7th MELTA International Research Conference in English ... · Institut Pendidikan Kampus Ilmu Khas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Saturday, 25 November 2017. In Collaboration with . 7th

TESL BLOCK Institut Pendidikan Kampus Ilmu Khas,

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Saturday, 25 November 2017

In Collaboration with

7th MELTA International Research Conference in English Language Education 2017

Institut Pendidikan Kampus Ilmu Khas

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MELTA gratefully acknowledges the following for their support and contribution for the7th MELTA International Research Conference in English Language Education 2017

• YBhg.Dato’SulaimanbinWak,TimbalanKetuaPengarahPelajaranMalaysia(DasardanPembangunanPendidikan),KementerianPendidikanMalaysia

• YBrs.Dr.SariahbintiAbdulJalil,Rector,InstitutePendidikanGuruMalaysia• Director,IPGKampusIlmuKhas• Director,Institut Latihan DBKL• Director,IPGKampusBahasaAntarabangsa• HeadofDepartment,EnglishStudiesDepartment,IPGKampusIlmuKhas• Allparticipants,institutionsandvolunteersfortheirparticipation.

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©2017 Malaysian English Language Teaching AssociationG-11-2,PutraWalkJalanPP25,TamanPinggiranPutra,BandarPutraPermai,43300SeriKembangan,Selangor

All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorpermissionofthecopyrightowner.

DisclaimerNeitherthepublishernortheeditorsacceptresponsibilityfortheviewsofauthorsexpressedintheircontributions.

Acknowledgement

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Contents

MessagebyTimbalanKetuaPengarahPelajaranMalaysia, KementerianPendidikanMalaysia 4 MessagebyRector,InstituteofTeacherEducationMalaysia Ministry of Education Malaysia 5

Message by the DirectorIPGKampusIlmuKhas,KualaLumpur 6 MessagebythePresidentoftheMalaysianEnglishLanguage Teaching Association 7

Message by the Chair of the 7th MELTA International Research Conference in English Language Education

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The MELTA International Research Conference in English Language Education 9

TheMELTAResearchandDevelopmentBureau 10

ConferenceOrganizingCommittee 11 PanelofJudges 12 FeatureWorkshops 14 ProgrammeSchedule 15 FloorPlanofTESLBlock,IPGKampusIlmuKhas 16 Abstracts 20 • TeacherTrainers/Academics • Ph.D.Candidates • Master’sStudents • Teachers • Teacher Trainees/Undergraduates

About MELTA 76 MELTAManagementCommittee2016-2018 79

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MESSAGE YBhg. Dato’ Sulaiman bin Wak

Timbalan Ketua Pengarah Pelajaran Malaysia,

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

It givesmegreatpleasure to congratulateMELTAand IPGKampus IlmuKhas fororganizing the7thMELTAInternationalConferenceonEnglishLanguageEducation(MIRCELE).

EnglishEducationinMalaysiahasgrown,progressed,anddeveloped,mainlybecauseofthecommitmentand dedication of those before us. They have researched on the issues and problems related to theteachingandlearningofEnglishinthiscountry.Iamsurethatthoseresearcheshaveproducedpracticalsolutionsforrealissuesintheclassroom.Similarly,yourresearchwillundoubtedlybebeneficialnotjusttoyourstudents,yourcolleaguesandtheacademicworldbutalsotoalargerextent,thecountryandtheregionatlarge.

Toalltheparticipantsoftheconference,Iwouldliketoextendmyheartiestcongratulationsandabigthankyouforyourcommitment,dedicationandparticipationinthisconference.

Thankyou.

YBhg Dato’ Sulaiman bin Wak

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MESSAGE Rector, Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia

Ministry of Education Malaysia

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

IapplaudMELTAfortakingthisinitiativetoorganizeaconferencetoshowcasenewandemergingresearchinthefieldofEnglishLanguageEducation.Thisiscertainlyanendeavortoprovideopportunitiesfornoviceresearcherstosharetheirresearchandatthesametimegetfeedbackfromexpertswhowilljudgetheresearch.Thiseventcanalsoserveasaplatformforthesettingupofresearchclustersornetworkwiththewiderresearchcommunity,

I amhappy tonote thecollaborationbetweenMELTAand IPGKampus llmuKhas in thisevent.ThisdemonstratesthatTeacherEducationInstitutionsinMalaysiaaretakingpositivestepsinmakingresearchanintegralandimportantpartoftheirprofessionalandacademicendeavor.Researchisanintegralpartinourquesttotransformoureducationsothatwecanproduceindividualswithinnovativeandcreativemindsetswho can contribute effectively to the nation’s growth: individualswho are knowledgeable,skillful,innovativeandmoreimportantly,ethical.

I take this opportunity to encourage all delegates to fully reap the benefits of participating in thisconferenceasresearch-basedconferencesonEnglishlanguageeducationsuchasMIRCELE2017areararitynotonlyinMalaysia,butinthisregion.IalsotakethisopportunitytocongratulateMELTAandIPGKampusllmuKhasfororganizingthisevent.

Thankyou.

Dr. Sariah binti Abd. Jalil

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Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamualaikumwarahmatullahiwabarakatuh and a warmwelcome to IPG Kampus Ilmu Khas. It isindeedanhonourandaprivilegeforIPGKIKtobechosenasaco-hostofthe7thMELTAInternationalResearch Conference in English Language Education (MIRCELE).We are very proud to be given theopportunitytocollaboratewithareputableorganisationinthefieldofEnglishLanguageEducation,theMalaysianEnglishLanguageTeachingAssociation,betterknownasMELTA,inorganisingthisconference.ItismyferventhopethatthiscollaborationextendsbeyondMIRCELEandservesasalaunchingpadforfutureendeavours.

Thetimingofthisresearch-basedconferencecouldnothavebeenmoreappropriateasitcoincideswiththegoalofIPGMandtheMinistryofEducationofMalaysiatoinculcateandpromoteresearchcultureand data driven decisionmaking (DDDM) among students, lecturers and administrators in all IPGs.OneoftheuniquefeaturesofMIRCELEisthatitservesasaplatformforresearchersfromfivedifferentcategories, namely undergraduates, Master’s students, Ph.D candidates, teachers, teacher educatorsandlecturers,tonotonlypresentandsharetheirresearchfindings,butatthesametimecompeteforexcellenceawardsineachcategory.Idosincerelyhopethattheparticipantsofthisconferencewilltakefulladvantageoftheenrichingexperiencewhichwillprovidethemwiththemotivationandconfidenceneededtobefutureresearchers.Toallthepresenters,Ihopeyouwillgaininvaluableexperienceandknowledge fromyour interactionswith fellowpresentersandrenownedacademicians in the fieldofEnglishEducation,toforgeandbuildstrongprofessionallearningcommunities.

Totheorganiserswhohaveworkedtirelessly,congratulationsonajobwelldone.I’msureyouhavedoneyourbest toensure that theconferencerunssmoothly.Mysincerehope is thatwhentheconferenceends,youwillallleavewithfondmemoriesofthisinstituteandtheknowledgeandexperienceyouhavegainedhere.

Dr. Mohd Suhaimi bin Mohamed Ali

MESSAGE Director

IPG Kampus Ilmu Khas, Kuala Lumpur

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MESSAGE President of the Malaysian English Language

Teaching Association

MELTAplacesgreatemphasisonpromotingresearchinEnglish languageeducationandcontinuestopushforwardtheagendaforobjectivedecisionmakingbasedondatanotonlyformicro-levelpracticesinschoolsandintheclassroomsbutveryimportantlyforpoliciesandstrategiesinstitutednationallytodirectEnglishlanguageeducationinthecountry.TheMELTAResearchConferenceinEnglishlanguageEducationwasspecificallydevelopedtopromote,shareanduseresearchinEnglishlangugeeducation.MELTAispleasedthattheconferencehasgainedmomentumandnowstandsastheonlyindependentandnon-institutionallyalignedresearchconferenceinMalaysia.

ThephilosophyofresearchdriventeachinghasbecometheclarioncallforalleducatorsincludingthoseinEnglishlanguageEducation.TheroleoflocalresearchisbecomingincreasinglyimportantinthefieldofEnglishlanguageteachingandlearningparticularlybecauseoftheexponentialincreaseandemphasisonEnglish innon-nativeEnglish speaking countries.Wenow irrefutable Statisticswhich show thatEnglish language is spoken bymore non-native speakers in countries outside English first languagecontexts thaneverbefore.Even theAsianeconomicpowers likeChina,Korea and JapanwhichoncereliedcompletelyontheirnativelanguagesareplacinggreatemphasisontheteachingofEnglish.

MELTAfeelsthatnon-nativespeakersmustplayagreaterpartinthetheorisingofEnglishasasecondandforeignlanguage;and,beatthecuttingedgeofdevelopingapproaches,methodologiesandmaterialthatarecontextuallysuperiorandfarmoreeffectiveandrelevantfortheiruseandpurpose.

InMalaysia,wearebeginningtoseetheemergenceself-directedandautonomousinterestinthepursuitofhighereducationscholarshipparticularlyamongeducators.Thishasinturnjump-startedresearchpracticeandinterestinresearchingthemanyfacetsofEnglishlanguageeducation.TheresponsibilityfordevelopmentsinthisfieldcannotsimplybeassignedtotheMinistryofEducationortoinstitutions.Researchanddevelopmentshouldbethepassionandmissionofeveryteacherandacademic.Forthistobearealityresearchersneedsupportthatincludesmotivation,training,resourcesandimportantlyplatformstosharetheirfindingssoastocreatewiderimpact.

MIRCELEisMELTA’swayofprovidingsuchsupport.ThesuccessofMELTAeventsisalwaysanchoredinthepartnershipsweforge.MELTAisproudtopartnerInstitutPendidikanGuruKampusIlmuKhasintheorganizationofthis7thMIRCELE2017.MELTAthankstheDirectorofthisiconicteachereducationinstitutionforhissupportandvisiontopushfurtherforwardresearchinEnglishlanguageEducation.

Thank you

Professor Dr. Ganakumaran Subramaniam

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MESSAGE Chairs of the 7th MELTA International Research Conference on English Language Education 2017

BismillahirahmanirrahimAssalamualaikum wbt

We are pleased to welcome you to the 7th MELTA International Research Conference in EnglishLanguage Education 2017 (MIRCELE).We look forward to a conference that showcases research inlanguageeducationconductedbyundergraduates,postgraduates,teachersandacademicstolocalandinternationalaudiences.

In this increasinglydata-drivensociety, it is important thatexperiencedteachers,beginning teachersandourteacherundergraduatesareabletoconductandsharequalityresearchtoexamineissueswithintheirowncontextsaswellassharetheirfindings.Itishopedthatthisconferencewillofferparticipantsandpresenterstheopportunitytoengagewithfellowresearchers,discusstopical issuesanddevelopprofessionalnetworks.

Besidestheposterpresentations,wehavealsoinvitedfourexpertsinthefieldofresearchtoparticipateinthisone-dayconference.SpecialthankstoProf.DrGanakumaranSubramaniam,DrFanSiongPeng,Assoc.Prof.DrLeeKeanWahandDrAdrianJarvis.Wegreatlyvaluetheirparticipationandlookforwardtotheirinsightfulvisionandthoughts.

Lastbutnotleast, it isourgreathonourandpleasuretoaccepttheresponsibilitiesandchallengesofbeingConferenceChairs.Wehopethattheconferencewillbeastimulating,informative,enjoyableandfulfillingexperiencetoallparticipants.Wewishyouaproductiveandinsightfulresearchforum.

Dr Zaira Abu Hassan Shaari Datin Dr. Raja Mazuin Raja Aziz

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The MELTA International Research Conference in English Language Education

The Research and Development Bureau is responsible for the organization of the annual MELTAInternational Research Conference in English Language Education. This conference is an initiativebyMELTAthatsupportstheMinistryofHigherEducation’svisionforMalaysiatobecomeacentreofexcellenceforhighereducation.ItsmainaimisbringtogetherkeyfiguresinEnglishLanguageEducationfromthevariousInstitutionsofHigherlearningbothlocallyandinternationallytopresenttheirthoughtsandviewsonsignificantareasoftheirresearch.Italsoprovidesgraduatestudentswiththeopportunityto present theirwork in a conducive environmentwith fellow graduate studentsworking in similarresearchareasandfacingsimilarchallenges.

CompetitionfortheMELTAAwardsforExcellenceinEnglishLanguageEducationResearchAnimportantfeatureoftheconferenceisthecompetitionfortheMELTAAwardsforExcellenceinEnglishLanguageEducationResearch.Allpresentationsare judgedbyateamofexperts inEnglishLanguageEducation for their significance in contributing to charting new avenues for scholarship in EnglishLanguageEducation.Awardwinnersareannouncedattheclosingoftheconference.

Awardrecipientswillreceive:• Acertificateofrecognition• AcademicBookvoucher• AconfirmedpresentationslotatthenextMELTAInternationalconference• FeewaiverforthenextMELTAInternationalconference• AtravelgranttothenextMELTAInternationalconference• Complimentaryone-yearMELTAmembership

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The MELTA Research and Development Bureau

ResearchandDevelopmentisconductedbyMELTAinlinewiththevisionandaspirationsoftheassociationtocontribute to thedevelopmentofELE inMalaysia.ThemainaimofResearchandDevelopmentatMELTAistocreateagreaterawarenessofissuesinELEtheoryandpracticeamongMELTAmembersandthepublic,especiallythroughitsCentreofExcellenceforEnglishLanguageEducation.

Sinceitsinception,TheMELTAR&DBureauhasstrivedtospearheadandsupporttheadvancementofknowledge in English Language Education and to create a greater awareness of issues in theory and practiceinEnglishLanguageEducationResearchamongMELTAmembersandthepublic.Ithasachievedthisbyorganisingandadministeringtovariousactivitiesaimedatprovidingresearchandcollaborationopportunitiesfortheprofessionaldevelopmentofpractitioners, learnersandlanguageenthusiastsofsimilar interests.A signature event of theBureau is theAnnualGraduateResearchConference. ThisconferenceisuniquebecauseallpresentationsattheconferencearejudgedbyapanelofexpertsfromlocalandinternationaluniversitiesaspresenterscompeteforseveralMELTAAwardsforExcellenceinResearchinEnglishLanguageEducation.TheBureauhadalsoorganizedasymposiumonResearchinEnglishLanguageArts&LiteraturewhichhadoffereddiverseinsightsintotypesofcreativeapproachestoResearchinLanguageArts&Literatureandhadconcludedwithaveryactiveandlivelyroundtablediscussion that provided participants with the opportunity to talk about and receive feedback onprospectsandpossibilitiesoftheroleofLiteratureintheMalaysianEnglishLanguageClassroom.

TheBureaualsoprovidesR&DConsultancyServicesfortheevaluationofeducationalproductsinlinewiththeaimsandaspirationsoftheassociationtospearheadandsupporttheadvancementofknowledgeinEnglishLanguageEducation.InterestedpartiesarewelcometosubmitaproposalfortheimprovementanddevelopmentofeducationalproductstotheMELTAR&DBureau.TheultimateaimoftheMELTAR&DBureauistopromotetheborderlesstransferofknowledgeofEnglishLanguageEducationandtomakeitaccessibletothegeneralpublic.

TheMELTAResearchandDevelopmentBureauiscurrentlymanagedby:DrZairaAbuHassanShaariDirectorofResearchandDevelopmentMalaysian English Language Teaching Association

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Conference Organizing Committee Advisors: Prof.DrGanakumaranSubramaniam,President Malaysian English Language Teaching Association Dr.BasilWijasuriya

Chairs: Dr.ZairaAbuHassanShaari YMDatinDrRajaMazuinRajaAziz

Secretaries: Ms.SzarmilaaDewieKrishnan Ms.NurhezrinAnuar

PRESENTER AND PARTICIPANT MANAGEMENTConsultant:Assoc.Prof.Dr.RameshNairMs.SzarmilaaDewieKrishnanMs.NurhezrinAnuarDr.ParamjiitKaurA/PSardaraSinghMr.ThurairajaSunmokasudramMs.ElizabethThor

CONFERENCE PRESENTATION SELECTION Consultant: Dr.BasilWijasuryaAssoc.Prof.DatinDr.CynthiaDossDr.CheahSwiEeDr.SubarnaSivapalan

LOGISTICS AND MATERIAL MANAGEMENTConsultant: Dr.AliAhmadSemanMs.ZalehaAbdulHamidMs.FionaL.Sadagopan

PROGRAMME BOOKMs.TamLyeSuanDr.ZairaAbuHassanShaari

COMPETITION JUDGINGConsultant:Dr.BasilWijasuryaAssoc.Prof.DrRameshNairAssoc.Prof.DatinDr.CynthiaDossDr.ZairaAbuHassanShaari

OPENING, CLOSING CEREMONY & AWARDSConsultant: YMDatinDr.RajaMazuinRajaAzizMs.MalligaPerumalMs.JaneChaiMs.AzlinaAhmadKamalMrThurairajaSunmokasudram

WEBSITE,TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND MULTIMEDIAConsultant: Asst.Prof.Dr.MohdShukriNordinMs.GraceChangSiewYeng

PRESENTER AND PARTICIPANT MANAGEMENTConsultant:Assoc.Prof.Dr.RameshNairMs.SzarmilaaDewieKrishnanMs.NurhezrinAnuarDr.ParamjiitKaurA/PSardaraSinghMr.ThurairajaSunmokasudramMs.ElizabethThorIPGKIKstudents

LOGISTICS AND MATERIAL MANAGEMENTConsultant: Dr.AliAhmadSemanMs.ZalehaAbdulHamidMs.FionaL.Sadagopan

SESSIONS MANAGEMENTConsultant: Asst.Prof.Dr.SivabalaNaiduMr.WaridMihatIPGKIKstudents

COMPETITION JUDGINGConsultant:Assoc.Prof.DatinDr.CynthiaDossAssoc.Prof.DrRameshNairDr.SubarnaSivapalan

OPENING, CLOSING CEREMONY & AWARDSConsultant: YMDatinDr.RajaMazuinRajaAzizMs.MalligaPerumalMs.JaneChaiMs.AzlinaAhmadKamalMrThurairajaSunmokasudram

PROMOTION, PUBLICITY, INVITATIONS &GUEST RELATIONSConsultant: Mr.AslamKhanSamahsKhanMr.KuruvillaA/LC.K.JosephMs.YogesGopalan

MEALS & REFRESHMENTS Consultant:Dr.ZairaAbuHassanShaariMs.ZarinaMustafaIPGKIKstudents

PRE-CONFERENCE CONFERENCE

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MALAYSIAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING ASSOCIATION (PERSATUAN PENGAJARAN BAHASA INGGERIS MALAYSIA)G-11-2, Putra Walk, Jalan PP25, Taman Pinggiran Putra, Bandar Putra Permai, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor, MalaysiaTel: 03-89453137 / 017 604 7490 Email: [email protected] Website: www.melta.org.my

Represent Us at International Conferences Overseas

��

Apply for a 2018 MELTA Overseas Conference Grant and represent us at conferences in Japan, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Brunei and Indonesia

As part of MOUs we have with English Language Teaching associations in several countries, MELTA is able to send representatives to present papers or conduct workshops at their international conferences. The 2017 MELTA Overseas Conference Grant will provide representatives with accommodation at associate member conferences as well as a fee waiver.

To learn more about this grant and download the application form, visit http://melta.org.my

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Panel of Judges

Professor Dr Ganakumaran Subramaniam University of Nottingham Malaysia

Professor Dr Stephen Hall Sunway University

Associate Professor Dr Lee Kean Wah University of Nottingham Malaysia

Associate Professor Dr Melor Md Yunus Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Associate Professor Dr Pradip Kumar Misra University of Nottingham Malaysia

Associate Professor Dr Pramela Krish Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Associate Professor Dr Raja Nor Safinas Raja Harun

Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris

Associate Professor Dr Rajeevnath Ramnath University of Nottingham Malaysia

Associate Professor Dr Ramesh Nair Universiti Teknologi MARA

Dr Adrian Jarvis University of Nottingham Malaysia

Dr Assunta Carolina Antonysamy IPG Kampus Ilmu Khas

Dr Azlin Zaiti Zainal University of Malaya

Dr Cheah Swi Ee ERICAN Education Group

Dr Kaarthiyainy Supramaniam Universiti Teknologi MARA

Dr Lilliati IsmailUniversiti Putra Malaysia

Dr Mark Gibson University of Nottingham Malaysia

Dr Mohd. Shukri Nordin International Islamic University Malaysia

Dr Nor Liza Haji Ali Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Dr Philip Whitehead University of Nottingham Malaysia

Dr Roziana Mohamed Rosli International Islamic University Malaysia

Dr Subarna Sivapalan Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS

Dr Vanitha Thanabalan English Language Teaching Centre,



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Featured Workshops

Facilitator: Professor Dr Ganakumaran SubramaniamPresident of MELTAHead of School (UNMC) EducationFaculty of Social SciencesUniversity of Nottingham (Malaysia Campus)

Workshop 1 Research Proposal

Facilitator: Dr. Fan Siong PengSenior Lecturer, Mathematics DepartmentIPG Kampus Sultan MizanBesut, Terengganu

Workshop 2 ATLAS.ti Qualitative Data

Analysis Software

Facilitator: Associate Professor Dr. Lee Kean WahDirector of Undergraduate StudiesUniversity Of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

Workshop 3 Research Design

Facilitator: Assistant Professor Dr Adrian JarvisFaculty of Social SciencesUniversity of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

Workshop 4 Qualitative Research Instruments

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Programme Schedule

Time Event & Venue

7.30 a.m. - 8.30 a.m Registration of Presenters & ParticipantsEntrance to TESL Auditorium

Mounting of Posters by PresentersRooms: T009, T010, T011, T012, T107, T108, T109, T110

8.30 a.m. - 9.00 a.m. OPENING CEREMONYTESL Auditorium

9.00 a.m. - 9.10 a.m. VIP Coffee BreakRoom: TESL Resource Centre

9.10 a.m - 12.30 a.m. Poster CompetitionRooms: T009, T010, T011, T012, T107, T108, T109, T110

10.30 a.m. - 11.00 a.m. Coffee Break1st Floor Balcony; Rooms T102-104Training Room (Judges)

9.30 a.m.- 10.45 a.m. Workshop 1Research ProposalRecital Room, Music Block

Workshop 2ATLAS.ti Qualitative Data Analysis softwareBilik Mawar

11.15 a.m. - 12.30 p.m Workshop 3Research DesignBilik Mawar

Workshop 4Qualitative Research InstrumentsRecital Room, Music Block

12.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m. LUNCHRooms T102-104; 1st Floor BalconyT001 Training Room (Judges)

1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m. Announcement of FinalistsTESL Auditorium

2.00 p.m. - 3.40 p.m. Oral Presentations• TeacherTrainers/Academics - Recital Room• Ph.D Candidates - M105 • Master’s Students - M106• Teachers - M202 • Teacher Trainees/Undergraduates - Choir Room

Deliberation by JudgesT001 Training Room

AWARD PRESENTATION CEREMONY & CLOSING CEREMONYTESL Auditorium

Tea BreakRooms T102-104; 1st Floor BalconyT001 Training Room (Judges)

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7TH MIRCELE 2017 CONFERENCE FLOOR PLAN

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PARKING AREA FOR STAFF AND MELTA COMMITTEE MEMBERS


Malaysian Journal of ELT Research A journal of the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association

An open access online journal, indexed by the Malaysian Citation Index

Frequency: Two issues a year

To read the latest issue of MaJER, and for information

on how to submit papers via the online journal platform,

please visit

http://journals.melta.org.my/

The Malaysian Journal of ELT Research (MaJER) aims to

advance knowledge of and to develop expertise in critical

and scientific inquiry in English language teaching and learning.

The journal is intended for academicians, researchers,

teacher educators and graduate students who are involved in

research and dissemination of knowledge in the field. This is a

refereed online journal which will publish articles in an ongoing

manner. All articles in this journal undergo anonymous peer review

by two referees.

Chief EditorMuhammad Kamarul Kabilan Abdullah

Administrative EditorSubarna [email protected]

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ABSTRACTS

❖ Teacher Trainers/Academics

❖ Ph.D Candidates

❖ Master’s Students

❖ Teachers

❖ Teacher Trainees/Undergraduates

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ABSTRACTS

CATEGORY Teacher Trainers/Academics

Perceptions of Music Option Trainees Using WhatsApp Instant Messaging as a Learning Platform to Enhance English ProficiencyEdna Wellington

POSTER CODE A1

WhatsApp is an instant messaging application that has gained popularity amongst music pre-serviceteachers inevitably. As the usage ofWhatsApp as a learning platform to enhance English proficiency hasnotbeenresearchedinthefieldofmusiceducation,theresearcherchosetoconductanexploratorystudyemployingaqualitativemethod.Thestudywasconductedwith13undergraduatemusicpre-serviceteachersto determine how they perceived usingWhatsApp as a learning platform during year two semester oneof their undergraduate music programme. The purpose of the study was to explore howmobile instantmessagingwouldbeaneffectivestrategytohelpenhancethemusictrainees’Englishproficiencyinamusiceducationlearningcontext.ThemusictraineesinthisclasshavelittleexposurewritinginEnglishespeciallyinamusiccoursewherethemediumofinstructionisnotinEnglishwhilemusictermsandreferencesfrombooksandmediaareinEnglish.Theresearchquestionsofthisstudycomprisedofwhattheteachertraineesperceptionswereon theuseofWhatsApptoenhance theirEnglishproficiency inamusicpaperandhowtheyperceivedusingWhatsApp in a learning contextbeyond the classroom.This study comprisesof twophases.Thefirstphaseconsistedofpre-serviceteachersperceptionscapturedthroughwrittenreflectionsfromsemi-structuredquestionsgivenasaguidetoenablethemtoreflectandwritetheirperceptions.Thewrittenreflectionswereanalysedusingathematicapproach.Inordertoenhancetriangulationofdata,asemi-structuredinterviewwasconductedtoenablethemusicteachertraineestoreflectandgivetheiropinions.Findingsfromtheanalysisofreflectionswrittenandinterviewconductedincludemoreopportunitiestowriteandspellmusictermscorrectly,exposuretowritegrammaticallycorrectsentences,betterusageoflanguagewithoutinhibitionsbetweenmusiclecturerandpre-serviceteachertrainees,bettercommunicationbetweenlecturerandpeers,encouragingsharingofideasamongstthemselvesandcreatingapositiveatmosphereinalearning platform. The study has shown the importance of engaging teacher trainees through the use ofWhatsAppinordertobuildtheirlanguagedevelopmentusingmoderntechnology.

BIODATA

Edna Wellington is a music lecturer from IPGK Ilmu Khas, Cheras. She has a degree in music education from the University of Otago, New Zealand and a Masters in Educational Administration from Universiti Putra Malaysia. She specialises in music pedagogy, piano and actively presents and publishes research in music education.

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Students’ Autonomy in Utilizing Social MediaHening Dian Paramita, Michael Recard Sihombing

AdvancementininformationandcommunicationtechnologyhasprovidedEnglishlearnerswithonlinetoolsthatcanbeusedaslearningresourcesoutsideofclass.EFLlearnersspendanextensiveamountoftimeonsocialmediaeverydaytosocialize,wheninfacttheycanalsouse it toenhancetheirEnglishskills if theyknowhowtomakethemostoutoftheirsocialmediaaccounts.ThisresearchwasconductedtofindouthowmuchautonomystudentshaveovertheirEnglishlearninginrelationtohowtheyutilizeonlinesocialmediainseekingopportunitiestolearnEnglishontheirown.ThisstudyfocusesonmillennialEFLlearnersaged18to23yearsoldwhoactivelyusesocialmedia.Weemployedaquantitativemethodusingaquestionnairethatwasdevelopedfromotherquestionnairesaboutautonomouslearningandsocialmediautilizationforlearningpurposes.127collegestudentsparticipatedinoursurvey.Althoughthisstudyhasfulfilleditsaim,therearelimitationstothestudy.Thedataobtainedwasfromsecond-yearstudentsofoneparticularcollegeinJakarta,whichsuggests that the resultsof this studydonot representcollegestudents ingeneral.The findingsofthisstudyrevealedthatmostofthestudentsareconfidentthattheyareautonomousandknowhowtobeautonomous.Incontrast,theyopinethatteachersshoulddomostoftheworktomaketheirlearningfruitful.Theresultsof thesurvey indicate that studentsuse their socialmedia toacquireEnglish—InstagramandYouTubebeingthemostpopular—doingactivitiesthatsupporttheirreadingskills.Theirproductiveskillsarenotreallysupported.ThestudywillbeasignificantendeavorinfindingcreativewaystoutilizeonlinesocialmediaforpromotingautonomousandlifelongEnglishlearning,thusitwillbebeneficialforEFLlearnersandinstructors.ItalsoservesasafuturereferenceforELTresearchersonthesubjectoflearners’readinesstobeself-reliantintermsofsearchingforauthenticmaterialsandcreatingonlineactivitiestosupporttheirownEnglishlearning.

BIODATA

Hening Paramita teaches EAP at University of Indonesia and IELTS prep courses to employees of government and private institutions. Her areas of interest are Multiple Language Learning, Colloquialism and Language Teaching.Michael Recard Sihombing has taught English to adult learners in various educational settings since 2012. His research interests are ICT in ELT, ESP and Sociolinguistics.

ABSTRACTS POSTER CODE A2

22


A Descriptive Study of Home-Schooling in Klang ValleyIndira Malani A/P Munusamy

A descriptive case study of home-schooling was conducted in the Klang valley in Kuala Lumpur schooldistrictsforthepurposeofinvestigatingthedemographiccharacteristicsoftheparents,whyfamilieschoosehomeschoolingcomparedtopublicschools,andalsohowdotheparentsofthehome-schoolersholdtheirperceptiontowardsthehome-schoolingtrendinMalaysia.ThisstudyisadescriptivesurveywhichexploresthereasonsparentsinthemetropolitanareaofacityinthestateofKlangValleydistrictopttosendtheirchildrenhomeschoolinparticular.Threehomeschoolingfamilieswereinterviewed.Thestudyfoundoutthathome-schoolinggavetheparentsasenseoffreedomandlessrestrictionintermsofsyllabusplanningfortheirchild,personal libertyandalsoabettereducationasawhole.Generally itcanbesaidthathomeschoolersarewelleducatedparentsfromahigherincomegroupandhaveastrongbelievetowardshavingfreedomofchoicewhenitcomestoprovidingthebesteducationfortheirchildren.ThestudyalsoraisedafewquestionsontheexistingpublicschoolsinMalaysia,andalsoviewingapossibleadaptationorchangeinthecurrenteducationblueprintinMalaysiatoopendoorsforparentstochoosehomeschoolinginsomecircumstances.

BIODATA

Indira Malani Munusamy has been involved in English language teaching since 2012. She is currently pursuing her position as a lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, primarily working at the Department of Language and Linguistics, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Kampar Campus). Her areas of research interest include the choice for private schools, international schools and also home-schooling in Malaysia.


23


The Effect of Pre-university Learners’ Writing Apprehension on Their Argumentative Writing QualityVahid Nimehchisalem, J.D. Kumuthini A/P Jagabalan, Helen Tan

LiteratureonMalaysianpre-universitylearners’revealedthattheirwritingqualityislacking.Thispresentstudyisalsofocusingonagroupofpre-universitylearners’writingskills.Itcomparedthehighandlowapprehensivelearners’ argumentative writing quality. Writing ability is essential in Second Language (L2) learners’educational and professional life however, apprehension obstructs to performwith confidence and fulfiltheiraspirations(Daly,1975).Writingapprehensioncanbedefinedas‘arelativelystableanxietydispositionassociatedwithL2writing,whichinvolvesavarietyofdysfunctionalthoughts,increasedphysiologicalarousalandmaladaptivebehaviours(Cheng,2004,p.319).ThepresentstudyinvestigatedtherelationshipbetweenthewritingapprehensionscoresandwritingqualityscoresinargumentativewritingamongtheL2learners.Thestudyalsorevealedthesignificantdifferencebetweenthehighandlowapprehensivelearners’writingquality subscale scores (content, organisation, vocabulary, writing convention and overall effectiveness).ThisstudyusedSecondLanguageWritingApprehensionInventory–SLWAI(Cheng,2004)todeterminethelearners’writingapprehensionscores.Thedatawasgatheredfrompurposivelyselected30ESLpre-universitylearners(15highand15lowapprehensiveESLwriters).Thesehighandlowapprehensivelearnersweresatforanargumentativewritingtest(MUET,2008).TworatersscoredthosewrittensamplesusingAnalyticScaleofArgumentativeWriting(Nimehchisalem,2010).Basedonthedescriptivestatisticsresults,onaverage,thelowapprehensivewritersobtainhigherscoresintheirargumentativewriting(M=80.33,SD=7.29)thanthehighapprehensivewriters(M=64.33,SD=13.70)andthedifferencewasstatisticallysignificant.Independentt-testresultsindicatedthesignificantcontributionofwritingapprehensiontothestudents’argumentativewritingqualitysubscalescores.Thefindingshavepedagogicalimplicationsthatwillassisttheeducatorsatpre-universityprogrammetoreducethelearners’apprehensioninargumentativecompositions.

Keywords:Argumentativewriting,ESLpre-universitylearners,writingapprehension,writingquality

BIODATA

J.D. Kumuthini was born on 20 April 1979 in Penang, Malaysia and started teaching English Language and MUET since 2003 in matriculation colleges.


24


Academic Research Writing Digital Toolkit for Creating Genre Awareness among ESL PostgraduatesKaussalya Verasingam, Suriani Binti Mohd Kasim

AcademicResearchWritingDigitalToolkitisaninnovationthataddressestheneedtodesignusableresearchdriven teaching and learning materials for raising English as Second Language postgraduate learners’academicskills.Althoughthereisanestablishedbodyofknowledgeongenreanalysisthathaveproducedvariousmodels that learners could use to write research genres like dissertations and research articles,thereisadearthofknowledgeontheteachingapproachesandstrategiesusedintheteachingprocess.Theemphasisofresearchinthefieldshowsaconcernforteachinggenreawareness(e.g.Negretti&Kuteeva,2011;Millar,2011)andnotonhowtostrategisetheteachingprocessitself.Inadigitalisedworldwherelearnersnolongerturntoprintedmaterialsonlybutaccessonlineplatform,socialmediaanddigitaltoolstocompletetheirreadingandwritingtasksthereisanincreasingneedtoofferthemdigitalisedmediaforlearningaboutgenretoolsandsimultaneouslyenhancetheirgenreawareness.AcademicResearchWritingDigitalToolkitisdesignedtoprovideESLpostgraduatestudentsadigitalgenretoolforreadingandwritingtargetgenreslikedissertationsandtheses.UsingtheSwalesianmovemodelsinESPliterature,thetoolkitisdesignedandorganisedaccordingtothegenericfeaturesofresearchgenres.Itallowsstudentstoorganisetheircontenttomeettherequirementsofexpertmembersoftheacademicdiscoursecommunity.Forinstance,inwritingtheintroductionsection,studentscouldusetheSwales’revisedCARSmodel(2004)toorganisetheirtextwithintherhetoricalstructureandlexico-grammaticalfeaturesrecommendedforthatparticularsection.

BIODATA

Kaussalya Verasingam is an English Language lecturer at INTEC Education College, UITM Shah Alam. With her academic qualification in TESL, she continues to inspire young learners to shape their lives into thoughtful ones through education beyond classroom. She has a deep interest in conducting educational research and continues to be an active researcher.


25


Motivated by the Numbers: The Effect of Technology-Assisted Extensive Reading (TER) in Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension Among Penang Matriculation College StudentsMohammad Shafiq Syazwan Bin Mohd Ashri, Nor Azlan Bin Abdul Ghani

Thepurposes of this study are to investigate the impact of Technology-AssistedExtensiveReading (TER)on PenangMatriculation College students’ reading comprehension and examine their perspectives of theTER intervention.Thestudyadoptedamix-methodapproach that reliedonstatisticalproceduressuchasdescriptive,inferential(t-test)andeffectsizestatisticsaswellasqualitativeapproachtointerpretparticipants’responses.Thedesignofthestudywasquasi-experimentalinnaturewhichinvolvedapre-test,apost-testand treatmenton88 students from four intact science classeswhohad low-intermediate to intermediatelevelofEnglishusingconveniencesampling;twowereassignedasexperimentalgroup,andtheothertwoascontrolgroup.Intheexperimentalgroup,participantswereintroducedtoaself-selectedindependentreadingprogramme,witheachparticipantchoosingreadingmaterialsbasedonhisorherownpreferences.ParticipantswereaskedtokeepalogofthenumberofwordsreadandthegenreoftextreadusingtheWhatsappmobileapplication.Participantswereexpectedtoupdatethenumberofwordsandthegenre(FictionorNonFiction)atanongoingbasiseverytimetheyfinishreading.Thisself-reportingamountofwordsreadcanbeviewedbyallparticipantsintheexperimentalgroupthroughoutthe10-week.NoTERinterventionwascarriedoutinthecontrolgroup.ForproposingtheeffectofTER,thestudyadoptedpre-andpost-testsdesignedtomeasurelearners’ readingcomprehensionaswellas semi-structured interviewtodeterminestudents’perceptionsregardingTER.Independentsamplet-testwasusedtocomparemeanfrombothgroup.Thestatisticalresultsdidnot confirmTER tobemoreeffective in improving the students’ readingcomprehensionscores.EventhoughtherewasnoclearindicationinincreaseofreadingcomprehensionscoresbuttheparticipantshadapositiveattitudetowardsTER.TheyacknowledgedthebeneficialimpactofTERontheirEnglishlearningandthefeasibilityofTERinthematriculationcollegesetting.However,problemsanddilemmaswerealsoidentified.Theimportanceofselectingappropriategenreandtypesofreadingbookforstudentsisvitalastherearetoomanydiversekindsofreadingbooks.Theyserveasgoodresourcesforleadingstudentsintolearningnewvocabulary.

BIODATA

Mohammad Shafiq Syazwan Bin Mohd Ashri was born in Kedah, Malaysia in 1984. He graduated with a B.Ed in Teaching English as Second Language (TESL) from the Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI). In 2008, he joined the English Unit, Penang Matriculation College, as a lecturer and was promoted as Head of English Unit in 2012. His current research interests include second language acquisition and extensive reading. He is also the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) Master Trainer for the Ministry of Education and Cambridge English partnership.Nor Azlan Bin Abdul Ghani was born in Penang, Malaysia in 1979. He received his Diploma in Education (English Language) from the International Languages Teacher Training Institute (IPBA), Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur, in 2004, and M.Ed in TESOL from the University Science of Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia in 2011. He joined the English Unit of Perlis Matriculation College, Perlis, Malaysia in 2004. Since 2007, he has been with the English Unit, Penang Matriculation College, Penang, where he is currently a Lecturer. His main areas of research interest are Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL) and reading comprehension.


26


From Clunk To Click: Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR)Nor Azlan Bin Abdul Ghani

ThepurposesofthisstudyaretoinvestigatetheimpactofCollaborativeStrategicReading(CSR)onPenangMatriculationCollegestudents’readingcomprehensionandexaminetheirperspectivesoftheCSRintervention.Thestudyadoptedamix-methodapproachthatreliedonstatisticalproceduressuchasdescriptive,inferential(t-test) and effect size statistics as well as qualitative approach to interpret participants’ responses. Thedesignof thestudywasquasi-experimental innaturewhich involvedapre-test,apost-testandtreatmenton51studentsfromtwointactphysicalscienceclasseswhohadlow-intermediatetointermediatelevelofEnglishusingconveniencesampling.Theexperimentalgroupwasexposedtoa-eight-hourtreatmentusingcollaborative strategic readingmethod while the control group was taught using the traditional methodthrough teacher-centered lessonwith three types of data; including a standardised readingmeasurepre-test and post-test, the participants’ responses to a questionnaire survey and semi- structured interview.Independentsamplet-testwasusedtocomparemeanfrombothgroup.ThestatisticalresultsdidconfirmCSRtobemoreeffectivethanthetraditionalteacher-ledreadingapproachwhichfocusesonvocabularyandgrammarteachinginimprovingthestudents’readingcomprehensionscores.ThefindingsalsoindicatedthatCSRhadapositiveeffectonthelearners’readingcomprehensionparticularlyinrelationtothecomprehensionquestionsongettingthemainideaandfindingthesupportingdetails.Onthewhole,theparticipantshadapositiveattitudetowardsCSR.TheyacknowledgedthebeneficialimpactofCSRontheirEnglishlearningandthefeasibilityofCSRinthematriculationcollegesetting.CSRoffersanalternativeapproachtodealingwiththeproblemoftraditionallylargeteacher-centeredclassroomsinMalaysia,whereindividualdifferencescannotbetakenintoaccountandstudentsarepassivelearnerswithoutinteractionwithothers.ThiscollaborativereadingapproachenablesteacherstocreateamoreeffectiveandinteractivecontextforEnglishlearning.

BIODATA

Nor Azlan Bin Abdul Ghani was born in Penang, Malaysia in 1979. He received his Diploma in Education (English Language) from the International Languages Teacher Training Institute (IPBA), Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur, in 2004, and M.Ed in TESOL from the University Science of Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia in 2011. He joined the English Unit, Perlis Matriculation College, Perlis, Malaysia in 2004. Since 2007, he has been with the English Unit, Penang Matriculation College, Penang, where he is currently a Lecturer. His main areas of research interest are Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL) and reading comprehension.


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Using Plickers Application for Formative Assessment in the Teaching and Learning of Grammar in Primary ESL ClassroomNorul Rafidah Binti Hjn Redzuan, Muhammad Farhan Bin Mohd Yazid

Formativeassessmentisoneofthewaysofassessmentinpupils’learninganditisgenerallyacknowledgedinMalaysianeducationalsystem. Itcanhaveapowerful impactonpupils’motivationandachievementbyaddingsomeinterestingandwell-builtfeaturesofassessment.ThisstudyaimstoinvestigatetheeffectivenessofusingPlickersApplicationinordertohavefunandengagingwaysofassessmentandalsoencourageactiveparticipationamongthepupilsintheteachingandlearningofgrammar.Thisstudywascarriedouttoanswertwo research questions: (1) How does the use of Plickers Application increase the pupils’ participationduringtheassessmentofgrammar,(2)Whatarethepupils’perceptionontheuseofPlickersApplicationinassessment.Atotalof35pupilswereselectedfromaprimaryschoolbyusingpurposivesampling.Thiswasacasestudyutilisingbothquantitativeandqualitativedata.Thedatacollectionmethodswerepre-testandpost-test, surveyquestionnaire and semi-structured interview.The results showed therewasadifferencebetweenthepre-testandpost-test.Meanwhiletheresultsofthesurveyandinterviewalsoshowedactiveparticipationamong thepupils inanswering formativeassessmentand therewas increasedmotivation inlearning grammar. The findings of this study have implications for teachers and educators to implementeffectiveandinterestingwaysofformativeassessmentintheirteachingandlearningprocessintheprimaryESLclassroom.

BIODATA

Norul Rafidah bte Redzuan is an English lecturer at the Institute of Teacher Education Tun Hussein Onn Campus, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. She has 18 years of teaching primary school pupils, secondary school students and now, teacher trainees. She completed her Master’s degree in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and her research interests are ESL reading, writing and ICT. Muhammad Farhan bin Mohd Yazid is a Trainee Teacher majoring in Teaching of English as a Second Language at the Institute of Teacher Education Tun Hussein Onn Campus, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. He has completed his one year TESL Foundation studies and currently in his third year of degree. His research interests are language and ICT.


28


Facebook Live and Smartphone for Enhancement Class, Anybody?Nurhasmiza Sazalli, Adibah Omar

WereportontheprovisionalfindingsofanongoingresearchprojectinvestigatingtheuseofsmartphonesandFacebookLivetoenhancetheteachingofScience,Mathematics,EnglishandBahasaMelayuforMalaysianSecondarySchool.The socialnetworkFacebookand smartphonesare chosen tobe the tools investigatedin this study because there is a high inclination in most Malaysia secondary school students to use thecombinationoftechnologiesintheirdailylifenowadays.However,basedonthefindingsfromtheliterature,Malaysianteachers’acceptanceontheuseofmobiletechnologiesandsocialnetworkingsites forteachingandlearningisstillaverage.ThisfindingisalsofoundbasedoninformalobservationsanddiscussionswithMalaysian secondary school teachers and someSchool Improvement Specialist Coaches conductedby theresearcherbeforethisresearchisconducted.Casestudyischosenasthemethodologythatinformsthestudyinvolving15teacherparticipantsand50studentparticipants.ThestudentsaretheLowerSecondarystudentsfromaselectedschoolinSelangor.Forthepurposeofthisresearch,FacebookLiveandsmartphonesareusedfor enhancement classes,whichare conductedonlyonehourperweek.UsingFacebookLive, the teacherparticipants conducted their teaching to their students who are at different locations (the students are not intheschoolcompoundandtheteachingisnotconductedduringschoolhours).Totakepartintheteachingconductedbytheteachers,thestudentswhommostlycomefromaveragetohighsocialeconomicbackgroundusetheirownpersonalsmartphones.Theimpactoftheprogramisevaluatedusinginterview,observationandqualitativedataanalysis.Itaimstoproducepedagogicalguidelinesforteacherstousethecombinationof technologies besides exploring the motivating factors and the obstacles of using the combination oftechnologiesforteachingandlearning.

BIODATA

Dr. Nurhasmiza Sazalli is an English language lecturer from Language Academy, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Her research areas include mobile assisted language learning, social media for teaching and learning and design based research. She has been researching on Facebook tools to enhance teaching and learning and her next projects will be on Instagram and other popular social media among learners.


29


Gamification of the English Language Classroom in Private InstitutionsR.Nadarajan A/L Ramasamy

Gamification is the application of game elements to solve problems in business, health, and education.Students, especially young learners, often lack themotivation to attend classeswithout fail, stay engagedduring lessons and complete and submit homework assignments without fail. This also leads to poorperformanceinformativeandsummativetests.Thisstudyappliesalimitedgamificationframeworkintwoclasses enrolled in the Cambridge Young Learners English programs at the Starters andMovers levels inaninstitutioninBandarMahlotaCheras.ThemainobjectiveofthisstudyistoenhancegeneralmotivationthroughthePBLcomponent(Points,Badges,Leaderboard)ingamification,whichisexpectedtoleadtomoreconsistentclassattendance,betterengagementinclassbystudentsandsatisifactorysubmissionofoutofclassassignmentsandbetterperfromanceinvarioustests.Allstudentsweregivenpointsbasedonatendance,classparticipationandhomeworksubmission.Pointstableswerewrittenontheboardforeverylessondisplayingthestudentregister,andthepointsaccumulatedbyeachstudentinpreviouslessons,aswellthosecollectedduringcurrentlesson.Criteriaforbadgeswerenotapplied.TheLeaderboardindicatedthetopthreepointscorersup to the last lessonandwhosenameswere listedseparatelyon topof thepoints list.Thedesiretoexcelandnotbeleftbehind,whichareintrinsicmotivations,playedoutasanticipated.Parentfeedbackindicatedthattherewasmuchlessneedtogettheirchildrentocompletetheirhomeassignmentsaswellasgreaterenthusismtoattendclasses.Studentsinvolvedinthestudyachievedhigheroverallsummativeresultscomparedtostudentsenrolledinthesameprogramstheyearbeforewheregamificationprincipleshadnotbeen strategically applied. The findings of the study imply that even a limited applicationof gamificationis successful. The implication is that gamification in the English language classroomwill lead to reducedenrolmentattritioninprivateinstitutions.

BIODATA

Nadarajan is a lecturer, corporate trainer and teacher with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry, with the last ten years in English language education. He has experience in teaching English at all levels, ranging from young learners, college students and professionals. He is a trained Cambridge Speaking examiner.


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Decision-making in Instructional Planning and Classroom Teaching with Reference to Aspects of Teacher Language UseRisna Saswati

Thisstudysheds lightondecisions that teachersmakewhenplanning their lessonplanandwhenteaching.Thedecisionsmadearerelatedtotheaspectsofteacherlanguageuse:teachertalk,teacherquestion,teacheruseofL1,teacheruseofmetalanguage,andteachercorrectivefeedback.Thisstudyattemptstoanswerthreeresearchquestions.Thefirstoneiswhatdecisionteachersmakeininstructionalplanningandclassroomteaching.Thesecondoneishowdecisionmadeisimplementedinclassroomteachingandthethirdiswhetherornotthestudentsarehelpedbytheimplementeddecisionmadeinclassroomteaching.Thisstudyappliesqualitativeresearchusingpre-observation interview,classroomobservation,andpoststimulatedrecall interviewasthemethodofdatacollection.Thereare5respondentsconsistingofseniorteachersfrom4universitiesinJakarta.Theyteachspeakingskillsinfirstndthirdsemester.Thedatacollectionisconductedintwocyclestofindmoreevidencesregardingdecisionsmadebyteachersininstructionalplanningandteachingrelatedtotheaspectsofteacherlanguageuseandtheinfluenceoftheir implementeddecisiontostudents.Thedataareanalyzedbytranscribing the recording inpre-observation interview, classroomobservation and stimulated recall interview, finding thedecisionteachersmakeinplanningandclassroomteachingwithreferencetoaspectsofteacherlanguageuse,andinvestigatingtheinfluenceofteachersimplementeddecisionstostudents’comprehension.Thisstudyappliesthethetheoriesofaspectsofteacherlanguageuse(Ellis,2012),teacherthoughtanddecisionmakingininstructionalplanningandteachingbyClark(1983),Shavelson(1976,1982),Calderhead(1996),Walsh(2011),Richards(2014).Theinitialfindingsanddiscussionforthisstudyareteachersmakedecisionwhenplanningtheirlesson.Decisionmadeintheirtalkaretheygivedirection,explainthematerial,talkabouttoday’sagenda,talkaboutthepreviouslesson,checkstudents’comprehension,giveexamples,talkaboutsupplementarymaterial.Thosedecisionsarenotallimplementedinclassroomteaching.Therearechangesinclassroomteaching.Teachersreadoutthedirection,explainthematerialwhichisnottoday’slesson,givemoreexamples,talkmoreaboutthesupplementarymaterial.Whattheydohelpsstudentstocomprehendthelesson;however,theclassobjectiveisnotachievedsinceteachertalkspendsmuchtime.Relatedtoteacherquestion,teachersplantohaveWH-questions;however,theyuseY/Nquestionsmoretostudents.Teachersdecidetousechunkstoaskquestions,paraphrase,andrepeattheirquestions.Ithelpsstudentstocomprehendthelessonandgiveopportunitiesforlow-proficientlearnerstoengageininteraction.TeacherslistdownthewordsinL1inplanningandusemoreinclassroomteaching.Ithappensinteacheruseofmetalanguageaswell.However,threeseniorteachersdonotwant touse Indonesianwhen teaching.Theyprefer tousemetalanguage in their teachingalthough theyplan them.Teacherscorrectstudents’mistakesbytheirroutinecorrectivefeedbackstrategies.Whentheyteach,theyusemorestrategies.Itdependsonthestudents.Inconclusion,teachersmakedecisionswhenplanningtheirlessonplanandteaching.Whatteachersplanaredifferentfromwhattheyteach.Thereasonsarethetasks,time,students’proficiency,material,andteachers’beliefabouttheaspectsofteacherlanguageuse.Theimplicationoftheresultofthestudyisdecisionmakingisoneteacher’scompetencies.Therefore,teachersshouldimprovethiscompetencysincetheyareintheteachertraining.Thematerialinteachertrainingshouldincludedecisionmakingasoneoftheskillsteachersshouldpossess.Inteachertraining,teachersshouldbewell-equippedwiththisskill.Key words:decisionmaking,instructionalplanning,classroomteaching,aspectsofteacherlanguageuse.

BIODATA

Risna Saswati is a Lecturer at STBA LIA Jakarta Indonesia. She completed her master’s degree at Atma Jaya Catholic University Indonesia. At present, she is an ongoing student at Atma Jaya Catholic University Indonesia, working on her dissertation.


31


Preparing Students for the 4th Industrial Revolution through 21st Century Pedagogy: A Collaborative Action ResearchDr. Satirah Hj Ahmad

Therapidadvancesintechnologyareaffectingourlives.The4thIndustrialRevolutionwitnesseschangeinthenatureofbusinessmodelsandjobs.Studieshaveshownthatprimaryschoolstudentstodaywillbeventuringinto jobs that do not exist now upon completing their education. Hence, there is an urgent need for oureducationsystemtopreparethesechildrenforthefutureworkforce.Theroleofthe21stcenturypedagogyiscrucialtosupportthismove.Nevertheless,studieshaveshownthatoureducationsystemisstillinadequateforthesenewneeds.21stcenturyteachingandlearningisstillamythinmostMalaysianschools.Teachersarestillemployingtraditionalpedagogythatdoesnotpromotetheskillsneededforthisrevolution.Tomakeitbecomeareality,teachersneedtobesupported,sothatwhathappensintheactualworldcouldbebridgedtotheclassroomcontext.Thisstudyfocusedonateachereducator’seffortstoenhanceprimaryESLteachers’pedagogy in imparting21st century skills such as communication, collaboration, problem-solving, criticalthinkingandcreativitythroughreadinginstruction.Specifically,itfocusedonteachers’instructionalbehaviourduringclassroomsharedreading,aresearchbasedactivitythathasprovenbeneficialinpromotingchildren’sliteracydevelopment.Thisstudyemployedacollaborativeactionresearchmethod,whichemphasizedonthecollaborationbetweenanoutsiderandinsidersinanaturalsetting.Datawascollectedqualitativelythroughinterviews,teamreflections,classroomobservations,andreflectivejournals.Analysisofdatawasdoneviapatternidentificationthroughaprocessofdatafamiliarisation,datacoding,andthemedevelopmentusingthecomputer-aidedqualitativedataanalysissoftwareAtlas.ti.Teachers’transformativechangeattheendofthisstudyindicatedthattheyhavegainednewinsightsregarding21stcenturylearningandteaching.

BIODATA

Dr. Satirah Hj Ahmad is currently a senior lecturer at IPGK Bahasa Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur. She holds a TESL Degree from UKM and a PhD from UUM. She has vast experience in the teaching of various English Language courses at tertiary level. Her research interests include ELT methodology, teachers’ professional development and qualitative action research.


32


Task-Based Instruction and Writing Apprehension: Its Impact on Language PerformanceUmi Kalsom Masrom, Lilie Zahara Ramly

Anextensiverangeofresearchhasinvestigatedtask-basedinstructioninvariousareas.However,limitedstudiesappeartoaddresstheeffectsoftask-basedinstructionandwritingapprehensiononlanguageperformance.This paper reports on a quasi-experimental study inwhich the relationshipbetween anxiety andwritingperformanceusingtask-basedinstructionwritingtaskswasexamined.Forty-eightundergraduatestudentswereassignedintofourgroups,eachofdifferentcomplexitylevelwhichwasmanipulatedontwovariables;reasoningdemandand task structure. SecondLanguageWritingAnxiety Inventory (SLWAI)developedbyCheng(2004)wasappliedtogaugelearneranxietytowardsthetasks.Thisstudyalsoinvestigatedwhetherthere isanysignificantdifferenceofanxiety indifferent taskcomplexityconditions.Correlationalanalysisrevealed that significant relationshipwas found between anxiety andwriting performances asmeasuredbythesyntacticandlexicalcomplexitymeasures.Furthermore,significantdifferenceofanxietywasfoundbetweenthefourgroups.Thisstudyisessentialinordertohaveanin-depthunderstandingofhowandinwhatways task-based instruction could influence learnerswriting apprehension. The empirical evidenceprovided by this study could assist language instructors to make appropriate modifications so that theapplicationoftask-basedinstructioninEnglishlanguageeducationcouldbeenhanced.Thisstudyisanefforttoempower the implementationof task-based instruction in languageclassroomsanddevelop task-basedteachingmodulesparticularlyattertiaryeducationlevel.Keywords:decisionmaking,instructionalplanning,classroomteaching,aspectsofteacherlanguageuse.

BIODATA

Umi Kalsom Binti Masrom, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer at the Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Campus. She is an enthusiastic educator and researcher who shares her interest in the field of second language acquisition, individual difference in language learning and technology-enhanced language learning.


33


Students’ Perceptions of Classroom Assessment Practices in Malaysian Higher Education InstitutionsWan Nadia Asila Binti Tun Ibrahim

OneofthebiggestchallengesfacedbyMalaysiangraduatesisbeingemployedduetotheimbalanceinthesupplyanddemandofgraduates.Themainproblem for thegovernment is the lackofgraduateswith therequiredknowledgeandnecessaryskillstocompeteintheglobalisedeconomy.ThisincludesgraduateswhopossesspoorcommandofEnglish, lackproblem-solvingskillsandstruggletodemonstratecomprehensiveunderstandingsofskillsandknowledgegained(Abdullah,2015).Hence,thisstudyinvestigatedthestudents’perceptionsofClassroomAssessmentPractices(CAPs)inMalaysianHigherEducationInstitutions(MHEIs).Theobjectivesofthisstudyweretoexploreandinvestigatethestudents’perceptionsofCAPsandtofindoutifthereisanyrelationshipamongthesixscalesofCAPs,namely,CongruencewithPlannedLearning(CPL),Authenticity,Students’Consultation(SCON),Transparency,Students’Capabilities(SCAPs)andStudents’SoftSkills(SSS).TheparticipantsinvolvedinthisstudywerefirstsemesterofdiplomastudentsinMHEIs.Thestudyemployedquantitativeresearchmethodwhereaquestionnairesurveywasusedanddistributedtotheparticipants fordata collection.Thequestionnaire ‘The StudentPerceptionsofAssessmentQuestionnaire(SPAQ)’usedwasadaptedfromFisher,Waldrip,&Dorman(2005).ThedatawerethencomputedandanalysedbyusingStatisticalPackageforSocialSciences(SPSS)software.ThefindingsofthestudysuggestedthatstudentsinMHEIsagreedtheCAPsimplementedwerecongruentwithplannedlearning,authenticandtransparent.TheyprobablyagreedthatCAPswasameantoconsultthelecturersandclassmates.ThefindingsalsosuggestedthatthestudentsagreedthattheCAPsconductedappropriatelymatchedwiththeirlevelandcapability,andhavehelpedthemtodevelopandimprovetheirsoftskills.Besides,itwassuggestedthattherewasasignificantpositivecorrelationamongthesixscalesofCAPs.Itishopedthatthisstudycouldinformstakeholders, includinglecturersandeducationaladministrators,onhowstudentsperceivedcurrentCAPswithregardsofEnglishLanguagesubject.ThiswouldguidetheresponsiblepartiestoidentifyanystrengthsandweaknesseswithregardstotheCAPsusedinthestudents’learning.Thiskindofinformationwouldhelpthemtodeveloporimprovethecurrentassessmentpracticestobetterequipthestudentswithappropriateskillsandknowledgeparticularlytobeutilisedintheirfutureworkplace.Key words:Malaysia,HigherEducation,ClassroomAssessmentPractices,Malaysianstudents

BIODATA

Wan Nadia Asila is an English Language teacher at the University of Sultan Zainal Abidin (UNISZA) for six years. She completed her Master’s degree at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom in September 2017. Her research interest is in education, particularly in assessment and also students and teachers identity in educational context. She is also interested in English language teaching, especially to second language learners.


34


The Effect of Multimedia Glosses on ESL Students’ Vocabulary LearningWan Zulkifli Wan Kassim

One important component in second language acquisition is vocabulary. Researchers have debated as towhethervocabularycanbeeffectivelyacquiredthroughreading.Studieshaveshownthatvocabularylearningcanbeenhanced if the texts containedglosses.Glossesaredefinitionsor synonyms inL1orL2, suppliedforunfamiliarwordsinthetextstofacilitatecomprehension.Withtheadventofmultimediacomputingthatenablestheuseoftext,sound,andimages,itispossibletoexperimentwithnewmethodsofglossing.Onesuchmethodisbyincorporatinganimatedimagesinthemultimediaglossestoshowthemeaningofunknownwords.Ithasbeenshownthatanimatedimageshavepositiveeffectsonlearningingeneral.ThisstudythusinvestigatedtheeffectoftwotypesofmultimediaglossesonESLstudents’vocabularylearning.Twogroupsoflow-intermediateadultESLlearnerstookthetargetwordpre-testtwoweeksbeforetheexperiment.Duringtheexperiment,bothgroupsreadthesameelectronictextbutthetargetwordswereglosseddifferently,withtheMalaytranslationsandstaticimagesforonegroup,andtheMalaytranslationsandanimatedimagesfortheother.Immediatelyaftertheexperiment,bothgroupsretookthesametest.Oneweeklater,thegroupstookthedelayedvocabularypost-test.Twomixed-factorial2x2ANOVAswererun,oneusingthescoresofthe immediatepost-test, theotherusing the scoresof thedelayedpost-test, todetermine if the scoresofbothgroupswerestatisticallysignificant.Theresultsshowedthatthegroupwithaccesstoanimatedimagesretainedmore targetwords. Incorporation of animated images in the teaching of vocabulary is thereforerecommended.

BIODATA

Wan Zulkifli Wan Kassim is an English lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. He has been conducting various English courses such as English for Special Purposes, Public Speaking, and Academic Writing Skills for the past 10 years. His research interest is in Applied Linguistics, particularly Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL).


35

CATEGORY Ph.D Candidates

Teacher Leadership and School Effectiveness in Selected Secondary Schools in Ipoh (On-Going Research)A.Avene A/P Atputharaj

Thisisanon-goingresearchwhichaimstostudytheimpactofteacherleadershipontheschooleffectivenessinselectedsecondaryschoolsinIpoh.Approximately100teachersfromfivesecondaryschoolsinIpohwillbechosenasrespondentsforthisstudy.Aquantitativesurveymethodusingquestionnairewillbeusedtoobtaindata.Incurrentera,aprincipalisnolongerregardedastheonlyleaderwhomakesdecisionsforcontinuousimprovements in the academic achievement of students (Greenwood, 2011). Principals require teacherstoimproveteachingandlearningandleadtheirclassroomsefficiently(Katzenmeyer&Moller,2009).Teacherstodayareinachallengingandconstantlychangingprofessionalcommunity.Inordertoensurethesuccessofthestudents,teachersshouldbepreparedtolearncontinuouslyanddeveloptheabilitytoprepareforgreaterleadershipresponsibilities(Ash&Persall,2000).Therefore,theefforttoimproveaschoolrequiresleadershipskillsnotonlyamongprincipals,butalsoleadershipamongschoolteachersthemselves.WithmultiplesresearchesinMalaysiafocusingontheimportanceof leadershipofschoolprincipals,moreprominence should be given to encourage teachers to take own initiative to lead their students in theirrespectiveclassrooms.Teachersmustbe the leaderswhodetect thebarricades that inhibit theirstudentsfrom excelling in education (Helterbran, 2010). Seven dimensions of teacher leadershipwill be analysedthroughoutthisstudybasedonTeacherLeadershipSelf-AssessmentbyMarilynandBillKatzenmeyer(2004).Thesevendimensionsareself-awareness,leadingchange,communication,diversity,instructionalproficiencyandleadership,continuousimprovementandself-organization.Findingsfromthisstudywillhelpteachers,principals and educationministry tomaintainhigh level of teacher leadershipwhich in turnwill directlypromotehigherlevelofschooleffectiveness.

BIODATA

A.Avene Atputharaj has been involved in English language teaching since 2011. She is currently employed as a lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, primarily working at the Department of Language and Linguistics, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Perak Campus). Currently, she is pursuing PhD at University of Malaya. Her areas of research interest include educational leadership, educational management, teacher leadership and also the choice for government schools, private schools, and international schools in Malaysia.

ABSTRACTS POSTER CODE PHD1

36

Malaysian Students Perception on “ Multiculturalism”Afsoon Fanaiyan

ThisresearchisaboutMalaysianstudents’perceptionaboutmulticulturalism.ThehypothesisisthatMalaysianstudentswhogrewupinthisdiverseculturehavehighmulticulturalcompetencieseventhoughtheyhavenotreceivedanystructuredmulticulturaltraining.Thescopeofthestudyisnarroweddowntoassessstudents’perceptionaboutschoolcounselor’smulticulturalcompetencies.EventhoughtheconceptualframeworkforthisstudyisadaptedfromawesterntheorywithEurocentricperspective,thedatapoolismainlygatheredfromMalaysianstudents,andthemethodologydesignedinawaytoprotecttheindigenousdata.Thedatapool indicatesMalaysianstudentsarewellawareofvariousaspectsofmulticulturalism.Yet the interviewshowstheydonotbelieveinthefactthatthey,asMalaysianstudents,hasarichmulticulturalcommunityandhassomethinguniqueandworthytoshare.Thefindingsofthisresearchwillhelpinareassuchasteachertrainingandschoolcounselortrainings.Providingthemwithanewscopeofwhatistheexpectationoftheirendcustomersinsenseofmulticulturalcompetencies.

BIODATA

Afsoon Fanaiyan is currently a PhD student at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus and a Physics teacher in Sri Emas International School. She did her degree and Masters in educational psychology at Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education. As a Baha’i she believes in the oneness of mankind, and centers her research in education around the concept of “unity in diversity”.



37


Developing a Taxonomic Framework for Creativity: A Design for Higher EducationChai Xun Yu

Inresearchingtheroleofhighereducationindevelopingcreativityingraduates,Ihavefoundawiderangeofissuesofconcernparticularlyexpressedbyemployers.Thebottomlineisthemismatchbetweengraduateandmarketdemands.Thishas seenanemphasison thedevelopmentof skills supporting the creationofknowledgeandinnovation.Creativityineducationhasnowbecomeaninternationalconcernthathasledtoagreateremphasisofpromotingandrewardingthecreativityofteachersandlearners.AgapintheefforttopromotecriticalityandcreativityisthelackorabsenceofasystematicframeworkthatmaybeusedtosupporttheincorporationofcreativityinteachingandlearningsimilartotheroleplayedbytheBloom’staxonomywithreferencetolearning.Myresearchexploresthepossibilityofdevelopingsuchataxonomicframeworkforcreativitythatmaybeusedforteachingandlearningandassessment.Itusesamultiphasemixed-methodsdesigninthedevelopmentofthetaxonomicframeworktoprovidesoundandreliableevidencethatsupportsthevalidityoftheframework.

BIODATA

Chai Xun Yu is currently pursuing her Ph.D at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). She holds a B.Ed. in TESL from UNISEL and her MA TESOL in UNMC. She has presented in several international conferences and also published in reputable journals. Her research interest includes learner and teacher beliefs, mentoring, creative teaching and learning.


38

The Production of English Lexical Stress among Malaysian TESL Teacher TraineesErnie Binti Adnan

ThispresentationexaminestheproductionofEnglishlexicalstressamongMalaysianTESLteachertrainees.ThisstudyispartofalargerresearchontheproductionandperceptionofEnglishlexicalstressbytheteachertrainees.Thefirstpartofthepresentationlooksattheextenttowhichthetraineesareawareoftheconceptoflexicalstressbasedonashortquiz,TheLexicalStressAwarenessTest(LSAT),takenby103participantsfromfiveTeacherTrainingCampuses.Thesecondpartofthepresentationexaminestheproductionoflexicalstressbythesetrainees.Thiswasdonebyrecordingthetraineesreadingsentencescontainingtargetwords.ThefindingsofthisstudywillbeinterpretedanddiscussedwithinanEnglishasanInternationalLanguage(EIL)Framework.Preliminaryresultsof theLSATrevealedthatmostof thetraineeshavean intermediatelevelofawarenessaboutEnglishlexicalstress.Mostofthemfaceddifficultiesdescribingthecharacteristicsofastressedsyllableandmarkingstressedsyllables.Inaddition,intheproductiontask,acousticanalysisoftherecordedspeechindicatedthatthetraineesdidnothaveasystematicpatternofstressingsyllables.ThelackofawarenessaboutEnglishlexicalstressandtheunsystematicproductionofstressarelikelytoaffecthowthesetraineeswillteachEnglishpronunciation,especiallystresswhentheybecomeEnglishteachers.Thismattermightcausesomedifficultiestotheteacherstodealwithlanguagerelatedissues,particularlyonpronunciationwhentheyteachtheirstudentsinthefuture.

BIODATA

Ernie Binti Adnan is a lecturer at the Institute of Teacher Education in Perlis and is currently pursuing her studies in a PhD program at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya. She has many years of experience being an English teacher in secondary schools since 1999, as well as training the English language teachers at the Institute of Teacher Education from 2010 to present. Her research area is on World English looking at the Phonological aspects of Malaysian English which focuses stress in words.



39


Forms and functions of Prepositional Colligations as Discourse Markers in Legal Phraseology: A Corpus-based ApproachIbrahim Bashir, Kamariah Yunus, Abubakar Idris Usman, Tamer Mohammed Al-Jarrah, Bashir Ibrahim

Inlegalphraseologywordsareusedmoreasconceptsratherthanterms.Legalwritingisadiscoursemarkedwiththedistinctivelanguagefeaturesandstyleswhicharedeliberatelymadeverbose,cumbersome,obscuredandarcane. It ispeculiarly fullofmulti-wordunitsespeciallybinomialsandcolligationswithprepositionswhosemeaningsandfunctionsremainintheinterestofmodernlinguists.Researchinlegalphraseologyisclaimedtobe ‘underexplored’.Veryfewstudiesdiscussoncolligationofprepositionasdiscoursemarkers,whereas inNigeria therewerenoavailable studyconcerning theuseofprepositions in legalphraseologyandorusingcorporaastoolinlegallanguagetextsanalysis.Residinguponthethreetheoriesofsemiotics:Firthian‘ContextualTheoryofMeaning’andHallidayan‘SystemicFunctionalGrammarmodal’insupplementwithHoey’s ‘Lexical priming’, a new theory ofwords and language, the present study adopted a corpus-based approach to investigate the uses of prepositional colligation as discoursemarkers in the Nigerianlegaltexts.Itaimedtoanswerthefollowingquestions.Howdoestheuseofcohesiveprepositionalmarkersinfluence communication in the legal genre to capture/attainvariabilityofprecision,persuasion,balance,representativeness and comparability in theNigerian legal discourse? Towhat extent does the discoursemarkersusedintheNigerianlegaltextshaveanimpactonthelanguageofthecourt?Datainthisstudyarecollectedfromthetwocorpora:onegeneratedfromthelegalwrittentextbasedoncourtproceedings,andlegalreportsinNigeria(targetwords,120,000);whereasthesecondcorporaaregeneratedfromthereferencecorpusBNCLaw(2.2millionwords).Twoconcordancertoolswereutilisedtoanalysethedatainthisstudy,‘Antconcversion4’and‘Lextutorversion7’.Theresultsrevealedthattherearedifferentformsofprepositionalcolligationsapparentlyusedinlegaltextfunctionasdiscoursemarkerssuchas:‘dueto,becauseof,asaresult,incontrast, inparticular, incomparison…’ functionedascausal relation,marked textualand interpersonalrelations.ThisstudyissignificantintheareaofEnglishforspecificpurposes.

BIODATA

Ibrahim Bashir is a PhD candidate at the Centre of English Language Studies, Faculty of Languages and Communication Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Terengganu, Malaysia. He obtained Master’s degree in TESL from the same university. He is now specialising in corpus Linguistics study.


40

Integrating Cloud-based TechnologyKhalipah Mastura Binti Khalid

Incorporating socialmedia in education and in language teaching has become a growing interest amongeducators.GoogleDriveapplicationandblogappeartobeamongtheeffectivetoolsinenhancingwritingandspeakingskills,astheir interactiveplatformsenablelearnerstoexchangecommentsandofferfeedbacktoeachother,thusallowinglearnerstoreflectontheirownworkandthelearningprocess.Thisstudyproposesaresearchagendafortheeffectivenessofcollaborationthroughpeerfeedbackinordertoenhancethewritingandspeakingskillsofstudentsinonlinesettings.Thisistoanswertheresearchquestions:WhatimpactdoestheuseofGoogleDrivehasonwrittenandspokenlanguagedevelopmentinESLcontextsandwhatarethestudents’perceptionsonwhethercollaborationthroughpeerfeedbackhelpsimprovepersonalwritingandspeakingskillsinESL?Twenty-fourstudentsintheirfirstsemesterofaoneyearcourseatKedahTechnicalMatriculation College took part in this innovative approachwhich integratesmultimodal functionality oftheblendedlearningcombinedwithfacetofaceinteractionanddiscussions.Qualitativecasestudymethodwasemployedusingsemi-structuredinterview,onlinediscussionsandobservation.Overall,studentshavea positive attitude towards using Google Drive for editing and for the provision and receipt of feedback.Theyreceivedvarioustypesoffeedbackfromboththelecturerandpeers,butmostweredirectincharacterandintheareasofmechanicsandgrammarerrors.TheinteractiveuseofGoogleDriveandblogintheESLclassroomhasapositive impactonstudents’writingandspeakingskills.The findingssuggest thatcloud-basedtechnologycouldbeintegratedintoESLclassroomstosupportstudents’writingandediting,andtoengage students in collaborativewriting and improve interactionsbetweenwriters and readers.WorkingviaGoogleDriveandblogalsoprovidedstudentstheopportunitytoengagethemselveswith21stcenturyliteracypracticesandaspaceintheclassroomtotrialchangestoaconventionalpedagogy,curriculumandassessmentpractices.Asaconclusion,thediscussionoftheresulthighlightstheimportanceofsocialmediainpromotinglanguagelearningwithinacollaborativeenvironmentthatisessentiallylearner-centeredandteacherfacilitated.Keywords:GoogleDrive,Cloud-basedtechnology,Collaborativelearning,Blog,Blendedlearning

BIODATA

Khalipah Mastura Khalid is an English lecturer at Kedah Technical Matriculation College in Kedah. She has obtained her Bachelor of Education in TESL from Universiti Putra Malaysia and her Master’s degree in TESOL from Universiti Sains Malaysia. She is currently pursuing her doctoral study at Universiti Sains Malaysia in TESOL. Her research work is related to upgrading writing skills and the ability among students of Matriculation colleges in Malaysia.



41


English for Specific Purposes: Teaching Medical English through Medical DramasMi Jeong Kim

AsEnglishhasrisenasthemajorinternationallanguageofscienceandmedicine,morehealthprofessionalsare pursuing jobs andESL immigrants and international students aremajoring in nursing in inner circlecountriessuchasAustralia,Canada,theUnitedKingdom,andtheUnitedStates.Moreover,thankstothelow-costtreatment,affordabletravelandreadilyavailableinformationovertheinternet,largenumbersofpeopleindevelopednationsnowtraveltolessdevelopedcountriestoreceivehealthcareservices(medicaltourism).ThepurposeofthisstudyistodevelopEnglishmaterialsforhealthprofessionalsandstudentsusingmedicaldramasandtoexploretheeffectivenessofthem.VideosareveryeffectivemeansforlearningandteachingEnglishbecausetheyareauthenticmaterialsrichwithculturalcontextsandincreasestudents’interestandmotivation.Eventhoughusingvideosaslanguagematerialshaveadvantages,itdoesnotassurethelanguagelearningoflearnerswithoutincorporatingitintoalanguageeducationprogram.Therefore,thematerialsinthisstudyfocusonlinguisticcontentoflanguagetasksandskillsintheclinicalcontextinsevencategories:pronunciation,vocabulary,grammar,discourse,pragmatic,strategic,andsociolinguisticcompetence(Bosher,2013).Asurveywasadministeredto41nursingstudentsinKoreatofindouttheirattitudesandpreferencetowardslearningmedicalEnglishthroughmedicaldramas.Afteraseriesoflessons,studentswillbetestedtofindouttheeffectivenessofthem;thestudentsintheexperimentalgroupareexpectedtoperformbetteronthepost-test.Sincevideosdonotautomaticallyguaranteestudents’languagelearning,itisimportanttochoosetherightvideosandtherightsegmentstodeveloptheclassmaterialssystematicallyandfeasiblysothatstudentscanfullybenefitfromthem.

BIODATA

Mi Jeong Kim is a doctoral student of TESOL at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Korea. She’s been teaching English to all age groups for more than ten years. Her research interests include ESP, media English, literacy, SLA, materials development and curriculum design.


42

Co-Reflection in an Online Space: Insights into Reflective Thinking, Collaboration and InteractionShubashini Suppiah

Whilethetheoreticalviewofreflectionandreflectivepracticeinteachereducationprogrammespointtowardsitscrucialroleinthedevelopmentofateacherintrainingnonethelessthepracticeof ithaslongbeenthesubjectofvariouscriticisms(Akbari,2007;El-Dib,2011;Farrell,1999,2001,2004).Studieshavenowmovedtoexploringreflectioncommunallyinwhichitisarguedthatonlinemediumsareabletofacilitatecollaborationand interaction, the key elements in supporting critical reflection in pre service teacher education (Deng&Yuen,2009;Garza&Smith,2015,Jones&Ryan,2014;Killeavy&Moloney,2010;Mann&Walsh,2013,Wang&Quek,2015).Ambiguityoftheconceptofreflection,reflectionpieceswritteninisolationandinadequatefeedbackaresomeofthecommonpracticesofthereflectionprocessinteachereducationprogrammesininstitutesofteachereducation(ITE)inMalaysia.Inviewofthis,thepresentstudyisanattemptatexploringacollaborativeapproachtothereflectionprocessutilizinganonlinemediumwithagroupof14preserviceESLteachersandtheirteachereducatormentors.Usinganexploratorycasestudydesign,thestudywascarriedoutinaninstituteofteachereducation(ITE)inMalaysiawithinthecontextofa12-weekcompulsoryteachingpracticephase.Thethreemainaimsofthestudyaretoinvestigate(i)thenatureofthereflectiveposts,(ii)thenatureandtypesofcollaborationandinteractionthatoccurredonlineand(iii)thecontributionandperceptionofthepreserviceteachersandtheteachereducatormentorsofanapproachofthisnatureinfacilitatingreflectivepractice.Datagatheredfromtheonlinereflectionpostsandthreadeddiscussionsaswellasinterviewsessionswiththepreserviceteachersandtheteachereducatorsindicated thatwhile therewere formsofcollaborationand interaction that tookplace, certainconstraintsin regards to the quality and depth of the online reflections and threaded discussions surfaced. Closerexaminationofthecontributionoftheteachereducatormentorsandpreserviceteachersalsohighlighteddeeply embedded personal and socio-cultural concerns which must be addressed if the concept of co-reflectionistobesuccessfullyimplementedinpreserviceteachereducationprogrammes.

BIODATA

Shubashini Suppiah is a teacher educator attached to the institute of teacher education (ITE) Kent in Sabah. She is currently in the third year of the doctoral programme at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). Her areas of research interests are language teachers’ continuous professional development and teacher education.



43


Explicit Phonetic Instruction in Reducing Second Language Speaking Anxiety & Improving Pronunciation among Malaysian Undergraduates (The Pilot)Surinder Kaur

ThestudyisaninterventionprogramspecificallydesignedwiththeaimofreducingsecondlanguagespeakinganxietylevelsofagroupofMalaysianUndergraduatesaswellastoproduceanevaluationandassessmentonthevariationsthatexistinthephonologicalaspectsoftheirspeech.Inaddition,thestudywillalsoprovideasoundreviewontheeffectsofsecondlanguageanxietylevelsonstudents’overallspeakingperformanceandestablish if there isa linkbetweenpronunciation instructionsreceived in influencingone’ intelligibility inspeech.Thisresearchaimstoanswerthesequestionsbelow:(a)WhatarethesecondlanguagespeakinganxietylevelsofagroupofMalaysianUndergraduatesinanESLcommunicationclassroompre&postintervention?(b)DoestheInterventionofExplicitPhoneticInstruction(EPI)leadtomeasurableimprovementinEnglishlanguage speaking anxiety levels of Malaysian Undergraduates? (c) What are the common PhonologicalVariationsthatexistamongthedifferentspeakersofEnglishinMalaysia?(d)Whatistheco-relationbetweenSecond Language Anxiety levels and the overall English Language speaking performance of MalaysianUndergraduatespreandpostphoneticinstructions?Thestudyisdividedintothreepartswhichinvolvesapre-intervention,interventionandapost-interventionalstrategythatwillbecarriedoutoverthecourseof14weeks,equivalenttoasemesterwithintheuniversityusingaComputerAssistedPronunciationTrainingSoftware;SkyPronunciationSuiteprovidingexplicitpronunciationinstructionston=150undergraduates.Astandardisedsetofdiagnosticpronunciationassessment;PerceptionsofSpokenEnglishTest(POSE)whichisanonlinepronunciationtestwasadministeredasapreandpost-teststotheselearnersinordertoinvestigatetheirlevelsofpronunciationpriorandpostintervention.Similarly,aspecificallydesignedSecondLanguageSpeakingAnxietyScaleinstrumentintheformofanadaptedquestionnairewillalsobeadministeredamongthe research participants in order to explore their Speaking Anxiety levels prior and post intervention.Additionally,ananalysisoflearners’recordedspeecheswillalsobedoneusingaspeechrecognitionsoftware.Thefindingsfromthepilot(firstphaseofthestudy)revealedsignificantimprovementintermsofreducingSecondLanguageSpeakingAnxietyamongtheundergraduates.Thestudents,however,didnotshowmuchimprovementintermsoftheiroverallpronunciationscoresasonly11outofthe30students;partofthepilotshowedimprovementinboththeirspeechandtestscores.

BIODATA

Surinder Kaur is currently completing her Ph.D at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. The student is also a lecturer attached with The Malaysian National Defence University (UPNM) and is in the second year of her studies. Her interests in research includes areas related to Phonetics, Second Language Speaking Anxiety, Tertiary Level English Language Education & Assessment as well as English Language Speaking Issues among Second Language Learning.


44

The Effectiveness of Using Metacognitive Strategies in Teaching Writing Composition to Jordanian EFL High School LearnersTamer Mohammed Al-Jarrah, Noraien Mansor, Ibrahim Bashir, Bashir Ibrahim

Learningtowriteiscrucialforlearnersofforeignlanguage.Ithasbeentheultimateprocessthroughwhichthestudents’performancesinvirtuallyalllevelsofeducationareassessed.Variouscommunicationsinacademiclife are channelled via writing as a medium of communication. Teaching students using metacognitivestrategiesisoneofthecontributingmethodsdevelopedtohelpstudentsovercomewritingproblem.Thisstudyaimedat investigating theeffectivenessofmetacognitive strategies in enhancing thewritingperformanceof EFL learners among final year high school students. Moreover, the study set to achieve five specificobjectives (only the findingsbasedonquestion1are reported in this article, i.e. phase (1):What are theeffectsofmetacognitivestrategiesbasedonCALLAModelonEFLstudents’performanceinwritingtasks?Theparticipantsofthisstudycomprised44(22+Mgroup,22–Mgroup)EFLlearnersofhighschoolpurposivelyselected fromAl-Mazar school Jordan. All the participantswere expected to take their final year Englishexam(A.K.A.TawjihiEnglishExam).Theparticipantsarelaterdividedintotwoequalgroups(experimentalgroup(+M)andcontrolgroup(–M).Inthisstudyamixed-methodsapproachwasemployedtocollectdataatthreephases:phase1quantitativedata(quasi-experiment)andphase2quantitativedata(questionnaire)phasethreequalitativedata(interview).Inthedataanalysisphasesdescriptivestatisticsandnonparametricstatisticsareemployed–theMann-WhitneyUtestandWilcoxonSigned-Ranktest-aswellascorrelationwereusedtoanalysethequantitativedata.Thematicanalysiswasusedtoanalysethequalitativedata.Theresultsrevealedthatthattherewasnosignificantdifferenceintheoverallscoreofthepre-testbetween+Mand–Mgroups(U=154.500,z=-2.185,p=.001,r=-0.333);therewasasignificantdifferenceintheoverallscoresoftheimmediatepost-testbetween+Mand–Mgroups(U=70.500,z=-4.121,p=0.000,r=-0.6285)….Finally,thestudyconcludedthatmetacognitive instructionhadagreat impactonthewritingperformanceofEFLlearnersatJordaniansecondaryschools.ThisstudyhaspedagogicalsignificanceinthefieldofEFLstudies.

BIODATA

Tamer Mohammed Al-Jarrah is a PhD candidate at Centre for Fundamental and Liberal Education, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Terengganu, Malaysia. He is specialising in English linguistics. He also teaches English as a foreign language in Saudi Arabia. His interest and expertise are in teaching in the academia.



45


Investigating the Effects of Text Components towards Average Readers in Reading Comprehension Tasks Using Eye-Tracking: A Conceptual DiscussionWarid Mihat

ThealignmentofMalaysianEnglish language curriculum toCommonEuropeanFrameworkofReferencesforEnglish(CEFR)hasbroughtaboutchangestotheteachingofreadinginMalaysianprimaryclassrooms.AlongsidewiththeDualLanguagePolicy(DLP),thisalignmentrequiresprimaryschoolpupilstocomprehendnarrative,exploratoryandfunctionaltexts(MOE,2017;Cambridge,2017).Thisisindeedagreatmove,whereexploratoryandfunctionaltextswerepreviouslydistinctivefeaturesinsecondaryschoolassessments,asitprovidesopportunityforprimarypupilstoinvolvewithvarioustypesoftextsfeatures(Dumitrescu,Moldovan&Nuţu2015).Studieshoweverhaveshownthat,introducingmanytypesoftextstopupils,especiallytopoorandaveragereaders,couldleadtoadouble-edgeswordeffect;insteadofimproving,theactioncandemotivatethemfromengaginginreading(Risko,&Walker-Dalhouse2011).Previousempiricalresearch(seeWhitin2009)alsohighlightsthatchildrenfoundreadingchallengingbecauseofthedynamicoftextfeatures(suchastitle,headings, topicsentences,key,distractors,cohesivedevices, just tonamefew).Therefore,asoundinterventiontoaccommodatepoorandaveragereadersindealingwithtextsfeaturesisneeded.However,howmuchdoweknowaboutaveragereadersandthewaytheygoabouttheirreading?Afterall,poorandaveragereadersmakeupthelargestgroup,withmorethan70%ofYear6pupils,basedonthe2016UPSRReadingComprehensiontest(MOE2016).Schroeder,HyönäandLiversedge(2015)andRayner(2012)alsoassertthatmanyreadingresearchhasbeendonewithsomanyinterventionssuggested,yetlittlehasattemptedtoaccountforchildrenandtheirinternalattentionatcomprehensionlevelandthisseemstobetruetoMalaysiancontext(Soh,2016).Thisstudyisthenformulatedtore-investigatehowaveragereadersdealwithtextcomponentsinreadingcomprehensiontasksfromtheperspectivesofcognitivepsychology.Usingeyetrackingtocollectdataandlabinterviewbasedonthe‘heatmap’,thisconcurrenttransformativemixedmethodsapproachinquasi-experimentaldesignseekstoinvestigate120Year6pupils’oculomotormovementsandtheircomprehensionscore, tobetterunderstandtheircharacteristicsandextendthediscussionson theirneedsbeforeasetofinterventioncanbesuggested.

BIODATA

Warid Mihat is a primary school teacher in Kelantan and a part-time PhD candidate in ‘Eye-Tracking for English Studies’ at Sustainability of Language Sciences Research Centre (SOLS) at National University of Malaysia. He has his eyes on children literacy and reading proficiency, and has been actively investigating the issues using TobiX300, an eye-tracking apparatus, for his thesis. He is also an active member in TEDBET, an SIG under MELTA, where he oversees the BeEP Webinar and a dedicated language instructor at Cambridge English for Life (CEFL), where he teaches upper main suite courses such as FCE and CAE.


46


The Impact of Digital Storytelling in the Teaching of Children’s LiteratureYee Bee Choo, Tina Abdullah Abdullah Mohd Nawi

Itisacommonpracticethatteacherstellstoriesintheclassroomwhenteachingchildren’sliterature.Theyareenthusiasticintheirteachingprofessionbutstudentsnowadaysarediverseintheirlearningstylesandthey are technology savvy. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of using digital storytelling as atechnologytoolintheclassroomtoenhancetheteachingofchildren’sliterature.Thecasestudywascarriedoutamongthetwentypre-serviceteacherswhocarriedoutamicro-teachingsessioninteachingchildren’sstories. The instruments used were video recording, peer observation checklist and reflective journals.The findings indicated that thepre-service teacherswereable to identify their strengthsandweaknessesindigital storytellingand theywereawareof thecraftsof storytelling.Theyalso soughtways to improvetheirweaknessesthroughtheirreflectivejournalwriting.Theimplicationsarefortheinstructorstoprovidecoachingand support to thepre-service teachers to improve their craftsof storytelling in the teachingofchildren’sliterature.

BIODATA

Yee Bee Choo is an English lecturer at the Institute of Teacher Education Tun Hussein Onn Campus, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. She started her teaching career since 1993 and she has teaching experiences at primary school, secondary school and now, she is at teacher’s training college. She completed her Master’s degree at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and she is currently pursuing her doctorate studies. Her research interests are digital storytelling, literature, teacher education, action research, and English grammar. Tina Abdullah is a Senior Lecturer in Language Academy, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. She has 24 years of experience in teaching language and communication courses at university level for undergraduates and postgraduates and conducted many teacher training courses. Her areas of specialisation are Meaning Making and Generative Thinking in Literature. Her research interests are in the Teaching of Literature, Teacher Training and English for Specific Purposes. She is one of the authors of the following reference books, Academic Report Writing: From Research to Presentation (2007) and English Communication for Learners in Engineering (2004).Abdullah Mohd Nawi is a Senior Lecturer and teacher trainer at the Language Academy, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. He is a member of the Research Lab for Creativity and Change, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He holds a PhD from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and is working towards contributing to the emerging field of applied drama in English language learning. He is currently developing ‘staging the textbook’, a teaching methodology that integrates applied drama into ESL textbooks. His various interests are developing initial teacher education, reflective practice, second language acquisition, English language teaching, and drama in education.


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An Assessment Tool to Measure Pupil Achievement in Learning PhonicsYeoh Phaik Kin, Dr Tan Kok Eng

School-based assessment in Malaysia has been given prominence alongside the teaching of reading viaphonicsattheprimarylevelsincetheimplementationoftheStandards-BasedEnglishLanguageCurriculumforPrimarySchools(SBELCuPSorKSSREnglish)in2011.However,thereisalackofvalid,research-basedandfield-testedassessmenttoolsconsistingofarangeofassessmenttasksthattestavarietyofphonicsskills,andthispointstoaneedtodevelopstandardisedphonicsassessmenttoolsforteachers.Thisstudyreportsontheachievementassessmentforandoflearningofphonicsconductedon99YearTwopupilsfrom36nationalprimaryschoolsinthestateofPenangusingaself-developedtoolnamedPhonicsInstructionAchievementTest(PIAT).Theviewsof12primaryEnglishlanguageteachersinvolvedintheadministrationofthePIAT,gatheredthroughindividualinterviews,arealsoreported.Thestudysoughttofindout(a)whetherthereweresignificantdifferencesinthepupils’achievementinsevenaspectsofphonicsknowledgeandskillscoveringthe13phonemesand15graphemestaughtinSemesterOneasmeasuredbytheirperformanceinthepre-testandpost-testadministeredusingthePIAT,and(b)theteachers’viewsofthePIAT.InferentialstatisticsusingtheWilcoxonSignedRankedTestrevealedthatthepupils’achievementinlearningphonicsasmeasuredbythePIATwasstatisticallysignificant.Pupilachievementwasevidentparticularlyforsoundrecognition,soundsegmentationandworddecodingskills.Thematicanalysisofthequalitativedatarevealedteachers’favourablereceptivenesstothePIAT.Mostagreedtoitsusefulness,aptnessandfunctionality.Teachersweregenerallysatisfiedthat thePIATcateredtopupilsofallproficiency levels.Thestudyfindingshaveseveralimplications.TheuseofstandardisedphonicsassessmenttoolssuchasthePIATwillhelpeasethetaskinassessingpupilachievementfordiagnosticpurposes.Teachersneedprofessionalupskillingcoursesontheinterpretationoftestresultsandconstructionofphonicsassessmenttools.

BIODATA

Yeoh Phaik Kin is a lecturer in the Department of Languages, Institute of Teacher Education, Penang Campus, Malaysia. Her research interests include early literacy assessment, reading, English language education, TESL, TESOL and educational research.Tan Kok Eng Ph.D, is an Associate Professor at the School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia and currently the Head of the TESOL Cluster of the school. Her areas of interest include ELT, ESL writing, TESOL and educational research. Her work has been published in both local and international journals.



48


English Teaching and Learning for Specific Purpose Via Mobile TechnologyZhang Jie

English education in China requires inter-disciplinaryEnglish teachingwhich requires academic teachingwith a good command of English in order to provide the graduateswith an appropriate level of Englishlanguage competency for their future career. Mobile learning, due to its convenience and a variety oflearningapplications,canmotivatecollaborativelearningwithinthecontextofabusinessenvironment,thusservinganongoingreformationforlearningEnglishforspecificpurposes.Thisconceptualpaperhighlightsthepracticality ofmobile learning application for the teaching ofBusinessEnglish asEnglish for SpecificPurposes(ESP).ItreviewstheESPteachingdevelopmentthroughtheuseofmobiletechnologyapplicationinChina.ThispaperproposesaconceptualframeworkbyanalyzingthefactorsthataffecttheuseofmobileassistedlanguagelearningwithESPteaching;andinvestigatetheeffectivenessofmobilelearningmodetohelpstudentsstudyEnglishbytheuseofmobileapplications.Mixedmethodapproachwillbeusedfordatacollectionandanalysis.Inthefirstphase,Delphitechniquewillbeusedtogetin-depthinformationaboutthefactorsthatmayassistinincreasingstudentlearningviaMobileapplication.Inaddition,self-administeredquestionnairewill be distributed among a sample of 80 students from control and experimental groups.StructuralEquationModeling(PLS-SEM)willbeusedfortheanalysisofmeasurementandstructuralmodel.Theproposedconceptualmodelwilladdtothebodyofknowledgetheoreticallyandempirically.

BIODATA

Zhang Jie graduated from Ningxia University and majored in English. He is currently pursuing his doctoral degree at UTM language academy. In 2001, he worked as an English teacher at Beifang University.


49

The Usage of Spatial Prepositions in the Headlines of Major Nigerian NewspapersBashir Ibrahim, Ibrahim Bashir, Yunus Kamariah

Thesemanticmeaningvariesandsomeheadlinesaremessyforeffectivemeaning,theyappearsodependentin the infinite range of context. This study describes the usage of the communicative functions of spatialprepositions ‘in, on and at’ in the headlines of fourmajorNigerian newspapers. TheHallidayan systemicfunctionalgrammarapproachwasusedtodescribethecommunicativefunctionsplayedbythethreespatialprepositions. Out of the 21 newspaper headlines analysed, the findings revealed that Vanguard, amajorNigeriannewspaper,hasthehighestpercentageoftheusageoftargetprepositions(26.86%),secondedbyPunch (24.92%), followed by The Sun (24.27%), and lastly the lowest percentage, TheNation (23.95%).Moreover,itwasrevealedfromthestudythatnewspaperwritershaveneglectedtheusageofpreposition‘at’butreplaceditwithpreposition‘in’toindicateposition,regardlessofthelocation,eitherspecificorbroad.Moreover,newspaperpractitionerswerealsofoundtoadopttheforwardpositionofprepositiontoexpressuncertainty.Thisstudyhasimplicationsforunderstandingthemultifacetedwaysofusingspatialprepositionsbynewspaperswriterstoachievetheirpurpose.Thesemanticmeaningvariesandsomeheadlinesaremessyforeffectivemeaning,theyappearsodependentintheinfiniterangeofcontext.Thisstudydescribestheusageofthecommunicativefunctionsofspatialprepositions‘in,onandat’intheheadlinesoffourmajorNigeriannewspapers.TheHallidayansystemicfunctionalgrammarapproachwasusedtodescribethecommunicativefunctionsplayedbythethreespatialprepositions.Outofthe21newspaperheadlinesanalysed,thefindingsrevealed that Vanguard, a major Nigerian newspaper, has the highest percentage of the usage of targetprepositions(26.86%),secondedbyPunch(24.92%),followedbyTheSun(24.27%),andlastlythelowestpercentage,TheNation (23.95%).Moreover, itwas revealed from the study that newspaperwritershaveneglectedtheusageofpreposition‘at’butreplaceditwithpreposition‘in’toindicateposition,regardlessofthelocation,eitherspecificorbroad.Moreover,newspaperpractitionerswerealsofoundtoadopttheforwardpositionofprepositiontoexpressuncertainty.Thisstudyhasimplicationsforunderstandingthemultifacetedwaysofusingspatialprepositionsbynewspaperswriterstoachievetheirpurpose.

BIODATA

Bashir Ibrahim was born on 10 May 1982 at Katsina state of Nigeria. Currently, he is undergoing his Master’s degree at the Department of English Language Faculty of Languages and Communication in Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Terengganu Malaysia. He obtained his B.A English language at Al-Qalam University Katsina of Nigeria and also specialised in spatial usage in string positions.

ABSTRACTS POSTER CODE M1

CATEGORY Master’s Students

A Case Study of Vocabulary Teaching Strategies in a Malaysian Montessori PreschoolCheong Ngee Fui

Thisresearchaimstocontributetoexisting literatureby investigatingaMalaysianMontessoripreschool’steacher’svocabulary teachingstrategies for6yearold learners.Factors that influencepreschool teachers’vocabulary teachingarealsodiscussed.Using thecasestudymodel, thepreschool’sprincipalandEnglishteacher’s viewswere obtained.Datawas collected through interviews and classroomobservations.UsingGraves’(2006)fouressentialcomponentsofvocabularyinstructionasthetheoretical framework, findingsindicated theapplicationof a combinationof implicit andexplicit vocabulary instruction.TheMontessoriMethodalso influences the teacher’s teaching strategies. Itwas clear that oral languagedevelopmenthasgreaterimportancethanwrittenlanguageforyounglearners.Teachersstressedtheneedtodeveloplearners’communication skills, since this is themain reason of language learning. Factors that influence teachers’vocabulary teaching are wide-ranging from teacher training to parents’ expectations. This research hassignificancebecauseyounglearnershavedifferentdevelopmentalneedsthanolder learners.Theyrequirea balance of cognitive and emotional development which could not be achieved with a teacher-centredapproach.TheimpactofECEislong-term.Itiscriticalthatyounglearnersareequippedwiththenecessaryskillsforfuturelearning.Furtherresearchisneededtoyieldgreaterclarityonthetopic.

BIODATA

Cheong Ngee Fui graduated from the University of Nottingham with M.A in TESOL, Malaysia in July 2017. She is a music teacher and a music therapist who works with special needs children. Her main interests are vocabulary acquisition, music in language learning and continuous professional development.



51

ESP for Business Students in a Private UniversityDaksayani A/P Ganeson

In the Malaysian working environment, employers seek fresh graduates who are able to communicateeffectively in English in order to contribute to the business sector, particularly in local and internationalcompanieswhereEnglishisthemediumofcommunication.Theseemployersselectfreshgraduatesbasedontheirabilitytoelaborateontheirabilities,skills,andknowledgeduringthejobinterviewprocess.GiventhatEnglishiswidelyusedinthebusinessfield,thisstudylooksintotheEnglishlanguageneedsandproblemsfacedbybusinessstudentsataprivateuniversityinShahAlam,Malaysia.Themainaimsofthisstudyaretoidentify(a)theEnglishLanguageproblemsofthebusinessstudents,(b)theEnglishLanguageneedsand(c)thelanguageskillsrequiredinaproposedEnglishLanguagesyllabusforthebusinessstudents.Asthisisaqualitativestudy,multiplesourcesofdatawerecollectedviasemi-structuredinterviewswithoneAcademichead,threeBusinesslecturersandthreeIndustrialsupervisors.Questionnaireswereadministeredtoeightybusiness students. Findings revealed that business students facedmajor problems in (a) speaking- poorgrammar,incorrectpronunciation,andgivingpresentation,(b)writing-writingvariousbusinessdocuments,(c) listening- understanding clients’ and superior’s pronunciations, and (d) reading – understandingbusinessterminologiesandgeneralvocabulary.Inadditiontothestudents’needstoovercometheirlearningproblems, all of themwere interested in enrolling in aBusinessEnglish course. Interviewed respondentsalsohighlightedcomponentsthatshouldbeincludedinthecourse(a)speaking–effectivecommunicationat the workplace, (b) writing- techniques of writing business documents, techniques of writing negativemessagesandeditingbusinessdocuments,(c) listening-watchingYouTubevideostounderstanddifferentaccentsandpronunciations,and(d)reading–skimmingandscanningbusinessdocuments,interpretingnon-lineartexts.Findingsledtothedevelopmentofathree-hour,14weekBusinessEnglishcourse.Implicationsfromthefindingpoint totheneed inanalysingstudents’needsandwantsbeforedevelopingtheBusinessEnglishsyllabus.ThiswouldensuretherelevanceofBusinessEnglishprogramtotheneedsofstudentsandtheindustry.

BIODATA

Daksayani Ganeson is currently a Master’s student at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics inUniversity of Malaya. Her research area is Language for Specific Purposes. She is also an English language lecturer at Erican College. She teaches General Proficiency English to international and local students.



52

Portraits of Cinderellas: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Exploration of Identity, Agency, and English Language Learning of Foreign Domestic Workers in MalaysiaDarshini Nadarajan

ThishermeneuticphenomenologystudyattemptstoexploretheidentitiesthathinderorfacilitateEnglishlanguagelearningbynineFDWsincontextswhereEnglishisspokeninMalaysiabyemployingtheTheoryofSelfandIdentity(Holland,Lachicotte,Skinner,andCain,1998)andtheTheoryofLanguageandSocialIdentity(NortonPierce,1995)astheoretical lensestoguidetheinquiry.Visualmethodologies,suchasPhotovoice,photonarrativesandphotoelicitedinterviewswereusedtounearththelivedexperiencesoftheseFDWswhoselanguagelearningexperiencesareinadequatelyunderstood.ThephotographsandnarrativeswereanalysedinductivelybyapplyingtheHermeneuticCirclerevealingthreephenomenologicalstructuredexperiences;(1)understandingthe‘figuredworlds’,(2)powerandpositionality,and(3)accesstoimaginedcommunities.Thefindingsrevealthattheirmultifacetedidentitiesofbeingamother,awoman,amigrant,anon-nativespeakeraswellasspeakerswho“understandtherulesofthegame”collectivelycontributetothewaysinwhichtheyexerciseagencyand(re)constructtheiridentities.Thisstudycontributestotoday’spracticesinanadultESLclassroomthroughthreeways;first,findingssuggestthatlearnersarefocusedontheirpresentstrugglesandplacemorepremiumontheirneedsbasedontheirsocializationexperienceswithinthelargercommunity.Assuch,educatorsoughttofindtangiblewaystoconnecttheirlessonswithlearners’currentneeds.Second,thereisagraveneedtomoveawayfromnativespeakerstandardsofEnglishandexposestudentstoabroaderrangeofaccentsininstructionalmaterials.Ergo,fluencyandclarityincommunicativesettingshaveagreaterreachthansimplyfocusingonhavingstudentsattainanear-nativeproficiencyinaprestigevariety.Third,challengingsituationscanberesolvedthroughmushfakingidentitieswherelearnersadoptnewpersonastodealwiththeirlanguagelearningissue.Ultimately,thesetentativefindingssuggestthatunderstandingthesenew‘selves’isimperativeforthesuccessinlearningandusingEnglish.

BIODATA

Darshini Nadarajan is a graduate from the University of Nottingham where she obtained her M.A. in TESOL and her M.Ed in Educational Leadership and Management from the National Chung Cheng University Taiwan. She is interested in the politics of language and identity within the intersection of gender, race, and ableism.



53

M-Learning: The Indonesian ESL Learners’ Experience with InstagramEni Lasito

Young people nowadays aremore connected to the outsideworld via the internet, and are able to learninformallythroughthesocialmediaandotherusefulwebsites.Hence,itisonlynaturalthateducatorscapitaliseonthistrendandusesuchplatformsasateaching-learningtool.Thisresearchattemptsto investigatetheattitude of Indonesian learners toward English lessons taught via Instagram. This research involved 47Indonesianyoungadult learnerswhoarefollowersof@Guruku_Mr.DanishInstagramaccountwhichaimstoprovidebite-sizedEnglishlessonstothoseinterestedtoimprovetheirlanguageproficiency.Itwasfoundthat the attitudes of Indonesian learners toward English in general and learning English in Instagram ispositivewithmanyindicatingthatInstagramhasprovidedthemwithanavenuetopractiseandacquirenewvocabulariesandlearnthecorrectpronunciationofthewordslearnteasily.Thus,thisstudyrecommendsthatschooladministratorsshouldconsiderallowingtheuseofmobilephonesintheclassroomtoexploitthelureofthesocialmediaamongschoolchildren.

BIODATA

Eni Lasito is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in TESOL at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus. She taught English in kindergarten and primary level for two years in Indonesia, before working as an early childhood teacher in Qatar. She holds a B.A. in English and obtained a Cambridge CELTA certificate last year.



54

The Efficacy of Direct and Indirect WCF on the Use of Selected Verb Tense Amongst ESL LearnersTang Tuck Mun

A study on written corrective feedback (WCF) is proposed to investigate its value on high intermediateEnglishasSecondLanguage(ESL)learners’writingsataselectedlocaluniversityinMalaysia.Thestudywillalso investigate if theESL learners’preferredor lesspreferredtypesofWCF(director indirectWCF)willinfluencetheirperformance.Fordecades,aconsiderableamountofattentionhasbeengiventoWCFinthefieldofsecond languageacquisition(SLA). In theearlydevelopmentofWCF,Truscott(1996)raiseda fewtheoreticalissueswhichledstudiesonWCFtobecarriedbyresearchersopposinghisclaims(Bitchener,2008;BitchenerandKnoch,2008a,2008b,2009,2010).ThefirstissueraisedwasthatintheformofWCF,asimpletransferofinformationcannotbeexpectedtobebeneficialduetothewell-establishedSLAinsightsaboutthecomplexandgradualnatureoftheprocessofacquisition.ThesecondissueconcernedwiththefeasibilityofprovidingWCFwithrespecttothelearner’sreadinesstoacquireaspecificformorstructureaccordingtotheNaturalOrderHypothesis.Therefore,shouldWCFapproachisemployedatatimethatisnotconsistentwiththenaturalorder, itcouldnotbeeffective.ThethirdissuepresentedwasthatshouldanESLlearnerlearnanythingfromthemploymentofWCFapproach;thelearningislikelytobeonly‘pseudo-learning’.However,recentstudiesonWCFhaveshownthatWCFiseffectiveinsomecontextsanditsvalueofbeingemployedoveraperiodoftime.Aquantitativeapproachwillbeusedforthisproposedstudywherethisstudywillbedesignedasanexperimentusingthepre-test-post-testdesigninordertocollectempiricaldata.Datawillalsobecollectedusingaquestionnaire.ThedatacollectedwillthenbeprocessedusingtheStatisticalPackageforSocialSciences(SPSS).ThefindingsofthisproposedstudyarebelievedtobeabletocontributetotheunderstandingofthetypeoffeedbackthatismostsuitabletobeusedonESLlearnersathighintermediatelevel.Furthermore,themostsuitabletypeoflinguisticformofWCFtobeusedontheESLlearnersmayalsobeascertainedfromthisproposedstudy.Keywords:WCF,ESL,writing,performance,experiment

BIODATA

Tang Tuck Mun is pursuing his Master of English as a Second Language student at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya. Currently, he is teaching the IELTS preparation programme at Xiamen University Malaysia. He enjoys teaching and exploring how ESL learners acquire and learn the English language.



55

Brawijoyo: The Implementation of Gamification as an Alternative Learning Strategies Based on Joyful LearningDewi Agus Damayanti

This paper discusses and analyzes on how the implementation and benefits of Brawijoyo as one of theapplicationofgamification inEnglishclassroomofCLCBaturongthatbasedonJoyfulLearning.ThereareseveralreasonswhythegameisnamedBrawijoyo.First,BrawijoyoistheacronymforBaturongAwesomeGamificationforJoyfulLearning.Majapahitkingdomwaschosenasthenarrativebackgroundforthegame.BrawijoyoisthetitleusedshowingthepoliticalstatusofthekingofMajapahit.Itisderivedfromtheword“bra”whichmeansKing,and“wijaya”(inJavaneselanguagepronounced“wijoyo”whichmeansdescendantofRadenWijaya(thefirstkingofMajapahit)TherearetwocomponentsofthegameusedinBrawijoyo,gamedesignprinciplesandmechanics.Thegamedesignprinciplesconsistof:freedomtofail,rapidfeedback,progressionandstorytelling.Meanwhile,mechanicshavesixelementswhicharepoint,level/stages,leaderboards,badges,prizesandrewards,storytelling/narratives.TheimplementationofBrawijoyoiscomposedoffour,namely:preparation, dissemination, implementation and evaluation stages. The result of the application of theBrawijoyoare:(1)proveneffectivetocreatefunandmeaningfullearningenvironment,(2)providestudentswith21stcenturyskills,(3)meansofthecharactereducationand(4)provideareferenceofanewformofassesmentofthreepartsofcompetence1.e.,knowledge,skillsandattitudeasstatedinK-13curriculum.Key words:Brawijoyo,Gamification,JoyfulLearning

BIODATA

Dewi Agus Damayanti S.Pd Education Bachelor in English Education Yogyakarta State University. Shei graduated from English Education study programme, Yogyakarta State University in 2011. She has recently completed Trainning for Profesional Teacher “Pendidikan dan Latihan Profesi Guru” on December 2016. She has been teaching migrant students in Sabah, Malaysia for more than four years.

ABSTRACTS POSTER CODE T1

CATEGORY Teachers

56

The Impact of Group Work in Developing Students’ Critical Thinking SkillsOng Ma Vin, Koet Tian Wei

Themain problem commonly faced byMalaysian students is that they are unable to think critically in alanguagelearningcontext.Thisstudyaimstofindoutifgroupworkcanenhancestudents’criticalthinkingskills. The participants were 75 pupils from upper primary and lower secondary schools and 30 schoolteachers.Theresearchquestionsaddressedwere:(1)Doesgroupworkhelpstudentstoimprovetheircriticalthinkingskills?And(2)Isgroupworkconsideredaviableteachingmethod?Dataforthisquantitativestudywereobtainedfromtwosetsofquestionnaires,forstudentsandteachersabouttheirexperiencesingroupworkrespectively.Findingsshowed that studentsweremoreconfident toexpress their ideaswhiledoinggroupwork,especiallywhenpeerswereencouragedtohelpthemrephrasetheirideas.Thinkingamongstthestudentsasitloweredtheaffectivefilterswhileparticipatinginlearningactivities.Thelimitationofthestudywastimeconstraintsfacedbyteacherstoincorporategroupworkactivitiesinclassandpupils’reluctancetoengageingroupwork.Itishopedthatthisresearchcouldhelpothereducatorstounderstandtherelevanceofusinggroupworktodevelopstudents’criticalthinkingskills.Datafromteachersshowedthatgroupworkencouraged critical

BIODATA

Ong Ma Vin is a secondary school English teacher at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Teluk Kumbar which is located in Penang. He graduated from a twinning programme under the Ministry of Education where he attended the Teacher Training Institute of Ipoh and University of Warwick obtaining a degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). With three years of teaching experience, he is eager to share ideas and gain new ideas from fellow educators.Koet Tian Wei is currently an English language teacher at SJK(C) Perempuan China, Penang. She graduated with B.Ed TESOL from Macquarie University, Sydney. She is passionate in using creative teaching methods and tools to improve language learning and in sharing her best practices with visitors from other countries who came to her school for benchmarking.


CATEGORY Teachers

57

Which Practice Is Better? Using Full English or Mother Tongue During English LessonsPah Mok Eu

ThisstudyinvestigatedtheuseoffullEnglishteachingstyleinaChineseprimaryschool.TeachersinSJK(C)normallyprefertouseMandarintoexplaintotheirpupilshopingthatpupilscanunderstandbetter.SomeparentsprefertohaveanEnglishteacherwhocanuseMandarintoteachtheirchildren.ThisstudyexplorestheadvantagesofusingfullEnglishinteachingEnglishamongYear3pupils.Teacher’steachingreflectionandinterviewswereconductedwithpupilsafterlessons.Pupils’firstandlastexaminationresultshaveusedtocomparetheirprogress.PupilsstillcouldgetbetterresultsinthelastexameventheirEnglishteacherusedfullEnglishforthewholeyear.PupilswereabletocommunicatewithteachersandamongpeersconfidentlyandnaturallyinEnglish.ThepupilsturnedouttobemoreconfidentandmorewillingtocommunicatewithpeoplearoundtheminEnglish.ThelanguagethattheEnglishteacherusedinclasswasabletobuildtheirconfidenceandenhancetheirEnglishLanguagelearning.ThisstudystronglyencouragesandrecommendsthattheuseoffullEnglishduringEnglishclassshouldbeimplementedintheEnglishclassroominSJK(C).PupilswilllearnandpickupEnglishLanguagefasterinthepositivelearningatmosphereintheirclassroom.Asaresult,usingfullEnglishduringEnglishclassisstronglyrecommended.

BIODATA

Pah Mok Eu is an English teacher in SJK(C) Naam Kheung. He has been teaching in this school since eight years ago. His hobby is learning English Grammar. He is teaching English for Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6. He is in charge of the English literature of Year 4 in his school.


CATEGORY Teachers

58

The Effectiveness of Project-based Learning (PBL) in Helping Year 5 Pupils to Speak in EnglishShareenjit Kaur A/P Nachatar Singh

ThisactionresearchisaimedatusingProject-basedLearningtohelptheYear5pupils’tospeakintheEnglishlanguage.Theresearchparticipantsofthisactionresearchconsistof24Year5femalepupilsfromanurbangirls’schoolinthestateofPenang,Malaysia.Thisactionresearchadoptsaqualitativedataanalysisapproachandisbasedonsemi-structuredinterviewsandfieldnotes,analysedthematically.Ananalysisofthedatafromthesemi-structuredinterviewshowedthatthemajorityoftherespondentswerereceptivetowards’theuseofgroupwork.ResultsfromthefieldnotesshowsthatpupilsspeakinEnglishthroughouttheprocessofProject-BasedLearning.Hence,Project-BasedLearning canbe further exploitedas an innovative strategy tohelppupilsspeakintheEnglishlanguage.Itisexploitedbasedonthepupils’interestandiffullyexploited,itcanbeaninnovativestrategythatcanbeeffectivelybeusedintheESLclassroomstohelppupilsspeakinEnglish.

BIODATA

Shareenjit Kaur is currently an English and Science DLP teacher in SK Taman Bukit Dahlia, Pasir Gudang Johor. She is keen to present a paper she completed in IPG Pulau Pinang as a stepping stone towards her journey as a postgraduate student.


CATEGORY Teachers

59

The Use of Tensorama to Help Year 5 Pupils to Understand the Past Continuous TenseAhmad Haiqal Hafifi Bin Hasman

ThisactionresearchaimedtostudytheextenttowhichusingtheTensoramamethodiseffectiveinhelpingtheYear5pupilstounderstandtheconceptofpastcontinuoustense.TheresearchparticipantsconsistedoftenYear5pupilsfromaprimaryschoollocatedinBandarUtamaDamansara,Selangor.Thestudyincorporatedthe use of two different teaching procedures, which were the Traditional and Tensorama method. Theinstruments for the studycomprisedofTest1andTest2, an interviewscheduleand journal entries.Theresultsofthestudyshowedthat, toacertainextent,TensoramamethodwaseffectiveinimprovingYear4pupils understanding on the concept of the past continuous tense

BIODATA

Ahmad Haiqal is a trainee teacher from IPG KBA and is keen to join this conference to gain more experience and knowledge.

ABSTRACTS POSTER CODE UG1

CATEGORY Trainee Teachers/Undergraduates

60

Using Percharole Strategy in Enhancing Understanding of the Characters in the Short Story, ‘The King of Kites’, Among Year 4 PupilsBrenda Aedlina Jed Imon

Pupils,especiallyYear4pupils,havebeenstrugglingincopingwithLanguageArtsspecificallyContemporaryLiterature since itwas implemented in theMalaysian curriculum. This action research project set out toinvestigatehowPerChaRolestrategycanenhancepupils’understandingofthecharactersintheshortstory,‘TheKingofKites’.Itwasestablishedthatcertainpupilswerehavingdifficultyindescribingthepersonalitytraitsofcharactersintheshortstory.Thepurposeofthisresearchwastoenhancepupils’understandingofthecharacterssothattheycandescribethepersonalitytraitsofthecharacters.MyparticipantsconsistedofeightpupilsfromaYear4classandtheywerethelow-achieversintheclass.Thisstudywascarriedoutwithin4weeksinoneoftheprimaryschoolsinPetalingJaya.Datawerecollectedusingarangeofdata-gatheringtechniques including test (Test1andTest2), interview,questionnaire, and journalentry.ThePerChaRolestrategyhas twocomponents,whicharepersonality chart and roleplay.Afteranalysing thedata, I foundthatthisstrategydidnotreallyhelpmyparticipantstoimprovetheirlearning,especiallyindescribingthepersonalitytraitsofcharactersintheshortstory.Fromtheresult,Icaninferthatthepupilsneededmoretimetobefamiliarwiththeuseofthisstrategyinorderforittoworkeffectivelyforthem.

BIODATA

Brenda Aedlina Jed Imon, a teacher trainee from Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Bahasa Antarabangsa. She wants to gain more knowledge about the teaching profession and to improve her teaching practices.



61

Use of B-Link Method to Enhance Year 2 Pupils’ Understanding of Using Gerunds and Infinitives in Writing Simple SentencesChing Sue Jyie

This objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the B-Link method in enhancing Year 2pupils’understandingofusinggerundsandinfinitivesinwritingsimplesentences.Pupils’ tendencytogetconfusedandmakemistakesregardinggerundsandinfinitiveswhenwritingsimplesentenceshasledtotheultimatequestion this study seeks toanswerwhich is, can theB-Linkmethodhelppupils tousegerundsandinfinitivescorrectlywhenwritingsimplesentences?TheB-Linkmethodisaninterventiondesignedasaresultofcombiningandadaptingtwoapproachestolearningwhicharedrillingandgames.Itrequirespupilsto formsentencesby linkingwordsorphrases togethercorrectly froma fourby fourgrid.Fromthedatathatwascollected,itisclearthattheB-Linkmethodhashelpedmostofthepupilstobeabletousegerundsandinfinitivescorrectlyinasentence.Althoughtherewasnosignificantimprovementinacoupleofpupils,therewerestrongbasestobelieveitisalackintheimplementationwhichIseektoimproveinthenextcycle.However,thispromisingresultindicatesthattheB-Linkmethodcanprobablybeadoptedtohelppupilsinotherareasofwritingforexample,recognisingsentencepatterns.

BIODATA

Ching Sue Jyie is a final-year student pursuing a degree in Teaching English as a Second Language at the International Languages Teacher Training Institute (Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Bahasa Antarabangsa). She has developed a passion for teaching at a very young age. In the years of training, she has had many direct and indirect experiences with the teaching world. She has carried out four phases of school-based experience and two phases of practicum amounting to about eight months. These have really helped in her professional development.



62

Group Discussion In SJK(C): Together, We Learn Better?Gan Poh Xian

This study investigated the use of group discussion strategy in a primary vernacular classroom. GroupdiscussionstrategyisnotcommonlyusednorisithighlyencouragedinanSJK(C)largeclassroom.ThisstudyobservedaclassofYear3pupils ina localChineseprimaryschool.Thesestudents’proficiencywasatanaverage level.Prior to thisstudy,groupdiscussionwasnotadvocatedorutilized in thisschool.Thestudythereforeexplores the feasibilityandadvantagesofgroupdiscussionamongtheYear3pupils.The lessonwithgroupdiscussionwasaudio-recordedandinterviewswereconductedwithafewpupilsafterthelesson.This study found that group discussion encourages active learning among the pupils. Theywere able toutilizetheListeningandSpeakingskillmorenaturally.Thelessonwithgroupdiscussioninitiallymovedfrombeingchaotictomoreorderlybythethirdlesson.Thelanguageclassturnedouttobemoregenuineandthepupilsclaimedhavingmoreenjoymentindoingtheactivitiesgiven.Groupdiscussionwasabletoboosttheirconfidenceandenhance language learning.Thisstudyhighlyencouragesandrecommendsthat theuseofgroupdiscussionshouldbeimplementedintheEnglishclassroominChineseschools.Groupdiscussionwouldbeabletocreateapositiveandauthenticlearningatmosphereandenvironmentintheclassroom.

BIODATA

Gan Poh Xian is a 21-year-old teacher trainee studying TESL (Teaching of English as Second Language) as her major course at Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Ilmu Khas.



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The Use of Curve it Method to Enhance Fluency of Cursive Writing Among High Proficiency Year 5 Pupils in a Primary ESL ClassroomIshwaar Singh A/L Manjit Singh

CursivewritingisalwaysseenasanobstacletowardslearningwritinginprimaryESLclassroom.Thishappensbecausepupilsviewcursivewritingasanindependententity,whereasitisactuallyajointformofalphabets.Thewideusageofprintcomparedtocursivehaspushedcursivewritingawayfromtheperspective,deemingittobeobsolete.However,cursivewritingisfundamentalforchilddevelopment,beitphysical,perception,cognition and executive in primary ESL classroom. The importance of cursivewriting cannot be ignoredthesimilarwayithasbereinstatedinMalaysiancurriculumandgivenagreateremphasisintheDSKPforEnglishsubject,especiallyduringtheWritingmodule.MyresearchwilllookintohowfarpupilswillbeabletoimprovetheircursivewritingusingtheCurve-itMethod.Mystudywillventureintoanalternativemediumtoteachcursivewritingbyemphasisingonteachingthefourmaincurvespresentincursivewriting.Myideaisthatifpupilsareabletomasterallthesefourcurveswithaccuratehandmovement,theywillbeabletoproduce legiblecursivewritingwithease.Theresults indicatethatcursivewritingcanbe improvedusingtheCurve-Itmethodformyselectedparticipants.However,theymustbekeentowardswritingandhaveastrongpassiontowardsimprovingthemselves.Althoughcursivewritingfallsunderpenmanship,itsbenefitstranscend language learning. It canhelp to strengthen thespellingofpupilsaspupilswillnot carry theirpencilswhilespelling.Therefore,theywillviewthewordasawholeratherthanfragmentsofit.Besidesthat,itcanalsohelpinnotetakingandwriting.Improvingcursiveallowspupilstowritefasterwhichisgoodastheywillbeabletowriteouttheirideasandexpressthemselvesbetterthanothers.

BIODATA

Ishwaar Singh is a teacher trainee from International Languages of Teacher Training Institute, Kuala Lumpur. He embarked on a journey to be a qualified teacher in June 2012. College life had been about assignments and training himself to have the best teaching style that suits his ideology. He is curious about how things are done and can be improvised. He loves new, fresh challenges as they allow him to move out from his comfort zone. It certainly allows him to challenge his usual norms and develop his skills to be a better person.



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Using 4W Pictionstop Method to Help Year 5 Low Proficiency Pupils to Sequence the Events in Graphic NovelsLim Jia Lih

Sequencing skill is a very important aspect in the learning of any literature text using graphic novels.Understandingof the storyline is a stepping stone forpupils toappreciate literature.Thespecial featuresofgraphicnovelsmaycausesomepupilstoencounterproblemsinreading.Graphicnovelscombineimagesandwordsinasequentialformattotellastoryandtheyoftencontainmorecomplexplotsandacompletestorylinecomparedtootherformsofgraphicmediumsuchascomicbooks,comicstripsandmanga.Duetothespecialfeatures,pupilsareabletosuccessfullyunderstandthetextandcomplexplotsinordertosequencetheeventsinthegraphicnovelcorrectly.Thepurposeofthisactionresearchisaimedatanalysinghowthe4WPictionStopmethodhelpstheYear5lowproficiencypupilstosequencetheeventsinthegraphicnovel“Gulliver’sTravel”.Theresearchparticipantsinvolved9pupilsfromaschoolinPetalingJaya,Selangor.Thestudyinvolvedtheuseoftwodifferentmethods,whichweretheRepicsent(Readandpictureandsentencestripsmatching)methodand4WPictionStop(Picturedescriptionandstorymap)method.Theinstrumentsusedforthestudycomprisedof tests, interviewsandreflective journals.Thisstudywasconductedoveraperiodoftwoweeks.Theresultsofthestudyshowedthatthe4WPictionStopmethodhadhelpedtheYear5lowproficiencypupilstosequencetheeventsinthegraphicnovel“Gulliver’sTravel”.However,themethoddidnothelptheparticipantswhodidnotlikethestory.

BIODATA

Lim Jia Lih is a researcher from the Institute of Teacher Education International Languages Campus (IPGKBA). The major issue that concerns him as an English language teacher trainee is the inability of his Year 5 low proficiency pupils’ to sequence the events in the graphic novel.



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The Use of Arsto (Article Story) Method to Help Year Three Intermediate Proficiency Pupils to OvercomePoor Mastery of Using ArticlesLucy Wong Kee Wen

ThisactionresearchinvolveddiscoveringhowtheuseofARSTO(articlestory)methodcanhelpYearThreeintermediatepupilstoovercometheirpoormasteryinusingarticles.ARSTOisaself-createdstorythatcontainsthreemaincharacters,namely,“A”,“AN”and“THE”.Inthisstory,thecharactersweredescribedwithdifferenttraitsandpersonalities,whichactuallyrepresenttherulesofusingarticlesintheEnglishlanguage.Throughreading thestory,pupilswereexpectedto learnarticlesrulesmoreeffectivelybyrecalling thecharacters’traits.TheparticipantsinthisresearchconsistedofsixYearThreepupilswithintermediateproficiencylevelfromaprimaryschoolinKualaLumpur.ThestudyinvolvedcomparisonbetweenusingtraditionalteachingmethodandARSTOtoteacharticles.TheinstrumentsusedfortheresearchconsistedofTest1andTest2,interviewsandjournalentries.TheresultsofthestudyshowedthatARSTOwaseffectiveinhelpingtheYear3pupilstousearticleseffectivelytoacertainextent.

BIODATA

Lucy Wong Kee Wen is 23 years old and participated in MELTA Conference to share her experiences in conducting research on grammar. She also hopes to enhance her knowledge on other topics in TESL through listening to other presentations.



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The Use of Dictocomp Technique to Improve Text Structure in Writing of Recounts Among Year 4 Intermediate Proficiency PupilsMalket Singh A/L Belwet Singh

This study sought to investigate the effectiveness of Dictocomp technique to improve text structure inwritingofrecounts.Thestudyaimedtoanswertworesearchquestions:(1)CantheDictocomptechniqueimprove text structure in pupils’ writing of recounts? (2) Does the improvement in text structure in thepupils’writingleadtoabetterlogicalconnectionofideasintheirwriting?Sixpupilsdemonstratingweaknessin text structure in thewriting of recountswere selected as the researchparticipants. Four lessonswereplannedontheinterventioninthisresearch.Theyrespectivelycomprisedoffourmeticulouslyplannedstagesin theDictocomptechnique;preparation,dictation,reconstructionaswellasanalysisandcorrection.Thisstudyemployedboththequantitative;tests,andqualitative;interviewsandjournalentries,datacollectionmethods.Thedataforthetestswasanalyzedbyitsmeanscoreandbycomparisonofindividualparticipant’sresultsinTest1andTest2.ThedatafortheinterviewswasanalyzedusingtheConstantComparativeMethod.Finally,thejournalentrieswerereviewedforkeypointstotriangulatethedataobtainedfromthetestsandtheinterviews.TheresultsofthisstudydemonstratedthattheuseoftheDictocomptechniqueledtoasignificantimprovement in the text structure construct in theparticipants’writing of recounts. The findings furtherhighlightedthattheimprovementinthetextstructureconstructhasalsoledtoaparallelimprovementinthelogicalconnectionofideasconstructintheparticipants’writingofrecounts.

BIODATA

Malket Singh is a teacher trainee pursuing his bachelor degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) programme at the Institute of Teacher Education, International Languages Campus, Ministry of Education, Malaysia. He is particularly interested on research in the field of English Language Teaching Methodology (ELTM), as part of his earnest attempt to improve his teaching practices. He is also actively involved in various programs on ELT both at the national and international levels.



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The Use of Least Intrusive Punishment Strategy in Minimising Misbehaviour Among Year 2 Low AchieversMohamad Ismeth Emir Bin Zakaria

Theteachingofanysubjects,particularly,inanESLclassroomrequiresgoodclassroommanagementskills.Thisisbecausethepupilsareeasilyoff-taskastheyhavenointerestinthesubject.TheactionresearchaimedtoevaluatetheroleofLeastIntrusivePunishment(LeIP)strategyinminimisingmisbehavioursamongYear2low-achievers.Classroommanagementisthefocalpointoftheactionresearchinwhichpupils’behaviourisaddressed.TheparticipantsconsistedoffiveYear2pupilswhoshowedmisbehavioursandoff-taskduringEnglishlessons.Thestudyinvolvedtheuseoftwoteachingmethods,whichwerePre-interventionandLeIPstrategymethods.Thedata forthisstudywasobtainedthroughobservation,questionnaire, interviewandjournalentry.Findingsindicatedthatmisbehavioursamonglow-achievingpupilswereminimisedwhenusingLeIPstrategybecausetheyweremorefocusedandattentivewhenadoptingthestrategy.However,factorsliketime-outdurationneedstobereconsideredinthefutureforethicsandpracticalityreasons.Keywords:LeastIntrusivePunishment,classroommanagement,misbehaviours,time-out,firmreprimand

BIODATA

Mohamad Ismeth is a final semester teacher trainee from Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Bahasa Antarabangsa. He does not have any experience in presenting paper before and this will be his very first time presenting and showcasing his work as to embark in the world of research.



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Improving Reading Skills Among Year Five PupilsMohamad Nur Al Hakim Bin Hamdan, Mohamad Akmal Fahmi Bin Asmuni, Mohammad Jazlie Bin Jaffar, Awangku Ahmad Bin Awang Bujang

Some primary school pupils faced problems in their reading skills due to the lack ofmotivation and thereadingtextwaslengthythattheyfoundithardtounderstandthetext.Thustheycouldnotreadfluentlyandaccurately.Theaimofthisresearchwastoimprovepupils’readingfluencythroughQRCodedBigBook.Itcombinestheelementsofabigbookandaquickresponsecodewhichenablesthereadertodoself-learning.QRCodedBigBookcontainsquickresponsecodefromwhichthepupilscanlistentohowthetext isreadoncetheyarescanned.TheusageofQRcodeintergratesICTelement inthelessonmakingreadinglessonfunandinteresting.ThisstudywasanactionresearchconductedamongsevenpupilsinaprimaryYearFiveclassroom.Aspeedreadingtestwascarriedoutbeforeandaftertheinterventiontoanalysethepupils’readingfluencybycountinghowmanywordstheypronouncedcorrectlyinoneminute.Itwasfoundthatthemeanofthewordsperminute(wpm)at84.71inthespeedreadingpre-testwasincreasedto99.71wpminthespeedreadingpost-testaftertheimplementationofQRCodedBigBook.Thepupilswerealsoobservedthattheyweremotivatedtoreadandenjoyedthereadinglesson.ThesefindingsindicatethatQRCodedBigBookcouldimproveYear5pupils’readingfluency.ItisrecommendedtothetraineesandteacherstousetechnologysuchasQRCodedBigBookintheirteachingandlearningprocess.

BIODATA

Mohamad Nur Al Hakim bin Hamdan, Mohamad Akmal Fahmi bin Asmuni, Mohammad Jazlie bin Jaffar, & Awangku Ahmad bin Awang Bujang are undergraduate teacher trainees from the Institute of Teacher Education Tun Hussein Onn Campus, Batu Pahat, Johor. They are in their fourth and final year of their Bachelor in Education (TESL) degree. This research was conducted together as an innovation project.



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The Effectiveness of Using the Integration Arts to Minimize Year 4 Pupils’ Misbehaviour In The ESL ClassroomMuhamad Saiful Maula Puasa

Theactionresearchaimedtodeterminetheeffectivenessofusingtheartsintegrationthatreferstotheuseofbodylanguagesignsandvisualartstominimizeyear4pupils’misbehaviorintheESLclassroom.Theartsintegrationisparticularlypowerfulasitallowspupilstocommunicatelearningwhentheycannotexpressitthroughwriting(Landers,2014).Furthermore,theartsintegrationalsohelpsthepupilstointegrateandretainwhattheyarelearninginallaspects.TherespondentsforthestudyconsistedofYear4pupilsinaprimaryschoolinSelangor.Theinstrumentsusedforthestudywereanobservationform,aninterviewprotocolandjournal entries.The studywas carriedoutoveraperiodof twoweeks.Two lessonswere conducted;oneemployingtheconventionalmodeandtheotherusingtheartsintegrationmethod.TheresultsofthestudyshowedthattheartsintegrationmethodwaseffectiveinminimizingYear4pupils’misbehaviorintheEnglishLanguagelessons.Oneofthereasonswasbecausethepupilswerefullyawareofhowtherewardssystemworksintheclassroom;andsecond,theyweremoreengagedwiththeartactivitiesthatwereintegratedinthelessons.

BIODATA

Muhamad Saiful Maula Puasa is a teacher trainee at the Institute of Teacher Education,( International Language Campus IPG KBA). He joined IPG KBA in June 2012. Since then, he has learned how to apply suitable methodologies, theories, skills and techniques in the teaching and learning process. He is interested in doing research in classroom management issues as these issues are very common among Malaysian teachers.



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The Use of PicASo Method to Improve Vocabulary Retention Among Year 2 Low Proficiency PupilsMuhammad Irfan Bin Osman

ThisactionresearchisaimedatstudyingtheextenttowhichusingthePicASomethodcanhelptoimproveYear2pupils’retentionofvocabulary.Vocabularyretentionhasalwaysbeenaproblemfortheresearcher’sYear2pupilsintheteachingandlearningofEnglish.TheresearchparticipantscomprisedoffiveYear2pupilsfromaprimaryschoollocatedinPetalingJaya,Selangor.Thestudyinvolvedtheuseoftwodifferentteachingmethods,whichweretheTraditionalandPicASomethods.PicASomethodisthecombinationofactionsongsandpictures.Thestudywasconductedinthreeweeks.Duringthefirstweek,thetraditionalmethodofteachingwasimplemented.ThePicASomethodwasthenimplementedinthefollowingweeks.TheinstrumentsforthestudyconsistedofTest1andTest2,aninterviewschedule,andresearcher’sjournalentries.TheresultsofthestudyshowedthattheuseofthePicASomethodwasabletohelpthepupilstorememberandretainthevocabularylearned.

BIODATA

Muhammad Irfan bin Osman is a 23-year-old student at the Institute of Teacher Education, International Languages Campus (IPGKBA). His reseach title is “The Use of PicASo Method to Improve Vocabulary Retention among Year 2 Low Proficiency Pupil”.



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Using SeeSaW Method to Improve Year 3 Low Proficiency Pupils’ English SpellingNellicca Neleric Chong

ThisactionresearchisaimedatstudyingtheextenttowhichusingtheSeeSaW(See,SayandWrite)methodiseffective inhelpingYear3 lowproficiencypupils to improveEnglishspelling.TheresearchparticipantsinvolvedsixYear3lowproficiencypupilsfromaprimaryschoollocatedinPetalingDistrict,Selangor.Thestudyinvolvedtheuseoftwodifferentteachingmethods,whichweretheTraditionalandSeeSaWmethods.The SeeSaW method is developed based on the multisensory approach. The instruments for the studyconsistedofTest1,Test2, interviewand journalentries.Theresultof thestudyshowedthat theSeeSaWmethodwaseffectiveinhelpingYear3lowproficiencypupilstoimprovetheirEnglishspellingespeciallyinspellingwordswithdoubleconsonants.Forfurtheraction,thismethodcanbeenhancedbyassigningpupilstocreateapersonalisedwordlist.

BIODATA

Nellicca Neleric Chong is a teacher trainee from Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Bahasa Antarabangsa. She would like to share her knowledge on this issue.



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Using Chantic Method to Improve the Use of Subject Verb Agreement Among Average Year Four PupilsNurdiana Binti Johary

ThisstudywascarriedouttodeterminetheextenttowhichtheuseoftheChanticmethodhelpedtoimprovethe correct use of subject verb agreement among Year Four Pupils of intermediate proficiency level. Theresearch participants involved were 10 pupils from an urban school in Damansara, Selangor. This studycomprisedtheuseoftest,questionnaireandinterviewasinstruments.Theresearchwasconductedintwodividedsessionsforthedurationofonemonth.ThefirstsessionusedthetraditionalmethodandthelatterusedtheChanticmethod.TheresultsofthestudyshowedthattheuseofChanticmethodhasbeenhelpfulandeffectiveinimprovingtheuseofcorrectsubjectverbagreementamongYearFourpupilsofintermediateproficiencylevel.

BIODATA

Nurdiana Binti Johary is a teacher trainee at the Institute of Teacher Education International Languages Campus, Kuala Lumpur. Currently, in the final year of completing her degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), she is a proud English language teacher-to-be with a deep passion in teaching. Her area of research interest is mainly in the field of education. She believes ongoing research would provide room for improvement and for a better quality of education.



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The Use of SWOT Analysis Method to Promote Aesthetic Appreciation of the Graphic Novel’ Gulliver’s Travel’ Among Year 5 Intermediate Proficiency PupilsSerdev Singh

ThisactionresearchaimstodeterminetheeffectivenessofusingtheSWOTanalysismethodinhelpingYear5 intermediate proficiency pupils to analyse the literary text of the graphic novel ‘Gulliver’s Travel’. Theparticipantsofthisresearchcomprisedof10pupilsfromanationalschoollocatedinPetalingJaya,Selangor.The research instruments consisted of interviews and journalwrite-ups. This research took place duringEnglishlanguagelessonsandthestudytookaroundonemonthtobecompleted,withtheconventionalandinterveninglessonstakingoneweekeachtobeconducted.DatawascollectedusingTest1andTest2.Theresult revealed that all the participants achieved significant improvements in Test 2 as compared toTest1.ThisshowsthattheSWOTanalysismethodiseffectiveinhelpingYear5intermediateproficiencypupilsinanalysing the literary text, as compared to the conventional teachingmethod.Basedon the interviews,the participants also concluded that they were engaged during the teaching and learning process which incorporatedtheuseoftheSWOTanalysismethod.

BIODATA

Serdev Singh is teacher trainee pursuing his Bachelor degree in Teaching English as Second Language (TESL) at the Institute of Teacher Education, International Languages Campus, Ministry of Education. He is particularly interested in researching about new methods from various methods in ELT as part of his professional continuous development. He is also actively involved in various programs on English Language teaching organised by various organisations at both national and international levels.



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Using the LHYS (Lion Hunt Video Song) to Enhance Year 3 Intermediate Pupils’ Comprehension on Prepositions of PlacesStephanie Chiew Pei Ling

Thetitleofmyresearchis“UsingLHVS(LionHuntVideoSong)techniquetoenhanceYear3intermediatepupils’ comprehensiononprepositionsofplaces.This researchaims toanswer thequestion ‘Are theYear3 intermediatepupils able to answerall thequestions in the teston theprepositionsofplaces taughtbytheteacherusingtheLHVStechnique?’Thisresearchfocusesonthegrammaritem‘prepositionsofplaces’wheremostoftheESLlearnersfacedifficultiesinusingthemcorrectly.Inthisresearch,Ihavechosentenintermediateresearchparticipantswhowerenineyearsoldfromamixedabilityclass.Ihavecomeoutwithanintervention,theLHVStechniquetoenhanceYear3intermediatepupils’comprehensiononprepositionsofplaces.IhaveusedtheelementsofsongandvisualimagesinthevideotocarryouttheLHVStechnique.Thetriangulationmethodwasusedwithtests, interviewsandjournalentries.DatawascollectedtodeterminewhethertheLHVStechniquehelpsinthelearningofprepositionsofplaces.Ianalysedthedataquantitativelyandqualitativelysoas toget the findings. I identified thatmostof thepupilspreferred to learnusing theLHVStechniqueastheuseofLHVStechniqueinthelessonhashelpedincreatingapositiveenvironmentforthepupilstolearnthroughfun,meaningfulandpurposefulways.Therewasapercentageincreaseof55.6%suggestingthattherewasafairlylargedifferenceinthescoresbetweentwotests.Throughthefindingsofthestudy,itrevealedthattheLHVStechniquewasmoreeffectivethanthetraditionalmethodinhelpingthepupilsinenhancingtheircomprehensiononprepositionsofplaces.Therefore,Isuggestthisinterventionbeadaptedsothatitisapplicabletoteachmoretopicswithdifferentlearnersofdifferentproficiencylevels.

BIODATA

Stephanie Chiew Pei Iing a teacher trainee from the International Languages Teacher Training Institute (IPBA). She is 23 years old. She believes the MELTA International Research Conference will definitely provide her with an opportunity to learn and to improve herself further.



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The Use of Sentence Burger Method to Improve Year 3 Remedial Pupils’ Writing of Simple SentencesTan Sin Fei

ThisactionresearchisaimedatstudyingiftheuseofSentenceBurgermethodimprovesYear3lowproficiencylevelpupils’writingof simple sentences.SentenceBurgermethod is theuseof structureofaburgerasaconcreterepresentationofpartsofasimplesentence,whicharecapitalisation,noun,verb,adverbandfullstop.TheresearchparticipantsconsistoffivepupilsfromaprimaryschoolinBangsar,KualaLumpur.Theprocedureoftheresearchconsistsofidentifyingtheproblem,planningtheaction,implementingtheaction,observingtheactionandreflectingontheresultsoftheaction.Inthisresearch,theresearcheractedastheteacherwhoconductedtheactionresearchintheclassroomandthecycleoftheinterventionwascompletedonce.Thestudywasconductedfor3weeksandinvolvedtheuseoftwoteachingmethods,whichweretheconventionalandSentenceBurgermethods.Thefirstsessionemployedtheconventionalmethodofteaching,whereasthesecondsessionemployedtheSentenceBurgermethod.TheinstrumentsofthissessionconsistofTest1and2, interviewsessionand journalentries.Theresultsof thestudyshowedthat theuseof theSentenceBurgermethodwaseffectiveinhelpingYearThreelowproficiencypupilstoimprovetheirwritingsimplesentences.

BIODATA

Tan Sin Fei is a teacher trainee from the Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Bahasa Antarabangsa, Kuala Lumpur, majoring in English Language. She participated in this conference to share some of her experiences and ideas in teaching English Language in Malaysia primary schools. This conference will surely provide the opportunity to exchange ideas with other educators in facing future challenges.



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About MELTA

MELTA is the acronym for the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association.

The Stylized ‘M’ is a symbolic representation of the ‘M’ in MELTA. It is stylized to demonstrate that MELTA is a flexible and dynamic organisation. The ‘M’ breaks the boundaries of the rectangular blue box to show that MELTA and Malaysian teachers need to work both within and outside the box to achieve greater success. It also suggests that there should be no limits to education and learning.

The Rectangular Box represents the conventional world of education and language use.

Royal blue is the MELTA colour and has been used in its logo since the establishment of the organisation. It represents resilience, depth and stability in education and learning.

The colour white represents the notion of tabula rasa in education. It reflects the purity of the learner and the act of learning.

Our Logo

The Malaysian English Language Teaching AssociationTheMalaysianEnglishLanguageTeachingAssociation(MELTA)isavoluntary,not-for-profitprofessionalorganizationwhichwas officially formed in 1982. MELTA’s stated constitutional aim is to promoteEnglishlanguageteaching.

MELTA is deeply committed to representing all Malaysian English language educators, contributingtowardstheircontinuousprofessionaldevelopmentinlinewithnationalgoalsandaspirations.MELTAisruncompletelybyMalaysianvolunteersprofessionallyinvolvedintheteachingofEnglishlanguageandeducationintheEnglishlanguage.MELTAgrewoutoftwoearlierorganizations:TheEnglishLanguageTeachingAssociationandTheSelangorEnglishLanguageTeachingAssociationanditscombinedhistorycanbetracedtotheyear1958.Sincethen,MELTAhasgonethroughmanychanges,accommodatingitselftotheneedsofthenation’sEnglishlanguagestakeholders.

In August 2000, MELTAwent nationwide when its first chapter was launched in Seremban, NegeriSembilan. Since thenMELTA has launched chapters in Kota Bharu, Ipoh,Melaka, Kuala Terengganu,Kuantan, Temerloh, Johor Bahru, Batu Pahat, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Sandakan, Seberang Jaya, Miri,

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Kuching,KualaLumpurandKulim.MELTAChaptersallowforthebuildingofcommunitiesofeducationpractitioners, developing collegial support and self-enrichmentprogrammes.Cross-chapter activitiesfurtheradvanceprofessionalcollaborationatthenation-widelevel,empoweringteachers,studentsandusersoftheEnglishlanguage.

In2008,MELTAmade significant changes to itsprofile and the structureof the committee towidenits scope and reflect a national professional organisation. The MELTA committee now consists ofanExecutivecouncil andaBureauofdirectors.MELTAhasalso furtherenhancedcollaborationwithgovernmentalorganisations,NGOs,corporateorganisationsandinternationalassociates.

MELTAhassome1000membersfromalloverMalaysia,mostofwhomarepractisingteachersofEnglishintheMalaysianeducationsystem.OthermembersareinvolvedinEnglishlanguageeducationinsomeway andmembership therefore ranges from pre-school teachers to university academics aswell asparentswhohaveanactiveinterestintheirchildren’sEnglishlanguagedevelopment.

Withtheannualsubscription,lifemembershiporinstitutionalmembership,membersreceiveacopyofTheEnglishTeacher,anannualrefereedjournalpublishedbyMELTA,aswellasthreenewslettersayearandinvitationstoparticipateatareducedrateinregularseminarsandworkshopsorganizedbyMELTA.

MELTAkeepsmembersupdatedviaitswebsitewhichcontainsinformationandcurrentnewsonMELTAactivitiesandoffersanonlineplatformforSpecialInterestGroupsrelatedtoEnglishLanguageTeaching.Inaddition,MELTAhasanon-line journal, theMalaysian Journal of ELT Research,aimedatadvancingknowledgeofanddevelopingexpertise in critical andscientific inquiry inEnglish language teachingandlearning.The Malaysian Journal of ELT Research, The English Teacher and the MELTA Annual are also uploadedregularly.OtherMELTApublicationsarefeaturedonthewebsiteaswell.

MELTA has been organizing conferences since 1991. For the first ten years, biennial internationalconferenceswereorganized.From theyear2000,annual conferencesbecame thenorm.Since2001,MELTAhasorganized‘moving’conferences:theseareheldinatleastthreevenues,oneeitherinSabahorSarawak.MELTAconferenceshelpbringteacherstogethertoshareexperiencesandacquaintthemwithcurrentthinkinginESL/EFL, introducetheMalaysianELTcommunitytoESL/EFLprofessionalsfromoutsideMalaysiaandintroduceMalaysiatothosefromabroad.

Inorder toencourageandpromoteprofessionalismamongMalaysianEnglish language teachersandinrecognitionof thosewhohavecontributedgreatly toMELTAandtoEnglish languageeducation inMalaysiaingeneral,MELTAhasinstitutedvariousawardsthatarepresentedtooutstandingpersonalitiesfromtimetotime.Amongtheawardsare:

• TheHyacinthGaudartAwardisthebestteacherawardpresentedtoMalaysianteacherswhohaveperformed above andbeyond the call of duty in trying and challenging situations. ThisAward issupportedbyPearsonEducationMalaysia.

• TheBasilWijasuriyaAwardforthebestpresentationbyateacherattheannualMELTAconferences.ThisAwardissupportedbyelcInternationalSchoolsMalaysia.

• TheLifetimeContributionAward.MELTAstandstodayonthefoundationthatwas,fromtheveryfirstdayof its inception, firmlyandsolidlybuiltbyanumberofoutstanding individuals.What iseven

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moreremarkable isthecontinuingsupportthatsuchindividualsextendtotheorganizationuptothisveryday.TheMELTALifetimeContributionAwardispresentedtopaytributetothetenacityofspiritofsuchindividualswiththehopethattheybecomebenchmarksforallwhosupportandservenationalvoluntaryorganizationssuchasMELTA.

• TheMELTASpecialAward.ThisisanawardmeanttorecogniseandthankindividualsandorganizationsthathavecontributedgreatlytothegrowthanddevelopmentofMELTAaswellasplayedaprominentroleinthefieldofEnglishlanguageeducationinMalaysia.

• The MELTA Commendation Award. While the management of MELTA conferences is generallyundertakenbythemainMELTAcommitteemembers,therehavealwaysbeenspecialindividualswhohaveoutstandinglysupportedusinthetaskofcoordinationandorganizationoftheconferences.Inrecognitionoftheirgoodwill,MELTAoftenpresentstheseindividualswithaspecialCommendationAward.

• TheMELTAOutstanding School ELTProject Award. This is an award presented to schools in theStatewheretheannualMELTAconferenceisheld.ItispresentedtoschoolsthathaveorganisedandimplementedcreativeandinterestingEnglishlanguageprojectsonaschool-widescale.ThisAwardissupportedbyERICANEducationMalaysia.

MELTAhasalsodevisedandrunsacompetitionforschools,mostofteninconcurrencewiththeannualMELTAconferences.Titledthe‘MELTAWayWithWordsCompetition’thecompetitionchallengesstudentstoimprovetheirspelling,increasetheirvocabulary,learnconceptsanddevelopcorrectEnglishusage.Aboveall, the ‘MELTAWayWithWords’competitionaimstoinstil interestinlearningEnglishamongstudents.Theseaims take shape ina language competition thatpromises challenges toparticipants,notonlyinapplyinglanguageskillsbutalsothinkingskills,inafunway.The‘MELTAWayWithWords’CompetitionisopentoALLschoolsandcomprises2categories:UpperPrimary(10-12yearsold)andLowerSecondary(13-15yearsold).ThiscompetitionissupportedbyExpomalMalaysiaSdn.Bhd.

Infulfilmentofitscorporatesocialresponsibility,MELTAorganisesvarioussocialresponsibilityprojectsunder its ‘MELT-A-HEART’ banner. Among its various activities, it collects new or pre-loved Englishlanguagebooksfromgenerouspublishersandindividualsfordistributiontoless-advantagedschoolsinremoteruralareasofthecountry.

MELTAalsoorganizesannualNationalspecialprojectssuchastheMELTAGraduateResearchColloquiuminAprilandtheMELTANationalLiteraciesDayinNovember.TheMELTACreativeTeacherShowcase,supportedbyEricanEducationMalaysia,isorganizedinconjunctionwiththeMELTAannualconference.

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MELTA Management Committee 2016-2018

MS. SZARMILAA DEWIE KRISHNAN MELTA, Assistant Secretary

Lecturer, English Language Teaching CentreMinistry of Education Malaysia

DR. ALI AHMAD SEMAN MELTA, Treasurer

Senior Lecturer, Institute of Teacher Education Institute of Teacher Education Islamic Education Campus, Bangi


MS. AZLINA AHMAD KAMAL MELTA, Assistant Treasurer

Education Specialist UNICEF Malaysia

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DATIN DR. CYNTHIA YOLANDA DOSS

MELTA, Director of TrainingDirector of Post-Graduate Certificate of Higher Education Programme, University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus

PROFESSOR DR. GANAKUMARAN SUBRAMANIAM

MELTA, PresidentAsia TEFL, Vice-President

Head of School, School of Education,University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus

MR. ASLAM KHAN BIN SAMAHS KHAN MELTA, Vice-President IExecutive Vice ChairmanERICAN Education Group

DATIN DR. HJH RAJA MAZUIN BTE RAJA ABDUL AZIZ

MELTA, Vice-President IIHead of Quality Management Unit

Institute of Teacher Education International Languages Campus, Lembah Pantai, Ministry of Education Malaysia

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR. RAMESH NAIR

MELTA, SecretarySenior Lecturer, Academy of Language Studies,

Universiti Teknologi MARA

MS. TAM LYE SUAN MELTA, Director of Publications

Editorial Manager & Book Packager, Millennia Comms

DR ZAIRA BINTI ABU HASSAN SHAARI MELTA, Director of Research and Development Senior Lecturer, Institute of Teacher Education

Ilmu Khas CampusMinistry of Education Malaysia

DR. SIVABALA NAIDU MELTA, Director of Special Interest Group

Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus

MS. CHANDRAKALA V. RAMAN MELTA, Director of Chapters

English Language School Improvement Specialist Coaches Plus (SISC+), Kuantan District Education Office, Pahang


DR. MOHD. SHUKRI NORDIN MELTA, Director of Journals

Assistant Professor, International Islamic University Malaysia

DR LEE KING SIONG MELTA, Director of Special Projects

Retired Senior Lecturer, School of Linguistics and Language Studies,

Universiti Kebangsaan MalaysiaIndependent Copyeditor, Trainer and Writer

DR BASIL WIJASURIYA MELTA, Advisor

The English Teacher A journal of the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association

An open access online journal, indexed by Thomson Reuters’ Emerging Sources Citation Index and the Malaysian Citation Index

Frequency: Three issues a year

Authors are invited to submit articles that provide

practical techniques and strategies for ELT, identify

effective classroom-tested instructional techniques

and/or provide descriptions of procedures that can be

implemented in classrooms with a variety of students. Articles may also focus on

insights and understanding about ELT research and its

application to the classroom.

To read the latest issue of The English Teacher, and for

information on how to submit papers via the online journal

platform, please visit

http://journals.melta.org.my/

The English Teacher promotes effective English language

teaching and learning, and it is intended for teachers and instructors who are primarily involved in teaching children

and adults.

This is a refereed journal that is published three times a year, in

April, August and December.

The English Teacher has been in publication since 1987 and

is indexed in MyCite, a citation index system developed by

the Malaysian Citation Centre, Ministry of Higher Education,

Malaysia.

Since November 2015, The English Teacher has been

included by Thomson Reuters (TR) in its Emerging Sources

Citation Index (ESCI).

Chief EditorMoses Samuel

Administrative EditorSubarna [email protected]


Documents

7th MELTA International Research Conference in English ... · Institut Pendidikan Kampus Ilmu Khas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Saturday, 25 November 2017. In Collaboration with . 7th