English language education in rural schools in Malaysia: a systematic review of research

English language education in developing countries like Malaysia has often been cited as a valuable asset and instrumental in improving the lives of its citizens. While providing quality education in rural Malaysia has always been a challenge, little is known of the status of English language education in rural schools. The recent information provided by the United Nations Human Development Index website shows Malaysia’s rural population is about 23% of the total population of 32 million. Thus, this paper examines published peer-reviewed research articles concerning English education in rural schools to determine the current status, and future needs of rural English education. This review not only highlights the dearth of research in this area but also examines how the current reform initiated for English language education in Malaysia affects rural schools. The findings also reveal that persistent issues such as lack of interest and need to use English among rural students, poor infrastructure and limited resources in schools, and lack of parental support in assisting school work at home remain as major challenges for improvement in English education. The findings also show that published school-based research was generally random studies carried out by independent researchers. Thus, none of the studies in this review reported any planned and coordinated intervention programmes by the Ministry of Education to improve rural English education. While more research is needed, supporting and encouraging critical analysis of current educational practices and policies is vital for ensuring better development and improvement for English education in rural schools.