摘要：AbstractThis paper is part of an action research carried out on SKBS 2193 Science as Narrative, a compulsory course for all second year students of BA Literature in English Programme in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The course is carried out through a one hour lecture and a two hour tutorial per week for fourteen weeks. Among the intended objectives of the course are to develop in students communication and critical thinking skills through discussions of different themes within science fiction and to train students to be perceptive to the connection between science fiction and real life issues. However, through tutorial discussions, presentations and written assignments, it is evident that students have difficulties in relating the works of fiction to contemporary contexts. Instead of facilitating in-depth discussions with regard to themes and issues during the tutorials, the course coordinator had to spend a large amount of time explaining surface level meaning of the texts to the students. As a preliminary way forward in equipping students with a grounding in the fundamental concepts necessary for the study of science fiction genre, this paper gathers retrospective opinions from former students as well as captures opinions of incoming students with regard to this course. The responses gave an insight into the reasons behind the students’ reluctance and apprehensions towards the course and provided the researchers with the relevant input to prepare the intervention measures during the course.
