Enhancing Reading Skills in Malay: The Impact of the Easy Reading Module on Preschool Children
Received: 12 September 2025; Revised: 23 October 2025; Accepted: 21 January 2026; Published: 3 February 2026
Abstract
Within the Malaysian context, reading is a critical foundational skill in the learning process, particularly during the early childhood education stages where cognitive development is rapid. This study examines the implementation and overall effectiveness of the specifically designed Easy Reading Module in supporting preschool children who face persistent difficulties in acquiring Malay reading skills, emphasizing qualitative analysis as the primary method. The study was conducted in a preschool located in the Jelebu District, Negeri Sembilan, involving a purposive sample of one preschool teacher and the 25 preschool children who experienced reading difficulties. Data were collected over a comprehensive 12-week intervention period through semi-structured interviews with the teacher and non-participant classroom observations of children’s engagement, confidence, and phonological awareness during their use of the Easy Reading Module. The findings indicate that the Easy Reading Module enhanced children’s engagement, confidence, and phonological awareness, while also supporting more active participation in reading activities within the classroom. The study highlights how structured and developmentally appropriate instructional materials such as the Easy Reading Module can support early literacy acquisition and offers valuable implications for teaching practices, instructional design, and policy development in early childhood literacy education to improve long-term educational outcome. Ultimately, the module’s success in improving literacy skills underscore the necessity of structure instructional materials for advancing earlier teaching practices policy.