Academic listening : What non-esl lecturers should know / Tengku Intan Suzila Tengku Sharif and Mohd Yusri Mohamad Noor

This paper attempts to assist content-based/non-ESL lecturers (i.e. lecturers who teach Science & Technology subjects, etc. in English) of ESL environment, to make their lectures more exciting and productive for students’ comprehension. Differences of first and second language academic listening processes will be put forward as a discussion to lead to an understanding of academic listening comprehension in an ESL environment for the knowledge of non-ESL lecturers. Functional pedagogical implication is set forth as a tool to guide non-ESL lecturers in their daily task

Academic Listening: What Non-ESL Lecturers Should Know

ABSTRACT This paper attempts to assist content-base

Assessing episodes in verbalization process of EFL students’ collaborative writing

One of the ways to engage EFL students in writing is to assign them to work collaboratively. Collaborative writing requires a verbalization process resulting in episodes related to language, texts, and scaffolds. This study examined the use of episodes in collaborative writing of EFL students set in pairs by the teacher. It identified the most productive type of episodes which include language-related episodes (LREs), text-related episodes (TREs), and scaffolding episodes (SEs). It also scrutinized the categories of episodes within each type of episode. The study involved 20 pairs of Indonesian students from the English Department of a reputable university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The students were given an integrated reading-writing task and asked to work in pairs. The results of the study showed that SEs were the most productive type of episode, followed by LREs in the moderate occurrence, and TREs, which were the least productive type of episode. The results also revealed that among the categories in each type of episode, lexis-focused (LREs), organization-focused (TREs), and repetition (SEs) were more productive than the other categories of episodes. These results imply that the most productive categories of episodes could be catalysts in the teaching of writing, which employs collaborative writing tasks either in pairs or in small groups. This study offers insights into creating activities to encourage writing activities that especially involve types of pairings

POLITENESS IN ONLINE COMMUNICATION: RETAILER-CLIENT INTERACTION

Purpose of the study: The paper aims to unfold politeness in online communication among retailers and clients and debates some ways where cultural values of communication can be taught and thus re-learned. Methodology: The qualitative approach was adopted where discourse analysis method used to review and analyse the updates and comments from Facebook and WhatsApp of conveniently collected data for this study. Main Findings: The study suggest a deterioration of cultural values in communication is at an alarming level among retailers and clients in online communication. Applications of this study: The study will benefit online businesses. Area of studies include business management and communication. Other sub- areas include culture and ethic relations. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study is new to Malaysian business context where multi-racial and multilingual environment play significant roles

Developing digital literacy application for Extensive Listening materials

Learning resource transformation is essential in this digital era, and English teaching and learning is no exception, especially in Madrasah context. That is why providing digital Extensive Listening (EL) materials to promote comprehensible input and character values is needed. This study outlines how Muslim English Literacy (MEL) application was developed to support the digital transformation as an alternative for EL materials. Research and Development (R & D) design was executed comprising seven phases of needs assessment, product design and development, product validation, first round of product revision, field testing, second round of product revision, and final product dissemination. The results of the field testing and moderation suggest that the developed product, MEL, is practical and applicable in helping EFL students to get more language exposure so that their English language acquisition can be facilitated. In addition, the product integrating character values may also strengthen their identity of being Muslims. Further studies on similar material development with more various topics utilizing technology apps are worth conducting.Pengembangan aplikasi literasi digital untuk bahan ajar Extensive ListeningTransformasi bahan ajar sedang menjadi kebutuhan di era digital saat ini, termasuk dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris di Madrasah. Oleh sebab itu, ketersediaan bahan ajar Extensive Listening (EL) yang mengintegrasikan comprehensible input (i+1) atau ilmu pengetahuan dan nilai moral sangat dibutuhkan.  Artikel ini membahas bagaimana aplikasi Muslim English Literacy (MEL) dikembangkan untuk mendukung transformasi digital tersebut sebagai alternatif bahan ajar EL. Penelitian dan Pengembangan (R & D) ini diselesaikan melalui 7 tahap: analisa kebutuhan, desain dan pengembangan bahan ajar, validasi produk, revisi pertama produk, uji coba, revisi kedua produk, dan diseminasi produk akhir.  Hasil uji coba dan hasil akhir ini menunjukkan bahwa produk yang dikembangkan, MEL, bersifat praktikal dan diterapkan oleh para siswa dalam memperoleh lebih banyak pajanan bahasa Inggris sehingga mereka dapat meningkatkan kemampuan berbahasa Inggrisnya. Selain itu, produk ini juga bisa meningkatkan identitas mereka sebagai muslim dengan cara menerapkan nilai-nilai karakter yang diintegrasikan dalam produk ini. Selanjutnya, penelitian dan pengembangan semacam ini perlu dilakukan lagi dengan topik yang lebih beragam

MOOC Developers’ Motivation

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) has become more relevant during this Covid-19 pandemic. MOOC enables students to learn generic courses by sharing platforms between universities with similar curriculum and study plans. These common courses may pose different challenges to students as their universities’ standards varies although they are of shared credits. The challenge includes the developers’ motivation. This paper presents a study on how students’ acceptance and satisfaction of one such generic MOOC course, i.e. Ethnic Relations, reflects the MOOC developers’ motivation during preparation of the lessons. Questionnaires were distributed to 93 students who enrolled in this subject. The objectives are to unfold factors that are demanded in the course development and how the students’ expectations mirror the developers’ motivation. This study suggests that developers have to tackle an increasing dissatisfaction of the contents. The need for developers to be persistent until the end in completing the course development is mandatory. Insufficient and poorly constructed teaching materials in MOOC would only harm the learning process. Interest in the subject matter and supports may assist MOOC developers to produce well-developed student centered courses

Awareness, function, theme, and collaborative governance of public’s perception of Alor Gajah, Malacca art space

The urban landscapes of Malacca town in Malaysia boast a wide variety of public art pieces that serve to beautify and provide distinctive township identity. Despite the prevalence of public art, the impact on the urban landscape and how it shapes the public’s perception have been scarcely disclosed. This study sought to fill these gaps by examining the public's perception of the existing public art in the town of Alor Gajah, Malacca. This survey study involved 271 respondents. Their perceptions were deductively themed into Awareness, Function, Theme, and Collaborative Governance. The findings accounts that the public is aware of the function and theme of public art in Alor Gajah town, but their perception of collaborative governance is lacking. Respondents perceived the public art installations as urban ornaments that could enhance the visual appeal of the town; however, poor design execution and subpar maintenance were found to contribute to low perceived governance. These findings suggest that public attitude towards existing public art is an important factor in supporting the Alor Gajah Municipal Council in managing and developing quality living conditions. While public art is a popular strategy to enhance the visual appeal and cultural significance of urban landscapes in Malacca, it is important to evaluate the public’s perception of such installations and successes to achieve the intended purpose. These may ensure the public appreciation and thus instill a sense of proprietary, guardianship and honor

STEM STUDENTS’ ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES AND UNDERLYING FACTORS PERTAINING TO OPEN DISTANCE LEARNING

Background and Purpose: The COVID19 pandemic challenges on learning necessitate the understanding of students’ Language Learning Strategies (LLS). Studies on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students’ English LLS is scarce. The objectives of the study are to examine the LLS employed by STEM students learning English as a second language (ESL) in a public university (PU) in Malaysia and to investigate the LLS underlying factors pertaining to the open distance learning (ODL).   Methodology: This study was designed as survey research, employing the quantitative approach to gather data. The Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) questionnaire was administered to 250 engineering undergraduates as respondents, who were chosen using a purposive sampling method.  Data were analyzed descriptively using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation was conducted to determine the construct validity. PCA appropriateness was suggested by the inter-item correlation.   Findings: The compensation, metacognitive and cognitive learning strategies were the most frequently used strategies while the memory and affective strategies were the least. The PCA added vital information like the memory strategy corresponds to the metacognitive strategy. The cognitive strategy concept of ‘practice,’ may demand a revisit to some traditional grammar learning methods. There are also demands for social-emotional factors to be considered. ODL has imposed bigger demands too.   Contributions: The findings may assist ESL educators to boost STEM students’ self-monitoring behavior, to plan and coordinate their own learning process. PCA’s ‘Self-Awareness’ concept revealed that policy makers need to conduct more training to ensure executions run smoothly.   Keywords: English, Language Learning Strategies (LLS), Open Distance Learning (ODL), Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).   Cite as: Nurul Jannah, A. G., Tengku Intan Suzila, T. S., & Zainurin, A. R. (2022). STEM students’ English learning strategies and underlying factors in relation to issues in open distance learning. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(2), 81-102. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss2pp81-10

Indigenous language knowledge management : Indexing phonemes acoustically / Tengku Intan Suzila Tengku Sharif, K. S Teo and Mohd Yusri M. N.

One of the branches of community knowledge management system (CKMS) is regional knowledge, which includes indigenous knowledge. Capturing indigenous knowledge requires internalization of the knowledge where learning by doing is essential. The present study discusses indigenous language knowledge management of the endangered Peninsular Malaysia Orang Asli languages while enabling technologies to document language in use and adopting acoustic analysis for phonological presentation in order to create integrated indigenous language knowledge for grammar establishment leading towards preservation and future revitalization purposes. The aim of the study is to appreciate instrumental analysis as a tool that enables enhancement for future phonological study. The study suggests that to better manage language knowledge is to advance and incorporate instrumental analysis over subjective impressionistic analysis

Reading engagement of Indonesian secondary EFL teachers as literacy indicators perceived over reading resources and pleasure reading

Nurturing students to become engaged readers for literacy development may need teachers who can play roles as models of keen readers. This descriptive quantitative study aims to profile the reading engagement of Indonesian EFL teachers as perceived from reading resources and pleasure reading. A survey questionnaire was employed, requesting the respondents to reflect on their personal and school reading collection and their habits in reading for pleasure. Through a convenience sampling technique, voluntary responses were received from 183 secondary EFL teachers, mostly from East Java Province. The data were descriptively tabulated to result in frequencies and percentages. Research tool SPSS ver.24 was used to analyze the raw data for means, correlations, and compared means. Overall, this study found that reading engagement among secondary EFL teachers reflects moderately positive directions. The statistical analyses demonstrate that possessing personal reading resources may result in a slightly significant impact in assuring EFL teachers to read for pleasure yet better than having school reading resources. It has also been proven that both types of reading resources are weakly, yet significantly, correlated with reading for pleasure. This means that the more EFL teachers have access to reading resources, the more they will read and indirectly improve themselves. Future research may uncover the implications of having teachers engaged in reading on the design of more responsive reading instruction for the development of literacy culture at schools.Nurturing students to become engaged readers for literacy development may need teachers who can play roles as models of keen readers. This descriptive quantitative study aims to profile the reading engagement of Indonesian EFL teachers as perceived from reading resources and pleasure reading. A survey questionnaire was employed, requesting the respondents to reflect on their personal and school reading collection and their habits in reading for pleasure. Through a convenience sampling technique, voluntary responses were received from 183 secondary EFL teachers, mostly from East Java Province. The data were descriptively tabulated to result in frequencies and percentages. Research tool SPSS ver.24 was used to further analyze the raw data for means, correlations, and compared means. Overall, this study found that the reading engagement among secondary EFL teachers reflects moderately positive directions.The statistical analyses demonstrate that possessing personal reading resources may result in a slightly significant impact in assuring EFL teachers to read for pleasure yet better than having school reading resources. It has also been proven that both types of reading resources are weakly, yet significantly, [1] [2] correlated with reading for pleasure. This means that the more EFL teachers have access to reading resources, the more they will read and indirectly improve themselves. Future research may uncover the implications of having teachers engaged in reading on the design of more responsive reading instruction for the development of literacy culture at schools.Please clarify.The sentence is meant to state that the correlation between both types of reading resources and reading for pleasure is in fact weak, but statistically significant. It is expressed in a different way like this sentence in our abstract