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This article examines existing studies of Malay verbs by major local Malay scholars. An interesting finding from the review is that there is a lack of emphasis on aspect as a semantic category in Malay verbs. The lack of overt tense marking in Malay verbs suggests that the verbs operate according to an internal temporal framework. Hence, it is necessary to highlight aspect as the underlying semantico-syntactic operator in Malay syntax guided with verb. To illuminate the point, verbal frames are incorporated as the necessary semantic template for the operation of Malay verbal prefixes in Malay phrases. The explication, based on existing linguistic notions of syntax and semantics, offers different interpretations of verb structures from previous studies to pave the way for a more detailed analysis of Malay verbs that factors in aspect as part of the phrasal construction.

We provide a bifocal account on teaching techniques and learning achievements in suggesting that Malay poems, as a resource, are beneficial to foreign language pedagogy. The teaching focus was the Malay poetic-discursive strategies at the stylistic levels. By examining the structures of three poems, the pedagogy positions Malay poems as communicative assembles of Malay linguistic categories for conveying a series of messages. A learning focus is in place toward the production of a poem in the weblogs for developing the confidence to communicate in Malay. The learning results in three submissions from four tertiary learners who produce reflective poetic expressions with visual stimulations. Their creative outputs indicate that poetry offers a cathartic avenue for developing interpersonal intelligence. Writing about sibling relationship, inter-generation gap and conviction for success, the poem project perpetuates intrinsic values thus complementing the pragmatic reasons typically associated with foreign language education. In this respect, language pedagogy using Malay poems is a value-adding practice relevant in foreign language education.