Phrasal verbs (PVs) are very common in English, indicating their usefulness in everyday settings. However, it was reported that language learners generally have great difficulties in understanding and using this linguistic form. This study investigated Malaysian learners’ receptive and productive knowledge of PVs, and some possible factors which may contribute to their difficulties in understanding and using this language feature. A set of PVs test was developed and distributed to 480 secondary school learners in Malaysia to identify their receptive and productive knowledge with respect to PVs. Real data from the English of Malaysian School Students (EMAS) Corpus was used to examine the actual use of PVs by Malaysian learners. Results of the PVs test indicated that in general, Malaysian learners had an average level of knowledge of PVs. Analysis of the EMAS corpus revealed that they faced a lot of problems in the production of PVs. Some possible factors are highlighted which may contribute to such difficulties.
The higher education landscape is once again undergoing massive transformation. Not more than two decades ago, it was the advancement of digital technology and globalization that drove the need for transformation in higher education. At present, the transformation is driven by the need to face the challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). Much discourse has been centered on debating the roles of higher education in meeting the demands of 4IR. This paper aims to address similar issue by discussing the curriculum reviews done by higher education institutes in embracing 4IR. As curriculum is central to any academic programs, it is vital that the curriculum review done by the higher education institutes in catering to the growing needs of 4IR be examined. The close look at the curriculum review initiatives will focus on the changes done in terms of subject contents, methods of delivery and methods of assessment. Further, the academics’ perceptions of the curriculum review and how the curriculum is to be implemented are investigated. The findings shed some lights on the contemplations of the academics amidst the initiative to provide higher education curriculum that meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education and the needs of 4IR. It is expected that curriculum departments in the higher education institutes could find the findings useful in bridging the gap between the academics’ concerns and the need to meet the challenges of 4IR through the revised curriculum implementation.
MOOCs first became a phenomenon in the higher education landscape in 2008. Ever since, various researches have been conducted to explore the potential of MOOCs as an alternative in the learning and teaching process, and the way forward in delivering the courses effectively. Despite the growing interest in MOOCs applicability in higher education, very little is known about how postgraduate students perceive the use of MOOCs in their programme. Postgraduate students are synonymous with the concept of adult learners. One of the characteristics of adult learners is their motivation, which is driven by intrinsic and instrumental factors. As past research have concentrated on the undergraduates, this paper uncovers the postgraduates’ perceptions of MOOCs. A total of 51 respondents took part in a survey conducted in one of the Malaysian public universities. Quantitative data yielded findings similar to past research findings. However, what is new is the need for MOOC providers to cater to the needs of the postgraduate students who are adult learners particularly in determining the following; MOOCs’ attributes, learning process and learning outcomes. It is expected that the postgraduate students, their educators and the MOOC developers would find the findings helpful.
Sentence variety is a fundamental aspect in writing to avoid stereotypes, thus making writing more interesting. However, ESL students are often found not using the different sentence structures in writing. Students seem to learn one basic pattern and stick to it. The reason could be due to lack of knowledge and practice to write a variety of sentence structures. They seem to be reluctant to learn more about it, and teachers are reluctant to teach. Despite being fundamental, little emphasis has been put on sentence variety in the ESL Writing classes because most of the time teachers and students think that as long as there are no grammatical errors, the writing is acceptable. Even with improvement, most of them may not really achieve encouraging results in writing. Hence, this study intended to examine the respondents' writing performance before and after using a sentence variety checklist, and to analyse the respondents' perceptions towards using the sentence variety checklist in their writing. Twenty university students from a pre-sessional English Language programme were selected to take part in this study and data were collected qualitatively from students' essays and their responses from a 20-item survey questionnaire. The findings revealed a slight improvement in students' writing. They also found the checklist made writing more interesting and made the students more aware of what they were writing. In conclusion, sentence variety checklist can be one of the tools for ESL students to boost students' writing performance.
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