RPPLE Method in Teaching and Learning Discourse of Pre-University Student

Discourse is an essential element in conveying ideas or messages so that they can be clearly understood by the reader. Ideas are organized in an orderly, structured, and sequential manner to produce a complete text, and the use of discourse markers plays a vital role in ensuring cohesion and coherence. Among the key discourse markers that need emphasis are reference, connectors, substitution, lexical choice, and ellipsis, as these create harmony between linguistic elements while sustaining the flow of ideas. Building on Halliday and Hasan’s Cohesion Theory (1976), which highlights the importance of grammatical and lexical cohesion, the RPPLE method was developed through four phases: concept understanding, method design, method development, and method evaluation. The main objective of this method is to assist pre-university students in producing impactful academic writing while preparing them with strong discourse skills before entering university. Initial findings revealed that many students still lack the ability to use appropriate discourse markers in both spoken and written contexts, and thus the RPPLE method was introduced to address this gap. Its effectiveness is evidenced by the significant improvement in results, with the proportion of students achieving grade A increasing to 63.3% compared to 0% previously. Therefore, the RPPLE method should be applied by Form 6 Malay language teachers to help students develop quality discourse that demonstrates cohesion and coherence, serving as early preparation for tertiary-level studies.

discourse, cohesion, RPPLE

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