scholarly journals ACADEMIC WRITING NEEDS OF POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (Number 2) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Joanna Joseph Jeyaraj
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Postgraduate Education ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Postgraduate Research ◽  
Research Students

Purpose – In this study, the writing needs of postgraduate research students are explored, so that support structures that enable successful completion rates and student satisfaction can be identified. Postgraduate education is expanding in Malaysian public and private higher education institutions; yet research tends to focus on public institutions, because private institutions have traditionally been oriented towards teaching instead of research. Therefore, this study explores the needs of students in a branch campus of a private overseas university in Malaysia. Methodology - Semi-structured exploratory interviews were carried out with six postgraduate students, so that a deeper understanding of their research writing needs could be obtained. Interviews were then analysed using a general inductive approach. Findings – It was found that students required support in three main areas: writing, supervision and ICT. Students sought English language support and more workshops and programmes which specifically dealt with thesis writing. They also believed that peer support groups would be beneficial. Secondly, more guidance was needed from supervisors to enable greater clarity on writing and institutional processes and procedures. Finally, students wanted greater access to ICT writing tools to facilitate writing and language learning. Significance – The findings of this study are beneficial to institutions seeking to provide greater support for postgraduate students to ensure timely completion rates and greater student satisfaction. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that postgraduate support incorporate 3Ps, i.e., be pedagogically driven; peer oriented; and programmatically implemented.

scholarly journals Assessing Statistical Literacy Level of Postgraduate Education Research Students in Malaysian Research Universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1318-1324
Author(s):  
Ibnatul Jalilah Yusof, Et. al.
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Postgraduate Education ◽  
Statistical Literacy ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Research Literacy ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Literacy Level ◽  
Postgraduate Research ◽  
Research Students

Statistical literacy is an essential component of research literacy demanded for the research students to master as they are required to read, comprehend, and evaluate research articles. Misinterpretations of data and research findings are among the unfavorable results in the lack of research literacy. Consequently, it will affect the quality of their research and eventually leads to ripple impact on other researchers. However, this study is still under researched especially among postgraduate research students. Therefore, this paper examined statistical literacy level among postgraduate research students. This study was a survey conducted with a sample of 236 education postgraduate research students by using a set of statistical literacy items. The data were analysed using Rasch Analysis approach which includes item and person measures. Findings suggested that postgraduate students‘ statistical literacy level is at Moderate Low level. The findings also revealed that the hardest items to be answered by the students are related to hypothesis testing (significant value). In order for students to improve their statistical literacy, this study suggested that the instructors and institutions to reexamine and to explore new methods of teaching and learning statistics.

The Use of Multimedia and its Impact on Bangladeshi EFL Learners at Tertiary Level

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Farzana Sharmin Pamela Islam
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

As 21st century is the era of modern technologies with different aspects, it offers us to make the best use of them. After tape recorder and overhead projector (OHP), multimedia has become an important part of language classroom facilities for its unique and effective application in delivering and learning lesson. Although in many parts of Bangladesh, a South Asian developing country, where English enjoys the status of a foreign language, the use of multimedia in teaching and learning is viewed as a matter of luxury. However, nowadays the usefulness and the necessity of it are well recognized by the academics as well as the government. The study aims to focus on the difference between a traditional classroom void of multimedia and multimedia equipped classrooms at university level by explaining how multimedia support the students with enhanced opportunity to interact with diverse texts that give them more in-depth comprehension of the subject. It also focuses on audio-visual advantage of multimedia on the students’ English language learning. The study has followed a qualitative method to get an in-depth understanding of the impact of using multimedia in an English language classroom at tertiary level. For this purpose, the data have been collected from two different sources. Firstly, from students’ written response to  an open ended question as to their comparative experience of learning  lessons with and without multimedia facilities; and secondly, through  observation of English language classes at a private university of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The discussion of the study is limited to  the use of multimedia in English language classroom using cartoons, images and music with a view to enhance students’ skills in academic writing, critical analysis of image and critical appreciation of music. For this purpose, cartoons in English language, images from Google and music from You Tube have got focused discussion in this paper.

Enhancing the English Language Ability of Postgraduate Research Students

2020 ◽  
pp. 84-96
Author(s):  
Johnson Ocan
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Resource Setting ◽  
Low Resource Setting ◽  
Postgraduate Level ◽  
English Language Ability ◽  
Good Writing ◽  
Research Students

The chapter discusses opinions about grammar as a prescriptive diction in academic writing. It also argues that the problem of personal pronouns can be used to analyze the language used by post-graduate students in low-resource setting and others whether in speech or writing, in non-literally discourse or literature. The chapter analyzes four maxims of good writing: Make your language easy to follow; be clear; be economical; and be effective. To successfully create knowledge, especially at postgraduate level, authors must communicate concisely to present their sense.

scholarly journals Systematic Approach to Teaching Academic Writing: Practical Experience

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 105-116
Author(s):  
I. E. Abramova ◽  
A. V. Ananyina
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Expert Assessment ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Russian Science ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Study Results

The article describes the practical implementation of an experimental model for teaching academic writing to non-linguistic students of humanities at three levels of higher education. Improving the quality of domestic scientific publications submitted to high-ranking journals requires new effective pedagogical technologies. Theory and methodology analysis, as well as empirical observations show that the problems faced by Russian-speaking authors of academic texts can be divided into two categories: strong Russian accent that creates the language barrier and hinders understanding, and flawed academic style that leads to the cross-cultural academic barrier. The described ten-year study involved 25 students of Petrozavodsk State University, aged 17 to 28, who subsequently completed bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate programs. At each of the three stages, the participants completed a set of tasks aimed at consistent and systematic formation of academic writing competence through writing abstracts (bachelors), conference proceedings (master’s students) and full-text academic articles (postgraduate students). To collect and process the data, the researchers used an open-ended questionnaire, the observation method, expert assessment, and descriptive statistics. The study results showed that the systematic approach helps to effectively eliminate structural and stylistic writing problems over the course of studies. However, the difficulties associated with the manifestation of the Russian accent in written English-language academic discourse are more resistant. The authors make the conclusion that the systematic development of academic writing skills in English will help to overcome obstacles for the internationalization of Russian science.

scholarly journals 'If only we knew what they wanted': bridging the gap between student uncertainty and lecturers' expectations

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Magyar ◽  
Daniel McAvoy ◽  
Kathrin Forstner
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Study Skills ◽  
Writing In The Disciplines ◽  
East Anglia ◽  
Graduate Research ◽  
Postgraduate Research ◽  
The Many ◽  
Research Students ◽  
The University

It is increasingly accepted that the development of the academic writing required to succeed in higher education is most effective when embedded within the discipline in which students are studying and when integrated with formal teaching. The many initiatives and programmes discussed in this journal suggest a variety of models and collaborations in the move from generic study skills to the integration of writing in the disciplines. As a contribution to this, we discuss the evaluation of an academic writing module for Masters students in the School for International Development at the University of East Anglia. The module was devised collaboratively by the learning developer, subject specialist and postgraduate research students from the department. It was delivered by postgraduate research students, who also participated in its evaluation. The evaluation led to changes not only in the writing module itself but to the main Masters programme. We argue that the post graduate research students played a key role in these changes and that through dialogue between students and the department, academics who were only peripherally involved, nonetheless gained insights about students experience, potentially informing their future practice.  

INTEGRATING LEARNER CORPUS ANALYSIS INTO THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH ACADEMIC WRITING

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-52
Author(s):  
Lavinia Disa Winona Araminta
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Language Pedagogy ◽  
Learner Corpus ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Learner Corpus Analysis

Practical implementation of learner corpus research to inform language pedagogy has been common, given the availability of resources, such as a large amount of data about the products of language learning and factual language uses, and the necessary technology, such as concordance programs. This article lays out the typical analyses of learner corpora and the implications of and issues surrounding such studies on second/foreign language teaching based on the existing literature. More specifically, the article captures the need for a more extensive corpus of Indonesian learners’ English other than what is already available to represent more insights about English language teaching in Indonesia. Furthermore, it proposes the development of an in-house learner corpus for direct and indirect uses at Universitas Indonesia. An actual trial on building a sample learner corpus and running a lexical analysis demonstrates the plausibility of integrating learner corpus into the teaching of academic writing on higher-education levels.

scholarly journals An Error Analysis of Research Project Abstracts Written by Thai Undergraduate Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Wirada Amnuai
Keyword(s):  
Error Analysis ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Word Choice ◽  
Writing Ability ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Sentence Level

Errors in writing are unavoidable while students are trying to develop their writing skills. There have been several studies on identifying writing problems or errors in students’ writing. It is believed that identifying students’ written tasks is an effective tool to explore the difficulties involved in learning language. This helps teachers’ awareness of the serious problems which occur in students’ writing and allows them to pay closer attention to their errors. The aim of the present research study is to pinpoint writing errors in English abstracts written by Thai undergraduate students. Forty abstracts of research projects were collected and analysed. The error analysis was conducted at the sentence level, word level, and mechanics aspect. The five most frequent error types ranking from the most frequent to least frequent were word choice, preposition, sentence construction, singular or plural forms and quotation marks. The findings of the present study have shed light on the students’ writing ability and give an insight into what the problems students face when writing their abstracts. Also, the errors found in the abstracts in the present study have pedagogical implications concerning English language learning, particularly with writing courses. The findings will be helpful for teachers to develop teaching materials to assist their students from committing errors when writing English abstracts and to improve academic writing skills.

scholarly journals Pedagogical Effects of Social Media on Iraqi Kurd EFL learners

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebaz Bahadeen Mohammed Nuri ◽  
Awder Raza Aziz ◽  
Kochar Ali Saeed ◽  
Shaiy Karwan Tofiq ◽  
Soma Soran Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Social Media Platforms

English language learners use social media platforms for improving their language skills through exchanging ideas, sharing their thoughts, and getting exposed to authentic language. The use of social media by learners might yield positive or adverse effects. This study, therefore, explores the pedagogical consequences of some social media platforms on Iraqi Kurd EFL learners. It Highlights the significant impacts of social media on learning English, vocabulary, and spelling. It explicitly attempts to discover how social media affects English language learning, word choices, and spelling for Kurd EFL learners. A questionnaire is used to randomly collect the study data from 96 Kurdish students studying English at various academic institutions. The data was organized and analyzed by SPSS. It was found that Kurd EFL learners use social media platforms extensively for numerous purposes, improving their English language skills being one of them. The results suggest that social media assists learners in learning and practising new vocabulary; However, it has a negative impact on the students spelling and academic writing skills. Kurd EFL learners use abbreviated forms and unnecessarily shortened forms under the influence of social media.

scholarly journals Pedagogical Effects of Social Media on Iraqi Kurd EFL learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 202-216
Author(s):  
Rebaz Bahadeen Mohammed Nuri ◽  
Awder Raza Aziz ◽  
Kochar Ali Saeed ◽  
Shaiy Karwan Tofiq ◽  
Soma Soran Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Social Media Platforms

English language learners use social media platforms for improving their language skills through exchanging ideas, sharing their thoughts, and getting exposed to authentic language. The use of social media by learners might yield positive or adverse effects. This study, therefore, explores the pedagogical consequences of some social media platforms on Iraqi Kurd EFL learners. It Highlights the significant impacts of social media on learning English, vocabulary, and spelling. It explicitly attempts to discover how social media affects English language learning, word choices, and spelling for Kurd EFL learners. A questionnaire is used to randomly collect the study data from 96 Kurdish students studying English at various academic institutions. The data was organized and analyzed by SPSS. It was found that Kurd EFL learners use social media platforms extensively for numerous purposes, improving their English language skills being one of them. The results suggest that social media assists learners in learning and practising new vocabulary; However, it has a negative impact on the students spelling and academic writing skills. Kurd EFL learners use abbreviated forms and unnecessarily shortened forms under the influence of social media.

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