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This study aimed to identify the extent to which vocabulary learning strategies influence the results of English writing in UPSR of the post-UPSR learners. The subjects were 267 high-achievers Form 1 learners from four secondary schools who had completed the UPSR in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The purpose of this study was to determine which VLSs was used the most frequently by the post-UPSR learners. Participants completed a VLS questionnaire and the findings revealed the strategies of vocabulary learning the post-UPSR inclined to employ from each category of determination, social, memory, cognitive, and metacognitive. We conclude that while VLSs use should be encouraged in general, instructors may not need to cater to individual vocabulary learning styles.

The reality brought upon by the pandemic has forced educators, language instructors included, to re-evaluate their practice by ensuring that the actual learning takes place and planned objectives are met. In language education programs, equipping future teachers with appropriate knowledge and skills remains as the top priority. In fact, recent literature also highlights the need for teachers to have technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) to cope with the changing demands of online learning and learner diversity. As part of the needs analysis phase to assess students’ TPACK competency, students’ online information searching strategies were investigated by using Information Commitment Survey (Wu & Tsai, 2007) and content analysis of the references list of students’ written coursework and guided reflection. In this case study, the participants were the ESL pre-service teachers in a teacher education program. It was found that the students used multiple web searching strategies such as matching and elaboration strategies. The students also appeared to have ‘mixed’ standards for judging information on the web. The results additionally revealed that students relied heavily on different web resources such as online encyclopaedia, and resources that contain grammar materials, content materials related to their writing topic, citation materials and writing samples that match their writing format. These findings strongly suggest for a more systematic training design of the online writing support should be in a form of a portal of evaluated links to useful resources for ESL writing.

The recent Covid-19 pandemic has changed and impacted the country's education landscape, a paradigm shift from face-to-face teaching and learning style into home-based learning and teaching (PdPR). During the period, teachers had come out with various teaching strategies to assess pupils’ and some of these strategies are still relevant in this current post pandemic education. Speaking skills in the Malaysian Primary ESL classroom are five elements assessed in the Classroom-Based Assessment (CBA). The CBA achievement of a class in a rural school in Kudat, Sabah, showed that most students performed poorly in speaking skills. Based on the teacher's perspective as a researcher, the problem occurred due to the English Language's lack of exposure and usage. It is only spoken during an English class and not practised outside schooling hours. In this paper, the researcher aims to provide a literature review and past studies on enhancing primary ESL students' speaking skills through multimedia technology-assisted project-based learning. After investigating how multimedia technology-assisted project-based learning could improve the students' speaking skills from the literature review, the researcher proposes this study be carried out at a rural government school in Kudat, Sabah. This research aims to investigate students' speaking performance after the implementation of multimedia technology-assisted project-based learning.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a sudden change in the educational landscape globally and shifted traditional face-to-face classes to open distance learning mode. Due to this transition, it is progressively crucial and of great importance to understand the technostress faced by English language lecturers in adopting open distance learning practices. This phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of eleven English language lecturers from three universities in the southern region of Malaysia regarding the technostress faced in open distance learning practice during the pandemic through the lens of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Fascinatingly, despite the emergency shift to open distance learning, the results have shown that the participants are keen and receptive to the open distance learning deployment. Moreover, due to their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge competency, the participants agreed that the technostress experienced is considered manageable and did not affect their work performance. This study's results are hoped to offer insights into understanding the unprecedented phenomenon to ensure positive impacts in tertiary education.

Affective factors such as emotion and attitudes have long been identified as contributing factors to success and enjoyment in language learning. With the new movement of education in the new norm, a weightage needs to be focused on the affective dimensions among learners. This study aimed to discover the importance and factors of enjoyment in learning English as a Second Language (ESL) among Malaysian secondary school students. This multisite case study took place in five secondary schools in Malaysia. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was held among five ESL teachers and an open-ended questionnaire was distributed to 65 students in the respective schools. The findings reveal both teachers and students think enjoyment is important in learning ESL as it bridges up engagement in learning, enhances motivation and for the usefulness of learning the language. Furthermore, the study also discovers the factors of enjoyment in learning ESL namely teacher-factor, sense of achievement and relationship with peers. This study provides valuable information on the of the understudy topic of enjoyment in Malaysian ESL classroom.

Virtual Reality (VR) technology was crucial in aiding remote teaching and learning session during the Covid-19 pandemic. Transitioning to the post pandemic era, VR technologies are deemed as a useful tool to facilitate learning. Several literature reviews have analysed and synthesized the use of VR in education; however, academic activity lacks a recent systematic literature review (SLR) on VR in the field of English as a Second Language Learning (ESL) in the context of Malaysian ESL learning. 13 scholarly manuscripts from 12 journals were retrieved from the year 2011 to 2021, analysed, and synthesized under the following focus: (a) VR technology utilized, the duration of educational activities, and the language learning settings in the Malaysian ESL context; (b) the possible benefits and drawbacks of adopting VR as a teaching tool in the Malaysian ESL classroom; (c) future directions regarding the educational use of VR. The study concluded that VR technologies encourage English language learning; intrinsically motivate pupils to learn; provide convenience for feedback and communication; practicality; and creates an enjoyable authentic classroom environment. However, challenges like lacks of technical support for practitioners; limited internet access; limited application designated for language learning; participants’ unfamiliarity with VR; outdated software and/or hardware; and dearth number of research papers were also identified in this study. It is suggested that in the future, bigger-scale research on main language skills should be done; further research on VR technologies available; increase duration of study; research in other areas and levels of schools, and initiate more experimental studies.

There has been growing evidence that the lack of academic writing skills among university students who learn English as a Second Language (ESL) affects their overall academic performance. Higher education ESL students often find writing academic essays a complex process and hence struggle with academic writing convention issues. However, in order to encourage these students’ to be autonomous in their English academic writing, explicit and supportive instruction is necessary on the teacher’s part. This study aims to investigate thirty Foundation students’ revision activities pre- and post-intervention and whether there are any changes in their reviewing activities after being exposed to the intervention for twelve weeks. The reviewing activities were categories and analysed for inter-correlations. It is found that the students’ revision activities at first seem to concentrate mostly on Surface Changes-Meaning Preserving Changes activities. However, this changes in the second half of the intervention period where they seem to perform more Meaning Changes-Microstructure Changes and the least is Surface Changes-Formal Changes.

A recent trend has highlighted the need for a personal learning environment (PLE) in education as a system that helps learners take control of and manage their own learning. The current system which focuses on standardized learning support in the form of Learning Management System (LMS) is seen as restrictive and does not allow to accommodate the different needs of learners. Therefore, more language educators have started developing their own PLEs by focusing on two crucial elements: supporting learners’ needs and allowing more learner control. This paper presents an attempt to explore ESL pre-service teachers’ experience via PLE designed to support their writing needs. The researchers hoped that such a positive experience would influence the teachers’ pedagogical strategies and approaches in their teaching once they go into practice. In this qualitative case study, thirty-six third year ESL pre-service teachers at a tertiary education institution embarked on a fourteen-week course via the PLE. Qualitative data were gleaned from focus group discussion transcripts and written reflections. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. Overall, students have positive perceptions towards the PLE by detailing its benefits and usefulness. They also narrated some challenges and proposed suggestions to ensure prolonged engagement. The findings give support to the use of PLE, especially the instructor-made innovation for teaching and learning which allows more learner control and access.

This paper highlights the association of language use skills with self-confidence as a contributing factor to the determination of expatriate self-adaptability in a foreign cultural environment. The objective of this study was to examine whether the skills of using the local language of the host country are considered as a universal skill requirement for improvisation and self-skills among expatriate academics in Malaysian Public Universities. Utilisation of qualitative methods of semi-structured interviews on 35 lecturers with international staff status in four Malaysian Public Universities which were subsequently processed by inductive analysis for dominant and subdominant thematic classifications. The findings prove that the informants utilised language proficiency as a backup to recognise their ability to respond to external stimuli, thus producing positive value to themselves. The proactive process is done by trying to find answers to change and self-transformation while in a foreign country. Studies linking the elements of confidence and self-identity skills among expatriates are often highlighted, but the approach taken is to put the advantage to be utilised on the part of the organisation and not expatriates as the subject of the study. Therefore, the results of this study fulfil the search for answers regarding their identity as an expatriate, including exploring foreign cultures, releasing the culture of the country of origin, developing a network of contacts and assessing their potential and ability to deal with the challenges of life abroad. The direction of future research refers to the addition of value in the expatriate management literature by making basic concepts of interaction such as language proficiency as an element capable of increasing self-confidence and sketching the career development of self-initiated expatriates.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the writing problems faced by the Post-UPSR learners during their primary school years. The data was obtained from 217 high achiever learners who scored an A on the UPSR. These learners, who had completed primary schools and taken the UPSR exam, are now enrolled in secondary schools as Form 1 learners. The method used is a quantitative study. A questionnaire was used as the instrument in the study. The analysis of the study uses SPSS which involves frequency and percentage. The data revealed that Malaysian ESL primary school learners struggle with writing tasks, particularly due to insufficient of vocabulary knowledge. The findings of the study will be valuable to ESL researchers and educators in assisting learners with their writing difficulties. Teachers or researchers can develop appropriate solutions to the issues once the writing issue has been identified.

Teaching English as a second language (TESL) in rural schools remains a prominent issue in Malaysia. Many teachers in rural areas struggle with the seemingly insuperable difficulties associated with their underperforming rural schools in English, which is yet to be addressed significantly. This study explores ten English teachers’ sense of self-efficacy of those serving in rural schools. The lived experiences of the participants were explored through in-depth semi-structured interviews. The data gathered were analysed thematically to gain insights into the phenomenon. Three results of this study revealed the rural environmental influence aspects of teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, the context-specific nature of rural teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, and the blended philosophical concepts of social support, unswerving commitment, social obligation, and social-emotional benefits as significant driving forces to retain serving rural schools. The study’s results could contribute incrementally to the advancement of knowledge on TESL in rural schools by providing insights into the subject and context-specific descriptions.

The writing process has traditionally been seen ‘as a lonely journey’ to typify the lack of support that students experience for writing outside the classroom. This paper examines an attempt of The Writing Portal (TWP), a supplementary online writing platform, to support students’ writing needs throughout the five stages of the writing process, viz., planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Social constructivist principles underpin TWP, which was designed to engender collaboration amongst its student participants. Not only does TWP provide links to evaluated Internet resources and a writing portfolio, but it also features collaboration tools such as the Group Forum, chat, a writing portfolio, a private messaging system, and a comment function for pages or articles created. Thus, it is very much akin to a ‘one-stop centre’ for academic writing within a flexible and supportive environment. In this qualitative case study, 16 third-year TESL pre-service teachers at a Malaysian Teacher Ed...

Collaboration is an important interactive process and it has become a part of educational activity. The purpose of this study is to know the level of collaboration practices among schools, parents and community in Secondary schools with Special Education in Malaysia. This study also tried to explore the needs of parents and communities that need to be met by the school to ensure that they are more actively involved in their children's educational development program. This study consisted of the collection of quantitative data, followed by qualitative data. The quantitative sample included 120 secondary schools in Peninsular, Malaysia, with a total of 360 respondents (teachers and school principals) involved in the survey. To measure collaboration practice and relationship with IEP at schools, Joyce Epstein's measurement (2002) was used as an instrument. Six dimensions were used to measure the collaboration level based on Epstein's model namely: i)parent education ii)decision making iii) communication, iv)learning at home v)volunteerism and vi)collaboration with community. This study also focused on the relationship between the level of collaboration and IEP implementation. The quantitative data was analyzed by using mean standard deviation and Pearson Correlation. The qualitative data from the interview with parents was analyzed using Nvivo.

In Vietnam, academic writing is often developed through a formal instructional setting. Teaching ESL writing to undergraduates in Vietnamese universities is not always easy as instructors are often overloaded with multiple classes of mixed-ability learners. Thus in most cases, students are often left on their own to fend for themselves. Thrown into an era of information overload, students are often overwhelmed with what to look for to support their learning. In this study, a web-based Writing Portal (TWP), made possible by the advent of a Malaysian-Vietnamese collaborative partnership is developed to address these problems. TWP enables collaborative, yet self-regulated learning amongst two groups of Vietnamese Undergraduates (N = 78) undergoing a semester of English Writing class, designed and managed by a team of researchers from Universiti Malaysia Sabah and University of Da Nang, Vietnam. A Design-based research (DBR) approach was adopted to provide solutions to a practical problem that faces the Vietnamese educational context through a process of iterative analysis, design, development, and implementation. The paper highlights the experiences gained throughout the three main phases of DBR exploration, i.e., (1) analysis/exploration, (2) design/construction, and (3) evaluation/reflection with the ongoing practices as the intervention is adopted, enacted, and sustained in a Vietnamese educational setting.