on a broader scale by everyone with the increasing use of mobile,

instant messengers and social sites like Facebook and Twitter (Choi, 2013).

Punctuation as defined by Oxford (2016), is the marks, such as full stop, comma, and brackets,

used in writing to separate sentences and their elements and to clarify meaning. In other words,

punctuation is one of the aspects of writing mechanics. According to Cullen (1999) and Nesamalar et al.

(2005), punctuation is one of the mechanisms in the writing as well as it is also one of the grammar

components in the English language. Researchers have decided to bring the focus of research towards

punctuation; capital letter and full stop.

Moreover, as globalization and rapidly changing technologies have resulted in a highly

competitive job market, this has required a greater demand for national education to embrace digital

literacy in a classroom (Annie, Muk, Hamali & Jamil, 2017). Moore (2005) agreed that ICT would

promote positive impacts in teaching and learning by enhancing students' motivation to stay on task and

drive them to behave better and produce high-quality work. Furthermore, a lot of time can be saved

through ICT as the materials and resources are already on the internet. Besides, a lesson which uses ICT

usually does not need much preparation during teaching and learning. So, those extra times can be used

for a personal consultation to assist pupils in their learning processes. Therefore, the researchers intend to

incorporate elements of information and communication technology (ICT) as they believed that pupils

would be more fascinated to learn the elements of ICT that integrated into lessons.

The researchers planned to utilize the facility provided on the internet to create digital games for

pupils. For example, Kahoot, Hot potatoes, Virtual Learning Environment Frog (VLE Frog) and so on are

websites that we can use to build or create digital games. However, Sutherland et al. (2004) stated that

ICT helps to enhance learning, but it will, in turn, become useless without proper planning. Hence, the

researchers should plan these games meticulously to bring out the pupils' potential optimally. PowerPoint
is one of the elements of ICT has decided to develop a useful tool to curb problems faced by the pupils in

punctuation.

First, learning punctuation through Powerpoint is one of the software used to develop pupils’

understanding of punctuation. According to Johnson, Christie and Wardle (2005), PowerPoint helps to

renew our spirits and restores our intellectual capacities. Bronson (2000) adds that play comes with three

general benefits: imaginativeness and creative problem solving, identity and self-expression and lastly,

sense of belonging and bonding. According to Jones (2003), PowerPoint presentation is an electronic

presentation program that helps people present a speech using a collection of slides. Susskind (2015)

further added that a PowerPoint presentation is a collection of slides used to create oral presentations.

Towndrow and Vallance (2004) mentioned that pupils are more likely to behave well in a classroom

where the use of ICT is maximized. Besides, children nowadays are very fond of technology, not to

mention using technology during teaching and learning processes. By using PowerPoint, pupils will learn

in a more fun, meaningful, and purposeful manner. Children are motivated to learn when they are with

their peers (Scott and Ytreberg, 1990).

In addition, when PowerPoint incorporates the gaming part, it aids the pupil to learn English

without any hesitation. Smaldino et. al (2005) stated that gaming provides a playful environment in which

learners follow prescribed rules as they strive to attain a challenging goal. The interactive game allows the

pupils to apply the knowledge they just learned. According to Saricoban and Metin (2000), the use of

attractive visuals allows pupils to grasp the grammar rules in an authentic and contextualized way.

Pertaining to this, the method serves as a context for pupils to procure the grammatical input on

punctuation. Furthermore, this method also inculcates the element of fun in learning as it will work like a

grammar game. This is parallel with one of the underlying pedagogical principles of primary English

language standard-based curriculum (KSSR) which is learning is fun, purposeful, and meaningful

(Ministry of Education, 2012).

METHODOLOGY
The researchers carried out an action research to see the effectiveness of the MULTIPUNC method

among Year 2 pupils. According to Altricher (2017), action research is a method of systematic enquiry

that teachers undertake as researchers of their own practice and the enquiry involved in action research is

often visualised as a cyclical process. The researchers selected a national primary school (Sekolah

Kebangsaan) which is located in Kuala Lumpur. It is in urban area and the samples of this study were

taken from Year 2. The pupils’ level of proficiency is intermediate.

The researchers gone through a few important stages to see the effectiveness of the

MULTIPUNC method among Year 2 pupils. Table 1 shows the overall process which the researchers

carried out throughout this study. In order to achieve the objectives of this study, the researchers first

identified the problem statement, followed by the research aim and research questions, the methodology

and the instruments as well as the selection of participants.

The objective of this research is to determine the extent to which the use of MULTIPUNC in

improving Year 2 pupils’ punctuation in writing. The researchers used Microsoft PowerPoint software,

which is used to do presentation as their main tool to come up with a new drilling method using visuals.

To identify the effectiveness of MULTIPUNC method, two research instruments were used to collect

data. The researchers used Test 1, Test 2 and questionnaire to increase the validity of the findings as well

as enhance the confidence of the readers. Test 1 and Test 2 were designed based on the issues in

punctuation which the researchers found most the pupils were having difficulty in, such as adding full

stop and capitalisation while the questionnaire helped the researchers to find out how the pupils think and

feel about the use of MULTIPUNC method in improving their punctuation.

 This action research was done within a month by the researchers. Firstly, the researchers came

up with a proper lesson plan on how they are going to conduct the lesson using the conventional method.

They used the rote learning and drilling method to teach punctuation to the selected participants. Test 1

was conducted to identify the punctuation error. Next, a lesson using the intervention method of teaching

which is the MULTIPUNC was carried out. Simple sentences were combined with visuals to enforce the

concept of using the punctuations correctly. Meanwhile for the practice stage, the researchers

incorporated group work to increase the motivation of the participants.

Figure 1: The overall process of the study

FINDINGS
Data from the various instruments were gathered and the results of conventional teaching method with the

comparison to the implementation of MULTIPUNC in the classroom were analysed. The data is

comprised of tests (Test 1 and Test 2) and questionnaire. The findings of both the tests were collected and

tabulated. The results were then presented in a table as shown below.

Research Scores (%) Difference

participants Test 1 Test 2
(MULTIPUNC)

A 56(C ) 100 (A) 44

B 33(E ) 78 (B) 45
C 44(D) 56 (C) 12
D 67(B) 67 (B) 0
E 56(C ) 89 (A) 33
F 44 (D) 100 (A) 56
G 11(F) 100 (A) 89
H 56( C) 100 (A) 44
I 67(B) 89 (A) 22
J 56(C ) 78 (B) 22
Total 490 857 367
Mean 490 85.7 36.7

Table 1: Analysis of participants’ performance in Test 1 and Test 2

Findings from Test 1 and Test 2

In Table 1, the participants’ achievement in Test 1 and Test 2 were compared based on their

grades. A grading system was used to classify their achievements. The categories are as follows:

Distinction (Grade A), Good (Grade B), Satisfactory (Grade C), Weak (Grade D), and, Very weak (Grade

E). The grading system was provided by the School Examination System or ‘Sistem Analisis Peperiksaan
Sekolah’ (SAPS). SAPS is a school exam analysis developed by the Ministry for storing, collecting and

analysing pupils’ exam results data in schools (Ministry of Education 2012).

Table 1 shows that none of the participants (0%) obtained distinction (A) in Test 1 as compared

to a total of six participants (60%) who obtained distinction in Test 2 meanwhile there were two (20%)

participants who obtained good (B) in Test 1 as compared to three (30%) in Test 2. Six (60%) participants

scored satisfactory (C) for Test 1 as compared to 1 participant (10%) in Test 2. Also, there were two

participants (20%) who scored weak (D) and very weak (E) respectively, failed in Test 1. However, none

of the participants scored lower than satisfactory (C) in Test 2. This signifies that in Test 2, the data was

more convincing as there were more participants who scored distinction while none of them failed. It can

be inferred that that the participants performed better in Test 2 as compared to Test 1.

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
A B C D E F G H I J
TEST 1 TEST 2

Figure 1: Findings of Test 1 and Test 2

Findings from Questionnaire

The findings were consistent with the responses of the participants in the questionnaire. The list of

questions in the questionnaire were semi-structured open ended question. According to Johnson (2008),

open-ended questions allow respondents unlimited choices, and provides a more accurate sense of what

respondents are actually thinking. Thus, their responses were coded and similar answers were categorized

to determine the emerging themes. From the analysis, the data is presented below in Table 2.

No. Categories of themes Frequency Percentage

(%)
1. Lesson was easy to follow 6 60.0
2. Activity was fun 7 70.0
3. Remember the rules of punctuation better 7 70.0
4. Can write many times 5 50.0

Table 2: Emerging themes from the Questionnaire answers.

Four main themes were identified from the written response of the pupils. The themes with the

highest frequency were ‘activity was fun’ and “remember the rules of punctuation better”. Based on the

table above, MULTIPUNC helped the pupils in remembering the rules of using punctuation better as well

as it also grasped most of the pupils’ attention towards the lesson.

RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, throughout the process of conducting this research, the researchers had gained

many insights and new knowledge regarding the innovation which is the MULTIPUNC and ways to

improve it. This innovation had also become an eye opener on how different teaching methods can affect

the pupils’ learning performance. Moreover, the researchers were also aware that the use of PowerPoint

can help facilitate the pupils’ understanding in terms of the rules involved in punctuation. This brings to a

generalisation that as a teacher one needs to always reflect on the practice and be creative in diversifying

the teaching methods in order to deliver the input effectively to the audience, in other words, pupils.

However, there was a limitation during the implementation of the innovation with the participants. A

minor group of pupils were not able to benefit much from MULTIPUNC, namely pupil C and D. The

interview results showed that their senses were not tapped by the researchers. MULTIPUNC involved all

senses accept for Total Physical Response (TPR). TPR refers to methods of teaching whereby learners

show their understanding of the language input in a physical way in which they respond to it (Berman

2005). Freeman and Anderson (2011) agrees that the TPR teaching method works particularly well with

young learners as their memory is activated through their experience and response.

Therefore, during the group discussion involved after implementing MULTIPUNC, a game that

involves TPR would tap on the minority scale pupils’ full potential. Although a majority scale of pupils

benefitted from MULTIPUNC, taking the minority who did not benefit into consideration would be

useful for future improvements and implementations. In a nutshell, MULTIPUNC is effective to a certain

extent in improving punctuation among Year Two pupils. Hopefully this innovation would be of great

benefit to teachers in terms of teaching punctuation.

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