The current paper attempts to examine the various aspects of the discussion method of teaching at university and its role in enhancing students’ linguistic and academic skills as well as its shortcomings. In Oman, research on English language teaching at universities and colleges show that a considerable number of students who move from secondary schools and join higher education institutions would confront difficulties in using the English language to meet their personal, social, academic, and career needs efficiently and appropriately. The discussion method allows establishing a rapport with students, stimulating their critical thinking and articulating ideas clearly (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006). It is relatively acceptable among university academics who use it to promote active learning and long-term retention of information (Bonwell, 2000). It could provide students with a platform to contribute to their own learning and would offer the lecturer an opportunity to check students’ understanding of the material (Craven & Hogan, 2001). Critics argue that some problems may show up such as that several participants dominate the discussion sessions while other students may remain passive, and often, resentful (Brookfield & Perskill, 2005). The discussion could also include other signs of limitation such as that it may get off track or that only few students may dominate it during the whole session (Howard, 2015). Hence, the objectives of this research study are to identify students’ views and opinions of the use of the discussion method in teaching English as well as its strengths and weaknesses. The findings showed that majority of respondents indicated that a good opportunity to interact is provided during the discussion and that the lecturer is not the sole authority in class. The implications of this research could be reflected on students’ learning through their participation in class discussion.

Reflective practice serves as a vital area of teacher education and the impetus for professional development among pre-service teachers. Past research has lamented the lack of critical thought of the reflection made by pre-service teachers during their teaching practice. This paper presents a qualitative investigation into the use of video logs (vlogs), which are mediated online. The participants of the study comprised 13 pre-service ESL teachers studying in an Institute of Teacher Education. The data for this study was gathered via the analysis of the vlogs and the focus group interview. Results indicate that the respondents expressed mixed reactions to the approach, where some have enjoyed the experience while some feared of being judged and feeling awkward seeing themselves in vlogs. Most respondents have centered their reflections on issues they encountered during lessons, but one has shown the ability to reflect on issues beyond the classroom setting. The outcome of the study implied the need for pre-service teachers to be given additional coaching on the ‘how’ aspect of reflection. In addition, there is a need to address technical issues faced by respondents in using vlogs, as this can impede the reflecting experience and frequency of vlogs and comments posted by the participants.

Teachers who are reflective are found to be more able to develop themselves professionally. However, pre-service teachers were found to be in need of explicit instructions on reflective practice. This paper presents the results of an investigation on the use of the 5-step Cognition Practice Observation Reflection Action (CoPORA) reflective model among a group of Malaysian ESL pre-service teachers enrolled in an Institute of Teacher Education. A qualitative case study design was utilised, where the model was taught to a group of 13 pre-service ESL teachers who later completed the second phase of their teaching practice. The data for this study comprised the respondents’ entries in their practicum reflection forms, reflective video blogs and focus group interviews. Results showed that respondents have moved from engaging in the lower levels of reflection to a higher pedagogical reflection. They also responded favourably to the use of the 5-step CoPORA reflective model for its structured approach. Nevertheless, the respondents lamented their struggles in rationalising issues faced and in suggesting suitable solutions. It is proposed that the pre-service teachers were shown exemplars of critical reflection to help them see the level at which they ought to reflect. Alternatively, teacher educators can explore a dialogic or collaborative approach to reflection so pre-service teachers can work with one another to further develop their reflective practice.

The presence of e-learning is prevalent in the teaching and learning process over the world. It has been proven to have a significant impact on the teaching of English subject. Therefore, this paper aims at investigating the level of ESL teachers’ technology acceptance towards integrating e-learning into English teaching at secondary schools in Sabah, Malaysia, by examining the constructs of Perceived Usefulness (PE), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Attitude towards Usage (ATU), and Behavioral Intention (BI), which were extracted from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) proposed by Davis. A number of 144 English language teachers from 18 secondary schools in Kota Kinabalu responded to an online cross-sectional survey based on a simple random sampling, whereas the collected data were analyzed quantitatively and statistically. Overall, the results indicated that ESL teachers had a high level of technology acceptance (mean=3.921) to use e-learning in teaching English in terms of their PU (mean=3.925), PEOU (mean=3.797), ATU (mean=4.007), and BI (mean=3.995) in particular. Moreover, the discussions, recommendations, and implications have also been given in response to the issues addressed in the study.

The lack of writing skills among rural ESL primary school pupils in Malaysia has been identified based on the school level assessments. Based on the teachers as the researchers' perspectives, the problem of writing among these rural young learners is cause by the lack of vocabulary acquisition where they don't have choices of words in expressing their ideas in writing. Therefore, the researchers propose method with a writing module focusing on vocabulary enhancement in improving the writing skills among these learners. This module i.e. the VAW Module uses the VAW Method that comprises of vocabulary enhancement (V), application and practice (A) and Writing (W) is anticipated to help the pupils to power up their writing before they undergo the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) in Year 6 i.e. the national examination taken by all students in Malaysia at the end of their sixth year in primary school before they leave for secondary school.