THE RISE OF NEW NORMS IN COVID-19 CRISIS: LEARNING BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Covid-19 has been around us for over a year and due to massive restrictions, many nations are still struggling to formulate an ideal education system. As a result of the emergency outbreak, the education system is compromised and this has a direct impact on both instructors and students. The latter were found to experience more significant challenges to continue learning in this crisis, and this requires eclectic strategies for the system to properly function again. Since the number of Covid-19 cases surges every day in Malaysia, it is critical that we address the most pressing concerns that students are currently facing when online learning is abruptly employed to substitute face-to-face (FTF) education. Thus, this paper identified specific challenges faced by the students of Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Pulau Pinang, as well as the opportunities that came with the disruptions that were predicted to be used as optimal ways to receive and distribute online learning information successfully. In this study, 70 participants took part, and the data was gathered through a structured interview that was recorded on videos. The findings demonstrated that, despite the challenges, learners are gradually accepting these new standards, provided suitable learning techniques are used in the education system.

SELF-PERCEIVED COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE AND DEMOTIVATION

Scholars in language learning have recently taken an interest in self-perceived communicative competence (SPCC) and demotivation, albeit the relationship between these notions is rarely investigated. In Malaysia, many educators have encountered students who are unwilling to use their second language for communication and the reasons behind it could be determined by different demotivating factors. Thus, the association between the students' SPCC and demotivation was explored in this present study, specifically in the English language classes. A total of 250 diploma students of Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Kelantan (UiTMCK) participated in the study in which the data were collected via SPCC and a demotivation questionnaire. Notably, SPCC was negatively associated with demotivation based on the Pearson Correlation Coefficient. The study’s outcomes showed that as part of the effort to minimise the English as a Second Language (ESL) students' demotivation, educators are encouraged to develop the students' competency in communicating.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Using Drama- and Other Action-Based Methods in Language Education

This article examines teachers’ perceptions of the use of drama- and other action-based methods in teaching a foreign or second language in Finland. Prior research reveals that much foreign language teaching is textbook-based and does not utilize the target language effectively. International research on drama- and action-based methods shows that these instructional techniques are beneficial to student learning and language acquisition. The data for this study were collected through an online questionnaire with closed and open questions and analyzed inductively with content analysis. The findings indicate that a majority of the participants (n=130) used action-based methods regularly. Teachers used these methods because they believed they improve student learning, increase motivation, and liven up lessons. However, teachers lacked training in action-based methods and some also felt there is no time for these methods in busy schedules. Using drama methods was much less common than other action-based methods, such as different word games with movement. The findings show that although textbooks provide ideas for dramatized reading of texts, teachers found most activities online or made them up themselves. Drama and other action-based methods should be incorporated into teacher education and language textbooks so that teachers would gain confidence and competence in using them and have easy access to different, even more complex activities.

Biomimicry Approach Adapted From The Fundamentals Of Design Development Process

Transport design inspiration form that requires the observation from the surrounding environment derived from the attribute and imitating inspiration between nature and transportation. The designer was inspired by the potential form obtained from the physically or philosophically aspect underneath nature's living organisms during the early phases of transport design development, particularly during the conceptual and proposal phases. As a result, researchers and designers began to aspire to nature as a problem solver in their conceptual design. This study aims to investigate natural characteristics that can be incorporated into transportation design projects through the design learning process, as well as obtaining an understanding of the users' perceptions of the suggested design. In this project, the learning process comprises of evaluating the design influence, system, and technology that emphasizes on the attributes of nature. As an outcome, a survey involving potential users was conducted by utilising questionnaires and distributed to the respondents. Finally, the findings demonstrated how nature may be used as a tool of research to break down barriers between natural science and engineering disciplines, notably in the domain of design. Furthermore, the responses revealed the respondents' views on the design as references in academic and industry practises.

Development and Evaluation of a Chinese Character Educational Board Game for Non-Native Learners

There is no doubt that knowing Chinese gives graduates a competitive advantage. The ability to communicate fluently in Chinese has long been a requirement for Chinese employers, particularly those looking to do business in China's e-commerce market. Non-native learners must master four fundamental abilities in order to become literate in the Chinese language: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Previous research has found that writing Chinese characters is frequently the most difficult task for both non-native and native learners. The issue arises during the process of learning Chinese characters and excessive use of gadgets, while online learning inspires both researchers to create a Chinese educational board game dubbed the LiSCReW Family Board Game (LiSCReW). LiSCReW is an acronym for Listen, Speak, Count, Read, and Write. The purpose of this study is (i) to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of the LiSCReW for learning Chinese characters; and (ii) to share non-native learners' perspectives and experiences while playing LiSCReW during a one-day exhibition at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Johor Campus. To facilitate playtesting and evaluation of the board game, a total of 22 students from UiTM Johor were conveniently selected. The findings indicate that the LiSCReW board game is an effective educational tool for learning Chinese characters. The results show that respondents are more confident in recognising Chinese characters (90.9%), pronouncing Chinese characters (68.2%), reading Chinese characters (54.6%), and applying the Chinese characters they learned while playing LiSCReW to their Chinese test (77.2%). The findings can be used to guide future research into the empirical testing of Flow Theory's applicability among a large number of respondents.

Individual Service Excellence for Better Performance

An individual's attitude is imperative in sustaining his/her performance. One has to believe and do the right things all the times for excellence. However, there are many aspects that the individual needs to recognize and do excellently well. This paper presents an attitudinal measurement on service excellence attitudes and links it to the students’ MUET performance. The multi-item measurement scale was systematically developed and empirically tested for reliability and validity. The individual’s service excellence scale was called MyServEx (My Service Excellence) which consisted of 6 dimensions and 32 items. The MyServEx (Self) was empirically tested and the survey data were obtained from the MUET students to investigate the role of attitudes in leveraging the English language performance. The teachers can understand the students better and creatively help them. The limitations and future direction for research were also discussed

An Acoustic Analysis of Cantonese Lexical Tones by Chinese Youths in Seremban, Malaysia

Cantonese is widely spoken among the Malaysian Chinese community. Cantonese speakers are not only native speakers, but also non-native speakers. One of the difficult parts of Cantonese learning is lexical tones. In view of this, this study provides an acoustic analysis of Cantonese lexical tones produced by Chinese youths in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. This study investigates the acoustic characteristics of Cantonese lexical tones by analysing the length features and pitch features of monosyllabic words. Six female speakers participated in this study. Three of them are native Cantonese speakers, while the other three are non-native Cantonese speakers. Data analysis was conducted by using Praat. In terms of length features, T2 and T6 are the shortest smooth tones, and T7 is the shortest checked tone. In terms of pitch features, T3 and T4 had greater changes compared to the previous study. All lexical tones produced by non-native speakers, with the exception of T2, are level tones. Moreover, in both groups, the vowel duration and pitch value of T2 are relatively the same as T6, and there is a trend of combination.

VCDT

Debate is a common learning method used in the classroom at the secondary and tertiary levels. A lot has changed in the last several years, with learning approaches transitioning from traditional face-to-face to virtual methods. Virtual learning can be dull, unexciting, and monotonous if the instructors don’t know how. Therefore, the virtual classroom debate tutorial (VCDT) approach is introduced to foster two-way participation during the online sessions. Even during the new norm, the practice of virtual classroom discussion improves self-confidence, critical thinking, communication skills and teamwork. The VCDT approach promotes a brilliant way of online discussion in which students are encouraged to speak spontaneously on the subject matters. The nature of debate activities helps sharpen rhetorical skills in a fast-paced virtual environment and enriching the students ability to solve problems. Therefore via VCDT exercises, students practice generating ideas under pressure within timeframe. This study employed 100 administrative science students as respondents, and the sampling technique used is purposive. The students participated in the VCDT session during a class tutorial, and a set of effectiveness scales was distributed after the session. SPSS was used to code the data collected from the respondents, and the students result reveal a good sign.

Exploiting Tagline Slogans as Authentic Materials in English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) Classroom

Tagline slogans are aggressively used in the marketing field to promote specific products or services to consumers. However, they are least used as authentic materials in the teaching and learning of English as a Second Language (ESL) class. The too-brief structure embodying tagline slogans makes them difficult to be exploited to be used as materials for teaching and learning processes. Studies on the use of tagline slogans in ESL speaking lessons are still scarce, making it inconclusive to fully comprehend why they are underutilized as opposed to the other authentic materials. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the reasons for such ill preference towards the employment of tagline slogans as authentic materials in speaking lessons from the view of English for occupational purposes (EOP) students. The qualitative data of this study was obtained from seven participants who had utilized tagline slogans in their class presentations. The findings show that tagline slogans are less preferable due to inappropriate words or sentence structures used, presenters’ inefficient explanation resulting in the audience’ misunderstanding and suitability issues with context. Even though there lie limitations in using tagline slogans as authentic materials, with the right selection, they could act as a platform to improve learners’ shared world knowledge in particular and their productive skills of the target language in the long run. This study has unearthed the case against the use of tagline slogans in speaking lessons from the lenses of EOP learners and at the same time has provided lessons learned on how tagline slogans could positively nurture learners’ speaking skills.

The effect of workplace environment on employees learning and development

Workplace environment plays a significant role in an organization. Most of the difficulties faced by employees are related to the workplace environment. The level of efficiency of employee’s learning and development can be augmented through developing a conducive working atmosphere in the organization. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship of the workplace environment on employee’s learning and development. The research was conducted at Penang Port Sdn. Bhd. A closed ended questionnaire using Google Form was adapted and established to get feedback from the target audience and SPSS was utilized for analysis to derive results from the collected data. From the Multiple Regression analysis, it was observed that two factors training and development and employee engagement has a relationship with employee’s learning and development. Therefore, it is suggested that enhancing the training, development and engaging employees in company activities are helpful in developing a working environment that has a positive impact on employee’s learning and development in the organizations.