A Corpus-based Study on the Mastery of English Language Grammar among Mature Learners of a Tertiary Open distance Learning Institution: The case of ABOVE, a lexical item that belongs to multiple grammatical categories

This paper is based on a corpus of written material produced by students of a tertiary ODL institutio

Grammatical issues in preparing bilingual examination questions at a tertiary ODL institution

This paper examines grammatical problems in bilingual examination papers at an Open Distance Learning tertiary institution. Bilingual examination papers evoke multiple problems particularly when aiming for equal meaning in both languages and no grammatical errors. Errors may persist even with extensive care and diligence. Errors may be problematic for both learners and the academicians grading the papers. English - Malay translation is a popular area of study in Malaysia with numerous papers but, to date, we found no literature examining grammatical problems in translating examination questions from English into Malay, nor Malay into English, particularly in the context of ODL institutions that provide bilingual examination questions. This absence evokes questions on the nature of the grammatical (and syntactical) problems. This paper examines bilingual examination questions selected from multiple disciplines to ascertain the types of errors that appear in them. These findings are compared to errors from other genres. Analysis shows two areas of grammatical errors: in verbal elements (VP) and prepositional phrases. This may be because these constituents require knowledge of the semanticity more than structure and form. Knowledge the specific kind of errors here may help the institution to provide training for people involved focusing on the specific area where it is needed. (Abstract by authors

An Analysis of the Use of HAVE By Adult Learners In An Open Distance Learning Institution

Declining mastery of the English language is a cause of great concern and consternation in Malaysia, particularly in the education domain. OUM seeks to address issue of learners’ English language readiness by making four basic level English based courses compulsory to all undergraduate students. This paper looks specifically at the grammar of the language used by OUM learners in two of the courses mentioned above to ascertain their mastery, or lack of it, of a specific grammatical construction, the Perfective HAVE in present perfect sentences based on a corpus derived from their coursework. This paper analyses learners’ use of the perfective HAVE in the present perfect tense a corpus of learner submitted assignment papers. This syntactical construction is chosen because it is generally regarded by learners as one of the harder tenses to master. The findings will show that while there are indeed issues the learners’ mastery of the said construction, they are not entirely unable to use the construction

Lifelong learning in hindsight

This paper builds on the work enculturation which apprears prominently in the Malaysian Life-long education blueprint. This paper explores how the notion of life-long and life-wide education has been present in the Malay culture, as depicted in its classical texts; mainly the Hikayats, through the use of Proudfoot’s concordance of Malay literature. The concordance was searched for the term, “belajar” which Malay for ‘learn’ or ‘to learn’. The results are analysed to decipher the kind of educational practices depicted in the narrative in direct relation to the term searched, ‘belajar’. This paper will show that the notion of introducing life-long education into the Malay / Malaysian culture is inaccurate because that notion, and that of life-wide education is already present in the Malay culture. This has implications particularly on the way we promote life-long education in Malaysia, particularly to Malays: instead of promiting a new ‘thing’, should instead be promoting it as a continuation of a cultural legacy. (Abstract by author

A Case Study: Issues, Challenges and Coping Strategies of Student-Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study explores the issues, challenges and student-teachers’ coping strategies of teaching in a classroom setting during this challenging time of the Covid-19 pandemic in a new instructional setting of online classes that replace the face-to-face classroom interaction. Purposeful sampling was employed in studying 24 student-teachers’ reflective journals through content analysis. The findings showed that most student-teachers were positive and able to cope with the issues if enough time were given to them. Based on the themes emerging from the text analysis, class management and class organisation were not the main issue. However, other main issues such as Internet accessibility and full cooperation from the students were more challenging and the actual learning engagement for the receiving end appears to be compromised due to some teachers who were inadequately trained for online instruction. (Abstract by authors

Similar words, different meanings: a natural semantic metalanguage exploration of cultural differences

Anna Wierbicka and other writers of Natural Semantic Metalanguage (henceforth NSM) often argue that anthropologists and psychologists, particularly Western ones, are wrong for applying concepts like mind, anger and depression to foreign cultures because these cultures do not have words with similar intention and extensions. Their critics on the other hand argue that the NSM critique is unjustified because while other cultures do not necessarily have similar words, they must have corresponding concepts simply because people in these other cultures, like in Malaysia, experience feelings like these (M, Immler 1991:51). This paper intends to show that the NSM critique is justified because these corresponding concepts can be similar to a certain extent but can also carry great semantic difference when broken down to their more basic elements of meaning. More importantly, this will be done using analysis of the Malay language