SPIKE: Online Reading Competencies Measure for Malay Language

Abstract

The study presented in this paper aims to propose an online tool to measure the readability level of Malay reading materials and to suggest the suitability of the text material based on the reader’s age. The motivation of this study was conceived due to the fact that there is no available tool that can measure the readability level of Malay texts. The development of this tool named Sistem Penilaian Kebolehbacaan Bahasa Melayu (SPIKE) is a part of a continuous work done to evaluate readability competencies among young adults with dyslexia. Several articles from Malay newspaper and education magazines were sampled, then analysed to match the suggested level of reader competencies from the highest to the lowest readability level. Results show that SPIKE can benefit general public particularly people with reading difficulties including dyslexics in measuring their reading competencies and to check whether a reading material is suited for their age. For future works, it is expected that this tool can help to increase the accuracy of measuring Malay texts and may be beneficial for authors or content providers to assess the suitability of their work for targeted readers.