Research
What they can see, they can write, right?
Is writing an inborn or learned art? Currently, we can see that majority of undergraduates in higher learning institutions are rather handicapped in this area. Purportedly, this study proposed a teaching model to investigate the four main learning objectives: (1) to generate ideas with visual aids; (2) to write grammatically correct sentences using a model of sentence patterns; (3) to evaluate students’ ability to write systematically using the writing process approach in cooperative learning groups; and (4) to develop a teaching model that can prompt students to speak and write confidently and proficiently. A teaching model based on the writing process approach and cooperative learning skills was implemented using the purposive writing technique. It was conducted on a class of Business communication students for fifty-four hours of face-to-face interaction.
CHILD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION FOCUSING ON BILINGUALISM
Language acquisition is an amazing process which had always intrigued everyone. Children at a very young age have been able to learn words and then turn them into meaningful sentences. Linguists, of course have been fascinated by this extraordinary feat of a child to have acquired such complex structures of a language. To explain child language acquisition, three theories have emerged. They are the behaviourist theory, the innatist or cognitivist (here -on - after will be referred to as the innatist theory) and the interactionist theory. Out of these three theories, the innatist theory is the most widely supported and is the most logical in explaining the acquisition of the complexity of a language. This research therefore aims to determine if the language acquisition process of a bilingual child corresponds with the innatist theories of child language acquisition. ChildLanguage Acquisition Focusing On Bilingualism Strictly as per the complia nce and regulations of : The research questions that this study will attempt to answer are : I. Is the language acquisition process of a child universal? II. Is child language acquisition innate?
Graphic Organizer and Paragraph Frame to rectify Tunnel Vision. Is it achievable?
Intensive English Programme (IEP) at Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) is designed to measure candidates‘ level of English language proficiency and to determine whether they are ready to undertake a course at tertiary level in English. At UNITEN, many foreign students are currently undergoing the IEP Programme at the College of Foundation and General Studies (CFGS), before they can pursue their studies at the respective colleges in UNITEN. However, majority of the students lack the prerequisite language knowledge and reading skills to cope with the IEP reading comprehension tests. Many of them have problems with recognizing linguistic cues as well as locating the main ideas in discourses and paragraphs. This was an experimental action research project investigating the effectiveness of a reading model. The objectives of this study were: 1. To investigate the EFL students‘ reading comprehension problems, specifically ‗tunnel vision‘ during the IEP classes. 2. To evaluate the effectiveness of the Reading Model: Graphic Organizer and Paragraph Frame (GOPF) utilized by the researcher. 3. To suggest a Reading Model that can assist to boot up the IEP students‘ attitude, motivation, and reading skills (skimming and scanning). Survey method was utilized to obtain responses from students and interview sessions were conducted to gain better insight on the students‘ attitude and motivation. Findings denote a significant improvement in the students‘ attitude, motivation and reading skills (skimming and scanning) at the end of the experimental research project.
Evaluating the ESL Reading Texts for Intermediate Learners of English from the Perspective of Students
In order to provide an evaluation of the suitability of reading texts from the perspective of students in university-based intensive English programme, this study examined 53 international ESL intermediate learners’ perceptions of reading texts for a period of 14 weeks reading proficiency lessons. Features evaluated include content, readability, exploitability, and authenticity of the reading texts. The participants responded to a textbook evaluation questionnaire to express their perceptions with reference to the features of the reading texts. Results indicated the extent of appropriateness of the reading texts incorporated in the programme’s reading textbook used by intermediate learners of English. Further consideration must be given to text selection by including the aspect of authentic text presentation.
