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KOLEJ PROFESIONAL MARA SERI ISKANDAR PERAK DARUL RIDZUANGeneral Studies DepartmentJOURNAL REVIEW (30%)___________________________________________________________COURSE : INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODCOURSE CODE : ENG 3563 SESSION : 1/ PROGRAMME : DIPLOMA IN ENGLISH COMMUNICATIONSEMESTER : DEC 6DAT...

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KOLEJ PROFESIONAL MARA SERI ISKANDAR PERAK DARUL RIDZUAN

General Studies Department

JOURNAL REVIEW (30%) ___________________________________________________________ COURSE

: INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHOD

COURSE CODE

: ENG 3563

SESSION

: 1/2021

PROGRAMME

: DIPLOMA IN ENGLISH COMMUNICATION

SEMESTER

: DEC 6

DATE IN DATE OUT

: 8 FEBRUARY 2021 : 9 APRIL 2021

NAME &

INTAN NURSABRINA ZULAIKHA BINTI MUHD YUZAIRI

ID NUMBER

(SEC1905-1112) DEC 6A

CLASS ASSESSORS

DATE OUT

Miss Lindawati binti Mohamad Radzi 8/2/2021

DATE IN

Student Declaration: Signature:

Intan

Date: 9/4/2021

9/4/2021

JOURNAL 1: ESL LEARNERS’ WRITING SKILLS: PROBLEMS, FACTORS AND SUGGESTIONS

INTRODUCTION Based on the journal, ESL Learners’ Writing Skills: Problems, Factors, and Suggestions, I have found that this article has discussed the writing skill problems faced by the undergraduate ESL learners, where the authors put so much concern against the Pakistani undergraduate ESL students. The authors of the article are Muhammad Fareed, Almas Ashraf, and Muhammad Bilal, which these students are all from NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi. In this research, the writing samples were collected by the authors from 30 ESL undergraduate learners to find the huge factors causing them to have problems in their writing. Besides that, they have conducted interviews and also essays to collect the data using thematic content analysis to find the problem factors that lead to poor writing skills among Pakistani undergraduate ESL learners. With that, the issues that I have observed from the article which prevent the ESL learners from writing well, is due to insufficient linguistic proficiency, which include the command over grammar, syntax, as well as vocabulary. Other than that, the writing anxiety faced by the students because they lack confidence in writing, idea deficiency, reliance on L1 and weak structure organization also lead them to the substandard writing skills. According to Dar& Khan (2015) stated by the authors in the article, English language users in Pakistan have exponentially increased to 49% in 2003 from 2% in 1961, but as mentioned by the authors, they still remained weak in writing skills due to several factors. With that, the factors behind the ESL learners’ writing skills problems revealed by the authors through their research has been found that the writing skills have been considered unimportant in their society, because they prefer speaking as the matter of priority, besides writing considered the latter. Not to mention, they were having the untrained teachers, ineffective and outdated teaching methods, large classrooms with lengthy courses which is uncomfortable to the ESL learners, shortage of ideas and concentration also become the main factors resulting in their writing problems. Therefore, the authors have concluded their research by providing some suggestions to help the Pakistani undergraduate ESL learners to improve their writing skills to become more outstanding, also to enhance good vocabulary, developing writing culture and providing the opportunities to practise

writing, trained teachers with effective learning method that could give the positive impacts to the learner, besides that is also their another objective to conduct this research.

DEVELOPMENT There are some important key points that are pressured in this article. Firstly, this research is to identify the problems in writing among Pakistani undergraduate ESL learners, which hinder them from doing good in writing skills, such as their lack of knowledge in an appropriate vocabulary. According to Haider (2012) based on the article, he also found similar problems of vocabulary in their studies. Other than that, the authors also have discovered multiple factors by collecting the data in various ways from the Pakistani undergraduate ESL learners, and also their teachers which has led the ESL learners to writing skills problems. Another key point in this article is when the authors stated the suggestions on how to polish up the Pakistani undergraduate ESL learners in their writing skills to be more ameliorated. For example, reading was suggested in order to develop better writing, as well as to enhance their vocabulary. In my observation towards the suggestions given by the authors, they emphasized a lot on vocabulary to help the ESL learners in their writing, which good vocabulary can lead to superb writing skills. In my opinion, what did I find striking or interesting about these key points is where the authors can simply raise awareness by analysing the suggestion stated by the authors on how to improve the ESL learners’ writing skills, not only on the part of the Pakistani undergraduate ESL learners, but to all students who want to improve their writing skills including myself as an English student, where all this time I took very lightly the importance of vocabulary and reading, where these two tips were highly emphasized by the authors in writing skills. According to Deena (2016), vocabulary is important to help you write more effectively, where the students have to use more formal tone when writing, and to do that, students need a richer vocabulary, to tap into those words we don’t use when we speak. Moreover, these key points are very interesting because the authors’ research about writing skills problems, as well as the suggestions given are very relevant and accurate in students’ current issue, as there are so many students having problems scoring the English subject because of the writing.

However, I also can relate all the key points to my role as an English student. I personally felt the same way about what the Pakistani undergraduate ESL learners feel. This is because I am having difficulties when it comes to writing something in English especially essays. This has caused me to feel very lazy and like to procrastinate the writing work especially when it comes to a certain time that I get writing anxiety, because I'm too afraid that I cannot write well. Plus, my knowledge regarding vocabulary is not so good, and my grammar also is only average even though all these things have been thought by the trained teachers and lecturers. With that, by reading the article based on the authors’ research, I can slowly follow and create my own strategies by using what have been suggested by the authors to polish up my writing skills. For example, as stated in the article, I have to read a lot to enrich my vocabulary, develop writing practises and many more. Besides, I also can analyse my writing skills problems by reading the article and can improve them to be much better. In my point of view as an English student, I really agreed with this journal article since the findings of this writing problem investigation involved collecting data using thematic content analysis. With that, most of the answers provided by the ESL learners have truly proved that they are struggling all these times with learning challenges. Furthermore, the authors key points also are really accurate with what both school and university students are facing right now regarding English learning because it involves writing. I, myself also faced these challenges at certain points. According to Kristy (2016), If a student failed to develop certain basic skills, he will be unable to write with the speed and fluency in writing. Students faced with such difficult odds have trouble staying motivated. Thus, this article has influenced me a lot to be more enthusiastic in writing because writing skills can be honed in a variety of ways, which has been suggested by the authors in the article, but as a student we cannot simply based on the article because changes can be made through our persistent efforts. With that, I will not give up easily in writing, and to some extent will improve my writing skills based on what the authors have suggested in the article as a starting point. I also hold the belief that this article may help the responsible parties in all countries to improve the teaching method and plan the strategies well to lift the spirits of the students especially in the field of writing. According to (Ogujawa, A.I., Awka 2015), strategies for teaching and learning can involve the use of ICT to enhance learning, approaches to reading, organizing group works and many more.

Besides that, I also can use all the information from the article to face any challenges in English studies, as well as enhancing my writing skills. My own suggestion is, rather than just focus 100% on reading to improve the vocabulary, we also can watch online videos, or watch a lot of English movies to reduce the boredom in learning. To add more, to reduce the writing anxiety, we should always do a lot of writing practices to get used to writing. Moreover, I can practice the thoughtful suggestions stated by the authors by first identifying my problems in writing through the same article. To some extent, I can master the English language education to be more successful by mastering every aspect in the English language education. It is because English is one of the most widely used in Malaysia other than Malay language as a medium of communication, education, and private or government houses. With that, no matter what the situation is, I have to master the English education to have a brighter future.

CONCLUSION In conclusion, I have discovered that there were so many factors which negatively impacted the students to have problems in their writing skills. Those factors that have been highlighted by the authors are very closely related to my role as an English language student, which sometimes put pressure on me to pursue my field in English language education, only due to my weaknesses in writing. Besides that, I need to have consistent practise in writing in order to help me deal with my writing anxiety. Other than that, I will make sure to use this knowledge in the future because it encourages me a lot to become more enthusiastic in deepening my knowledge of English writing, as well as wanting to develop my writing skills to be more excellent. This knowledge also helps me to create a positive mindset towards English writing whenever I come across stress, writing anxiety, feeling pressure and so on. Lastly, I am going to expand my knowledge by seeking further information about the writing skills problems among students nowadays, and how to cope with these issues. I hope that by following all the tips suggested will help me to maintain a good balance in writing an essay, and also get an outstanding result in English language education. Besides, I also will seek help and advice from lecturers, or other professionals to solve the problems regarding my average writing skills. I also hope that any responsible parties can conduct more educational programs in school or universities that are more focused on the way to become excellent in writing skills. For example, the Smart English Programme which has been conducted by

Yayasan Diraja Sultan Mizan (YDSM) got a lot of good feedback among the students in improving their proficiency in English language (Hapizul, 2017).

REFERENCES What Makes Grade 12 University English Valuable for All University Admission? – David’s Blog, Dinh, D., Why is it important to have a rich vocabulary? – Verbal and Communication Skills Guide, & Why is taking Grade 12 University English important for All University Admission? – The Tech guy. (2017, March 06). Top 5 reasons Why VOCABULARY MATTERS. Retrieved March 24, 2021, from https://infercabulary.com/top-5-reasons-why-vocabulary-matters/

O., A., & U. (2015). Strategies For Improving The Teaching And Learning Of Government As A Core-Subject In Senior Secondary Schools. ). International Journal of Educational Planning & Administration [Abstract]., 5(1), 51-61. doi:https://www.ripublication.com/ijepa/ijepav5n1_08.pdf

Pratiwi, K. D. (2015). Students’ Difficulties in Writing English. Retrieved April 04, 2021, from https://ejournal.iainbengkulu.ac.id/index.php/linguists/article/viewFile/106/101

Hapizul. (2017, November 8). SMART ENGLISH PROGRAMME. Retrieved April 4, 2021, from https://ydsm.my/?p=335

JOURNAL 2: INVESTIGATING CONSTRUCT OF ANXIETY IN RELATION TO SPEAKING SKILLS AMONG ESL TERTIARY LEARNERS

INTRODUCTION This journal article titled “Investigating Construct of Anxiety in Relation to Speaking Skills Among ESL Tertiary Learners'' was written by Chan Swee Heng, Ain Nadzimah Abdullah, and NurKarimah Binti Yusof from the faculty of Modern Language and Communication at Universiti Putra Malaysia. First thing first, the article stated that the anxiety can be generally defined as “the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system” (Spielberger 1983, as cited in Horwitz 2001, p.113). Through my understanding, anxiety can attack our body system when at a certain point we feel super anxious, and become out of control because of the worry and fear feelings that already control us. With that, the main objective of this article is to explore the level of anxiety experienced among Malaysian ESL students when they are indirectly involved to speak in English or taking any speaking test in English that can cause them to lack in their speaking skills. Other than that, the authors wanted to find out the relationship between speaking anxiety and speaking test anxiety. Furthermore, the authors also wanted to investigate the difference between male and female students’ level of anxiety towards speaking in English and taking an English’s speaking test. Therefore, in order to get all the data accurate, the authors have conducted a survey questionnaire on 700 UPM final year students before they undergo an oral communication test known as TOCIE. In relation to that as well, the results of the procedure have shown that there are 631 questionnaires that need to be discussed by the authors in terms of the factors which lead to the Malaysian ESL students’ anxiety. For example, they did not have any confidence to speak in English, the students also had the negative attitude if they had to speak without preparation, and vice versa. Besides that, the authors also have discussed how to overcome those problems.

DEVELOPMENT The key points in this article has consisted of the level of anxiety experienced among Malaysian ESL students when they are indirectly involved to speak in English or taking any

speaking test in English. As we all know, we as a student no longer feel alienated with feelings of anxiety that attack us when it involves the use of English over a variety of factors, and more clearly is due to lack of self-confidence to speak in English. According to the article, most of Malaysian ESL students had a medium level of anxiety towards speaking in English (65%), while 24% experienced a low level of anxiety, and only 11% of them experienced a high level of anxiety towards English speaking test. For the speaking test-taking anxiety, 79% experienced a medium level, 14% experienced a low level, and only 4% of them experienced a high level towards the speaking test-taking anxiety. This has shown that the anxiety among the students consists of three different levels which is low, medium and high, but the majority experienced the medium level of anxiety. In my point of view, such matters can still be overcome with joint efforts between students and teachers or relevant parties. According to Sawchuk (2017), If you can’t overcome your fear by practice alone, consider seeking professional help because cognitive behavioural therapy is a skills-based approach that can be a successful treatment for reducing fear of public speaking. This type of public speaking can be related to speaking in English or taking an English’s speaking test. Other than that, the authors also wanted to know the relationship between speaking anxiety and speaking test anxiety. In my opinion as an English student, we are currently facing the only medium level of anxiety when it comes to speaking in English because we are free to speak to other people. Otherwise, when it comes to the speaking test, the anxiety level will automatically become higher because it involves marks and grades. This situation will make us think a lot if we are not able to do well and affects the grades, especially when we see our friends do better than us. According to the journal article, confidence is also linked to self-consciousness where the students (52.7%, Q6) generally felt that other students spoke better English than they did.

Thirdly, the authors wanted to

investigate in detail the difference between male and female students’ level of anxiety towards speaking in English and taking an English’s speaking test. The article stated that the percentage of the female students’ anxiety is higher (74%) compared to male students’ anxiety (26%). According to Leili & Homayoun (2013), female students scored higher in the subscales of psychological anxiety and worry than male students, implying that the girls’ level of anxiety is higher in the subscales and there is a significant difference in the 95-percent level of confidence between girls and boys. Next, what strikes my interest is how ESL students get different anxious levels when there are certain things related to English are testing their ability. This is because the role of

language is very crucial in today’s world. Based on my understanding, this happens in a frequent manner as ESL students would want to ace in English-related test as they are competing with the knowledge and experiences they gained through their findings and trying to practice it orally. Thus, they get very anxious when being asked to speak in English or sit for an English’s speaking test. Other than that, what did I find interesting is the differences in both anxiety where some students find it easier to speak in English as they do not have to worry too much on their grammar. On the other hand, some feel more comfortable to sit for English speaking test where they have time to write it out on papers to construct the right words and sentences before they speak. Hence, the authors were trying to relate the similarities of both anxiety levels. Lastly, the third key point seems very interesting to me because it is not so familiar among us as an English student. I never knew there are differences between both male and female when it comes to anxiety feelings. In my opinion, females tend to get more uncomfortable and anxious in many situations, especially when it comes to speaking, as we are used to overthinking literally everything. According to Hwa (n.d.), The research has corroborated the hypothesis that female tertiary ESL students displayed a higher level of speaking anxiety than their female peers. Besides that, I agree with this article because it can be related to my role as an English student. I do feel the same way as what the ESL learners feel no matter whether it involves me speaking in English or taking an English’s speaking test. Why am I saying this because the anxiety always attacks me when I have to speak in English in front of other people because I don’t have confidence to speak, also my speaking skills are not fully outstanding. In terms of speaking in English, I am afraid if I am using wrong grammar, plus my sentences are out of order. With that, I always overthink if people will judge me. On the other hand, when it comes to speaking tests, I feel less worried because I can plan and memorize what I have written in the paper. Thus, the reason why I agree with this article is because it shows that not only me the only one feels the anxiety when it involves English speaking. This article also is a reliable source since the findings of the research involves the authors to conduct a survey questionnaire to the ESL final year students themselves to ...