Cultural Values, Perceptual Learning Styles, and Oralcy of Malaysians

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.  

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 is closer than that of westerners. While some westerners find silence unbearable, Malaysians respect and try to maintain it.  While greeting is usually done via a firm handshake in the west, it is not necessarily a culturally appropriate or socially acceptable gesture for all Malaysians.  Out of modesty, some Malaysians reject compliments, gifts, or food at first offer, but will accept them upon some insistence.  While “first come, first served” is acceptable in the west, the most senior of the group is often entertained first, followed by others according to rank, in 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 general 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.  Malaysian students prefer to keep their messages short, focusing mainly on task difficulty, task submission, references, and past-year exam questions.  They perceive the instructor as a knowledgeable authority who provides immediate feedback and monitors their learning.        

As the main figure in most interactions, the instructor initiates and generates 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 generally 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.

            Malaysia, a prominent component of ASEAN that promotes unity in diversity, enjoys a stable socio-cultural milieu that results in unique learning styles.  Secondary education in Malaysia, which focuses on knowledge and comprehension, mainly revolves around the teacher, textbook, and blackboard.  This traditional method of knowledge transmission has resulted in some common learning style characteristics.  Malaysian students tend to be introverted, closure oriented, analytic, and field independent.  They are also visual, concrete-sequential, reflective, and lateral learners.

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 to a certain extent.  Many Malaysian students therefore experience a certain degree of gender differentiation in terms of tertiary education and employment.  In Malaysian universities, physical sciences and business tend to attract more male students, while education and nursing more female students.  Political and managerial positions are still largely held by men even though female enrollment in many universities is higher than male.  Gender equality and gender parity are practiced in Malaysia; however, a certain degree of masculinity still exists, with men still dominating a significant portion of society and power structure. 

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.  Data were collected by administering Cultural Dimensions Questionnaire, Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire, and Attitudes toward Oracy Skills Questionnaire, respectively.

 

 

Methodology

 

Subjects

Subjects were first-year undergraduate students enrolled in a private university in Sarawak, Malaysia.  They were recruited from two large classes: Engineering Mathematics and Marketing. One hundred and thirteen (113) students completed the Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire during the third week of classes.  Forty-five (45) were enrolled in Engineering Math, while the other 68 in Marketing. Seventy-two (72) were male and 41 were female students.  The mean age was 18.5 years.

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 21^st 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 generate 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 is a challenge as many students are reluctant to talk or

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 generates meaningful dialogue among staff and students is essential for smoother embedding of speaking and listening skills at university level.
 

References

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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, http://unr.edu/homepage/hayriyak.

[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.