Challenges and practices of academic English communication among Libyan international students in five selected universities in Malaysia
Malaysian universities’ use of English in instruction provides Libyan international students, reportedly the seventh largest ethnic group enrolled in Malaysian universities, opportunities to study in various academic fields. However, Libyan students encounter communicative challenges in Malaysian...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/105099/1/FPP%202022%2029%20IR.pdf |
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| Summary: | Malaysian universities’ use of English in instruction provides Libyan international
students, reportedly the seventh largest ethnic group enrolled in Malaysian universities,
opportunities to study in various academic fields. However, Libyan students encounter
communicative challenges in Malaysian ESL learning environments stemming from
insufficient prior EFL learning experience and resultant deficiencies in communicative
competence, contributing to communicative language anxiety. Consequently, the
students develop mediating learning strategies. Therefore, this study investigated EFL
Libyan students’ academic listening and speaking challenges, their mediating learning
strategies, and the effects of prior learning experiences and communication language
anxiety on their academic communication challenges and strategies. The investigation
adopted an explanatory mixed-mode research design with the assistance of Libyan
Embassy employing an online questionnaire survey with 223 respondents. Interviews
and a focus group discussion were conducted with 20 survey respondents selected
through purposive snowball sampling. Field notes and member checks were used for
data triangulation and validation. Correlational procedures and structural equation
modelling using bootstrapping resampling analyses with SPSS and AMOS were
conducted to investigate the cause-and-effect relationships between variables, determine
the validity of study models, and test the research hypotheses. NVivo analysis was
performed for the interviews and focus group discussion for coding and generating
themes from transcript data supported with field notes.
The results showed that Libyan students experienced listening comprehension
challenges in understanding accents, academic content, and cultural differences. The
qualitative results revealed the participants’ listening comprehension in active
communication was negatively affected by insufficient prior knowledge of academic
terminology and anxiety.The students speaking challenges in academic discourse were
due to their inadequate communicative competence and resultant cognitive inhibition. Qualitative analyses revealed students’ reluctance to participate in academic discourse
resulted from insufficient academic speaking practice which increased their anxiety,
blocking comprehensible input. Thus, the students implemented strategies to improve
their academic communication skills.
The listening strategies, in ranked order, were metacognitive, cognitive, compensatory,
affective, memory-related, and social strategies. The students’ preference for
metacognitive and cognitive listening strategies over social strategies was attributed to
their negative learning experiences combined with consequential communication
anxiety, which discouraged social interaction. Thus, metacognitive and cognitive
listening strategies promoted the students’ self-reliance and self-motivation to improve
listening comprehension through repetitive listening with reduced anxiety, supporting
the storage and retrieval of information between short- and long-term memory. The
speaking strategies, in ranked order, were memory-related, metacognitive, affective,
compensatory, cognitive, and social strategies. Qualitative results revealed the Libyan
students preferred memorisation and self-practice over social strategies. Their reluctance
to employ social speaking strategies was because their insufficient prior learning
experience resulted in poor communicative competence contributing to communication
language anxiety. Memorisation facilitated the students’ mental language modelling,
enabling internalisation of their communicative environment.
Quantitative analyses revealed the Libyan’s prior learning experiences and
communication language anxiety were significantly correlated with their listening and
speaking challenges and strategies. It was further found that prior learning experiences
and communication language anxiety had mediating effects on the listening and
speaking challenges and strategies.
Therefore, stakeholders should consider Libyan academic communication challenges
resulting from inadequate prior English learning experience affecting their learning
success in international higher education through developing and improving English
language practice through educational materials and resources that improve English
learners’ academic success. Additionally, pre-sessional English programs at Malaysian
universities should be aligned with students’ fields of study, emphasising academic
terminology enhancing their communicative academic discourse. As the main
theoretical components addressed in this research are Piaget’s (1936) cognitive theory,
and Krashen’s (1982) affective filter Hypothesis. Therefore, additionally, emphasising
the importance of communication theories towards understanding internationals
academic communication skills from EFL context by investigating the psychological
factors influencing learners’ engagement and cognitive communicative competence
enabling internationals to communicate and critically participate and corresponding
progression in their learning. |
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