Measuring language proficiency in Malay first and second language speakers

Measuring language proficiency is essential in linguistics and psycholinguistics research that investigate bilingual language processing (e.g., Fromont et al., 2020; Sarrett et al., 2022; Singh et al., 2022; Tosun & Filipović, 2022) and cognitive control (e.g., Luque & Morgan-Short, 2021; Ning, 2021). Despite often being construed as a moderating variable in bilingual research, there is a great variability in how language proficiency is operationalised and measured (Hulstijn, 2015; Puig-Mayenco et al., 2023; Surrain & Luk, 2019; Treffers-Daller, 2019; Tremblay, 2011). A systematic review on second language acquisition research (Park et al., 2022) revealed that about 58% of the studies estimated second language proficiency using variables that were closely related to language proficiency (e.g., years of instruction, self-rated proficiency). In contrast, only 42% of them assessed language proficiency with a test (e.g., validated vocabulary tests). Despite being shown as a more consistent measure, and importantly, correlated well with other language performances (e.g., Diependaele et al., 2013; Lemhöfer & Broersma, 2012; Wen & van Heuven, 2017b), implementation of language proficiency test is not always feasible because existing language proficiency tests might not be available in understudied languages or could be impractical (e.g., too time-consuming) for experimental settings. For instance, there is currently no freely available quick Malay proficiency test, although there are 377 million Malay speakers in the world. This thesis aimed to improve the methodological rigour of bilingual language testing through the development of psycholinguistic tools for Malay, an understudied language. As a starting point, this thesis aimed to create a large database of Malay and English bidirectional translation norms to facilitate Malay-English cross-linguistic stimulus selection. Malay-English bidirectional translation equivalents were collected from highly proficient bilinguals. The second aim of this thesis was to develop and validate the Lexical Test for Malay Speakers (LexMAL), a vocabulary test that can distinguish Malay learners of various proficiency levels while assessing their discrete vocabulary knowledge based on a selected list of target words presented in isolation (i.e., out of context). External criterion measures of language proficiency were used to validate the test, including translation tasks, the cloze test, and self-rated proficiency. Subsequently, this thesis sought to justify the utility of the widely used yes/no vocabulary test scores to gauge bilinguals' lexical proficiency. Using LexMAL and four newly created form-meaning vocabulary tests, the relationships between form-meaning vocabulary knowledge and yes/no vocabulary test scores were examined in depth. Chapter 2 of this thesis describes the development of the Malay-English and English-Malay translation norms through forward and backward translation tasks. Information from these translation norms guided the selection of appropriate translation stimuli used in Chapter 3 to assess language proficiency. The Malay and English translation norms presented are among the first collected from highly proficient Malay-English bilinguals. The study also investigated Malay-English translation ambiguity in bidirectional translation tasks and how it was affected by other lexical characteristics (e.g., word class or frequency of occurrence). The study gathered English translations of 1,004 Malay words and Malay translations of 845 English words. The study revealed high prevalence of translation ambiguity between the Malay and English languages. The findings corroborate that translation ambiguity could emerge due to the conceptual and morphological mapping differences between the target and source languages, as well as language specific properties of the language pairs under investigation (Schwieter & Prior, 2020). Together with lexical and semantic information of the source and target words, these norms could be useful references to aid stimuli selection for future experimental studies (e.g., Jouravlev & Jared, 2020) and computer simulations (e.g., Dijkstra et al., 2019). Serving as the first freely available translation norms database for researchers conducting language research with Malay-English bilinguals, this study is published in Behavior Research Methods (i.e., S. T. Lee et al., 2022). Chapter 3 of this thesis presents the construction process of LexMAL, which builds on the Malay-English translation norms. The development of LexMAL began with the stimuli writing and selection, pilot testing of the LexMAL prototype, item assessment and ended with validation of the final LexMAL. To estimate language proficiency for Malay first language (L1) and second language (L2) speakers, an initial 180-items LexMAL prototype was evaluated on 60 Malay L1 and 60 L2 speakers. Sixty words and thirty nonwords with the highest discriminative power that span across the full difficulty range were selected for the final LexMAL. The validity of LexMAL was established by demonstrating reliable discrimination between L1 and L2 speakers, and significant correlations with other Malay language tasks. Importantly, LexMAL outperformed self-rated proficiency in the correlations with cloze task performance, indicating that objective measures like LexMAL are better estimates of language proficiency than subjective self-ratings (Khare et al., 2013; Lemhöfer & Broersma, 2012; Tomoschuk et al., 2019; Wen & van Heuven, 2017a). As far as we are aware, LexMAL is the first validated Malay lexical test that can reliably measure the proficiency of L1 and L2 speakers. LexMAL is useful for researchers in, for example, linguistics, psychology, and education that require a quick (less than 5 minutes), practical and objective proficiency measure. LexMAL can be taken online at https://www.lexmal.org/, or a paper and pencil version of LexMAL can be downloaded from https://osf.io/8y4ft/. The paper is published in Behavior Research Methods (i.e., S. T. Lee et al., 2023). Chapter 4 of this thesis investigates the prediction of bilinguals' form-meaning vocabulary knowledge to their item accuracy on LexMAL. Four vocabulary tests were developed to assess bilinguals’ knowledge of meaning recognition, form recognition, meaning recall, and form recall. The study found that language dominance affected the form-meaning knowledge of bilinguals, with L1 speakers performing better than L2 speakers. Additionally, the accuracy of Meaning Recognition, Form Recognition, and Meaning Recall tests explained 59% of the variance in LexMAL scores. Importantly, LexMAL and recognition tests were found to be more effective than recall tests in distinguishing between L1 and L2 speakers' form-meaning vocabulary knowledge. With meaning recognition, form recognition, and meaning recall serving as predictors of LexMAL score, and form recognition being the positive predictor of item accuracy in LexMAL, this study provides evidence to support the use of yes/no vocabulary tests as quick and reliable lexical proficiency measures to estimate bilinguals’ receptive language proficiency. The paper has been submitted to Bilingualism: Language and Cognition journal and is currently under review. Chapter 5 summarises and discusses the main findings of the thesis. The theoretical contributions of these findings are discussed in relation to the current understanding of test development and validation, bilingual language processing, and vocabulary testing. Additionally, this discussion critically evaluates the limitations of the studies while proposing potential directions for future research. Overall, the three empirical studies in this thesis advance current knowledge in bilingual language testing by assessing the vocabulary knowledge of the L1 and L2 speakers on the same scale. The psycholinguistic tools presented in this thesis enable researchers to make informed decisions when selecting lexical stimuli and lexical test formats, as well as interpret research findings based on accurate measures of participants' language proficiency

Measuring language proficiency in Malay first and second language speakers

Measuring language proficiency is essential in linguistics and psycholinguistics research that investigate bilingual language processing (e.g., Fromont et al., 2020; Sarrett et al., 2022; Singh et al., 2022; Tosun & Filipović, 2022) and cognitive control (e.g., Luque & Morgan-Short, 2021; Ning, 2021). Despite often being construed as a moderating variable in bilingual research, there is a great variability in how language proficiency is operationalised and measured (Hulstijn, 2015; Puig-Mayenco et al., 2023; Surrain & Luk, 2019; Treffers-Daller, 2019; Tremblay, 2011). A systematic review on second language acquisition research (Park et al., 2022) revealed that about 58% of the studies estimated second language proficiency using variables that were closely related to language proficiency (e.g., years of instruction, self-rated proficiency). In contrast, only 42% of them assessed language proficiency with a test (e.g., validated vocabulary tests). Despite being shown as a more consistent measure, and importantly, correlated well with other language performances (e.g., Diependaele et al., 2013; Lemhöfer & Broersma, 2012; Wen & van Heuven, 2017b), implementation of language proficiency test is not always feasible because existing language proficiency tests might not be available in understudied languages or could be impractical (e.g., too time-consuming) for experimental settings. For instance, there is currently no freely available quick Malay proficiency test, although there are 377 million Malay speakers in the world. This thesis aimed to improve the methodological rigour of bilingual language testing through the development of psycholinguistic tools for Malay, an understudied language. As a starting point, this thesis aimed to create a large database of Malay and English bidirectional translation norms to facilitate Malay-English cross-linguistic stimulus selection. Malay-English bidirectional translation equivalents were collected from highly proficient bilinguals. The second aim of this thesis was to develop and validate the Lexical Test for Malay Speakers (LexMAL), a vocabulary test that can distinguish Malay learners of various proficiency levels while assessing their discrete vocabulary knowledge based on a selected list of target words presented in isolation (i.e., out of context). External criterion measures of language proficiency were used to validate the test, including translation tasks, the cloze test, and self-rated proficiency. Subsequently, this thesis sought to justify the utility of the widely used yes/no vocabulary test scores to gauge bilinguals' lexical proficiency. Using LexMAL and four newly created form-meaning vocabulary tests, the relationships between form-meaning vocabulary knowledge and yes/no vocabulary test scores were examined in depth. Chapter 2 of this thesis describes the development of the Malay-English and English-Malay translation norms through forward and backward translation tasks. Information from these translation norms guided the selection of appropriate translation stimuli used in Chapter 3 to assess language proficiency. The Malay and English translation norms presented are among the first collected from highly proficient Malay-English bilinguals. The study also investigated Malay-English translation ambiguity in bidirectional translation tasks and how it was affected by other lexical characteristics (e.g., word class or frequency of occurrence). The study gathered English translations of 1,004 Malay words and Malay translations of 845 English words. The study revealed high prevalence of translation ambiguity between the Malay and English languages. The findings corroborate that translation ambiguity could emerge due to the conceptual and morphological mapping differences between the target and source languages, as well as language specific properties of the language pairs under investigation (Schwieter & Prior, 2020). Together with lexical and semantic information of the source and target words, these norms could be useful references to aid stimuli selection for future experimental studies (e.g., Jouravlev & Jared, 2020) and computer simulations (e.g., Dijkstra et al., 2019). Serving as the first freely available translation norms database for researchers conducting language research with Malay-English bilinguals, this study is published in Behavior Research Methods (i.e., S. T. Lee et al., 2022). Chapter 3 of this thesis presents the construction process of LexMAL, which builds on the Malay-English translation norms. The development of LexMAL began with the stimuli writing and selection, pilot testing of the LexMAL prototype, item assessment and ended with validation of the final LexMAL. To estimate language proficiency for Malay first language (L1) and second language (L2) speakers, an initial 180-items LexMAL prototype was evaluated on 60 Malay L1 and 60 L2 speakers. Sixty words and thirty nonwords with the highest discriminative power that span across the full difficulty range were selected for the final LexMAL. The validity of LexMAL was established by demonstrating reliable discrimination between L1 and L2 speakers, and significant correlations with other Malay language tasks. Importantly, LexMAL outperformed self-rated proficiency in the correlations with cloze task performance, indicating that objective measures like LexMAL are better estimates of language proficiency than subjective self-ratings (Khare et al., 2013; Lemhöfer & Broersma, 2012; Tomoschuk et al., 2019; Wen & van Heuven, 2017a). As far as we are aware, LexMAL is the first validated Malay lexical test that can reliably measure the proficiency of L1 and L2 speakers. LexMAL is useful for researchers in, for example, linguistics, psychology, and education that require a quick (less than 5 minutes), practical and objective proficiency measure. LexMAL can be taken online at https://www.lexmal.org/, or a paper and pencil version of LexMAL can be downloaded from https://osf.io/8y4ft/. The paper is published in Behavior Research Methods (i.e., S. T. Lee et al., 2023). Chapter 4 of this thesis investigates the prediction of bilinguals' form-meaning vocabulary knowledge to their item accuracy on LexMAL. Four vocabulary tests were developed to assess bilinguals’ knowledge of meaning recognition, form recognition, meaning recall, and form recall. The study found that language dominance affected the form-meaning knowledge of bilinguals, with L1 speakers performing better than L2 speakers. Additionally, the accuracy of Meaning Recognition, Form Recognition, and Meaning Recall tests explained 59% of the variance in LexMAL scores. Importantly, LexMAL and recognition tests were found to be more effective than recall tests in distinguishing between L1 and L2 speakers' form-meaning vocabulary knowledge. With meaning recognition, form recognition, and meaning recall serving as predictors of LexMAL score, and form recognition being the positive predictor of item accuracy in LexMAL, this study provides evidence to support the use of yes/no vocabulary tests as quick and reliable lexical proficiency measures to estimate bilinguals’ receptive language proficiency. The paper has been submitted to Bilingualism: Language and Cognition journal and is currently under review. Chapter 5 summarises and discusses the main findings of the thesis. The theoretical contributions of these findings are discussed in relation to the current understanding of test development and validation, bilingual language processing, and vocabulary testing. Additionally, this discussion critically evaluates the limitations of the studies while proposing potential directions for future research. Overall, the three empirical studies in this thesis advance current knowledge in bilingual language testing by assessing the vocabulary knowledge of the L1 and L2 speakers on the same scale. The psycholinguistic tools presented in this thesis enable researchers to make informed decisions when selecting lexical stimuli and lexical test formats, as well as interpret research findings based on accurate measures of participants' language proficiency

Destination Image as A Healing Destination Among Medical Tourists: An Exploratory Case Study of Penang, Malaysia

Medical tourism has become adjectival tourism in both developed and developing nations. In recent years, it has gained impetus in Malaysia, which is an ideal hub for medical tourism in Asia due to various competitive factors. Although several key elements have contributed to the growth of medical tourism in the country, few studies have explored the role of destination image in the context of medical tourism. Therefore, this research aims to provide insight into the attributes of destination image in the context of medical tourism in Penang, Malaysia. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 26 patients randomly chosen at selected private hospitals in Penang, and the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council’s (MHTC) concierge and lounge at Penang International Airport. The findings revealed that the dominant attributes of the ldestination image perceived by medical tourists in Penang are: (a) Hospital Internal Amenities; (b) Influenced and Informed Decisions; and (c) Aesthetics. The paper further discusses Penang's apparent image as a healing destination among  medical  tourists  who  travel   to  Malaysia.   This  study  thus  carries implications for healthcare practitioners to enhance and position their healthcare services based on destination image as their source of competitive advantage.

LexMAL: A quick and reliable lexical test for Malay speakers

Objective language proficiency measures have been found to provide better and more consistent estimates of bilinguals’ language processing than self-rated proficiency (e.g., Tomoschuk et al., 2019; Wen & van Heuven, 2017a). However, objectively measuring language proficiency is often not possible because of a lack of quick and freely available language proficiency tests (Park et al., 2022). Therefore, quick valid vocabulary tests, such as LexTALE (Lemhöfer & Broersma, 2012) and its extensions (e.g., LexITA: Amenta et al., 2020; LEXTALE-FR: Brysbaert, 2013; LexPT: Zhou & Li, 2022) have been developed to reliably assess language proficiency of speakers of various languages. The present study introduces a Lexical Test for Malay Speakers (LexMAL), which estimates language proficiency for Malay first language (L1) and second language (L2) speakers. An initial 180-item LexMAL prototype was evaluated using 60 Malay L1 and 60 L2 speakers in Experiment 1. Sixty words and 30 nonwords with the highest discriminative power that span across the full difficulty range were selected for the final LexMAL based on point-biserial correlations and an item response theory analysis. The validity of LexMAL was demonstrated through a reliable discrimination between L1 and L2 speakers, significant correlations between LexMAL scores and performance on other Malay language tasks (i.e., translation accuracy and cloze test scores), and LexMAL outperforming self-rated proficiency. A validation study (Experiment 2) with the 90-item final LexMAL tested with a different group of Malay L1 (N = 61) and L2 speakers (N = 61) replicated the findings of Experiment 1. LexMAL is freely available for researchers at www.lexmal.org

Electromagnetic Wave Theory and Applications

Contains table of contents for Section 3, reports on four research projects and a list of publications.National Aeronautics and Space Administration Grant NAGW-1617National Aeronautics and Space Administration Agreement 958461National Aeronautics and Space Administration Grant NAGW-1272U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Contract DACA39-87-K-0022U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-89-J-1107U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-92-J-1616Digital Equipment CorporationJoint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-92-C-0001U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-90-J-1002U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-89-J-1019U.S. Department of Transportation Agreement DTRS-57-88-C-00078TTD13U.S. Department of Transportation Agreement DTRS-57-88-C-00078TTD30U.S. Department of Transportation Agreement DTRS-57-92-C-00054TTD1DARPA/Consortium for Superconducting Electronics Contract MDA972-90-C-0021National Science Foundation Fellowship MIP 88-5876

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Assessing children’s native language in Mandarin using the adapted New Reynell Developmental Language Scales-Mandarin (NRDLS-M)

Early child language acquisition in Mandarin by Malaysian Chinese children is underexplored. Following the establishment of the first Speech Sciences academic programme at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in 1994, there is a need to develop language tests to assess children who might be at risk for language disorders and to provide remediation accordingly by professionals such as speech therapists. The present study aims to adapt a contemporary British English test: The New Reynell Developmental Language Scales (NRDLS) to Mandarin. Since NRDLS is widely-used to assess language comprehension and language production, the aim of the present research therefore is to propose adaptation of NRDLS to Mandarin. The present research also aims to provide preliminary norms (age of acquisition for target structures and errors) for the local children. Underlying factors which might influence child language development i.e. age, gender and socio-economic status (maternal education) are also examined. Using a cross-sectional study of 40 children aged 2;00-6;11, the present study aims to describe child language acquisition based on performance of the adapted NRDLS. The present results show that language skills advanced with age. Gender and maternal education do not affect child language development. Overall, children demonstrated a more superior language comprehension than language production. The adapted New Reynell Developmental Language Scales-Mandarin (NDRLS-M) is developmentally sensitive though further revisions are required. The present findings implicate an influence of universality and ambient language effects on acquisition of Mandarin. The present findings also implicate a need to develop a bilingual Mandarin- English version of NRDLS-M

Survey of recent developments in maritime disputes in Southeast Asia and dispute resolution mechanisms.

Maritime disputes continue to plague the region of Southeast Asian states, and push the thresholds of the bilateral relationships within the overarching framework of ASEAN. Resolution mechanisms have been and will continue to be put in place to attempt to resolve these disputes in the foreseeable future. This thesis looks at recent development of maritime disputes in Southeast Asia and how these disputes have been resolved by providing a quick overview of the issues surrounding the maritime disputes in the Southeast Asia. It will then move on to look at the mechanisms that have been employed to resolve these conflicts thus far, and most importantly, to also highlight their limitations. Significantly, it attempts to provide some possible resolution concepts in the light of current challenges.Master of Science (International Relations

Destination Image as A Healing Destination Among Medical Tourists: An Exploratory Case Study of Penang, Malaysia

Medical tourism has become adjectival tourism in both developed and developing nations. In recent years, it has gained impetus in Malaysia, which is an ideal hub for medical tourism in Asia due to various competitive factors. Although several key elements have contributed to the growth of medical tourism in the country, few studies have explored the role of destination image in the context of medical tourism. Therefore, this research aims to provide insight into the attributes of destination image in the context of medical tourism in Penang, Malaysia. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 26 patients randomly chosen at selected private hospitals in Penang, and the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council’s (MHTC) concierge and lounge at Penang International Airport. The findings revealed that the dominant attributes of the ldestination image perceived by medical tourists in Penang are: (a) Hospital Internal Amenities; (b) Influenced and Informed Decisions; and (c) Aesthetics. The paper further discusses Penang's apparent image as a healing destination among medical tourists who travel to Malaysia. This study thus carries implications for healthcare practitioners to enhance and position their healthcare services based on destination image as their source of competitive advantage