HOW TO MASTER GENERIC SKILLS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE? AN ELECTRONIC-PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING WAY: A MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE
Abstract
Does it matter in whatever language a student acquires generic skills? The answer is, YES it matters a lot. The reality is that other than the content area or the hard skill, competence in generic skills AND communication in the English language among undergraduates are also of utmost importance, if they are to achieve academic excellence and more importantly secure employment upon graduation. Stakeholders including parents, sponsoring bodies, the community and especially the employers have high expectations on the university to produce graduates who not only excel in the content matter but equally important possess mastery of communication skills in English and generic skills. Unfortunately, the current scenario in Malaysia is not so encouraging. The lack of competence in English and generic skills among graduates in Malaysia have been the two major contributing factors for their unemployment (Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, 2015) so much so that almost half of Malaysian graduates were unemployed (The Star Online, 2013) and 400 thousand Malaysian graduates were unemployed in 2015 (Bernama, 2015 cited in The Malaysian Insider, 2015). The nation has long been asking WHY? Despite the 17 years of education from kindergarten to university level, Malaysia is still grappling with producing graduates who are not only proficient in the English language but basic generic skills like citizenship, honesty, passion, knowledge transfer, critical thinking, perseverance, IT and problem-solving. This paper reveals the findings of a study on the use of Electronic-Problem-Based Learning (ePBL) towards enhancing learning of communication and generic skills in the English Language among Malaysian undergraduates. Using purposeful sampling, the samples involved 223 undergraduates and 12 lecturers from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The samples were treated with ePBL in their semester long studies; Effective Communication in English (UTHM) and Health Science (UNIMAS). Data was collected using a questionnaire set administered online and interview with both the students and lecturers. The findings show that the use of ePBL has a very positive effect in enhancing learning of the English Language and generic skills among the undergraduates. On the part of the lecturers, the approach has also open up new and more interesting ways of training future graduates who are both competent in the hard and soft skills areas much to the expectations of the nation in general. As a conclusion, ePBL has proven to be very instrumental towards improving learning and there is great potential for the approach to be adopted in other disciplines and the education system at all levels.
Keywords: E-learning, Communication, English, Foreign Language Education, ESL/TESL, PBL, Generic, Soft, Higher Education, New Technologies in Education
References
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Abstract
References
- B. Mohd Salleh, H. Othman, Z. Abdul Kadir, Z.A. Sayadi, M.T. Mohamed Idris, E. Anthony, R. Kamarolzaman, A. Esa, A. Selamat, F. Hamin, A. Sulaiman, A.E. Soosay (2015) Electronic Problem-Based Learning for Enhancing English Language Proficiency among Malaysian Undergraduates. Conference paper presented at ICERI 2015, Seville, Spain. 16-18 Nov 2015
- Barrows, H. (1999) “Strategies for Using Case Studies in Teaching and Learning.” Short Paper for a SEATEC Case Study Forum. 25 February.
- Economic Planning Unit (2016) Wawasan 2020, 1991-2020. Retrieved on 1 Jan 2016 at http://www.epu.gov.my/wawasan-2020-1991-2020
- JACET (2016) Chapter 2: English Language Policy in ESL Countries. (Book Chapter). Retrieved on 17 April 2016 at http://www.jacet.org/jacet50books/02.pdf
- Malay Mail Online (2016) Survey: Motivated , English-Speaking Grads more likely to Find Jobs. Retrieved on 1 February 2016 at http://www.themalaymailonline.com/print/malaysia/survey-motivated-english-speaking-grads-more-likely-to-find-jobs
- Nik Hairi Omar, Rusyda Helma Mohd and Che Arena (2012) Graduates’ Employability Skills Based on Current Job Demand through Electronic Advertisement. In Asian Journal of Social Science. 8/9 July 2012 p. 103-110
- Paton, M.Q. (1990) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods (2nd Ed.). Newbury Park, CA. Sage Publications Inc.
- Prestariang Systems (2011) English Competency for Entry Level Requirement: A Market Research on Industrial Needs. Market Research Report. Selangor. Malaysia.
- Reiguluth, C.M. (2000) What is a Generic Skills. Retrieved on 1 February 2016 at http://www.indiana.edu/~idtheory/methods/m7a.html
- Roselina Shakir (2009) Soft Skills at the Malaysian Institute of Higher Learning. In Asia Pacific Education Review. Sep. 209, 10/3, p.309-315
- Stanford University (2016) Theory Behind PBL. Retrieved on 28 April 2016 at http://ldt.stanford.edu/~jeepark/jeepark+portfolio/PBL/theory.htm
- The Malaysian Times (2013) English Language and its Importance to Malaysian Growth. Retrieved on 17 April 2016 at http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/english-language-and-its-importance-to-malaysia%E2%80%99s-growth/
- The Star Online (2012) Study Reveals 40,000 Graduates are Unemployed. Retrieved on 13 June at http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2012/09/23/Study-reveals-40000-graduates-areunemployed/
- The Sun Daily (2016) Tough Times for Graduates. Retrieved on 27 April 2016 at http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1499040
Details
| Journal Section | Articles |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | August 26, 2016 |
| Submission Date | August 22, 2016 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2016Volume: 2 Issue: 5 |
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