Malaysia. She has over 17 years of teaching experience and has taught English Proficiency, ESP, E... more Malaysia. She has over 17 years of teaching experience and has taught English Proficiency, ESP, EAP and Business Communication courses. She is currently the Coordinator of UPENA (the university’s publication Unit) of UiTM Pahang. She has been actively presenting papers at local and international conferences. Her research and academic interests include cross-cultural communication, language choice and use, EAP and ESP.
Proceedings of the Regional Conference on Science, Technology and Social Sciences (RCSTSS 2016), 2018
Linguistic landscape (LL) is defined as the visibility and salience of languages on public and co... more Linguistic landscape (LL) is defined as the visibility and salience of languages on public and commercial signs in a given territory or region. In Malaysia, these signs are both a product of governmental planning and demographics. For example, the Malaysian subsidiaries of the local council by-laws (Undang-undang Kecil Majlis Perbandaran) and the National Language Act (Akta Bahasa Kebangsaan) stipulate that Bahasa Malaysia (BM) must be used for the public signboards and road names. Adopting and adapting Sunwani’s (Lang India 5, 2005) framework of uni-, bi-, and multilingual store signboards and the respective language(s) used; this study specifically examines the linguistic landscape in Putrajaya, the centre of government administration in Malaysia, to see whether the language act has been adhered to. Pictorial data of the shop signs within the commercial area of Putrajaya were collected and the analysis recorded the frequency of language use (in the shop signs) according to the types described in the framework. The data indicate that despite the clear language policy, shop signs in Putrajaya may consist of unilingual and bilingual signs in BM, English, Chinese and Tamil. The data also suggest that the language(s) used highly depends on the business products, commercial advantages that the language(s) can bring to the business and the business status that the owners want to project. Such language use creates an important indication of choice and juxtaposition of languages used in a multilingual country as well as in the business domain.
When Edisi Siasat was first aired on NTV7, the approach of presenting the issues through the pres... more When Edisi Siasat was first aired on NTV7, the approach of presenting the issues through the presenter’s outrageous use of language did not go unnoticed by the public. It is claimed by some as ‘a breath of fresh air on Malaysian TV’. In other words, rather than approaching issues that are considered sensitive to the Malaysian communities ‘in the usual preachers’ fashion so beloved by the Malaysian mainstream media’, this programme ‘expresses the outrage the way one would while having an impassioned chat over teh tarik at the local mamak stall’ (Ziad Razak 2003). However, there are also viewers who regard such approach as being insensitive toward the Malaysian way of communicating. This paper looks at the approach of the programme from the aspect of language use and the public’s perception toward such use in the media.
Peer feedback is one of the commonly practised pedagogical approaches in writing classes. It can ... more Peer feedback is one of the commonly practised pedagogical approaches in writing classes. It can be seen as a powerful tool to provide students with an authentic audience who give different views on their writings and, thus, able to increase the student writers’ confidence and motivation. The aim of this exploratory classroom study was to investigate how peer feedback was valued in a writing course. It also explored the potential benefits of peer feedback application in the writing class. The findings reveal that peer feedback was well-received by the students as it gave them the benefits of additional point of views from a wider audience. However, the findings also show that peers’ linguistic competence, attitude and cultural values could affect the value and validity of the feedback which, in turn, could affect the effectiveness of this approach.
When Edisi Siasat was first aired on NTV7, the approach of presenting the issues through the pres... more When Edisi Siasat was first aired on NTV7, the approach of presenting the issues through the presenter’s outrageous use of language did not go unnoticed by the public. It is claimed by some as ‘a breath of fresh air on Malaysian TV’. In other words, rather than approaching issues that are considered sensitive to the Malaysian communities ‘in the usual preachers’ fashion so beloved by the Malaysian mainstream media’, this programme ‘expresses the outrage the way one would while having an impassioned chat over teh tarik at the local mamak stall’ (Ziad Razak 2003). However, there are also viewers who regard such approach as being insensitive toward the Malaysian way of communicating. This paper looks at the approach of the programme from the aspect of language use and the public’s perception toward such use in the media.
This paper invites language instructors to consider the potentials of applying the real language ... more This paper invites language instructors to consider the potentials of applying the real language in contact into learning. Specifically, it looks into the use of language(s) in the linguistic landscapes of our towns and cities and the possibility of providing students with the opportunity to link the real language usage and their classroom activities. Instructors can either bring in the real data to class by capturing the language usage in still photo or video format, or employ the fieldwork method for the students to explore the linguistic landscapes themselves. Data contained in the linguistic landscapes are very rich and can be utilized in different facets of language teaching such as vocabulary enrichment, language accuracy in the form of error correction and linguistic creativity. For more advanced learners, the data can be adapted in teaching high order thinking skills such as inferencing, and policy related matters such as language maintenance, language policy and language ev...
Numerous examinations of gender speech styles have been conducted primarily based on real life co... more Numerous examinations of gender speech styles have been conducted primarily based on real life conversations which were unprepared and spontaneous (Coates 1986; Tannen 1991; Githens 1991), but little has been done in other frameworks. This study looks at gender speech styles in the perspective of its portrayal in literary texts. It focuses on the analysis of stereotyped characteristics of female speech style as portrayed in three children’s novels, written over a period of three centuries – 19 th , 20 th and 21 st Centuries. The analysis is based on Lakoff’s characteristics of female speech style – the use of special vocabulary, imprecise intensifiers, super polite forms, weak forms of expletives, hedges, tag questions and direct quotations, as portrayed in the novels. Since most creative writings are created based on the writers’ observations on the reality of their surroundings, to a certain extent, they do rely on the stereotyped and generalized behaviour to make their written pr...
International Journal of Modern Languages And Applied Linguistics, 2019
Linguistic landscape (LL) refers to the visibility and salience of languages on public and commer... more Linguistic landscape (LL) refers to the visibility and salience of languages on public and commercial signs in a given territory or region. The highest density of signs can be found in cities and towns, particularly in the main shopping streets and industrial areas. This study is a synchronic analysis of digitally photographed commercial shop signs in three selected regions of Kuala Lumpur that focuses on the patterns of the language use. Findings reveal bilingual shop signs dominated the shopping streets in the areas adjacent to and within Kuala Lumpur and English being more prevalent than the national language or other languages. There was also visibility of foreign languages that offers linguistic diversity in the cityscapes. In summary, multilingualism in the areas boils down to different languages being used and functioning in differing ways.
ABSTRACTThe Malaysian subsidiaries of the Local Council by-laws (Undang-undang kecil Majlis Perba... more ABSTRACTThe Malaysian subsidiaries of the Local Council by-laws (Undang-undang kecil Majlis Perbandaran) and the National Language Act (Akta Bahasa Kebangsaan) stipulate that Bahasa Malaysia (BM) must be used for the public signboards and road names. However, the use of foreign words and phrases, especially English, for the local name places such as residential areas, streets and shops has become a very common practice in this country. This paper examines the language use in store fronts of four town centres in Malaysia. The analysis indicates that English is the preferred language for the store signs in larger cities while those in the smaller and provincial towns are in favour of 1) Bahasa Malaysia (BM), 2) a mixture of BM and English, or 3) a mixture of these two and another native language. The findings show that the language chosen for the store signs is related to the type of the township, store location, and the targeted customers. The analysis also reveals that the store signs in the larger cities portray sophisticated language use in terms of English or foreign names, foreign loanwords and language play. On the other hand, the store signs in the smaller towns contain simple BM, English, or a native language.Keywords: shop signs, language use, unilingual, bilingual, multilingual.(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)INTRODUCTION:The Malaysian subsidiaries of the Local Council by-laws (Undang-undang kecil Majlis Perbandaran) and the National Language Act (Akta Bahasa Kebangsaan) stipulate that Bahasa Malaysia (BM) must be used for the public signboards and road names. English words are only allowed if they are not too prominent as compared to BM. However, it is an observable fact that such language policy has not been fully adhered to in this country. The use of foreign words and phrases for the local name places such as residential areas, streets and shops has become a very common practice. This suggests that languages are no longer belonging to the domains of nationalism and culture. Languages are now moving into the domains of global communication, global business and personal freedoms. Thus, despite the language policy, other languages besides BM are chosen and used in these domains.This paper specifically examines the language use in commercial store/shop signs or store/shop fronts in the Malaysian towns. It is hoped that this paper will contribute toward the understanding of the use and roles of different languages in both the business establishments and advertisements.LANGUAGE USE IN SHOP SIGNS - AN OVERVIEW:There has always been a wide interest on language use in the business domain. Of late, language use in store/shop signs has caught the attention of linguists. The pragmatic of language use in this sphere provides a very rich context for language research. For example, a study on shop signs the use and roles of different languages in the business establishment in Bhubaneswar, India found that there are unilingual signs of English, Hindi, Bengali and Oriya; bilingual signs of English and Hindi, and English and Oriya; trilingual signs of Oriya, Hindi and English. Other varieties of language use include acronyms, such as NALCO for 'National Aluminium Company, Anugul'; old English, such as 'Ye Olde Shoppe'; and hybrid forms, such as 'Pratidin News' (Sunwani, 2005). The analysis reveals that English is the dominant language of the shop signs in Bhubaneswar as the shop owners claimed that it is a trendy language and has all the positive values. On the other hand, the combination of English and Hindi in the shop signs is to lure the growing population of Hindi-knowing speakers in the city and its neighbours. It is also found that in more conservative places, Oriya is the preferred language.Along the same line, another study looked into the escalating use of English in Turkish shop signs (Selvi, 2007). It was found that English dominates the window displays and exterior signs of many business entities in the country. …
This study is, first, concerned with the issues arising from the large number of graduates who ar... more This study is, first, concerned with the issues arising from the large number of graduates who are not able to obtain employment due to their linguistic incapability, and second, the general decrying of the employees level of English competence in the workplace.
Asian journal of university education, Oct 30, 2023
A systematic literature review (SLR) can help to guide the evolution and the research fields, rec... more A systematic literature review (SLR) can help to guide the evolution and the research fields, recommend a categorization, and helps to determine the primary issues to demonstrate current and future research directions and theoretical development that will help with the research. This SLR aims to highlight and summarise the effectiveness of integrating the multiple intelligence theory in English teaching and learning. It employed a four-step method for the systematic evidence syntheses review method which were 1) question formulation, 2) systematic searching, 3) quality assessment, and 4) data extraction, from two primary databases; Web of Science and SCOPUS, and a supporting database which is Google Scholar. The analysis pointed out to these main themes: teaching effectiveness and student attributes. The former consisted of three subthemes which were teaching strategies, teaching materials and student interests, while the latter suggested two subthemes of gender and social development. This SLR offers beneficial insights into the current research limitations and to provide recommendations on future study areas or directions. It helps to facilitate critical discussions and to be able to make such comparisons to previous research outcomes.
Malaysia. She has over 17 years of teaching experience and has taught English Proficiency, ESP, E... more Malaysia. She has over 17 years of teaching experience and has taught English Proficiency, ESP, EAP and Business Communication courses. She is currently the Coordinator of UPENA (the university’s publication Unit) of UiTM Pahang. She has been actively presenting papers at local and international conferences. Her research and academic interests include cross-cultural communication, language choice and use, EAP and ESP.
Proceedings of the Regional Conference on Science, Technology and Social Sciences (RCSTSS 2016), 2018
Linguistic landscape (LL) is defined as the visibility and salience of languages on public and co... more Linguistic landscape (LL) is defined as the visibility and salience of languages on public and commercial signs in a given territory or region. In Malaysia, these signs are both a product of governmental planning and demographics. For example, the Malaysian subsidiaries of the local council by-laws (Undang-undang Kecil Majlis Perbandaran) and the National Language Act (Akta Bahasa Kebangsaan) stipulate that Bahasa Malaysia (BM) must be used for the public signboards and road names. Adopting and adapting Sunwani’s (Lang India 5, 2005) framework of uni-, bi-, and multilingual store signboards and the respective language(s) used; this study specifically examines the linguistic landscape in Putrajaya, the centre of government administration in Malaysia, to see whether the language act has been adhered to. Pictorial data of the shop signs within the commercial area of Putrajaya were collected and the analysis recorded the frequency of language use (in the shop signs) according to the types described in the framework. The data indicate that despite the clear language policy, shop signs in Putrajaya may consist of unilingual and bilingual signs in BM, English, Chinese and Tamil. The data also suggest that the language(s) used highly depends on the business products, commercial advantages that the language(s) can bring to the business and the business status that the owners want to project. Such language use creates an important indication of choice and juxtaposition of languages used in a multilingual country as well as in the business domain.
When Edisi Siasat was first aired on NTV7, the approach of presenting the issues through the pres... more When Edisi Siasat was first aired on NTV7, the approach of presenting the issues through the presenter’s outrageous use of language did not go unnoticed by the public. It is claimed by some as ‘a breath of fresh air on Malaysian TV’. In other words, rather than approaching issues that are considered sensitive to the Malaysian communities ‘in the usual preachers’ fashion so beloved by the Malaysian mainstream media’, this programme ‘expresses the outrage the way one would while having an impassioned chat over teh tarik at the local mamak stall’ (Ziad Razak 2003). However, there are also viewers who regard such approach as being insensitive toward the Malaysian way of communicating. This paper looks at the approach of the programme from the aspect of language use and the public’s perception toward such use in the media.
Peer feedback is one of the commonly practised pedagogical approaches in writing classes. It can ... more Peer feedback is one of the commonly practised pedagogical approaches in writing classes. It can be seen as a powerful tool to provide students with an authentic audience who give different views on their writings and, thus, able to increase the student writers’ confidence and motivation. The aim of this exploratory classroom study was to investigate how peer feedback was valued in a writing course. It also explored the potential benefits of peer feedback application in the writing class. The findings reveal that peer feedback was well-received by the students as it gave them the benefits of additional point of views from a wider audience. However, the findings also show that peers’ linguistic competence, attitude and cultural values could affect the value and validity of the feedback which, in turn, could affect the effectiveness of this approach.
When Edisi Siasat was first aired on NTV7, the approach of presenting the issues through the pres... more When Edisi Siasat was first aired on NTV7, the approach of presenting the issues through the presenter’s outrageous use of language did not go unnoticed by the public. It is claimed by some as ‘a breath of fresh air on Malaysian TV’. In other words, rather than approaching issues that are considered sensitive to the Malaysian communities ‘in the usual preachers’ fashion so beloved by the Malaysian mainstream media’, this programme ‘expresses the outrage the way one would while having an impassioned chat over teh tarik at the local mamak stall’ (Ziad Razak 2003). However, there are also viewers who regard such approach as being insensitive toward the Malaysian way of communicating. This paper looks at the approach of the programme from the aspect of language use and the public’s perception toward such use in the media.
This paper invites language instructors to consider the potentials of applying the real language ... more This paper invites language instructors to consider the potentials of applying the real language in contact into learning. Specifically, it looks into the use of language(s) in the linguistic landscapes of our towns and cities and the possibility of providing students with the opportunity to link the real language usage and their classroom activities. Instructors can either bring in the real data to class by capturing the language usage in still photo or video format, or employ the fieldwork method for the students to explore the linguistic landscapes themselves. Data contained in the linguistic landscapes are very rich and can be utilized in different facets of language teaching such as vocabulary enrichment, language accuracy in the form of error correction and linguistic creativity. For more advanced learners, the data can be adapted in teaching high order thinking skills such as inferencing, and policy related matters such as language maintenance, language policy and language ev...
Numerous examinations of gender speech styles have been conducted primarily based on real life co... more Numerous examinations of gender speech styles have been conducted primarily based on real life conversations which were unprepared and spontaneous (Coates 1986; Tannen 1991; Githens 1991), but little has been done in other frameworks. This study looks at gender speech styles in the perspective of its portrayal in literary texts. It focuses on the analysis of stereotyped characteristics of female speech style as portrayed in three children’s novels, written over a period of three centuries – 19 th , 20 th and 21 st Centuries. The analysis is based on Lakoff’s characteristics of female speech style – the use of special vocabulary, imprecise intensifiers, super polite forms, weak forms of expletives, hedges, tag questions and direct quotations, as portrayed in the novels. Since most creative writings are created based on the writers’ observations on the reality of their surroundings, to a certain extent, they do rely on the stereotyped and generalized behaviour to make their written pr...
International Journal of Modern Languages And Applied Linguistics, 2019
Linguistic landscape (LL) refers to the visibility and salience of languages on public and commer... more Linguistic landscape (LL) refers to the visibility and salience of languages on public and commercial signs in a given territory or region. The highest density of signs can be found in cities and towns, particularly in the main shopping streets and industrial areas. This study is a synchronic analysis of digitally photographed commercial shop signs in three selected regions of Kuala Lumpur that focuses on the patterns of the language use. Findings reveal bilingual shop signs dominated the shopping streets in the areas adjacent to and within Kuala Lumpur and English being more prevalent than the national language or other languages. There was also visibility of foreign languages that offers linguistic diversity in the cityscapes. In summary, multilingualism in the areas boils down to different languages being used and functioning in differing ways.
ABSTRACTThe Malaysian subsidiaries of the Local Council by-laws (Undang-undang kecil Majlis Perba... more ABSTRACTThe Malaysian subsidiaries of the Local Council by-laws (Undang-undang kecil Majlis Perbandaran) and the National Language Act (Akta Bahasa Kebangsaan) stipulate that Bahasa Malaysia (BM) must be used for the public signboards and road names. However, the use of foreign words and phrases, especially English, for the local name places such as residential areas, streets and shops has become a very common practice in this country. This paper examines the language use in store fronts of four town centres in Malaysia. The analysis indicates that English is the preferred language for the store signs in larger cities while those in the smaller and provincial towns are in favour of 1) Bahasa Malaysia (BM), 2) a mixture of BM and English, or 3) a mixture of these two and another native language. The findings show that the language chosen for the store signs is related to the type of the township, store location, and the targeted customers. The analysis also reveals that the store signs in the larger cities portray sophisticated language use in terms of English or foreign names, foreign loanwords and language play. On the other hand, the store signs in the smaller towns contain simple BM, English, or a native language.Keywords: shop signs, language use, unilingual, bilingual, multilingual.(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)INTRODUCTION:The Malaysian subsidiaries of the Local Council by-laws (Undang-undang kecil Majlis Perbandaran) and the National Language Act (Akta Bahasa Kebangsaan) stipulate that Bahasa Malaysia (BM) must be used for the public signboards and road names. English words are only allowed if they are not too prominent as compared to BM. However, it is an observable fact that such language policy has not been fully adhered to in this country. The use of foreign words and phrases for the local name places such as residential areas, streets and shops has become a very common practice. This suggests that languages are no longer belonging to the domains of nationalism and culture. Languages are now moving into the domains of global communication, global business and personal freedoms. Thus, despite the language policy, other languages besides BM are chosen and used in these domains.This paper specifically examines the language use in commercial store/shop signs or store/shop fronts in the Malaysian towns. It is hoped that this paper will contribute toward the understanding of the use and roles of different languages in both the business establishments and advertisements.LANGUAGE USE IN SHOP SIGNS - AN OVERVIEW:There has always been a wide interest on language use in the business domain. Of late, language use in store/shop signs has caught the attention of linguists. The pragmatic of language use in this sphere provides a very rich context for language research. For example, a study on shop signs the use and roles of different languages in the business establishment in Bhubaneswar, India found that there are unilingual signs of English, Hindi, Bengali and Oriya; bilingual signs of English and Hindi, and English and Oriya; trilingual signs of Oriya, Hindi and English. Other varieties of language use include acronyms, such as NALCO for 'National Aluminium Company, Anugul'; old English, such as 'Ye Olde Shoppe'; and hybrid forms, such as 'Pratidin News' (Sunwani, 2005). The analysis reveals that English is the dominant language of the shop signs in Bhubaneswar as the shop owners claimed that it is a trendy language and has all the positive values. On the other hand, the combination of English and Hindi in the shop signs is to lure the growing population of Hindi-knowing speakers in the city and its neighbours. It is also found that in more conservative places, Oriya is the preferred language.Along the same line, another study looked into the escalating use of English in Turkish shop signs (Selvi, 2007). It was found that English dominates the window displays and exterior signs of many business entities in the country. …
This study is, first, concerned with the issues arising from the large number of graduates who ar... more This study is, first, concerned with the issues arising from the large number of graduates who are not able to obtain employment due to their linguistic incapability, and second, the general decrying of the employees level of English competence in the workplace.
Asian journal of university education, Oct 30, 2023
A systematic literature review (SLR) can help to guide the evolution and the research fields, rec... more A systematic literature review (SLR) can help to guide the evolution and the research fields, recommend a categorization, and helps to determine the primary issues to demonstrate current and future research directions and theoretical development that will help with the research. This SLR aims to highlight and summarise the effectiveness of integrating the multiple intelligence theory in English teaching and learning. It employed a four-step method for the systematic evidence syntheses review method which were 1) question formulation, 2) systematic searching, 3) quality assessment, and 4) data extraction, from two primary databases; Web of Science and SCOPUS, and a supporting database which is Google Scholar. The analysis pointed out to these main themes: teaching effectiveness and student attributes. The former consisted of three subthemes which were teaching strategies, teaching materials and student interests, while the latter suggested two subthemes of gender and social development. This SLR offers beneficial insights into the current research limitations and to provide recommendations on future study areas or directions. It helps to facilitate critical discussions and to be able to make such comparisons to previous research outcomes.
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