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Background: Chemsex is the use of illicit drugs—particularly methamphetamine, gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL)—to enhance sexual activity. Chemsex, which occurs primarily among communities of men who have sex with men (MSM), is associated with greater HIV risk behaviors, including multiple sex partners, group sex, condomless sex, and injection drug use. Despite evidence showing chemsex engagement among Malaysian MSM, there is a paucity of research on chemsex among MSM in Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey (August to September 2021) among 870 Malaysian MSM. Participants were recruited through targeted advertisements on social networks. We collected information regarding participants’ recent (<6 months) engagement in chemsex, demographic characteristics, psychosocial factors, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) knowledge and history, and recent sexual- and drug-related behavior. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with recent (<6 months) chemsex engagement. Results: Just under 1 in 10 (9.0%) of participants reported having engaged in chemsex in the previous six months. More than two-thirds of participants (69.1%) had not disclosed their sexual orientation to anyone in their family and 35.2% reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Multivariable analysis found that recent injection drug use (adjusted odds ratio: aOR = 6.61; 95% confidence interval: CI, 2.30–19.03), having shared pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with someone else (aOR = 5.60; 95% CI, 1.76–17.77), higher perceived HIV risk (aOR = 3.15; 95% CI, 1.25–7.93), knowing someone using PrEP (aOR = 2.93; 95% CI, 1.62–5.31), recent engagement in transactional sex (aOR = 2.38; 95% CI, 1.06–5.39), having a recent STI diagnosis (aOR = 2.36; 95% CI, 1.25–4.44), recent engagement in anal sex (aOR = 2.21; 95% CI, 1.07–4.57), and recent sexual intercourse with an HIV-positive partner (aOR = 2.09; 95% CI, 1.07–4.08) were associated with recent engagement in chemsex. Conclusions: Malaysian MSM who practice chemsex are vulnerable to several HIV risk factors, such as transactional sex, HIV-positive sexual partners, and injection drug use. There is an urgent need for programs that integrate drug, sexual health, and mental health services, with a focus on harm reduction (e.g., condoms, access to and utilization of HIV testing and PrEP services, drug knowledge, and safer drug use) tailored for MSM who practice chemsex.

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Technology is changing traditional views of language teaching and learning, with generational and cultural differences influencing the ways that we interact with it. This paper describes an action research project undertaken at a university in Japan to understand how students use the Internet to prepare written assignments in L2, and the students’ and their instructors’ reactions towards this usage. Classroom observation and technology usage logs revealed that students use websites and applications to gather ideas at the start of the writing process, rather than coming up with ideas themselves. Thematic analysis of student journal entries suggests that many students disregarded the brainstorming method that they had been taught due to a lack of confidence either in their ideas or in their linguistic competence. Students did not identify this behaviour as dishonest, unlike 70% of the instructors interviewed. This mismatch in student and instructor views may lead to missed learning opportunities for the L2 writer.

This study applies social realist theory to the analysis of an ongoing online telecollaboration between Japanese undergraduate students in a classroom setting in Japan and Filipino teachers in an English conversation school in Cebu, the Philippines. The accepted goals of telecollaboration in an international context are the development of intercultural communication and linguistic skills. Analysis showed that, without guidance, the influence of Japanese educational policies on students, including a version of internationalisation known as kokusaika, can result in intracultural – rather than intercultural – communication. It is suggested that a focus on “small” – rather than “large” – culture may help address this issue in Japan, and improve intercultural and linguistic awareness.