The ability to communicate confidently in the English language is highly demanded of administrative officers in an organisation dealing with international clientele. However, the ability could be impeded due to high apprehension level. The study was conducted to investigate the communication apprehension among the administrative officers in a public university in Malaysia. To measure the level of apprehension in various settings, an instrument-PRCA 24 (McCroskey and JcCroskey, 1988) was distributed to 150 officers holding various positions in different departments. The findings indicate that the officers experience a moderate level of apprehension. Additionally, females were reported to be more apprehensive in all communication settings. Another finding is, with regards to the types of communication, public speaking was found to have caused the highest apprehension while interpersonal communication the least. A conclusion that can be drawn is apprehension level is influenced by the nature of the communication. The more formal the communication is, the higher the apprehension level will be. An important implication is the need to develop (introduce) continuous in house training to lessen the level of anxiety among the staff should be considered. Contribution/ Originality: This study is one of very few studies which have investigated the phenomenon of communication apprehension among administrative staff at a university. Besides, this paper's primary contribution is finding the areas where most of communication apprehension in using English occurs, namely in the context of meeting and public speaking.
Identity refers to how people understand their relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how people understand their possibilities for the future. This research examined some claims made that learners of the English language as a second language have associated themselves with the culture and practices of the native speakers thus eroding the identity of the learners as good Moslems. This research aimed at investigating this phenomenon, to what extent the changes existed, if any. The main topics to discuss were the influence of the English language towards religious secondary school students’ identity and to what extent the students could retain their identity as Moslems. There was one theory employed in this research called Self-Identity Theory. 90 religious secondary students and 8 teachers were used as respondents by conducting focused group interviews and face to face interviews with them. They came from urban, sub-urban, elite and rural schools respectively. The findings revealed that there were mixed responses from the respondents on the issues. 85 students, making up 94.5 % of the whole respondents, asserted that the English language did not change the students’ Islamic identity. Meanwhile only 5 students, comprising 5.6% of the respondents, were of the opinion that the students had been influenced by the culture of native speakers of the English language thus eroding their identity as good Moslems. In a positive note, it was also found that there were some good values instilled in the teaching of the English language such as confidence, helping each other, teamwork, etc.
Public speaking was one of the most feared situations faced by many people, including public speaking in the English language. Speaking English in front of the public was really a daunting task for many people, including students of universities. This study addressed issues related to English public speaking at the university from the views of instructors who taught the English public speaking course. Some topics discussed were the common weaknesses of university students in delivering English public speaking, the causes of the weaknesses and some recommendations for students to improve their English public speaking. This was a qualitative research design where eleven instructors teaching English public speaking were interviewed and the gathered data were analyzed using thematic analysis and presented using Atlas. ti version 7. One of the theories employed in the study was the Uncertainty Reduction Theory that made their anxiety level increase. The study revealed that some common weaknesses of students were lack of confidence, limited vocabulary and grammar. Some contributing causes of the weaknesses were lack of reading, lack of ideas, and lack of self-esteem. Some recommendations were then forwarded to solve the problems such as giving the motivation to the students to speak, read and think in the English language and make a lot of practices.
This is a thematic study of Harry Potter (1997-2007) concerning the theme of alienation. Joanne Rowling is a British novelist famous for writing her best-known fantasy book series, Harry Potter (1997-2007). This study argues that Rowling employs fantastical elements in Harry Potter to present symbolic and real-life themes that summon the postcolonial discourse of alienation. In addition, the study aims to raise the role of fantasy in serving Humanity and the dignity of people and understanding the conflicts among the members of society. Moreover, this study investigates how racial discrimination and postcolonialism work against the Humanity of heroes and their companions in their community. Therefore, that relationship causes a realistic commentary on real-life situations. The theoretical platform deployed in this study is a postcolonial perspective that purports to grasp the striking overlaps between the theme of alienation and the insights of the racial and social postcolonial discourse. The findings achieved in this paper prove the juxtaposition between alienation on the one hand and racial and social discrimination on the other hand. The researcher seeks to demonstrate that Harry Potter reflects the suffering and alienation of characters.
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