A Study on the Cultural Values, Perceptual Learning Styles,
and Attitudes toward Oracy Skills of Malaysian Tertiary
Students
European Journal
of Social Sciences, 2010, 13 (3), 479-493
By Fung Lan Yong, Lecturer
Swinburne University of Technology ,
Sarawak
fyong@swinburne.edu.my
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to examine the cultural values, perceptual learning
styles, and attitudes toward oracy skills of Malaysian tertiary students. Data were collected by administering Cultural
Dimensions Questionnaire, Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire,
and Attitudes toward Oracy Skills Questionnaire, respectively. A three-way
analysis of variance (Group x Gender x Age) were conducted to analyze
data. The independent variables were
group, gender, and age, while the dependent variables were subjects’ scores on
cultural dimensions, perceptual learning styles, and attitudes toward oracy
skills. Results from a three-way analysis of variance on cultural dimensions
scores revealed significant gender differences on only one item, but
significant age differences were found on five items. With regard to perceptual learning style
scores, significant age differences were found on two items; significant group,
gender, and age interactions were found on only one item. With regard to attitudes toward oracy,
significant age differences were found on three items. Based on the findings, conclusions and
recommendations were made.
Keywords: Cultural
values, Perceptual learning styles, Oracy, Malaysian tertiary students
Introduction
Malaysian tertiary students need to develop formal and informal racy skills as basic communication tools to master various subjects and develop graduate attributes. Competence in the oracy skills of speaking and listening is just as important as reading and writing in the attainment of academic and career success. Complimentary to reading and writing, oracy allows students to internalize their reading as well as provide a voice into their own writing, for example, exploratory talk encourages them to use language to engage in evaluative thinking. In addition, oracy enhances students’ ability to recall, understand, and respond to literature. It also allows them to cope with various subjects that require distinctive ways of organizing information. In fact, tertiary students improve their literacy skills more effectively by focusing on speaking and listening skills first. Good oracy skills not only augment their expressive skills, but also influence their personal, social, and academic life.
Malaysian tertiary students need to develop formal and informal racy skills as basic communication tools to master various subjects and develop graduate attributes. Competence in the oracy skills of speaking and listening is just as important as reading and writing in the attainment of academic and career success. Complimentary to reading and writing, oracy allows students to internalize their reading as well as provide a voice into their own writing, for example, exploratory talk encourages them to use language to engage in evaluative thinking. In addition, oracy enhances students’ ability to recall, understand, and respond to literature. It also allows them to cope with various subjects that require distinctive ways of organizing information. In fact, tertiary students improve their literacy skills more effectively by focusing on speaking and listening skills first. Good oracy skills not only augment their expressive skills, but also influence their personal, social, and academic life.
Self-disclosure
and oral presentations are important components of oracy skills development.
However, besides keeping their personal feelings
personal, Malaysian tertiary students also tend to be reserved about voicing
their own opinions. To many,
self-disclosure is akin to washing one’s dirty linen in public, while oral
expression or open argumentation brings embarrassment and public disgrace. Besides verbal fluency, oracy skills
development also aims to inculcate autonomous, abstract, and evaluative
thinking skills, which requires a proactive learning style. However, certain
perceptual learning preferences, such as non-disclosure and
authority-centeredness, make it difficult for Malaysian students to engage in
class discussions, oral presentations, and oral argumentation, which are
essential elements of oracy skills development.
Impact of
Culturally-Infused Perceptual Learning Styles on Oracy
Malaysian students’ perceptual learning styles and attitudes toward
oracy skills are influenced by not only their own language background and life
experiences, but also by their cultural values. One of their culturally-infused
perceptual learning styles is their preference to be neutral and to save face,
making them conservative in situations that require oral critique. They try to
resolve differences peacefully, believing that oral conflict will make them
lose face. However, such harmony-seeking attitudes not only prevent them from
offering constructive arguments, but also discourage them from interacting with
peers from high oral cultures.
Instead of engaging in enthusiastic
discussions like their western counterparts, Malaysian students, who dislike
challenging others out loud, prefer to provide brief, sympathetic
responses. Therefore, they find it
stressful to undertake team projects with verbally expressive students from
western countries. Further,
misunderstandings often occur due to cultural differences in terms of roles,
expectations, and communication. Assuming that international group members
fully understand their objectives, Malaysian students tend to be more
subtle. Putting teamwork as top
priority, they expect the entire group to be actively contributing from
beginning to end. Again, they find it
hard to tell others to help assemble the final product instead of concentrating
on their individual parts only.
Impact
of Culturally-Based Non-Verbal Communication on Oracy
Understanding cultural differences in body
language is a crucial component in oracy skills development. Cultural factors
that influence Malaysian students’ listening and speaking skills include
conversational distance, silence, eye contact, greeting, acceptance, and
seniority. For instance, conversational
distance in Malaysia Malaysia
Interaction
Among Perceptual Learning Styles, Cultural Values, and Oracy
Interaction among perceptual learning
styles, cultural values, and oracy skills in Malaysian schools can further be
seen in four major areas: Curriculum,
teacher-student relationship, learning process, and motivation.
Compared to their western counterparts,
Malaysian students have a standardized curriculum that influences their
perceptual learning preferences as well as oracy skills. Secondary school students, categorized
according to forms (levels) take the same subjects based on a fixed
schedule. For example, all Form Three
students take mathematics, history, geography, and other specific subjects; no
personal choices or electives are available.
Fourth and fifth formers are streamed: while arts students take history,
geography, and genera l math, their
science counterparts concentrate on physics, chemistry, and pure math.
Instead of being facilitators or mediators,
Malaysian teachers act as sole authorities and knowledge transmitters. Respect toward them is demonstrated through
attentive listening, tolerance, self-discipline, and humility. An average Malaysian classroom usually has 40
to 50 students who not only listen attentively to the teacher, but also stand
up whenever they ask a question.
Further, they prefer to ask questions after class, often avoiding challenging
questions for fear of offending the teacher. In short, Malaysian students tend
to exhibit low autonomy and high teacher dependency that in turn influence
their oracy skills development.
Alias and
Jamaludin (2005), in their synthesis of three studies on online distance
learning, drew some interesting conclusions concerning learner-instructor
interaction in Malaysia
As the main
figure in most interactions, the instructor initiates and genera tes content-related discussions, while students limit
their questions to subject matter and grades.
This scenario reflects that Malaysian students are instructor dependent
and prefer prescribed contents, showing great concern over deadlines and assessments.
Raised in a culture that emphasizes
hierarchical respect within family and society, Malaysian students’ perceptions
toward the learning process differ from those of their western
counterparts. For instance, they learn
primarily to gain the knowledge to fulfill their basic family and social
responsibilities rather than for personal satisfaction. Teachers, as content
deliverers and character molders, serve as authority figures in terms of
cognitive and ethical-moral development.
In addition, Malaysian students’ learning
relies heavily on face-to-face delivery, dominated by the teacher.
Characterized by highly structured learning activities carried out in large
classes, the Malaysian learning process genera lly
lacks student-centeredness and dialogue.
Being surface learners, Malaysian students tend to value learning
outcomes rather than the process of learning.
Hence, important learning processes, such as evaluative thinking,
interpersonal communication, and leadership development are neglected.
As for cognitive
and meta-cognitive processes, Alias & Jamaludin (2005) concluded that
Malaysian students prefer direct delivery and instructor assistance, applying three
basic cognitive strategies. For example,
they rehearse and elaborate through copying and rereading notes, organize
information though concept mapping, and remember information using mnemonics
and visual organizers. Their main
concern is getting quick answers rather than innovative problem solving. Instead of showing persistence and self-directedness,
they resort to seeking instructor assistance whenever difficulty arises.
Besides lacking awareness on their own learning characteristics, they also
rarely self-correct or evaluate their own learning strategies.
While their western counterparts advocate
intrinsic motivation and personal interests, Malaysian students are
predominantly extrinsically motivated.
Instead of acquiring critical thinking/innovative problem solving
skills, they learn by rote with government/external exams in mind. This is not surprising as getting good grades
in compulsory exams is crucial for Malaysian students to obtain
scholarships/study loans to enroll in highly competitive public universities.
In sum, mainly oriented toward getting
the paper qualifications for a job, Malaysian students learn for extrinsic
goals rather than self-fulfillment and intellectual curiosity. Their need for ready answers and easy access
to past-year papers implies that they are superficial achievers rather than
intrinsic, deep learners.
Culturally-Bound
Learning Styles of Malaysian Students
In
his article on Asian students’ learning styles, Littrell (2008) elaborated the
impact of cultural values on the learning styles of Chinese students. Malaysian students exhibit some of the
characteristics mentioned by the author.
Being
introverted, Malaysian students prefer to receive knowledge directly from the
teacher, rather than discovering and evaluating it themselves. Quiet, shy, and
reticent in class, they rarely express opinions or emotions openly. Hence, listening to the teacher becomes the
most frequent activity in school. They
take fewer speaking turns than their western counterparts as they do not wish
express their views or raise questions overtly.
Being
closure-oriented, Malaysian students prefer clear directions, certainty, and
detailed information. In other words,
they have low tolerance for ambiguity, uncertainty, or fuzziness. Dependent on authority figures, they are
obedient and conforming to rules and deadlines.
In addition, they prefer immediate teacher feedback and fixed answers
(rather than multiple correct answers).
Being analytic,
Malaysian students are sequential, orderly, and organized; they pinpoint details
but neglect the overall structure (seeing a single tree rather than the entire
forest). Their precision enables them to
effectively identify significant details from a sea of background information,
but often prevents them from linking discrete parts to achieve a holistic
picture.
As
field-independent learners, Malaysian students focus on relevant details
only. They enjoy dissecting and
analyzing information logically, looking for contrasts and cause-effect
relationships.
Their field independence enables them to do
well in spatial tasks, mathematics, and science.
Highly visual,
Malaysian students enjoy reading as it stimulates their eyes. They therefore remember better when lectures,
conversations, or directions are reinforced by visual aids. Their visual strength is partly due to the
way they have been assimilating information since young, mainly through
textbook reading and copying teacher notes from the blackboard.
As
concrete-sequential learners, Malaysian students prefer to have clear
guidelines, focusing on the present. Motivated
by detailed outlines, lists, structured reviews, and concise rules, they learn
more effectively by combing sound, movement, sight, and touch in a linear
manner. To commit information to long
term memory, they combine rote learning, analysis, and sequenced repetition.
Being
reflective, Malaysian students are thinking- rather than feeling-oriented. As they prefer to evaluate through logical
analysis, they often spend time to obtain accurate answers. However, their need
for precision makes them unwilling to take risks, hypothesize, or draw their
own conclusions.
As lateral
learners, Malaysian students prefer to discuss with classmates in the same row
before giving an answer. Thinking and self-correcting happen laterally when students
finding the answer first share it with neighbors. Instead of giving answers
directly, they compare answers and let the best speaker announce it. Therefore, group learning is a natural
occurrence in Malaysian classrooms as students habitually lean to check with
immediate neighbors.
Perceptual
Learning Styles
According to Reid (2000), perceptual
learning styles comprise six major preferences:
Visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, group, and individual. Visual
students learn best from seeing words in books and on the board. They assimilate information better by
reading, requiring little oral explanation.
Additionally, they often learn alone with reading materials. However, they should take notes of lectures
and oral directions for better recall.
Auditory
students learn from spoken words and from verbal explanations. Hence, they remember information better by
reading aloud or moving their lips as they read, particularly when they are mastering
new concepts. They greatly benefit from
audio tapes, lectures, and class discussions; hence, they should be urged to
create their own tapes, tutor other students, or converse with special guests.
Kinesthetic
students learn best through experience, by being physically involved in the
classroom. They absorb information when
actively participating in activities, field trips, and role-playing. To achieve their full potential, they need a
combination of stimuli, for instance, audio-taping various activities.
Tactile students
learn best through hands-on experiences, for instance, performing experiments,
constructing prototypes/models, and actively manipulating materials.
Psychomotor activities provide them with the most fulfilling learning
experiences. Nevertheless, they should write notes and instructions for better
retention and recall.
Group learners
learn more easily when they study with at least one peer; hence, they achieve
more by working with others. Motivated
by group interaction and assignments with other students, they are more
productive working with two or three classmates. Teamwork not only inspires
them, but also helps them to solve problems more effectively.
Individual
learners perform best when working alone.
More productive when studying alone, they retain more by mastering
concepts by themselves. In brief, they
master new material best when left in their own private corner.
Besides primary
perceptual styles, students also have minor learning styles which, in most cases,
indicate areas when they can still adequately function as learners. Nevertheless, successful students usually learn
in more than one way.
On the other
hand, negligible learning styles indicate that students may have difficulty
learning in those ways. While they learn
more effectively through their primary perceptual styles, they should also try
to strengthen their perceptual skills in those negligible areas. For instance, those who are kinesthetically
adept but dislike using the auditory modality should listen with their eyes and
ears actively open, as they have to attend lectures at university, and after
graduation, follow instructions in the real world.
Cultural
Dimensions of Malaysian Students
Hofstede’s
cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 1984; Hofstede 1991) in relation to family,
school, and workplace are useful to examine perceptual learning preferences and
oracy skills development of Malaysian students.
Malaysian students are socialized toward the following cultural dimensions
that impact oracy skills development:
Large power distance, collectivism, masculinity, and strong uncertainty
avoidance.
Malaysian
students tend to accept and expect that power is unequally distributed. At home, they are educated toward obedience
to elders, treating them as superiors. At
school, they receive an authority-centered education, with teachers as the
experts. As future employees, they are
expected to respect hierarchy, accepting existential inequality. As subordinates, they do what they are told,
regarding their employer as a benevolent autocrat.
Malaysian
students tend to be collectivistic since they usually maintain extended family
relationships. They demonstrate a deep sense of loyalty and responsibility in
return for protection from their elders. At home, Malaysian students are
educated toward group consciousness, trying to fulfill family obligations while
upholding harmony, respect, and humility.
At school, they strive to achieve what their teachers advocate. As future employees, they are expected to
hold different values standards, treating colleagues as members of their own
group. They also tend to value relationships over position and power,
entrusting the moral model of employer-employee relationship.
Raised in a relationship-oriented
culture, Malaysian students believe that efficiency can be attained through well-established
networks and mutual obligations. At home, they are taught the importance of
harmonious relationships, cooperation, solidarity, compromise, and negotiation. At school, they are encouraged to show unity
and social adaptation rather than competitiveness, treating knowledge,
experience, and goals as equally important. As future employees, they are
expected to show humility rather than assertiveness, focus on life quality
rather than career achievement, and rely more on intuition rather than
decisiveness.
The traditional
masculine work role model of male achievement, control, and power still exists
in Malaysia Malaysia
Malaysians show
high uncertainty avoidance, demonstrating a dislike toward ambiguity. Hence, they feel uncomfortable with the
novel, unknown, surprising, or unusual.
Showing low tolerance for unstructured situations, they prefer
regulations, security, and absolute truth.
At home, they show conformity as doing something out of the norm is
frowned upon. They therefore experience
higher anxiety (compared to westerners) due to stricter upbringing. At school, they prefer structured learning
situations, precise objectives, and detailed guidelines, with teachers as sole
knowledge transmitters. As future
employees, they prefer a workplace characterized by formality and standards
rather than innovation and change.
Malaysian
students tend to be lecturer-driven, reflecting large power distance,
collectivism, and high uncertainty avoidance.
As afore-mentioned, they prefer a structured learning environment
whereby lecturers determine all the objectives, instructional methods,
assignments, and deadlines. They also prefer lecturers who summarize important
points, reinforce on-task behavior, and provide immediate feedback.
Reflective,
Malaysian students prefer to sit still, listen, and observe. They take detailed notes, asking questions only
after class. Maintaining a low profile, they rarely ask or answer questions in
class. They find class discussions
challenging as they are reluctant to voice their opinions or criticisms openly.
Significance
of the Study
Very little research is available on the
cultural values, perceptual learning styles, and attitudes toward oracy of
tertiary students, particularly Malaysian students. To ensure that tertiary students get the most
out of their oracy classes, it is crucial to gain some insight into their
cultural values, perceptual learning preferences, and attitudes toward oracy
skills development. Recognizing
students’ culturally-infused perceptual styles enable lecturers to adjust their
perceptual teaching style to accommodate the majority of the class without
neglecting those with special needs. Using
instructional strategies that capitalize on students’ cultural and perceptual
learning strengths results in a favorable learning environment that promotes
multiculturalism and learning through diversity.
Tertiary
students, on the other hand, need to know their own cultural and perceptual
strengths to accommodate their lecturers’ instructional style. Further, it is unrealistic for them to expect
all lecturers to teach in the manner with which they feel most
appropriate. In reality, many university
lecturers, often acting as facilitators, possess their own cultural values and
perceptual preferences. They expect
students to be independent and resilient rather than trying to satisfy their
every whim and fancy. Hence, students
who know their own cultural and perceptual learning strengths are able to cope
with various instructional styles as well as interact more effectively with
others who have unique strengths or preferences. In short, awareness of cultural values and
perceptual learning styles not only enhances students’ oracy skills, but also
their academic self-efficacy and achievement potential overall.
Purpose
of the Study
The purpose of the study was to examine the
cultural values, perceptual learning styles, and attitudes toward oracy skills
development of Malaysian tertiary students at a private university in Sarawak , Malaysia
Methodology
Subjects
Subjects were first-year undergraduate
students enrolled in a private university in Sarawak , Malaysia
One hundred and
one (101) students from the same classes completed Cultural Dimensions
Questionnaire and Attitudes toward Oracy Skills Questionnaire during the
following week. Fifty-eight (58) were
Marketing students, while the other 43 were Engineering Math. Sixty-two (62) were male, while 39 were female
students. The mean age was 18.5 years.
Instruments
Cultural Dimensions Questionnaire,
Perceptual Learning Style Preference, and Attitudes toward Oracy Skills
Questionnaire were administered to collect data. Cultural values were assessed by
administering Cultural Dimensions Questionnaire (CDQ). Items were adapted from
a questionnaire used by Ng and Burke (2004) to examine cultural values as
predictors of attitudes toward equality and diversity. CDQ consisted of 16 items, four on each of
the following dimensions: Individualism-collectivism (IC), uncertainty
avoidance (UA), masculinity-femininity (MF), and power distance (PD). While the
items of Ng and Burke (2004) were related to managers, employees, and jobs, the
terms were replaced by lecturers, students, and assignments for the purpose of the study. Respondents took 10 minutes to indicate their
agreement with each item on a five-point scale:
Strongly agree = 5, agree = 4, uncertain = 3, disagree = 2, and strongly
disagree = 1.
Perceptual
learning preferences were assessed by administering Perceptual Learning Style
Preference Questionnaire (Reid, 2000), which took 25 minutes to complete and
score. Comprising 30 items, Perceptual
Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) required students to write down
a numerical value at the end of each:
Strongly agree = 5, agree = 4, uncertain = 3, disagree = 2, and strongly
disagree = 1. For each perceptual style,
they had to fill out all the values, then add the numbers, and finally, multiply
the answer by two. Separate scores on
six perceptual categories allowed them to determine their major, minor, and negligible
styles. Major learning style preference
scores ranged from 38 to 50, minor ranged from 25 to 37, and negligible ranged
from 0 to 24.
Attitudes toward
Oracy Skills Questionnaire (AOS) was administered to collect data on students’
perceptions toward oracy skills development.
Designed by the author after reviewing the literature, it comprised 15
items that measured respondents’ beliefs concerning the role and importance of
oracy. It took about 10 minutes to
complete, requiring students to indicate their responses on a five-point
scale: 5 = strongly agree; 1= strongly
disagree.
Procedure
PLSPQ was administered to both groups
during the third week of classes with the assistance of the lecturers. CDQ and AOS were administered to the same
groups during the fourth week of classes with the cooperation of the same
lecturers. Subjects were required to
complete the questionnaires during the first 15 minutes of class; however,
those who needed more time could continue the task during a ten-minute class
break. The researcher distributed the
questionnaires with the assistance of the lecturers.
After completing
their questionnaires, students submitted them to the lecturers. Each time, the researcher remained outside the
classroom for 20 minutes to retrieve the completed questionnaires from the
lecturers. Late questionnaires (from
students who needed more time) were submitted to the lecturers, who in turn
delivered them to the researcher the same day.
PLSPQ was
administered one week before the other two questionnaires because it was more
complicated and took longer time to complete.
Moreover, students would find it tedious to complete three
questionnaires all at once.
Students’
responses were coded using Microsoft Excel, while data were analyzed using the
Statistical Package for Social Sciences, Version 16.0. A three-way analysis of
variance (Group x Gender x Age) were conducted to analyze data. The independent variables were group, gender,
and age. The dependent variables were
subjects’ scores on cultural dimensions, perceptual learning styles, and
attitudes toward oracy skills. ). Items that
showed high percentages of agreement (more than 80 percent) on the three
instruments were also noted.
Results
Three-way
analysis of variance
Results from the three-way analysis of
variance on cultural dimensions scores revealed significant gender differences
only one item: Lecturers expect students
to closely follow instructions and procedures, F(1, 99) = 5.05, p <
.05.
Significant age
differences were found on five cultural dimensions: (1) Group welfare is more important than
individual welfare, F(8, 92) = 3.99, p < .001, (2) Group success is more
important than individual success, F(8,
92) = 4.17, p < .001, (3) It is
more important for men to have a professional career than it is for women, F(8,
92) = 3.29, p < .005, (4) It is
often necessary for lecturers to use authority and power with students, F (8, 92) = 2.84, p < .01, and (5) Students should always agree with their
lecturers’ decisions, F(8, 92) =
2.59, p < .05.
Significant
course and age interactions were found on three cultural items: (1) Group welfare is more important than
individual welfare, F(5, 95) = 2.66, p < .05, (2) Team members should always
consider the welfare of the group first rather than their own goals, F(5, 95) = 2.49, p < .05, and (3) Students should always agree with their
lecturers’ decisions, F(5, 95) =
4.11, p < .005. Results
from the three-way analysis of variance on perceptual learning style scores
revealed significant age differences on two items: (1) When someone tells me how to do something
in class, I learn it better, F(10,
102) = 2.02, p < .05, and (2) I
learn more when I can make a model of something, F(10, 102) = 2.54, p <
.01. Significant group, gender, and age
interactions were found on only one item:
I learn more when I can make a
model of something, F (2, 110) =
4.52, p < .05.
Results from the
three-way analysis of variance on attitudes toward oracy revealed significant
age differences on three items: (1) Oral
presentations require effective listening and speaking skills, F(8, 92) = 2.58, p > . 05, (2) Listening and speaking are important to improve
other skills, such as reading and writing, F(8,
92) = 2.61, p < .05, and (3)
Students should be given opportunities to improve their listening and speaking
skills, F(8, 92) = 2.45, p < .05.
Percentages
Percentages of agreement on cultural
dimensions were calculated (see Table 1).
Items that showed high percentages of agreement (more than 80 percent)
included the following: (1) Specific
instructions let students know what they are expected to do, (2) Rules are
needed to inform students what is expected of them, (3) Instructions are
important for doing assignments, and (4) Being accepted by members of my own
group is very important.
Table
1: Percentages
of Agreement on Cultural Dimensions
Items Percent
Group
(team) welfare is more important than individual (personal) welfare 64.4
Specific
instructions let students know what they are expected to do 87.0
Meetings
are conducted more effectively when they are chaired by men 33.7
Lecturers
should make most decisions without consulting students 13.9
Group
success is more important than individual (personal) success 44.6
Lecturers
expect students to closely follow instructions and procedures 63.3
It is
more important for men to have a professional career than it is for women 28.7
It is
often necessary for lecturers to use authority and power with students 34.6
Being
accepted by members of my own group is very important 83.2
Rules are
needed to inform students what is expected of them 83.1
Men
usually solve problems with logical analysis (mental power),
while
women do it with intuition (common sense/gut feeling) 39.0
Lecturers
should not seek the opinions of students often 14.9
Team
members should always consider the welfare of the group first
rather
than their own (individual) goals 65.4
Instructions
are important for doing assignments 86.2
It is
better to have a man at a high level position rather than a woman 21.8
Students
should always agree with their lecturers’ decisions 11.9
Perceptual
learning items that had more than 70 percent agreement were identified (see
Table 2): (1) When the lecturer tells me
the instructions, I understand better, (2) I prefer to learn by doing something
in class, (3) I learn more when I make something for a class project, (4) I
enjoy learning in class by doing experiments, (5) I learn better when I make
drawings as I study, (6) When I build something, I remember what I have learned
better, and (7) I prefer to study with
others.
Table 2: Perceptual Learning Items with More Than 70 Percent Agreement
Item Percent
When the
lecturer tells me the instructions, I understand better (A) 89.4
I prefer
to learn by doing something in class (K) 74.6
I learn
more when I make something for a class project (T) 79.8
I enjoy
learning in class by doing experiments (K) 73.7
I learn
better when I make drawings as I study (T) 73.7
When I
build something, I remember what I have learned better (T) 79.8
I prefer
to study with others (G) 71.1
A frequency
count on the six categories of perceptual learning styles was conducted to
determine the predominant preferences of tertiary students. Percentages of
students who scored 38 to 50 points in each category were calculated (see Table
3). More than 50 percent of the students
indicated that their major perceptual learning styles were kinesthetic and
group learning.
Table 3: Percentages of Students with Major
Perceptual Learning Styles
Major style (38-50 points) Percent
Visual
modality 28.9
Auditory
modality 50.0
Tactile
modality 50.0
Kinesthetic
modality 59.6
Group 53.6
Individual 16.6
Percentages of
agreement on attitudes toward oracy were calculated (see Table 4). Items that showed less than 80 percent
agreement included the following: (1) The higher an employee climbs the job
ladder, the more important effective listening and speaking become (78.3
percent), (2) Critical thinking skills can be improved through effective
listening and speaking (64.4 percent), (3) Listening and speaking are important
to improve other skills, such as reading and writing (67.4 percent), (4)
Solving problems requires effective listening and speaking skills (50.5
percent), and (5) To do well at university, it is important to have good
listening and speaking skills (77.3 percent).
Table 4: Percentages on Attitudes toward Oracy
Items Percent
Active
listening and speaking are just as important as writing 84.2
Active
listening and speaking are important for public speaking 83.1
Oral
presentations require effective listening and speaking skills 87.1
Effective
listening and speaking increase one’s value to the organization 84.1
Active
listening and speaking are important 21st century skills 82.1
The
higher an employee climbs the job ladder, the more important
effective
listening and speaking become 78.3
People
can express their thoughts, ideas, and feelings properly
through
effective listening and speaking 84.2
With
effective listening and speaking, people can participate in society
successfully 84.2
Effective
communication requires active listening and speaking ability 86.2
Critical
thinking skills can be improved through effective listening and speaking 64.4
Listening
and speaking are important to improve other skills (reading and writing) 67.4
Students
should be given opportunities to improve their listening and speaking
skills 85.1
Solving
problems requires effective listening and speaking skills 50.5
To do
well at university, it is important to have good listening and speaking skills 77.3
It is
important for university graduates to have effective listening and
speaking
skills
88.1
Implications
Cultural
dimensions
Significant age differences were found on
five cultural dimensions. Findings imply
that older students value group welfare and group success more than younger
students, probably due to greater exposure to group projects and regard for
team spirit. Further, older students
also do not believe that (1) it is more important for men to have a professional
career, (2) lecturers should use authority and power with students, and (3) students
should always agree with their lecturers.
Findings imply that older students tend to be more conscious of gender
equality and equity as well as student autonomy and bargaining power.
More than 80
percent of the students maintained that (1) specific instructions let them know
what they were expected to do, (2) they needed rules to inform what was
expected of them, (3) instructions were important for doing assignments. These
findings imply that tertiary students have high uncertainty avoidance, showing
preference for structure and clear directions.
Fearful to tread on unknown territory, they perform more effectively
when clear objectives and specific guidelines are provided at the onset of
every task.
Being accepted
by members of their group was very important to 83 percent of the
students. This finding implies that tertiary
students are highly collectivistic. This
is not surprising as many have extended families that emphasize cohesiveness,
social obligations, and interdependence.
Brought up to be cooperative and tolerant, they thrive in projects that
require group commitment and teamwork. Tertiary
students would do well in engineering and marketing as these courses require
group projects and group presentations. Besides,
group projects usually carry more marks than individual reports. Those that require review of literature, data
collection and analysis, and recommendations allow group members to share the
workload. Socially conscious and
compromising, tertiary students also enjoy doing group projects that offer
camaraderie from beginning to end.
Items that showed
less than 30 percent agreement included the following: (1) Lecturers should not
seek the opinions of students often, (2) Students should always agree with their
lecturers’ decisions, (3) It is more important for men to have a professional
career than it is for a women, and (4) It is better to have a man at a high
level position rather than a woman.
Only 14.9 percent
indicated that lecturers should not seek the students’ opinions often. Another negligible 11.9 percent indicated
that they should always agree with their lecturers’ decisions. These findings imply that tertiary students
prefer authoritative lecturers who are restrictive and make strong maturity
demands, yet are reasonable and supportive.
Such lecturers set high expectations and respect their students’
opinions. In contrast, tertiary students
dislike authoritarian lecturers who insist that obedience be pursued for its
own sake and that strict guidelines be followed without question. In short, they prefer reasonable lecturers
who reinforce mature behavior and provide encouragement, but reject those who
are controlling and coercive.
Only a low 21.8
percent revealed that it was better to have a man at a high level position
rather than a woman. Only 28.7 percent
agreed that it was more important for men to have a professional career than it
was for a woman. These findings imply
that many tertiary students have low masculinity. They show less gender differentiation in
terms of employment, probably because female enrollment in the physical
sciences and business is increasing.
Besides, tertiary studies have also exposed them to such critical
concepts as gender equity, parity, and equal employment opportunities. In brief, many tertiary students perceive
that women are capable of holding positions once dominated by men.
Perceptual
Learning Styles
Significant age differences were found on
only two perceptual learning
items. Findings imply that younger
students learn better when someone tells them how to do something in class and
learn more when they can make a model of something. Younger students tend to be more tactile and
kinesthetic than older students; as students get older they may develop more
perceptual preferences due to modeling, experience, or self-appraisal.
About 89 percent
of the students indicated that they understood better when the lecturer told
them the instructions. About 80 percent
learned more if they made something for a class project. About
75 percent preferred to learn by doing something in class. Findings imply that many tertiary students
are auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic learners. They would do well in engineering that
requires measuring, sketching, and making prototypes. They would also shine in marketing that
involves designing advertisements and assembling various products. Having a strong auditory modality enables
both marketing and engineering students to cope with lectures, discussions, and
instructions.
About 75 percent
preferred to learn and would learn more effectively by doing something in
class. Another 74 percent enjoyed
learning in class by performing experiments.
Results imply that many tertiary students prefer to learn using the
kinesthetic modality. Again, engineering
and marketing students will thrive in courses that involve designing,
constructing, or manipulating things.
They would also find projects and other hands-on experiences stimulating.
Only 16.6 percent
of the students preferred individual learning or learning alone. Findings imply that tertiary students are
predominantly group learners who enjoy learning with peers. This tendency reflects that they are more
collectivistic rather than individualistic, valuing relationships over
competition. Group conscious, they
believe that they can achieve more by sharing the trials and tribulations of
tertiary learning.
More than half
of the tertiary students’ major perceptual learning styles were kinesthetic and
group learning. Hence, they learn better
when allowed to actively manipulate their learning environment and resources in
groups. As aforementioned, their
learning needs can be largely met by real-life experiences and interactive
projects.
Attitudes
toward Oracy
Significant age differences were found on
three attitudes toward oracy items.
Findings imply that older students are more aware that (1) oral
presentations require effective oracy, (2) oracy skills are needed to their
reading and writing, and (3) they still need to improve their oracy
skills. Importance of oracy tends to
increase with students’ age or time spent at university.
Findings further
imply that tertiary students need to know that effective listening and speaking
are essential to get a job promotion. Tertiary
studies should therefore emphasize that effective oracy fosters team spirit and
interpersonal communication at the workplace, resulting in better work
performance.
Findings imply
that only a low percentage of students knew that oracy could influence critical
thinking skills. Again, tertiary studies
should highlight that effective oracy allows one to express their opinions in
an evaluative manner and to engage in rational decision making.
Similarly,
findings imply that many tertiary students do not see the link between oracy
and reading and writing skills. Tertiary
studies would be more effective if students receive oracy training as a
pre-requisite to reading and writing or take all three subjects simultaneously.
Findings imply
that barely half of the tertiary students know that problem solving requires
effective oracy. It is therefore
important for them to acquire effective oracy before taking courses that
require synthesis and evaluative skills.
Findings also
imply that tertiary students need awareness concerning the impact of oracy on
university life. Effective oracy is
essential for them to cope with various courses as well as to successfully
interact with others on campus.
Overall, tertiary
students need greater awareness concerning the role and impact of effective
oracy at university as well as in the real world. Oracy skills should therefore be embedded in
various tertiary subjects as a graduate attribute that helps students realize
not only their intellectual potential, but also their career goals.
Recommendations
Effective oracy skills greatly influence the development of
autonomous, abstract, and evaluative thinking skills and other graduate
attributes. To acquire oracy competence,
tertiary students at an international branch campus should modify their
perceptual learning styles while capitalizing on their unique cultural
backgrounds. Only after abandoning their
customary way of learning through teacher spoon-feeding can they develop
independence and higher level thinking.
Further, they should modify their
culturally-instilled traits of face-saving, collectivism, and interpersonal harmony. Instead of passive observation and
note-taking, they should engage in active oracy to achieve team goals and
international interaction. In brief,
overcoming the fear of losing countenance and non-disclosure is essential to
making themselves seen, heard, and appreciated.
Ability to communicate in a socially and
culturally acceptable manner in different settings is an important aspect of
oracy skills development. To achieve
this, tertiary students need to become critical and innovative users of spoken
language. To begin with, they should avoid using reticent phrases, disclaimers, hedges, or
tag questions, which often obstruct communication.
Student-lecturer
interaction assumes a crucial role in developing oracy; unfortunately, many tertiary
students focus mainly on task difficulty, deadlines, and past-year exams. For tertiary students to initiate and genera te content-related discussions, a tertiary
environment that fosters active learner-peer-instructor interaction and deep
learning is essential. To gradually
adapt to western campus discourse, they need to modify their culturally-bound perceptual
styles through independent inquiry and self-evaluation.
Enhancement
of tertiary students’ oracy skills should be based on research and best
practices, including cooperative and experiential learning. Further, it requires appropriate
instructional procedures, curriculum content, and a classroom environment that
supports investigation and discourse. A linguistically rich setting that
emphasizes oracy allows students not only to establish new social and mental
connections, but also to reveal their inner selves and other unchartered
aspects of their personalities.
Oracy Enhancement Program: Important Components
An oracy
enhancement program should feature culturally-appropriate literature and
dialogue that allow students to interact with different audiences. It should encourage vocabulary, questioning, interpersonal,
argumentative, and evaluative skills, all of which contribute to oracy
competence. Drama,
electronic media, video recordings, grammar of oracy, special guests, and field
trips are some of the important components of oracy enhancement (Bowen &
Marks, 1994; Kayi, 2006).
Drama is an
effective means of developing oracy that fosters creativity while addressing
its interpersonal aspects. Plays,
poetry, and stories allow students to improve their oracy skills through characterization,
while dialogues, monologues, and improvisations make
the learning process more dynamic and spontaneous.
Drama
not only enables students to discuss different needs and feelings, but also
broadens their world perspective. Psychosocial efficacy, a crucial element of
oracy, also increases when thoughts and feelings are dramatized.
Electronic
media, including movie clips, soap operas, and television news, promote oracy
as an integral part of daily life. Movie clips, for instance, encourage students to synthesize and evaluate information while
providing edutainment.
Containing natural speech, including metaphors, idioms, and slangs, they
can be used to teach the connotative meanings of commonplace words (cool, hot,
rubber, high) that may cause embarrassment when interpreted denotatively. After
watching a scene, for instance, students can engage in role-play or discussion related
to vocabulary, pronunciation, or colloquialism.
Video recordings featuring a wide range of accents
help familiarize students with authentic voices associated with gender, age,
and nationalities. Individual learning
pace is possible since they not only can be replayed but also produce the exact
contents. Allowing students to simultaneously see and listen to different
characters provide ample opportunities for them to use more than one modality
to perceive, which results in better oracy acquisition.
Emphasizing the grammar of oracy increases students’ confidence in
listening and speaking. Ability to use
grammatically correct English indicates not only articulation, but also respect
for others and ability to communicate in different situations. The university, which has its own discourse,
requires oracy skills that differ vastly from those used off-campus. To
adequately function in an interactive tertiary community, students must first
acquire mainstream oracy grammar to fulfill the academic and communicative
requirements of various courses.
Oracy skills
development should be highly interactive.
Toastmasters, firefighters, police officers,
businesspeople, artists, and other community members expose students to
real-life interactions. Interviewing special guests allows students to
act as both speakers and listeners simultaneously. As speakers, they can hold conversations or
interviews with invited guests, while as listeners, they can use verbal and
non-verbal cues to signal understanding or need for repetition or explanation.
Field trips increase students’ knowledge
of oracy associated with different settings.
For instance, a visit to the museum allows them to discuss artists and
their works. A visit to the farmers’
market exposes them to the sights and sounds of different walks of life. In brief, field trips make oracy skills
development highly participative, highlighting its practical utility.
Effective Factors of Oracy
Effective oracy brings a favorable
impression as it often reflects one’s language proficiency. It allows people to engage in a conversation
successfully, increasing their motivation and confidence. Oracy
is fundamental to communication as listening and speaking occur more
often than reading and writing in daily life.
While reading, writing, and oracy are of equal importance – only with
effective oracy skills can individuals fluently express what they have read or
written. Classroom culture,
communicative activities, student-centeredness, and positive attitudes
contribute to effective oracy skills development among students ((Bowen &
Marks, 1994; Kayi, 2006).
Oracy skills development in Malaysia
say
anything due to shyness or cultural background. Lecturers should therefore create a classroom
culture that promotes active listening and speaking. For instance, they should encourage student
questioning and provide positive feedback to prompt introverted students. Further, a percentage of the final grade
should be allocated to oral presentation for all tertiary courses.
Oracy skills
development should include communicative activities that capture student
interest and create a real need for communication. They should require students to elaborate
rather than providing brief responses.
To foster higher level thinking skills, students should apply synthesis
and evaluation in their oral presentation; for instance, after analyzing and
taking a stance on a controversial issue, they should provide practical
recommendations. To foster positive
attitudes toward oracy, lecturers themselves should use English themselves on
campus. Lecturer enthusiasm creates a
sense of urgency that has a contagion effect on students. Local lecturers may not possess that
much-aspired native accent, yet their own oracy skills flourish while helping
their students sharpen theirs. In short,
the best way for Malaysian students to enhance their oracy skills is striving
to communicate in English on a consistent and regular basis.
To prevent
students from reverting to their own
mother tongue, lecturers should provide student-centered resources and
support needed to complete all oracy tasks. Some students may initially use their native
language as an emotional support, translating word for word, but as their
confidence grows, their native language dependence diminishes. Other ways to prevent language reversion
include walking around the classroom to ensure that students remain focused. As facilitators, lecturers should provide
after-class consultation to promote English communication and reduce language
reversion. While some students need
moral support and positive reinforcement, others need to change groups, problem
solving techniques, and in most cases, attitudes.
Students should
demonstrate positive attitudes toward oracy, seeing oracy skills development as
a long term commitment that requires tenacity to see results. They need to speak and listen to English
every day, but for short periods of time.
They can watch a clip but not the entire movie, or listen to an English
radio station for ten minutes but not more than that. They
must also have the initiative and courage to interact with a variety of
professionals and present ideas to different audiences. In brief, students can only become fluent
speakers by speaking to others, and
effective listeners by listening to others.
Conclusions
Oracy skills development eases tertiary
students’ transition into the discourse community of the university. To
encourage active listening and speaking, linguistic and cultural differences
should be respected. Level-appropriate
and well-paced activities should be used to increase student interest and
enliven the classroom. In brief, oracy skills development should be an
enjoyable and enirching experience.
Opportunities for oracy skills development
should be available throughout the university, involving all staff and
students. For it to flourish, oracy
should be promoted in its own right throughout the tertiary community. In sum, an inclusive, holistic approach that genera tes meaningful
dialogue among staff
and students is essential for smoother embedding of speaking and listening
skills at university level.
References
[1] Alias, N. A., &
Jamaludin, H. (2005). The aches of online distance learning: A synthesis of three
Malaysian studies. The Asian Society of
Open and Distance Education, 3
(2), 48-54.
[2] Bowen,
T., & Marks, J. (1994). Inside teaching. Macmillan Heinemann ELT.
Hofstede, G.
(1984). Culture’s consequences:
International differences in work related values. CA: Sage.
[3] Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations. NY: McGraw-Hill.
[4] Kayi, H. (2006). Teaching
speaking: Activities to promote speaking in a second language. University of Nevada
[5] Littrell, R. F.
(2005). Learning styles of students in and from Confucian cultures. Faculty of
Business, Auckland University
of Technology , Auckland , New Zealand
[6] Ng, E. S. W., &
Burke, R. J. (2004). Cultural values as predictors of attitudes towards
equality and diversity: a Canadian experience. Women in Management Review, 19(6),
317-324.
[7] Reid,
J. M. (2000). The process of composition. Prentice Hall Regents.
