UiTM Students' Writing Needs, Writing Problems, and Language Courses: A Qualitative Systematic Review of Literature Prior to WeCWI's Course Integration

To tackle the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) students’ writing problems besides fulfilling the writing needs of UiTM learners and instructors, web-based instruction (WBI) was proposed as a supplementary instructional tool. A hybrid e-framework namely Web-based Cognitive Writing Instruction (WeCWI) was proposed to be adopted for developing WBI for writing performance and critical thinking enhancements. Before embracing WBI as a supplementary instructional tool of an English course, a qualitative systematic review of literature was conducted on the related studies of UiTM students’ writing needs and challenges as well as UiTM English courses. BEL422 Report Writing was identified as the most appropriate course among all the UiTM English courses offered up to 2013 owing to its syllabus, course structure, and assessment components focussing on report writing. Besides, this course was also crucial for the students to acquire their writing competence to communicate effectively in their future workplaces. Thus, BEL422 Report Writing was selected to be integrated with WeCWI for developing and designing a WBI to facilitate the teaching process as well as to enhance the learning outcomes.

English Exit Test (EET) and Competence-Based English Test (CBET) as Verbal Competence Measures for Employability: A Comparative Systematic Review

The issue of unemployment among the graduates is an issue which has come to the attention of the nation so much that it warrants a quick and effective measure taken by the institutions of higher education. The mismatches of expectations from the employers and the graduates’ communicative ability have been a contributing factor to why these graduates face difficulty in being employed. Hence, their verbal competence is one of the many indispensable criteria that are sought after by the employers apart from their hard skills. The purpose of this study is to examine the challenges and opportunities in relation to the English Exit Test (EET) and Competence Based English Test (CBET) Speaking Assessment which are initiated by University Technology MARA and University Kebangsaan Malaysia in gauging the graduates’ English language readiness for their workplace. Based on the systematic review analysis conducted, it can be concluded that both competence tests do have their fair share of hiccups and hurdles prior to getting the tests administered and rated without a glitch.

Pronunciation Errors in Mandarin among the Engineering Undergraduates: An Analytical Analysis

Mandarin language has generated a global interest among the non-Chinese students in the 21st century. Mandarin language has also become the favorite third language subject among Malaysian university students. However, many non-native speakers of Mandarin often encountered problems in pronunciation in terms of consonants, vowels, and tones. Mandarin is a tonal language, which the meaning of the word will be changed if the tone is pronounced incorrectly. Since identifying the Hanyu Pinyin pronunciation mistakes is essential and should be prioritised by Mandarin instructors, this study aims to investigate the evidence of pronunciation errors spoken by the students as non-native speakers in the area of consonants, vowels, and tones based on Hanyu Pinyin system. A survey was conducted by distributing questionnaires to undergraduates from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Engineering Campus. The findings from the data analysis show that most students made a lot of errors in pronouncing retroflex consonants due to mother tongue interference. In addition, the missing of certain vowels in students' first and second languages as compared to Mandarin as well as the difficulty to pronounce the tones correctly have created further hindrance to the students in the process of mastery Mandarin language.

Web-Based Cognitive Writing Instruction (WeCWI): A Theoretical-and-Pedagogical e-Framework for Language Development

Web-based Cognitive Writing Instruction (WeCWI)’s contribution towards language development can be divided into linguistic and non-linguistic perspectives. In linguistic perspective, WeCWI focuses on the literacy and language discoveries, while the cognitive and psychological discoveries are the hubs in non-linguistic perspective. In linguistic perspective, WeCWI draws attention to free reading and enterprises, which are supported by the language acquisition theories. Besides, the adoption of process genre approach as a hybrid guided writing approach fosters literacy development. Literacy and language developments are interconnected in the communication process; hence, WeCWI encourages meaningful discussion based on the interactionist theory that involves input, negotiation, output, and interactional feedback. Rooted in the elearning interaction-based model, WeCWI promotes online discussion via synchronous and asynchronous communications, which allows interactions happened among the learners, instructor, and digital content. In non-linguistic perspective, WeCWI highlights on the contribution of reading, discussion, and writing towards cognitive development. Based on the inquiry models, learners’ critical thinking is fostered during information exploration process through interaction and questioning.

Web-Based Cognitive Writing Instruction (WeCWI): A Hybrid e-Framework for Instructional Design

Web-based Cognitive Writing Instruction (WeCWI) is a hybrid e-framework for the development of a web-based instruction (WBI), which contributes towards instructional design and language development. WeCWI divides its contribution in instructional design into macro and micro perspectives. In macro perspective, being a 21st century educator by disseminating knowledge and sharing ideas with the in-class and global learners is initiated. By leveraging the virtue of technology, WeCWI aims to transform an educator into an aggregator, curator, publisher, social networker and ultimately, a web-based instructor. Since the most notable contribution of integrating technology is being a tool of teaching as well as a stimulus for learning, WeCWI focuses on the use of contemporary web tools based on the multiple roles played by the 21st century educator. The micro perspective in instructional design draws attention to the pedagogical approaches focusing on three main aspects: reading, discussion, and writing. With the effective use of pedagogical approaches through free reading and enterprises, technology adds new dimensions and expands the boundaries of learning capacity.

Enhancing Student-Centred Learning through Usage of Television Commercials via Wiki

The proliferation of educational technologies and various audio-visual gadgets has stretched the boundaries of student-centered learning. The medium for learning no longer rely solely on text books or traditional classroom teaching. Multimedia materials provide exciting new possibilities for learners, paving the way for students to assume an active role in their learning. This study explores the usage of television commercials via wiki an educational workspace to support student-centered learning. Learning through television commercials creates interest and is highly motivating especially for foreign language learners. The participants of the study comprise of 120 students pursuing a diploma in culinary arts and taking French as a compulsory subject. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit students feedback on their experience using wiki during student learning time. The results yielded a satisfactory acceptance of this educational workspace. Findings showed that students have the capacity to control the pace of their learning thus motivating students to engage positively in independent learning.

Publishing Curriculum Vitae Using Weblog: An Investigation on Its Usefulness, Ease of Use, and Behavioral Intention to Use

In this cyber age, the job market has been rapidly transforming and being digitalised. Submitting a paper-based curriculum vitae (CV) nowadays does not grant a job seeker a high employability rate. This paper calls for attention on the creation of mobile Curriculum Vitae or m-CV (http://m-curriculumvitae.blogspot.com), a sample of an individual CV developed using weblog, which can enhance the job hunter especially fresh graduate’s higher marketability rate. This study is designed to identify the perceptions held by Malaysian university students regarding m-CV grounded on a modified Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). It measures the strength and the direction of relationships among three major variables – Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Behavioral Intention (BI) to use. The finding shows that university students generally accepted adopting m-CV since they perceived m-CV to be more useful rather than easy to use.

Developing a Mobile Curriculum Vitae Using Weblog: A Cross-Disciplinary Survey on University Students’ Perception Based on Technology Acceptance Model

A traditional Curriculum Vitae (CV) fails to highlight the candidates’ strength, skills and achievement effectively. Thus, graduates are unable to sell and present themselves in an interactive way in order to impress the employer. In the digital age, mobile phones and Wi-Fi are ubiquitous; thus, an online CV namely “Mobile Curriculum Vitae” (m-CV) is created and proposed to be the alternative. It uses weblog as the developing platform that comes with both web and mobile versions. It can be accessed using mobile devices such as smart phones wherever and whenever they are. The objective of the study is conducting a survey to investigate the acceptance of m-CV on a group of 200 diploma students in one of the Malaysian universities-Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Penang campus using questionnaires based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). After conducting a two-hour seminar on the m-CV, a total of 191 questionnaires were collected. Descriptive analysis was done using SPSS based on 4 point Likert scale.

Group-Arrange-Touch-up (GAT): A Method of Teaching Non-Native Mandarin Speakers in Restructuring Elementary Mandarin Sentence

In Malaysian local universities, Mandarin is offered as the third language course to students who are the non-native Mandarin speakers. Since Mandarin is distinctive with its own grammatical and sentence patterns, Mandarin instructors need to come up with the effective method to teach the non-native speakers who are rather weak in restructuring Mandarin sentences. Many non-native speakers of Mandarin are fail to restructure Mandarin sentences correctly at elementary level due to the limited contact hours, unsupportive Mandarin learning environment, and the influence of mother tongue. To reduce this learning predicament among these non-native speakers, this paper proposes the use of GAT method for restructuring Mandarin sentences. GAT, an acronym for Group-Arrange-Touch-up, incorporates ‘Word Sequence’ Diagram (WSD) in the form of graphic impressions, which can be used by non-native speakers in their quest of learning Mandarin. This method is supported by the ‘word sequence’ approach and other relevant theories proposed by some prominent researchers such as Liu Hongmo, Shen Xiaolong, and Zhang Lizhao.

Semantic Mapping: A Visual and Structured Pre-writing Strategy in the Process of Essay Writing

Semantic mapping is a kind of graphic organizer. It illustrates a number of approaches designed to demonstrate how key words or concepts are associated to one another through graphic representations. From the previous studies, semantic mapping has demonstrated as a practical teaching and learning technique for students at all grade levels both in regular and remedial classrooms. This method has been identified by researchers as an excellent technique for increasing vocabulary and improving reading comprehension. However, the use of semantic mapping as a writing technique in ESL classroom has been relatively unexplored. The objective of this study is to exemplify the students’ feedback during and after the implementation of semantic mapping in the essay writing process. The data was collected via observation and interview. The findings showed positive feedback received from the subjects on the use of semantic mapping in their writing. By using semantic mapping, a slow transition happens from word mapping to sentence production in association with the semantics notions like word association, sense relation, parts of speech, superordination, collocation, and system of logic leading to essay writing.

Preference of Learning Style among the Diploma Students of UiTM Penang: An Overview

This paper gives a brief overview of UiTM Penang diploma students’ preferences of learning styles specifically among those who were undertaking the English language courses. The five types of learning styles – auditory, visual, tactile, group, and individual are examined with the particular objectives of whether gender and the types of programs taken affect the learning styles of the students. The study also emphasises on the students’ results of SPM and UiTM English courses’; whether or not their preferences were affected by their learning styles. Thus, the Chi-square test and reliability test were used to measure the significance and the consistent reliability. The findings show that auditory, tactile, and group learning styles were predominantly popular among the students of different gender, programs of study, and those who had obtained different grades of their SPM and UiTM examination results. The writers hope that the findings of this study may provide new directions in the teaching of English courses in UiTM.

The Manifestation of Native Language Transfer in ESL Learning

English language has always been a perceived problem for Chinese ESL learners particularly on syntactical rules in sentence construction. However, not many studies have been conducted with a specific focus on the interlanguage of Chinese ESL learners. This study is primarily concerned about how the learner’s existing linguistic knowledge influences the course of English language development among Chinese ESL learners. This constitutes a suitable starting point to focus on the similarities and differences of learners’ language patterns their target language as it may be one of the possible results of the manifestation of learners’ native language transfer. The study of first language (L1) transfer involves the study of errors (negative transfer), avoidance of target language forms, and their overuse.

Citation (APA 6th):

Mah, B. Y. (2009). The manifestation of native language transfer in ESL learning. ESTEEM Academic Journal UiTM Pulau Pinang, 5(2), 61-70.

Writing Web Logs in the ESL Classroom: A Study of Student Perceptions and the Technology Acceptance Model

The web log is an exceptionally valuable tool for the teaching of second language writing, particularly written communication skills (Johnson, 2004; Wu, 2005). More and more international educators have applied this easy-to-use technology to classroom instruction and language learning (Campbell, 2003; Johnson, 2004). However, what is largely unknown is Malaysian students’ reaction to writing web logs in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the perception of writing web logs among Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) HM115 diploma students who took the BEL311 English course in their third semester based on the three Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) variables. Specifically, the study sought to identify whether the two TAM determinants, Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU), affected the students’ behavioural intention (BI) to use web logs for specific writing tasks. This study employed Davis’s TAM (1989) and its questionnaire-based measurement instrument and three hypotheses were formulated based on the objectives of the study.