EXPLORING METACOGNITIVE READING STRATEGIES USED BY LOW AND HIGH PROFICIENCY FORM THREE ESL STUDENTS

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the metacognitive reading strategies used by low and high proficiency Form Three ESL (English as Second Language) students and highlight suitable strategies that can be exposed to the low proficiency students. Methodology: To serve the purpose of this research, an explanatory sequential mixed method design was used. As for the sampling, purposive sampling was employed in this study. The respondents were drawn from two Form Three classes in the selected secondary school in Pasir Gudang, Johor, Malaysia. There were twenty-four boys and thirty-six girls. They were all fifteen years old and represented three main ethnic groups which are Malays, Indians and Chinese. The number of respondents was equally the same for both groups; 30 from the low proficiency group and 30 from the high proficiency group. Findings: The data gathered in this study revealed that the most popular metacognitive reading strategy among the respondents is self-evaluation. In addition, the most significant difference between the high and low proficiency students is that the latter employed fewer metacognitive reading strategies than the former. Furthermore, through the findings, this research also suggested the metacognitive reading strategies suitable for the low proficiency students; advanced organization, selective attention, self-management, directed attention and monitoring. Contributions: This research aids the teachers in adapting their instructions and putting extra effort into training students, especially low proficiency students, to use suitable metacognitive reading strategies. Keywords: Low proficiency students, high proficiency students, purposive sampling, metacognitive reading strategies, explanatory sequential mixed method design. Cite as: Jeevaratnam, J. A., & Stapa, M. (2022). Exploring metacognitive reading strategies used by low and high proficiency form three ESL students. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 335-365. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp335-365

MOTIVATIONAL ORIENTATIONS AND THE MOTIVATION OF PAKISTANI ESL LEARNERS: A REVIEW

The aim of this paper is to review the literature and exemplify the manifestation of integrative and instrumental motivational orientations in Pakistan’s ESL learners with reference to Gardner’s Socio-Educational model. It delineates issues that impede the motivational process and contextual elements with motivational factors that could provide new insights to help practitioners plus policy makers to determine and address contemporary concerns in the holistic learning of English. The study principally sheds light on the current state of motivation in Pakistani ESL students, projecting a need to revise the English language curricula to more inclusive ones at all academic tiers; construct collegial classrooms; modify the practiced didactic approaches and focus on development of contextually suitable contents as some of the initiatives that need to be taken into consideration for nurturing students’ and teachers’ motivation in alignment with the model. The present study majorly proposes the need to utilize the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) for comprehensive analysis of students’ motivation and it provides an adapted simplified version of AMTB that can be used to examine Pakistani ESL students’ motivation, and further tested in other similar contexts. Key Words: ESL, instrumental, motivational orientations, integrative, language learning. Cite as: Jafri, U. A. (2022). Motivational orientations and the motivation of Pakistani ESL learners: A review. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 221-242. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp221-242

ONLINE GRAMMAR CHECKERS VERSUS SELF-EDITING: AN INVESTIGATION OF ERROR CORRECTION RATES AND WRITING QUALITY

Background and Purpose: In order to compete with native speakers, EFL and ESL students are under more pressure to produce native-like academic papers. This has led to more reliance on online grammar checkers, but these can be ineffective with regards to identifying and giving feedback on particular grammatical forms, phrasing and issues relating to style. Language learners may not be effectively correcting these errors. Hence, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of one online grammar checker, grammarly.com, with that of self-editing. Methodology: This case study employed a descriptive approach to data analysis. 199 essays were collected from undergraduates at four universities in Kyushu, dated from April, 2019 to January, 2020. 99 essays were proofed by an online grammar checker, while 100 essays were self-edited. The English proficiency level of the participants was at the lower to intermediate range (i.e., TOEIC 300 to a TOEIC 500). The online grammar checker Grammarly was utilized by all participants to minimize issues relating to feedback. In the analysis of data, the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of the essays was assessed in order to examine the significant changes between the first and other drafts, and the types of errors produced. Findings: Results showed that there were no significant differences found in terms of the methods of editing, although the participants who employed online grammar checkers had better results. It was also shown that there were no significant differences in terms of syntactical complexity with either method of editing. There were fewer errors committed by the participants who self-edited, but there were no significant differences in the edited drafts with regards to errors/100 ratios, error-free clauses, and error-free clause ratios. The study showed marginal differences between the two methods of proofing but indicated that online tools can be useful for identifying certain grammatical errors. Contributions: This paper argues that educators need to work more with EFL learners on the editorial and proofing process, but online grammar checkers may be a useful pedagogical tool to help low-proficient L2 learners. Keywords: Writing quality, editing, online grammar checkers, proofing, syntactical complexity. Cite as: Long, R. (2022). Online grammar checkers versus self-editing: An investigation of error correction rates and writing quality. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 441-458. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp441-458

ESL Students’ Readiness for Self-Directed Learning in Improving English Writing Skills

Self-directed learning among students, particularly at the upper secondary level, is still underexplored in Malaysia. Further understanding of ESL students’ readiness for self-directed learning in improving English writing skills is crucial to exploit the advantages of this learning method for their benefit. Thus, this study aimed to examine the levels of self-directedness among secondary school students and their readiness to apply self-directed learning in improving English writing skills through a survey design. A total of 50 ESL students in a secondary school responded to two sets of questionnaires that measured different variables in this research. The first questionnaire included a self-rating scale of self-directed learning, which consisted of awareness, learning strategies, learning activities, evaluation, and interpersonal skills. The second questionnaire contained questions about students’ readiness for self-directed learning in improving English writing skills. Sampling was done randomly without considering students’ academic level of English. The findings found that most students possessed a medium level of self-directedness with not much difference with the high-level ones. The study then revealed a positive relationship between students’ level of self-directedness and students’ readiness to incorporate self-directed learning in English writing skills. For instance, students with a high level of self-directedness scored higher in students’ readiness for self-directed learning in improving English writing skills than those with a low level of self-directedness. Future studies should consider self-directed learning strategies to promote lifelong effects of positive attributes towards learning experiences, such as discipline, attention, responsible, and creativity in planning learning objectives.

Language Learning in the 21st Century

Kahoot! is a gaming system designed for interactive learning and can be utilised for students of all ages. The present study involved two groups of Malaysian ESL students (n = 57) enrolled in a remedial English proficiency course in a public university. All 57 participants were exposed to weekly Kahoot! sessions over a period of one semester; the sessions covered various English language learning components including vocabulary and reading comprehension, but focused largely on grammar. At the end of the semester, the participants completed a 34-item questionnaire comprising closed- and open-ended items. The questionnaire was tested for reliability with returned values indicating high internal consistency, thus making the instrument a reliable option for use in future studies. The study's findings indicate that the students found Kahoot! to be beneficial in terms of: 1) inducing motivation, and 2) fostering and reinforcing learning. The students were also of the opinion that Kahoot! would be useful for foreign language learning (for instance, Spanish and French).

Expanding ESL Students’ Vocabulary Through TikTok Videos

TikTok is a video-sharing social network that has abruptly gained popularity for the past few years due to its unique feature of short-form videos on various genres particularly comedy and performance. The videos produced from this platform have been used widely in multiple contexts including classroom teaching. Thus, this project delved into the role of TikTok in capturing students’ attention and introducing them to new vocabulary during English language class through some selected videos from the app. Most students could barely pay attention to their teachers during physical classes or online lessons. This could possibly hinder them from participating actively in classroom activities. Due to the nature of TikTok videos that are shorter in duration with humorous yet informative content, these videos might serve as engaging teaching materials. The results showed that the students displayed improved level of attention, interest and understanding of the subject matter that was being taught in class through TikTok videos. It is recommended that more studies should be done to analyze the multiple types and genres of TikTok videos and how these variables influence students’ learning.

ESL Students’ Readiness for Self-Directed Learning in Improving English Writing Skills

Self-directed learning among students, particularly at the upper secondary level, is still underexplored in Malaysia. Further understanding of ESL students’ readiness for self-directed learning in improving English writing skills is crucial to exploit the advantages of this learning method for their benefit. Thus, this study aimed to examine the levels of self-directedness among secondary school students and their readiness to apply self-directed learning in improving English writing skills through a survey design. A total of 50 ESL students in a secondary school responded to two sets of questionnaires that measured different variables in this research. The first questionnaire included a self-rating scale of self-directed learning, which consisted of awareness, learning strategies, learning activities, evaluation, and interpersonal skills. The second questionnaire contained questions about students’ readiness for self-directed learning in improving English writing skills. Sampling was done randomly without considering students’ academic level of English. The findings found that most students possessed a medium level of self-directedness with not much difference with the high-level ones. The study then revealed a positive relationship between students’ level of self-directedness and students’ readiness to incorporate self-directed learning in English writing skills. For instance, students with a high level of self-directedness scored higher in students’ readiness for self-directed learning in improving English writing skills than those with a low level of self-directedness. Future studies should consider self-directed learning strategies to promote lifelong effects of positive attributes towards learning experiences, such as discipline, attention, responsible, and creativity in planning learning objectives.

Speaking Anxiety and Strategies Used by ESL Learners to Overcome in Their Classroom: a Case Study in Management and Science University (MSU) Shah Alam, Malaysia

This research study aiming at identifying the sources of the ESL students’ speaking anxiety in English speaking comprehension and identifying the strategies used by ESL students to overcome speaking anxiety in English class. This research used a qualitative approach that employed a case study and gathrered the information through interviewing 8 undergraduate students from a private university in Shah Alam Malaysia. All the interview questions covered three components, they were communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation and test anxiety and the strategies that were used by the respondents to overcome their speaking anxiety. The data analysis technique used was descriptive qualitative. As the result, the researcher found that anxiety, commonly felt by most second language learners contributed by some factors that came from the students and also from teachers. Therefore, to deal with these conditions, both teachers and students need to take part in contributing to what they can do to eliminate the speaking anxiety. Since the success of learning language mostly depends on the communication skills that definitely requires a lot of effort to make the learning journey meaningful.