Factors Influencing the Mastery of Malay Vocabulary as a Second Language Among Indigenous Students

Abstract

Minority groups such as the Indigenous community are among those who often face challenges in mastering Malay Vocabulary forms as a second language due to several factors. Therefore, this study aims to explore the factors influencing the mastery of Malay Vocabulary as a second language among Indigenous students. Accordingly, this study is grounded in Krashen’s Second Language Acquisition Theory (1987) to analyze the factors affecting the mastery of Malay Vocabulary among Indigenous students. This case study was conducted qualitatively that involved six Indigenous students of the Temuan ethnic group. The research was conducted at a primary school located in the Bentong, Pahang. The instruments used in this research were interviews that conducted by the researcher, which were analyzed thematically. The findings of the study indicate that there are several internal and external factors that influence the mastery of Malay vocabulary among Indigenous students. These factors include sources of Malay language acquisition as a second language, language input, student's comprehension, grammatical awareness, the influence of the first language, and affective factors. The sharing of these research findings is particularly important, especially for teachers who teach Malay language to Indigenous students, as an understanding of the factors influencing Malay vocabulary mastery enables teachers to select teaching approaches and methods that are appropriate to the students background