Vocabulary learning strategies of Malaysian ESL students

One of the most important challenges that learners face in second language learning is learning vocabulary. Vocabulary has been recognized as crucial to language use in which learners’ insufficient knowledge of vocabulary may lead to difficulties in their second language learning. Thus, in learning second language vocabulary, students need to be trained to use appropriate vocabulary learning strategies. This study examined vocabulary learning strategies(VLSs) used by Malaysian ESL students majoring in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) at Universiti Putra Malaysia. It is important to note that this is a population which has been rarely included in any previous studies on vocabulary learning strategies. Based on the aim of this study, it was decided that the best method for this investigation and to better understand the use of VLSs by these students was to adopt qualitative research design. For this purpose, open-ended interviewswereconducted individually with eight students at the Faculty of Educational Studies in UPM. The concluded strategies such as learning words through reading, the use of monolingual dictionary, the use of various English language media, and applying new English word in their daily speaking that are related to memory, determination, metacognitive strategies are popular strategies and learners are keen in using them

The attrition rate of vocabulary among EFL learners across different proficiency levels

This study aimed to investigate the attrition rate of EFL concrete and abstract vocabulary among continuing and non-continuing Iranian female and male English language learners across different proficiency levels. They were students of a University who majored in different fields (between 20 and 25 years old). There was no treatment involved in this study, where the researcher compared two groups using the same variables. Hence, the design of the current study is an ex-post facto design. A 40-item vocabulary test, which varied across two proficiency levels, was used to measure the rate of vocabulary attrition as the instrument of this research. In the two stages, after an interval of three months, the students were requested to take the same tests. The results revealed that there was no significant difference between the EFL attrition rate of the abstract and concrete nouns among the continuing students across different proficiency levels. However, this hypothesis was rejected for the non-continuing learners at intermediate and advanced proficiency levels

Text structure awareness : another look at reading comprehension strategy in L2 Classes.

Researchers have shown that skilled readers use variety of strategies to comprehend written texts (Stanovich, 2000; Sweet & Snow, 2003). Hence many readers are not aware of reading strategies; there is a need of explicit teaching instruction to develop those strategies. In fact, in most English reading classes there is absence of teaching comprehension strategies to readers, the strategy usually employed is, finding the meaning of the unknown vocabularies or translating the texts in to students’ native language, this approach only enables students to comprehend the passage partially. Reading research has indicated that readers’ awareness of different kinds of text structure has been a useful strategy for better comprehension. All texts have certain styles of writing, which not only distinguishes them from other types of texts but they are also of great help in conveying the authors’ messages and recalling the texts. Teachers play an important role in assisting students in developing reading comprehension strategies including expository text structure awareness (Pearson & Duke, 2002)

X-bar parameter triggering: approach to enhance syntax proficiency

This study investigates the effectiveness of presenting syntax parameters in the order of availability based on the X-bar tree hierarchy. It was supposed that presenting and emphasizing the parameters in the order that they emerge in the X-bar tree and “triggering” the X-bar parameters may enhance syntax proficiency. The study was conducted through an English language course attended by 30 participants chosen based on their homogeneous grammar proficiency. The rules were presented to the participants’ directly through examples and grammar exercises and indirectly through class activities. Inferential statistic procedures were used to compare the means of the results for the tests conducted during the course based on the equivalent time series. A significant difference was found in the means and accordingly it was concluded that triggering the X-bar parameters may be used as an effective way to enhance the grammar proficiency in adult second language speakers

Enhancing writing ability through multiple-intelligence strategies

This quasi-experimental research investigates how multiple-intelligence strategies and instructions can be used to improve the writing ability of students. The experimental group was taught the five multiple intelligences related to writing: verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, interpersonal and intrapersonal. Students were also taught the five multiple-intelligence strategies related to writing which were brainstorming, topic-word association, rank ordering, mind-mapping, and metacognition. Both the experimental and the control groups were given two compositions: a narrative and an expository. After two months of training they were given a posttest to find out whether there was any significant difference in the writing ability of students. Writing ability was measured based on the Six-Trait Analytic Writing Rubric. Paired Sample T-Test, ANOVA, and MANOVA were used to analyze the data collected. Significant improvement is seen in the overall writing ability of students and also in the six traits analyzed after two months of training

Investigating EFL students’ EAP needs on productive skills in Malaysian universities

Many international students are currently pursuing their post-secondary studies in Malaysia. At the beginning of each study programme in Malaysian universities, international students typically attend EAP courses for a better performance on campus. However, it is believed that these courses do not satisfactorily meet the EFL international students’ needs, and this is probably because such courses do not take into consideration a comprehensive need analysis. This survey is one of the forerunning efforts to find out what tasks of English writing and speaking skills are actually needed by EFL international students in order to improve their ability of English as these two skills have been reported to be the most essential ones in academic settings. To this end, a Need Analysis questionnaire was employed to examine EFL international students’ needs over productive skills. The questionnaire was sent to respondents via email and 60 post-secondary students responded and returned the questionnaire. The data analysis revealed that the majority of the participants considered speaking as the most important language skill that they needed to improve. Also, they reported that Explaining Ideas, Giving a Presentation, Giving Reasons, and Discussing in Meetings ranked on top of their speaking needs. In addition, the most needed writing tasks in EAP classes included Taking Lecture Notes and Writing Journal Papers/Articles. Moreover, gender was found to be significant in determining speaking tasks needed by EFL international students. Finally, PhD students reported to have different speaking needs compared to students studying Master and Bachelor programmes. Findings of this study are majorly congruent with other studies on international students’ needs in academic settings, which can be of worth for the current EAP/ESP courses offered in Malaysia for EFL international students

Infusion of thinking skills in English language instructional development at tertiary level

The inclusion of thinking skills in a subject is considered necessary to ensure that students develop their thinking and possess greater control of their learning. To determine if the infusion of thinking skills is present in a subject, an evaluation of the subject from the planning to the assessment stage needs to be carried out. This study aims to evaluate the level of emphasis in the infusion of thinking skills in English language instruction in a Diploma Science program in a higher institution in Malaysia. A comprehensive study was carried out on the major stages of the instructional development based on Chen’s Taxonomy of Program Evaluation (2005). Specific data from documents was collected and analyzed, after the data was categorized according to the level of thinking skills listed in the Cognitive-Affective Taxonomy (Ghazali Mustapha, 1998) and the Mental Operation Questions (Moore, 1995). The three stages of the instructional development were then tied up to determine if they complement each other in the infusion of thinking skills. The quality of instruction provided will contribute to the success of the whole program, enabling students to possess equal opportunity to explore knowledge in depth and allowing them to apply it more effectively in the real world

Proses pemahaman daripada perspektif metakognitif dalam kalangan pelajar universiti

Comprehending text would be the major aim in a reading process. For students at tertiary levels, the ability to comprehend is normally associated with their field of study. By applying critical and analytical thinking, students would normally have various perspectives about the application of metacognition in reading. Some students face difficulty in developing comprehension while reading text and they also find it difficult to apply specific reading strategy. This study is conducted to examine the perspective of university students about text comprehension using a qualitative research approach. Eight students enrolled in the bachelor in education programme participate in this study. Data was obtained through interviews, document analysis, and classroom observation. The findings indicate that students have various meta-cognition perspectives in interpreting comprehension ability of a text. The difference in perspective is also influenced by the reading strategies used, the level of text difficulty, type of text and students’ perception of the text read

Second language learner's access to parameters of Universal Grammar: a syntactic perspective

In Universal Grammar, syntax is explained through X-bar theory. X-bar theory is the component of Universal Grammar which specifies the hierarchical structure of the heads of phrases, their specifiers and complements. Investigating the availability of this component in adults learning a second language can provide a better insight into the process of second language learning. This study attempted to find out if the X-bar theory is accessible to Malay speaking adults learning English as a second language and to investigate the possible developmental stages of syntactic knowledge, with regards to Malay adult second language learners writing in English. The data show that the learners can apply the word-order parameter and the null-subject parameter in their spontaneous writing at earlier stages. This implies the availability of the VP-related nodes of the X-bar tree at the first stage of learning grammar. The IP-related agreement parameter and the CP-related auxiliary movement emerge later as the learners become more and more proficient in the second language

Electricity cost saving comparison due to tariff change and ice thermal storage (ITS) usage based on a hybrid centrifugal-ITS system for buildings: A university district cooling perspective

AbstractIn this paper, the case study of a district cooling system of a university located in a South East Asia region (lat: 01°29′; long: 110°20′E) is presented. In general, the university has high peak ambient temperature of around 32–35°C coupled with high humidity of about 85% during afternoon period. The total electricity charge for the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Campus is very high amounting to more than $314,911 per month. In this paper, a few district cooling schemes are investigated to provide “what-if analysis” and in order to minimize the overall electricity charges. Few scenarios designed for the application of centrifugal with and without ice-thermal storage (ITS) systems on the buildings were investigated. It was found that, due to the local tariff status, marginally saving can be achieved in the range of 0.08–3.13% if a new tariff is adopted; and a total of further saving of 1.26–2.43% if ITS is operated. This marginally saving is mainly due to the local tariff conditions and lower local temperature range (ΔT) which are less favorable as compared with those reported in the literature elsewhere