This systematic review explores the academic, sociocultural, and psychological adaptation challenges encountered by Chinese international students in Malaysian higher education institutions, synthesizing findings from 24 peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2024. It highlights Malaysia's distinct adaptation context, characterized by…

In classrooms worldwide, the use of English to teach science subjects is becoming increasingly common. There is an increasing number of English-as-a-second/foreign-language learners studying science in English. This review examines 66 empirical studies on this topic published from 2000 to 2021. We critically review and synthesise evidence of the…

This paper seeks to examine the use of the Malay language and the English language in the teaching and learning of Chemistry subjects in secondary schools in Malaysia, particularly among Form Four and Form Five students at the National Type schools (SMJK). National Type secondary schools are Malaysian national schools under the supervision of the…

This study examined the challenges of English learning encountered by Chinese international students in a Malaysian university, as well as the contributing factors and strategies students employ to cope with these challenges. A total of 60 Chinese international students (51.7% male and 48.3% female) participated in this study, with an average stay…

Factors which are barriers to preschool teachers' use of English as the medium of instruction and facilitating strategies used to overcome those barriers can be complex. This study investigated those barriers and facilitating strategies through a systematic review using various databases, which resulted in 20 studies being identified. From these…

This article reviews the existing literature concerning the policy of English for Young Learners (EYL) and its implementation in ASEAN state members. The source of the review comprises peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, book chapters, research reports, official government documents, official websites, and newspaper articles…

This paper focuses on code-switching (CS) in postcolonial (P-C) classrooms (e.g. Africa, Asia and Asia-Pacific) where the use of English has increased not only as a subject matter, but also as the language of instruction across all subjects. CS, a common behaviour among bilinguals and polyglots, refers broadly to the alternation between two or…

Focusing on the perspective of lecturers, this qualitative research investigated the academic reading and writing challenges faced by international English-as-a-foreign language master's students at a Malaysian university. Data was collected through semi-structured, in-depth, one-on-one interviews with 16 lecturers who taught international…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the major transition issues experienced by first-year students in Malaysia. In so doing, the authors compare the findings to those drawn from western contexts. Design/methodology/approach: This study applied a focus group method, conducting seven focus groups with a total of 35 business students.…

Purpose: This paper aims to present the qualitative findings on students' and teachers' experiences in communicating and interacting with students and teachers from different ethnic backgrounds in the Malaysian vision schools initiative. Design/methodology/approach: Face-to-face interviews were conducted involving 15 informants comprising of three…

In multilingual Malaysia, the place of English has been debated at various times since independence in 1957. An initiative to address concerns about levels of English language proficiency in the country through teaching Science and Mathematics in English was launched in the early 21st century. For some teachers, a trans-national component was…

The exploratory study is an attempt to understand the reasons that prompted African students to study in Malaysia, the challenges encountered and the coping strategies used. The research on such topics among international students is well documented, but studies on international students in Malaysia are scarce. The sample included 155 African…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the use of bilingual teaching and learning methodology for Vietnamese postgraduate students from 2011-2012. Overall, the findings indicated relatively positive outcomes in most of the spectrum evaluated or assessed. These findings were then compared with previous researches and to…

The policy to change the medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics and Science from Bahasa Melayu (Malay Language) to English in 2003 is an important innovation affecting not only the students but also teachers of Mathematics and Science. However, how far the changes affect the teachers is the issue addressed in the paper. In fact the…