Multiculturalism In Higher Education: A Case Study Of Middle Eastern Students' Perceptions And Experiences In A Malaysian University

Malaysia faces challenges in creating a new multi-channelled learning environment where international and local students study, connect and work with one another across classrooms, community and country borders in so many exciting ways. The Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education has made a recent move to transform the landscape of tertiary education where one main thrust aims in intensifying internationalisation and ensuring a 10%–30% enrolment of international students. Malaysian higher education will therefore experience rapid racial and ethnic diversification of its student body. This paper will examine multicultural activities that have been a part of graduate school's work for many years. There is, however, little discussion on outcomes related to diversity initiatives, multicultural programmes and global educational opportunities experienced by the students. This paper reports on the findings of a recent study that has aimed to examine diversity and multicultural awareness that influences the growth and development of graduate students. Taking the case study of Middle Eastern students in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), the study unveiled the patterns of interactions between international and local students which consider the quality and quantity of contact, friendship patterns, social support networks and the functional roles of inter-cultural interactions. Furthermore, the findings revealed perceptions of Middle Eastern students on the larger community which involves notions of perceived discrimination, prejudice, tolerance and stereotyping. The findings of this study would help practitioners understand the influence of student affairs programmes and services that can contribute not only to the well-being of students but also to the enhancing of multiculturalism in Malaysian higher education

Penggunaan Rcr Dalam Pengajaranipembelajaran Bahasa Melayu: Hala Tuju Guru Pelatih Bahasa Melayu

Penggunaan komputer semakin penting dalam menjana dan memperkembangkan idea dan kreativiti para pendidik dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Kemahiran guru dalam mengadaptasikan teknologi maklumat dan komunikasi (ICT) sebagai alat bantu mengajar bahasa dianggap penting dalam memperluaskan tahap penguasaan dan penggunaan bahasa. Keberkesanan penggunaan leT dapat dilihat dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran bahasa Inggeris

The Effects Of Parental Reading Socialisation On The Reading Skill Performance Of Rural Primary School Students In Sarawak

Extant research on home literacy practices such as parental reading socialisation have demonstrated positive impacts on children in terms of academic performance. A particular aspect that sparks pedagogic importance is the scaffolding potential of reading at home to the learning of English language in non-native English Language contexts. This study aimed to examine the effects of mother’s involvement in home- reading sessions on students’ English reading skill performance in Bau, Sarawak. Prior to carrying out the intervention of reading at home with their children, 31 mothers of Bidayuh ethnicity voluntarily attended a one-day workshop to orient them to the intervention and the use of logbooks to record details of their shared readings. However, only 18 mothers conducted reading sessions with their children and submitted a total of 21 logbooks detailing the frequency and material selection for reading. Their children, consisting of primary 1 to 4 students were required to sit for a pre-test and a post-test that measure their English language reading proficiency. The test scores were analysed using the paired-sample T-test. There was a significant increase in the students’ post-test scores following the reading intervention. The results revealed that despite the low frequency of mother-child shared reading sessions, the sessions positively affected the students’ reading performance. This finding suggests that parental reading socialisation can facilitate students’ literacy development. However, the use of materials in Bidayuh as a native language as opposed to Malay or English may increase the rural parents’ participation in home-literacy activities, and encourage early literacy in children

The Impact of a Strategies-Based Instruction on Iranian EAP Students\u27 Reading Strategy Use: Developing Strategic EAP Readers

Underperformance of students in EAP reading comprehension has been an issue of concern for teachers, syllabus designers, and curriculum developers in general and for EAP practitioners in particular. In spite of the fact that considerable efforts have been made to improve reading comprehension of students through strategies instruction over past decades, EAP students however have not benefited much from learning strategies. Thus, this study intended to investigate the impact of a Strategies-Based Instruction (SBI) on undergraduate students’ reading strategy use in an EAP context. Taking an instructional model from strategies taxonomy of Oxford (1990; 2001), it was assumed that in contrast to conventional EAP reading methods, SBI would be more effective in encouraging reading strategy use and as a result developing reading comprehension of EAP students through encouraging the use of effective strategies and skills. To do so, 80 freshman undergraduate students were chosen as the participants of this study who were in two intact classes. After administration of a pre-test, treatment (22 sessions, 2 sessions per week), and a post-test, the collected data was analyzed using t-test to examine the effect of the proposed method of instruction. The results of the analysis showed that the teaching intervention had a significant effect on students’ reading strategy use. The findings have implications for teachers encouraging effective reading comprehension instruction through the use of strategies in EAP teaching contexts

Factors Affecting Teachers’ Implementation of Communicative Language Teaching Curriculum in Secondary Schools in Bangladesh

This study focuses on the selected factors affecting teachers’ implementation of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) curriculum in secondary schools in Bangladesh. The study is explorative, interpretivist, and qualitative in nature. A phenomenology approach, under qualitative method, was adopted to explore how teachers experience the phenomenon of CLT based curriculum change. Four schools were chosen, two from Dhaka (Urban), the capital of the country, and two from the villages in Chandpur (Rural). Eight selected participants were chosen from these schools based on a purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observation and document analysis of curriculum, assessment, and teaching materials were the instruments of data collection. The finding of the study suggests that the shift from traditional Grammar Translation Method (GTM) to CLT was needed a positive outlook from all the selected factors in the context of change; however, this did not happen. Numerous factors such as, needs of classroom teachers, complexities regarding the mismatch of teaching syllabus and material with assessment, unequipped classrooms, and quality of teacher development facilities have challenged teachers to implement CLT as it was intended in the curriculum. The study suggests some recommendations to ensure the effective implementation of CLT curriculum. Future research is also recommended based on other factors and stakeholders

Digital storytelling: engaging young people to communicate for digital media literacy

Digital stories are powerful forces in the lives of young people as they shape opinions, assumptions, and biases about the knowledge of everyday lives. This paper presents the findings of an exploratory project that saw secondary school students participating in a digital storytelling project. Underpinning this project was an interest in cultivating digital media literacy among young people. Data analysed included a self-assessment questionnaire, focus group discussions with young people and the production of short 1-3 minute digital stories on various issues related to online cultures. The first part of the article looks at the digital competences of young people. The findings of a self-assessment revealed that the respondents felt generally capable when working with information, and moderately capable of communication and safety but had difficulty with content creation and problem-solving skills.The findings of the second part of the study revealed that young people get much enjoyment and feel smart and knowledgeable as they scroll quickly through an online search on information, images, news, and stories. They are content consumers and content creators who enjoy dramatic engagements and can produce stories as communication texts. However, it was also found that the students confronted difficulties in evaluating the relevance and usefulness of information as well as in expressing their ideas through different modes of visual communication. By way of conclusion, this paper calls for the creation of a state-based advisory committee composed of educators, researchers and media practitioners who will work towards building digital media literacy

Effect of prototypicality and dual route processing modal on instructed second language acquisition of Chinese resultative verb compounds

: The present study investigates the processing of Chinese Resultative Verb Compounds (RVCs) in second language (L2) learners. It focuses on the role of prototypicality of component morphemes and whole-word token frequency in L2 acquisition of Chinese RVCs in a formal instructional setting. Chinese RVC is an important linguistic item in Chinese as second or foreign language (CSL/CFL). Cognitive psychology and other areas of research have found that both components of compound and whole word have effect on compound identification. Based on these findings, Pollatsek and his fellows (2000) proposed dual route processing modal (DRPM) which claimed that both the frequency of components and whole-word frequency have effect on compound identification. However, as regards the frequency effect, more empirical evidences showed that prototypicality is a better indicator than frequency in predicting the acquisition of compound. This study aims to explore the effect of formal instruction, prototypicality of components and whole word frequency on RVC identification. By adopting Zhang. (2023. [Forthcoming] Morphological prototypicality of Chinese verb compound and components. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics)’s hierarchy of prototypical V1s and RCs, forty two students in two intact classes from Malaysia secondary school participate in a prestest-intervention-posttest research. According to finding in the quasi-experiment study, prototype-based DRPM is proposed with the pedagogical implications that might be conducive to the area of CSL/CFL learning

Effects of PWIM in the ESL classroom: vocabulary knowledge development among primary Malaysian learners

The present quasi-experimental study examined the impact of pictures, via a modified version of Emily Calhoun’s (1999) Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM), on the English vocabulary acquisition of Malaysian Year 1 pupils in a rural national primary school. Meara and Buxton’s (1987) Yes-No Recognition Test (YNRT) was adapted and further tested for reliability to measure the recall and retention of subjects’ vocabulary size. A total of 60 subjects participated in the research, comprising two intact classes; one class formed the Experimental group and the other formed the Control group. The former underwent the intervention while the latter received typical classroom instruction. Results gleaned from independent samples t-tests revealed superior vocabulary scores at the posttest and delayed posttest levels by the Experimental group, denoting greater vocabulary knowledge recall and retention that reflects the effectiveness of the intervention in enhancing vocabulary acquisition among young Malaysian learners. This study and its findings are of significance to English language teachers, curriculum designers, policy makers, and scholars engaged in ESL/EFL research. It is also noteworthy that there exists a paucity with regards to in-depth research on the use of images for language learning among young learners, particularly within the Malaysian context