Employability of graduates is a concern in many countries, including Malaysia, and the high unemployment rate among graduates is often attributed to their lack of English proficiency and communication skills. These two distinctive elements are often collated, and it is important to find out which is more important to employers. The study examined the employers' views on the importance of English proficiency and communication skill for graduates to be employed in the Malaysian private sector. The data were from semi-structured interviews conducted with 10 employers in the private sector who were in the position to recruit staff. The 21,433-word interview transcripts were analyzed. The results revealed that employers in the Malaysian private sector view language proficiency and communication skills as separate qualities. The employers are willing to consider employing candidates with average English proficiency if they have good communication skills, except for jobs which require more communication in English such as customer service and marketing. The results also revealed that good communication skills can increase employability and opportunities for career advancement. The findings highlight the communication skills that universities need to emphasize so that their graduates have the necessary skills to perform well in employment interviews and in their work.

BackgroundWhile emergency airway management training is conventionally conducted via face-to-face learning (F2FL) workshops, there are inherent cost, time, place and manpower limitations in running such workshops. Blended learning (BL) refers to the systematic integration of online and face-to-face learning aimed to facilitate complex thinking skills and flexible participation at a reduced financial, time and manpower cost. This study was conducted to evaluate its effectiveness in emergency airway management training.MethodsA single-center prospective randomised controlled trial involving 30 doctors from Sarawak General Hospital, Malaysia was conducted from September 2016 to February 2017 to compare the effectiveness of BL versus F2FL for emergency airway management training. Participants in the BL arm were given a period of 12 days to go through the online materials in a learning management system while those in the F2FL arm attended a-day of face-to-face lectures (8 h). Participants from both arms then attended a day of hands-on session consisting of simulation skills training with airway manikins. Pre- and post-tests in knowledge and practical skills were administered. E-learning experience and the perception towards BL among participants in the BL arm were also assessed.ResultsSignificant improvements in post-test scores as compared to pre-test scores were noted for participants in both BL and F2FL arms for knowledge, practical, and total scores. The degree of increment between the BL group and the F2FL arms for all categories were not significantly different (total scores: 35 marks, inter-quartile range (IQR) 15.0 – 41.0 vs. 31 marks, IQR 24.0 – 41.0, p = 0.690; theory scores: 18 marks, IQR 9 – 24 vs. 19 marks, IQR 15 – 20, p = 0.992; practical scores: 11 marks, IQR 5 -18 vs. 10 marks, IQR 9 – 20, p = 0.461 respectively). The overall perception towards BL was positive.ConclusionsBlended learning is as effective as face-to-face learning for emergency airway management training of junior doctors, suggesting that blended learning may be a feasible alternative to face-to-face learning for such skill training in emergency departments.Trial registrationMalaysian National Medical Research NMRR-16-696-30190. Registered 28 April 2016.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12873-018-0152-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

PurposeUniversities have shifted from face-to-face learning environments to e-learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the sudden change to online teaching has raised concerns among lecturers about students' readiness for e-learning. This study investigates students' readiness for e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and specifically assesses any significant differences between students' gender, age, ethnicity, level of education, field of study and their readiness for an e-learning environment.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a non-experimental quantitative research design. Data were gathered from a sample of 298 undergraduate and 101 postgraduate students. WINSTEPS Rasch model measurement software was used to determine the reliability and validity of the research instrument. Descriptive, inferential statistics and differential item functioning (DIF) test were used to assess students' readiness for an e-learning mode of instruction with the latter specifically analysing students' demographic factors and their readiness for an e-learning environment.FindingsFindings identified that most students are ready for an e-learning mode of instruction. Further analysis indicated that there were differences in students' readiness for e-learning based on their demographic profiles.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides insights on students' readiness towards e-learning, discusses implications for e-learning practices in higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic and offers recommendations for future research.Originality/valueThis study provides evidences of students' readiness for e-learning in respect to their gender, age, ethnicity, level of education and field of study. This information could help lecturers to reflect on their own teaching practices, adjust their teaching approaches and subsequently, develop appropriate e-learning methods that best suit the student diversity in their classrooms.

The use of standardised English proficiency tests like IELTS and TOEFL for admission and placement purposes is widely practised in academic institutions throughout the world. Similarly in Malaysia, many tertiary institutions utilise the results of a localised version of such tests called the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) as a measure of students' proficiency level, prerequisite for admission, as well as placement in various academic programmes. This paper reports on the predictive validity of MUET as a measure of undergraduates' English language proficiency and the appropriacy of the MUET cut-off bands for placement purposes. The MUET bands of 2884 undergraduates from various faculties and the grade they obtained in an English language enhancement course were analysed to answer the research questions. The findings indicate a significant positive relationship between the undergraduates' MUET bands and their grades in the English language course. Chi square results also indicate that the difference between MUET band 3 undergraduates' ability to obtain good grades is significantly different compared to undergraduates with MUET bands 1 and 2. Besides providing evidence for MUET's validity as a measure of students' English language ability, the findings also recommend a need to review the cut-off MUET band for placement purposes.

The development in machine learning has allowed chatbots to be widely applied into educational settings. However, limited study has investigated teacher’s views on its usage for teaching and learning. This paper reports an exploratory study on English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers’ views with regards to the use of chatbots for their teaching and learning delivery in a mobile environment. Using survey research design, views from 142 ESL teachers were gathered using questionnaires, which consist of Likert-scale items and open-ended questions. The teachers were sampled using purposive sampling method. The items and questions were developed based on the principles of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, which focuses on social, cognitive and teaching presence. Data from the Likert-scaled items were analyzed using descriptive statistics while open-ended questions were coded thematically. The findings showed that teachers perceived the use of chatbots in giving feedback to their students as very helpful though some of them needed extra training on how to use them. They also thought chatbots can simulate an interaction cycle for students to practice the tar-get language. In addition, the teachers believed chatbots augmented a greater level of social presence, which eventually creates an environment for their students to be active. All in all, the findings provided valuable insights on the proper integration of chatbots in teaching and learning while gauging essential affordances and constraints of its use from ESL teachers’ perspective.