Learner Attribution To Performance In A Pretest Of Writing In English

Many universities cap a minimum of IELTS Band 6 proficiency on potential postgraduate students as benchmark of required proficiency to pursue postgraduate studies. For the many who failed to meet this requirement, a review of their performance with a match of attribution causal factors is one avenue to establish their failure to meet the requirement. This paper addresses that issue with the aim of identifying the causal factors, both internal and external for non-achievement of targeted score through a case study of five Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) scholars intending to pursue postgraduate studies in a university in Malaysia. A sample IELTS Test of Writing was administered and rated according to IELTS test requirements. The subjects then responded to a questionnaire, rated on a 4-point Likert scale, eliciting their attribution towards language learning and achievement. Descriptive statistics were used in data analysis. Findings indicate that all five participants did not meet the IELTS minimum requirement. A match of attribution items with non-achievement showed the internal factor rather than the external, being the cause for non-achievement.

Analysing l2 learners' interactions in group discussions

Determining membership in group discussions has not gained much attention than it deserves. This study sets out to examine L2 learners’ oral interactions in group discussions in answer to two research questions, namely: (1) Are there differences in the performance of the High, Intermediate and Mixed Ability groups when engaged in group discussions; and (2) What are the revealing differences in the oral interactions of the High, Intermediate and Mixed Ability groups? Three groups of four, of varying levels of language ability were chosen by purposeful sampling for the study. The sample were first semester First Year students undergoing diploma courses in a private polytechnic off the east coast of West Malaysia, in which English is taken as a compulsory subject. The instruments used were a common Group Discussion Test and a Group Discussion Scoring Guide. The sample was given five minutes preparatory time and ten minutes to engage in a discussion. The group discussions were recorded and then transcribed. Results show that participants of same language ability performed better than those who were placed in a mixed ability group. Additionally, the Mixed Ability group did not exhibit more turn taking and longer stretches of utterance nor show better ability to ask for opinion or express agreement and disagreement to opinions. Implications for setting strategies for teaching-learning and testing for better learner interactions in group discussions may be drawn from the study

Relationship Between Vocabulary Size And MUET Score Of Malaysian ESL Undergraduates

Vocabulary is an important element of a language. Without the knowledge of vocabulary, people will not be able to understand what others are saying to them. Furthermore, they will also experience difficulty expressing what they intend to say or write. Taking this into account, language learners are required to achieve a certain attainment of vocabulary size of a target language to ensure they are able to meet the demands of the language and achieve maximum comprehension when the language is used in communication. As such, it is very important for language learners to be aware of their vocabulary size of the target language. To this end, the current study was conducted to identify the English vocabulary size of first year undergraduate students in a Malaysian public university. In addition, it aims to examine whether there is a correlation between the scores which the students obtained for their Malaysian University English Test (MUET) and their total English vocabulary size. An intact group of thirty first year students (19 female, 11 male) who use English as their second language participated in the study. The Vocabulary Size Test (VST) by Nation and Beglar (2007) was administered to gauge their English vocabulary size and a questionnaire was used to elicit demographic details. The findings revealed that majority of the participants have below than 4000 English vocabulary size. The mean score of the participants’ English vocabulary size is 3183 word families indicating that the participants on average do not reach the vocabulary size of 6000 to 9000 word families to achieve 98% coverage in written and spoken English texts (Nation, 2006). Their minimum English vocabulary size is 2200 whereas the maximum is 4500 word families. A strong positive correlation of r=0.84 was found with regard to the relationship between the participants’ MUET score and their English vocabulary size. This result suggests that the better the participants’ score in MUET, the more English vocabulary they would have. This result could also mean that the larger the English vocabulary size of the participants, the higher their MUET score is

Proposing a comprehensive training needs approach for the communication skills training of security guards

Good communication skills are necessary for security guards as they are the front liners of an organisation. In ensuring that the training of these security guards fits within the overall human capital development of the organisation, a robust training needs analysis is proposed. The Training Needs Analysis (TNA), which focuses on three lines of analysis, namely, Organisation, Task and Person (OTP), is recommended in this case. To this end, both qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted for data collection. The qualitative data were collected through interviews and document study while the quantitative data were gathered through survey questionnaires distributed to the academic staff, non-academic staff, students of a public university, and visitors. The qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 20 involving descriptive statistics. Results of the analyses were used to propose a framework for the training of the communication skills in English for the security guards. The study is significant since it considers an alternative approach to analysing the communication training needs of the security guards

Empowering peer reviewers to nurture writing skills in peer writers

A persistent issue in peer revision is whether peer reviewers have sufficient knowledge to critique the works of peer writers. Supporters of social constructivism believe that learners learn best in collaboration. In the ESL context, student writers, who build meaning based on their cultural experience, often need the assistance of peer reviewers for the correct expressions in the target language. This study examined the nurturing strategies employed by Malay ESL peer reviewers towards improving peer writers' writing skill. Comments on peer writing were collected from ten high school peer reviewers for equal number of peer writers through reviewer feedback forms, peer conferencing sessions and writers' multiple drafts. Findings of the study show that peer reviewers nurtured strategic writing skills in both areas of content and language. The strategies used included alteration and reordering, clarification and suggestion, and praise and criticism. Implications for teaching-learning may be drawn from this study

Group interactions in an oral test of English communication skill

Does members'language ability affect one's performance in agrouporal test of English communication skills?This paper addresses that issue in reference to two research questions, (1) how do candidates perform when emplaced in groups according to language ability?And (2) what are the differences in the oral interactions of the candidates in the different groups? Three groups of four, first semester diploma students of varying levels of language ability were tested. The instruments were a Group Discussion Test and a common rating scale. The group discussions were recorded, transcribed and analysed. Results show that candidates grouped with those of same language ability performed better than those who were placed in a mixed language ability group. Additionally, candidates in themixed ability group did not exhibit more turn takings nor show better ability to express opinion. Implications for setting strategies for teaching-learning may be drawn from the study

GROUP INTERACTIONS IN AN ORAL TEST OF ENGLISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Does members’language ability affect one’s performance in agrouporal test of English communication skills?This paper addresses that issue in reference to two research questions, (1) how do candidates perform when emplaced in groups according to language ability?And (2) what are the differences in the oral interactions of the candidates in the different groups? Three groups of four, first semester diploma students of varying levels of language ability were tested. The instruments were a Group Discussion Test and a common rating scale. The group discussions were recorded, transcribed and analysed. Results show that candidates grouped with those of same language ability performed better than those who were placed in a mixed language ability group. Additionally, candidates in themixed ability group did not exhibit more turn takings nor show better ability to express opinion. Implications for setting strategies for teaching-learning may be drawn from the study

Exploring peer revision as a strategy in the ESL writing classroom

One of the issues affecting the efficacy of peer revision in the writing classroom is that of the knowledge of peer reviewers. Do peer reviewers have sufficient knowledge of content and language to critique the works of their peer writers? Do they provide feedback on content as much as they do for language? Proponents of social constructivism posit that learners learn best when they are involved in exploring, discovering and transforming their ideas and those of their peers through interaction, negotiation and collaboration. In the writing classroom, student writers and reviewers are given the opportunity to build meaning based on their own experiences. This study examined the types of comments made by Malay ESL peer reviewers and their perceived usefulness towards improving peer writers' composition. Comments on peer writing were collected from ten upper secondary school peer reviewers for equal number of peer writers through reviewer feedback form, peer conferencing session, reviewer field notes and writers' multiple drafts. Findings of the study show that peer reviewers were able to provide revisions in both areas of content and language. Additionally, the strategies used to providing feedback on content included alteration and reordering, clarification and suggestion, as well as praise and criticism. Overall peer revision has a positive impact on writing and this has implications for teaching and learning, more so for teachers who are overburdened with marking

Comparing intentional vocabulary learning strategies of rote-copying vs read-plus

The purpose of this within-group experimental study was to compare the effectiveness of treatment on vocabulary acquisition and retention using two explicit vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) of Rote-Copying (RC) and Read-Plus (RP). Thirty five Form 1 Malaysian secondary school learners with poor English proficiency participated in both treatments for two weeks with each treatment carried out once in each week. A post-test was administered a week after the treatments. Participants read adapted texts and underwent different treatments. The RC required participants to copy L2 words, sentence in context and their translated L1 equivalent twice; while three vocabulary enhancement activities were used in RP. Nation’s 1000 Level Vocabulary Test was used in this study. Results indicate that there was no significant difference between RC and RP in vocabulary learning. Both treatments led to significant vocabulary learning, however, participants showed better vocabulary gain in the post-test after undergoing the RP treatment. Interview findings indicate that participants preferred the more cognitively-challenging RP treatment. In contrast, the RC was deemed boring and ineffective. Nevertheless, RC was useful for low proficient ESL learners. In sum, intentional VLS seemed to be the key to vocabulary learning

Putting knowledge gained into practice in civil engineering lab reports

A large number of studies have established that learning to write in the second language and in particular, learning to write in the second language academic context require the development of advanced foundation. Without such foundation, writers simply do not have the range of lexical and grammar skills required in academic writing (Berkenkotter & Huckin, 1995; Chang & Swales, 1999; Hinkel, 2004; Paltridge, 2001). In the case of writing in the civil engineering lab reports, students are required to show their critical evaluation of a particular concept being discussed by providing relevant discussions and justifications from the experiments conducted with findings of literature and results obtained by others. Therefore, students not only have to be equipped with sound technical knowledge but also the linguistic knowledge to enable them to successfully realise such demands. Since civil engineering students are constantly expected to communicate with people from various fields both in oral and written forms by various means of communication, it is essential that students be explicitly taught on the linguistic features that are expected in the lab report writing. Seven good samples of civil engineering studen gathered and analysed from two fields of the civil engineering (soil and geotechnical lab and structure lab) in an attempt to investigate the prominent linguistic features of the civil engineering lab reports. Additionally, interviews with the experienced content lecturers were conducted to obtain better insights on their views on the nature and the writing process of civil engineering lab reports. Findings of the study will be useful in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the discursive practices of the civil engineering community to allow opportunities for effective teaching strategies for academic and professional purposes. Implications drawn could provide students, teachers and the discourse community with essential and relevant information for more effective and better use of the language in the discipline