Good language learners and their strategies: An insight

The Malaysian Education Blueprint is aimed to ensure every child is proficient in English Language besides Bahasa Malaysia.Thus the English Language syllabus is geared to mould learners to become successful language learners.However, not all learners are capable of being successful language learners despite years of schooling. Therefore, this study aims to investigate language learning strategies used by good language learners in learning English as their second language.To achieve the aim of the study, a questionnaire was used to collect the quantitative data.30 pupils with good language ability from a rural primary school in Sabah were selected to participate in this study.The findings of the study indicated that different language learners prefer different learning strategies to improve their second language learning.The learning strategies also vary based on the language skills they are learning.The findings of the study are hoped to provide significant impact to the pupils, teachers and curriculum planners to integrate language learning strategies in teaching and learning to assist successful language learning

Mirror..mirror on the Wall Are We Real in Reality? Virtual Reality Learning Application in Malaysian Education

Virtual reality has a lot of promise, and its use in education and industry has recently piqued the interest of many in academia. In Malaysian educational environments, there are presently just a few thorough studies on how academics and educationists use immersive virtual reality. Until far, Virtual Reality-based education in Malaysia has received little attention in the literature. This is a systematic literature review paper that follows closely the methodology of PRISMA that consists of rigid and vigorous literature search. Findings showed in virtual reality's use, including not taking into account the best practices for teaching and lack of evaluations Keywords:: Virtual Reality; Learning Environment; Systematic Literature Review eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia

NURTURING 21ST CENTURY SKILLS THROUGH SERVICE LEARNING: FROM ISOLATION TO CONNECTION

As our nation is gearing up towards 21 century learning, herculean measures have been taken to ensure that our students are geared with 21st century skills. One of the key milestone in tailoring our students with 21st century skills is Service Learning (SL). Although SL is incorporated in the education world, the advent of Service Learning concept itself is still relatively new in our region. This quasi-experimental study explored on the effects of service learning on student’s attitude towards learning. The pre and post-survey data shows that service learning has significant positive impact on student’s learning attitude (Mean=10.2, SD=1.74). Concomitantly, service learning has a bright prospect in our country towards honing 21st century skills among our students

Readability of textbook vs Linus screening text: Implication on year 4 post Linus pupils

Reading is one of the most important skills that need to be acquired. Due to this the Malaysian government implemented the LINUS programme in school to help pupils master the basic skill involved English. The problems for most LINUS pupils come after they pass their LINUS screening. They were not able to read most materials in the text and read with difficulty. It is hoped that by finding the readability level of the texts in the textbook and the LINUS screening it will shed a light on how teacher could handle the problems. For this study 6 texts; 3 from each the Textbook and LINUS screening respectively was chosen randomly. The texts were calculated using the SMOG, FOG, Flesch-Kincaid and Spache formula to obtain their readability level. Spearman correlation test was conducted to see the consistency between the readability formulas in predicting the difficulty level. It is found that the texts in the textbook is more difficult compared to the LINUS texts

Asian university students’ perspectives on online English courses during COVID-19: A systematic review

Globally, English courses intended for university students are conducted online due to the COVID-19, including in Asian countries. Hence, this systematic review paper attempts to review relevant studies regarding the Asian university students’ perspectives towards online English courses during COVID-19. This paper employs PRISMA, whereby several stages to filter and gather relevant information have been carried out. Twelve articles have been identified and analysed based on the research designs, methodologies, and themes. The main themes are positive and negative perspectives on online English courses learning during COVID-19, and suggestions to improve online English courses learning during COVID-19. It is found that university students in Asia are generally ready to learn online English courses due to flexibility and easy access. Poor internet connection and infrastructure are among negative perspectives towards the online English courses during COVID-19. It is recommended that improving technological infrastructure, conducting training programmes, and restructuring task assessments should be done to improve the quality of online English courses during COVID-19

Audio clips in developing listening comprehension skills in Malaysian Primary ESL classrooms

Listening skill has been an under-emphasised skill in many English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms until recent decades. To keep up with the global advancement of technology, many studies on listening skills have integrated use of technology. In Malaysia, listening skills are also often neglected due to the highly examination-oriented education system. Since communication and technology competence are important 21st century skills, learners should be exposed to listening skills using no less than multimedia, especially when technology is inaccessible in rural parts of the country. This paper aims to examine the perceptions of teachers and pupils in using audio clips to develop listening comprehension skills in a rural primary school in Sarawak, East Malaysia, where digital facilities and internet connection are lacking in many parts of the state. Focus group interviews were conducted with two teachers and three ESL pupils after six weekly listening activities using audio clips based on the textbooks.Findings indicated that the teachers found audio clips to be useful and convenient, while pupils exhibited more interest and concentration during lessons.All respondents believed that audio clips could encourage the development of listening comprehension skills. Finally, it is recommended that audio clips could be expanded into a listening module that slowly moves towards authentic listening to equip learners with real-world skills and experiences

The Use of 'VocScape' in Vocabulary Acquisition Among Year 2 Pupils in Sarawak

Learning English through games is one of the most preferred strategies in the 21st Century classroom. However, limited digital portability, connectivity, and flexibility throughout Sarawak posed a milestone for teachers to utilize educational games in their classrooms. This research focuses on how the educational game VocScape can be used to facilitate vocabulary acquisition and retention among pupils in Sarawak primary ESL classroom. The action research is therefore conducted in 4 different schools with 100 participants of Year 2 pupils. To seek the capacity VocScape holds in vocabulary acquisition and retention among Year 2 pupils, pre and post-tests are used in this study. Observation checklist and questionnaire are used to determine participants’ perceptions of the educational game. Most students show significant interest and motivation in using the application while others become demotivated due to unfamiliarity and time-constraints of the challenges in the game. Hence, the findings suggest that VocScape is effective to be used in Sarawak primary ESL classroom. It can function as both learning and assessment tools. Therefore, the new application paves an exciting possibility for Sarawak educational settings

Teacher’s perception on student’s self-regulated learning in a technology-based learning setting

It was inevitable that during the COVID-19 pandemic, various teaching and learning experiences were taken into virtual platforms. With the direct and total integration of technology in education during the pandemic, students had to rely mostly on their own self-regulated learning in order to progress in their learning. This systematic review explored teachers’ perception on students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) in a technology-based learning (TBL) setting. By using the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analyses (PRISMA) 2020 as the review methodology, 39 articles were selected from the databases of ERIC and Google Scholars to complete this study. Findings revealed that teachers perceive the following factors to play a significant part for SLR and TBL to complement each other: i) Digital educational resources and accessibility for both teachers and students; ii) Teacher and student’s readiness and competencies regarding technology-based learning; and iii) Parents’ involvement in students’ self-regulated learning for security and motivational purposes. It is believed that by implementing student-centered approach with the facilitation of various education stakeholders, students’ learning can occur more effectively, purposeful and meaningful. Future research suggests an investigation on students’ self-regulated learning from the perspective of parents and other related social issues

TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVE ON THE READING BEHAVIOUR OF PRIMARY ESL LEARNERS IN SJKC CHUNG HUA SEMERA SARAWAK

This study attempts to investigate the reading behaviour of primary ESL (English as a Second Language) learners in SJKC Chung Hua Semera Sarawak through the perspective of their teachers in the ESL classroom. To acquire this, interviews were carried out with the teachers to collect qualitative data. A total of 3 ESL teachers were selected from the school to participate in this study. The analysis of the data reveals that majority of the ESL learners spent most of their time reading by skimming and scanning, identifying keywords, applying one-time reading, non-linear reading, and reading selectively. On the contrary, the ESL learners spent less time reading expansively and comprehensively. Since the English language is the learners’ second or third language, they lack confidence and motivation as they face various hindrances in fully understanding and interpreting information in this language. The findings of this study intend to provide a springboard for further researches on the approaches to enhance ESL reading skills. Instructional implications are also discussed

Exploring teachers’ technology acceptance during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review (2020-2022)

The emergence of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused teachers shifting from conventional mode to emergency remote teaching with technology use. Nevertheless, review of technology acceptance level of teachers towards technology is limited, despite its significance in sustaining education during the pandemic. This study aimed to explore teachers’ technology acceptance level and factors affecting their intentions of accepting technology in the COVID-19 pandemic. With the adherence of preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analyses (PRISMA) 2020 statement and list of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 22 articles which were published from 2020 to present and related to the research focus had been identified from Scopus and Web of Science databases. The findings depicted that most teachers hold high acceptance level towards using technology to deliver lessons during the COVID-19. There were five key factors affecting teachers’ intentions in accepting technology, namely: i) Perceived usefulness; ii) Perceived ease-of-use; iii) Attitude; iv) Social influence; and v) Facilitating conditions. This study has provided insight to stakeholders on teachers’ technology acceptance during the pandemic. Future studies are recommended to conduct systematic reviews on technology acceptance from students’ perspective by identifying published papers from more databases such as ERIC and Google Scholar