Sarjit Kaur

Rapid technological advancements, especially in the higher education landscape, have contributed towards the popularity of digital literacy in educational contexts. In general, digital literacy encompasses the knowledge, skills and awareness of searching, evaluating and disseminating digital information for purposes of improving and facilitating one’s work. Digital skills are considered a vital requirement for graduates to possess as it determines their effective participation in employment and thus, promotes their marketable capabilities. This paper examines the digital literacy practices of ESL (English as a Second Language) students in a Malaysian higher education institution. A questionnaire was used to collect data and provide findings on the digital literacy practices of 150 ESL tertiary students. Findings reveal that the respondents are inclined to use technology in appropriate learning situations and display a willingness to select and use contemporary technologies to access, organise, share and communicate information for a variety of tasks. The implications of the findings suggest that it is important to ensure that students develop effective digital literacy skills utilising technologies to search, evaluate and disseminate quality information to support their academic learning goals. These measures are necessary to ensure that tertiary students are equipped with knowledge, skills, abilities and other desired workforce competencies.

This study investigated the types of language learning strategies used by 73 English majors from the School of Humanities in Universiti Sains Malaysia. Using questionnaires adopted from Oxford’s (1990) Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) and focus group interviews, the study also examined the English major students’ perceptions of using language learning strategies while learning English. The results revealed that the English majors were generally high users of all six types of language learning strategies. The English majors were reported to use metacognitive strategies the most. The least preferred strategies among the English majors were memory strategies. Some of the students’ perceptions were positive as they perceived that language learning strategies developed their language competency and required a conscious and deliberate effort. Conversely, some negative perceptions illustrate that students had low awareness of language learning strategies and they believed that language learning strategies did not develop language competency and the usage did not require conscious effort. Research in this field should not cease from exploration in order to contribute towards the development of self-regulated language learners who have problem solving skills and are able to take control of their learning process.

Textbook Reading Strategies and Its Relationship to Reading Test Performance