Language as a cultural element influences Aboriginal pupils' mathematic performance. This study examines the utility of oral test in native language for computation and word problem mathematics items using score comparability. The sample includes 230 Grade 5 Orang Asli pupils from eight Malaysian primary schools in two states. By employing…

Purpose: The language load within mathematics test items can lead to inaccuracy in assessing "Orang Asli" pupils' mathematical ability due to their struggle in comprehending the academic language. This study aims to determine the validity of using test accommodations in the form of oral academic language and oral native language when…

This book critically analyses early school foreign language teaching policy and practice, foregrounding the influence of the socioeducational and cultural context on how policies are implemented and assessing the factors which either promote or constrain their effectiveness. It focuses on four Asian contexts -- Malaysia, South Korea, Sri Lanka and…

The purpose of this study is to investigate Indigenous pupils' achievement in Mathematics with Bilingual (Bahasa Melayu and Temiar) versions of mathematics tests. Both tests were based on Mathematics computation and word problem items. This study involved eight Orang Asli (Indigenous) primary students from eight schools in the district of Sungai…

This comparative research study examined Grade Five Malaysian Aboriginal pupils' mathematical performance on 30 computation and 20 word problem items in the academic Malay language and community "Temiar" language. The items were constructed in the Malay language before adapting and audio recording into the "Temiar" language…

This study examined the validity of trilingual test as a test accommodation to assess the Indigenous pupils' mathematical performance in Malaysia. The study employed two tests; BM-only test with items written in Malay language (BM) and trilingual test, which had items written in BM and English, and oral audio recording in their native Temiar…

Two major, inter-related issues are analysed in this paper -- mother tongue (MT) and early childhood care and education (ECCE). Evidence tells us that learning first in one's MT leads to better outcomes in the future -- for individuals, cultures, and nations. But MT is used rarely in ECCE programmes and the early grades of primary school so that…