9th melta international research conference in english ...nov 09, 2019 · assalamualaikum...

9th MELTA International Research Conference in

English Language Education 2019

Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus Saturday, 16 November 2019

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MELTA gratefully acknowledges the following for their support and contribution for the 9th MELTA International Research Conference in English Language Education 2019.

• YBhg.DatukDr.AminBinSenin,Director-GeneralofEducation,MinistryofEducationMalaysia• YBhg. Dr. Habibah Abdul Rahim, Deputy Director-General of Education, Ministry of Education

Malaysia• ProfessorMichaelDriscoll,TheVice-Chancellor&President,Taylor’sUniversity,Malaysia• Professor Dr. Pradeep Kumar Nair, Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Chief Academic Officer, Taylor’s

UniversityMalaysia• Dr.MahanomBintiMatSam,Director,SelangorStateEducationDepartment• PuanMaznahBintiAbuBakar,ANS,PMS,Director,KualaLumpurStateEducationDepartment• The9thMIRCELE2019ConferenceOrganisingCommittee• ManagementandAdministrativeTeamfromTaylor’sUniversity• ExecutiveDean,ManagementTeamandStaff,FacultyofSocialScienceandLeisureManagement.

Taylor’sUniversity• PanelofWorkshopSpeakers• PanelofJudges• Allparticipants,institutionsandvolunteersfortheirparticipation

©2019 Malaysian English Language Teaching AssociationG-11-2,PutraWalkJalanPP25,TamanPinggiranPutra,BandarPutraPermai,43300SeriKembangan,Selangor

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DisclaimerNeitherthepublishernortheeditorsacceptresponsibilityfortheviewsofauthorsexpressedintheircontributions.

Acknowledgements

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4 MessagebytheDirector-GeneralofEducation,MinistryofEducation Malaysia

5 MessagebytheVice-Chancellor&PresidentTaylor’sUniversity,Malaysia

6 MessagebythePresidentoftheMalaysianEnglishLanguageTeachingAssociation

8 Message by the Chairs of the 9th MELTA International Research Conference in English Language Education

9 The MELTA International Research Conference in English Language Education

10 TheMELTAResearchandDevelopmentBureau

11 The9thMIRCELE2019ConferenceOrganisingCommittee

12 PanelofJudges

13 FeaturedWorkshops

17 ProgrammeSchedule

18 ConferenceFloorPlan

Abstracts 22 • TeacherTrainers/Academics

36 • Ph.D.Candidates

44 • Master’sStudents

47 • Teachers

64 • TeacherTrainees/Undergraduates

72 MELTAExecutiveCommittee2018-2020

78 TheMELTAEcosystem

Contents

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Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh, Selamat Sejahtera and Salam Sayangi Malaysiaku.

The Ministry of Education Malaysia congratulates the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (MELTA) for hosting the 9th MELTA International Research Conference in English Language Education 2019. Research is central to the advancement and innovation of education. Collaboration betweenresearchers and practitioners during the conference is essential in ensuring that classroomactivitiesareguidedbythelatesteducational frameworks. It ismyhopethatthesuccessofthisconferencewillleadtofutureinitiativestoenhance

the teaching and learning of the English Language in the country.

TheMinistryofEducationhasalwaysemphasisedtheimportanceofmasteringtheEnglishlanguageto enable Malaysians to compete globally. TheMalaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025 highlightstheMinistry’saspirationstoproducestudentswhocandemonstrateagoodcommandoftheEnglishlanguage.IampleasedtosharethatnumerousEnglishlanguageinitiativeshavebeenimplementedtostrengthenthedeliveryofEnglishlanguageeducation.IaminfullsupportofanyinitiativethatdrivesthediscussiononhowtheministrycaneffectivelysupportourlearnerstomastertheEnglishlanguage.

Iamalsopleasedthatthisconferenceisbringingtogethernotonlyresearchersandacademics,butalsoteachersand student teachers todeliberateon theoreticalunderpinningsandpractical implicationsrelatedtotheteachingandlearningofEnglish.Inadditiontotheconferencepresenterswhohavecometosharetheirresearch,IunderstandthatexpertsinthefieldofEnglishLanguageEducationarealsoattheconferencetoprovidevaluablefeedback.ThisisindeedauniqueopportunityfortheconferencepresenterstosharesomeofthebestpracticesinELTeducationinthecountry.

Iwishyouaveryenjoyableconference!

Datuk Dr. Amin Bin Senin

Message byDirector General of Education

Ministry of Education Malaysia

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It ismypleasuretowelcomealldelegatesto theMELTAInternationalResearchConferenceinEnglishLanguageEducation(MIRCELE)2019atTaylor’sUniversity.

Aftercenturiesoflinguisticevolution,trade,andsocio-politicalchanges,Englishisnowthegloballinguafranca,spokenbyapproximately1.5billionpeople.Thisinitselfshouldmakeuslooklongandhardattheeducationofthislanguage,andIamgladthatMELTA,togetherwithTaylor’sUniversity,hassteppeduptothetask.

IbelieveconferencessuchasMIRCELEplayanimportantroleinEnglishlanguageeducationinMalaysia,becauseresearch,discourse,training,andultimatelyadvocacyandpolicies,arecrucialelementsinensuringthatoursocietydoesnotgetleftbehindinthisglobalisedworld.Thisisverytimely,sincelowEnglishproficiencyhasbeencitedasoneofthemainreasonsemployersarenothiringgraduates,accordingtoJobStreet.comFreshGraduateReport2018.

Itisalsorefreshingtonotethatthisisacombinedeffortofacademics,studentsandteachers,whoareparticipatinginanddrivingtheeducationagendaforournation.

WhileMalaysiaranksthirdinAsiaand22ndgloballyintheEFEnglishProficiencyIndex(EPI),Ibelievewecanimproveandgaintheedge—andIamgladthatyouareheretomakethedifference!

Withthis,itismygreatesthopethatMIRCELE2019isnotonlyproductive,butalsomeaningfultoallpresent here today.

Prof. Michael Driscoll

Message byThe Vice-Chancellor & President

Taylor’s University, Malaysia

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Onbehalf ofMELTA, Iwould like to express our sincere gratitude toTaylor’sUniversityMalaysiaforsharingMELTAvisiontopromoteandencourageresearchin English Language Education by co-hosting the 9th MELTA InternationalResearchConferenceinEnglishLanguageEducation(MIRCELE)attheTaylor’sUniversityLakesidecampus.MELTAalsoexpressesitsgratitudeforthesupportofferedby theMinistry of EducationMalaysia, TeacherEducation Institute ofMalaysia,StateEducationDepartments,publicandprivateinstitutionsofhighereducation.

Researchdriventeachingisthefoundationforquality,efficientandeffectiveeducation.Theroleoflocalresearch,particularlythatwhichisundertakenbypractitionersisbecomingincreasinglyimportantinthefieldofEnglishlanguageteachingandlearning.Suchresearchiscriticaltoensurethateducatorsareable tocriticallydiscernexistingandemergingteachingapproachesandmethodologies thatareofferedtousfromEnglishspeakingcountriesandbynativespeakerresearchers.Researchsupportthedevelopmentof localtheoriesandapproacheswhicharelikelytobemostrelevantandusefultothelocalcontext.TheimpetustolearnandstudyissuesrelatedtoadvancingELThasbecometheprimarymissionsofmanycountries. InMalaysia,effortsarebeingmadetoaddressthedownwardspiralingstandardsofEnglishofMalaysianstudent.In2016,theMinistryofEducationreleasedadocumentcalled‘TheMalaysianEnglish languageRoadmap2015-2025’aimedatdirectingEnglish language teachingandlearningfrompre-schooltotheuniversity.TheRoadmapproposesthatcurriculumoutcomesarebenchmarkedagainst theCommonEuropeanFrameworkfor languages.Thegeneraladoptionof theCEFRinMalaysiaandtheresultantchangestocurriculum,pedagogy,teachingmaterialandassessmentallofferopportunitiesforresearchandinnovation.

AsELTspecialists,weshouldallowresearchpracticetoleadeveryfacetofourprofessionaldecisionmaking. From action research to empirical studies to big data research, the way forward towardsdevelopingasustainableandprogressiveeducationsystemisthroughresearchdrivendecision-making.Thefactsmustspeaklouderthanemotionsorpolitics.

Message byPresident of the Malaysian English

Language Teaching Association

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TheInternationalConferenceforResearchinEnglishLanguageEducationwhichisinitsninthyear,isaneventaimedatencouraging,promotingandrecognizingresearchersandresearchesinELE.Thesuccessofthiseventishugelyreliantoncollaborationandpartnership.Here,IwouldliketothankMr.ChandraSakaranKhalidofTaylor’sUniversityandhisoutstandingstaffaswellasDr.ParamaswariJaganathanandtheMELTAteamandsupportersforcomingtogethertosuccessfullyorganisethe9thMIRCELE.

To the young and emerging researchers in ELE, MELTA’s aspiration for you is to ensure that yourstudiesalwaysmeetthehigheststandardsinresearchandethics.Totheseniorandmoreexperiencedresearchers,letyourresearchbethebenchmarkforotherstoemulate.

Thank you.

Prof. Dr. Ganakumaran Subramaniam

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This is the ninth consecutive year that the MELTAInternational Research Conference in English Language Education (MIRCELE) has been organised and we are indeed very delighted to welcome you to this year’sconferenceheldinTaylor’sUniversityLakesideCampus.It is also a good collaboration between MELTA and Taylor’s to convene the 9th MIRCELE 2019 and it isour hope that we will foster a continuous collaboration for the growth of research culture amongst the ELEcommunityinMalaysia.

As English Language Education research has become interdisciplinary in nature, we need goodcollaborationwithstakeholderstoprovidetheplatformforknowledgedissemination.Inthisglobalisedera,EnglishLanguagecrossesallbordersanddisciplines.Assuch,conferencessuchasMIRCELEisuniqueasweprovidetheopportunity forall typesofresearchers: experienced,acclaimedandearlycareerresearcherstosharetheirbestpracticesthatcanensureeffectiveknowledgetransferandacquisition.AtMELTA,westrivetochampionthecauseofEnglishLanguageEducationstructuredinquiryandweareproudthatTaylor’shascomeonboardtoprovidefurthersupporttosustainthe“Wisdom,IntegrityandExcellence” inELEresearchpursuit forcurrentneeds. It ishopedthattheseresearch initiativeswillcontributefurthertothedevelopmentofeducationpolicies,curriculum,pedagogy,assessmentandmaterialforalllevels.

Goodresearchshouldimpactthesocietyandthecultureandmentality inconductingresearchmusthelpresolvereallifeclassroomproblemsandcriticalELEteachingandlearningchallenges.Webelievethatcontinuouseducationandconferencessuchasthis,provideabenchmarktofacilitateandassessourownteachingpracticesanddesiredteachingoutcomes.WehopeformoreinstitutionswilltakecuefromtheMELTA-Taylor’scollaborationtofosterfurthervaluableandnobleinitiativesforthegrowthofELE in Malaysia.

Thankyouforyoursupportforthe9thMIRCELE2019andpleasejoinusagainnextyear!

Dr. Paramaswari Jaganathan Mr. Chandra Sakaran KhalidDirector of Research and Development School of Liberal Arts and SciencesMELTA Taylor’s University

Message fromChairs of the 9th MELTA International Research Conference

on English Language Education 2019

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The Research and Development Bureau is responsible for the organization of the annual MELTAInternational Research Conference in English Language Education. This conference is an initiativebyMELTA that supports theMinistry of Higher Education’s vision forMalaysia to become a centreofexcellence forhighereducation. Itsmainaimis tobringtogetherkey figures inEnglishLanguageEducationfromthevariousInstitutionsofHigherlearningbothlocallyandinternationallytopresenttheir thoughts and views on significant areas of their research. It also provides graduate studentswiththeopportunitytopresenttheirworkinaconduciveenvironmentwithfellowgraduatestudentsworkinginsimilarresearchareasandfacingsimilarchallenges.

An important feature of the conference is the competition for theMELTAAwards for Excellence inEnglish LanguageEducationResearch. All presentations are judgedby a teamof experts in EnglishLanguageEducationfortheirsignificanceincontributingtochartingnewavenuesforscholarshipinEnglish Language Education. Award winners are announced at the closing of the conference.

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

Forthe9thMIRCELE2019,anadditionaltrophyforthebestpresenterisalsoawarded.TheMELTA-Taylor’sUniversity,MIRCELEBestPresenterAwardissponsoredbyTaylor’sUniversity.

The MELTA International Research Conference in English Language

Education (MIRCELE)

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ResearchandDevelopmentisconductedbyMELTAinlinewiththevisionandaspirationsoftheassociationtocontributetothedevelopmentofELEinMalaysia.ThemainaimofResearchandDevelopmentatMELTAistocreateagreaterawarenessofissuesinELEtheoryandpracticeamongMELTAmembersandthepublic,especiallythroughitsCentreofExcellenceforEnglishLanguageEducation.

Sinceitsinception,theMELTAR&DBureauhasstrivedtospearheadandsupporttheadvancementofknowledge in English Language Education and to create a greater awareness of issues in theory and practiceinEnglishLanguageEducationResearchamongMELTAmembers,stakeholdersandthegeneralpublic. Ithasachieved thisbyorganisingandadministering tovariousactivitiesaimedatprovidingresearchandcollaborationopportunities for theprofessionaldevelopmentofpractitioners, learnersandlanguageenthusiastsofsimilarinterests.AsignatureeventoftheBureauistheAnnualGraduateResearchConference.ThisconferenceisuniquebecauseallpresentationsattheconferencearejudgedbyapanelofexpertsfromlocalandinternationaluniversitiesaspresenterscompeteforseveralMELTAAwards forExcellence inResearch inEnglishLanguageEducation.TheBureauhadalsoorganizedasymposiumonResearchinEnglishLanguageArts&LiteraturewhichhadoffereddiverseinsightsintotypesofcreativeapproachestoResearchinLanguageArts&LiteratureandhadconcludedwithaveryactiveandlivelyroundtablediscussionthatprovidedparticipantswiththeopportunitytotalkaboutandreceivefeedbackonprospectsandpossibilitiesoftheroleofLiteratureintheMalaysianEnglishLanguageClassroom.

The Bureau also provides R&D Consultancy Services for the evaluation of educational products inlinewith theaimsandaspirationsof theassociation to spearheadand support theadvancementofknowledge inEnglishLanguageEducation. Interestedparties arewelcome to submit aproposal fortheimprovementanddevelopmentofeducationalproductstotheMELTAR&DBureau.TheultimateaimoftheMELTAR&DBureauistopromotetheborderlesstransferofknowledgeofEnglishLanguageEducationandtomakeitaccessibletothegeneralpublic.

TheMELTAResearchandDevelopmentBureauiscurrentlymanagedbyDr.ParamaswariJaganathanDirectorofResearchandDevelopmentMalaysian English Language Teaching Association

The MELTA Research & Development

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Advisors: Prof.GanakumaranSubramaniam,Ph.D President of MELTA Prof.MichaelDriscoll The Vice-Chancellor & President Taylor’s University, Malaysia

Chairs: ParamaswariJaganathan,Ph.D(MELTA) ChandraSakaranKhalid School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Taylor’s University

Secretaries: Consultant:DatinRajaMazuinRajaAbdulAziz,Ph.D Mr.SathiyaperbaSubramaniam

TREASURERSConsultant:AslamKhanSamahsKhan,Dr.HCZairaBintiAbuHassanShaari,Ph.DSitiSyuhadaAbuHanifah

SECRETARIATConsultant:Assoc.ProfRameshNair,Ph.DWaridMihatMagdaleneChewMeowKheeJacquelineThomasPereiraMichelleLimPekSimAmeliaTanSiokLeh

PRESENTATION SELECTION Consultant: Prof.GanakumaranSubramaniam,Ph.D ElainePhang,Ph.DSubarnaSivapalan,Ph.DCheahSwiEe,Ph.DLathaRavindran,Ph.DJoannaTanTjinAi,Ph.DGraceLimJiaWei,Ph.D

COMPETITION JUDGINGConsultant:Assoc.Prof.DatinCynthiaDoss,Ph.DLayseeGregoryKalaimathyIreneGeorge

SESSIONS MANAGEMENTConsultant: ChandrakalaRaman ZaimAziziAbuBakarNorshahilaMohamadRazakLiSheauJuinNurfadzilahNekKamalVictorTanEikTer

PROMOTION, PUBLICITY, INVITATIONS, & GUEST RELATIONSConsultant: SivabalaNaidu,Ph.D AgnesLeeZhiHuiYarmineeN.Ang Ching TingAliceVoonKianChing

LOGISTICS AND MATERIAL MANAGEMENTConsultant: AliAhmadSeman,Ph.D FionaLalithaSadagopanJanakiRagawanFongKingYap

WEBSITE, MULTIMEDIA AND PHOTOGRAPHY Consultant:MohdShukriNordin,Ph.DRoziHanumShaharudinLeeSheenEe

PROGRAMME BOOKConsultant:TamLyeSuanTehPeiLing,Ph.D

SOUVENIRS, PRIZES, OPENING AND CLOSING CEREMONYConsultant:SzarmilaaDewieKrishnanSharonLinangJimbunNurAinifOmarJudithNesamalarTharumarajChaiXunYuKellyTeePeiLeng FOOD & REFRESHMENT COMMITTEE Consultant: RozianaM.Rosli,Ph.D PangChiaYeeSitiNoorAmyahJungGyeoWoon

The 9th MIRCELE 2019 Organising Committee

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Associate Professor Ainol Madziah Bt. Zubairi, Ph.D International Islamic University Malaysia

Dato Mehandar Singh, Ph.DUniversity of Nottingham Malaysia

Elaine Pang, Ph.D University of Nottingham Malaysia

Logendra Stanely, Ph.D Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus

Maizura Mohd Noor, Ph.D Universiti Teknologi MARA

Tarsame Singh, Ph.D IPG Kampus Tuanku Bainun

Assunta Carolina Antonysamy, Ph.D IPG Kampus Ilmu Khas

Rabindra Dev Prasad, Ph.D Curriculum Development Division, Ministry of Education Malaysia

Vanitha Thanabalan, Ph.D English Language Teaching Centre, Ministry of Education Malaysia

Jasmine Jain, Ph.DTaylor’s University Lakeside Campus

Datin Nazeera Ahmed Bazari, Ph.DUniversiti Teknologi MARA

POSTER PRESENTATIONSession: Morning

ORAL PRESENTATIONSession: Afternoon

Prof. Moses Samuel, Ph.D Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus

Associate Professor Lee Kean Wah, Ph.D University of Nottingham Malaysia

Associate Professor Pramela Krish, Ph.D Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Csaba Z Szabo, Ph.D University of Nottingham Malaysia Associate Professor Raja Nor Safinas Raja Harun, Ph.D Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris

Michael Hall, Ph.DUniversity of Nottingham Malaysia

Azlin Zaiti Zainal, Ph.DUniversity of Malaya

Tan Shin Yen, Ph.D Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus

Chithra A/P K.M. Krishnan Adiyod, Ph.D English Language Teaching Centre, Ministry of Education Malaysia

Anna Nirmala, Ph.D HELP University

Nor Liza Haji Ali, Ph.D Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

The Panel of Judges

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FRAMING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Abstract: Formanybeginningresearchers,framingtheresearchproblem,sothatit highlights the gap in knowledge that the research seeks to address,posesanenormouschallenge.Thispresentationoffersinsightintohowa research topic could be turned into a research problem.Drawing onresearchonacademicdiscoursethepresentationofferspracticaladviceonwritingthestatementoftheproblemsectionofresearcharticlesandresearch presentations. This will be exemplified with excerpts fromresearch articles.

BiodataMoses Samuel is currently Professor at the Taylor’s University. Prior to joining Taylor’s University, he was, until his retirement, Professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Malaya. His fields of specialisation include TESOL methods, literacy development and language policies. His recent publications include Education in Malaysia: Developments and Challenges (Co-edited with Meng Yew Tee and Lorraine Symaco) published by Springer.

PRofESSoR MoSES SAMUEL

Taylor’s University, Malaysia

Featured Workshops

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RESEARCHING YOUR OWN CLASSROOM

Abstract: ThisworkshopaimstoassistEnglishteachers inconductingclassroominquiries of their own teaching and learning practice. Teachers areintroduced to the underpinnings of the action research design as well as strategies and techniques on how to carry out the research fromidentificationof theproblem to solving theproblem.Teachersarealsoexposed to ways on how they can use their classroom inquiries forprofessionaldevelopmentpurposes.

BiodataRaja Nor Safinas Raja Harun is an associate professor at the English Language and Literature Department, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Malaysia. She has been a teacher educator since 2000 and has vast experiences in the area of ELT and teacher education. She held administrative posts as the dean of the faculty and deputy dean academic of graduate studies. She is the lead researcher for the Curriculum in Developing a Malaysian Teacher Education Model and the lead researcher for the Meaningful Inquiry Model for Developing ESL Student Teachers. She and her team has commercialised the CaELT (Computer Adaptive English Language Test) in collaboration with MIMOS Berhad and won a bronze medal in ITEX 2016. She has also won a Gold Medal in KNOvasi 2018 for her innovation in teaching and learning in enlivening the 3Es (Engages, Empowers and Emancipates) teacher education curriculum through a transformative pedagogy. Besides that, she is the Editor-in-Chief for The English Teacher Journal of the Malaysian English Teacher Association (MELTA) and the Chief Editor for the Educatum Journal of Education in Social Science (EJOSS), UPSI. Her areas of publication and research include ESL teacher education, classroom discourse, innovative pedagogy and ESP. In 2015, she was the recipient for the prestigious National Academic Award under the category for Teaching and Learning Award (Social Science and Arts), organised by Ministry of Higher Education. In 2017, she won the Eminent Educator Award (Social Science & Arts Category) in conjunction with UPSI 20th Year Anniversary.

ASSoCiATE PRofESSoR RAJA NoR SAfiNAS RAjA HARuN

Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI),Malaysia

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QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: SHARE THE JOY OF PEOPLE AND NUMBERSAbstract: Quantitative researchmay sound like a very complicated and abstractideaforanewstudent,anewteacher,oranoviceineducation.Tothosewho aremore literature based or “word” oriented, you prefer readingovermathematics, even the thought of numbers, calculating formulas,andanalysingnumericalsymbols isa longdistance fromyourcomfort.Toevenanexperiencededucatororsocialscientist,quantitativeresearchstudymayseemasaverylongandtediousactivity.But,whatifwehaveanunderstandingoftheinfluenceofyourstudy?Whatifweacknowledgeandrecognize theexistenceofabiggerpicture to thesenumbers…thatyournumbersandfindingscanhaveasignificantimpactonthatonechild,canpositivelyinfluenceagroupofpeople,canashapeacommunity,orcanevencontributetothegrowthanddevelopmentofanation?Asamatter,evenyourverynatureofexistencemaybetheresultoftheimpactofonestudy or several quantitative research studies. Having knowledge, notonlyofthetechnicalterminologiesrelatedtoquantitativeresearchstudy,but understanding themeaning, the depth, the effects, and the impactanddevelopingajoyofjugglingnumbersknowingthatyoucanprovidesome scientific breakthrough can lead one to appreciate the meaningbehind numbers. Your knowledge, skills, and attitudes of quantitativeresearchand thenotionof contributing to thebodyofknowledgemayigniteanintrinsicmotivationtosharethejoyofpeopleandnumberstothe educational and social disciplines.

BiodataAlberto Luis August is an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Master of Education with School of Education at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. He is the founder and owner of La Isla Cariñosa Academy, a preschool and elementary private and international school in Belize, and held the leadership roles as principal and manager. For three years, he served as the Dean of the School of Education at Galen University where he successfully launched a Bachelor in Education Degree in Elementary Education program for principals and teachers. For 4 years, he carried out the role of Assistant Professor and the National Coordinator for the Teacher Internship program at the University of Belize. He holds a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership and a master’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of North Florida. He has more than 25 years of teaching-learning experience at the primary, secondary, and tertiary level of education. He has conducted extended research in the field of early childhood education leadership and policies, teacher development, and facilitated principal and teacher’s workshops across Belize, as well as published and presented at conferences and seminars advocating for children of all ages in countries such as United States, Jamaica, Germany, and Japan. His passion is to develop teachers and educational leaders to be creative and critical thinkers as education evolves into the new age of technology. He pledges to work with educators to be skilled using innovative teaching and learning strategies, to guide them to lead with care in a child friendly environment, and at the same time, encourages them to embrace the ever-changing world with the consideration of sustainable development of a nation.

ASSiSTANT PRofESSoRALBERTo LUiS AUGUST

University of Nottingham Malaysia

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Editor-in-Chief: Azlin Zaiti Zainal,Ph.D.

MaJER aims to advance knowledge of and to develop expertise in critical and scientific inquiry in English language teaching and learning.

Authors are invited to submit articles that focus on new theoretical perspectives, syntheses of research, discussions of

methodological issues and scholarly analyses of issues in ELT. Articles may also include debates on a variety of perspectives, policy and theories, investigations of alternative modes of research in ELT, examination of trends in ELT and the advancement of knowledge and understanding of effective English

language teaching and learning.

Visit http://www.melta.org.my to read the latest and back issues of MaJER, and for information on how to submit papers to MAJER.

MAJER The Malaysian Journal of ELT Research

ISSN: 1511-8002

Frequency: Two issues a year

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Time Event7.30-8.15a.m. Registration&MountingofPosterBoards8.20a.m. ArrivalofGuests8.25a.m. ArrivalofVIPs8.30a.m. ArrivalofDeputyVice-Chancellor&ChiefAcademicOfficer,Taylor’sUniversityProfessorDr.Pradeep

KumarNairOpeningCeremonyNationalAnthemandDoaRecitationMultimediaPresentation

WelcomeSpeechbyChairof9thMIRCELE2019Dr.ParamaswariJaganathan,MELTA

OpeningAddressDeputyVice-Chancellor&ChiefAcademicOfficer,Taylor’sUniversityProfessorDr.PradeepKumarNair

PresentationofsouvenirtoProfessorDr.PradeepKumarNairbyProfessorDr.GanakumaranSubramaniam,PresidentofMELTA

9.30–11.00a.m. TeaBreakandPosterPresentation11.00–12.45p.m. Workshop 1: Framing the Research Problem.

ProfessorDr.MosesSamuel,Taylor’sUniversity

Workshop 2: Quantitative Research Methodology: Share the Joy of People and Numbers AssistantProfessorDr.AlbertoAugust UniversityofNottingham,MalaysiaCampus

Workshop 3: Research Your Own Classroom AssociateProfessorDr.RajaNorSafinasRajaHarun, UniversitiPendidikanSultanIdris

12.45–2.00p.m. LunchandPrayers2.00–4.10p.m. OralPresentationsbyFinalists4.15p.m. ArrivalofGuests

ArrivalofDeputyDirector-GeneralofEducation,Dr.HabibahAbdulRahim

ClosingCeremonyNationalAnthemandDoaRecitation

ClosingSpeechbyCo-chairof9thMIRCELE2019,Mr.ChandraSakaranKhalid,Taylor’sUniversity

ClosingSpeechbyDeputyDirector-GeneralofEducation,Dr.HabibahAbdulRahimAwardPresentationtoWinners

PresentationofSouvenirtoVIPsbyMELTAPresident,ProfessorDr.GanakumaranSubramaniam

ThankyouRemarksbyMELTAPresident,ProfessorDr.GanakumaranSubramaniam

5.15p.m. Refreshments

Programme Schedule

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9th MIRCELE 2019 Conference Floor Plan

Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus

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

An open access online journal, indexed by 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).

Director of JournalsAssoc. Prof. Raja Nor Safinas Raja Harun

Contact:[email protected]

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

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

ABSTRACTS

❖ Teacher Trainers/Academics

❖ Ph.D Candidates

❖ Master’s Students

❖ Teachers

❖ Teacher Trainees/Undergraduates

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The Students’ Motivation in Learning English in Small Groups Febronia Lasi

Febronia Lasi works as a university English teacher at University of Timor-Indonesia. She studied Curriculum and Teacher Education for her Master’s degree at University of Hawaii in Manoa. She is interested in doing research related to Listening and Speaking Skills, Pronunciation and application of technology TOEFL.

This research is to focus on students’ motivation in a small group in learning communities inKefamenanu.ThepurposeofthisstudyistoknowwhatisthepredominantmotivationadoptedbythestudentsofKefamenanucommunityinlearningEnglish.Thequalitativeresearchmethodwasappliedtothisresearch.TherespondentsofthisresearcharethestudentsofKefamenanuCommunitywhoarelearningEnglishinformalandnon-formalclasses.Questionairesandinterviewguidelineswereusedasinstrumentstocollectthedatafromthelearners.Thefindingshowedthatmostofthestudentswerepredominantlyadoptingintegrativemotivationratherthaninstrumentalmotivation.Thishashappenedbecausethepopulationhasbeenmoreinterestedinintegrativethaninstrumentalaspectofmotivation.Thedifferentagefactoralsoseemstohaveaninfluenceonit.

Keywords:Motivation,Instrumental,Integrative

B I O D A T A

ABSTRACTS CATEGoRyTeacher Trainers/Academics

POSTER CODE A1

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POSTER CODE A2

Integration of Computational Thinking in Storytelling Through Scratch Programming: A Preliminary Study in an English Language ClassroomHaslina Hasan, Aliza Adnan, Lye Guet Poh, Mohd Shaferi Mohamed Hassim

Haslina Hassan is currently a senior lecturer in Education Technology Department, Institute of Teacher Education Ilmu Khas Campus. She completed her Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA Hons) from International Islamic University Malaysia and her Master’s degree in Information Technology from Universiti Putra Malaysia. Her researches encompass areas on educational technology, media for teaching and learning and web-based development.

Aliza Adnan is currently a senior lecturer in Education Technology Department, Institute of Teacher Education Ilmu Khas Campus. She obtained her Bachelor of Financial Management from Clarkson University and her Master’s degree in Information Technology Studies from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Aliza’s expertise includes web-based learning, online learning and educational technology.

Lye Guet Poh is currently a senior lecturer in Research and Innovation Department, Institute of Teacher Education Ilmu Khas Campus. She obtained her Bachelor of Education (TESL) from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia and her Master’s degree in English Language Studies from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her research interest includes teacher education, e-learning, and TESL Methodology.

Mohd Shaferi Mohamed Hassim is currently a senior lecturer in Institute of Teacher Education Ilmu Khas Campus. He obtained his BA in Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington and his M.Ed in IT, Multimedia and Education from University of Leeds. His interest lies in the use of Computer in Education.

ComputationalThinking(CT)isdescribedasaproblem-solvingprocessinwhichlogical,analytical,algorithmanddispositionprocessesoccur.CTisveryimportanttothedevelopmentofcomputerapplications,however,the researchers believed that the four main elements of CT can be used to support problem-solving instorytelling using Scratch Programming. Hence, a preliminary studywas conducted to find out how thefour elements namely algorithm, decomposition, abstraction and pattern are integrated in the learningof storytelling inanEnglish languageclassroom.Constructivist learning theorywasapplied in this study.Theresearchersalsoaimtodetermine theacademicbenefits thatare linked to the learningofCT.Thirtytrainee teachers participated in this study in which they were taken through the process of integrating computational concepts as a dimension of computational thinking, using the Scratch Programming as alearningtool.TheparticipantsworkedontheScratchprogrammingprojectingroups.Datawerecollectedthroughquestionnaireandinterviews.QuantitativedatarevealedthatCTisintegratedintothelearningofstorytellingthroughScratchProgrammingwithallconstructsachievingahighlevelofCTskills.StorylineandCreativityconstructsscoredamaximummeanscoreof5.0.Additionally,findingsfromqualitativedataindicatedthatmanyoftheacademicbenefitssuchasmotivation,studentengagement,problem-solvingskills,confidence, collaboration and communicationwere evident. For future study, the final projects producedbytheparticipantscouldbeanalysedforbetterunderstandingofthedevelopmentoftheircomputationalthinking in support of language learning.

Keywords:computationalthinking,storytelling,scratchprogramming

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24

Improving Students’ Collaborative Writing Skills Using Collaborate, Reflect and Report (CRR) Technique J.D. Kumuthini Jagabalan

J.D. Kumuthini Jagabalan is an English lecturer at Kolej Matrikulasi Kejuruteraan, Kedah. She started her teaching career since 2003 and she has teaching experiences at matriculation colleges. Her research interests are action research and English language teaching, especially to second language learners

ThisresearchisconductedtofindoutwhetherornottheuseofCollaborate,ReflectandReport(CRR)Techniqueencouragesthestudentstoparticipateeffectivelyinthecollaborativewritingtasksandtheinstructorscanevaluateeffectively thestudents’ collaborativewriting tasks.Thedataof studywereobtained from9students fromKolejMatrikulasiKejuruteraanKedah.Thesestudentswere targetedbecause throughmy observations and their peers, theywere ineffective in a previously conductedcollaborativewritingtask.CRRTechniquewasusedasthestrategyasthestudentswerenotcollaboratedeffectivelyintheircollaborativewritingtaskbutsharedgoodremarksfromtheinstructorsfortheirendproduct thus, itmade theother students showed theirdissatisfaction towards collaborativewritingtasks.This is an action researchand threedata gatheringmethods suchas collaboration reports atGoogleDocs,compiledinformationontoinfographicstemplateandself-evaluationchecklistthatmadeafrequencycountofthestudents’contributioninthecollaborationwritingtask.Thefindingsofthestudyprovedthat theuseofCRRTechniquehelpedto improvethestudents’collaborationasthestudentswereparticipatedeffectivelyinthecollaborationactivitiesthatoutlinedforthecollaborativewritingtask.ItalsoencouragedthestudentstousetechnologyapplicationssuchasGoogleDocsandPiktochartInfographicseffectivelytoimprovetheirreadingandwritingskills.Thisstudyproposesthesuggestionof incorporatingcollaborationandendproductasanongoingprocess incollaborativewriting tasksinsteadofgivingmoreprioritytothemarksoftheendproduct.

Keywords: CRR,collaborativewriting,tertiarylevel

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POSTER CODE A3

25

Challenges of Students on the Implementation Of I-Class in the Teaching and Learning of English in Malaysian Schools Mohd Bakri Bin Abu Bakar

Mohd Bakri b Abu Bakar is a lecturer of TESL at Faculty Education and Social Sciences in University Selangor, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. E-mail: [email protected]

ThepresentcasestudylooksattheEnglishspellingstrugglesfacedbyaneight-year-olddyslexicchild.Thepurposeofthisstudyistoexaminetheeffectivenessofmultisensorytechniques(OGapproach)bycomparingthespellingskillsoftheparticipantbeforeandaftertheremedialactivitiesandexaminingwhetherspellingslearnedthroughmultisensorytechniques(OGapproach)canberetainedoveraperiodoftime.Thestudymeasuredtheeffectivenessofthemultisensorytechniques(OGapproach)byusing:(i) twospelling inventories:ElementarySpelling Inventory(Bear, Invernizzi,Templeton,& Johnston,2016)andDevelopmentalSpellingAssessment(Ganske,2013),(ii)4weeksofdictatedsentencesand(c)collectionofparticipant`swrittenworkbeforeandafterthreemonthsoftheremedialactivities.Thefindingsofthestudyrevealedthattheresearchparticipantshowedimprovementin7outof10spellingfeaturesandretainedallthespellingfeaturesthatimprovedafterthreemonthsofremedialactivities.

Keywords: 21stCentury,i-Class,virtuallearning

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POSTER CODE A4

26

Meta-Synthesis of Action Research: Intervention Strategies in Improving Writing Skills Among Primary PupilsMohd Fauzi Mohd Rosli, Mohd Syam Suzzaman Chin Bin Abdullah, Rohana Khalid

Mohd Fauzi Mohd Rosli is a lecturer at the Language Department of Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. His research interests are in writing and classroom pedagogy. He has been an educator for more than 20 years. Mohd Syam Suzzaman Chin Abdullah is a lecturer at the Language Department of Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. His research interests are in writing and classroom pedagogy. He has been an educator for more than 20 years. Rohana Khalid is a lecturer at the Education Department of Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Gaya, Kota Kinabalu Sabah and she has been in teaching profession for more than 20 years. Her research interest is in classroom pedagogy.

Thisstudywasconductedtoreviewtheinterventionstrategiesadoptedanditsimpactonimprovingprimaryschoolpupils’writingskills inEnglishasreportedintheactionresearchundertakenbytheProgramIjazahSarjanaMudaPerguruan2012intakeinInstitutPendidikanGuruKampusGayaastheirfinalprojectrequirement.ThestudyaimedtoanswerquestionsonthedifferenttypesofinterventionstrategiesadoptedbytheTESL(TeachingEnglishasaSecondLanguage)undergraduatesstudents,thedifferentaspectsofwritingskills focusedintheiractionresearch,thedifferenttypesof interventionstrategies adopted to improve similar aspects of writing skills and the effectiveness of each of theinterventionstrategyusedinimprovingpupils’writingskills.TwentyactionresearcharticlesbyTESLstudentswerereviewedusingthemeta-synthesismethodfromthemonthofFebruarytoApril2017.The review revealed that students had adopted various intervention strategies such as using cards,games,andgraphicorganizer tocater fordifferentwritingproblems.Amajorityof the interventionstrategieshadshownpositiveimpactonpupils’writingskillsafterthesecondcycle.ThisreviewwillshowcaseusefulinformationforimprovementofthefutureactionresearchamongPISMPstudents.Thisresultcanalsobesharedandcarriedoutbyotherteachersintheprofessionallearningcommunitytopromotethedevelopmentofamorepracticalandsustainableinterventionsintheteacher’sclassroompracticesinensuringthatthepupils’writingskillswillbemaintained.

Keywords:meta-synthesis,actionresearch,interventionstrategies,writingskills

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POSTER CODE A5

27

The Use of Blendspace to Improve Students’ English Speaking Skills Nabira Binti Mansor, Melor Md. Yunus

Nabira Binti Mansor is an English lecturer at the Twinning Programme namely UNiKL MIDI-MJHEP. She received her Master of Education (TESL) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She has almost 10 years of professional experience in teaching the English language. Her research interest includes ELT Methodology, Technology Enhanced Learning and ICT in Language Education.

Melor Md Yunus is an Associate Professor and Deputy Dean of Research and Innovation at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She is best known for establishing the integration of ICT in teaching and learning English as a Second Language research.

The high unemployment rate among fresh graduates can be caused from their poor command ofEnglishinansweringthequestionsforjobinterviewandunrealisticsalarydemands.ThemasteryofEnglishseemshasnotfullysuccessfuldevelopedespeciallyamongthegraduatesfrompublicinstitutesin Malaysia. Thus, this research presents the results of a small-scale research project which wasundertakeninordertodiscoverthestudents’perceptionontheuseofBlendspace,aweb-basedasatooltoimproveEnglishspeakingskillsinjobinterview.Itwascarriedoutamongthe30studentsofYear1DiplomaElectricalandElectronicundertheMalaysia-JapantwinningprogrammeinSelangor.Thedatawereobtainedfromtheonlinequestionnaires.ItwasfoundthatBlendspacehelpedthemtoimprovetheircommunicationskills.TherewasageneralagreementthatBlendspacecoulddevelopthestudents’skillsinspeakingtheEnglishlanguageandpositiveattitudetowardsit.Additionally,therespondentshaveagreedtothatthematerialsonBlendspacemeettheirlearningneedsandconsequentlyincreasethelevelofself-confidencetoconverseinthatparticularlanguageespeciallyduringthejobinterview.Hence, the findings of this research revealed the use of Blendspace could be an alternative tool inmotivatingstudentsandreliablefortheeducatorsinplanningthepedagogywhichissuitablewiththereal-lifecontext.

Keywords:Blendspace,Englishspeakingskills,jobinterview

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POSTER CODE A6

28

Pre-Service ESL Teachers’ Participation in a Virtual Community to Facilitate Willingness to Communicate: A Positive Psychology ViewNoraini Zulkepli

Noraini Zulkepli is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Languages and Communication, Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI). She obtained her PhD from the University of Exeter, U.K. in 2012. Her research interests are in the areas of Applied Linguistics and Teacher Education.

Languagelearningisanemotionallyloadedexperienceasitisoftenimbuedwithpositiveandnegativefeelingsforbothlessproficientlearners,aswellasproficientones.Allthesemighthavedetrimentalimplications on one’s willingness to communicate (WTC). Situated under the domain of PositivePsychology, the present study seeks to investigate a group of pre-service ESL teachers’ perceptionsof their participation in a virtual community to facilitate their WTC. Specifically, it addresses thefollowing research question:What types of positive emotions are invoked as they participate in avirtual community? Amixed-method research approachwas utilised. These findingswere analysedusingahybridapproachwhereboth inductiveanddeductivethematicanalysesweredone.Findingsobtainedshowthatparticipationinthevirtualcommunityhasledtotheemergenceoffourtypesofpositivefeelings:interest,hope,pride,andaspiration.Itissuggestedthateventhoughthepre-serviceESL teacherswere recognisedasproficient speakersof the target language, there is still aneed forthemtobemotivatedsothattheywillcontinuetoimprovetheir languageproficiencybyoptimisingthecommunicativeopportunitiesthatareavailableintheirsocialcontexts.Inlinewithtechnologicaladvancements,ESLteachereducatorscancreatesuchopportunitiesbybuildingavirtualcommunityfortheteachertraineessuchasformingaFacebookgroupasaplatformforthemtousethetargetlanguage,andprovideemotionalsupportforeachother.

Keywords: virtualcommunity,willingness,communication,pre-serviceteachers

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POSTER CODE A7

29

Comparing Vocabulary Use in Speaking: A Case of Undergraduate Learners Across Proficiency Levels Nor Hazwani Munirah Binti Lateh

Nor Hazwani Munirah Lateh is an English lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK). Her fields of interest are lexical studies, corpus-based study as well as second language assessment.

It isofnodoubtthatvocabularyisthemostessentialaspectofa languagewhicha learnerneedstoacquireinordertobeabletofunctioninthelanguage.Thisconcernsallthefourskillsnamelyreading,writing,listeningandspeaking.Thus,itbecomessignificanttoidentifylearners’vocabularycompetenceandobtain insight into theirability toutilise theirvocabularyknowledgeas theyare functioning inthelanguage.Thepresentstudyaimstoinvestigatewhetherthereisadifferencebetweenvocabularyuse(proportionofthebasicandsophisticatedvocabulary)amongundergraduatelearnerswhoareatdifferent levelsofproficiencyas theyarespeaking in the language.Tothisend,aspeakingtaskwasadministeredtoelicitspokenoutput,involvingatotalofN=300learnerswhoareattheverylimited,limited,modest,satisfactoryandproficientlevels.Findingsrevealdifferentpatternsofvocabularyuseby the learners.Thisdemonstrates that students’ vocabularyuseorproductioncorrespond to theirproficiencylevels.Thelowerproficientlearnerswerefoundtorelyhigheronthebasicvocabularywhenspeaking.Asforthehigherproficientlearners,thereisalowerproportionofthebasicvocabularyfoundintheirspeeches,implyingtheirlowerdependenceonthebasicvocabularytospeakonthesametopic.Thiscouldbeansweredbythehigherpercentageofthesophisticatedvocabularywhichtheyproducedinthespeeches.Theresearchfurthersupportstheargumentthatvocabularyknowledgehasaprominentroleinenhancinglearners’languageskills

Keywords: vocabularycompetence,vocabularyuse,ELT,speaking

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POSTER CODE A8

30

Thinking Tools to Generate IdeasNurlina Oon binti Abdullah

Nurlina Oon binti Abdullah is an SISC+ in the Petaling Perdana District Education Office. She has 29 years of working experience and is interested in HOTS and 21st Century Education. Writing and thinking tools are her passion. She enjoys working with students in the low proficiency classes to boost their confidence and motivate them.

Thisresearchisbasedonanexperimentalprojectthatwasaimedatimprovingtheperformanceoflowproficiencystudentsinwritingskills.Theprojectalsoinvolvedthedevelopmentofstudents’thinkingskillsingeneratingideasforessays.TheserespondentsweretenFormFivestudentswhohadfounditdifficulttowritemorethan100wordsintheirexamination.InterventionsweredevelopedusingIdeaGenerationTools(IGT)whichusesquestionsandacronymstohelpstudentsexpandtheirideas.Theinterventionwasconductedoveraperiodofthreelessons.Thepost-testindicatedthattherewasavastimprovement intermsof thewordcount,confidenceandmotivational levelof thestudentstowriteEnglishlanguageessays.Theresearcherwillsharetheuseofinnovative,feasibleandfocusedgenerationtools for the writing class in her presentation.

Keywords:IdeaGenerationTools(IGT),thinkngtools,writingtools

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POSTER CODE A9

31

The Use of a Call Program to Enhance the Language Performance of Low Proficiency Learners P Kangathevi A/P Ponnudorai

P Kangathevi A/P Ponnudorai is an English Language lecturer with the UTAR, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia. She has been in tertiary education for more than 13 years. She obtained her B.A (Hons) from the USM in 2006, M.A in ESL from the UM, Malaysia, in 2015 and pursuing her Ph.D in ELS at the IIUM. Her research interests include CALL, MALL, Educational Technology, Young Children Language Development, language problem, and Malaysian language policies.

TheaimofthisstudywastoinvestigatetheuseofaCALL(ELLIS)programinenhancinglowproficiencylearners’ language performance. Furthermore, this study intended to recognise the reasons for thedisparityiftherewasanybetweenthescoresattainedfortheELLISprogramandthefinalassessment.The sample population consisted of forty students who had to follow a Basic English subject at aUniversityCollege.Theparticipantsselectedtheirownmodeofdelivery. i.e.CALL(ELLIS)orfacetoface (F2F). Pre-test, post-test, a pre-study questionnaire and a student experience questionnairewere the instruments.Thedatawere subjected to analysis throughdescriptive statistics, t-test, andthematic analysis. The results for the reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, speaking andlisteningcomponentsindicatedthatthedifferencesbetweenthetwogroupsintheirpost-testscoresweresignificant,favouringtheF2Fclassroomlearningmode.OneofthepotentialreasonsforthelesseffectivenessoftheCALL(ELLIS)programwasthelackofinteractionfacedbylearnersbetweenvariousaspectssuchaswithaninstructoraswellasothernon-humanaspectssuchasthecoursewareitselfwasidentified.ThefindingsofthisstudypromptedthecollegeacademicboardtorevisetheBasicEnglishcourse.InsteadofCALL(ELLIS)only,theuniversitycollegeintroducedablendofCALL(ELLIS)programandF2Fclassroomlearningtoenhancethelowproficiencystudents’languageperformance.

Keywords:CALL,reading,grammar,speaking,listening

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POSTER CODE A10

32

Online Discussion: A Tool to Enhance Critical ThinkingP. Thivilojana, Sujatha Krishnan, Jefery Chua @ Jeffrey Patrick, Enna Ayub

P. Thivilojana is a lecturer at School of Education, Taylor’s University, Malaysia. Her interest includes integration of technology in language classrooms and to showcase these instructional innovations at national and international competitions. In addition to that, module development is another area of research that she works on.

Sujatha Krishnan is a Taylor’s University lecturer from the Taylor’s Centre for Languages. Her areas of research interest are Technology and Education, ESL, Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL).

Jeffrey Patrick aka JP is a technology explorer, keen on discovering new emerging technology in accordance with art, design and creative thinking. He is an avid technical trainer and provides support in various multimedia disciplines.

Enna Ayub is the Sr. Lead e-Specialist for Content Transformation in Taylor’s University. She leads the e-Content Development Team and University-wide initiatives for content transformation from the face-to-face (F2F) teaching and learning method into the virtual learning environment (VLE) using various innovative tool for Education 4.0.

In linewith the socio-constructivist theory, language learning recently has seen a shift in emphasistowards socialisation in language. Thus, group activities as well as problem-based learning arepromotedaspopularlanguagelearningapproachestoenhancecriticalthinking.(Gregory&Masters,2012). The online discussion boards are among the recent tools used in many English languageclassrooms to promote these approaches. The purpose of the studywas to analyse the presence oflevelsofcriticalthinkingamongstudentsinafoundationclassroomconductinganonlinediscussionactivity inanEnglish classroom.A role-playingactivitywithaproblem-based taskwasgiven to thestudentsonTiMesLearningSystem,alearningmanagementsystemthatisavailableataprivatehighereducationinstitutioninMalaysia. DataweregatheredfromstudentsthroughasurveyandacontentanalysiscarriedoutusingBloom’sTaxonomymodeltomeasurethepresenceofcriticalthinkingfromtheonlinepostedmessages.Thesefindingsaffirmedthatanonlinediscussionboardwasanappropriatetooltopromotecriticalthinkingaswellassupportsself-pacedlearningthroughaflippedclassroominstructional approach.

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POSTER CODE A11

33

Students’ Perspectives on the Production of Educational Videos in an English Language Module Rajamalar Sabapathy, Jacqueline Thomas Pereira

Rajamalar Sabapathy is currently teaching English in Taylor’s College and Taylor’s University. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in English Language Studies from UKM. Her research interests are in Sociolinguistics, gender studies, literature and TESL.

Jacqueline Thomas Pereira is currently teaching English in Taylor’s College and Taylor’s University. She obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees (TESL) from UPM. Her research interests are in Sociolinguistics, gender studies, literature and TESL.

OneoftheassessmentsintheEnglishmoduleintheFoundationprogrammeistoproduceaneducationalvideoonanytopiccentredonthethemeofSocialAwareness.Studentsarerequiredtoworkingroupstobrainstorm,discussanddecideonasuitabletopicthatthesocietyneedstobeawareof.Theythenhavetoproduceavideobasedontheirresearchwhichincludesthebackground,theimportanceofthetopic,andsuggestionstoovercometheproblemssurroundingthetopic.Thiseducationalvideousestheconceptoftheteachless,learnmore(TLLM)approachbylookingintostudents’creativethinkingandproblem-solvingskills.Thestudentsalsogetinvolvedincreatingastoryboardandscripts.Thisstudywascarriedouttoinvestigatestudents’thoughtsabouttheprocessofeditingthevideo,thedrawbacksandthebenefitstheyobtainedfromtheproject.Thequalitativedatawerecollectedfromthestudents’reflective journalswhicharepartof theassessment.Findings indicatethatstudents foundthat theylearntalotaboutcollaborativelearningthroughtheprojectworkasitinvolvedteamwork,Otherskillssuchastimemanagement,communicationandintrapersonalskillswerealsoenhanced.

Keywords:creativethinking,problemsolving,collaborativelearning,editingvideo

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POSTER CODE A12

34

Revisiting Materials Development: Interplay Between Pedagogy, Assessment and Development of Learning Capacity Vighnarajah Selvarajah, Latha Ravindran

Vighnarajah Selvarajah is currently a senior lecturer and advisor of the English Language Student Association (ELSA). He was formerly the Head of the English Language and Communications Department and member of the Senate Learning and Teaching committee. He teaches pedagogy, professional communication and learning technology courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Latha Ravindran is currently a senior lecturer with the English Language and Communications department. She teaches literature courses including Commonwealth literature and contemporary English literature in Asia. She also teaches the learning assessment course for the Postgraduate Diploma in Tertiary Teaching programme.

The shift towards 21st century teaching and learning necessitates the need to revisit materialsdevelopmenttoaccommodateautonomouslearningandacultureofinquiryonassessment.Therearenodefinitewaysastohowthesedualitiescanbenegotiated.Onthesepremises,thispaperaimstore-lookatmaterialsdevelopmentasanattempttoempowerstudentsinthestudyofpedagogyandassessmentinasocialconstructivistenvironment.Basedonthenarrativepedagogyapproach,thispaperhighlightsfindingsfromsevenstudentsengagedindesigninganddevelopingalearningresourceaspartoftheircourseassessment.Thestudentswererequiredtomakeindependentdecisionstoexercisetheirskillsindesigninganddevelopingthetype,purposeandoutcomeofthesaidlearningresource.Thestudentswereengagediniterativeprocessoffeedback,decision-making,role-playandreflexivity.Developmentof higher cognitive thinking is also internalized from this process of socialisation and interaction. These findings address significant relevance to understand the integral aspects of assessment andautonomous learning in teaching and learning.Theminimisingof thepower structurebetween thelecturer and the student warrants opportunities for students to enrich their learning process. This also allowedthemtoreflectandformalisetheirlearning.Moreover,thefindingsaddressseriousimplicationsonhands-ondevelopmentofknowledge,skillsandvaluestoembracetherarelyrehearsedprinciplesandpracticeofEnglishlanguageteachingandcurriculumdevelopmentleadingtoanimprintofpost-methodology.

Keywords: materialsdevelopment,autonomy,inquiry

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POSTER CODE A13

35

How Competent are Indonesian Preschool Children in Directive Speech Acts? Yesika Maya Ocktarani

Yesika Maya Ocktarani is an Assistant Professor in University of Muhammadiyah Semarang (Unimus). She teaches the English Literature program, particularly for Speaking and Linguistics subjects. She is interested in researching Child Pragmatic and Gender and since 2012 she acts as the Dean of Foreign Language and Culture Faculty at Unimus.

DirectiveSpeechAct(DSA)isasubjectinPragmaticswhichcanbeusedtogagechildren’scompetenceinfunctioningalanguage.Usually,peopleonlyfocusonchildren’sabilitytoproducenewwords,whereaschildrensoonwillinteractwithotherpeoplefromvariousbackgrounds.Therefore,observingchildren’sDSAisalsoanimportanttasktodo.Children’sperformanceonusinglanguagetointeractwithothersmeansthemanifestationoftheircompetenceinpragmatic.Thisresearchaimstoprovideaperspectiveonpreschoolchildren’spragmaticperformance,particularlyonDSA.Forthisstudy,theresearcherusesdirectobservationinanaturalsetting.Thisqualitativeresearchresultsinthefactthatchildrenage4to6yearsoldcanrespondandproduceDSAalthoughthelinguisticformsaresimple.Children’sresponsesoccurintheformofpreferredanddispreferredverbalresponsesandnon-verbalresponse.Thestructureofconversationwithchildrenisdifferentfromadultwherethedispreferredactarisesdirectlywithoutdelay. InproducingDSA, the children canperformbothdirect speechacts and indirect speechacts.Thesefactsimplythatintheirpreschoolage,childrenhaveacquiredtheirpragmaticcompetence.

Keywords:DSA,directspeech,indirectspeech

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POSTER CODE A14

36

ABSTRACTS CATEGoRyPh.D Candidates

POSTER CODE P1

AULSTRA in Writing and Young Learners Chinda Buntiang, Dr Mariam Mohamad

Chinda Buntiang is a a part-time Ph.D student at Universiti Sains Malaysia and a full-time English language teacher with more than two decades of teaching experience. Her doctoral research investigates the use of Authentic Learning Strategies in a mobile cloud computing environment. She is also an advocate for cloud-based classroom environment and has been actively practicing it with her young learners since 2012.

Mariam Mohamad is a Senior Lecturer at the CITM, Universiti Sains Malaysia. She is acknowledged as one of the pioneers from Malaysia in mobile learning research and her book is published by Springer. Her work is also referred by UNESCO and she was invited to present her work at UNESCO headquarters in Paris in 2014.

Thisstudyexploredtheintegrationofauthenticlearningstrategies(ALS)inamobilecloudcomputingenvironment(MCCE)intheteachingofwritinginEnglishlanguage.ThepreliminaryqualitativecasestudyaddressedtheimplementationofGoogleClassroom,theGoogleversionofcloudcomputing,inaprimaryschoolclassroom.TheMCCEintegratedGoogleDocsthatyounglearnerswereusingtocreateanonlinemagazine,ClasseMags.AtotaloftwentyYearFiveyounglearnersfromanational-typeChineseprimaryschool inKedah,Malaysia,hadparticipated in this learningexperience.Theyoung learnerscollaboratedtoproducearticlesingroupsofthree.Aneditorialboardcomprisededitorsandwritersfor theClasseMagswasestablishedandarticlesproducedwerepublishedonFlipHTML5 forpublicreading.Datawerecollectedbymeansofparticipantobservation,face-to-faceinterviewsandreflections.BraunandClarke(2006)thematicanalysiswasusedtoanalysetheemergingthemes.Thethemeswerecategorisedbasedontheyounglearners’attitudestowardswriting.Thefindingsindicatedthattherewasaprevalencereduction inwritingapprehension levelof theyoung learners.Theyoung learnersrevealedthattheyweremoremotivatedtowriteandfeltlessapprehensivewhentheyweregiventhewritingtasks.Thus,itisrecommendedthattheintegrationofALSinaMCCEtobepractisedbyprimaryschool English language teachers because it increases young learners’motivation and subsequentlychanges their attitude towards writing.

Keywords:AULSTRA,mobilecloudcomputingenvironment,writing,GoogleClassroom,younglearners

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37


POSTER CODE P2

Gamification in Malaysian Education Jacqueline Thomas Pereira

Jacqueline Thomas Pereira is presently teaching English in Taylor’s University. After obtaining her Certificate in Teacher’s Training, she went on to pursue her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in TESL in Universiti Putra Malaysia. She is currently undertaking her doctoral research in Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris. Her research interest is in TESL.

GamificationhasbeenusedinareaslikeBusinessandICTandinrecentyears,theuseofgamificationhasgainedmuchpopularityinEducation,aswell.Inthison-goingstudy,theresearcherhasundertakentodoasystematicreviewofliteraturewithafocusontheuseofgamificationinMalaysiaoverthepast10years.TheaimofthisreviewistoinvestigatehowfargamificationhasprogressedinMalaysia.ThesearchwasconductedusingvariousdatabasessuchasGooglescholar,Ebscohost,Springer,JSTOR,andScopus.Thesearchwasbasedonkeywordsandusingastandardiseddefinitionofgamification.Thefindingsshowthatgamificationhasbeenusedinvariousareasandamongdifferentgroupsofstudents.However,intheprocessofthereview,theresearcherhasfoundthatmanyscholarshaveusedthetermgamificationtorefertotheuseofgamesinteaching.Thepresentationwillalsohighlightthebenefitsofgamificationinstudents’learning.

Keywords:gamification,systematicreview,education,ESL

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38

The Use of WhatsApp in Learning Vocabulary Kasturi Sivabalan

Kasturi Sivabalan is currently the Assistant Vice Chancellor at Widad University College. She is a part-time student, currently pursuing her doctorate of philosophy in Technology-Enhanced Language Education. She has been teaching for 11 years and is very much interested in technology-based language learning.

Vocabularyisthemostessentialcomponentinlanguageacquisition.Eventhough,Malaysianstudentswereexposed tovocabulary formoreor less than11years, theystill fail tobeacompetentEnglishlanguageuserduetoinadequatevocabulary.Onlyteacherswhoarecreativeandalerttothechangesinteachinglearningareabletotacklethisissue.Therapidgrowthintechnologiesmainlymobilephoneshascateredstudentswithflexiblelearninginrecenttimeandhasacountlesseffectintheeducation.Teenagers nowadays are to engross with their mobile phones and instant messaging applicationshavebecomemorewidespreadamongthem.ThecurrentstudyseekstoexploretheeffectivenessofWhatsApp in assisting tertiary level students to learnvocabulary andexamine students’ perceptionoftheuseofWhatsAppinvocabularylearning.Amixedmethodstudywasemployedwhichlastedforsixweekswith the participation of Psychology students from a private educational institution. Thequantitativeandqualitativedatawerecollectedutilisingthevocabularytestandfocusgroupinterviewrespectively.Thet-testresultsindicatedthatWhatsApphadsignificanteffectinassistingstudentstolearnvocabularywhereasstudentsalsoheldpositiveattitudestowardusingWhatsAppinvocabularylearning. Despite the success of usingWhatsApp in vocabulary classroom there is always room forimprovement. It is clear thatWhatsApphasawiderangeofpossibilities in class thatneeds furtherexploration.

Keywords: technology,vocabulary,flexiblelearning

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POSTER CODE P3

39

Enhancing ESL Learner Experience Through Peer-Mentoring in an Extensive Reading Programme Noreha Taib

Noreha Taib is a Ph.D candidate at the Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. She has more than 30 years of experience in the field of ELT and has co-authored several books on English Language proficiency and Business Communication. Her current research interests are in the area of extensive reading and learner motivation.

ExtensivereadingprogrammeshavebeenshowntohaveapositiveimpactonESLlearnersinavarietyofwaysincludingvocabularygrowth,greatermotivationtolearnthelanguageandpromotinglearnerautonomy. For these reasons andmore, extensive reading programmes have been featured in theMalaysianELTlandscapeforseveraldecades,andtheprogrammewhichhasbeenrunningforalmosttwo decades now is the NILAM programme. To date, there appears to be little empirical evidenceabouttheeffectivenessoftheprogrammeinsupportingMalaysianstudentstoimprovetheirEnglishlanguageproficiency.TherecentlaunchofarevisedNILAM2.0programmehasmotivatedthepresentstudy which seeks to examine the execution of the NILAM programme at Malaysian primary andsecondaryschools. I firstcriticallyexaminethenatureof theprogrammetodeterminetheextent towhichitcanberegardedasanextensivereadingprogramme.Next, inthison-goingstudy,Iproposeto interview teacherswhohavebeen involved in theprogrammeat schools tounderstandhow theNILAM programme is carried out at schools. The interviews also aim to bring to surface emergingthemesrelatedtotheattitudeoftheteacherstowardstheprogramme.Finally,basedontheassumptionthat teachers are challenged to effectively dedicate time to running the programme, I aim to testandreportonapeer-mentoringinitiativetobeundertakenaspartoftheNILAM2.0programme.Inthispresentation, I report the findingsof an initialpilot studyundertakenat a secondary school tounderstandtheviewsofteachersabouttheNILAMprogrammeaswellastheirpracticesinrunningtheprogramme. Keywords:extensivereading,NILAM,ELT

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POSTER CODE P4

40

Reading Hut: A Reading Module for Preschoolers Siti Sarah Sukor, Zuraina Ali

Siti Sarah Sukor is trained as a primary school teacher and has taught English in the Malaysian public schools. She has also experienced working with young children with special needs such as dyslexic, deaf, and slow learners. Her current doctoral research work is in the area of English language acquisition in the early childhood and the use of English children’s literature to support early English reading among preschool children.

Zuraina Ali currently works at the Centre for Modern Language and Human Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Pahang. Her research interests are vocabulary, learning English for adult learners, qualitative social research, communication and media and learning of English using technology.

Apilottestwasconductedtochecktheusabilityofareadingmodule.ReadingHutisdesignedbasedonthenotionofshared-readingtoassistyoungEnglishlanguagelearnerstoengageinreading.Thereadingmoduleaimstointroducechildren’sEnglishliteraturetoearlyEnglishreaders.AsyoungreadersofEnglishlearninginanon-nativesetting,itiscrucialtointroduceanenjoyableexperienceinreadingaforeignlanguagetosustainthereadingactivity.ReadingHutservesasguidelinesforpreschoolteacherstoconductmeaningfulreading.Itconsistsofteachingguidelinesforthepre-reading,while-readingandpost-readingactivitieswhicharepackedinakit.Usingthereadingmodule,thepre-schoolerswereabletosharetheirreadingconfidentlywiththeirpeersandrespondedappropriatelytotheactivities.TheteachersalsogainedconfidenceinconductingEnglishreadingsessionswiththeuseofReadingHut.Withthehelpofasupportivereadingenvironment,whichisReadingHut,itpromotesreadinginEnglishandthechildrengainedspeakingconfidence,addedvocabularyandcreativeandcriticalthinkingability.ThepilotstudyalsogainedsomebeneficialinputsfromtheparticipantsandthusaFacebookPagewascreatedasaplatformfortheparticipantstosharetheirreadingprogress.TheReadingHutmodulehasthepotentialtobeextendedtootherpreschoolteachersandcommunitycentrestosupportEnglishreadingtoyoungnon-nativeEnglishreaders.

Keywords:earlyreading,readinginEnglish,children’sliterature,EnglishLanguageTeaching,preschool

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POSTER CODE P5

41

Metacognitive Awareness in Higher Order Thinking Skills Assessment Questions Suhamira Nordin

Suhamira Nordin is a primary school teacher in Kelantan who has been given the opportunity to be a Ph.D candidate at Faculty of Languages and Communication, University Sultan Zainal Abidin. She did her degree in TESL at International Islamic University Malaysia and her Master in Applied Linguistics at University Utara Malaysia.

Metacognitionhasbecomeanimperativeconcernindevelopingthegrowthofautonomouslearners;onewhothinks,acts,takesastandandworksonjudgementbasedonreasons.Inthispaper,metacognitionisgivenafunctionalroletodescribehigherorderthinkingskillsbeingpracticedinwrittenresponsescorrespondingwith reading comprehension from non-linear texts from the perspective of primaryschool learners. Much of the focus surrounding higher order thinking skills requirement has ledto achievement gaps becoming broader between the two distinctive groups of learners; high andlow achievers. The present paper aims to explore the level ofmetacognitive awareness involved inrepresenting integratedHOTS inwrittenresponse fromnon-linearcomprehensiontexts in languagelessons. The study is informed by the following research question, namely what is the level ofmetacognitiveawarenessinvolvedinintegratingHOTSinESLlearninginstruction?Thisreviewwidensthe understanding of metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive regulation involved in writtenresponsesfromthenon-lineartextsandwillindicatetheformsofESLlearningstrategiesthatimpliestoalllearners.Recommendationsforfuturestudiesarehighlightedtodiscusslimitationfrompreviousstudies. Keywords: metacognitive,strategy,assessment,HOTS

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POSTER CODE P6

42

An Investigation into English Teachers’ Understandings and Practices of Formative Assessment in the Malaysian Primary ESL Classroom: Three Case Studies Vivemarlyne F. Mudin

Vivemarlyne F. Mudin is a Ph.D graduate from University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom. She is currently teaching English in one of the rural schools in Sabah, that is SMK Sook Keningau, Sabah.

Formative assessment has gained increasing prominence in international educational discourseandpractice as apromisingway topromote student learning (Black andWiliam, 1998b).However,itsimplementationrepresentscomplexities,asthetermandeffectivenessarestillcontested.WhileagreatdealofresearchhasbeenconductedonformativeassessmentinprimaryandsecondaryWesternschooling, limited research has been done in a primary English as Second Language (ESL) contextin Asian settings. Drawing on the interpretivist paradigm, this exploratory, qualitative case studyinvestigatedtheunderstandingsandassessmentpracticesofthreeprimaryESLteachers.Analysis isbasedondata fromclassroomobservations, semi-structured interviews, fieldnotesanddocuments.The findings indicate that these primary ESL teachers’ understandings of the notion of ‘formativeassessment’werevague.Theparticipantslackedcomprehensive,profoundunderstandingofthevitalimportance of formative assessment and its potential to facilitate learning. There were noticeablegaps,variationsandconfusionsintheirarticulatedunderstandingofformativeassessment.However,despitethedisjuncturebetweentheteachers’understandingsandactualpractices,therewasevidenceto suggest that they attempted to incorporate elements of formative assessment in their practices.This study found that the three ESL teachers engaged, to some extent, in formative assessmentpractices such as oral questioning, observation and oral feedback to promote learning in theirclasses.Inspiteoftheteachers’significantefforts, factorssuchasconceptualconstraints,traditionalmeans of language assessment, lack of professional development, contextual constraints, teachers’beliefs and an examination-oriented culture considerably affected their assessment practices. Thefindingsofthisstudysupporttherecommendationthatthereisaneedtodevelopappropriateformsof formative assessment strategies that aremore conducive to theMalaysian primary ESL context. Keywords: formativeassessment,primaryschool,casestudy

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POSTER CODE P7

43

Instructional Reading Phases for Average Readers at Upper Primary Level: Findings from Oculomotor Behaviours Observation Warid Mihat, Hazita Azman, Or Kan Soh

Warid Mihat is an educator and a doctoral candidate at the National University of Malaysia. His interest is in developing instructional reading phases in L2 for average readers based on their oculomotor behaviours. He has published several research papers related to his study in refereed journals and conducted workshops on eye-tracking and material development at universities and schools.

Hazita Azman, Ph.D, is a professor in literacy. She is currently the Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at the National University of Malaysia. She has published numerous papers in L2 learning and currently promoting the use of eye-tracking in language research in Malaysia.

Or Kan Soh, Ph.D, is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Literacy and Socio-Cultural Transformation Research (CLaST) of the National University of Malaysia. He is also the chair of Eye-Tracking Lab Analysis (ETAL). He has published several articles in eye-tracking and is currently active in promoting eye-tracking research in Malaysia.

TheprimaryschoolsysteminMalaysiahasconsistentlyproducedbetween60and65%ofaveragereadersbytheendofYear6since2016.Whilesomestudentsexcelandimproveastheygotothenextlevel,manystudents do not progress, in terms of their proficiency in English, even after they have completed theirsecondaryleveleducation.Therefore,exitingYear6withaveragereadingproficiencymightnotbeagoodindicatorforreadingdevelopmentatalaterstage.SuchasituationhasledtotheneedtorethinkandredesignhowteachersshouldapproachreadinginMalaysianclassrooms.Theaimofthisstudy,therefore,istocomeupwith amodel of instructional reading phases for the upper primary level by comparing participants’oculomotor behaviours in expeditious and careful-reading settings. It is aQUAN-Qual explanatorymixedmethodsdesignwheretheresearcherapproachesreadingfromthecognitivetheorythroughacomparative-observationalstrategyofoculomotorbehaviours.Theeyebehavioursarecapturedusingportable-glasses-eyetracker50Hzwhenparticipantsarereadingthreedifferenttexts.Eightyparticipants,whoscoreaverageinreadingthroughtheCambridgeAssessmentKeyEnglishTest(KET)ReadingandWriting,aredividedintotwogroups. Inorder togenerate statisticaldata, the researcher locks the regionsof interestonsentencestructuresandtextfeatures.Thentheresearcherlatertriangulatesthefindingswithexit-interviews,gazerecordings,attention-heatmaps,andcomprehensionscores.Theresearcherwillrevealtheexcitingfindingsto the audience during the conference Keywords: averagereaders,carefulreading,expeditiousreading,eye-tracking,andreadingmodel

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POSTER CODE P8

44

ABSTRACTS CATEGoRyMaster’s Students

POSTER CODE M1

To Believe, or Not to Believe? That is the Question Regarding the Abilities of Teaching English to Preschoolers in Pahang: A Pilot Study Aisyah Khaleeda Rosli, Noor Raha Mohd Radzuan

Aisyah Khaleeda Rosli is a master’s student specialising in Language Education at Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) under the supervision of Dr. Noor Raha Mohd Radzuan, an Associate Professor in UMP.

Noor Raha Mohd Radzuan, Ph.D is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Modern Languages (CML), Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP). She has conducted research and published on the field of Applied Linguistics, specifically in second language oral communication and English for Specific Purposes. At CML, she is currently leading a research on CEFR-informed model for English language education in Early Childhood Education field.

Recent studies have suggested that English has become a global language that is widely used forvariouspurposesparticularly in theeducation sector. In the learningofEnglish, teachersact as themost important role model in ensuring the proficiency of English language learners. Scientifically,preschoolchildrenacquirelanguagesadeptlyattheiragehenceitisimportantforpreschoolteacherstobeabletoteachEnglishpreciselyatthislevel.However,Englishisnotsettobecomeoneofthemainrequirements for preschool teacher position, notably in Pahang,Malaysia. Reasoning from this fact,teachers’ beliefs instigate crucial indication in determiningwhether preschool childrenwill receiveadequateEnglishinputsattheiragedespitethedrawback.Thispilotstudyaimstoidentifypreschoolteachers’beliefsintheirabilitytoteachEnglishtopre-schoolersinPahang,Malaysia.Inthepilotstudy,asetofquestionnaireswhichconsistof14itemswasdistributedto60preschoolteachersinPahangandonly30werereturned.ThequestionnaireshowedaCronbachalphavalueof0.9whichshowsahighlevelofreliability.Theresultsofthispilotstudyillustrateamuchmorepositiveviewofteachers’beliefsintheteachingofEnglishtopre-schoolers.ThismaybecomeacatalysttothedevelopmentofEnglishcompetencyamongMalaysianchildrenandwilleventuallyenhancethestandardofEnglishinMalaysia.

Keywords: teacher’sbelief,proficiency,pre-school,ELT

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POSTER CODE M2

The Use of Multisensory Spelling Techniques for a Malaysian Child with Dyslexia Harmit Kaur

Harmit Kaur has completed MESL from University of Malaya. She has five years of experience in teaching at both private and international schools. Her research interest is in language acquisition and learning disabilities. She is also a volunteer at a dyslexia learning centre where she utilises multisensory techniques to teach dyslexic children who face English spelling difficulties.

ThepresentcasestudylooksattheEnglishspellingstrugglesfacedbyaneight-year-olddyslexicchild.Thepurposeofthisstudyistoexaminetheeffectivenessofmultisensorytechniques(OGapproach)bycomparingthespellingskillsoftheparticipantbeforeandaftertheremedialactivitiesandexaminingwhetherspellingslearnedthroughmultisensorytechniques(OGapproach)canberetainedoveraperiodoftime.Thestudymeasuredtheeffectivenessofthemultisensorytechniques(OGapproach)byusing:(i) twospelling inventories:ElementarySpelling Inventory(Bear, Invernizzi,Templeton,& Johnston,2016)andDevelopmentalSpellingAssessment(Ganske,2013),(ii)4weeksofdictatedsentencesand(iii)collectionofparticipant`swrittenworkbeforeandafterthreemonthsoftheremedialactivities.Thefindingsofthestudyrevealedthattheresearchparticipantshowedimprovementin7outof10spellingfeaturesandretainedallthespellingfeaturesthatimprovedafterthreemonthsofremedialactivities. Keywords:languageacquisition,multisensorytechniques,spelling,dyslexia

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POSTER CODE M3

The Relationship Between Writing Approaches and Academic Writing Outcomes: A Case Study in a Private University Zhang Hongxiao

Zhang Hongxiao is a master’s student from the University of Nottingham. She is currently working on her dissertation.

Lavelle’smodelforapproachestowriting(Lavell,1993,1997),whichexaminesstudents’beliefsandintentionsofwritingwascreatedbasedontheassumptionsthat(i)students’perceptionsofwritingexerteffecton theirattitudes towriting,which, consequently, affect theirwritingoutcomesand (ii)twoapproachestowritingexist:adeepapproachandasurfaceone.However,nostudiesonthismodelhasconnectedstudents’approachestotheiracademicwritingoutcomes.Thus,thisresearchaimsatinvestigatingtherelationshipbetweentheapproachestowritingandwritingoutcomesamongstudentsinauniversitywhereEnglishisthepredominantlanguageofcommunication.Throughamixed-methodsdesign,asurveybasedonLavelle’sInventoryofWritingProcessesinCollegeComposition,wascarriedoutandthiswasfollowedbyinterviewstocomparethedifferencesinusingtheapproachesandtogetstudents’viewsonacademicwriting.Next,students’academicassignmentswereexaminedtoexplorethe effect of Lavelle’s approaches on thewriting outcomes. The findings of this study contribute toliteratureontherelationshipbetweentheapproachestowritingandacademicwritingoutcomesamongstudents inESL context, thusproviding further insight intoESLacademicwriting.Pedagogically, byunderstandingexactlyhowstudents’approachestowritingaffecttheirwritingoutcomes,institutionsandsupervisorscouldprovideconcretewritingsupporttostudents.Forstudents,diagnosingtheirownapproachestowritingmayallowthemtobettermakeuseoftheirstrengthstoremediatedeepapproachwriting. Keywords:writingmodel,deepapproach,surfaceapproach,academicwriting

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ABSTRACTS CATEGoRyTeachers

POSTER CODE T1

Learning Log: A Powerful Tool to Enhance Writing Fluency Amirah Bt Akhyar

Amirah Akhyar is an English teacher in SK Subang Bestari (2). She completed her degree in TESOL and earned her MA in TESL from Universiti Putra Malaysia. She usually takes the opportunity to embed art in her language teaching and finds ways of making the classroom environment stimulating and exciting.

Thisclassroompracticeaimstoexploretheeffectivenessofusinglearninglogsinenhancingstudents’writingskill.Learninglogsorreflectivejournalsarefrequentlyusedinfurtherandhighereducationtoencouragestudents’reflectionontheirlearning.However,intheprimaryschoolsetting,especiallyforLevel1pupils,thisisrarelyused.Lookingattheadvantagesoflearninglogstheresearcherimplementedlearning logs alongwith the new implementation of CEFR in the English language classroom. Thisclassroompracticeemploystheuseoflearninglogsattheendofafour-weekperiodwiththeteacherallocatingtimeforthepupils toshareanddiscusstheir learning logswithoneanother inclass.Thepupilsareencouragedtowritewords,phrasesandsentences,drawpictures,addlabelsandcaptions,stickinpictures,typeonthecomputerandsticktheresultsin,addspeechbubbles,post-itnotesandetc.Afterfewmonthsofpractisinglearninglogsintheclassroom,thepupilsbecomemoremotivatedtowritemoresentencestoexpresstheiridea.Theyalsobecomemoreawareofthelearningprocessandwereabletoaddpersonalconnectionstothetopic.Overall,withsomejump-startquestions,alearningloghelpstoimprovestudents’writingfluencyandencouragesthinking.

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A Study on the Selection of Reading Strategies Used by Form 2 Students Bogeshsoorya A/P Muniandy

Bogeshsoorya A/P Muniandy is 24 years old and a graduate from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. He hold as a degree in Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English Education. Currently, he is working as a Student Advisor in Wall Street English.

This article reports the finding on the selection of reading strategies used by Malaysian Form 2students.Thisstudyaimedtoidentifythereadingstrategiesusedbystudentsofdifferentgendersaswellasstudentsfromdifferentproficiencylevels.Datawerecollectedusingthequantitativemethod.AquestionnaireknownastheMARSI(MetacognitiveAwarenessofReadingStrategiesInventory)wasadoptedforthecurrentresearch.Thestudyaddressedthefollowingquestions:(i)WhatarethetypesandfrequencyofreadingstrategiesusedbytheForm2studentsintheirreadingprocess?(ii)Arethereanysignificantdifferencesbygenderintheusageofthereadingstrategies?and(iii)Whattypesandfrequency of reading strategies are used by high-proficiency and low-proficiency students in theirreadingprocess?Thefindingsindicatedthat,theoverallstrategiesusedbytheForm2studentswereProblemSolvingReadingStrategyfollowedbySupportReadingStrategiesandGlobalReadingStrategies.Apart from that, there was a significant difference in the preference of using reading strategies intermsofgenderandproficiencylevel.Femalestudentsshowedahigherfrequencyinusingthereadingstrategies.Studentswithhighproficiencyscoredhigherfrequencythanthelowerproficiencystudents.Basedonthefindings, it issuggestedtousea largenumberofparticipants inthefutureresearchtoobtain better results. Keywords:readingstrategies,problem-solvingstrategy,globalreadingstrategy,supportreadingstrategy

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POSTER CODE T2

49

Bilingualism in Early Childhood: The Effects to Native Chinese-Speaking Children on Learning English as the Second Language Evon Wong Yee Wan

Evon, Wong Yee Wan is a class teacher of an international preschool in Kuala Lumpur. Author of a black and white children picture “Aaloo”. She has been teaching in the early childhood sector for seven years. Besides teaching and as a volunteer teacher abroad, she is also a freelance editor for children books.

Thenumberofbilingualchildrenhasincreasedsignificantlyduetothetrendofglobalisation(Meisel,2008).AsEnglishLanguageisknowntobethemostwidelyusedlanguageworldwide,thenumberoflearnerslearningEnglishLanguageastheirsecondlanguage(L2)hasincreasedtremendously(Raganand Jones, 2013). In Malaysia, as a multicultural society, where English is not the native language(L1)formajorityofthepopulation,thedifferencesincultural,socialandlanguagebackgroundwouldaffectone’sL2 learning.According to JeanetteVos, learningaL2atpreschoolage(twoto fiveyearsold) allows learners to achieve native-like competence. However, the learners’ cultural, social, andlanguagebackgroundplayasignificantroleinaffectingL2learning(Ellies,2008).Thisstudyexaminedtheeffectofphonologicalandsyntacticdifferencesinachild’sL1(ChineseLanguage)towardstheL2(EnglishLanguage)learning.SituationalanalysisofanativeChinese-speakingpreschoolerwascarriedout and open-ended questionnaire related to the problemswas used for interviewing the targetededucators.Findings showed thatanativeChinese-speakingpreschooleromitted the final consonantsoundofanEnglishwordduetothephonologicaldifferencebetweenthechild’sL1(Chineselanguage)andL2 (EnglishLanguage), anddue to thegrammaticaldifferences, it became theobstacles for thechildtoachievenative-likeaccuracyinL2(EnglishLanguage)speaking.Thefindingsaresignificantforpreschooleducatorstounderstandlearners’obstaclesoftheL2learningduetothedifferencesofthetwolanguagesystems. Keywords: childbilingualism,secondlanguagelearning,secondlanguageacquisition,earlychildhood education

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POSTER CODE T3

50

Using Mini Whiteboard as a Tool for Assessment for Learning Fazrina Bt Mohd Tahir, Nurul Salwani Bt Abdullah

Fazrina bt Mohd Tahir is an SISC+ officer in Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Klang, Selangor. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Otago, New Zealand in 2002 and completed her Master of Education (Education Administration) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 2018. Fazrina is actively involved in various ELT and 21st Century Learning workshops.

Nurul Salwani is an English Language Teacher and currently teaching in one of the secondary schools in Klang, Selangor. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree (Hons) in TESOL from the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 2008. She had been involved in various ELT workshops throughout her 12 years in teaching profession. In 2011, she was selected as a co-writer for Literature Module for Forms 4 and 5 by PPD Miri and ELTC.

Variousresearchhaveshowntheeffectivenessofminiwhiteboards invisualisingstudents’ thoughtsandideas.ThisstudyexaminestheuseofminiwhiteboardsbyanEnglishteacherandhowtheminiwhiteboardshelptheteachertocarryoutformativeassessmentsintheclassroom.Datawascollectedfrom an interview with the teacher and questionnaires distributed to the students. This studyfound that theuseofminiwhiteboardswith a rangeof activities aswell as closedandopen-endedquestionsenabledtheteachertoassessthestudents’learningprogresspromptlyandmoreeffectively.The use of mini whiteboards had also encouraged students to be more actively involved duringlessonsas thestudentscaneasilyexpress their responsesnotonly inwritten formbutalsovisuals.Getting students’ feedback during learning activities is important to ensure learning is optimised.Therefore, thisstudyaimstosuggeststrategiesandmost importantlyaneffective tool that teacherscanusetonotonlyassesstheirstudents’ learningbutalsoencouragestudentstogivefeedbackandresponses. Keywords:miniwhiteboards,assessmentforlearning,formativeassessments

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POSTER CODE T4

51

Pre-Service TESOL Teachers Mental Health Literacy Hanna Qistina Binti Hasan

Hanna Qistina Binti Hasan is currently a teacher at an international school. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Education (TESOL) from the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Her areas of interest include sociology of education, gender issues, mental health, and special education.

Mentalhealth(MH) issuesarebecoming increasinglyprevalentamongstudents.WhileexternalisingbehavioursofMHsuchasaggressionareobservableintheclassroom,internalisingbehavioursofMHsuchasdepressionareoftenoverlooked,particularlyinthoseEnglishasanAdditionalLanguage(EAL)learnerswhohavepoorEnglishproficiency.TESOLteachers,whooftenworkcloselywithEALstudents,shouldthereforebeequippedwithadequateMHliteracytoassumetheroleinidentifyingandprovidingsupporttostudentswiththeseissues.ThisstudyaimedtoinvestigatetheMHliteracyofpre-serviceTESOLteachers.Fifty-threepre-serviceTESOLteacherscompletedanonlinevignette-basedmeasure.Thepre-serviceteachers’MHliteracywasexaminedusingdescriptiveandinferentialstatistics,aswellasthematicanalysis.ResultsrevealedthatparticipantshadpartialunderstandingofMHrecognition.Significantrelationshipswerefoundbetweentheirconcernsofproblemseverity,interventionpriorityandMHrecognition.Additionally, the thematicanalysisshowedahigherpreference incollaboratingwiththeparentsandaprofessionalthanprovidingspecifiedinclusivestrategiesforMHissues.FindingsprovideimplicationsforfutureimprovementsofMHliteracyamongpre-serviceTESOLteachers.

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POSTER CODE T5

52

Integrated Assessment Through Reflective Journal Writing: A Case Study Khalipah Mastura Binti Khalid

Khalipah Mastura Khalid is an English lecturer at the Kedah Engineering 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. Her research work is related to upgrading writing skills and ability among students of Matriculation colleges in Malaysia.

ThiscasestudywasconductedtoexplorethepotentialofreflectivejournalwritingviablogsincollectingfeedbackontheT&Lprocess,andtohighlightthestrengthandweaknessesofcurrentpracticesinordertobuildmoreeffectiveactivities.Thestudywasalsopreparedtoanswer:(i)Whatarelearners’perceptionsoftheirownpersonaldevelopmentthroughreflectivejournalwriting?(ii)Howcanblogsbeamediumtocollectfeedbackonteachingandlearningintheclassroom?(iii)Howcanreflectivejournalsbylearnershelpeducatorstoenhancetheirteachingandlearning?and(iv)Howcanreflectivejournalwritingserveasan integratedassessmenton learners’participations inESLclassrooms?Learners’experiences inusingblogsas learning journalsandhowtheyexpresstheirpointsofviewontheactivitiesarealsodiscussed,withthemostimportantfocusbeinghoweducatorscanassessthelearners’contributionandparticipationinthelearningofEnglishinaveryintensiveandchallengingmanner,yetinstillingafunandenjoyableenvironmentintheclass.Qualitativedatawerecollectedfromsixengineeringlearnersthroughdocumentanalysisandsemi-structuredinterviews.Thefindingsshowedthatlearnersenjoyedtheuseofcomputertoolsintheirlessonsandmostofthemexpressedreliefthattheirvoicesaretakenintoconsideration.Thisalsogivesbenefitstotheeducatortocarryoutassessmentsandpreparebetteractivitiesforfuturelearners. Keywords:blog,reflectivelearning,integratedassessment,onlinetools,writtencommunication

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POSTER CODE T6

53

Which Method will Produce Better Written Personal Responses Among Novice and Low Proficiency Readers? Lim Jia Lih

Lim Jia Lih is a novice teacher and majored in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from Institute of Teacher Education International Languages Campus, Kuala Lumpur. She is currently teaching English and Science subjects at SK Methodist in Kapit, Sarawak. She is also a Bronze Certified Instructor for Whole Brain Teachers of America. She is interested in the areas of children’s literature and brain-based teaching methods.

Theaimofthisresearchistocomparethepersonalwrittenreaderresponsesproducedaftertheuseoftwodifferentteachingmethodsinteachingcontemporarychildren’sliteraturetoYear4(Y4)andYear5(Y5)pupils.AclassofY4(10yearsold)andY5(11yearsold)wererandomlyselectedfrom24classesinaruralschoolinKapit,Sarawak.Atotalof34participantswereselectedtoparticipateinthisresearch.TwoshortstoriesprescribedbytheMinistryofEducationMalaysia(MOE),mainly“TheKingofKites”forYear4and“AndSomethingWeirdHappened”forYear5wereused.TheY4classwastaughtusingDirectInstruction(DI)whiletheY5classusedTranslationMethod(TM)foradurationoffourweeks.Qualitativeandquantitativemethodswereusedtocollectthedataonthetwogroupsofparticipants’writtenpersonal reader responses.All thedatawere then codedandanalysedusing a comparativemethod.Theresultsof thestudyshowed that theDIproducedmorevarietiesof responses, showedmoreenthusiasmand literaryappreciationcomparedtoTMmethod.Thisresearchwillalsodiscussthe differences in their brain processes when interacting with literature using two different teaching methods. Keywords: personalwrittenresponses,children’sliterature,directinstruction,translationmethod

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POSTER CODE T7

54

The Impact of Microsoft Learning Tools for English Low Achievers: In Enhancing Reading and Writing Mustabshirah Bt Md Salleh

Mustabshirah Bt Md Salleh is an English teacher at SK Syed Sheh, Kupang, Kedah. She holds a diploma in English Studies from the Penang Teacher’s Trainee College. She has been teaching kids with passion in rural area with a challenging social and education background. She believes Teaching is Heart Work!

The 21st century learning (PAK 21) approach is to ensure that pupils are equippedwith the rightskillsandvaluesforthefuture.Hence,MicrosoftLearningToolsapplicationwasadoptedtoincreasepupils’ interest in learning English. This studywas carried out to identify whether it was a usefulDigitalLearningToolinimprovingtheEnglishoflowachievers,especiallyintheirreadingandwritingskills.Aclassconsistingof28 lowachieverpupilswereselectedtotakepart inthisstudy.BasedontheearlydatafromJanuary2019pre-test,observationsandchecklists,allthe28pupilswereunableto acquire basic minimum skills and knowledge. It shows that pupils were affected by ineffectivemethodsandalackofskillsrequired.ThreemonthsafterusingMicrosoftLearningTools,theresultsshowed improvement. Results from the data collected overall indicated that Microsoft LearningToolsappearedtobeuseful,engagingandabestpossibledigitaleducationtoolforthestrugglinglowachieversespecially in improvingreadingcomprehensionandwriting.ThestudywillbecarriedoutcontinuouslyuntilthefinalexaminNovember2019.Conclusionwillthenbemadebasedonthefinalresults. Keywords: digitallearningtools,reading,writing

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POSTER CODE T8

55

The Effective Use of Mind Mapping in Writing Organised Essays Nithyasri Nambiar

Nithyasri Nambiar read for her Bachelor of Education (TESOL) at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. She is currently a private English language tutor. She is interested in areas of curriculum development and is interested to continue research in the sociology of education.

Theusual criteria that is expected in a goodpiece ofwriting is “their ability to construct a varietyof written texts with various rhetorical styles which includes accuracy, appropriacy, coherenceandcohesion,useof language functions fordifferentpurposes, and lastly, task fulfilmentassess thestudents’abilityandmaturetreatmentontopicbyprovidingadequaterelevantcontent”.Duetothis,it is important for students topossessproperwriting skills inorder tobegradedwellduring theirexaminations.Studentsareabletowritemorecriticallywhentheyplantheiressaysusingamindmap.Inotherwords,usinggraphicorganiserssuchasmindmapsallowsstudentstoorganiseandsynthesisetheirideasappropriately.PresentstudiesmostlyfocusontheusefulnessoftheBuzanMindmappingtechniquetoimprovewritingmotivation.However,mostresearchesdonotdelveintotheareaofhowtheBuzanMindMapping techniquemaybenefit the student’sduringpre-writing stages.This studyexaminesundergraduatestudents’perceptionofusingtheBuzanmindmappingtechniqueandwhetherthistechniquehelpsthemtoorganisetheirideaswhenwritingessays.Thisstudyadoptsaqualitativeresearchdesignthroughtheuseoffocusgroupinterviewsandanopen-endedquestionnaire.FindingsrevealthattheBuzanmindmappingtechniquesareperceivedtobenothelpfulinessaywriting.Theirperceptionsarecategorisedintodifferentthemestohighlighthowmindmapsmaypossiblybeusedtofacilitate certain aspects of writing. Keywords: BuzanMindMaps,writing,graphicorganiser

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POSTER CODE T9

56

The Effect of Role-Play Towards Developing Students’ Speaking Skills Ong Ma Vin

Ong Ma Vin is a secondary school English teacher at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Teluk Kumbar in Penang. He graduated from a twinning programme under the Ministry of Education where he attended the Teacher Training Institute of Ipoh and the University of Warwick, England obtaining a degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). With five years of teaching experience, he is keen to share ideas and gain new ones from fellow educators.

Studentswholackconfidencetospeakareoftenconcernedwiththecorrectnessofsentencestructuresandgrammarinspeaking.Theywouldratherkeepquietthanhavingtoexpresstheirideasverbally.Thisresearchexploredtheimpactofrole-playtowardsdevelopingstudents’speakingskills.Thestudywascarriedoutonaclassof30Form1studentsrangingfromlowtolower-intermediatelevelofEnglish.The researchquestionswere: (i)Does role-playhelp students to improve their speakingskills?and(ii)Isrole-playabletobuildstudents’confidencetospeakcoherentlyandconfidentlyontheirown?Aquantitativestudywasconducted.Questionnairesandpre-andpost-testswereused.Resultsrevealedthatstudentsgainedconfidenceandasenseofachievementwhencompletingaspeakingtaskthroughroleplay.Studentswerealsomorewillingtoparticipateintheactivityandwereeagertodiscusstheirroles, come upwith appropriate dialogue and act out confidently. They becamemore aware of thegrammaranddifferentsentencestructuresinspeaking.Studentsalsomentionedtheywerewillingtotryspeakingon theirown in the future.Limitationof theresearchwas thestudy lastedonlyoveraperiodoftwomonthswhichwasashortperiodoftime.Itishopedthatthisresearchcouldhelpothereducatorstounderstandthestrengthsandweaknessesofusingrole-playtowardsdevelopingstudents’speaking skills. Keywords: role-play,speaking,ELT,motivation

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POSTER CODE T10

57

Learn English the Carnival Way Shamsida Binti Mohd Nor

Shamsida binti Mohd Nor has been teaching English for 26 years. Even though her first degree background is not English, her interest in English language and her commitment to teach students to learn it has motivated her to introduce innovative methods and techniques such as the Carnival Way.

LearningEnglishasasecondlanguagecanbeadifficulttaskforcertaingroupsofstudents.Hence,itis important to find interestingapproaches tohelp them learnbetter.LearningEnglish theCarnivalWay isamethodthat isstudent-centredwitha focuson theentireschoolcommunity.Basedon theconceptofacarnival,thisisabetterwayoflearningEnglishbecauseitcomprisesthetotalinvolvementof students in the learning process. Furthermore, learning takes place in the fun and entertainingenvironmentwithplentyofopportunitiesforpractice.Basedonthestudent-centredlearningtheory,language is amatterofpractice theoryand the theoryof learning states that learning canbemadefaster if the environment is fun and entertaining andnot stressful. TheCarnivalWay, hence, allows for these elements as a conducive medium to learn the English language. By using this method, studentswillhavemoreinteresttolearnthelanguage,andcanachievetheobjectivestolearnEnglishinschool. Keywords:teachingapproach,ELT,Carnivalmethod

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POSTER CODE T11

58

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle Through Reflection Journal in a Kampung ESL Classroom Shazlin Elaiza Binti Lazim

Shazlin Elaiza Binti Lazim is a primary school teacher in a school in Kedah. She obtained her B. Ed TESL from UIAM and later pursued her postgraduate degree in Applied Linguistics in UUM. She has experience in teaching English to second language learners, especially to those in rural areas in Kedah and Sarawak, and look forward to experiment with new pedagogical ideas in ELT.

The21stcenturylearningisinspiredduetotheabruptchangestakingplaceoutsidetheclassroomandlearnersmustfirstknowandbeawareoftheirlearningforsuccessfullearningtotakeplace.InanESLclassroominakampongschool,thisisabigchallenge.Tocreatemeaningfullearningintheclassroom,afractionlanguagelearningpedagogycanbeexploitedon;theexperientiallearning.Providinglearnerswithexperiencesthattheycanvalueandreflectonisbelievedtobeanessentialpartoflearning.AnactionresearchwascarriedoutinaprimaryschoolinaremoteareainKedahtoinvestigatepupils’writingabilitywhenusingKolb’sLearningCyclethroughthereflectionjournalintheirEnglishclassroom.Ininvestigatingpupils’response,pupilsweredividedintofocusandtreatmentgroup.Thedataforthisstudywereanalysedbasedonformativeexamtests,andareasonableescalationwasobservedintheperformanceofthetreatmentgroup. Keywords: experientiallearning,reflectionjournal,primaryschool

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POSTER CODE T12

59

The Use of Plickers: QR Smart Rings as a Formative Assessment for English Language Education Shee Yuen Ling

Shee Yuen Ling is an English language educator. She is passionate about teaching and is an active researcher as well.

ThisresearchwillcontributetotheformativeassessmentforEnglishlanguageeducationandaddingtotheinsightfulandinnovativeworkbyusingPlickersQRsmartrings,thespecialring.ThediamondontheringisanimageofarotatableQRcodeonapieceoflaminatedpaperthatcanbescannedbyatabletorasmartphone.Itcanrecognisethestudentresponsesdependingonwhichwayastudentwearstheringbecauseitisrotatable.(withoptionA,B,CandD)Theanalysisresultwillbedisplayed.Whenstudentsarewearingtheringtoansweraquestion,theeducatorwillneedtotakeasmartdevicewithinstalledapps(Plickers)toscantheroombyselectingthecamerabuttonwhichwillappearatthebottomofthescreen.Thenameofthestudentandeachindividualresponseforeachquestionselectedislocatedatthetopofthescreenonthesmartdevicewhentheirresponsehadbeenscanned.Also,abargraphwillappearsotheeducatorcanviewthewholegroupdataaswell.Thenumberofparticipantsscannedisalsoprovidedtomakecertainthatallstudentshaveresponded.Allresponseswillbeanalysedandtheresultswillbeusedtoimproveonthestudents’weakestpartinEnglish.Itmakesagoodfun“flyingintheair”assessmenttool. Keywords:formativeassessment,QR,students’response,technology

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POSTER CODE T13

60

Wheel of Learning Tan Shi Min

Tan Shi Min has been teaching in a rural secondary school for four years. Hoping to help her students with very low English language proficiency, she is keen to learn from the experts to discover new teaching techniques, particularly involving arts and music.

WheelofLearningisateachingaidthatinvolvesinnovativeusesofamulti-layeredandcolour-codedwheel-shapedgraphicorganiserintheteachingofEnglishCreativeWriting.Moststudentshaveanxietytodocreativewritingbecauseoftwomajorproblems;lackofideasandlackofvocabularies.WheelofLearningwasdevelopedtoovercomethesetwoproblems.Thepurposewastoguidestudentsthroughtheprocessofbrainstormingideasandlearningthevocabulariesneededforcreativewriting.TheuseofWheelofLearningwascarriedoutwith15studentsof4ScienceinSMKSyedIbrahim.Firstly,theylearntthesynonymsandidiomaticexpressionsofsixtypesoffeelings,happy,sad,angry,shy,nervousandshocked,usingWheelofLearning.Secondly,theybrainstormedideasintheformoftheincidentsoractivitiesrelatedtoeachfeeling.LessonsconductedwiththestudentsshowedthattheuseofWheelof Learninghad great impacts on enhancing students’ ability in organising their ideas and learningvocabulariesforcreativewriting.Theyalsoenjoyedthe4Cs,Communication,Collaboration,Creativityand Critical Thinking, incorporated in the lessons usingWheel of Learning. This tool is especiallyeffective forEnglish language teachers to teach students to answernarrative and expository essayswhichrequirethemtodescribetheir feelingsand incidents involved. Inaddition,WheelofLearningalsocanbeusedtoteachotherwaysofbrainstormingideasandvocabulariesforcreativewriting,suchasbyusingfivesensesandweathers,aswellastomind-mapkeypointsofarticles. Keywords: teachingaid,innovation,graphicorganiser,writing

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POSTER CODE T14

61

To Improve the Speaking Ability and Interest Among Form 1 Pupils by Using “My Card2.0” Vinothan A/L S.Ramayah, Hilwana Bt Ahmad Sha’ari

Vinothan S.Ramayah is a secondary school English Language teacher at SMK Damansara Damai 1, Petaling Jaya,Selangor. He started as an ESL teacher in 2008 in Johor. Since then, he has taught to different levels of pupils in these two schools. In 2018, he won a gold award for TS25 National research Poster presentation and a bronze award in the UKM K-Inovasi competition.

Hilwana Bt Ahmad Sha’ari is an SISC+ officer at PPD Petaling Utama. She has vast experience in coaching and always look forward to connecting schools and teachers with up to date approaches.

This action research reports on the results of a small-scale survey on the use of English for dailycommunicationandalsoasthemediumofinstructioninaselectedschoolinPetalingUtamadistrict.Twenty-twopupilsandanEnglishLanguageteacherwereinvolvedinthisstudy.Theobjectiveofthisresearchistofindouttheeffectivenessofusing“MyCard2.0”asatooltoencouragecommunicationinEnglishLanguageamongpupilsinForm1Arif.Datawascollectedusingapre-testandapost-test.TheresearcherusedtheSpeakingSkillassessmentdescriptorforCEFR(CommonEuropeanFrameworkofReference),toevaluatethepupils’speakingskillbeforeandafter“MyCard2.0”isused.Theresearchfindingsshowthatpupils’speakingproficiencyimprovedfrommerelyabletoutterbasicphrasesaboutthemselvesandrespondtobasicfamiliarquestionsinsimplestatement,tohavingconfidenceintalkingandgivingexplanationaboutatopicdiscussed.Besides,theclassroomsituationwasalsolivelierduetothepupils’eagernessinjoiningtheactivities.“MyCard2.0”alsopromotes21stcenturylearning(PAK21)elements,especiallycollaborativeandcreativity.Thisstudyprovidedtheresearcherwithinvaluableandinspiringexperiencewhichhasmotivatedhimtoexplore21stcenturylearning(PAK21)morein-depth.Apartfromthat,Englishlessonshasstartedtobecomeafavouriteamongpupilsintheclass.Itishopedthatthe“MyCard2.0”methodwouldbeimplementedbyotherteachersasawaytomotivateandboostpupils’interesttospeakinEnglish. Keywords:learningtool,speaking,21stcenturylearning

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POSTER CODE T15

62

Investigating Language Learning Strategies on Good Language Learners to be Effective in English Language in a Malaysian Secondary School Voshalini A/P Manisaygaran

Voshalini A/P Manisaygaran reads for her BA TESOL at University of Nottingham, Malaysia. She is currently employed as a Primary Teacher at Asia Metropolitan International School, Ipoh. She is interested in research on Language Learning Strategies on Good Language Learners in Malaysian secondary schools.

English language is introduced as a second language and a compulsory subject tobe taught amongMalaysianstudentssinceitactsasabusiness,technologyandglobalcommunicationlanguage.Hence,NoorandMallam(2014)hadstatedthatattentiveefforts,thinkingandactionsonlanguagelearningstrategies (LLS) were needed to employ in order promote and progress in language acquisition.Furthermore,languagelearnerswouldhavedifferentpreferencesinlanguagelearningbasedonvariouscontributing factors. In view of these circumstances, this research aimed to identify the dominantlanguagelearningstrategiesamonggoodlanguagelearnerstobeeffectiveinEnglishlanguagelearning.Thisresearchwasconductedusingtheexplanatorysequentialdesignmethod,whichemployedbothquantitativeandqualitativeapproachesviatheuseofquestionnaireswithanumberof40studentsandinterviewswithanumberofsixstudentsofaMalaysiansecondaryschool.Findingsof thisresearchrevealedthatgoodlanguagelearnersacquiredtheEnglishlanguagebyusingdifferentlanguagelearningstrategies depending on their learning styles. Keywords: Languagelearningstrategies(LLS),Goodlanguagelearners(GLL),EnglishasaSecond Language

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POSTER CODE T16

63

Exploring the Use of Modified Snakes and Ladders Game in the Teaching of Possessive Pronouns Among Year Six Pupils Wong Kian Yong, Ng Zheng Yang

Wong Kian Yong graduated from IPG Kampus Gaya in 2017. In 2017, he won the Gold Award for the MELTA Creative Student Teacher Showcase. He is a PPD Melaka Tengah trainer for Year 3 and Year 4 English CEFR and currently teaches in SJK(C) Lih Jen, Melaka.

Ng Zheng Yang is a primary school English teacher in SJKC Tanjong Karang. He had completed his five and a half year PISMP course in 2017 and has worked as a teacher for two years. He is also currently planning to pursue a master’s degree in the future.

Conventionalapproachesofteachinggrammartendtobedeductiveandrule-driven.However,someeducators believed that grammar canbe taught in a funway insteadof only teaching the grammarrules.Hence,thisstudywasdesignedtoexploretheuseofmodifiedsnakeandladdersgameinlearninggrammar, especially reflexive pronouns in a primary ESL classroom. The objective of this researchwastoexploretheuseofmodifiedsnakeandladdersgameasatechniqueinenhancingthelearners’understandinginreflexivepronouns.Theparticipantsweretwenty-threeYearSixpupilsselectedfromaChineseprimary school inMelaka. Thiswas a researchbasedonKemmis andMcTaggart’s actionresearchmodelwhich involved fourprimarysteps:plan, implement,observeandreflect. It is foundthattheuseofmodifiedsnakeandladdersgamehelpedthepupilstounderstandtheusageofreflexivepronounsbetter.Pupilswereengagedandwillingtoshareideasandconceptstosupporttheirfriendstoanswerallthequestionsthattheyencounteredwhileplayingtheboardgame.Moreover,thepupilsweremotivatedandeagertowinthegame,thereforetheyweremorefocusedandwillingtoseekhelpfromtheir friends toprovide thecorrectanswer.Asa teacherresearcher, theprocessof conductingactionresearchhashelpedmetolearntotrustmypupilsthattheirownlearningcanbeempoweredingroups.Inanutshell,teachingandlearningofgrammarcanbefunandeffectivewhenthegamificationin education took place. Keywords:boardgame,vocabulary,fun-learning,possessive

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POSTER CODE T17

64

Teachers’ Perceptions and Experiences of the Teaching of English Pronunciation in the Malaysian Context Aina Ikhwan

Aina Ikhwan is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Education with Honours (TESOL) at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. She is currently a Year Four student, and is undergoing her teaching practice at Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar, a prestigious international school in Malaysia.

Many students strugglewith English proficiency. InMalaysia, there are studentswho are incapableof communicating in English effectively despite years of formal instruction. In view of this, thisstudy investigates secondary school teachers’ perceptions and experiences of teaching EnglishpronunciationinMalaysia.ThisstudyemployedanexplanatorysequentialmixedmethodapproachasitsresearchdesignbyincorporatingtheuseofquestionnairesadaptedfromCrofton-Martin’s(2015)studywith 35 secondary school English language teachers from four secondary schools in Kajang.Findings revealed that although most teachers acknowledged the importance of pronunciation,therewasa lackofactualteachingandlearningofEnglishlanguagepronunciationintheclassroom.Thiswas due to factors including (i) the teachers’ lack of knowledge on pronunciation instruction,leading to the teaching of pronunciation based on personal beliefs, and (ii) the emphasis onteaching the four language skills and other language areas for examination purposes. This studysuggests that there should be amore realistic expectation for teaching pronunciation toMalaysianstudents. Thus, the teaching and learning of pronunciation needs to be considered thoroughlyby all parties, including policymakers, material and assessment designers, and teacher trainers. Keywords: pronunciation,ELT,in-serviceteachers,perception,experience

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ABSTRACTS CATEGoRyTeacher Trainees/Undergraduates

POSTER CODE U1

65

Exploring the Use of Nearpod as an Interactive Tool Facilitating Active Learning for Vocabulary Acquisition Allen Chee Jie Ein, Lee Kean Wah

Allen Chee Jie Ein recently graduated with first class honours in BA in Education (TESOL) at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. His interest in technology and passion for teaching has driven him to explore the possibilities of using technology in classrooms to improve learning with the support of his supervisor, Dr. Lee Kean Wah.

Lee Kean Wah is a lecturer at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. He is also the chairperson of GloCall 2019 which had taken place in Danang, Vietnam recently.

Traditionalteacher-centredmethodshaveoftenfailedtoprovidesufficientopportunitiesforstudentstomeaningfullyengagewithvocabularylearningandproduction.Takingcognizanceofthisshortcoming,this study examined the effects of using active learning strategies viaNearpodas ameans toboostvocabularylearningamongESLlearnersinaninternationalschoolinMalaysia.Twenty-threestudents(Year6A)fromanintactgroupparticipatedinthestudy.Themaindataelicitationinstrumentsusedwerethepre-andpost-testsandfocusgroupinterviews(FGI).Studentslearnedandacquiredtargetedvocabulary through the use of the technological tool, which facilitated active learning strategiesandactivitiesoveraperiodof threeweeks.FGIswereusedtoprobestudents’ learningexperiences.Findingsrevealedasignificantincreaseinvocabularyacquisitionandretentionofthetargetedwords.ParticipantsalsogavefavourablefeedbacktowardstheuseofNearpod,indicatingtheeffectivenessofthetechnologicaltooltoincreasestudentengagement.Theseresultsdemonstratetheimpactofactivelearningstrategiesthroughtheuseoftechnologicaltoolsinimprovingvocabularyacquisition. Keywords:activelearning,vocabularylearning,Nearpod,technologyinclassroom

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POSTER CODE U2

66


POSTER CODE U3

Feedback Preference: Oral or Written Gui Ke Ning

Gui Ke Ning is a final year student at the Institut Pendidikan Guru Ilmu Khas (IPGIK). She aims to become a teacher who conducts classroom sessions based on research findings. Her current research interest is on how feedback can be utilised effectively in the classroom.

WritingisoneofthemostcomplexandconstructiveactsthatmanyhumanbeingsareeverexpectedtoperformsaidBereiter(1986)inHillock’sResearch(1986).WritingisindeedadifficulttaskespeciallyfortheESLstudent-writersbecausetheyarenotthenativespeakers.OneofthewaysforESLteacherstohelpimprovetheirstudents’writingisbyprovidingthemfeedback(ShamshadBeghamOthman&FaizahMohamad,2009).Feedbackisapedagogicaltoolthathelpstoimprovestudents’writingcompetence.Thisstudyreportstheuseof feedbackto improveonstudents’writtenworksamongthreestudentsfromSJKC.Theresearchaimedtofindoutabouttheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofwrittenfeedbackthathelpsinstudents’writingandwhethergivingfeedbackreflectsonthequalityofstudents’endwork.Therewere twoparticipantswith lowproficiency and onewith slightly better proficiency involvedin thisstudy.Thisresearchcollects thedata through interviewswith theparticipants,documentsofparticipants’writtenworkandteacher’slog.Theparticipantssentintheirdraftsandfeedbackwillbegiveninordertogetthefindingsofthisresearch.Thisstudyfoundoutthatstudentsimprovedafteroralandwrittenfeedback,buttheymainlypreferredacombinationofbothwrittenandoralfeedback.

Keywords: feedback,oral,written,primarystudent,ESL

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67

Improving Vocabulary Through Scrabble Game in an Elementary English Classroom Gurshreen Kaur Harikay, Sukhpreet Kaur A/P Jaswant Singh

Gurshreen Kaur is currently doing her+K2 Bachelor of Education in Taylor’s University. She is in her final year doing her internship. She is seeking to explore more about education and how it varies across different countries to gain her knowledge, experience and skills in the teaching and learning field.

Sukhpreet Kaur is currently doing her Bachelor of Education in Taylor’s University. She is in her final year doing her internship. She is seeking a challenging and rewarding opportunity that allows her to use her knowledge and skills in the teaching and learning field.

VocabularymasteryandlearningvocabularycanbeverydifficultforstudentstograspinanEnglishlanguage classroom. Gamification strategies, such as using Scrabble game is incorporated in theEnglishlessonstobooststudents’vocabularyskillacquisition,participation,motivationandclassroomperformance.ThisresearchprovidesdiscussiononhowtheScrabblegamehelpedtoimprovetheGrade4students’vocabularymasteryanddrawsoutthestudent’sperspectiveregardingScrabbleuseintheirclassroomlearning to improve theirvocabulary.ThevocabgameScrabblewascarriedoutbasedonthreedifferent themes.The findings show that through Scrabble, the studentswere able touse thewordsformedintheirsentenceconstructionandconversations.Thestudyalsorevealsthatthegameenabled themtosharpen theirwritingandspeakingskills; improve theircognitiveengagementandenhanced their interaction with their peers. Keywords:vocabulary,ELT,game,motivation,performance

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POSTER CODE U4

68

Characterising the Meaning of Words in English Language Teaching and Learning (Semantic Relations) Irdina Binti Ismaida Zamri, Beverly Liew Jia Xin

Irdina Binti Ismaida Zamri is from Petaling Jaya, Selangor. She is currently a student teacher under the Bachelor of Primary Education programme at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus. The reason for pursuing this was to incorporate her theoretical knowledge from her ‘Introduction to Linguistics’ module into the everyday classroom.

Beverly Liew Jia Xin resides in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. She is currently undertaking a bachelor’s degree course at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus majoring in Primary Education. She feels it is meaningful to share her experiences in applying what she learned in her Introduction to Linguistics module into the classroom. it is meaningful to share her experiences in applying what she has learned in her Introduction to Linguistics module into the classroom.

ESL/EFLlearnersmakemeaningofthewordstheylearnindifferentways.Inlearningnewwords,theymayormaynothavepriorknowledgeof theirmeanings.When teachingvocabulary, teachersneedtoensurestudentsknowthemeaningof thewordssothat theyareable toworkontheir tasksandactivities.Assuch, teachersneed to firstunderstandhowchildrenmakemeaningof thewords theyencounter.Weconductedasmall-scalestudyatalearningcentreforrefugeeandundocumentedchildreninKualaLumpurtofindouthowlearnersfromthesebackgroundsmakemeaningofwordsbothinandoutoftheclassroom.WecarriedoutseveralEnglishlanguagelearningactivitiesbyfocusingontargetedlexicalsemanticrelationshipareassuchashomonymsandhyponymswhilstanalysingtheirmethodsofvocabularyacquisition.Werelatedourknowledgeonsemanticrelationsofwordswhiledesigningtheclassroomactivities.Followingthis,wedecidedtointroducenewvocabularyimplicitlyinthefirstpartsofour lessons,where learnerswerepresentedwithdifferent formsofrepresentationssuchasthewrittenwordsorvisualformsofthewordswithoutdirectlygivingthemitsmeaning.Afterlearningnewvocabularythroughseveralclassroomactivities,thelearnerswereinterviewedabouttheirownmethodsofvocabularyacquisitionandweanalysedourfindingsfrombothourlessonsandinterviewswithourtheoreticalknowledgeofsemanticrelations. Keywords:vocabularyacquisition,homonyms,hyponyms,strategies

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POSTER CODE U5

69

Examining the Productive Vocabulary Elicited by Lexical Games: An Exploratory Study Kok Yee Zhen, Csaba Szabo

Kok Yee Zhen is a graduate of the University of Nottingham Malaysia, holds a first class degree with honours in Education with TESOL. Based on her personal interest in games and languages, she has examined the use of games in vocabulary learning with the support of her supervisor.

Csaba Szabo is a lecturer at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. His research interest includes vocabulary learning and English studies.

Manystudieshavefoundstrongcorrelationsbetweenvocabularyknowledgeandlanguageproficiencylevels, illustrating the importance of vocabulary in language learning. As a method of motivatinglearners,educatorsmayusegamesasaformoftask-basedlearningtoaidvocabularylearning.Whileexisting studies focus on task-based vocabulary production, much less is known about vocabularyproduction in games. Furthermore, vocabulary learning andproduction is contingentupon the taskoractivityused.Toaddressthis,we investigateda lexicalgameasanelicitationtaskwith23Year6multilingual ESL learners froman international school inMalaysia.An approximatemeasure of theYear 6 intact group’s language proficiencywas obtained via the Vocabulary Levels Test and Lex30.Audio recordingsof vocabularyelicitedduring thegamewere transcribedandquantifiedaccordingto type, frequencyand lexicalrichness.Thenumberof lowfrequencywordsproducedby individualparticipants was analysed using Lextutor. The findings show that participants with lower VLT andLex30 scores produced fewer words above the 2,000-frequency band, compared to higher scoringparticipants.Itishopedthatthisfirstattempttoproposeasystematicmethodtoanalyseproductivevocabularyfromlexicalgamesusedaswordelicitationtaskswillinformfuturestudiesandclassroompedagogies. Keywords:vocabulary,languageproficiency,vocabularyproduction,ESL

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POSTER CODE U6

70

The WoW Kit: Enhancing Students’ Understanding of Word Classes Nicole Lee Wei Wei, Mohd Hazry bin Ruslan, Russel Junior Julius

Nicole Lee Wei is a teacher trainee majoring in TESL at the Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Mohd Hazry bin Ruslan is a teacher trainee majoring in TESL at the Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Russel Junior Julius is a teacher trainee majoring in TESL at the Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Wordclassesplaya significant role in categorising thepartsof speech in sentence constructions.Athorough understanding of the concept of word classes help learners improve the four main skillstrandsinEnglishlanguagenamelylistening,speaking,readingandwriting.ThisresearchaimstohelplearnerscategorisewordsintowordclassesasoutlinedintheYear4DSKPbyutilisingaroulette-likekitcalledWheelofWordClass(WoW).Theparticipantsofthestudywereseventy(n=70)Year4studentsinaprimaryschoolinKotaKinabalu.Pre-testandpost-testassessmentswerecarriedouttoevaluatethe efficacy of this kit. TheWoWhas two stages of difficulty levels;word classes identification andsentenceconstructions.Questionnairesandinterviewswerealsoconductedtofurthersupplementthefindings.Theresultsofthepre-testassessmentsuggestthattheparticipantswerehavingdifficultiesinidentifyingcertainwordsandtheirwordclassesaswellasconstructingsentencesusingthem.TheimplementationoftheWoWkitdepicteda68%ofimprovementinthelearners’scores.Thestudentswereabletoidentifyandcategorisewordsintowordclassesaswellasmakeneatandlegiblesentencestructure.Thestudentsalsofoundthisinterventiontobebothfunandmeaningful.TheWoWkittosomeextentprovedtheresourcefulnessofthekitinfacilitatingtheteachingandlearningofwordclassesandsentence constructions. Keywords:WoW,wordclasses,sentenceconstruction,DSKP

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POSTER CODE U7

71

The Relationship Between Effective Teacher Traits & Burnout: Perceptions of Pre-Service Teachers Soe Jia Wei

Soe Jia Wei holds a BA with Honours in Education (TESOL). She is interested in the psychological and sociological aspects of teachers in education.

Burnout isconsideredasoneofthemajorfactorsaffectingteachersasteachingmayberegardedasahighlystressfulprofession.Thepurposeof this study is toexamine theperspectivesofpreserviceEnglish language teachers toward effective teacher traits in relation to burnout, with the goal ofreducingmisconceptions ofwhat an effective teachermust possess. Underpinned by theMaslach’sBurnoutTheory,thisresearchfocusesontheperceptionsofpreserviceEnglishlanguageteachersonbeing an effective teacher andplausible burnout causes.This study employs an exploratory,mixed-methoddesignwiththeuseof focusedgroup interviewsfollowedbysurveys.Fourthemesemergedfrom the findings, both across thepreponderanceof data andwithin transcripts: (i) theprecursorsof burnout, (ii) perceptions of being an effective teacher, (iii) the correlation between burnout andeffectiveteachertraits,and(iv)theperceptionsofeffectiveteachertraitstoself.Thisstudypositsthatpositiveeducationalandsocialchangestemsfromtheidentificationofthechallengesfacedbyteachers,andworkloadforteacherstobecomeeffective.Thus,itisimportanttoreduceoreliminatethestressfulfactorstoretainconsistent,motivated,qualifiedandcapableeducators,whowillprovidestudentswithqualitylanguageeducation. Keywords: teachertraits,burnout,pre-serviceteachers,perception

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POSTER CODE U8

72

English Language Speaking Anxiety Among Business Students in a Selected Private University in Malaysia Tiew Jie Yi

Tiew Jie Yi is a Year 4 student at the School of Education, University of Nottingham Malaysia. She is studying Bachelor of Education with Honours (TESOL) and currently doing her teaching practice at Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar, Mantin. She hopes to further her studies in International Educational Development with a focus on Gender Equality after she completes her bachelor’s degree.

ThisstudyattemptstodeterminethelevelsofEnglishlanguagespeakinganxietyandthefactorsthatcontributetospeakinganxietyamongundergraduatebusinessstudents.Toachievethisaim,thisstudyemploysamixed-methods,explanatoryresearchdesign.Aweb-basedquestionnaireof33itemswith5-pointLikertscaleadapted fromHorwitz,HorwitzandCope’s(1986)FLCASareusedtosurveyonforty-two Year 3 business students through a purposive sampling. The data are analysed using theStatisticalPackageforSocialSciences(SPSS)version24.0.Followingthequantitativedataanalysis,thequalitativesemi-structured interviewsareconductedonfourparticipantswhoexhibitedthehighestanxiety. The findings reveal that business studentsdemonstratemoderate level of English languagespeakinganxiety.Communicationapprehension,fearofnegativeevaluationandtestanxietyarefoundtobe the threemajor factors leading tospeakinganxiety.Thisstudyproposesstrategiesrelevant toovercomingtheseproblems.

Keywords:speakinganxiety,communicationapprehension

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POSTER CODE U9

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Students’ Perceptions of EMI: A Case Study of International Class Program at Malang State Islamic Universities Windi Tri Dharmayanty

Windi Tri Dharmayanty is currently an undergraduate student at Malang State Islamic University, Indonesia. She is interested to learn how policies in learning affect the teaching and learning of second language.

Englishasamediumofinstruction(EMI)hasbeenincreasinglyusedinmanyUniversitiesinIndonesia.However, theeffectivenessof itspolicy isstillunderdiscussionduetotheminimumlevelofEnglishproficiency from both faculty and students, lack of interaction and participation among students,etc. This study examined students’ perceptions regarding the implementation of EMI, its problems,benefits,andchallenges.Adoptingthequalitativecasestudymethodology,dataarecollectedthroughobservationsandinterviewswithfortystudentsattheTeacherTrainingFacultyofMalangStateIslamicUniversity.ItwasfoundthattheenvironmentofstudentsisunsupportableinacquiringEnglish,apartfromthelowEnglishproficiencyitself.However,EMIhasanimportantroleinmotivatingthestudentstolearnEnglish,anddealwiththechallengeoflosingconfidenceinparticipatinginthediscussionmadebytheEMIcourse.Basedonthefindings,suggestions,andrecommendationsfortheimplementationofEMIcoursesatMalangStateIslamicUniversityaresuggested. Keywords:EMI,proficiency,challenges,teachertraining

B I O D A T A


POSTER CODE U10

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Malaysian English Language Teaching Association:

An Expanding Ecosystem

About MELTA

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Established in1958,MELTA is a voluntary associationof passionate educatorsmanaged completelybyMalaysianEnglishlanguageeducationprofessionals.Thefifteenpeoplethatmakeupitscommitteeoftencomefrom15differenteducationinstitutionsandentitiescoveringschools,MinistryofEducation,teachereducationinstitutions,corporateorganisationsandhighereducationinstitutions.ThegrowthofMELTAoverthelast61yearsisnothingshortofbeingremarkable.Thevisionofitsleadershipandmissiongoalsthatdriveitsactivitieshasevolvedintoanecosystemofhigh-qualityprofessionalpractice.

TheMELTAprofessionalpracticeecosystemisillustratedusingapentagon—afive-sidedfigurewhereeachsideisabaseforMELTA’sfivemaintrustsoractivity.

TEACHER DEVELOPMENTThisisthefoundingmissionofMELTAandstillremainsasoneoftheprimaryagendaoftheorganisation.As the only national professional English language education organisation, MELTA assumes theresponsibilityofbeingthecentreforprofessionalexpertiseandpractice.

It is a non-partisanorganisation that is open toworkwith all national and international experts topromoteanddevelophighqualityprofessionalpracticeamongEnglishlanguageeducators.Activitiesandentitiesthatdrivethisagendaincludethefollowing:

The MELTA ChaptersTheMELTAChapterinitiativewaslaunchedin2000.ThegoaloftheMELTAChapteristosupportthecreationoflocalteachernetworkswiththeaimofempoweringeducatorstotakecontrolofmanagingtheirownneeds,usingexpertiseandresourcesavailablelocally,andthroughcollaborationswithotherChapters.

MELTA Chapters run regular seminars, workshops, conferences and other activities as face-to-facesessionsordigitally.MELTAChaptersarecurrentlyestablishedinPenang,Perak,KualaLumpur,Melaka,Johor,Pahang,Terengganu,Kelantan,SabahandSarawak.

English Language Teacher NetworkTheELTNetworkoriginatedfromtheMELTASpecialInterestGroups.TheMELTAELTNetwork(MELTN)aimstoconnectteacherswithsimilarareasofinterestorstagesofcareerdevelopmentwithinMalaysiaandregionally.OneoftheveryactivegroupsintheMELTNistheearlycareerteachernetworkwhichcarriesoutonlineandofflineregularprofessionaldevelopmentandcommunityengagementactivities.ThenextphaseofdevelopmentfortheMELTNisitsplanstoexpandthenetworktotheASEANregion.

MELTA ConferencesMELTA currently runs two international conferences each year.

MELTA International ConferenceThe first is its flagship, theMELTA InternationalConference is currently in its28thyearof running.Inearlieryears,MELTAusedtoorganiseclosetofourinternationalconferencesinayearbuthasnowchosentodoasingleconferenceeachyear.TheMELTAInternationalconferencemovestoadifferentstateinMalaysiaeachyear.ThisistoensureMalaysianeducatorsfromalllocalitiesgettheopportunitytoparticipateinaninternationalconference,affordably.

Theconferencehasbecomeinternationallyrecognisedwithstronglocalandinternationalfollowings.ParticipationintheMELTAconferencerangesfrom500to900eachyearwitharound40percentofthedelegates comprising internationals from25 to30 countries. TheMELTA International is unlike

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mostconferencesandoffersarangeofacademicandprofessionaldevelopmentactivitiesforeducatorsbutalsoprovidesactivities forstudentsaswell.The International conference isalsoavenuewherenumerouscompetitionsareheldandawardsarepresented.Theseincludeawardsfor:

organisations• TheRajaZarithAwardforCSRinEnglishLanguageEducation

Teachers• TheMELTA–HyacinthGaudartAwardforOutstandingAchievementsinEnglishLanguageEducation• TheMELT–BasilWijasuriyaAwardforBestTeacherPresentersattheconference• TheMELTA–MalachiEdwinVethamaniCreativeTeacherShowcaseAward• TheMELTACreativeStudentTeacherShowcaseAward• TheMELTACreativeHigherEducationTeacherShowcaseAward

Students• TheMELTA–OxfordFajarWayWithWordsCompetitionAward• TheMELTAPresidentProject-BasedLearningCompetitionandAward• TheMELTA–MindAcademyCreativeStudentAward

Schools• TheMELT-A-HEARTBookAward

The MELTA International Conference on Research in English Language Education (MIRCELE)MIRCELEisconveningtheconferencefortheninthyear.TheoriginalaimoftheconferencewastopromoteandencouragequalityresearchamongpostgraduatestudentsinMalaysia.Bythethirdconference,thescopeoftheconferencehadexpandedtoincludestudentteachers,postgraduatestudents,teachersandhighereducationacademics.Theconferencebecameinternationaltoallowforwiderbenchmarkingofresearchquality.Theone-dayconferenceisrunusingauniqueformatofacompetitionshowcasinganddefendingparticipantsresearch.Therearefivecategoriesinthecompetition:• TeacherTrainers/Academics• Ph.DCandidates• Master’sStudents• Teachers• TeacherTrainees/Undergraduates

Theeventisconductedintworounds.Roundoneisthepostersessionandcompetition.Allpostersarejudgedbyapanelofexpertjudges.JudgesshortlistuptofivequalityresearchforRoundTwo.Roundtwoinvolvestheshortlistedresearchersmakinganoralpresentationandavivavoce-likedefenceoftheirstudies.The judgeswillselecthighqualityresearchineachcategoryfortheGold,SilverandBronzeawards.

Certification, Endorsement and TrainingThiscomponentisarestructuredandupdatedversionofsomeofMELTA’searlieractivities.Overthelastfiveyears,MELTAhasbeenengagedinqualityassuranceandendorsementprivateandcorporateEnglishlanguage and teacher education programmes. It has also been involved in undertaking customisedtrainingprogrammesforpublicandprivateschoolteachersaswellasstudentsbasedontheirneeds.In2019,MELTAlaunchedaninitiativetodevelopitsownteachertrainingcertificatesforpre-andin-serviceteacherswhoarekeentoacquireorupgradetheirteachingcompetenceandknowledge.

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LEARNER DEVELOPMENTThismissionwas incorporated into theMELTA’sgoals in the late1990s.Thismeant thatapart fromteacherdevelopmentwork,MELTAwoulddeviseandactivelyinvolveitselfinarangeofactivitiesthatsupportteachersandschoolsindevelopingtheEnglishlanguageproficiencyoflearners.

Workshops and SeminarsMELTA runs workshops and seminars for students based on requests from schools, teachers orinstitutionsofhighereducation.MELTAdoesnotofferoff-the-shelfprogrammes.

Camps (CHILD)MELTAorganisescampsforstudentsincollaborationwithschoolsordistricts.Thesecampsareaimedatprovidinganenvironment forstudents todevelopa love for theEnglish languageusing fun-filledactivities.Thecampsalsofocusondevelopingoveralllearnermotivationandpositiveattitudetowardsstudies and schooling.

Way With Words (WWW)WWWisacompetitionconceptualisedandorganisedbyMELTA.Itisafun-filledeventthatisopentoteamsof three students competingover several rounds todecide thewinners.Each roundassessesdifferentlanguageabilitieswhichincludesspelling,wordplay,collocation,sentenceconstructionandothers. MELTA runs two completions each year for upper primary and lower secondary students.However, adaptedversionsofWWWhavealsobeenorganised for collegeandpolytechnic students.Winningteamsareawardedwithcertificatesandcashprizes.

Project-Based LearningTheactivitywaslaunchedin2019.Thefocusistoallowstudentstoshowcase,explainanddefendprojectsthattheyhaveundertakeninschools.PBLisaboutstudentsandtheirlearningbymakingconnectionsbetweenclassroomlearningandtherealworld.Thisactivityisdesignedtogaugestudents’abilitytotakeinitiative,solveproblemsandcommunicateideas.Winningprojectsareawardedcertifiicatesandcashprizes.

The Malaysian International Students Innovation and Creativity Challenge (MISSIC)TheMISICCisthelatestformulationfromMELTAwiththeinauguralchallengescheduledforApril2020.The focusof this activity is topromote,nurtureand recognise innovative and creative ideas amongyoungpeople.Thechallengecomprisesthreecategories—university,secondaryandprimary.Winnersareawardedwithcertificatesandcashprizes.

RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIPThe research and scholarship dimension of the MELTA profile is an expansion of early activitiesthat focusedonMELTA’s first journal,The English Teacher andquarterlynewsletters.TheexpansionexemplifiesMELTA’sgoalofbeingacentreforexcellenceforELTresearchandscholarship.Theactivitiesinthisareaarebrieflydescribedbelow.

ELT PublicationsMELTAhastwoELTseriestoitsname.ThefirstiscalledtheMELTA-SasbadiELTseries.Todate,thisserieshasovertwentybookvolumes.ThegoalofthisseriesistoprovideanavenueforMalaysianELTprofessionalstopublishauthoredoreditedvolumesbasedonresearchorpedagogicalpractice.

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ThesecondELTpublication iscalled theUSM-MELTAELT inSoutheastAsiaseries.The focusof thisseriesistoencouragecollaborationbetweenELTprofessionalsinSoutheastAsia.AconditionforthispublicationisthatatleastoneofthewritersoreditorsmustbefromanotherSoutheastAsiancountry.ThisseriesenableswritersoreditorstocarryoutcomparativestudiesandshowcasehowparticularELT-relatedissuesorproblemsaremanagedinSoutheastAsiancountries.

AccreditationAnotheractivitywiththisdimensionisqualityassuranceandaccreditationofcommercialproductsandprogrammes.MELTAisusuallycommissionedbycorporateorganisationstocarryoutassessmentsof theirproductsor servicesandoffer audit reports for improvements.Once the improvements areundertaken satisfactorily, the products or services may be accorded the MELTA accreditation orendorsement.

JournalsMELTApublishes two journalscomprising fivevolumeseachyear.The English Teacher isamong theoldestELTjournalsinthecountryandisarichresourceofELTliteratureonMalaysiaandtheregion.Thisjournallargelyfocusesonclassroompractice.ThisjournalisindexedinMYCITEandtheASEANcitationindex.

ThesecondMELTAjournaliscalledThe Malaysian Journal of ELT Research.Thefocusofthisjournalisthepublicationofresearcharticles.ThejournalisindexedinMYCITE.

The MELTA AnnualTheMELTAAnnualisanannualpublicationthathighlightsthetransformationsandactivitiesoftheorganisation. It capturesandarchivesexperiencesofELTpractitioners and researchers inMalaysia.ThispublicationrepresentsMELTAandreflectstheimpacttheorganisationhasmadeeachyear.

International Conference GrantsMELTA offers international conference grants to Malaysian ELT professionals. Interested professionals canapplyforthegrantbysubmittingaproposalforscreeningandselection.ThisprogrammeallowsgrantwinnerstoattendachoiceofinternationalconferencesinThailand,Indonesia,India,SriLanka,Bangladesh,Cambodia,HongKong,Taiwan,Mongolia,SouthKorea,Japan,BruneiandthePhilippines.

PARTNERSHIPSOneofthemainreasonsforMELTAresilienceandsustainabilityasanELTorganisationfor61years,is its strategy of engaging in strategic partnerships. The MELTA partnership agenda is categorised into national and international partnerships.

National PartnershipMELTA has a range of public and private partners. TheMinistry of Education,Malaysia has been aconsistentsupporterandcontributortoallMELTAactivitiessinceitsinception.Otherpublicpartnersinclude state governments, public schools and higher education institutions. MELTA also works inpartnershipwithgovernment-linkedcompaniesandagencies.

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International PartnershipMELTAhas reciprocal agreements to support crossnational professional development and researchwiththefollowing15internationalorganisations.• ThailandTESOL• KOTESOL,SouthKorea• TEFLINIndonesia• ETA-ROC,Taiwan• ELTAIIndia• HAAL,HongKong• IFTSriLanka• JACET,Japan• BELTABangladesh• JALT,Japan• CamTESOL,Cambodia• PALT,Philippines• ELTAM,Mongolia• BELTA,BruneiDarussalam• KATE,SouthKorea

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYThe last but not least among MELTA’s trust is the work that it undertakes in the area of socialresponsibility. Under the banner of MELT-A-HEAT, MELTA’s social responsibility initiatives includetuitionforunderprivilegedchildren,andaninitiativetosetuplibrariesandreadingcornersinruralprimaryschoolsinunderprivilegedcommunities.Todate,MELTAhascontributedtotheestablishmentandenhancementoflibrariesandreadingcornersinover40schoolsthroughoutMalaysia.

Each year, MELTA reviews its vision, mission, strategies and activities. The goal is to engage in acontinuousdevelopmentcycletoreview,enhanceandupgradeMELTAengagementsandcontributions,to ensure that the efforts and initiatives sown byMELTAmembers and volunteers will have ever-wideningoutreachandmoresignificantimpact.Likethewavesthatshapethelandscapeoftheworld,MELTAaspirestoachievelandmarkimpactontheELTlandscapeofMalaysiaandtheregion.

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BASIL WIJASURIYA, PH.D MELTA, Advisor

GANAKUMARAN SUBRAMANIAM PROFESSOR, PH.D MELTA, PresidentAsia TEFL, Vice-PresidentHead of School, School of Education,University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus

ASLAM KHAN BIN SAMAHS KHAN DR H.C. MELTA, Vice-President IExecutive Vice ChairmanERICAN Education Group

DATIN HJH RAJA MAZUIN BTE RAJA ABDUL AZIZ, PH.D MELTA, Vice-President IIHead of Quality Management UnitInstitute of Teacher Education International Languages Campus, Lembah PantaiMinistry of Education Malaysia

RAMESH NAIR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR. PH.D MELTA, SecretarySenior Lecturer, Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA

SZARMILAA DEWIE KRISHNAN MELTA, Assistant SecretaryLecturer, English Language Teaching CentreMinistry of Education Malaysia

ZAIRA BINTI ABU HASSAN SHAARI, PH.D MELTA, Treasurer Senior Lecturer, Institute of Teacher Education, Ilmu Khas CampusMinistry of Education Malaysia

ALI AHMAD SEMAN, PH.D MELTA, Assistant TreasurerSenior Lecturer, Institute of Teacher Education Islamic Education Campus, BangiMinistry of Education Malaysia

DATIN CYNTHIA YOLANDA DOSS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR. PH.D MELTA, Director of TrainingUniversity of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus

CHANDRAKALA V. RAMAN MELTA, Director of Chapters English Language School Improvement Specialist Coaches Plus (SISC+) Kuantan District Education Office, Pahang Ministry of Education Malaysia

PARAMASWARI JAGANATHAN, PH.D MELTA, Director of Research and DevelopmentSenior Lecturer,Universiti Sains Malaysia

SIVABALA NAIDU, PH.D MELTA, Director of Special Interest Group Head of School, School of Pre-University Studies, Taylor’s College

SUBARNA SIVAPALAN, PH.D MELTA, Director of JournalsDirector, Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Universiti Teknologi Petronas

TAM LYE SUAN MELTA, Director of PublicationsEditorial Manager & Book Packager, Millennia Comms

CHEAH SWI EE, PH.D MELTA, Director of Special ProjectsPrincipal Designate, Sri Kuala Lumpur International Primary School

NURHEZRIN ANUAR MELTA, Director of TechnologyTeacher, Ministry of Education Malaysia

MELTA Executive Committee

29TH MELTA INTERNATIONALCONFERENCE 2020

PENANG3–5 June 2020

Stay tuned for conference announcement and details.Website: www.melta.org.com

meltamalaysia

9th melta international research conference in english ...nov 09, 2019 · assalamualaikum...

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