Identifying UiTM Penang Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism students’ needs in English language proficiency (verbal communication skills) / Farina Nozakiah Tazijan, Suzana Ab. Rahim, Aznizah Hussin

There is a need to expose the learners in the hospitality industry to real workplace requirement in terms of communication skills. In view of its importance, human resource managers, researchers and educators in the field of hospitality management or the hotel practitioners have to pay more serious attention to it. Thus, it is pertinent that both employers and potential employees have a consensus on what are to be instilled in the learners as this would prepare them for the actual hotel reception practices which in particular are the verbal communication skills. This study looks at both the employers’ and employees’ perceptions and expectations of the communication skills required by the profession. A needs analysis in the form of a questionnaire, distributed to the hotel managers and the interns involved help to identify the verbal communication skills that the interns seem to require. The results highlight the views of employers in identifying the needs and lacks of the interns under their supervision. In bridging the gap of communication skills expected by the hospitality industry and the competence or ability of the interns, it is of priority that the lacks and needs of these interns be looked into. This study also has identified the students’ perceptions of their language needs, wants and lacks in the verbal communication skills so as to prepare them for their real world workplace requirement This knowledge is hoped to assist the curriculum designers in producing future hotel management professionals that can function effectively at their workplace

Coping Strategies employed by Muslim Academia during Covid-19: A narrative review

The global educational scenario has undergone a major transformation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to substantial conflict and disturbances in the process of imparting and acquiring knowledge. The scarcity of studies on Muslim academia’s coping mechanisms amidst the COVID-19 outbreak highlights the necessity to investigate their distinct encounters.  Drawing on existing literature, this narrative review explores the Islamic-based coping strategies they employed. Educators, mental health practitioners, and other stakeholders may acknowledge the significance of these coping strategies and integrate them into mental health and educational programmes to aid the Muslim academia and alike amidst the pandemic and beyond

Implementing virtual presentations program in ESL classrooms / Isma Noornisa Ismail, Farina Nozakiah Tazijan and Suzana Ab Rahim

Every student's academic and professional success is partially reliant on communicative education as it is an essential competency for students across disciplines in higher education (Rubin & Morreales, 1996 cited in [1].Having impressive grades is simply not adequate as students with excellent academic records are burgeoning everywhere. Hence, they need to have the extra edge to compete and possessing an effective communicative skill is a must in the current situation. Alain de Botton, a writer was once quoted saying that "I passionately believe that it is not just what you say that counts, it is also how you say it- that the success of your argument critically depends on your manner of presenting it," [2] This highlights the impact of boasting a great communication skill and in addition to that, it also prepares students to be effective employees for the global work environment (l) cited in [2]. The fear of speaking in front of a group weighs as one of the principal reasons why many job seekers are rejected and also why thousands of employees in the US decline job promotions. Krannich [3] explains that the acceptance of a new position often requires promoted individuals to deliver a speech or presentation to their newly assigned supervisors and departmental co-workers, the matter which they dreaded the most

eLingua : Issue 1 : March 2014 / Academy of Language Studies

1. “MESRA CERIA” Programme with children of Rumah Kanak-kanak Taman : A total of 35 staff members of The Academy of Language Studies, UiTM Pulau Pinang participated in a community programme called Program Mesra Ceria Bersama Kanak-kanak Rumah Kanak- kanak Taman Bakti on 22 June 2013. This event took place at a welfare home for the neglected and abused children as young as a newborn to as old as 12 years. 92 children were involved in this programme. 2. UiTMPP Inter-Department Indoor Sports Competition : During the recent inter-department indoor sports competition, the Academy of Lan¬guage Studies (ALS) joined forces with PSM, USMB, and ACIS to compete in several indoor sports at UiTM’s main hall. ALS lecturers, Mr Lim Soo Giap, Ms Nurul Bazilah Abd Hamid and Ms Syarifah Norrasyidah Syed Mohri, represented ALS in the badminton doubles while Ms Farhana Shukor represented ALS in the ping-pong competition. 3. ALS Aidilfitri and Deepavali ‘Open House’ : On the 30th August 2013, the department decided to host its ‘Open House’ to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Deepavali Day at UiTM Pulau Pinang Hotel. The main objectives of this event were to strengthen relationships between the faculty members and spending a bit of ‘time- off from work to be with col¬leagues. As we have not had such gatherings for quite some time, most of us were looking forward to it. We had such a good time ‘karaoke-ing’ over lunch! We were spoilt for choice when it came to eating; satay, rendang, ketupat, fried beehoon, soto, pizza, cakes, cookies, ice cream, pastries and many more. 4. Kudos to the ALS Faculty Members! : With the unique theme of ‘takeoff and landing’ concept, The Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management hosted UiTM Penang 2013 Hari Kualiti on December 20th, 2013. ALS UiTM Pulau Pinang had a very good reason to celebrate the day as several of its faculty members were awarded in various categories such as publications, services and innovation. Kudos to Dr. Rushita Ismail, Prof. Madya Hoe Foo Terng, Ms Agelyia Murugan, Mr Budiman Sabri Ahmad, Ms Emily Jothee Mathai, Ms Er Ann Nah, Ms Farina Nozakiah Tazijan, Ms Hanani Ahmad Zubir, Mr Liaw Shun Chone, Mr Lim Teck Heng, Mr Mah Boon Yih, Ms Muriatul Khusmah Musa, Ms Norhafizah Abd Halil, Ms Ong Sheau Fen, Mr Rasaya Marimuthu, Ms Syahirah Ramli, Ms Suzana Ab Rahim, Ms Wan Noorli Razali, Ms Wan Syakira Meor Hissan and Mr Fazrul Azmi Zulkifli. 5. 2nd UPALS ICL 2013 : Academy of Language Studies, UiTM Pulau Pinang had successfully organized its Second International Conference on Languages, the 2nd UPALS ICL 2013 at Traders Hotel, Georgetown, Penang from 29th to 31st May 2013. With the theme “Language in Diverse Environments”, the conference had become a plat¬form for academicians, researchers, practitioners, programme providers and students to share the latest devel¬opment in language teaching and learning in various settings. It had managed to capture the interest of not only the local but also international presenters and participants. Associate Professor Mohd Zaki Abdullah, the former UiTM Pulau Pinang Rector officiated the conference opening ceremony. 6. COLT 2013 : The 2nd International Conference of Language & Teaching (COLT) was held on 7 and 8 November, 2013 at the Park Royal Hotel, Batu Fer- inghi, Penang. It was organized by the Department of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA Kedah and the opening ceremony was officiated none other by our UiTM Pro-Chancellor, Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Utama Arshad Ayub. The keynote speakers were Prof. Dr. Rod Ellis and Prof. Dr. Ania Lian while the first and second plenary sessions were headed again by Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato Seri Utama Arshad Ayub and Associate Professor Dr. Saadiyah Darus respectively. The conference themed ‘Passing the Baton: Revitalising, Preserving and Sustaining Languages of the World’ attracted 63 papers. From APB UiTM Pulau Pinang itself, there were 4 presenters. 7. A Splash of French Culture : Students from Universiti Teknologi MARA Pulau Pinang were recently given the opportunity to take part in a poster drawing competition orga¬nized by the French Club of the university. Opened to all, students eagerly picked up their long abandoned colour pencils and crayons to rekindle their passion for drawing. The contest which started on the 13th of January and ended on the 7th of February saw an interesting number of partic¬ipants. The theme of the competition revolved around the French culture with a slogan in French. A multitude of skills was applied, intense col¬ors splashed and coupled with a vivid imagination, a vibrant and vivid French cultural landscape was aptly portrayed. On the 14th of February, ten judges from the Academy of Language Studies were invited to choose the winners of the contest. The posters were judged based on five criteria: innovation, imagination, image content, wording and commitment of the participants. 8. Pengenalan Cara Penciptaan Tulisan Cina (Liu Shu) : Skrip Bahasa Cina adalah satu sistem penulisan ideografik, di mana struktur grafik secara langsung berkaitan dengan pengertian. Oleh itu, langkah pertama ke arah penguasaan karaktor Cina adalah untuk mempelajari ciri-ciri komposisi mereka. Dalam kajian komposisi karaktor Cina, terdapat teori tradisional yang dikenali sebagai Liu Shu (enam cara penciptaan tulisan Cina). 9. What a wordie!! : all me crazy but I have been playing word games since I was twelve. Memorizing words and their spellings from a dictionary were what my brother and I together with the next-door teenagers did best before any games played. We were really enthusiastic get¬ting fully prepared for our next scrabble competition. There we were, Duan and Razak, Zamri and I at the hallway of our house. We were the word ad¬dicts in the neighborhood

Food blog: A new wave in the culinary arts setting / Farina Nozakiah Tazijan...[et al.]

With the recent advancement of technology, classes are shifting from the traditional teaching to interactive teaching and learning environment. One of the popular ways educators opt for is by blogging. Blog enables students and teachers to post and share their ideas, comments and thoughts. In this research, blogging is introduced to a group of University Technology MARA Penang Culinary degree students in their Food Writing class with the aim to investigate their perceptions towards blogging in the culinary settings and how their perceptions are associated with their engagement in blogging. Students use blog to write their food review and food critique in their food writing class throughout the semester by consistently reporting their reviews and critiques from food sampling that were introduced to them in their culinary visits. Drawing data from gathered interviews and questionnaires, the research reveals the success of academic blogging depends on the participation and motivational aspects from the students, social networks and instructors are the main contributing factors to provide continuous blogging

eLingua : Issue 2 : December 2017 / Academy of Language Studies

1. ‘MAJLIS KEMUNCAK SAMBUTAN INOVASI PERINGKAT UiTM CAWANGAN PULAU PINANG (UiTMCPP) 2017’ 2. International Conference on Hajj, Umrah and Ziarah (ICHUZ 2017) 3. ICoFA 2017 4. Industrial Work Life and Internet of Things Talks by INTEL, Penang 5. International Conference and Competition on Teaching and Learning (I-Telearn) 2017 6. My_CASELT and LIID 2017 7. I-YES 2017 8. Seminar on Industrial Revolution 4.0 9. A report on the Toastmasters Presentation Skills (FYP 2) Program 2017 10. 2nd International Conference on Theory and Practice of Chinese Language Teaching 2017 11. 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games 2017 12. English Language Speaking Day 13. ELD Bertam 2017 14. MOU Signing between UiTM and Universitas Tanjungpura, Indonesia (23rd August 2017; Ballroom, Hotel UiTM Pulau Pinang) 15. A Joyful Language Day Indeed for Giatmara Trainees 16. KURSUS ASAS BAHASA JEPUN & BAHASA JERMAN 17. Mempelajari Simpulan Bahasa Mandarin: Yīmáobùbá 18. Juri Naik Lori 19. Best Ooo Masuk TV! 20. Terapi Air: Terapi Spatial dan Risiko bagi Pelatih Autisti