Purpose: Drawing on the perspectives of cultural capital theory, this study investigated the impact of international internships on the performance of Japanese undergraduates on the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) using a between-group pretest-posttest experimental design. Design/methodology/approach: Students participating…

This qualitative case study aimed to examine pre-service teachers' and teacher educators' interactions during their English grammar lessons via the WhatsApp platform. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model was employed to categorize the WhatsApp interactions based on social, cognitive and teacher presences. Participants wrote their reflections for…

This paper first discusses the Common European Framework of Reference Languages: Learning, teaching and assessment CEFR 2001 and the revisions to this framework in CEFR 2018. It then looks at the Frameworks of Reference for English Language Education in Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and China which are based on CEFR. The main purpose of this…

A gloss refers to a short definition or explanation of the meaning of a word in a text that can assist learners in reading comprehension and vocabulary learning. This study aims to investigate how glosses in English academic texts affect the reading behaviour of ESL undergraduates while reading is taking place. In addition, it also examines the…

Few studies have investigated the detailed procedure of systematically delivering and teaching metacognitive strategies in higher education. This study investigates whether explicit training in metacognitive strategies could improve undergraduates' online reading comprehension over the pandemic. The results of this study contribute to teacher…

Embracing gamification in education is, indeed, inevitable, especially with the arrival of the millennials whose lives are greatly influenced by digital technologies and favor learning in a fun, interactive, and engaging environment. Quizizz, a gamified educational tool, has gradually gained the interest of researchers and stakeholders in…

Phrasal verbs (PVs) are very common in English, indicating their usefulness in everyday settings. However, it was reported that language learners generally have great difficulties in understanding and using this linguistic form. This study investigated Malaysian learners' receptive and productive knowledge of PVs, and some possible factors which…

Background/purpose: Game-based learning is becoming increasingly popular among educators in higher institutions. However, it can be a daunting task for educators to ascertain which of the currently available game-based learning platforms best suits their learners' needs. This study explored the suitability of Kahoot! as one of the most commonly…

Purpose: Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is important in intercultural exchange, to address problems and conflicts which may arise due to miscommunication that results from interlocutors' diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Interlocutors may have different perceptions and interpretations of communicative behaviour. However,…

The Malay language writing system is alphabetic and orthographically transparent. This study aimed to determine whether phonological processing skills predict Malay word-level literacy acquisition in Chinese children from a national-type Chinese primary school in Malaysia. A correlational study among 113 Year 1 Chinese children who are non-native…

This study was primarily aimed at developing an English-speaking proficiency test and analytic rubrics designed to measure speaking proficiency of Malaysian undergraduates. On the basis of Littlewood's Methodological Framework and Long's Interaction Hypothesis, the researchers derived three speaking tasks from four sources: (a) syllabus of the…

Over the past decades, much of the discussion regarding grammar teaching has evolved around the identification of the best language teaching approach to facilitate effective learning of English language among second language (L2) learners. Despite the various approaches introduced and implemented in the realm of L2 teaching, the language…

Studies have found that morphology awareness could assist writers to increase productive vocabulary (e.g. Green et al., 2003; McCutchen & Stull, 2015), reduce vocabulary errors (e.g. Karakas, 2012; Ririn, 2010), and produce complex sentence structures using various forms of words. Postgraduate students as second language users of English (L2)…

This study examines the uses of Tell Me More (TMM) software among engineering students in Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP). The study aims at finding students' abilities in retaining words learnt through Pre-test and Delayed Recall Post-test. The study also aims at identifying their preferences and challenges in using TMM. The study employed 43…

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled educational institutions to explore alternatives to face-to-face instruction. The primary objective of this study is to identify the teacher's role in the English argumentative writing performance of low proficiency university students via WhatsApp. In this case study, data were collected from multiple…