ESL PRACTITIONER ISSUE 9 2021

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre REFERENCES Aizan Yaacob, Walters, L.M., Ruzlan Md. Ali, Sarimah Shaik Abdullah & Walters, T. (2014). Reflecting on Malaysian Teacher Trainees’ Journals. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction. 11: 1-21. Allison, S. (2014). Perfect Teacher-Led CPD. Wales: Independent Thinking Press. Bahagian Pendidikan Guru (BPG) (1996). Panduan Praktikum I dan II: Kursus Diploma Perguruan Malaysia Institut/ Maktab Perguruan Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia. Choy, Chee & Yim, Joanne & Sedhu, Daljeet. (2019). Pre-service Teachers' Reflection on Reflective Practices: A Malaysian Perspective. Universal Journal of Educational Research. 7.12A. 18-26. 10.13189/ujer.2019.071903. Cirocki, A., Widodo, H. (2019). Reflective Practice in English Language Teaching in Indonesia: Shared Practices from Two Teacher Educators. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 7(Issue 3 (Special Issue)), 15-35. DOI: 10.30466/ijltr.2019.120734 Creswell, J.W. (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Creswell, J.W. (2012). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research (4th edition). London: Pearson. Dewey, J. (1933). How we think. A restatement of the relations of reflective thinking to the educative process. Boston: D.C. Heath. Farrell, T.S.C. (2007). Failing the practicum: narrowing the gap between expectation and reality with reflective practice. TESOL Quarterly. 41 (1): 193-201. Farrell, T. S. C., & Bennis, K. (2013). Reflecting on ESL Teacher Beliefs and Classroom Practices: A Case Study. RELC Journal, 44(2), 163–176. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688213488463 Farrell, T. S. C. (2015). Promoting teacher reflection in second language education. A framework for TESOL professionals. London and New York: Routledge. Farrell, T. S. C. (2018). Research on reflective practice in TESOL. New York, NY: Routledge. Farres, L.G. (2004). Becoming a Better Coach through Reflective Practice. BC Coach’s Perspective. 6: 10-11. Ferraro, J. M. (2000). Reflective practice and professional development. ERIC Digest. Retrieved from http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-3/reflective.htm Fullan, M. (2016). The New Meaning of Educational Change (5th edition). New York: Teachers College Press. Gadsby, H., & Cronin, S. (2012). To what extent can reflective journaling help beginning teachers develop Masters level writing skills? Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives. 13 (1): 1-12. Gil-Garcia, A. & Cintron, Z. (2002). The reflective journal as a learning and professional development tool for teachers and administrators. Paper presented at the World Association for Case Method Research and Application Conference. Germany. July 2-5 Hackett, S. (2001). Educating for competency and reflective practice: fostering a conjoint approach in education and training. Journal of Workplace Learning. 13(3): 103- 112. Hatton, N., & Smith, D. (1995). Reflection in Teacher Education: Towards Definition And Implementation. Teaching & Teacher Education. 11(1): 33 – 49. Lee, W.H. (2003). Reflective Practice and Professional Knowledge: Understanding the Linkages. Paper presented to the Seminar Penyelidikan Pendidikan 2003 at Holiday Inn Kuching Sarawak. Lilia, H., Nor Aishah, B., & T. Subahan, M. (2011). Guiding Student Teachers to be Reflective. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences. 18: 544–55. Kheirzadeh, S., & Sistani, N. (2018). The Effect of Reflective Teaching on Iranian EFL Students’ Achievement: The Case of Teaching Experience and Level of Education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(2). Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43n2.8 Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Lee, H.J. (2005). Understanding and assessing pre-service teachers’ reflective thinking. Teaching and Teacher Education. 21, 699-715. Ligadu, C.P. (2012). Perceptions of Mentors and Mentees on the Importance of Engaging in Reflective Practices in the Mentoring Process during the Teaching Practicum. Atikan. 2(1): 1 – 20. Loughran, J. J. (2002). Effective reflective practice: in search of meaning in learning about teaching. Journal of Teacher Education. 53(1). 42 43

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Ferraro, J. M. (2000). Reflective practice and professional development. ERIC Digest. Retrieved from http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-3/reflective.htm Fullan, M. (2016). The New Meaning of Educational Change (5th edition). New York: Teachers College Press. Gadsby, H., & Cronin, S. (2012). To what extent can reflective journaling help beginning teachers develop Masters level writing skills? Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives. 13 (1): 1-12. Gil-Garcia, A. & Cintron, Z. (2002). The reflective journal as a learning and professional development tool for teachers and administrators. Paper presented at the World Association for Case Method Research and Application Conference. Germany. July 2-5 Hackett, S. (2001). Educating for competency and reflective practice: fostering a conjoint approach in education and training. Journal of Workplace Learning. 13(3): 103- 112. Hatton, N., & Smith, D. (1995). Reflection in Teacher Education: Towards Definition And Implementation. Teaching & Teacher Education. 11(1): 33 – 49. Lee, W.H. (2003). Reflective Practice and Professional Knowledge: Understanding the Linkages. Paper presented to the Seminar Penyelidikan Pendidikan 2003 at Holiday Inn Kuching Sarawak. Lilia, H., Nor Aishah, B., & T. Subahan, M. (2011). Guiding Student Teachers to be Reflective. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences. 18: 544–55. Kheirzadeh, S., & Sistani, N. (2018). The Effect of Reflective Teaching on Iranian EFL Students’ Achievement: The Case of Teaching Experience and Level of Education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(2). Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43n2.8 Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Lee, H.J. (2005). Understanding and assessing pre-service teachers’ reflective thinking. Teaching and Teacher Education. 21, 699-715. Ligadu, C.P. (2012). Perceptions of Mentors and Mentees on the Importance of Engaging in Reflective Practices in the Mentoring Process during the Teaching Practicum. Atikan. 2(1): 1 – 20. Loughran, J. J. (2002). Effective reflective practice: in search of meaning in learning about teaching. Journal of Teacher Education. 53(1). ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 42 43

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Maarof, N. (2007). Telling his or her story through reflective journals. International Education Journal. 8(1): 205-220 Malakolunthu, S. (2007). Teacher Learning in Malaysia: Problems and Possibilities of Reform. Kuala Lumpur: University Malaya Press. Mann, Steve & Walsh, Steve. (2017). Reflective Practice in English Language Teaching: Research-Based Principles and Practices. Ministry of Education (MOE) (2013). Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Preschool to Post-Secondary Education). Putrajaya, Selangor: Ministry of Education Malaysia. Moran, A. & Dallat, J. (1995). Promoting reflective practice in initial teacher training. International Journal of Educational Management. 9(5):20 – 26. Ng, P.T., Lan, L.K.Y., & Thye, J.T.E. (2004). Developing Reflective Teachers: The Experience of Two Modules in the Teacher Training Programme at the National Institute of Education, Singapore. Asia Pacific Education Review. 5(2): 200 – 206. Nor Hashima, M. S., Abd. Majid, F., Haslee Sharil, W. N. E. & Zainol, M. S. (2013). Best practices for reflective practice: Perspectives of TESL pre-service teachers. OECD. (2005). Teacher Matter – Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers. Paris: OECD Publishing. Ong, W. A., Swanto, S., & Alsaqqaf, A. (2020). Engaging in reflective practice via vlogs: Experience of Malaysian ESL pre-service teachers. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 9, 716-724. doi: 10.17509/ijal.v9i3.23222 Osterman, K.F. & Kottkamp, R.B. (1993). Reflective Practice for Educators: Improving Schooling Through Professional Development. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Osterman, K.F. & Kottkamp, R.B. (2004). Reflective Practice for Educators: Professional Development to Improve Student Learning. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. Rönnström, N. (2015). Educating competitive teachers for a competitive nation? Policy Futures in Education, 13(6), 732 - 750. 10.1177/1478210315595171 Scales, P. (2013). The Reflective Teacher. In Teaching in the Lifelong Sector (2nd edition). Wiltshire, England, Open University Press. Schön, D. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books. Schön, D.A. (1996). Educating the reflective practitioner: toward a new design for teaching and learning in professions. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Inc. Stones, E. (1994). Reform in teacher education: The power and the pedagogy. Journal of Teacher Education. 45:310-318. Sellars, M. (2012). Teachers and change: The role of reflective practices. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 55: 461 – 469 Smyth, J. (1993). Reflective Practice in Teacher Education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education. 18(1). Soisangwarn, A. & Wongwanich, S. (2014). Promoting the Reflective Teacher through Peer Coaching to Improve Teaching Skills. Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences. 116: 2504 – 2511. Subramaniam, M. (2001). Journal Writing as a Tool for Teacher Trainees’ Reflection on Teaching. Jurnal Kajian Tindakan Institut Perguruan Kampus Batu Lintang Kuching. Jilid 3. 2001. Suhaily, A. & Faizah, A.M. (2013). Reflection on language teaching practice in polytechnic: Identifying sources of teachers’ beliefs. Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences. 90: 813 – 822. Teo, C.H. (1998). Speech by Radm (NS) Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence to Post Graduate Diploma in Education students at the National Institute of Education. Toh, W.S. (2001). Measuring practicum student teachers’ reflectivity: The Reflective Pedagogical Thinking Scale. Paper presented to the Seminar Penyelidikan Pendidikan 2001 at Maktab Perguruan Ipoh. Wan Salleh, W. I., Ab Wahab, N. & Hussin, H.(eds.). Membudayakan Kecemerlangan Guru Melalui Amalan Terbaik: Prosiding Konvensyen Kebangsaan Pendidikan Guru 2013, pp. 368-383. Putrajaya: Bahagian Pendidikan Guru, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia. Wong, Y.M., Rosnidar Mansor & Syakirah Samsudin. (2015). The challenge of producing progressive teachers in Malaysia: A case study of reflective writings among UPSI student teachers. Malaysian Journal of Society and Space. 11(7):21-32. 44 45

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Stones, E. (1994). Reform in teacher education: The power and the pedagogy. Journal of Teacher Education. 45:310-318. Sellars, M. (2012). Teachers and change: The role of reflective practices. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 55: 461 – 469 Smyth, J. (1993). Reflective Practice in Teacher Education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education. 18(1). Soisangwarn, A. & Wongwanich, S. (2014). Promoting the Reflective Teacher through Peer Coaching to Improve Teaching Skills. Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences. 116: 2504 – 2511. Subramaniam, M. (2001). Journal Writing as a Tool for Teacher Trainees’ Reflection on Teaching. Jurnal Kajian Tindakan Institut Perguruan Kampus Batu Lintang Kuching. Jilid 3. 2001. Suhaily, A. & Faizah, A.M. (2013). Reflection on language teaching practice in polytechnic: Identifying sources of teachers’ beliefs. Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences. 90: 813 – 822. Teo, C.H. (1998). Speech by Radm (NS) Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence to Post Graduate Diploma in Education students at the National Institute of Education. Toh, W.S. (2001). Measuring practicum student teachers’ reflectivity: The Reflective Pedagogical Thinking Scale. Paper presented to the Seminar Penyelidikan Pendidikan 2001 at Maktab Perguruan Ipoh. Wan Salleh, W. I., Ab Wahab, N. & Hussin, H.(eds.). Membudayakan Kecemerlangan Guru Melalui Amalan Terbaik: Prosiding Konvensyen Kebangsaan Pendidikan Guru 2013, pp. 368-383. Putrajaya: Bahagian Pendidikan Guru, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia. Wong, Y.M., Rosnidar Mansor & Syakirah Samsudin. (2015). The challenge of producing progressive teachers in Malaysia: A case study of reflective writings among UPSI student teachers. Malaysian Journal of Society and Space. 11(7):21-32. ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 44 45

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre APPENDIX A PROTOCOL INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEW (Anticipated Probing Questions) 1. Tell me about your teaching experience. a. How long have you been teaching in this school? b. Is this your first school? c. Which school you have served the longest? d. When did you start teaching here? e. Do you teach any other subjects besides English? f. Tell me more about your students. (their background/level of proficiency/interests/learning styles) 2. Tell me more about your experience in teaching the English subject. a. Do you enjoy teaching the subject? Tell me more about it. b. What factors do you consider when planning your lesson? c. Do you know whether you have achieved your objectives or not after each lesson? d. How do you come to that conclusion? e. Do you record this anywhere? (In the lesson plan template/record book/journal/notebook) f. How often do you do that? g. Do you refer to it when you plan for your next lesson? h. Do you, sometimes, find yourself making changes while you are teaching a lesson? i. What could be the reasons? 3. How about your experience with other teachers? a. How often do you talk to them? Is it a formal or informal discussion? b. Are the teachers your colleagues or from other schools? c. What topics do you talk about? (activities/students engagement/ students’ attitude/your teaching) d. Do you take down notes on the discussion? e. Do you exchange ideas or information? f. How far do you think that talking to other teachers help you to be more reflective? 4. What other ways for you to get feedback on your practices? a. How about the support from PPD? b. Tell me more about your experience with them. c. What kind of support do they give? d. How often do you interact with them? e. How about feedback from your students about your lessons? f. How do you obtain those feedback? a. How will you use the feedback that you managed to obtain? 5. What other things do you do to help you improve on your teaching? a. Do you surf online for information or strategies? Tell me more about the websites or blogs that you follow. b. Do you join any groups on social media or mobile applications? c. Tell me more about the things you discuss. d. How about printed materials? Do you refer to them? e. Are you comfortable letting other teachers observe you while you teach? Vice versa? f. Have you ever tried video recording of your lesson? 6. What is your favourite strategy to reflect on your teaching practices? a. Can you tell me more about it? b. What else can you gain from them? c. Do you think it is important to know more about your own teaching practices? Why do you say so? 46

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USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS KWAN PEI LING SJKC PAI CHAI, PENANG e-mail: [email protected] 3

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS ABSTRACT This action research aimed to find out how a teacher can improve on teaching of spelling for days of the week to Year 2 pupils using vocab tag. Vocab tag was a tag that had been modified for this research. It was implemented to the research participants during every English lesson in Year 2A. The six research participants were from Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Pai Chai, Batu Feringgi, Penang. They were categorized as above average pupils based on their PBD performance standard. The research participants faced problem in spelling "Days of the week". The method used to collect data included document analysis, pupils' work and observation checklist in this research. At the end of the data analysis and interpretation, the triangulation method was used to enhance the reliability and validity of the research findings. In addition, the research findings showed that the use of vocab tag could improve the teaching of spelling effectively in helping the research participants to spell days of the week correctly. It was to propose on creative teaching and learning innovation that can be useful to improvise teachers' teaching to meet the education's aspiration, vision and mission. Keywords: vocab tag, spelling, performance standard, primary school pupils, creative teaching and learning, INTRODUCTION Nowadays, English has become the world language. It’s important for us to master and be more proficient in the language for communication purpose. According to the Education First English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) survey, Malaysia ranked 14th out of 70 non-English speaking countries in the world. Malaysia is also one of the two Asian countries and one of the three non-European countries in the top 15. Among the Asian countries where English is not the mother tongue, Malaysia was ranked with the highest English proficiency level (Ling, 2011). English is now the most widely learned second language in the world. In order to maintain the proficiency, the government has begun implementing new curriculum to help the young generation to be capable to compete and explore new knowledge internationally. The Ministry of Education has implemented the Standard-Based Curriculum for Primary Schools, or "Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah" (KSSR) in our education system. The KSSR is a modular approach curriculum comprising four main language skills, listening and speaking, reading, writing and language art. In addition, grammar is also one of the important components in the KSSR curriculum for English. These skills are taught separately for each lesson. BACKGROUND This research was conducted in Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Pai Chai, Batu Feringgi, Penang. This school is located in the outskirt of Penang island with pupils coming from different background. My target participants were pupils of Year 2A. This is the only class in Year 2. The class consists of 19 pupils with 10 boys and 9 girls. I selected 6 pupils in the class as my research participants. For my action research, I selected six participants using purposive sampling by choosing 3 males and 3 females from class 2A. I have named my research participants as Participant A, B, C, D, E, and F. I selected my research participants based on my document analysis of their work and their score in the diagnostic test of spelling days of the week. It was conducted during one of the English lesson. I found that my six research participants repetitively misspelled days of the week in their exercise books. Similarly, only these six research participants score less than 50% in the diagnostic test. They also hardly identify days of the week. Therefore, I have selected six of them to be my research participants. My first research focus was to improve my teaching of spelling for days of the week to my Year 2 pupils. I found that pupils misspell days of the week in their exercise books and workbooks. I have tried out spell-it-right activity to help pupils correct their mistake. Yet, pupils make the same mistake again the next time when they were asked to write. Drained for ideas, I just red-pencilled and asked them to do the corrections over again and again until I realised it is time for something different. I selected days of the week as my research focus because it was stated in the word list of Dokumen Standard Kurikulum Sekolah Rendah, ‘Days of the Week’ are words that pupils need to master. These are the minimum words that must be mastered by pupils in level 1. Also, it is one of the contents included in the current KSSR Cambridge English Superminds’ book. Nevertheless, my Year 2 pupils were not able to spell it right. In addition, I found that the way I responded to my pupils' spelling errors was not right. As Phenix (2001) stated that, in the past teachers red-pencilled every error and returned the writing for the child to make corrections. Most recently we have considered this to be discouraging for children and a negative influence on composition. I agreed with her statement and thus I came out with this research. My second focus was how could I effectively use the vocab tags to help my teaching of spelling for days of the week to the pupils. Vocab Tags was the idea to help pupils to learn visually how to spell a word. Using vocab tags during English lesson could be a way out to help pupils to enhance the language as pupils wear the tags with them during the lesson. I have chosen to use tag because research shown that the using of tag could help pupils to involve actively in the learning process (Kamarudzaman, 2013). Thus, by using the vocab tag, pupils can self-learning by reading the words on the tag and memorise it. 50 51

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre BACKGROUND This research was conducted in Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Pai Chai, Batu Feringgi, Penang. This school is located in the outskirt of Penang island with pupils coming from different background. My target participants were pupils of Year 2A. This is the only class in Year 2. The class consists of 19 pupils with 10 boys and 9 girls. I selected 6 pupils in the class as my research participants. For my action research, I selected six participants using purposive sampling by choosing 3 males and 3 females from class 2A. I have named my research participants as Participant A, B, C, D, E, and F. I selected my research participants based on my document analysis of their work and their score in the diagnostic test of spelling days of the week. It was conducted during one of the English lesson. I found that my six research participants repetitively misspelled days of the week in their exercise books. Similarly, only these six research participants score less than 50% in the diagnostic test. They also hardly identify days of the week. Therefore, I have selected six of them to be my research participants. My first research focus was to improve my teaching of spelling for days of the week to my Year 2 pupils. I found that pupils misspell days of the week in their exercise books and workbooks. I have tried out spell-it-right activity to help pupils correct their mistake. Yet, pupils make the same mistake again the next time when they were asked to write. Drained for ideas, I just red-pencilled and asked them to do the corrections over again and again until I realised it is time for something different. I selected days of the week as my research focus because it was stated in the word list of Dokumen Standard Kurikulum Sekolah Rendah, ‘Days of the Week’ are words that pupils need to master. These are the minimum words that must be mastered by pupils in level 1. Also, it is one of the contents included in the current KSSR Cambridge English Superminds’ book. Nevertheless, my Year 2 pupils were not able to spell it right. In addition, I found that the way I responded to my pupils' spelling errors was not right. As Phenix (2001) stated that, in the past teachers red-pencilled every error and returned the writing for the child to make corrections. Most recently we have considered this to be discouraging for children and a negative influence on composition. I agreed with her statement and thus I came out with this research. My second focus was how could I effectively use the vocab tags to help my teaching of spelling for days of the week to the pupils. Vocab Tags was the idea to help pupils to learn visually how to spell a word. Using vocab tags during English lesson could be a way out to help pupils to enhance the language as pupils wear the tags with them during the lesson. I have chosen to use tag because research shown that the using of tag could help pupils to involve actively in the learning process (Kamarudzaman, 2013). Thus, by using the vocab tag, pupils can self-learning by reading the words on the tag and memorise it. ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 50 51

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS The purpose of this research is to investigate the use of vocab tags in the teaching of spelling. This study is therefore conducted to find out how vocab tags help to improve on the teaching of spelling for days of the week to Year 2 pupils. The research question is how the vocab tags help to improve on the teaching of spelling days of the week to Year 2 pupils? METHODOLOGY AND INTERVENTION This section describes three types of data collection methods used to answer my research question “How the vocab tags help to improve on the teaching of spelling days of the week to Year 2 pupils?" My primary data collected from the document analysis and diagnostic test. The data was triangulated with an observation conducted. Document Analysis The data collected comprised preliminary data and post-data. The data was collected to identify the problems faced by pupils and to determine the participants for this research. It was during one of my lessons where pupils were required to hand in their books that I noticed a handful of pupils who could not successfully spell the days correctly. In all my lessons, I usually write the day and date on the top corner of the board before each lesson is carried out. Pupils were then expected to write the day on the top left-hand corner for every exercise. However, spelling errors especially for the day of the week have been noticed being committed repetitively every time I mark the pupils’ work. For example, "Thuesday", "Wensday", and "Thurday". The errors were circled, and pupils were asked to do their corrections before the next exercise. Nevertheless, pupils still committed the same mistake in their next exercises when the day of the week is written. Table 1 exhibits the preliminary data collected in my research participants' work. SP refers to the spelling error for the particular word. Table 1 Preliminary data of participant's work Pupils Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Remark A - - SP SP - SP - 3 B - SP SP SP - SP - 4 C - SP SP SP - SP - 4 D - - SP SP - SP - 3 E - SP SP SP - SP - 4 F - SP SP SP - SP - 4 Table 2 Post data of participant's work Pupils Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Remark A - - - - - - - - B - - - - - - - - C - - - - - - - - D - - - - - - - - E - - - - - - - - F - - - - - - - - Table 2 displays the post data of participant's work. There was no spelling error found in every participant's work after the intervention.  Diagnostic Test  Preliminary data were collected through a diagnostic test during an English lesson. Pupils were asked to spell days of the week on a piece of paper. Data was collected and analysed. The six pupils got only 3 correct out of 7 words. Figure 1 The marks scored by participants in pre-test and post-test Figure 1 illustrates the score of my research participants in the pre-test and post-test. All of the participants scored 43% in pre-test. After the intervention, there were increase of score in the post-test. 3 participants scored 70% and above while another 3 participants achieved 100% in the post test. 52 53

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Table 2 Post data of participant's work Pupils Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Remark A - - - - - - - - B - - - - - - - - C - - - - - - - - D - - - - - - - - E - - - - - - - - F - - - - - - - - Table 2 displays the post data of participant's work. There was no spelling error found in every participant's work after the intervention.  Diagnostic Test  Preliminary data were collected through a diagnostic test during an English lesson. Pupils were asked to spell days of the week on a piece of paper. Data was collected and analysed. The six pupils got only 3 correct out of 7 words. Figure 1 The marks scored by participants in pre-test and post-test Figure 1 illustrates the score of my research participants in the pre-test and post-test. All of the participants scored 43% in pre-test. After the intervention, there were increase of score in the post-test. 3 participants scored 70% and above while another 3 participants achieved 100% in the post test. ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 52 53

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Observation The observation was carried out to observe the process and effectiveness of the intervention. The Head department of English language was selected to observe the intervention using observation checklist based on the three themes: Participant's interest, the design of the vocab tags and the effectiveness of the tag (Masterson & Apel, 2013). The three themes were identified and designed based on the discussion and the experience of the head department. Figure 2 Observation checklist Figure 2 shows the observation checklist used to observe the intervention. All criteria were observed and fulfilled for my intervention based on the three themes.  Participants show interest using the vocab tags. The observer found the vocab tags practical and accessible for participants to use it. The intervention was carried out during every English lesson. There are five periods of English lesson per week. The implementation of intervention was carried out for four weeks. Figure 3 The implementation of intervention In the first week, a vocab tag with printed days of the week was given to each participant. During every English lesson, participants were asked to choose the word for the particular day, put it in the tag and wear it so the participants would familiar with the words and the tag. The following week, participants spell the particular day on the tag with a marker pen. Then, participants were required to wear the tag. It was to provide the real purpose for another person to read the correct spelling and writing (Phenix, 2001). Thus, by wearing the tag, participants learn to spell and write for a real audience. The real audience was the peer who read the word. In week three, participants spell the day of tomorrow on the tag during every English lesson. i.e. “What day is tomorrow?” Likewise, in the fourth week, participants spell the day after tomorrow on the tag during every English lesson. i.e. “What day is after tomorrow?” So, the participants can use the vocab tag with two functions, which was to spell the actual day on one side and the day of tomorrow on another side. It was to ensure that all of the days of the week were included in the teaching of spelling. Then, observation took place. This step required data collection and observation to evaluate the effectiveness and consequences of the action. An observation checklist was used to observe the result of the intervention. The last step, was reviewing the findings to see the effectiveness of the intervention based on the data of triangulation. 54 55

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Figure 3 The implementation of intervention In the first week, a vocab tag with printed days of the week was given to each participant. During every English lesson, participants were asked to choose the word for the particular day, put it in the tag and wear it so the participants would familiar with the words and the tag. The following week, participants spell the particular day on the tag with a marker pen. Then, participants were required to wear the tag. It was to provide the real purpose for another person to read the correct spelling and writing (Phenix, 2001). Thus, by wearing the tag, participants learn to spell and write for a real audience. The real audience was the peer who read the word. In week three, participants spell the day of tomorrow on the tag during every English lesson. i.e. “What day is tomorrow?” Likewise, in the fourth week, participants spell the day after tomorrow on the tag during every English lesson. i.e. “What day is after tomorrow?” So, the participants can use the vocab tag with two functions, which was to spell the actual day on one side and the day of tomorrow on another side. It was to ensure that all of the days of the week were included in the teaching of spelling. Then, observation took place. This step required data collection and observation to evaluate the effectiveness and consequences of the action. An observation checklist was used to observe the result of the intervention. The last step, was reviewing the findings to see the effectiveness of the intervention based on the data of triangulation. ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 54 55

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre FINDINGS Participants A and D misspelled 3 words in the preliminary data of their work. Meanwhile, Participants B, C, E and F misspelled 4 words in their work. After the intervention, there was no error found in every participant's work. Based on the data collected in diagnostic test, six of the participants scored only 43% in the pre-test. They spelled three words correctly out of seven. After the intervention, the result shows that six participants have improvement on spelling days of the week. This was proved in the post-test, where Participant A scored 71%, Participant B scored 100%, Participant C scored 86%, Participant D scored 100%, Participant E scored 86%, and Participant F scored 100%. There were three participants scored 100% in the post-test. This proven that the implementation of my intervention was successful and effective. In addition, an observation checklist based on the three themes: participant's interest, the design of the vocab tag and the effectiveness of the tag was used to assess my intervention. It was found that, all the criteria listed were fulfilled. Participants show interest to use the vocab tags The design of the vocab tag was practical, accessible, mobile, colourful and costeffective. The use of vocab tag was effective for participants. Thus, six of the participants showed improvements in spelling days of the week using vocab tag. It was also a good tool that could help me to improve on my teaching of spelling for days of the week to the participants. CONCLUSION In conclusion, it has been found that vocab tags prove to be effective in the teaching of spelling for days of the week to Year 2 pupils. Here, it can be seen that the teaching of spelling can be fun as pupils could access to the material and self-learning (Graham et al., 2008). Pupils learn best when a non-threatening context is provided to them. This could be found from the observation of the observer. Pupils show interest in using the vocab tags. Thus, teachers can adopt and develop this method in teaching spelling vocabulary words to their pupils. 56 57

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre REFERENCES Graham, S. Morphy, P. Harris, K.R., Fink-Chorzempa, B., Saddler, B., Moran, S., & Mason, L.(2008). Teaching Spelling in the Primary Grades: A National Survey of Instructional Practices and Adaptations. Retrieved from: http://aer.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/45/3/796 Ling, P.L. (2011). Malaysia most proficient in English in Asia. New Straits Times, 7. Masterson, J. J., & Apel, K. (2013). Monitoring progress in spelling improvement. Perspectives on Language Learning and Education, 20, 144 - 52. doi:10.1044/lle20.4.144 Nadirah Kamarudzaman. (2013). Menambahbaik Pelaksanaan Aktiviti Berkumpulan Menggunakan Tag Peranan. Abstract. Retrieved from https://perpustakaanipgtekni.wixsite.com/libb/laporan-kajian-tindakan Phenix, J. (2001). The Spelling Teacher's Handbook.Markham, Ontario: Pembroke Thirusanku, J., & Yunus, M. M. (2012a). Malaysian English the key to Malaysia. Proceedings of the National Research & Innovation Conference on Social Sciences for Graduate Students, 529-550. UPM, Malaysia. 4 ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 56 57

THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM SHAFIZAH BINTI SHARIFF SM SAINS TUANKU AISHAH ROHANI e-mail: [email protected] 4

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM ABSTRACT This paper intends to show how using the communicative approach and project-based learning help to improve communicative skills and fluency in the English language learning process. The aim is for the students to achieve the B1 and B2 CEFR scale or more. This case involved Form 4 students of SM Sains Tuanku Aishah Rohani (SGS), Malaysia who will also be known as ESL learners and Year 6 and 7 of Bayside Bay Christian College (BBC), Australia involvement in the HIVE Project. As ESL learners, communication in English is not an easy task, nevertheless, they are always learning to improve and be fluent as they know English is important for their future. The result of this paper provides insights to educators on how a communicative approach and a project with native English speakers aid the learning of the English language. Possessing strong communication skills is essential in contributing to effective teaching and learning. Regardless of whether you started learning English communication in infancy or much later, being able to use English language skills effectively is a huge advantage. Communication skills are the abilities you use when giving and receiving different kinds of information. Some examples include communicating new ideas, feelings or even an update on your projects. Communication skills involve listening, speaking, observing and empathising. It is also helpful to understand the impacts of communicating through face-to-face interactions and digital communications like email and social media. Keywords: The HIVE Project, communicative, project-based learning INTRODUCTION Language is one of the most important tools in imparting or exchanging information between the sender and the receiver. This process allows communication to happen through speaking, writing or other medium to convey or share information, ideas, opinions, thoughts and emotions. English is an international language. The ability to be fluent in it opens many opportunities to be well known and successful especially for students. In Malaysia Education system, it is agreed by many that English is the most important foreign language to transfer and get of knowledge, science, technology, art and culture and establish an international relationship. As mentioned in the Implementing the CEFR Curriculum - Teacher Guide by the Ministry of Education, the adoption of the CEFR has added international relevance to the Roadmap and provides a common reference for aligning English Language curricula and pedagogy, including teaching and learning materials and assessment. It aims to prepare young Malaysians to meet the challenges of the 21st century concerning the use of English as a means of communication in different contexts of use. The CEFR level and the descriptors provide the guidelines to measure the students’ learning process. SGS is where the students' English proficiency allows them to use English spoken or written with minimal help. However, some still have difficulties carrying out a conversation. As ESL learners, they are worried about making mistakes, anxious, or simply shy of the attention that their speech attracts. Other researchers suggested using native speakers such as Bates (2017) in his research entitled What Do Students Think? University Spanish Students' Experience Communicating Online with Native Spanish Speakers. The research showed that to adapt to the language barrier that students unavoidably faced during this assignment, students were obliged to use communication strategies. These strategies allowed students to better communicate with their speaking partners. It is further supported by Belz (2002) who found out that U.S students tended to perceive that both their linguistic and cultural knowledge improved throughout the partnership" in her research Social dimensions of telecollaborative foreign language study: Language, Learning & Technology. From the researches mentioned above, this paper also plans to see the linguistic and emotional impacts of communicating with native English speakers among ESL learners. From this research, the B2 and B1 levels and descriptors are the achievements that the researcher hopes to see the ESL learners achieve with the help of the HIVE project. Ultimately, the research can answer the questions put forward in the research questions. The HIVE project is seen as a platform for ESL learners to learn to organize ideas, express the language with good pronunciation and use the English language confidently. PROBLEM STATEMENT Language is the most effective of communication to convey an idea, message, intentions, feelings and opinion to others. In English, four skills should be mastered, they are: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Ur (1999) states of all four skills, speaking is considered to be the most important skill. Thus, the ability to speak fluently allows the learners to build the confidence to master the language, especially for ESL learners. It is known that ESL learners in SGS face some problems in developing fluency in speaking. Their vocabulary is limited, lack of understanding of grammatical patterns, incorrect pronunciation, the influence of their mother tongue, lack of practice and fear of making mistakes. Different styles of communication are appropriate in different situations. To make the best use of your communication skills, it’s important to consider your audience and the most effective format to communicate with them. Thus, the collaboration between Malaysia and Australia can be seen as means to address the issues above. It is also one of the best recipes to equip teachers to create quality learning experiences and outcomes for both students and teachers. The HIVE project is a blended model of face-to-face teacher professional learning and online engagement that connects teachers, students and school communities with their counterparts in Asia to increase awareness and understanding of contemporary Australia and Asia. Their goal is to develop a global mindset and skillset for all young people that includes inter-cultural understanding, language learning and an understanding of the place in the world and region. 60 61

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre SGS is where the students' English proficiency allows them to use English spoken or written with minimal help. However, some still have difficulties carrying out a conversation. As ESL learners, they are worried about making mistakes, anxious, or simply shy of the attention that their speech attracts. Other researchers suggested using native speakers such as Bates (2017) in his research entitled What Do Students Think? University Spanish Students' Experience Communicating Online with Native Spanish Speakers. The research showed that to adapt to the language barrier that students unavoidably faced during this assignment, students were obliged to use communication strategies. These strategies allowed students to better communicate with their speaking partners. It is further supported by Belz (2002) who found out that U.S students tended to perceive that both their linguistic and cultural knowledge improved throughout the partnership" in her research Social dimensions of telecollaborative foreign language study: Language, Learning & Technology. From the researches mentioned above, this paper also plans to see the linguistic and emotional impacts of communicating with native English speakers among ESL learners. From this research, the B2 and B1 levels and descriptors are the achievements that the researcher hopes to see the ESL learners achieve with the help of the HIVE project. Ultimately, the research can answer the questions put forward in the research questions. The HIVE project is seen as a platform for ESL learners to learn to organize ideas, express the language with good pronunciation and use the English language confidently. PROBLEM STATEMENT Language is the most effective of communication to convey an idea, message, intentions, feelings and opinion to others. In English, four skills should be mastered, they are: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Ur (1999) states of all four skills, speaking is considered to be the most important skill. Thus, the ability to speak fluently allows the learners to build the confidence to master the language, especially for ESL learners. It is known that ESL learners in SGS face some problems in developing fluency in speaking. Their vocabulary is limited, lack of understanding of grammatical patterns, incorrect pronunciation, the influence of their mother tongue, lack of practice and fear of making mistakes. Different styles of communication are appropriate in different situations. To make the best use of your communication skills, it’s important to consider your audience and the most effective format to communicate with them. Thus, the collaboration between Malaysia and Australia can be seen as means to address the issues above. It is also one of the best recipes to equip teachers to create quality learning experiences and outcomes for both students and teachers. The HIVE project is a blended model of face-to-face teacher professional learning and online engagement that connects teachers, students and school communities with their counterparts in Asia to increase awareness and understanding of contemporary Australia and Asia. Their goal is to develop a global mindset and skillset for all young people that includes inter-cultural understanding, language learning and an understanding of the place in the world and region. ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 60 61

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre The HIVE project consists of 4 sub-programmes and due to the Covid-19 pandemic, only 2 programmes managed to be done until January 2021 which were pen pal and report presentation. Nevertheless, the modification will be made to ensure the project will help to improve the ESL learner's communicative skills and fluency. As stated by Richards and Renandya (2002) that speaking is one of the central elements of communication, it is hoped that the HIVE project helps to stimulate ESL learners' communication with each other and makes people who come from different countries feel comfortable communicating. RESEARCH AIM This proposed paper intends to suggest using project-based learning namely The HIVE project to help improve communicative skills through activities and digital media among secondary school students. According to Calvo, Arbiol and Iglesias (2014), digital communication between groups of students and between students and teachers has become popular through various channels such as Email, website groups and WhatsApp. The researcher aims to use the project to help the ESL learners improve their fluency level based on the CEFR scale as well as build confidence to use the English language. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE This paper is hoped to show that ESL learners do benefit from improving their communicative skills and fluency by talking to native English speakers. As in the field of second language teaching in the past several decades, it has been stressed that students should receive authentic input, be given opportunities to produce output, and be able to interact in the target language (ACTFL, 2012; Krashen, 1985; Long & Porter, 1985; Swain & Lapkin, 1995). It is believed that the best way to practice your speaking skills is to find an opportunity to communicate with a native speaker. This is not just another bridge for a great chance to build new acquaintances through the HIVE project but also a great opportunity to improve the English language. As Bates (2017) mentioned students attempt to express themselves in the target language, learning can certainly take place. Online exchanges with native speakers provide opportunities for students to produce output in an authentic context, allowing them to alter their output as necessary in ensuring an effective communicative process can take place. It is expected that ESL learners will face difficulties communicating with native English speakers, but it is not an opportunity that should be wasted. This research aims not only at identifying the language and emotional barriers communicating with native English speakers among ESL learners of SGS but also by overcoming the difficulties, they can improve their communicative skills and learn English. RESEARCH QUESTIONS In this research, the main question is how the ESL learners benefit through communicating with the native English speakers. The answers are hoped to see the effectiveness of the HIVE project concerning CEFR B2 which is to interact with a degree of fluency and produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint. From the gathered data, the researcher also hopes to find the answers to these additional questions; • What positive and negative emotions do students feel during his process? • What language difficulties do the students face during the process? • What did the students do to overcome the language and emotional barriers? • Do the students feel that the HIVE project helps them to learn English? RESEARCH FRAMEWORK This study was carried out in an all-girls residential school in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. The participants were Form 4 students with the same ability in the English language. They participated in two programs from the Hive Project which were the pen pal and recorded reporting session. The other two programs are pending due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For the pen pal, participants were free to communicate with their pal during their free time. As they were staying in, weekends were their favourite time to connect with their pen pal. The participants were given survey questions to answer before they started communicating (Appendix 1) and two months after they started communicating (Appendix 2). The output from the survey questions was later analysed. The focus of the questions was to see any improvement in participants' emotional and language fluency. The field notes helped the researcher to make a comparison before and after-effects to the participants in terms of emotional and language fluency. For the second program in the Project, which was a recorded Report on social and global issues, the participants did on 'Covid-19: Living a quarantine life'. The participants were asked questions before the activity (refer to appendix 3). The researcher also observed them before, during and after the reporting session. The reporting sessions were recorded to be analysed and can be referred to in Appendix 4. To sum up, a set of survey questions were given to gain insight knowledge and the effects of the activities and see whether the question in the study is answered. The qualitative data gathered from survey questions, interviews and observation aimed to triangulate the data and see the effectiveness of the HIVE program in helping the ESL learners to learn English. The research framework in Figure 1 provides a quick overview of the framework for this study. 62 63

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre RESEARCH QUESTIONS In this research, the main question is how the ESL learners benefit through communicating with the native English speakers. The answers are hoped to see the effectiveness of the HIVE project concerning CEFR B2 which is to interact with a degree of fluency and produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint. From the gathered data, the researcher also hopes to find the answers to these additional questions; • What positive and negative emotions do students feel during his process? • What language difficulties do the students face during the process? • What did the students do to overcome the language and emotional barriers? • Do the students feel that the HIVE project helps them to learn English? RESEARCH FRAMEWORK This study was carried out in an all-girls residential school in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. The participants were Form 4 students with the same ability in the English language. They participated in two programs from the Hive Project which were the pen pal and recorded reporting session. The other two programs are pending due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For the pen pal, participants were free to communicate with their pal during their free time. As they were staying in, weekends were their favourite time to connect with their pen pal. The participants were given survey questions to answer before they started communicating (Appendix 1) and two months after they started communicating (Appendix 2). The output from the survey questions was later analysed. The focus of the questions was to see any improvement in participants' emotional and language fluency. The field notes helped the researcher to make a comparison before and after-effects to the participants in terms of emotional and language fluency. For the second program in the Project, which was a recorded Report on social and global issues, the participants did on 'Covid-19: Living a quarantine life'. The participants were asked questions before the activity (refer to appendix 3). The researcher also observed them before, during and after the reporting session. The reporting sessions were recorded to be analysed and can be referred to in Appendix 4. To sum up, a set of survey questions were given to gain insight knowledge and the effects of the activities and see whether the question in the study is answered. The qualitative data gathered from survey questions, interviews and observation aimed to triangulate the data and see the effectiveness of the HIVE program in helping the ESL learners to learn English. The research framework in Figure 1 provides a quick overview of the framework for this study. ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 62 63

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Figure 1 Research Framework LITERATURE REVIEW Intercultural Knowledge The HIVE project is a student’s-teacher professional project-based learning that, through school partnerships, builds teacher capacity to build cultural knowledge and awareness, develop intercultural understanding, enhance ICT skills, establish sustainable school partnerships and contribute to a community of learners. The mission is to increase knowledge and share some teaching and learning methods by initiating and supporting activities designed to gain new pedagogical and ICT skills, and where relevant extend their language proficiency. Ek (1986) recalls that a foreign language should not be perceived only PROCESS ü Administering survey questions ü Doing observation TRIANGULATION OF DATA ü Survey questions ü Observation field notes ü Observation reports DATA ANALYSIS QUALITATIVE The impact of communicating with native English speakers to ESL learners’ speaking skills through communicative activities. as a means of communication, but also an instrument that aims at the global education of a person, as a learner and as an individual, pointing out its value as a subject and as a tool for learning. Therefore, foreign languages are naturally positioned in between cultures and aiming at building communication and relationships with culturally different others. How does this affect the learning and teaching of English in Malaysia? Intercultural learning gives the teacher a platform to make the English language more interesting and effective teaching and learning sessions. Byram, Gribkova and Starkey (2002) furthermore claim that language teaching and learning that encompasses an intercultural dimension seeks to reach two main goals. On the one hand, it can benefit the linguistic competence of the learners themselves, as it should contribute to improving language performance. On the other hand, it should allow for the development of intercultural competence, as a way of understanding and communicating across different languages and cultures. As Porto (2018) suggests by using the foreign language with a ‘genuine need’, in a citizenship context, learners are actively engaged in the language. Therefore, they are improving their abilities in noticing linguistic forms, developing language awareness, reflection, metalinguistic awareness and vocabulary. The HIVE Project - SGS and BCC The objectives of the project are to collaborate to build relationships between students and develop a deeper understanding of the partnership country. We aim that the program can lead to life-long friendships and to break down stereotypes or misconceptions about the Malaysian Education system and culture especially the English proficiency level of our students. By using technology, we can understand each other's cultures through video sharing sessions, share our school experiences via emails and Instagram, communicate relevant and current issues from both countries by conducting News reports and discover each other's lifestyle choices through surveys and reports. As cited in Harwati et al. (2017) and supported by Kwon and Eun (2010) that technology can act as an efficient mediator for enhancing English Language Learning as well as supporting students' target needs. For a start, students of SGS and BCC have started communicating and exchanging information about each other with their pen pals through WhatsApp and email. Thus, made the students feel relaxed and comfortable to know each other without the strain of doing a fixed task. The informal medium allows them to talk and share about their life or even share about school experiences. This is because learners believe strongly in the ability of technology to provide them with enriched learning experiences, and they see themselves using technology tools in their future (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). Furthermore, with the internet being the most popular tool among students to communicate, learners can use it to voice their thoughts via discussions that can be held online (Wang & Woo, 2007) We have planned to do a Recorded Report to examine local, global and intercultural issues such as sports and fashion under the topic Peace and Justice under the Sustainable Development Goals, where they did on Covid-19. Here, students from both countries use English in reporting about the same topic that they chose. Creating an authentic learning experience through topics they chose contributed to improving the communicative skill and the English language itself. This is supported by Kelly et al. (2002) saying that the main goal 64 65

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre as a means of communication, but also an instrument that aims at the global education of a person, as a learner and as an individual, pointing out its value as a subject and as a tool for learning. Therefore, foreign languages are naturally positioned in between cultures and aiming at building communication and relationships with culturally different others. How does this affect the learning and teaching of English in Malaysia? Intercultural learning gives the teacher a platform to make the English language more interesting and effective teaching and learning sessions. Byram, Gribkova and Starkey (2002) furthermore claim that language teaching and learning that encompasses an intercultural dimension seeks to reach two main goals. On the one hand, it can benefit the linguistic competence of the learners themselves, as it should contribute to improving language performance. On the other hand, it should allow for the development of intercultural competence, as a way of understanding and communicating across different languages and cultures. As Porto (2018) suggests by using the foreign language with a ‘genuine need’, in a citizenship context, learners are actively engaged in the language. Therefore, they are improving their abilities in noticing linguistic forms, developing language awareness, reflection, metalinguistic awareness and vocabulary. The HIVE Project - SGS and BCC The objectives of the project are to collaborate to build relationships between students and develop a deeper understanding of the partnership country. We aim that the program can lead to life-long friendships and to break down stereotypes or misconceptions about the Malaysian Education system and culture especially the English proficiency level of our students. By using technology, we can understand each other's cultures through video sharing sessions, share our school experiences via emails and Instagram, communicate relevant and current issues from both countries by conducting News reports and discover each other's lifestyle choices through surveys and reports. As cited in Harwati et al. (2017) and supported by Kwon and Eun (2010) that technology can act as an efficient mediator for enhancing English Language Learning as well as supporting students' target needs. For a start, students of SGS and BCC have started communicating and exchanging information about each other with their pen pals through WhatsApp and email. Thus, made the students feel relaxed and comfortable to know each other without the strain of doing a fixed task. The informal medium allows them to talk and share about their life or even share about school experiences. This is because learners believe strongly in the ability of technology to provide them with enriched learning experiences, and they see themselves using technology tools in their future (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). Furthermore, with the internet being the most popular tool among students to communicate, learners can use it to voice their thoughts via discussions that can be held online (Wang & Woo, 2007) We have planned to do a Recorded Report to examine local, global and intercultural issues such as sports and fashion under the topic Peace and Justice under the Sustainable Development Goals, where they did on Covid-19. Here, students from both countries use English in reporting about the same topic that they chose. Creating an authentic learning experience through topics they chose contributed to improving the communicative skill and the English language itself. This is supported by Kelly et al. (2002) saying that the main goal ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 64 65

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre of language learners learning is to be able to converse with the real speakers of that language, either locally or abroad and this goal can only be achieved with authentic materials as they could bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world. In addition, Malaysian students can use this as an opportunity to develop high self-confidence in conversing in English with native speakers. RESEARCH DESIGN As with all research, the researcher begins with a burning desire to answer a question to a problem. In this study, to get the qualitative data a case study approach is implied to answer the questions of how the ESL learners of SGS can improve their communicative fluency through communicative activities. As the case study provides a descriptive account of the entities' experiences and/or behaviours kept by the researcher through field notes, interviews (formal and conversational), surveys, or observation (Patton, 2002). In this paper, data is collected through survey questions analysis, recorded audio and observation. The data is then analysed to see whether it answers the objective of the paper in getting an in-depth understanding of using project-based activities in improving ESL learner's communicative fluency. METHODOLOGY This approach for this paper is qualitative. It is based on the research focus: to see how the ESL students improve in their speaking skills through communicative activities with native English speakers. This approach allows the researcher to see what the ESL learners think and why they think so based on their responses. This is supported by Merriam (2009) and Hancock (2007) by describing qualitative research as a field that attempts to broaden and/or one's understanding of how things came the way they are in our world, explore how people experience something, or what their views are or a new area where issues are not yet understood or properly identified. In qualitative studies, the researcher as the human investigator is the primary instrument for the gathering and analyzing of data, Ary. et al, (2010:453). It means that the researcher is a human instrument who observes (the investigator) and analyses. In this paper, responses by the participants will help to see the effects of talking to native speakers in terms of emotional, content and perception about native speakers through communicative activities in the Hive Project such as email and WhatsApp, recorded materials and others. Participant The participants for the study are Form 4 students of SGS also known as ESL learners. As the subject for the paper, they were questioned, answered survey questions and observed by the teacher/researcher. They were selected as they are not competent speakers but able to engage in a conversation with minimal help and effort. This is to maintain consistency in styles and to ensure internal validity (Fitza, 2006). Survey Questions Surveys' results provide a view of the attitudes and behaviours – including thoughts, opinions, and comments about the study. This valuable feedback provides the reference to measure and establish a standard from which to compare results over time. In the pen pal activity, the questions acted as the first step to establish the goal of the survey such as finding more about the participants' hopes, their perception of the program, the challenges and needs. Then, after the program, another set of questions were given and the responses will be compared. The comparison will enable the researcher to see the effectiveness of the program with close reference to the research questions. For this study, the ESL learners were also given a survey form before the second program - the recorded report. This was done to see what the participants feel and expect from the activity. It was also important to identify problems and strategies and overcome them as preparation before the activity took place. By doing so, they must learn to improve their English to ensure they deliver the report well. The researcher also asked some questions in small groups. The questions were focused on thoughts and feelings as well as language barriers. This is further supported by Krueger and Casey (2015) who say that in-depth sights are usually accomplished in a small group. The groups will be able to tell their problems based on their task. The participant responses are vital to indicate whether they have elevated their communication skill or not. At the end of the second program in the HIVE Project, the participants answered survey questions designed to gather information about their experience communicating with native English speakers. The remaining questions were open-ended and attempted to elicit as much information as possible from participants concerning their involvement in the HIVE project. The questions described how and if they have improved and benefitted from the program. Observation In this paper, an unstructured data collecting method was applied in the observation. Since observation provides the most accurate information about people, their tasks and needs, it is important in providing the most accurate information related to the research. As Dudovskiy (2018) pointed out “observation data collection method is classified as a participatory study because the researcher must immerse herself in the setting where her respondents are while taking notes and/or recording”. he further said that "unstructured observation is conducted in an open and free manner in a sense thus allowing the researcher to observe the participants reactions and expressions”. To add to that, observation also provides the opportunity to keep track of the participants' progress in communicating with the native speakers through notes and recordings were done. The researcher needs to make full and accurate notes of what goes on and the notes should include both the researcher's empirical observations as well as the researcher's interpretations of them (Babbie, 2004). The recordings also helped the participants to identify 66 67

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Survey Questions Surveys' results provide a view of the attitudes and behaviours – including thoughts, opinions, and comments about the study. This valuable feedback provides the reference to measure and establish a standard from which to compare results over time. In the pen pal activity, the questions acted as the first step to establish the goal of the survey such as finding more about the participants' hopes, their perception of the program, the challenges and needs. Then, after the program, another set of questions were given and the responses will be compared. The comparison will enable the researcher to see the effectiveness of the program with close reference to the research questions. For this study, the ESL learners were also given a survey form before the second program - the recorded report. This was done to see what the participants feel and expect from the activity. It was also important to identify problems and strategies and overcome them as preparation before the activity took place. By doing so, they must learn to improve their English to ensure they deliver the report well. The researcher also asked some questions in small groups. The questions were focused on thoughts and feelings as well as language barriers. This is further supported by Krueger and Casey (2015) who say that in-depth sights are usually accomplished in a small group. The groups will be able to tell their problems based on their task. The participant responses are vital to indicate whether they have elevated their communication skill or not. At the end of the second program in the HIVE Project, the participants answered survey questions designed to gather information about their experience communicating with native English speakers. The remaining questions were open-ended and attempted to elicit as much information as possible from participants concerning their involvement in the HIVE project. The questions described how and if they have improved and benefitted from the program. Observation In this paper, an unstructured data collecting method was applied in the observation. Since observation provides the most accurate information about people, their tasks and needs, it is important in providing the most accurate information related to the research. As Dudovskiy (2018) pointed out “observation data collection method is classified as a participatory study because the researcher must immerse herself in the setting where her respondents are while taking notes and/or recording”. he further said that "unstructured observation is conducted in an open and free manner in a sense thus allowing the researcher to observe the participants reactions and expressions”. To add to that, observation also provides the opportunity to keep track of the participants' progress in communicating with the native speakers through notes and recordings were done. The researcher needs to make full and accurate notes of what goes on and the notes should include both the researcher's empirical observations as well as the researcher's interpretations of them (Babbie, 2004). The recordings also helped the participants to identify ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 66 67

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre room for improvement for the future task hence provide a learning platform for them. This, in return, made them more relax and prepare for future tasks. DATA ANALYSIS “Data analysis in qualitative research is defined as the process of systematically searching and arranging the interview transcripts, observation notes, or other non-textual materials that the researcher accumulates to increase the understanding of the phenomenon” (Bogdan & Biklen, 1982). This involves making sense of huge amounts of data by reducing the volume of raw information, followed by identifying significant patterns, and finally drawing meaning from data and subsequently building a logical chain of evidence as mentioned by Patton (2002). In this paper, the data from the survey questions were categorised into positive and negative impacts from communicative, emotions and cultural point of view. By grouping the common themes and issues identified from the responses made the analysis process was more systematic hence allowing the researcher to draw a more valid conclusion. Furthermore, the data uncovered knowledge about how the participants thought and felt about the circumstances in which they were involved, in this study communicating with native English speakers as part of the Hive Program. As Connelly and Clandinin (1990) point out, in all instances, qualitative observational research involves formulating a thoughtful and well-understood relationship between the researcher and research participants. In this study, the researcher who is also the teacher is allowed to do a more comprehensive assessment from the observation. Knowing the participants’ language proficiency level allowed the researcher to analyse and scrutinize even the smallest improvement before and after the program being conducted. As Merriam (2009) pointed out that this allows the researchers to discover, understand and gain better insight from a sample from which the most could be learned. The researcher will concentrate on the data from the responses and output from the observation. The field notes gathered will act as a record in analysing the subject and drawing a conclusion for this study. The raw data were collected, followed by identifying significant patterns, and finally drawing meaning from it and subsequently building a logical conclusion. The researcher believed by doing so helped in the process of data analysis. FINDINGS Pre-Program Questions Communicating with English native speakers was indeed a thought-provoking idea. Many were excited yet they were not confident with their language ability. Having said that, by giving a platform such as a pen pal and report presentation as part of the Hive project, the results showed that the participants or ESL learners did improve their language proficiency. Before the program started, it is very important to know the problems that might hinder the students to speak fluently to native English speakers. The problems identified from the survey questions were grouped under emotion, language proficiency and cultural effects. The problems if can be solved will determine whether ESL learners can improve their speaking skills through communicative activities with native English speakers. Below are the problems that have been identified by survey questions. Table 1 Problems identified when communicating with native English speakers. Emotions • Lack confidence using the language • Fear of making mistakes • Afraid the native speakers will laugh at their english • Embarrass of one’s English (not fluent) Language Proficiency • Incorrect pronunciation • Lack of understanding of grammatical patterns • Limited vocabulary • Cannot express ideas in english as well as in Bahasa Melayu Cultural Background • Not sure what suitable topics to talk about • Limited knowledge about Australia Post-Program Questions Table 2 The benefits the participants gained from the programmes. Emotions • More relaxed in doing the task • Feel more confident to communicate using English • Excited to do more tasks. • Fun experience • Sometimes stressful to prepare the task Language Proficiency • Learn better words to express opinions and thoughts. • The chosen topic allows them to express themselves easily- elaborating points. • Learn how to pronounce words correctly to avoid making mistakes • Practice makes perfect – able to construct sentences. • Peer coaching and group discussion, as well as English lesson, help a lot Cultural Background • Know more about Australia • Eager to share Malaysian culture with the Australian 68 69

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Before the program started, it is very important to know the problems that might hinder the students to speak fluently to native English speakers. The problems identified from the survey questions were grouped under emotion, language proficiency and cultural effects. The problems if can be solved will determine whether ESL learners can improve their speaking skills through communicative activities with native English speakers. Below are the problems that have been identified by survey questions. Table 1 Problems identified when communicating with native English speakers. Emotions • Lack confidence using the language • Fear of making mistakes • Afraid the native speakers will laugh at their english • Embarrass of one’s English (not fluent) Language Proficiency • Incorrect pronunciation • Lack of understanding of grammatical patterns • Limited vocabulary • Cannot express ideas in english as well as in Bahasa Melayu Cultural Background • Not sure what suitable topics to talk about • Limited knowledge about Australia Post-Program Questions Table 2 The benefits the participants gained from the programmes. Emotions • More relaxed in doing the task • Feel more confident to communicate using English • Excited to do more tasks. • Fun experience • Sometimes stressful to prepare the task Language Proficiency • Learn better words to express opinions and thoughts. • The chosen topic allows them to express themselves easily- elaborating points. • Learn how to pronounce words correctly to avoid making mistakes • Practice makes perfect – able to construct sentences. • Peer coaching and group discussion, as well as English lesson, help a lot Cultural Background • Know more about Australia • Eager to share Malaysian culture with the Australian ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 68 69

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Figure 2 Responses from the Post-Program Survey questions For the final assessment, the responses from the survey questions (refer to appendix 6) are as shown in Table 2 and Figure 2. The result was more positive, and they even use the word 'fun'. This affected their attitude and motivation to be fluent in the language to communicate or even impress their native English speaker friends. However, some did mention they were stressed to do the task as they need to use the right command of English, most of them gave positive reviews and said that they have learned and benefitted from the programmes. The pressure to communicate and being understood by native English speakers act as a push factor for them to learn English hence helping them to be fluent. Pen Pal program – Survey Questions Figure 3 Feeling about getting a pen pal. As shown in Figure 3, the results were based on the responses taken before and after the participants started the pen pal program. The responses were taken from survey questions given to them (refer to Appendix 1 and 2). The results showed that the majority of the students were excited to have a native English speaker friend. Only a small number of students were not excited as they were not confident with their language ability. This can be shown where 21 students were very excited from 30 responses. After the pen pal started, the result had a slight change where most of the participants gave a high rating of having a native English speaker. Figure 4 Feeling about talking to a native English speaker. In Figure 4, when asked how they feel about talking to a native English speaker, the result varied from very excited to not excited at all. The result indicated the idea of talking to a pen pal from Australia did make them feel anxious and afraid. Students with high proficiency levels were eager to have a pen pal as they have no language barrier to communicate. However, we can see that after communicating with native English speakers, the number of students who are excited to talk to a pen pal from Australia increased. For pictures, please refer to Appendix 4. This was because the participants talked about common interests, sought help from friends and teachers and the internet to help them communicate better with their pen pal. The responses for question 3 in the survey question (refer to Appendix 2) are shown in Figure 5. 70 71

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre As shown in Figure 3, the results were based on the responses taken before and after the participants started the pen pal program. The responses were taken from survey questions given to them (refer to Appendix 1 and 2). The results showed that the majority of the students were excited to have a native English speaker friend. Only a small number of students were not excited as they were not confident with their language ability. This can be shown where 21 students were very excited from 30 responses. After the pen pal started, the result had a slight change where most of the participants gave a high rating of having a native English speaker. Figure 4 Feeling about talking to a native English speaker. In Figure 4, when asked how they feel about talking to a native English speaker, the result varied from very excited to not excited at all. The result indicated the idea of talking to a pen pal from Australia did make them feel anxious and afraid. Students with high proficiency levels were eager to have a pen pal as they have no language barrier to communicate. However, we can see that after communicating with native English speakers, the number of students who are excited to talk to a pen pal from Australia increased. For pictures, please refer to Appendix 4. This was because the participants talked about common interests, sought help from friends and teachers and the internet to help them communicate better with their pen pal. The responses for question 3 in the survey question (refer to Appendix 2) are shown in Figure 5. ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 70 71

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Figure 5 Ways to solve communication breakdown in the pen pal program Responses from the survey questions also indicated that one of the main benefits the participants hope to achieve from pen pal is to improve their English by talking to native English speakers. The other two most popular responses are to have a friend from overseas and to gain knowledge about Australia. All the participants also decided to continue the friendship. This is a good indicator that the participants have and on the process of overcoming the problems mentioned earlier and want to communicate with the native English speakers. Through the communication process, they learn to overcome their emotions, upgrade their language proficiency and break the language barrier to ensure communication can take place. Recorded Report – Observation The researcher opted to observe the students before, during and after the reported activity. As displayed in Figure 6, from the emotional effects, they showed all the negative feelings preparing for the report. The idea of speaking made them second guess their language ability. Furthermore, this was the first experience for many of them that contributed to the effects showed. Hence, the level of nervousness and anxiety was quite high. Figure 6 Observation Finding – Emotional Effects Emotional Effects Before During After The participants: • Very anxious and excited to do the task • Nervous to actually ‘speak’ The participants: • Very controlled manner • Enjoyed the sessionlaughed and made jokes • Some seemed nervous especially when they made mistakes. The participants: • Felt relieve - task completed • Nervous to wait for the comments • Wanted to prepare more for the next task- identified their weaknesses During the reporting session, the participants also practiced a few times before the recorded report was done and we can see the improvement. The participants appeared to be more controlled, and the level of nervousness had been reduced. This can be seen when they were able to deliver the report in a more jovial and casual way (refer to Appendix 5). There were a lot of pauses and fillers to indicate the feeling of nervousness but not seriousness and affected the delivery of the report. The opportunity to talk about a common topic which was covid-19, lessen the pressure on whether the native English speakers can understand what they presented. Hence, the reports were delivered smoothly with a minor glitch. After the activity, the participants were very relieved and can be seen clearly from their facial expressions and body language. As they realized some of the mistakes they did during the presentation, they identified what they need to do for the next task. They were very excited at the thought that native English speakers will watch and comment on their report. Figure 7 Observation Finding – Language Proficiency. Language Proficiency Before After The participants: • Limited vocabulary • Pronunciation problem • Unable to express and elaborate ideas • Used the wrong grammar rules eg: tenses and SVA • Difficulties in constructing correct sentences The participants: • Used high order vocabulary • Improvement in pronunciation • Able to express ideas with examples given. • Sentence construction has improved with minor errors. The result above showed that the participants did improve their language proficiency. From the observation, the participants presented the report with minimal language errors and fewer grammatical mistakes that can impede the understanding of the topic reported. The findings from the before observation were shared with the participants to guide them to find the solution to solve the language barriers. It is like diagnosing the sickness, finding the right medicine and be healthy. So, they learn the correct pronunciation, discuss as a group how to deliver and elaborate their ideas, use the right words and practice several times to make them confident to deliver the report. In short, from the observation, the audience – the native English speaker, affected the motivation to communicate – to learn English, and the programmes – pen pal and report acted as the platform for communication to take place. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION As mentioned in the early part of the paper, the ability to interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party, B2 CEFR scale as well as produce simple connected texts on topics, which are familiar, or of personal interest, B1 CEFR scale are unsubtly the objectives at the end of the project. The evidence from this study showed that ESL learners can improve their 72 73

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre During the reporting session, the participants also practiced a few times before the recorded report was done and we can see the improvement. The participants appeared to be more controlled, and the level of nervousness had been reduced. This can be seen when they were able to deliver the report in a more jovial and casual way (refer to Appendix 5). There were a lot of pauses and fillers to indicate the feeling of nervousness but not seriousness and affected the delivery of the report. The opportunity to talk about a common topic which was covid-19, lessen the pressure on whether the native English speakers can understand what they presented. Hence, the reports were delivered smoothly with a minor glitch. After the activity, the participants were very relieved and can be seen clearly from their facial expressions and body language. As they realized some of the mistakes they did during the presentation, they identified what they need to do for the next task. They were very excited at the thought that native English speakers will watch and comment on their report. Figure 7 Observation Finding – Language Proficiency. Language Proficiency Before After The participants: • Limited vocabulary • Pronunciation problem • Unable to express and elaborate ideas • Used the wrong grammar rules eg: tenses and SVA • Difficulties in constructing correct sentences The participants: • Used high order vocabulary • Improvement in pronunciation • Able to express ideas with examples given. • Sentence construction has improved with minor errors. The result above showed that the participants did improve their language proficiency. From the observation, the participants presented the report with minimal language errors and fewer grammatical mistakes that can impede the understanding of the topic reported. The findings from the before observation were shared with the participants to guide them to find the solution to solve the language barriers. It is like diagnosing the sickness, finding the right medicine and be healthy. So, they learn the correct pronunciation, discuss as a group how to deliver and elaborate their ideas, use the right words and practice several times to make them confident to deliver the report. In short, from the observation, the audience – the native English speaker, affected the motivation to communicate – to learn English, and the programmes – pen pal and report acted as the platform for communication to take place. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION As mentioned in the early part of the paper, the ability to interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party, B2 CEFR scale as well as produce simple connected texts on topics, which are familiar, or of personal interest, B1 CEFR scale are unsubtly the objectives at the end of the project. The evidence from this study showed that ESL learners can improve their ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 72 73

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre communicative skills by communicating with native English speakers through pen pal and recorded report activities. l can conclude that the audience affects the motivation for ESL learners to learn the language. By combining this idea with communicative activities, it provides an opportunity for the students to acquire the language and the opportunity to engage with the world in a more immediate and meaningful way—whether in the classroom or online. This study intended to be an eye-opener to the idea of using native English speakers to our ESL learners. The Hive project has been affected by the pandemic thus only allowing half of the program to be executed. Perhaps the researcher could continue with the rest of the project when everything is back to normal. Furthermore, this study aimed at highlighting the fact that the exploration with real native English speakers and communicative activities can and should be approached with ESL learners. Although it requires careful planning from both sides, teachers should be open to creative and interesting strategies or programmes that facilitate the ESL learners' learning process. As Bruner (1986) mentioned; collaboration is a powerful learning tool. By reinventing the methods of teaching and learning to become more interesting and creative using modern technologies, learners will be more motivated to the task. As creative and innovation are also important aspects of the 21st century, they also enable the learners to ignite students’ imagination, generate implementable new ideas and stimulate innovative thinking. Not only they can acquire the English language, but the project also prepares the learners to master a range of creative and innovative thinking skills that will allow them to apply and create new knowledge outside familiar contexts as aspires in the MEB. REFERENCES Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Irvine, C. K. S., & Walker, D. A. (2019). Introduction to Research in Education. (10th ed.). CENGAGE. Asia Education Foundation (2018), Online Companion from http://asiaeducation.edu.au Babbie, E.R. (2004). The Practice of Social Research, (15th ed.). Belmont CA: Wadsworth. Bates, D.K. (2017). What Do Students Think? University Spanish Students' Experience Communicating Online with Native Spanish Speakers. Brigham Young University. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7290 &context=etd Belz, J. A. (2002). Social dimensions of telecollaborative foreign language study. Language, Learning & Technology, 6(1), 60-81. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=byuprovo&v=2.1 &it =r&id=GALE%7CA82135554&asid=aea3bd1be2cd8d6226209f51e3213c94 Bogdan RC, Biklen SK. Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods. Boston: Allyn and Bacon; 1982. [Google Scholar] BRIDGE In-Country Professional learning. Retrieved from http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/professional-learning/bridge-in-countryprofessional-learning Bruner, J. (1986). Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge; Harvard University Press. Byram, M; Gribkova, B; Starkey, H; (2002) Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language Teaching: a practical introduction for teachers. Language Policy Division, Directorate of School, Out-of-School and Higher Education, Council of Europe: Strasbourg, France. Calvo, R., Arbiol, A., & Iglesias, A. (2014). Are all chats suitable for learning purposes? A study of the required characteristics. Procedia Computer Science, 27, 251-260. Connelly, FM, Clandinin, DJ (1990). Teachers as curriculum planners: Narratives of experience. New York: Teachers College Press. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Creswell, J.W. (1994). Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA. Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (1998). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publication. Dudovskiy, J. (2018). The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dissertation in Business Studies: stepby-step assistance. Retrived from https://research-methodology.net/about-us/ebook/ 74 75

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre REFERENCES Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Irvine, C. K. S., & Walker, D. A. (2019). Introduction to Research in Education. (10th ed.). CENGAGE. Asia Education Foundation (2018), Online Companion from http://asiaeducation.edu.au Babbie, E.R. (2004). The Practice of Social Research, (15th ed.). Belmont CA: Wadsworth. Bates, D.K. (2017). What Do Students Think? University Spanish Students' Experience Communicating Online with Native Spanish Speakers. Brigham Young University. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7290 &context=etd Belz, J. A. (2002). Social dimensions of telecollaborative foreign language study. Language, Learning & Technology, 6(1), 60-81. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=byuprovo&v=2.1 &it =r&id=GALE%7CA82135554&asid=aea3bd1be2cd8d6226209f51e3213c94 Bogdan RC, Biklen SK. Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods. Boston: Allyn and Bacon; 1982. [Google Scholar] BRIDGE In-Country Professional learning. Retrieved from http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/professional-learning/bridge-in-countryprofessional-learning Bruner, J. (1986). Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge; Harvard University Press. Byram, M; Gribkova, B; Starkey, H; (2002) Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language Teaching: a practical introduction for teachers. Language Policy Division, Directorate of School, Out-of-School and Higher Education, Council of Europe: Strasbourg, France. Calvo, R., Arbiol, A., & Iglesias, A. (2014). Are all chats suitable for learning purposes? A study of the required characteristics. Procedia Computer Science, 27, 251-260. Connelly, FM, Clandinin, DJ (1990). Teachers as curriculum planners: Narratives of experience. New York: Teachers College Press. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Creswell, J.W. (1994). Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA. Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (1998). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publication. Dudovskiy, J. (2018). The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dissertation in Business Studies: stepby-step assistance. Retrived from https://research-methodology.net/about-us/ebook/ ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 74 75

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Fitze, M. (2006). Discourse and participation in ESL face-to-face and written electronic conferences. Language Learning & Technology, 10 (1), 86. Guidelines [Electronic version]. Retrieved December 2016 from http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ACTFLProficiencyGuidelines. Hancock, B., Ockleford, E., & Windridge, K. (2009). An Introduction to Qualitative Research. The NIHR RDS EM/YH. Harwati Hashim, Melor Md Yunus, Mohamed Amin Embi & Nor Azwa Mohamed Ozir. (2017). Language Learning (MALL) for ESL Learners: A Review of affordances and Constraints. Sains Humanika 9:4550 Horwitz, EK. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x Kelly, C., Kelly, L., Offner, M. & Vorland, B. (2002). Effective ways to use authentic materials with ESL/EFL students. The Internet TESL Journal, 8(11). Krashen, S. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. New York; NY: Longman Krueger, R.A & Casey, M.A. (2015). Focus Groups (5th Ed.). USA: SAGE Publication. Kwon, S. & Eun, J. (2010). Design principles of m-learning for ESL. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.1003 Long, M. H., & Porter, P. A. (1985). Group work, interlanguage talk, and second language acquisition. TESOL Quarterly, 19(2), 207–228. http://doi.org/10.2307/3586827 Merriam, S.B. (2009). Qualitative Research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons. Ministry of Education, Malaysia. (2013) Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Preschool to Post-Secondary Education). Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Education. Nortbrock, J. (2018). Think English, Speak English: How to Stop Performing Mental Gymnastics Every Time You Speak English. NY: Northbrook Ltd. Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Porto, M. (2018). Does Education for Intercultural Citizenship Lead to Language Learning?. Language, Culture and Curriculum. Routledge. DOI: 10.1080/07908318.2017.1421642 Richard, J.C, and Willy A. R. (2002). Methodology in Language Teaching. An Anthology of Current Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Solomon, G., and Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: new tools, new schools, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Washington: Science and Education Publishing. Swain, M. & Lapkin, S. (1995). Problems in output and the cognitive processes they generate: A step towards second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 16(3), 371- 391. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (2012). ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines [Electronic version]. Retrieved December 2016 from http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ACTFLProficiencyGuidelines Ur, P. (1999). A Course in Language Teaching Trainee Book Trainee's Book. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wang, Q., & Woo, H. L. (2007). Systematic Planning for ICT Integration in Topic Learning. Educational Technology & Society, 10 (1), 148-156. 76 77

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Solomon, G., and Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: new tools, new schools, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Washington: Science and Education Publishing. Swain, M. & Lapkin, S. (1995). Problems in output and the cognitive processes they generate: A step towards second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 16(3), 371- 391. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (2012). ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines [Electronic version]. Retrieved December 2016 from http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ACTFLProficiencyGuidelines Ur, P. (1999). A Course in Language Teaching Trainee Book Trainee's Book. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wang, Q., & Woo, H. L. (2007). Systematic Planning for ICT Integration in Topic Learning. Educational Technology & Society, 10 (1), 148-156. ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 76 77

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Appendix 1: Survey Questions BEFORE the pen pal Program For Questions 1 and 2 Rate your feeling from 1 to 5 with 5= very excited and 1= not excited at all. 1 2 3 4 5 1 How do you feel about getting a pen pal who is a native English speaker? 2 How do you feel talking to native English speakers? 3 In your opinion, what are the benefits of having a native English speaker as a pen pal? (Please list 2) 1. 2. 4 In your opinion, what are the problems you may face while communicating with your pen pal? (Please list 2) 1. 2. Appendix 2: Survey Questions AFTER the pen pal Program For Questions 1 and 2 Rate your feeling from 1 to 5 with 5= very excited and 1= not excited at all. 1 2 3 4 5 1 How do you feel about getting a pen pal who is a native English speaker? 2 How do you feel talking to native English speakers? 3 When you have trouble communicating with your pen pal, what did you do? (Please give 2) 1. 2. 4 Do you want to continue the friendship? YES NO Appendix 3: Questions asked BEFORE the Report Presentation. 1. How do you feel having to present the topic to native English speakers? 2. What challenges you might face while preparing for the material and presenting the topic? 3. How can you over overcome the challenges mentioned? 78 79

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Appendix 4: Pictures of Pen pal from Australia Appendix 5: Report Presentation ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 78 79

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Appendix 6: Survey questions (End of the two programmes) 1 Do you enjoy doing the pen pal and report Program? YES NO 2 Do you think the programmes benefited you? YES NO 3 What have you gained from the programmes? (Please list 3) 1. 2. 3. 4 Do you think the project helps you to improve your communicative skill? YES NO Please state why? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 80 81

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 80 81

COMMUNICATIN STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY SITI MARIAM ZAKARIA SMK PUTRAJAYA PRESINT 5 (1) e-mail: [email protected] 5

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY ABSTRACT Having the strategies to keep the flow of conversation is indeed rewarding, not only outside the classroom but also inside the classroom, especially during a speaking assessment. This paper presents a study on the strategies used in listening and speaking, known explicitly as Communication Strategies (CS), utilising an assessment tool known as Oral Communication Strategy Inventory (OCSI). This study aims to gain information on the types of CS frequently employed by secondary school students during interactional tasks. The assessment tool was then distributed to 153 secondary school students. The findings showed that the respondents were high users of CS. Among the frequently used CS were word-oriented strategies, negotiation for meaning while listening strategies, social-affective strategies and scanning strategies. Significant differences were reported on the use of message abandonment strategies, fluency-oriented strategies, fluency-maintaining strategies, accuracy-oriented strategies and less active listener strategies. Results found that high proficiency groups preferred using fluency-oriented strategies and fluency maintaining strategies whereas the low proficiency groups preferred message abandonment strategies and less active listener strategies. Intermediate groups chose to employ more accuracyoriented strategies as compared to low proficiency groups. Not only that, but intermediate groups also tended to employ less active listener strategies since a significant difference was found between high and intermediate groups. The findings suggest the importance of strategy training on CS for ELT practitioners to encourage the help-needed students to speak in English as a Second Language. Keywords: communication strategies, oral communication strategy, communicative language teaching, social affective, listening strategies. INTRODUCTION Quality education is one of the goals highlighted in the Sustainable Developments Goals (SDG) by the United Nations. Moreover, by 2030, more youth and adults are expected to have relevant skills for job employment. The advancement of technology in Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) and 5.0 (IR 5.0) requires students to have good English proficiency. They need to be equipped with good communication skills as they venture into entrepreneurship and technology innovation, among others. Nevertheless, the Cambridge Baseline Study in 2013 reported speaking as the weakest skill among secondary school students. This is because many secondary school students are deprived of the opportunities to speak English at school, focusing on reading and writing, which were the content and focus on the examination (Don et al., 2015). Besides, they rarely used English in daily interactions outside of the classroom (Cambridge English, 2013). Hence, the Cambridge Baseline Study found that many Form 3 and Form 5 students were identified to be at the A1/A2 level for speaking. For more than a decade, Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 111/9 English papers had been devised based on Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM) syllabus. In this exam, students were assessed on two skills-reading and writing. Despite the fact that only two skills were assessed, the students' performance in the major examination is yet to be improved. The students' performance in the English language, as manifested in the SPM 111/9 English 2019, had indicated that only 16.0 % of the SPM candidates were high proficient (MOE, 2021). These SPM candidates were in the excellent band since the result was between A+ to A-. Meanwhile, the percentage of the candidates who scored an excellent band had shown a slight increase of 0.2 % in 2020. An increase of 0.4% was reported from 19.5% in 2019 to 19.9% in 2020. Overall, the subject average grade in 2020 had pointed to a decline in the candidates' performance as compared to 2019. Realising the dire need to prepare the students to be independent English language users, the Ministry of Education has taken a proactive approach in reforming the English education system (Don et al., 2015). The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) integration into the English Language Curriculum for secondary schools began in 2018 with the development of the Standards-Based English Language Curriculum (MOE, 2017). Through the CEFR-aligned syllabus, students are given equal emphasis on the four skillslistening, speaking, reading, and writing which are imperative not only in their academic performance but also in the social context. Since the Standard-Based Curriculum for Secondary Schools (KSSM) was introduced in secondary schools in 2017 (Fatima, 2019), the revamp of the SPM English format will be implemented in 2021. By 2025, 70% of the SPM candidates are expected to achieve a minimum credit in their English Language paper (Ministry of Education, 2013). Based on the CEFR-aligned SPM English, the candidates would be assessed in their receptive and productive skills. The new assessment would indeed be more comprehensive as compared to the previous SPM format. In the meantime, beginning in 2014, centralised examination for form 3, known as lower secondary assessment or PMR (Penilaian Menengah Rendah), was replaced with Form 3 Assessment or PT3 (Fatima et al., 2018). PT3 English which was based on KBSM syllabus, accentuated the students' ability in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. One paper assessed the students on their reading and writing skills, whereas another paper assessed their listening and speaking skills (Tigarajan et al., 2016). Due to the English Language education reform, CEFR-aligned PT3 English took place in 2019 whereby the students had to sit for four papers. However, the inevitable Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected teachers and students, resulting in the Ministry of Education to postpone the CEFR-aligned PT3 in 2020 and 2021. Govindasamy and Shah (2020) posited that some Malaysian students are still unable to speak English fluently even though they have undergone 11 years of learning English. Among the factors which hinder the students from expressing themselves fluently are the lack of vocabulary knowledge in the target language (TL), less motivation, and the feeling of shyness (Govindasamy & Shah, 2020). Other than that, low self-confidence and the unfamiliarity of the language structures also prohibit the students from improving their 84 85

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre For more than a decade, Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 111/9 English papers had been devised based on Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM) syllabus. In this exam, students were assessed on two skills-reading and writing. Despite the fact that only two skills were assessed, the students' performance in the major examination is yet to be improved. The students' performance in the English language, as manifested in the SPM 111/9 English 2019, had indicated that only 16.0 % of the SPM candidates were high proficient (MOE, 2021). These SPM candidates were in the excellent band since the result was between A+ to A-. Meanwhile, the percentage of the candidates who scored an excellent band had shown a slight increase of 0.2 % in 2020. An increase of 0.4% was reported from 19.5% in 2019 to 19.9% in 2020. Overall, the subject average grade in 2020 had pointed to a decline in the candidates' performance as compared to 2019. Realising the dire need to prepare the students to be independent English language users, the Ministry of Education has taken a proactive approach in reforming the English education system (Don et al., 2015). The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) integration into the English Language Curriculum for secondary schools began in 2018 with the development of the Standards-Based English Language Curriculum (MOE, 2017). Through the CEFR-aligned syllabus, students are given equal emphasis on the four skillslistening, speaking, reading, and writing which are imperative not only in their academic performance but also in the social context. Since the Standard-Based Curriculum for Secondary Schools (KSSM) was introduced in secondary schools in 2017 (Fatima, 2019), the revamp of the SPM English format will be implemented in 2021. By 2025, 70% of the SPM candidates are expected to achieve a minimum credit in their English Language paper (Ministry of Education, 2013). Based on the CEFR-aligned SPM English, the candidates would be assessed in their receptive and productive skills. The new assessment would indeed be more comprehensive as compared to the previous SPM format. In the meantime, beginning in 2014, centralised examination for form 3, known as lower secondary assessment or PMR (Penilaian Menengah Rendah), was replaced with Form 3 Assessment or PT3 (Fatima et al., 2018). PT3 English which was based on KBSM syllabus, accentuated the students' ability in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. One paper assessed the students on their reading and writing skills, whereas another paper assessed their listening and speaking skills (Tigarajan et al., 2016). Due to the English Language education reform, CEFR-aligned PT3 English took place in 2019 whereby the students had to sit for four papers. However, the inevitable Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected teachers and students, resulting in the Ministry of Education to postpone the CEFR-aligned PT3 in 2020 and 2021. Govindasamy and Shah (2020) posited that some Malaysian students are still unable to speak English fluently even though they have undergone 11 years of learning English. Among the factors which hinder the students from expressing themselves fluently are the lack of vocabulary knowledge in the target language (TL), less motivation, and the feeling of shyness (Govindasamy & Shah, 2020). Other than that, low self-confidence and the unfamiliarity of the language structures also prohibit the students from improving their ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 84 85

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre speaking skills (Zakaria et al., 2018). Therefore, it is paramount for the students to identify the strategies which can help them keep the flow of conversation in the TL. According to Sara et al. (2011), Communicative Strategies (CS) and language learning strategies (LLS) are the two strategies associated with second language acquisition. Some researchers think that CS are just about getting the meaning across in the conversation and not directly related to the process of teaching and learning (Sara et al, 2011). As such, there have been a plethora of studies on language learning strategies (Jamila & Maslawati, 2017; Wael et al., 2018; Chan & Aziz, 2021). However, there has been a paucity of studies in the last five years using oral communication strategy inventory (OCSI) involving Malaysian students. Among the recent studies that use the adaptation of OCSI were conducted by Kuen (2017); Ting et al., (2017) and Kaizhu (2016). Since the respondents in the studies were pre-university students (Kaizhu, 2016) and tertiary students (Kuen, 2017; Ting et al., 2017), a study on OCSI involving secondary school students needs to be carried out to fill the gap of the previous studies. Pangat and Wahid (2016) suggested that CS is a pertinent aspect in communication and contributes to second language acquisition. Vettorel (2018) also emphasised that CS plays a salient role in effective communication. To achieve effective communication, the speaker and listener need to have a mutual understanding (Evgenievna & Taylor, 2019). In relation to that, Evgenievna & Taylor (2019) suggested that lack of fluency, improper accent and inaccuracy in grammatical structures should not be the impediments for the second language learners to express themselves orally as long as they can make themselves understood by the listeners. Students can also improve their proficiency using specific communication strategies whenever they encounter problems during interactional tasks (Nakatani, 2010). Once the learners are facilitated on the importance of consciously employing specific CS during interactional tasks, they may have more confidence to speak using the TL. On a similar note, Demir et al. (2018) asserted that the use of CS might help the learners to circumvent any communication problems for them to achieve fluency in communication. Kárpáti (2017) suggested that teaching and using CS should be utilised inside or outside of the classroom as the strategies can enhance an individual’s verbal output. Hence, the study of CS is imperative as the teachers can help the students identify their preferences on the use of CS, be it achievement or reduction strategies. Once the learners have identified their frequent choice of strategies, they need to be facilitated on how to improve their communication skills, especially those who tend to employ reduction strategies. This knowledge can help the students to be active learners through the wellplanned Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach. CLT is favoured by secondary school students because they get the opportunity to express themselves in the classroom (Abdullah & Shah, 2016). Nevertheless, the study by Razak et al. (2014) on the learning strategies among the secondary school students in Johor Bahru using Oxford's Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) revealed that the students had high anxiety in learning the English language, which was manifested in their choice of affective strategy as the most frequently used strategy. The question as to whether the students did speak using the target language with their other multicultural peers was pointed out by the researchers. Despite the high use of learning strategies reported by the students, Razak et al. (2014) admitted that the elicitation of data on the language strategies might not be able to give sufficient information on the existence of intercultural communication among the students. Although SILL is a reliable tool, it deals with general statements on the strategies, or in other words, it may not be appropriate to be used when identifying taskspecific strategies (Nakatani, 2006). Previous studies on CS by Abdullah (2004) and Rocky (1998) were done qualitatively, using smaller samples of secondary school students. The scarcity of research, which investigates the types of CS employed by the secondary school students during the interactional tasks, is apparent. Thus, this study intends to fill the gap in the previous studies by distributing OCSI to a larger sample of secondary school students. This paper primarily focuses on the types of CS employed by secondary school students in Kota Bharu during interactional tasks. In the context of the present study, the researcher used PT3 English speaking questions which are perceived as a reliable tool in measuring the students' use of CS during standardised interactional tasks. Therefore, this paper focuses on exploring the frequency of use and the different types of communication strategies, specifically employed by the students when they performed spoken interaction in PT3 English speaking assessment. The study outlined in this article seeks to find the answers to the following questions: 1. What are the types of CS frequently used in interactional tasks? 2. Are there any significant differences in the types of CS employed by different proficiency level of students? LITERATURE REVIEW Definitions on Communicative Strategies (CS) Studies on CS in the second language learning are unique in the sense that there are vast definitions, terminologies and taxonomies in the types of CS used by scholars. Two major approaches; psychological and interactional views, have influenced the conceptualisation of CS. Dornyei and Scott (1997) asserted that scholars have been using these two main criteria; ‘problem-orientedness’ and ‘consciousness’ in defining CS. Below are the definitions of CS as proposed by reputable scholars: Table 1 Definition of CS Researcher Definition Tarone (1981) ‘a mutual attempt of two interlocutors to agree on a meaning in situations where requisite meaning structures do not seem to be shared’ (p. 65) Corder (1978) ‘a systematic technique employed by a speaker to express his meaning when faced with some difficulty’ (p. 16) Faerch and Kasper (1983) ‘Communication strategies are potentially conscious plans for solving what to an individual presents itself as a problem in reaching a particular communicative goal’ (p. 36) Source: Faerch and Kasper (1984) 86 87

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre the students. Although SILL is a reliable tool, it deals with general statements on the strategies, or in other words, it may not be appropriate to be used when identifying taskspecific strategies (Nakatani, 2006). Previous studies on CS by Abdullah (2004) and Rocky (1998) were done qualitatively, using smaller samples of secondary school students. The scarcity of research, which investigates the types of CS employed by the secondary school students during the interactional tasks, is apparent. Thus, this study intends to fill the gap in the previous studies by distributing OCSI to a larger sample of secondary school students. This paper primarily focuses on the types of CS employed by secondary school students in Kota Bharu during interactional tasks. In the context of the present study, the researcher used PT3 English speaking questions which are perceived as a reliable tool in measuring the students' use of CS during standardised interactional tasks. Therefore, this paper focuses on exploring the frequency of use and the different types of communication strategies, specifically employed by the students when they performed spoken interaction in PT3 English speaking assessment. The study outlined in this article seeks to find the answers to the following questions: 1. What are the types of CS frequently used in interactional tasks? 2. Are there any significant differences in the types of CS employed by different proficiency level of students? LITERATURE REVIEW Definitions on Communicative Strategies (CS) Studies on CS in the second language learning are unique in the sense that there are vast definitions, terminologies and taxonomies in the types of CS used by scholars. Two major approaches; psychological and interactional views, have influenced the conceptualisation of CS. Dornyei and Scott (1997) asserted that scholars have been using these two main criteria; ‘problem-orientedness’ and ‘consciousness’ in defining CS. Below are the definitions of CS as proposed by reputable scholars: Table 1 Definition of CS Researcher Definition Tarone (1981) ‘a mutual attempt of two interlocutors to agree on a meaning in situations where requisite meaning structures do not seem to be shared’ (p. 65) Corder (1978) ‘a systematic technique employed by a speaker to express his meaning when faced with some difficulty’ (p. 16) Faerch and Kasper (1983) ‘Communication strategies are potentially conscious plans for solving what to an individual presents itself as a problem in reaching a particular communicative goal’ (p. 36) Source: Faerch and Kasper (1984) ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 86 87

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre In line with the interactional view, Tarone (1981) further elaborated on the types of CS which enable the second language learners to bridge the gap of their linguistic knowledge with the interlocutor’s linguistic knowledge during conversations. Among the strategies suggested are approximation, mime, and circumlocution. Conversely, message abandonment and avoidance are employed when the learners unsuccessfully bridge the gaps (Tarone, 1981). In the present study, CS are defined as strategies employed by the English as a Second Language (ESL) learners to keep the flow of the conversation and cope with communication problems as they engage in interactional tasks. THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS Interlanguage Hypothesis Selinker had proposed The Interlanguage Hypothesis in 1972. Interlanguage (IL), according to him, is a linguistic system that is "partially distinct from the native language and the target language" (Selinker et al., 1975). He brought forth the notion of the existence of "latent psychological structure", which is activated when the learners attempt to produce sentences or express meaning in the second language (Selinker, 1972). In relation to this, Selinker suggested five fundamental processes which exist in the latent psychological structure whenever second language learning takes place, i.e., language transfer, transfer of training, strategies of second language learning, strategies of second language communication, and overgeneralisation of TL linguistic materials. Selinker et al. (1975) further suggested that IL hypothesis is not just specifically applied to the second language adult learners but can also be "extended to child-language acquisition setting". Despite the absence of native-speaking peers of the TL, children, according to Selinker et al. (1975), develop their own strategies to express themselves in the second language. These strategies may have been employed consciously or subconsciously by the children when they speak in the TL. The children involved in the study by Selinker, Swain and Dumas (1975) were found to be consistently using the strategies, resulting in greater stability of IL as claimed by the researchers. Besides, the children did not have any difficulties communicating among themselves, which indicate that they "share mutual intelligibility" or common IL (Selinker et al., 1975). On a different note, Selinker (1972) highlighted that the "strategy of communication" can also lead to fossilised IL competence once the learners think that they know enough TL and stop learning the second language. One of the examples given is when the learners continuously commit the same error, using “he” for both “he” and “she” in the conversation, the learners are then perceived to have “fossilisable error", which is due to a particular strategy of communication. Even though Selinker did not give a detailed explanation of CS, his article on Interlanguage has gained prominent attention on the notion of CS. His notion on CS subsequently has given rise to other remarkable studies, namely by Varadi (1973), Tarone, Cohen and Dumas (1976) and many other scholars as elucidated in the book on Strategies in Interlanguage Communication (1983). Communicative Competence Canale and Swain (1980) discussed and shared their reviews in length on the theories of communicative competence by other scholars. They asserted that not much detailed attention had been given to CS- strategies the speakers utilise to handle breakdowns in conversation as well as to keep the flow of conversation. They reiterated that CS is one of the salient aspects of communicative competence which needs to be integrated with the other components in the theory of communicative competence. In proposing their theory of communicative competence, Canale and Swain proposed three components of competence: grammatical, sociolinguistic, and strategic competence. Grammatical competence involves the understanding of syntax, morphology, and phonology, among others (Canale & Swain, 1980). Meanwhile, sociolinguistic competence consists of socio-cultural rules of use (how utterances are produced and understood appropriately based on the given socio-cultural context) and rules of discourse (combination of utterances with the communicative functions). Strategic competence, on the other hand, refers to the verbal and nonverbal strategies employed when handling breakdowns in communication. These strategies are somehow related to the aforementioned components of competence. For instance, one can employ CS when having problems to recall the correct form of grammatical forms or when one does not know how to address strangers correctly (Canale & Swain, 1980). Inclusion of another component, i.e., discourse competence, has been proposed by Canale (1983) into their existing model of communicative competence. Such competence requires the learner to combine language structures into different types of cohesive texts (Celce-Murcia et al., 1995). Celce-Murcia et al. (1995) later proposed their model of communicative competence, retaining the terminology on strategic competence and discourse competence while making slight changes on the terms: grammatical competence and sociolinguistic competence to linguistic competence and socio-cultural competence. A new component, i.e., actional competence, was added to Celce-Murcia et al. (1995) model of communicative competence. In comparison, the recommended strategic competence by Celce-Murcia et al. (1995) is more descriptive with the elucidation of five main categories of strategies. These strategies are avoidance or reduction of strategies, achievement or compensatory strategies, stalling or time-gaining strategies, self-monitoring strategies and interactional strategies. Subsequently, the five main categories are then broken into more detailed examples of subcategories, with a total of 24 sub-categories under strategic competence. Apparently, these sub-categories have been adapted into the Oral Communication Strategy Inventory by Nakatani (2006), which is widely used by other researchers as a means of data collection. Studies Related to Cs on Proficiency Level There are many variables used in the studies of CS, including proficiency level. Choices and frequency of CS might be affected by the lack of target language knowledge (Paribakht, 1985). Some scholars did not find any significant differences in terms of language proficiency (Shokrolahi & Ahmadi, 2016; Yaman & Özcan, 2015). However, some even reported that there were significant differences in the strategies use between the different proficiency 88 89

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre Communicative Competence Canale and Swain (1980) discussed and shared their reviews in length on the theories of communicative competence by other scholars. They asserted that not much detailed attention had been given to CS- strategies the speakers utilise to handle breakdowns in conversation as well as to keep the flow of conversation. They reiterated that CS is one of the salient aspects of communicative competence which needs to be integrated with the other components in the theory of communicative competence. In proposing their theory of communicative competence, Canale and Swain proposed three components of competence: grammatical, sociolinguistic, and strategic competence. Grammatical competence involves the understanding of syntax, morphology, and phonology, among others (Canale & Swain, 1980). Meanwhile, sociolinguistic competence consists of socio-cultural rules of use (how utterances are produced and understood appropriately based on the given socio-cultural context) and rules of discourse (combination of utterances with the communicative functions). Strategic competence, on the other hand, refers to the verbal and nonverbal strategies employed when handling breakdowns in communication. These strategies are somehow related to the aforementioned components of competence. For instance, one can employ CS when having problems to recall the correct form of grammatical forms or when one does not know how to address strangers correctly (Canale & Swain, 1980). Inclusion of another component, i.e., discourse competence, has been proposed by Canale (1983) into their existing model of communicative competence. Such competence requires the learner to combine language structures into different types of cohesive texts (Celce-Murcia et al., 1995). Celce-Murcia et al. (1995) later proposed their model of communicative competence, retaining the terminology on strategic competence and discourse competence while making slight changes on the terms: grammatical competence and sociolinguistic competence to linguistic competence and socio-cultural competence. A new component, i.e., actional competence, was added to Celce-Murcia et al. (1995) model of communicative competence. In comparison, the recommended strategic competence by Celce-Murcia et al. (1995) is more descriptive with the elucidation of five main categories of strategies. These strategies are avoidance or reduction of strategies, achievement or compensatory strategies, stalling or time-gaining strategies, self-monitoring strategies and interactional strategies. Subsequently, the five main categories are then broken into more detailed examples of subcategories, with a total of 24 sub-categories under strategic competence. Apparently, these sub-categories have been adapted into the Oral Communication Strategy Inventory by Nakatani (2006), which is widely used by other researchers as a means of data collection. Studies Related to Cs on Proficiency Level There are many variables used in the studies of CS, including proficiency level. Choices and frequency of CS might be affected by the lack of target language knowledge (Paribakht, 1985). Some scholars did not find any significant differences in terms of language proficiency (Shokrolahi & Ahmadi, 2016; Yaman & Özcan, 2015). However, some even reported that there were significant differences in the strategies use between the different proficiency ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 88 89

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre levels (Liu, 2018; Nakatani, 2006). Interestingly, more comparisons could be made on the use of CS when OCSI was adapted as a means of data collection. Nakatani (2006) involved 400 Japanese university students in his study. It was discovered that high proficient learners had the tendency to use certain types of strategies when they performed the interactional tasks. Those strategies were social-affective strategies, fluencyoriented strategies, and negotiation of meaning. Unlike the high proficient students, the low proficient students preferred using message abandonment strategies and less active listener strategies. During communication, the learners may choose to solve their communicative problem using two general categories as asserted by Faerch and Kasper (1983): avoidance strategies or achievement strategies. By adopting avoidance strategies, the learners may choose to use the simplified way of communicating either because of their insufficient linguistic resources (Nakatani, 2006) or the change of communicative goal (Faerch & Kasper, 1983) whereas the achievement strategies assist learners in devising alternative plans for reaching their initial communicative goal using available resources (Nakatani, 2006). Out of fifteen strategies included by Nakatani (2006) in OCSI, thirteen strategies are perceived as achievement strategies as the language learners who regularly employ such strategies are called 'effective learning strategy users' (Nakatani, 2006). Meanwhile, the other two, for instance message abandonment strategies and less active listener strategies, are considered as strategies that do not facilitate communication or in other words, are known as avoidance strategies. The language learners who resort to using those two strategies are considered as 'ineffective strategy users in oral communication (Nakatani, 2006). Idrus (2016) demonstrated that high proficient undergraduate students, who were also good presenters in the Communication Skills Course, frequently employed more oral communication strategies compared to the average presenters. Evidently, these good speakers had simultaneously used more strategies known as social affective, fluencyoriented, and nonverbal strategies for coping with speaking problems. Average presenters, on the other hand, were reportedly using social affective and nonverbal strategies, but not as frequently as the good presenters. Another study by Liu (2018) suggested that the low proficient students were found to be apprehensive about being negatively evaluated when speaking English. They also preferred employing three strategies, such as attempting to speak in English strategies, message abandonment strategies, and nonverbal strategies regularly than high proficient students. Another study by Su (2021), which used OCSI and Communication Apprehension Subscale (CAS), discovered that non-English major college students who perceived their proficiency level as low had employed a higher number of CS even though they had high anxiety towards speaking English. Among the strategies used were message abandonment, non-verbal and social-affective strategies. Hsieh (2014) explored how cultural background and language proficiency affect the Chinese ESL learners' choice of CS. Comparisons had also been made among the other cultural groups of learners. In the study, as a means of keeping the flow of conversation, North Americans deployed conversation maintenance strategies as well as social-affective strategies. In contrast, the East Asian group of learners utilised reduction or avoidance strategies and preferred talking on the topic that they knew in maintaining the conversation. Moreover, when listening to the questions, the East-Asian group would employ wordoriented strategies. Hsieh (2014) asserted that different cultural groups employed CS differently as the proficiency level increased. Based on the above findings on the types of CS, which differ according to the proficiency level, apprehension level and the cultural background of the respondents, the information on the types of CS employed by different proficiency levels of secondary school students in Malaysia needs to be addressed in this paper. METHODOLOGY Participants A population of 260 secondary school students from different public schools in Kota Bharu voluntarily took part in this study. They were 16 years old and had sat for English PT3 speaking assessment. The minimum achievement in PT3 obtained by some of the respondents was 6A's. However, their grades in speaking assessment vary, from A (excellent) to D (weak). Due to a large sample which would consume more time for the researcher to obtain the data and perform inferential statistics MANOVA, researcher decided to carry out random sampling using Krejcie and Morgan (1970)’s Table of Sample Size Determination as included in Ghazali and Sufean (2016), reducing the number of respondents to 155 students. Even though the number of participants had been reduced, the samples were adequate to represent the intended behaviour or characteristics of the population by using a survey design (Dörnyei & Csizér, 2012). Students were then categorised into different levels of proficiency groups based on their grade in PT3 speaking: 85 students in the high proficiency group; 10 students in the intermediate group; 60 students in the low proficiency group). The form 3 students were not selected for this study because they had not yet received their PT3 results by the time the study took place. When the analysis of data was conducted, the samples were reduced to 153 students due to the extreme outliers. RESEARCH DESIGN The present study employed a survey design using OCSI, a reliable and standardised inventory from Nakatani (2006), as a primary data elicitation tool. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT The use of questionnaire as a research instrument can provide immediate feedback, easy to administer and non-threatening (Yaman & Irgin, 2013). In the present study, OCSI has been used to investigate the types of CS employed by form four secondary school students. The researcher decided to adapt OCSI into the present study as it has been vastly used in different countries. Moreover, OCSI aims to measure a variety of strategies for oral communication tasks (Nakatani, 2006). Before any adaptation was made to the OCSI, the researcher sent an email to Dr Yatsuo Nakatani via email, requesting his approval on using 90 91

ESL Practitioner: The Journal of the English Language Teaching Centre oriented strategies. Hsieh (2014) asserted that different cultural groups employed CS differently as the proficiency level increased. Based on the above findings on the types of CS, which differ according to the proficiency level, apprehension level and the cultural background of the respondents, the information on the types of CS employed by different proficiency levels of secondary school students in Malaysia needs to be addressed in this paper. METHODOLOGY Participants A population of 260 secondary school students from different public schools in Kota Bharu voluntarily took part in this study. They were 16 years old and had sat for English PT3 speaking assessment. The minimum achievement in PT3 obtained by some of the respondents was 6A's. However, their grades in speaking assessment vary, from A (excellent) to D (weak). Due to a large sample which would consume more time for the researcher to obtain the data and perform inferential statistics MANOVA, researcher decided to carry out random sampling using Krejcie and Morgan (1970)’s Table of Sample Size Determination as included in Ghazali and Sufean (2016), reducing the number of respondents to 155 students. Even though the number of participants had been reduced, the samples were adequate to represent the intended behaviour or characteristics of the population by using a survey design (Dörnyei & Csizér, 2012). Students were then categorised into different levels of proficiency groups based on their grade in PT3 speaking: 85 students in the high proficiency group; 10 students in the intermediate group; 60 students in the low proficiency group). The form 3 students were not selected for this study because they had not yet received their PT3 results by the time the study took place. When the analysis of data was conducted, the samples were reduced to 153 students due to the extreme outliers. RESEARCH DESIGN The present study employed a survey design using OCSI, a reliable and standardised inventory from Nakatani (2006), as a primary data elicitation tool. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT The use of questionnaire as a research instrument can provide immediate feedback, easy to administer and non-threatening (Yaman & Irgin, 2013). In the present study, OCSI has been used to investigate the types of CS employed by form four secondary school students. The researcher decided to adapt OCSI into the present study as it has been vastly used in different countries. Moreover, OCSI aims to measure a variety of strategies for oral communication tasks (Nakatani, 2006). Before any adaptation was made to the OCSI, the researcher sent an email to Dr Yatsuo Nakatani via email, requesting his approval on using ESL PRACTITIONER JOURNAL Issue 9 Volume 1 November 2021 CONTENTS Page DIRECTOR’S NOTE EDITOR-in-CHIEF’S NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS 1. A CASE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF COACHING TOWARDS THE HIGHLY IMMERSIVE PROGRAMME (HIP) IN SK BINUANG, LAHAD DATU, SABAH Peh Li Foon 2. EXPLORING THE REFLECTIVE PRACTICES OF ENGLISH TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SABAH Betty D Primus @ Betty Adantus 3. USING VOCAB TAG TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING OF SPELLING FOR DAYS OF THE WEEK TO YEAR 2 PUPILS Kwan Pei Ling 4. THE HIVE PROJECT - THE AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM Shafizah Binti Shariff 5. COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY Siti Mariam Zakaria 6. TEACHER’S PERSPECTIVE OF BLENDED LEARNING DURING PANDEMIC COVID -19 Juhaida Abdul Aziz Yap Soon Li 90 91