LITERATURE REVIEW This study draws on some related work done in the field of testing and

examination in language, and the incorporation of cultural values in tests. The concept of testing has been acknowledged as having great importance in determining the success and outcome of the national curriculum, with regards to all fields and subjects including language. It is also vital that tests are conducted for every subject that is taught at schools based on the national curriculum. They are part and parcel of education and are used for all kinds of purposes such as obtaining information and grading students’ ability. As Linn and Grolund (1995) explain, tests can be defined as a systematic procedure for measuring a sample of behaviour by posing a set of questions in a unified manner. In addition, tests can also give the benefit of motivation to students (Arshad, 2004), which adds to the value of tests especially in the field of language. Therefore, incorporation of values in language tests can also reflect the relationship between language tests and the curriculum, in particular that which refers to cultural values.

In relation to culture, there are both surface and deep descriptions. One of the definitions is by Rogers and Steinfatt (1999), who pointed out that culture refers to “the the total way of life of people composed of their learned and shared

behaviour patterns, value, norms, and material objects.” Hence, the way the -6 community lives, behaves, thinks, and speaks is influenced by culture. -25

Additionally, language and culture have intricate significance that makes the two

impracticable to separate (Magogwe, 2009). Thus, language and culture are

In addition, McGrath (2002) asserted that language learning materials are able

to carry cultural content. The cultural materials could represent different types

IN D

of cultures, namely Source Culture, Target Culture, or International Target E

CE R O

Culture. Source Culture refers to learners’ own culture. Target Culture is the

culture in which the target language is spoken as first language or mother

tongue. International target culture, meanwhile, refers to various cultures in

English or non-English speaking countries which use English as an international

language (Cortazzi & Jin, 1999). In other words, language is an important

consideration for building up ‘cultural’ knowledge. In Malaysia, the national

I2 N

language is Bahasa Melayu, which is used widely for communication. As such, it

E CC

is a major vehicle for the imprinting and dispensing of cultural and moral values R

4 in society. 57

Furthermore, culture is acquired socially and organised in our minds in culture specific ways, forming a framework, which largely determines the way we perceive and define the world around us (Alptekin, 1993). Adaskou, Britten and Fahsi (1990) argue that it is possible to divide ‘culture’ into four different subcategories for the purposes of language teaching. The four different subcategories are,

(a) Culture in the aesthetic sense (culture with a capital C) which involves literature, music, films and the fine arts. (b) Culture in the sociological sense (culture with a small c) which refers to the way of life in the target community. This category includes the structure of different institutions from the national health system to the family, and the interpersonal relations at home, at work, and during free time activities.

(c) The semantic sense of culture which refers to the conceptual system embodied in the language and, according to the Whorf-Sapir Hypothesis, conditions all our perceptions and our thought processes. Many semantic areas (e.g., food, clothes, and institutions) are culturally distinctive because they relate to a particular way of life – that is, to our sociological sense of culture. For instance, you cannot learn to use the names of meals without learning the main meal times. So these cultural features – like culture in one’s sociological sense – may differ from one English-speaking country to another.

(d) Culture in the pragmatic sense is the fourth category. It refers to the

social skills, which make it possible for learners to communicate -25

successfully with other members of the target language community

according to setting, audience, purpose and genre. 67

7 8 -9

(Adapted from Adaskou, Britten & Fahsi, 1990) 9

LITERATURE REVIEW This study draws on some related work done in the field of testing and