English Language Teachers' Profile and Their Teaching Styles

English language teachers' teaching style(s) preferences are often the realization of the teachers' beliefs and attitudes towards the English language. These beliefs and attitudes of teachers will directly and indirectly influence the way students learn the language and, their success in learning it. Therefore, it is important to know who are the English language teachers, what are their teaching styles and, what perception do they have of other English language teachers and English language teaching. Relating to the above questions, this research describes the demographic variables of English language teachers and their perception of issues and trends in English language teaching in Malaysia. It also describes the teachers' teaching styles, and examines the relationships between teachers' teaching experience and teaching styles. The study was carried out in 14 secondary government schools in Sungai Petani, Kedah (n=108). Two sets of questionnaires were used: Language Teachers' Profile, developed by the researcher, based on Protherough & Atkinson (1992) and, Style Analysis Survey (Oxford 1993). It was found that the number of new English language teachers in the profession of teaching was dwindling very fast by the years. Schools lack qualified and trained English language teachers. In addition, teachers face students who show negative attitudes towards English language learning, and this was a serious problem for them. Teachers in this study display significant teaching styles i.e. visual, global, extroverted and closure-oriented. The study also found negative relationship between teachers' teaching experience and teaching styles (how teachers approach tasks)

Errors in writing made by Malaysian rural primary school pupils

This study is to identify errors made by rural primary school pupils in writing and to get information about the causes or sources of errors that lead to pupils’ writing problems. The conceptual framework concerns four types of errors committed by rural primary school pupils in writing, namely tense, spelling, and vocabulary. The study is based on Corder’s (1971) Error Analysis (EA) and Richards’ (1974) Causes or Sources of Errors as its theoretical framework. It was conducted at two rural schools with 44 pupils of Primary 5, aged 11, as the research sample. A written task was taken as the study instrument in order to answer two research questions. This study has revealed that tense is the most frequent error committed by the pupils, followed by punctuation, vocabulary, and spelling. Moreover, the pupils’ errors are caused by both interlingual and intralingual transfer. It is concerned with rural primary school settings in Kerian where the majority of the pupils use the Malay language as their medium of instruction. In addition, this study has its implication for English Language Education in Malaysia, in which it affects rural pupils’ performance especially in Primary School Achievement Test also known as Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) in English Writing paper. Some adjustments in the education system and the total involvement from education departments are meant to better reduce the number of low performers, especially in English writing to enhance the level of English proficiency in rural schools

Smartphone apps as a motivating tool in English language learning

Since smartphones are getting cheaper, sophisticated, and multifunctional, there are opportunities for learners to engage in more meaningful English language learning. This study employs a mixed-method research design, with the purpose of identifying the use of English language apps outside the classroom and depicting students’ English language apps use behaviour i.e. motivation from the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). The findings show that students use the apps related to grammar the most and followed by English apps related to speaking, reading and, vocabulary. Findings also reveal students in this study display three types of motivation from the perspective of SDT i.e. autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Based on the findings, a model of Pedagogical Considerations of Using Smartphone for English Language Learning (PCUSELL) is suggested. As a conclusion, the authors suggests that educators in higher educational institution educators should consider the potential of smartphone English apps in their teaching and learning activities, particularly in this new normal of teaching and learning i.e. epoch of the COVID-19 pandemic

Enhancing students’ vocabulary knowledge using the Facebook environment

This study investigates the effectiveness of using Facebook in enhancing vocabulary knowledge among Community College students. Thirty-three (33) Community College students are exposed to the use of Facebook as an environment of learning and enhancing their English vocabulary. They are given a pre-test and a post-test and the findings indicate that students perform significantly better in the post-test compared to the pre-test. It appears that Facebook could be considered as a supplementary learning environment or learning platform or a learning tool; with meaningful and engaging activities that require students to collaborate, network and functions as a community of practice, particularly for introverted students with low proficiency levels and have low self-esteem

Teachers’ Views on The Use of Chatbots to Support English Language Teaching in a Mobile Environment

The development in machine learning has allowed chatbots to be widely applied into educational settings. However, limited study has investigated teacher’s views on its usage for teaching and learning. This paper reports an exploratory study on English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers’ views with regards to the use of chatbots for their teaching and learning delivery in a mobile environment. Using survey research design, views from 142 ESL teachers were gathered using questionnaires, which consist of Likert-scale items and open-ended questions. The teachers were sampled using purposive sampling method. The items and questions were developed based on the principles of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, which focuses on social, cognitive and teaching presence. Data from the Likert-scaled items were analyzed using descriptive statistics while open-ended questions were coded thematically. The findings showed that teachers perceived the use of chatbots in giving feedback to their students as very helpful though some of them needed extra training on how to use them. They also thought chatbots can simulate an interaction cycle for students to practice the tar-get language. In addition, the teachers believed chatbots augmented a greater level of social presence, which eventually creates an environment for their students to be active. All in all, the findings provided valuable insights on the proper integration of chatbots in teaching and learning while gauging essential affordances and constraints of its use from ESL teachers’ perspective

The Effects of an Authentic Collaborative Project on University Directing Students’ Learning Experiences

This phenomenological study reports an authentic collaborative project between students of acting and directing (AD) and students of Teaching English as Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in University Sains Malaysia (USM). The project, which is integrated and infused with features of authentic learning and creative drama education, aims to provide the AD students with new learning experiences that are authentic in nature and that focuses on their abilities to direct a full theatre performance. Using qualitative data collection methods (i.e., online reflections and open-ended items), the study identified and determined six meaningful learning experiences that the 29 AD students gained: (i) constructing, sharing, and utilizing knowledge; (ii) understanding roles as directors; (iii) identifying and solving problems; (iv) creating and building teamwork; (v) developing creativity in directing; and (vi) practising professionalism in directing. The paper also provides some guidelines for other practitioners and researchers to undertake similar projects in future and in other settings

Material adaptation among rural primary school English language teachers

This study is meant to investigate rural primary school teachers’ views on the use of imported textbooks and their adaptation strategies in dealing with foreign content in the prescribed materials. A qualitative approach was employed using semi-structured interviews, involving seven rural primary school English language teachers. The responses were orthographically transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The teachers disclosed that they did not have problems with the grammatical elements in the textbooks, but the cultural context needed to be locally presented to make the materials meaningful to their students. Teachers with fewer years of teaching experience, as opposed to experienced teachers, were found to be more innovative in their classrooms. Prospective research might better consider larger samples and employ a deliberate method of study for a better generalisation

AMICA: An Adaptive Mobile Application for the Learning of Academic English with Pedagogical Agents

The mastery of academic English at tertiary levels is undeniably pivotal in ensuring students’ progress and success. Its importance is due to the number of academic materials that students need to refer to and they are largely published in English. In teaching academic English, however, lecturers tend to face problems in providing sustainable guidance and meaningful feedback to the students. Hence, this project proposes a viable solution by introducing a mobile application that could be used to as a tool for students to independently learn academic English. The Adaptive Mobile Interactive Coach for Academic English (or known as AMICA) is a mobile application equipped with interactive pedagogical agents that would constantly guide students in academic reading and writing. In the reading module, they would be able to learn the proper strategies to read journal papers and academic materials through the adaptive and interactive assistance provided by the virtual agent or coach. As for the writing module, they would be able to obtain feedback from the AMICA app on the more accurate way of expressing ideas academically, especially in terms of using academic words and sentence structure. The AMICA app has been piloted on 35 undergraduate students and the outcomes from the test are encouraging. A majority of the students considered it as effective since they treat it like a virtual friend that guides them without the need to disturb their lecturers constantly. It also motivates them to master academic English as the AMICA app was designed to be engaging and interesting rather than the typical lecture-style delivery of the subject. Further improvements will be made to the AMICA app before it is publicly released

AMICA: An Adaptive Mobile Application for the Learning of Academic English with Pedagogical Agents

The mastery of academic English at tertiary levels is undeniably pivotal in ensuring students’ progress and success. Its importance is due to the number of academic materials that students need to refer to and they are largely published in English. In teaching academic English, however, lecturers tend to face problems in providing sustainable guidance and meaningful feedback to the students. Hence, this project proposes a viable solution by introducing a mobile application that could be used to as a tool for students to independently learn academic English. The Adaptive Mobile Interactive Coach for Academic English (or known as AMICA) is a mobile application equipped with interactive pedagogical agents that would constantly guide students in academic reading and writing. In the reading module, they would be able to learn the proper strategies to read journal papers and academic materials through the adaptive and interactive assistance provided by the virtual agent or coach. As for the writing module, they would be able to obtain feedback from the AMICA app on the more accurate way of expressing ideas academically, especially in terms of using academic words and sentence structure. The AMICA app has been piloted on 35 undergraduate students and the outcomes from the test are encouraging. A majority of the students considered it as effective since they treat it like a virtual friend that guides them without the need to disturb their lecturers constantly. It also motivates them to master academic English as the AMICA app was designed to be engaging and interesting rather than the typical lecture-style delivery of the subject. Further improvements will be made to the AMICA app before it is publicly released