Issues in Language Studies

ALIGNMENT OF OUTCOME-BASED NURSING CURRICULUM WITH THE LANGUAGE NEEDS IN THE HEALTH SECTOR IN INDONESIA

2025-06-04T16:57:20+08:00

This study investigates the alignment of Outcome-Based English for Nursing curriculum with the language needs of healthcare settings in Indonesia. Despite national curriculum reforms and the increasing global demand for nursing professionals, there remains a gap in research examining whether current curricula adequately prepare students for English mediated clinical communication. This qualitative case study employed document analysis and semi-structured interviews with seven nursing alumni and three nurse managers. Guided by Tyler’s (1949) curriculum rationale and Brown’s (2016) needs analysis framework, the study explored curriculum structure, stakeholder expectations, and actual communicative needs in healthcare sector. Results revealed that while the curriculum supported foundational communication skills and aligned with national nursing competencies, it needed improvement in terms of materials authenticity, international relevance, and performance-based assessment. Key gaps included insufficient integration of discipline-specific vocabulary, limited instructional time, underutilisation of task-based learning, and minimal stakeholder involvement in course design. Speaking emerged as the most essential skill, yet participants emphasised inadequate practice and the need for structured, context-rich language support. The findings underscore the need for curriculum reform that embeds authentic clinical tasks, stakeholder-driven content, and performance-based assessment. This study offers practical recommendations for enhancing English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in nursing education, particularly in multilingual and export-oriented healthcare contexts.

EFL LEARNERS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF INTERLOCUTOR FAMILIARITY ON THEIR ENGAGEMENT IN L2 TASK-BASED INTERACTION

2025-06-04T10:39:35+08:00

Many EFL educators have reported difficulties in keeping learners engaged in task-based interaction. A factor identified as a challenge for learner engagement is the level of familiarity with the interlocutor. This factor affects language learning and social interaction, whereby a deeper familiarity would typically promote effective communication, which may lead to an improvement in language competence. To determine the extent of familiarity that supports meaningful interaction, this study investigated Chinese EFL learners’ perceptions. Specifically, levels of familiarity were examined through cognitive, affective, and social dimensions. The context of this study was an L2 task-based assignment. Data were collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interview. The findings indicated that interlocutor familiarity level had significant effects on learner engagement, especially in terms of social and cognitive dimensions. The study provided pedagogical implications for teachers to focus on the beneficial impact of interlocutor familiarity level on both social and cognitive dimensions of learner engagement and foster a supportive and conducive classroom environment to enhance peer interaction during interactive tasks.

PEMBANGUNAN MODUL INFOGRAFIK PEMBELAJARAN FLEKSI AL-QURAN

2025-05-19T11:21:46+08:00

Ilmu i‘rab atau fleksi merupakan cabang tatabahasa Arab yang kompleks dan sukar difahami kerana kebiasaannya disampaikan dalam bentuk kitab yang sukar diakses oleh pelajar. Infografik boleh dijadikan medium alternatif untuk menyampaikan maklumat kompleks dengan lebih menarik dan mudah. Justeru, kajian ini bertujuan membangunkan modul Infografik Fleksi al-Quran (i-FleQ) yang menggunakan infografik sebagai alat bantu pengajaran. Pembangunan modul ini berasaskan pendekatan Reka Bentuk dan Pembangunan, serta gabungan Model Diskrepansi, Model Pembinaan Modul Sidek, Infographic Design Model, dan Teori Konstruktivisme. Kajian dilaksanakan dalam dua fasa: analisis keperluan dan reka bentuk modul. Penilaian elemen dan komponen modul melibatkan sepuluh pakar menggunakan kaedah Fuzzy Delphi, manakala kesahan kandungan diuji oleh lima pakar menggunakan soal selidik. Modul yang dibangunkan merangkumi lima komponen utama, iaitu objektif, isi kandungan, reka bentuk, aktiviti pembelajaran dan penilaian. Dapatan menunjukkan bahawa modul mempunyai kesahan kandungan yang tinggi. Modul i-FleQ ini berpotensi dimanfaatkan oleh pelajar, guru, pensyarah dan orang awam dalam pembelajaran ilmu fleksi bahasa Arab. Ia membantu pelajar memahami struktur ayat al-Quran dengan lebih baik dan meningkatkan penguasaan ilmu i‘rab secara berkesan.

POWER OF AMPLIFICATION: LINGUISTIC BOOSTERS IN MALAYSIAN AND SINGAPOREAN PRIVATE HEALTHCARE INFORMATIVE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTINGS

2025-05-19T09:43:52+08:00

This study investigates the strategic use of boosters, a type of interactional metadiscourse, in informative social media postings within the culturally diverse contexts of Malaysia and Singapore. Drawing on Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions, this qualitative study examines 30 informative social media (Instagram) postings from two private medical centres: Subang Jaya Medical Centre and Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Both private medical centres strategically use boosters to highlight expertise, assert authority, and influence the public’s perception, particularly in promoting advanced technology and positive health outcomes. Due to the cultural differences, the use of booster varies between these two, with Malaysia favouring superlatives and Singapore employing more affective language, reflecting the influence of cultural and market factors. This study highlights the persuasive nature of the informative social media postings and the healthcare industry's reliance on assertive language to establish credibility and influence health-related decisions. This study contributes to an understanding of how cultural differences and genre conventions intersect in shaping persuasive language within online healthcare communication.

PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ METACOGNITIVE READING STRATEGY AWARENESS AND THEIR READING COMPREHENSION PERFORMANCE

2025-04-09T04:40:37+08:00

research has examined whether metacognitive reading strategies (MCRS) improve pre-service teachers’ reading comprehension outcomes. This study investigated Moroccan pre-service teachers’ awareness of MCRS and its relationship with their reading comprehension performance. A total of 180 participants from a public institution in Morocco filled in the Metacognitive Reading Strategy Questionnaire (MRSQ) and took a reading comprehension test. Mean scores were analysed to determine the frequency of metacognitive reading strategy awareness, and the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was employed to identify the correlation between the two variables. Results indicated that pre-service teachers exhibited high awareness of MCRS. However, there was a weak positive correlation between the participants’ knowledge of these strategies and reading comprehension performance, highlighting a gap between knowledge of MCRS and their application in the reading process. This suggests that although pre-service teachers showed heightened awareness of MCRS, they still did not translate this knowledge into practice. The findings indicate the importance of incorporating hands-on activities to help pre-service teachers put their knowledge of MCRS into practice to boost their reading comprehension ability and enable them to transmit their skills to their future learners.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEARNER AUTONOMY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

2025-04-02T09:11:41+08:00

This study examines the level of learner autonomy and its relationship with academic performance among 420 EFL students across four academic years. Using quantitative methods, learner autonomy was measured through self-initiation and self-regulation scales, along with their subscales. Findings indicate moderately high levels of learner autonomy across all years, with Year Three students showing lower self-regulation ability than others. Spearman correlation analysis reveals a modest but positive correlation between learner autonomy and academic performance, suggesting that higher autonomy is associated with better academic outcomes. Notably, Year Two students exhibit the strongest correlations between learner autonomy and academic performance, indicating that the impact of autonomy varies across different stages of study. These findings highlight the need for action from key stakeholders. For teachers, the results support adopting learner-centred approaches that encourage goal setting, self-assessment, and motivation-driven activities to foster autonomy and improve academic outcomes. For policymakers, the study emphasises the importance of supporting teacher training programmes that equip educators with strategies to nurture learner autonomy

RETHINKING COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE: EMPLOYERS’ PERSPECTIVES OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE IN PROFESSIONAL SETTINGS

2025-10-09T07:14:24+08:00

In today’s globalised and competitive job market, graduates must meet the rising industry expectations for effective real-world communication skills, alongside technical expertise. In the era where English proficiency often defines employability, employers increasingly prioritise graduates with strong language proficiency and effective communication skills as key indicators for employability. However, the specific communicative competencies required in professional settings is still not well-understood. Using Canale and Swain’s (1980) framework, this study investigates the employers’ perception of communicative competence perceived as important for effective communication in the workplace. Data were collected through a questionnaire analysed using descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that sociolinguistic competence was most valued as it emphasises the importance of contextually appropriate language use in workplace communication. This study highlights the significance of adopting established second language framework beyond academic contexts to better align language education with industry expectations hence offering an alternative language curriculum for educators and policymakers to enhance English language training and graduate employability.

WEB-BASED APPROACH TO IMPROVE ACADEMIC VOCABULARY OF PRE-UNIVERSITY ESL LEARNERS

2025-04-09T11:12:46+08:00

Mastering academic vocabulary is crucial for post-secondary English as a Second Language (ESL) learners as academic language plays a key role in their academic success. However, many Malaysian ESL learners struggle to acquire and use academic vocabulary effectively, often due to the limitations of traditional instructional approaches. This study examines the effect of a web-based learning resource on the learning of academic vocabulary among 33 pre-university ESL learners from a Centre of Foundation Studies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A one-group pre-test post-test research design was employed over an eight-week intervention programme. Results, analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, revealed an improvement that was statistically significant in academic vocabulary scores (z = -4.25, p < 0.005) with a large effect size (r = 0.52). Key features of the web-based resource, which include sentence-writing activities, explicit instruction, and a flexible learning environment, have likely contributed to these outcomes. This study showcases the potential effectiveness of web-based learning tools in enhancing the learning of academic vocabulary among post-secondary ESL students by offering engaging and interactive learning opportunities.