Journal of Nusantara Studies (JONUS) (Journal of UniSZA - Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin)
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Solving ESP problems: Students and teachers’ perceptions of integrating information and communication technology into ESP instruction
Get PDFBackground and Purpose: English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instruction in Iran mainly focuses on traditional ways. This study investigates ESP teachers’ and students’ perceptions of integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to solve traditional ESP instruction problems in Iran.
Methodology: This concurrent parallel mixed-method study investigated students’ and teachers’ perceptions of solving ESP instruction problems through ICT. The sample consisted of 300 undergraduate engineering students and 24 experienced and novice ESP teachers. In the quantitative phase of the study, data were collected through two adapted questionnaires. In the qualitative phase, data were obtained from interviews with 12 undergraduate students, three experienced, and three novice ESP teachers.
Findings: The findings revealed that the participants had positive perceptions of integrating different ICT tools for solving problems with traditional ESP materials and methods, problems with low language skills, lack of autonomy, demotivation problems, inactivity problems, and problems with lack of exposure to real-life situations. The findings also showed that integrating different ICT tools and ICT-based interactive activities subconsciously promotes students’ communication skills through experiencing direct participation in communications.
Contributions: The findings may significantly change the ESP instruction status quo in Iran, which is not based on the ESP students’ communication needs, and replace it with innovative approaches to meet the needs of the modern ESP student. The results also provide a unique outlook for promoting ESP instruction in tertiary education by integrating ICTs through divergent stakeholder perceptions.
Keywords: English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Perception, Promoting English for Specific Purposes instructio
Why does Bangladesh require a centralized Shariah governance framework for Islamic banks?
Get PDFThe main objective of this article is to describe the logical reasons why a Centralized Shariah Governance Framework (CSGF) provided by the Central Bank of Bangladesh (Bangladesh Bank) is essential for the country’s Islamic banks. In doing so, it identifies the major regulatory challenges (self-developed and disparate use of Shariah Governance (SG) practices) faced by Islamic banks in Bangladesh. It considers an analytical approach to explore the significance of a CSGF for Islamic banks in Bangladesh and examines the current diversified procedures of SG practices. This article reveals that the self-developed SG practices of Islamic banks in Bangladesh have created confusion and pessimism among the practitioners, bankers and even to the general people and regulators which is negatively affecting the overall image of Islamic banks. Such incongruent governance practices have led to inconsistencies in SG structures, implementation procedures, monitoring activities. In addition, this article reveals that these deficiencies usually exist due to weak monitoring systems of the Central Bank, ineffective functioning of individual Shariah Supervisory Boards (SSB) and the absence of comprehensive SGF. The article argues that the Central Bank of Bangladesh should initiate to reform its Islamic banking industry by introducing a CSGF aimed to identify the roles, responsibilities, powers, and functions of SSB; thereby improving governance, accountability, and overall Shariah compliance quality. This article is hoped to be beneficial for the regulators and practitioners to consider revising current practices.
Keywords: Centralization, Bangladesh Bank, Islamic banks, Shariah governance framework
Challenges facing the development of Takaful industry in Bangladesh and Indonesia: A review
Get PDFTakaful is the Islamic version of insurance, and the size of global takaful industry is about USD$51 billion in 2019. Limited studies have been conducted on the development of takaful sector in Bangladesh and Indonesia using a comparative approach. As such, this review aims at investigating the challenges facing the development of takaful industry in these two countries. Primary sources such as laws and regulations, and the secondary sources such as scholarly articles and books on the subject matter were reviewed to derive conclusions. This review concludes that efficiency of takaful in both countries depend on some common factors, such as having a proper and sophisticated regulatory framework for takaful with the development of required talent pool while focusing on creating awareness and education to ensure that not only the general public have the required takaful literacy; but even the existing and potential customers have the basic knowledge about takaful. Further, it is also found in this review that in order to further develop the takaful industry in both countries, it is imperative to use innovation and technology to promote takaful parallel to the conventional insurance by creating a level playing field. This review also identifies some specific issues in both countries and have suggested recommendations accordingly. It is anticipated that the outcome of this review will assist policy makers and other stakeholders to understand the inhibitions facing the development of takaful industry in these two jurisdictions with hope that these challenges can be eliminated for the sustainable development of takaful sector.
Keywords: Insurance, Islamic insurance, Islamic finance, review, Shariah, Takaful
Untangling the needs of refugees in Malaysia: The way forward
Get PDFBackground and Purpose: NGOs have become the most vital actors in meeting refugees’ needs in Malaysia; alas, most of these concerns cover basic needs such as food, health care, and education. In this regard, this study investigates other forms of NGOs assistance that ought to be provided to Malaysia's refugee communities to enhance living standards.
Methodology: This study employs a qualitative approach consisting of semi-structured interviews with Somalian, Rohingya, Pakistani and Syrian refugees. Data were collected during observation trips in Penang, Kedah, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor to comprehensively understand these diasporic communities, notably regarding the challenges refugees face in Malaysia.
Findings: The data indicated that refugee communities are significantly in need of proper and accessible channels through which they might share their grievances, temporary shelters, mental health care, and language classes. The team concluded that these forms of assistance ought to be made available to all refugee communities in Malaysia. Without such forms of assistance from NGOs, refugees' lived realities are made invariably more difficult; this is in addition to their vulnerability to forces that threaten their security.
Contributions: This paper provides insights into the needs of refugees in Malaysia based on interviews and observations conducted with them. Based on the findings, this research provides recommendations to NGOs to ameliorate life necessities for refugee communities.
Keywords: Humanitarian assistance, Malaysia, NGOs, refugees, UNHCR
Motivational orientations and the motivation of Pakistani ESL learners: A review
Get PDFThe aim of this paper is to review the literature and exemplify the manifestation of integrative and instrumental motivational orientations in Pakistan’s ESL learners with reference to Gardner’s Socio-Educational model. It delineates issues that impede the motivational process and contextual elements with motivational factors that could provide new insights to help practitioners plus policy makers to determine and address contemporary concerns in the holistic learning of English. The study principally sheds light on the current state of motivation in Pakistani ESL students, projecting a need to revise the English language curricula to more inclusive ones at all academic tiers; construct collegial classrooms; modify the practiced didactic approaches and focus on development of contextually suitable contents as some of the initiatives that need to be taken into consideration for nurturing students’ and teachers’ motivation in alignment with the model. The present study majorly proposes the need to utilize the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) for comprehensive analysis of students’ motivation and it provides an adapted simplified version of AMTB that can be used to examine Pakistani ESL students’ motivation, and further tested in other similar contexts.
Key Words: ESL, instrumental, motivational orientations, integrative, language learning
Psychogeographical experience between the self and the place
Get PDFBackground and Purpose: The absence of psychogeographical awareness is a critical factor contributing to the lackadaisical attitudes towards the place and its environment. As a result, it enables an individual to fully experience a location, both physically and intellectually, while also gaining a feeling of self-discovery and self-realisation.
Methodology: The purpose of this study was to examine the responses of a group of individuals who participated in a field observation. 40 participants from a Malaysian university's foundation level were brought to Malacca to experience the environment's geographical scenery at their own leisure. The survey data was then manually transcribed and analysed in accordance with the study's aim.
Findings: Interactions with individuals and observation of features in the countryside and urban surroundings enabled participants to go on a psychogeographical journey that influenced their way of thinking and behaving. All participants felt that the journey had influenced their experiences and perspectives on their thinking and behaviour, highlighting the critical role of this notion in establishing the connection between place and self.
Contributions: The findings of this study provide a solid foundation for future research in the field of psychogeography. The data may be used as a baseline for future studies to determine whether a comparable impact exists in other locations, with or without significant features like those found in Malacca.
Keywords: Psychogeography, place attachment, place meaning, self-discovery, Malacca
Pedagogical translanguaging in English as second language (ESL) classrooms: A survey of existing studies
Get PDFBackground and Purpose: There has been a strong assumption on part of ESL practitioners to use target language for teaching of ESL. However, in recent years, translanguaging has gained significant importance in teaching of ESL. This systematic review concentrates on empirical studies that draw on translanguaging framework in ESL classrooms in diverse contexts. By using the guidelines provided by PRISMA, the current work sheds light on the recent plethora of literature available across the globe. This systematic review identifies the differences with reference to the settings, participants’ background, methodology, and research problem. Moreover, it also evaluates how translanguaging has helped to improve ESL in diverse contexts. Also, it also suggests possible avenues for future research.
Methodology: Data was collected from 2015 to November 2021. The studies that used translanguaging for improving ESL skills are focused and analyzed.
Findings: The findings of the study showed that predominantly the research was conducted at the school level in the contexts of Africa, Japan and Indonesia using the qualitative approach. The findings also showed that translanguaging is helpful to improve ESL performance generally, but specifically it improves reading comprehension, vocabulary and writing skills. Moreover, the findings also indicated the positive attitude of teachers and students towards translanguaging pedagogy.
Contributions: The study synthesizes the knowledge to inform practitioners, researchers, teachers’ trainers, and policy makers about the recent advances in the field of teaching ESL, while using the learners’ complete linguistic repertoire.
Keywords: Translanguaging pedagogy, English language learning, systematic review, survey, recent advances
A comparative study of children’s cognitive ability in Malaysian public and private pre-schools
Get PDFBackground and Purpose: A child’s cognitive, physical, and socioeconomic development must be stimulated as early as possible to ensure it is on the right path. However, only a few studies have been conducted to investigate the difference in cognitive abilities between public and private pre-schoolers in Malaysia.
Methodology: A total of 121 students aged five to six were selected from public and private pre-schools in Kuala Lumpur using a purposive sampling method. The children's general cognitive abilities were assessed using the McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities (MSCA).
Findings: The findings showed that the general cognitive abilities of public and private pre-school children are at a moderate level. The results also indicated no statistically significant effect of the type of pre-school, parents’ level of education, and parents’ income level on children’s cognitive ability.
Contributions: This research provides insights into the children’s cognitive ability in some selected public and private preschools in Malaysia. The outcome is essential in determining the general cognitive abilities of the children. Possible future works are suggested to explore the topic from different perspectives in order to improve children’s cognitive ability.
Keywords: Cognitive abilities, pre-school children, type of pre-school, parents’ education, parents’ income
STEM students’ English language learning strategies and underlying factors pertaining to open distance learning
Get PDFBackground 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)
AFTERMATHS OF INFIDELITY AS EXPRESSED BY LITERATE WORKING CLASS WOMEN IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA
Get PDFBackground and Purpose: Globally, many married adults engage in infidelity. However, the repercussions of the act appear not palatable for couples, their children and the society at large. This study therefore, investigated the aftermaths of infidelity as expressed by literate working class women in Lagos State. The study also examined whether age and type of marriage would affect the respondents’ views.
Methodology: The descriptive design was adopted for this study. A total of 300 literate working class women were drawn from the target population using purposive and simple random sampling techniques. A researcher-developed questionnaire tagged Aftermaths of Infidelity (AIQ) was used to collect data. The instrument was validated by five experts in Nigeria and Nusantara while its reliability was established through test re-test reliability method and a coefficient of 0.74 was gotten. The data collected were analyzed using t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 0.05 level.
Findings: Results showed that divorce, unhappiness, contact of sexually transmitted diseases, emotional disability, hatred in the family, unwanted pregnancy, distrust and suspicion in the family, psychological trauma in children, and giving birth to illegitimate children are some of the aftermaths of infidelity as expressed by the literate working class women. Similarly, age and marriage type did not influence the expression of literate working class women in Lagos State on infidelity.
Contributions: Infidelity has devastating aftermaths. Counsellors should enlighten couples on the aftermaths of infidelity; they should enlighten them on the negative effects which infidelity has on the home, children and the society in general.
Keywords: Aftermath, infidelity, literate working class women, Lagos State, Nigeria