No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Exploring Perceptions and Expectations of the International Postgraduates Regarding with the English Course at University Putra Malaysia
Abstract
Designing courses for unknown audiences is a very particular task which necessitates course designers to acquire new perspectives from which to see the issues (Dubin and Olshtin, 1988). Course development becomes more demanding especially if it is aimed at international students from different cultural and educational backgrounds. In fact, this is the situation at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in which 1,846 international postgraduates from 48 different countries are currently pursuing their master and doctorate degrees. Out of this number, nearly a minority of 15% is exempted from UPM English Placement Test if they hold an IELTS (6) or TOEFL (550) certificate. The rest of the candidates are required to register for a prescribed English course which meets six hours a week during a fourteen-week semester. To plan and prepare an appropriate curriculum for such a considerably variant population, the curriculum developers and course designers should primarily diagnose international postgraduates' needs and formulate course objectives so that they meet the audiences' needs (Taba, 1962). Moreover, longitudinal evaluation should be carried out by curriculum and program developers to determine whether their materials and programs continuously meet their students' requirements and expectations or not. To explore perceptions and expectations of UPM international postgraduates regarding their perceptions of the prescribed English course, the whole population of international postgraduates at UPM was emailed an online questionnaire to respond. The questionnaire initiates with a demographical section which is followed by a few yes/no questions to make sure whether a respondent has experienced the prescribed English course or not. The rest of the questionnaire is 22 statements based on a six-point scale (a) to explore perceptions of international postgraduates regarding their teachers, (b) to explore perceptions of international postgraduates regarding their prescribed English course, and (c) to explore international postgraduates' suggestions for the prescribed English course to meet their needs and expectations.
... The globalisation of the sector of higher education comes through the mobility of students and institutions (Min et al. 2012). In Malaysia, increasing the linguistic composition and the ethnic diversity of the students' population is the widest indicator for globalisation of education in the Malaysian universities (Hamzah 2009). ...
This study demonstrates main reasons for choosing The National University of Malaysia (UKM) by international students and their needs and expectations toward the University. The study also shows the obstacles faced by those students and their satisfaction towards UKM. A total of 108 questionnaires were distributed in the main campus to the respondents who came from ten diffident countries. The main reasons for choosing UKM were its high ranking, reasonable tuition fees, faculty, programmes, and lecturers respectively. The results revealed that the main obstacles faced international students were tough visa procedures, improper hostels, social isolation and discrimination, and bureaucracy. Both the facilities and services of UKM and the studying approach have met the expectations satisfaction of international students. Yet, both social relationship and participation in activities and living conditions in UKM hostels have disappointed international students and did not meet their satisfaction. This study suggested that UKM should establish counselling unit and organise regular meetings to listen to the problems and suggestions of those students. Volunteer and pre-enrolment activities should be organised to introduce the Malaysian culture and gather international students with their local peer. Moreover, international students should be provided upon their arrival to UKM by hostels that combine proper conditions of living at a reasonable price.
Sites of internationalized education are the result of, and in turn contribute to, the cultural processes of globalization. These sites have created new education contact zones which may pose moral dilemmas for the teachers therein – in particular for the teachers employed in the cultural contact zones of English as a Second Language (ESL), English for Academic Purposes (EAP), and Foundation preparatory programs. This paper reviews theorizations of culture, cultural identity and cultural processes under conditions of globalization, and then analyzes teachers' interview accounts of pedagogic choices in designing and enacting educational programs for international students in the contact zone of the global university. Specifically, it examines the ways in which teachers navigate and manage the dilemmas created between their professional ethic of cultural respect, and the curricula of linguistic/cultural orientation to Western higher education. It is proposed that teachers' different assumptions about the cultural processes of globalization contribute to the construction of a range of strategies and moral positions when managing such dilemmas. Moreover, it is suggested that holistic, tightly bounded notions of culture no longer adequately inform pedagogic practice in these globalized and globalizing sites.
The literature suggests that teachers may rely more often on intuition when making course planning decisions than on informed assessment of learners' needs ( Barkhuizen 1998 ; Spratt 1999 ). This article proposes a more principled alternative to the intuitive approach, based on the use of teacher-designed class-specific questionnaires intended to obtain context-relevant data from learners as an aid to better course provision. The focus is firmly on the local level, on individual teachers and their classes, rather than on institution-wide surveys, since this is where success or failure of courses is ultimately determined, and where plans for action derived from questionnaire data will be acted upon. The article describes four important benefits of course-specific questionnaires: more cohesive long-term course development; increased learner-centredness; more effective materials selection and design; and teacher self-development. The rationale behind the use of class-specific questionnaire surveys is discussed with reference to university-level learners in Japan.
Penilaian Afektif. Masa Enterprise: Kejang
- Abu Baker Nordin
Abu Baker Nordin (1995). Penilaian Afektif. Masa Enterprise: Kejang.
Introduction to research in education
- D Ary
- L C Jacob
- A Razavieh
Ary, D., Jacob, L. C., & Razavieh, A. (2002). Introduction to research in education. 6th
ed. Australia : Wadsworth.