scholarly journals Sociolinguistic Factors in the Development of English Language Proficiency Among Students in Malaysia

ELT-Lectura ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melvina Melvina
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
School Environment ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Home Support ◽  
Native Language Proficiency ◽  
Malaysian Students

Sociolinguistics factors influence the level of English Language proficiency among Malaysian students. Thereare three contextual factors involved which are the participants, the environment and culture. Participants refer to the students who come from different backgrounds with diverse needs and goals of learning the language. Language distance, native language proficiency, prior knowledge of the second language, dialect and register language status and attitudes play a crucial role in this factor. Besides that, the participants’ integrative and instrumental motivations are also contributing factors to the different level of proficiency in second language acquisition. The second factors is the environment which includes home support, the school environment and the community. Home support is concerned with atmosphere that parents create at home regarding language use, the school environment refers to peer groups, teachers and the learningprocess, whereas the community deals with the society that the students interact with. Finally cultural factors such as cultural differences and settings also have brought the different levels of proficiency among students in Malaysia.

An Investigation of the Relationship of Motivation, Attitudes and Environment

2018 ◽  
pp. 1126-1139
Author(s):  
Helen, Yeh Wai Man
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Attribution Theory ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Self Confidence

This chapter will study a Philippine and a Chinese leaner's approaches to learn and achieve English language proficiency over 15 years in Hong Kong using biographical approaches. It focuses on the experience of individual motivation and social learning environments, and examines the interactions between the learner's motivation, self-confidence, and competition in the global economy. The effect of the interaction on shaping English learning and the learning experiences in three aspects including formal, self-directed and natural learning environments will also be discussed through Gardner's model of socio-educational model in second language acquisition and Weiner's attribution theory in social psychology. The chapter will suggest some practical implications for students and language teachers, discusses the ways to enhance second language learning in a cosmopolitan city, and presents some possible ways to increase learners' motivation and competitiveness in the global economy.

Rating Deaf Speakers’ Comprehensibility

1993 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 31-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney M. Barefoot ◽  
Joseph H. Bochner ◽  
Barbara Ann Johnson ◽  
Beth Ann vom Eigen
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Speech And Language ◽  
Point Rating Scale ◽  
Communication Context

The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of a measure of communication efficacy, one that explicitly encompasses features of both speech and language. Toward this end the construct of comprehensibility, which has been used in the field of second-language acquisition, was adapted. Comprehensibility, operationally defined as the extent to which a listener understands utterances produced by a speaker in a communication context, was studied in relation to various dimensions of communication efficacy. Four observers evaluated the comprehensibility of utterances produced by 41 deaf young adults, using a nine-point rating scale. The reliability of the comprehensibility ratings was determined, and the ratings were studied in relation to independent assessments of the subjects’ speech intelligibility, English language proficiency, speech recognition, reading comprehension, and hearing loss. The results of this investigation indicate that comprehensibility can be evaluated reliably and that comprehensibility is associated with both speech intelligibility and language proficiency. The implications of these findings for the clinical assessment of speech and language are discussed.

scholarly journals English language proficiency and academic performance of Nursing Students speaking English as a second language

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
Manal F. Alharbi ◽  
Sahar M. Yakout
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Correlational Design ◽  
Language Acculturation ◽  
Open Questions

Abstract Introduction. Students who speak English as a second language (ESL) may face considerable challenges at English language universities. Aim. To investigate the English language proficiency and academic performance of ESL bachelor’s degree nursing students. Methods. A correlational design was used with a sample of 136 nursing students who completed a structured questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, variables that affect language proficiency, open questions, and English Language Acculturation Scale (ELAS) to identify their English proficiency. Results. Forty-three percent of the participants experienced difficulty in understanding the second language in clinical practice, 68% experienced challenges in studying the second language, and 47% were embarrassed to speak English. Approximately 71% of the participants had low ELAS scores and 58% had a good grade point average (GPA). Regression analysis revealed that internal motivation, study challenge, and entrance GPA were predictors of academic performance. Conclusions. The results suggest that students’ grades were correlated with their use of English to read and write during their studies. Thus, faculty administrators should have concrete plans for improving and monitoring the English language proficiency of students throughout their enrolment.

Reading behaviour and the influence of reading on the English Language proficiency at UiTM Sabah

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Yee Vun Lee ◽  
Dorothy Chin ◽  
Xavier Thayalan
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
School Experience ◽  
Frequency Count ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Language Competency

In general, UiTM students are often said to be weak in the English Language. In this study, the students home and their former school experience, their motivations and attitudes towards their English Language proficiency were investigated Pre-diploma students answered the questionnaires and the data were analysed by looking into the frequency count, mean, standard deviation and correlations between the variables. The results ofthe analysis displayed that homes and schools ofthe respondents were the contributing factors to their English Language competency.

scholarly journals An Investigation of the Relationship of Motivation, Attitudes and Environment

2014 ◽  
pp. 1212-1225
Author(s):  
Helen, Yeh Wai Man
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Attribution Theory ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Self Confidence

This chapter will study a Philippine and a Chinese leaner's approaches to learn and achieve English language proficiency over 15 years in Hong Kong using biographical approaches. It focuses on the experience of individual motivation and social learning environments, and examines the interactions between the learner's motivation, self-confidence, and competition in the global economy. The effect of the interaction on shaping English learning and the learning experiences in three aspects including formal, self-directed and natural learning environments will also be discussed through Gardner's model of socio-educational model in second language acquisition and Weiner's attribution theory in social psychology. The chapter will suggest some practical implications for students and language teachers, discusses the ways to enhance second language learning in a cosmopolitan city, and presents some possible ways to increase learners' motivation and competitiveness in the global economy.

scholarly journals Bilingual Language Experience Shapes Resting-State Brain Rhythms

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-318
Author(s):  
Kinsey Bice ◽  
Brianna L. Yamasaki ◽  
Chantel S. Prat
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Native Language Proficiency

An increasing body of research has investigated how bilingual language experience changes brain structure and function, including changes to task-free, or “resting-state” brain connectivity. Such findings provide important evidence about how the brain continues to be shaped by different language experiences throughout the lifespan. The neural effects of bilingual language experience can provide evidence about the additional processing demands placed on the linguistic and/or executive systems by dual-language use. While considerable research has used MRI to examine where these changes occur, such methods cannot reveal the temporal dynamics of functioning brain networks at rest. The current study used data from task-free EEGS to disentangle how the linguistic and cognitive demands of bilingual language use impact brain functioning. Data analyzed from 106 bilinguals and 91 monolinguals revealed that bilinguals had greater alpha power, and significantly greater and broader coherence in the alpha and beta frequency ranges than monolinguals. Follow-up analyses showed that higher alpha was related to language control: more second-language use, higher native-language proficiency, and earlier age of second-language acquisition. Bilateral beta power was related to native-language proficiency, whereas theta was related to native-language proficiency only in left-hemisphere electrodes. The results contribute to our understanding of how the linguistic and cognitive requirements of dual-language use shape intrinsic brain activity, and what the broader implications for information processing may be.

scholarly journals Sociolinguistic Competence and Malaysian Students’ English Language Proficiency

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohan K. Muniandy ◽  
Gopala Krishnan Sekharan Nair ◽  
Shashi Kumar Krishnan Shanmugam ◽  
Irma Ahmad ◽  
Norashikin Binte Mohamed Noor
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Sociolinguistic Competence ◽  
Malaysian Students
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