1,720,978 research outputs found
Examining English Teacher Professionalism through Dialogic NarrativeInquiry: A Case from Sabah, Malaysia
No full text10.17576/3L-2018-2404-133L Language, Linguistics and Literature: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies244171-184Malaysi
Integrating Critical Thinking in Online Language Tasks: Considerations for an Academic Writing Class
No full text10.46451/ijts.2020.09.05International Journal of TESOL Studie
Is there Critical Thinking in Popular Comments? A Descriptive Examination through Content Analysis
No full textJurnal Pengajian Media Malaysi
Am I Promoting Feedback Cycle and Sociomaterial Learning?
No full text10.33736/ils.2573.2021Issues in Language Studies1011-1
A content analysis of low yat online discussion forums on Malaysian vernacular schools
Get PDFVernacular schools in Malaysia, while only operating at the primary school level, have had a turbulent existence. Recently, the constitutional legitimacy of these schools was questioned through legal suits brought about by private citizens as well as non-governmental organisations and associations. These suits illuminate the discourses that surround vernacular schools in Malaysia. A discursive space where language use is worth examining is the digital realm, where there is an extent of openness afforded to users to communicate their feelings or views. To this end, three online discussion forums from Low Yat were examined. Posts that had written comments regarding vernacular schools were included. Through qualitative content analysis, six themes were yielded. They revealed perspectives that supported the abolishment of vernacular schools; however, there were also those who presented a contrastive perspective, mainly due to the negative views held against national schools and the educational system. From these posts, stereotypes associated with particular ethnic groups became evident. There were also disagreements towards the purpose and quality of different types of schools. All these indicate how public discourse regarding vernacular schools is complex, as seen through history and compounded by individual social practices
Unfocused written corrective feedback for academic discourse: the sociomaterial potential for writing development and socialization in higher education
Get PDFBackground. There is a prevailing belief that unfocused written corrective feedback may not be suitable to promote students’ academic writing development. Purpose. This perspective piece demonstrates how unfocused written corrective feedback reflects the principles of sociomateriality, which views learning as dynamic. Perspectives. Unfocused written corrective feedback has the potential to support university students’ academic discourse socialization. This perspective is based on the observation that actual written corrective feedback in a classroom setting is varied and contextual, and not focused on any particular grammar form or writing feature. Conclusion. Unfocused written corrective feedback represents an optimal approach to support university students’ awareness and engagement with variables found in their learning ecology. These variables can support students’ academic writing development
Malaysian teachers’ perceptions towards emergency remote teaching (ERT): An analysis based on school level and subjects taught
No full textThis study analyses teachers’ perceptions towards emergency remote teaching (ERT), based on the level and subject area taught. Perception data was collected through an online anonymous survey, which contained 30 survey items on a 5-point Likert scale. There were 97 participants who completed the survey. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The main fi ndings include teachers of all levels and subjects having a clear understanding of students’ current learning situation, yet there were some uncertainty regarding the planning and implementation of online teaching and learning, especially among primary-level teachers and teachers of science subjects. Another major fi nding was the agreement among teachers regarding the documentation of teaching experiences and sharing these experiences with others. Based on these fi ndings, it can be concluded that while there is a perception that ERT is diff erent from regular online teaching, there remains challenges in the implementation of online classes. A potential way to mitigate these challenges may be to encourage teachers to share, so as to inspire each other to identify potential and feasible ways to teach
“An international experience in an English class is…”: An examination of postgraduate students’ perspectives
No full textIt is important to understand students’ perspectives about their international experience in an English class because this would help practitioners in their teaching practice and material development. In this study, these perspectives were collected through an open-ended questionnaire that was distributed to 35 groups of international postgraduate students. All these students were enrolled in an academic writing course at a university in Singapore. The questionnaire asked participants for their thoughts and opinions on English lessons that were designed with an international focus. The data was then analyzed through a corpus tool, which identified recurring words. The contextual meanings of these recurring words were then thematized. The main findings saw the themes of “different yet inclusive”; “spurring improvements in writing”; and “learning affordances through native language”. These themes indicated that the participants viewed the international experience as bringing together different perspectives, including an extent of local knowledge and practices. The latter was exemplified through the use of their native language to better understand academic communication in English. Nonetheless, the findings also point towards an ideological tension as postgraduate international students would still need to develop an acceptable level of English language proficiency. This study thus highlights the complexities involved in creating an inclusive and effective English for academic purposes (EAP) course as part of an international experience at the university
“It Feels Like a Performance When I Teach Online”: Autoethnography of Tensions in Teacher Identity
Get PDFThis autoethnographic study examined the tensions affecting the identity of a teacher in charge of an online English academic writing module during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reflections written over one academic year were examined using performativity as an analytical lens. The analysis identified three types of tensions: performing for proximity, performing to meet the institution’s and student’s expectations, and continuously changing performances. These tensions highlight the teacher’s performativity when using technology, which ultimately configured his teacher identity. From these tensions, the paradox of technology may be observed. Specifically, tools supposedly productive for an online class may not necessarily be well received by students and may burden the teacher
Examining linguistic landscape through shop signs: drawing insights about language identity in Tamparuli Town
Get PDFExamining the linguistic landscape (LL) of a particular locality can potentially offer rich sociolinguistic information. This may include aspects of ethnic identity associated with uses of language. A common source of LL information is from shop signs. In the context of Malaysia, LL studies have typically been conducted in major urban areas, with minimal information on the suburbs or rural areas. To address this gap, this presentation offers an examination of the LL of Tamparuli, a small town located on the west coast of Sabah with a large population of the Dusun ethnic group. A mixed-methods approach was employed, where quantitative data comprised the descriptive analysis of shop signs, and qualitative data derived from interviews with local informants who had lived in the area for over 60 years. There were 143 shop signs included in this study, all of which were found in the main shop blocks. The descriptive analysis found many shop signs in English (48.3%), which commonly contained a concept or proper name, followed by English nouns referring to commerce or services. This is followed by shop signs in Bahasa Melayu (BM) at 15.4%. There were also signs multilingual signs, where a combination of all or either English, BM or Mandarin Chinese was used. While English seemed to be a dominant language used in the signs, it does not signify the pervasive use of the language within the town community; instead, what is observed is the borrowing of lexical items. Based on the informants’ interview, this linguistic phenomenon may be recent, given that in the past, shop signs were typically meaningful phrases or names that were transliterated into BM, and modified by nouns such as kedai (shop) or restoran (restaurant). Based on these observations, the language identity of the town remains predominantly BM
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