An Analysis of Cross-Discipline Research Article Introduction Structures through A Modified Create-A-Research-Space (CARS) Model

The main purpose of this study is to identify a standard structural pattern of introduction sections of two different disciplines, i.e. research articles from English Language Teaching (ELT) and Civil Engineering (CE) corpora. Twelve articles were randomly chosen from four established journals of both disciplines namely; Language Learning (LL), Foreign Language Annals (FLA), Transportation (T) and Structural Survey (SS). Content analysis was manually conducted by incorporating the modified CARS model of Anthony’s (1999) in identifying the introductions’ rhetorical moves in both disciplines. Besides move structures, the headings, length and paragraphing element were highlighted for the comparison purposes. As a result, the rhetorical move of the modified model is totally applicable in CE corpora but it slightly fit the presented structural patterns in ELT research articles. Thus, it is noticeable that relying on this modified model has only given the general guide for authors of both disciplines. The model could be further revised in allowing ‘emerging’ patterns of any discipline writing styles and these findings can also be added to existing literature of interdisciplinary RA introduction genre analyses.Keywords: modified CARS model; introductions; structural pattern; genre analysi

Identifying the teaching concerns of polytechnic english language lecturers as a means to explore their professional development requirements / Suhaily Hj. Abdullah

This study explores polytechnic English Language lecturers' (PELLs) teaching practice in a technical and vocational education and technical (TVET) higher learning institution. It is meant to investigate PELLs' common teaching concerns in order to address their professional development. With regards to this, the combination of selected aspects and procedures from Richards and Lockhart's (1996) Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms, and selected principles and concepts from Larsen-Freeman and Anderson's (2011) Principles in Language Teaching, and Wallace's (1991) Reflective Model has been used to underpin this inquiry. It is a qualitative research. The case study design was employed to investigate the PELLs' teaching practice. Six PELLs from Politeknik Cemerlang who volunteered to be involved in the project were considered as a purposeful sample and were the research participants in this study. Data were collected through informal semistructured interviews, teaching journal writing and non-participatory classroom observations. The data was manually analysed by relying on content analysis methods. The modified versions of open, axial, and selective coding were applied in obtaining the results. The study found that there are five common teaching concerns shared by the participants: concerns about pedagogical aspects, concerns about self, concerns about institutional matters, concerns about learners, and concerns about teachers' roles. These shared concerns were derived from four sources of teachers' belief which included experience as a second language learner, personality factors, established practice and institutional practice. This study also confirmed that reflective teaching procedures provided a valuable means of gaining insightful information on PELLs' teaching concerns, and it helped the researcher to relate to PELLs' professional development. Generally, PELLs are considered as effective language educators because their responses revealed that their professional knowledge consisted of four components of knowledge base required in language teaching namely: 1) knowledge about pedagogical content, 2) knowledge about learners, 3) knowledge about self, and 4) knowledge about institutional matters. However, it is suggested that specific formal inputs to improve their pedagogical content knowledge in English as Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching and to enhance their reflective teaching skills as a self-monitoring means for their own professional development should be acknowledged and prioritized to avoid lowr reticence among them. Hence, some suggestions were made to assist the professional development requirement needed by PELLs as language educators in a TVET higher learning institution. The recommendations for future studies were included to anticipate further investigations related to this particular concern

Language anxiety in ESP classrooms: A Malaysian context / Suhaily Abdullah

The aim of this study is to determine the difference in language anxiety level between certificate and diploma students in learning English at the tertiary level (polytechnics setting) and also to investigate the relationship between students’ language anxiety and their language performance. Participants of the study included 134 second-semester-commercial students of Politeknik Kota Bharu in Kelantan who were learning English in ESP context. A revised version of standardized anxiety scale, namely Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) of Horwitz et al. (1986), and a set of A2004 standardized quiz were used to investigate the relationship between language anxiety and students’ performance. Findings suggested that certificate students were found to have significantly higher anxiety level as compared to diploma students and language anxiety was negatively significantly correlated with the result of second standardized quiz. Based on these findings, some pedagogical implications for reducing students’ language anxiety were proposed for teachers and some recommendations for future research were include

CSETT memudahkan proses penyediaan jadual waktu kuliah / Zaimi Mohamed … [et al.]

Antara langkah-langkah aw al yang sangat penting dalam proses penyediaan jadual waktu kuliah adalah mengenal pasti kursus-kursus yang perlu ditawarkan dan menentukan bilangan kumpulan yang perlu dibuka bagi setiap kursus. Kesilapan yang berlaku pada peringkat awal ini bukan sahaja akan menimbulkan masalah kepada para pelajar malahan akan mengganggu banyakpihak Kes-kes kesilapanpenetapan bilangan kumpulan kuliah yang sering berlaku pada setiap semester menyebabkan sebilangan pelajar tidakdapat mendaftar kursus manakala kes-kes bilangan kumpulan yang dibuka melebihi keperluan pula menyebabkan pensyarah yang terlibat membazir masa di kelas-kelas kosong. Situasi yang berlaku juga memberi tekanan kepada para pensyarah yang terlibat sebagai ahli jawatankuasa jadual waktu kuliah kerana kekerapan pindaan jadual waktu dan tugastugas ad-hoc yang perlu dilakukan memaksa mereka menangguhkan kuliah. Berpandukan Program Transformasi Universiti Teknologi MARA (TRANS4U), Fakulti Pengurusan dan Perniagaan (FPP), UiTMCawangan Terengganu telah mengambil inisiatifuntuk meneliti masalah yang berlaku seterusnya mencadangkan langkah penambahbaikan kepada proses yang berkaitan. Berdasarkan punca-punca masalah yang telah dianalisis serta beberapa cadangan yang dikemukakan, sistem pengurusan data secara elektronik yang dikenali sebagai Course Setting and Tracking System (CSETT) telah dibangunkan. CSETT memudahkan para pelajar membuat perancangan pengajian secara seragam dan sistematik serta menyediakan maklumat terkini berkenaan keperluan kursus untuk kegunaan Pentadbir Akademik dan pihak-pihak yang berkenaan. Dengan maklumatyang tepat serta mudah dicapai proses penyediaanjadualwaktu kuliah dapat dilakukan dengan lebih tepat dan cepat. Keberkesananprojek terbukti apabila tempoh penyediaan Jadual Waktu Kuliah dapat dikurangkan daripada 14 hari kepada tujuh hari

A Tale of English Language Polytechnic Lecturers’ Decision Making

Teacher decision making involves a selection of options that leads to thinking processes, underlying teaching in language classroom contexts. Due to this, as a small part of an on-going postgraduate research, this exploratory case study shares the initial findings on the lecturers’ decision-making effects on their classroom orientation. Four lecturers in a local polytechnic were purposively selected as research participants. The primary data was collected through non-participatory classroom observations. Manual constant comparative analysis across the cases was run to obtain the results. Later, the results were triangulated with the responses from informal semi-structured interviews and reflective journal entries. The qualitative analysis revealed that participants did share a similar teaching pattern, i.e. active teaching.  The participants employed learner-focused-orientation approach as their common teaching practice. They worked on their planning decisions as well as their interactive decisions in order to harmonize their teachings to students’ response, proficiency, and attitude. This finding informs some instructional concerns regarding language teaching and learning process in polytechnics’ context (as a Technical and Vocational Education and Training, or TVET, higher education institution in Malaysia) to other English educators in different types and levels of learning institutions.</em

Net survival differences of breast cancer between stages at diagnosis and age groups in the east coast region of West Malaysia: a retrospective cohort study

Objective Estimation of the net survival of breast cancer helps in assessing breast cancer burden at a population level. Thus, this study aims to estimate the net survival of breast cancer at different cancer staging and age at diagnosis in the east coast region of West Malaysia.Setting Kelantan, Malaysia.Participants All breast cancer cases diagnosed in 2007 and 2011 identified from Kelantan Cancer Registry.Design This retrospective cohort study used a relative survival approach to estimate the net survival of patients with breast cancer. Thus, two data were needed; breast cancer data from Kelantan Cancer Registry and general population mortality data for Kelantan population.Primary and secondary outcome measures Net survival according to stage and age group at diagnosis at 1, 3 and 5 years following diagnosis.Results The highest net survival was observed among stage I and II breast cancer cases, while the lowest net survival was observed among stage IV breast cancer cases. In term of age at diagnosis, breast cancer cases aged 65 and older had the best net survival compared with the other age groups.Conclusion The age at diagnosis had a minimal impact on the net survival compared with the stage at diagnosis. The finding of this study is applicable to other populations with similar breast cancer profile

Enhancing students' higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) through an inductive reasoning strategy using geogebra

The concept of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) is one of the highlighted aspects in producing human capital of high quality. However, the level of HOTS among students in Malaysia is still at a lower stage. Among the causes of this problem is the learning strategy used in classroom, which is less effective in creating and enhancing HOTS optimally. Therefore, the main focus in this study was to investigate the potential role of an inductive reasoning strategy using Geogebra in increasing the students' level of HOTS. Besides, it also aimed to identify the relationship between HOTS and students' inductive reasoning for the topic of Graphs of Functions II. The design of study was quasi-experimental which involved 94 form-four students from a secondary school in Johor. The sample of this study was divided into three groups: (1) Treatment Group 1 (inductive reasoning strategy using Geogebra); Treatment Group 2 (inductive reasoning strategy); and (3) a control group (conventional). The instrument of the study comprised a set of HOTS questions and a worksheet based on an inductive reasoning strategy using Geogebra. Using the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), it was found that the overall HOTS level of the students, which included applying, analysing, evaluating and creating skills, could be enhanced through this strategy. The findings also show that there was a positive relationship between HOTS and inductive reasoning. In conclusion, an inductive reasoning strategy can provide positive impacts on students' HOTS in the topic of Graphs of Functions II

Enhancing Students’ Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) Through an Inductive Reasoning Strategy Using Geogebra

The concept of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) is one of the highlighted aspects in producing human capital of high quality. However, the level of HOTS among students in Malaysia is still at a lower stage. Among the causes of this problem is the learning strategy used in classroom, which is less effective in creating and enhancing HOTS optimally. Therefore, the main focus in this study was to investigate the potential role of an inductive reasoning strategy using Geogebra in increasing the students’ level of HOTS. Besides, it also aimed to identify the relationship between HOTS and students’ inductive reasoning for the topic of Graphs of Functions II. The design of study was quasi-experimental which involved 94 form-four students from a secondary school in Johor. The sample of this study was divided into three groups: (1) Treatment Group 1 (inductive reasoning strategy using Geogebra); Treatment Group 2 (inductive reasoning strategy); and (3) a control group (conventional). The instrument of the study comprised a set of HOTS questions and a worksheet based on an inductive reasoning strategy using Geogebra. Using the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), it was found that the overall HOTS level of the students, which included applying, analysing, evaluating and creating skills, could be enhanced through this strategy. The findings also show that there was a positive relationship between HOTS and inductive reasoning. In conclusion, an inductive reasoning strategy can provide positive impacts on students’ HOTS in the topic of Graphs of Functions I