Using the PAH in Teaching Reading to Sustain the Quality of EFL Students' Life

Sustaining the quality of student life in any learning environment should be the priority of all educators. This situation becomes even more challenging when international EFL postgraduate students are expected to function in a learning environment where English is the medium of instruction. This study aimed to enhance their reading skills by implementing a learner-centred instructional framework referred to as the PAH (Pedagogy-Andragogy-Heutagogy) Continuum. This reading programme witnessed a significant increase in students' reading comprehension skills. Students claimed to be more confident and experienced joy and learner satisfaction through a nurturing learning environment that encouraged peeragogy and cybergogy. Keywords: reading skills; postgraduate students; EFL; PAH Continuum   eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i22.414

Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies among Chinese EFL Tertiary Students for Quality Teaching and Learning

Effective reading skills are often viewed as the foundation to learning a foreign language as it is a ‘comprehensible input’ when learning a language. Therefore, this study aimed to examine EFL tertiary students’ metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. The study was conducted in one provincial university in China, involving 424 EFL students. The study utilised an explanatory sequential research design. Data were collected via a reading test, a questionnaire and interviews. The findings revealed that students possessed medium levels of metacognitive awareness with global and problem-solving strategies significantly affecting EFL students’ reading comprehension performance. Keywords: Metacognitive Awareness; Reading Strategies; Quality EFL Teaching and Learning eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2023. The Authors. Published for AMER & cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), College of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v8i24.465

Exploring Foreign Language Anxiety in the Chinese EFL Classroom: A Case Study

This study aimed to examine the factors affecting foreign language anxiety (FLA) in Chinese tertiary EFL classrooms. This study adopted a descriptive case study design involving 490 EFL students from one public university in China. Data were collected via a self-reported questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The findings reported a moderate level of FLA among the students. Internal and external factors affected the student’s FLA, including performance anxiety, perceived lack of proficiency, low motivation, relationship challenges, and learning environment-related challenges. These findings implied universities should enhance the physical and pedagogical learning environment to sustain quality EFL teaching and learning

EFL Students’ Perspectives and Challenges in Critical Reading Skills for Postgraduate Study

Research reveals that EFL postgraduates from China possess limited academic literacy, especially critical reading skills. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate EFL students’ perspectives and challenges in critical reading skills for postgraduate study. This study was conducted in a private university located in Peninsular Malaysia involving an intact group of 50 first-year postgraduate students from China. Data were collected through questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative findings revealed that EFL students held above-average perceptions of their ability in critical reading, but interview sessions revealed otherwise, as a majority claimed they struggled in employing critical reading skills

Sustaining Students’ Quality Learning Environment by Reviewing Factors to Graduate-on-Time: A case study

Research reveals that several factors affect the quality of learning environments. Therefore, this study investigated significant factors that affect postgraduate students’ learning environment with regard to graduate on time (GOT). The study was conducted in a private Malaysian university involving 50 PhD students. Data were collected via tests, a questionnaire, and focus-group interviews. The findings revealed that critical reading skills and supervisory factors were significant factors affecting students’ ability to GOT. This implies that universities should integrate early intervention training programs to hone students’ critical literacy skills and provide effective supervisory practices for a sustainable quality postgraduate learning environment. Keywords: postgraduate students; graduate-on-time; quality learning environment; influencing factors eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2023. The Authors. Published for AMER & cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), College of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v8i24.464

Relationship among Self-determination, Growth Mindset and EFL Students’ Language Proficiency

The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between self-determination and growth mindset with the English language proficiency of EFL tertiary students in the learning environment in China. The study involved 444 EFL students from one randomly selected faculty in a university located in Ningxia, China. The study utilized a quantitative research design. The findings revealed that the EFL students’ overall self-determination was at a moderate level, and there was a significant difference based on English language proficiency. Correspondingly, the EFL students displayed moderately positive perceptions of growth mindset, but no significant differences were seen with regard to English language proficiency. Keywords: EFL students, self-determination, growth mindset, English language proficiency eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under the responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia