How do students learn the four English language learning skills in the academic and social settings?

The need to be proficient and productive in academic and social interaction is an important issue to produce a proficient English language graduates in the Malaysian setting. This paper describes the processes involved in learning the four language skills and their effects on general academic skills. This qualitative study is an attempt to gather and investigate in depth information on Malaysian university students‟ use of the English language in their daily interactions. Essentially, it is a qualitative phenomenological study that utilizes the interview as a tool to gather information from undergraduates of a Malaysian public university based in the Klang Valley. A total of nine (9) final year undergraduate students in art and science-based programmes from a public university were interviewed. Analysis done led to five main themes that represented the pattern of their English language usage. The themes found were indicative that the uses of English language in interactions were (1) limited to needs and situation, (2) based on location and purpose, (3) affected by low self efficacy and language skills (4) strong affective barriers and (5) unsupportive social environment. It could be said that the findings can act as an eye opener for definitive actions to be taken to improve EL interaction amongst Malaysian undergraduates towards the fulfilment of the Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB-HE) 2015-2025 (Higher Education) aspirations

Assessing the metacognitive awareness of online reading strategies among pre-university students

To achieve successful comprehension, a student has to be fully responsible of their own reading. However, being able to read proficiently carries a greater meaning now as more online materials are involved. Many students have been discovered to have difficulties mastering these non-linear readings as it requires more sophisticated strategies compared to conventional linear readings. It is believed that being aware of one’s strategies could improve the quality of their comprehension and due to that, it is the objective of this study to find out the metacognitive online reading strategy awareness of the participants involved by using Survey of Online Reading Strategies (OSORS) established by Anderson (2003). 495 pre-university students in a Malaysian public university were chosen to be the participants of this study. At the time of the study, they were taking English Language course and English is their second language. From the study, it was discovered that all the participants were aware of most of the online reading strategies but with a very different level of awareness. The strategies under the Problem Solving (PROB) strategy was the highest and this category involves the use of specific techniques when readers encounter problems while reading online. The students involved portrayed their least involvement with the strategies under Support Strategy (SUP) where tools such as live chatting, note taking, and using pictures and graphs are used in assisting their online reading. Due to the inconsistency in the level of awareness discovered in the findings, it is concluded that metacognitive online reading strategies need to be included in the teaching curriculum and teachers too need to be aware and be an expert in utilising the strategies

The potential sources of foreign language reading anxiety in a Jordanian EFL context: a theoretical framework

The last decade has witnessed an increasing research trend on foreign language reading anxiety as a skill related to but distinct from foreign language anxiety. However, sources of foreign language reading anxiety have rarely been investigated. Thus, the current study responds to the study by (Saito, Horwitz, & Garza, 1999) and extends the work of (Al-Shboul, Ahmad, Nordin, & Rahman, 2013b) in this specific area to propose a theoretical framework that represents the sources of foreign language reading anxiety and to measure the extent of those sources in the Jordanian EFL context. A cross-sectional survey of 1500 undergraduate students who were taking Basic English courses was administered. A total of 1006 questionnaires were valid for analysis. However, only 408 questionnaires were randomly chosen according to the criteria of quota sampling techniques. The proposed theoretical framework was tested to measure the prevalence of the sources of foreign language reading anxiety to reveal that there were two aspects of foreign language reading anxiety: personal factors and text features. Under the concept of personal factors, there were two main sources of foreign language reading anxiety; afraid of making errors and worry about reading effects. On the other hand, there were three main sources of foreign language reading anxiety under the concept of text features; unknown vocabulary, unfamiliar topic, and unfamiliar culture. Implications to the study and recommendations for further research were considered. Keywords: sources of foreign language reading anxiety, foreign language reading anxiety, Jordanian EFL Context, Yarmouk University, theoretical framewor

Teacher’s acceptance and readiness in implementing Zero Reject Policy (ZRP) in rural school in Malaysia

The Zero Reject Policy (ZRP) was policy introduced by Ministery of Education in Malaysia, December 2018 purposely to adhance the implementation of Education for All Policy in Malaysia. Through this policy Special Education Need (SEN) students were give an opportunity to study in mainstream classes without any rejection. Therefore, this pilot study aims is to identify the level of teacher’s acceptance and readiness among mainstreams teachers in implenting ZRP spesifically in rural school in Malaysia. This quantitative studies involved 120 mainstream teachers whose randomly selected in Kapit, Sarawak. The questionare distributed randomly in 43 primary school teachers in Kapit District and the data analyzed using SPSS V23. The research findings indicated that the level of teachers acceptance and readiness bothly in the moderate level. The top down policy making encougare teachers readiness in implement any new policy. However, the level of readiness also influence by level of acceptance of teachers. Therefore, more exposure about ZRP thru courses and workshop should conducted in order to increase teachers acceptances and readiness to implement ZRP in rural school

Assessment for learning practices and competency among Malaysian university lecturers: a national study

This paper reports the findings of a national study involving 534 lecturers from 33 higher learning institutions in Malaysia to find out their self-reported practices and perceived competencies in assessment for learning. Data were collected using a 24-item assessment practice inventory drawn from five of the six standards stipulated in an established US developed assessment competency framework for teachers. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and descriptive statistics were used to analyse lecturers’ reported practices and competencies. The PCA procedures extracted four underlying dimensions of AfL practice among the lecturers that corresponded to four of the five standards used. Further descriptive analysis produced a rank order of the four AfL dimensions in terms of practice and competency. Lecturers reported to quite frequently practise ‘communicating results and feedback to students’ and ‘using diverse AfL methods’. They also perceived to be more competent in these two aspects than in AfL compliant grading practices and recognising unethical uses of assessment information. The findings produced adequate empirical support for instructional interventions and training to be provided at the national level to upgrade lecturers’ current competencies in assessment and support their adoption of AfL

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

Kajian pelaksanaan program pendidikan spiritual terhadap anggota Angkatan Tentera Malaysia

Kekuatan organisasi ketenteraan boleh diukur menerusi tiga elemen penting iatu daya tembak (fire power), daya gerak (mobility power) dan daya juang (combat power). Aspek daya juang merangkumi aspek kesiagaan spiritual merupakan elemen asas yang perlu diperkukuhkan dalam diri setiap anggota tentera. Ia perlu berada pada tahap yang tinggi dan sentiasa bersedia mempertahankan kedaulatan negara. Kesiagaan insititusi ketenteraaan tidak hanya dinilai dari kelengkapan asset dan alatan canggih sematamata, malah yang terpenting ialah nilai kerohanian dalam diri setiap anggota tentera terutamanya dari sudut kesiagaan diri menggalas tanggungjawab dan amanah negara. Sehubungan itu Kor Agama Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (KAGAT) menerusi Dasar Pembinaan Mental dan Kerohanian Islam ATM (PMAT 9/91), yang meliputi pelbagai program aktivtiti kerohanian dan pendidikan Islam kepada seluruh warga ATM, telah melaksanakan program pendidikan spiritual terhadap anggota Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM). Fokus kajian adalah untuk membuat penilaian terhadap pelaksanaan program tersebut dari aspek perancangan,pelaksanaan dan juga pemantauan melalui perspektif anggota ATM. Metodologi kajian melibatkan pendekatan gabungan (mixedmethod) iaitu kaedah kualitatif dan kuantitatif telah digunapakai dan telah melibatkan seramai 1,137 orang responden. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan terdapatnya hubungan yang rapat dari aspek faktor suasana, faedah, guru dan pendakwah (anggota KAGAT), dan juga sikap anggota terhadap program. Dapatan kajian juga menunjukkan aspek kekuatan spiritual mempunyai hubungan yang positif terhadap kesediaan dan kekuatan tempur anggota Angkatan Tentera Malaysia. Sesungguhnya pendidikan Islam serta usaha-usaha dakwah yang dilaksanakan oleh Kor Agama Angkatan Tentera perlu terus perkukuhkan agar tahap kesiagaan kerohanian anggota tentera dapat dipertingkatkan bagi memastikan anggota Angkatan Tentera Malaysia sentiasa memenuhi dua aspek utama daya juang (combat power) iaitu dari aspek fizikal dan juga spiritual (kerohanian) agar wujud insan tentera yang berkualiti dan cemerlang