Academic words are specialised vocabulary of academic texts. The knowledge of these words is vital for comprehension and communication purposes, particularly among university students, to enable them to engage with authentic complex input, such as textbooks and journal articles. Limitation of academic vocabulary in their mental lexicon may restrict students 'comprehension to grasp the academic concepts they are learning. The current study investigated Malaysian English as a Second Language (ESL) undergraduates' knowledge of academic words, based on Coxhead's (2000) Academic Word List (AWL). The AWL consists of academic words commonly used in academic texts across four general disciplines of studies namely arts, commerce, law, and science. The list consists of 570 word families categorised in 10 sub lists based on frequency and range. One hundred and eleven first year undergraduates with different levels of English language proficiency and from different academic disciplines at a research university in Malaysia participated in this study. Data were collected using a questionnaire, which comprised a list of words derived from the AWL. Findings show that AWL words from sub lists 8 until 10 (which consist of low frequency and low utility academic words) had the highest percentage of unknown AWL words reported by students compared to the other sub lists. The distributions of unknown academic words reported were also different among students with regards to their academic disciplines and English language proficiency. Although the findings in general are rather evident, identifying unknown academic word among undergraduates from different academic programmes is significant to instructors and learners so as to enable them to focus on the right words during valuable class and independent study time.

The act of categorization and labeling is fundamental in human cognition and language development. By studying numeral classifier acquisition, researchers are able to examine how children learn to categorize and label objects in their environment using a constrained framework. The current study investigated the acquisition of eight shape-based numeral classifiers in Malay through an elicited production task in 140 6- to 9-year-old children. The aim was to examine the developmental patterns observed in the production of Malay shape-based numeral classifiers. Results indicated that the ability to produce the correct numeral classifiers is a relatively prolonged process that involves an interaction of a variety factors, including semantic complexity, input frequency, and the formal teaching of numeral classifiers in school.

The developmental milestone expectations, parenting style, self-construal in Malaysian caregivers from Malay, Chinese and Indian backgrounds were examined. Striking commonalities emerged, which is in line with the shared collectivist characteristics of these three ethnic groups. Self-construal and parenting style were not significantly different between ethnic groups or mothers and fathers. Caregivers were more likely to endorse an authoritative than authoritarian parenting style. For the developmental milestone expectations, similar age expectations for self-care, emotional control and environmental independence were shared. Indian parents had relatively delayed age expectations for compliance, peer interaction and communication and a later age expectation than the Malay caregivers for education. These later age expectations reflect the relaxed, indulgent view of childrearing held by caregivers from an Indian background. It is important for early childhood educationalists to be aware of cultural differences, so that the transition from home to school can be facilitated in all children.

Purpose – The inclusion of an increasing number of highfunctioning ASD children in mainstream classrooms demands for adequate awareness of autism and effective teaching methods from teachers to ensure that learning takes places efficiently. Hence, this study investigated the atypical language performance of a highfunctioning Malay girl with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who chose to acquire English as her first language (L1) and eventually spoke the language fluently despite English not being the main language at home. Focus was given on the child’s literate language use of morphology and syntax in present tense English. Methodology – Data was collected from spontaneous speech interactions with an 8-year-old high-functioning ASD child for a period of 12 months. The interactions were conducted at the child’s home. Each session lasted approximately an hour and was video recorded. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. In this study, focus was given on the morphology and syntax of the child’s present tense structures in English. Findings – The findings revealed four main themes: 1) elaborated noun phrases, 2) adverbs, 3) conjunctions, plus 4) mental and linguistic verbs. The findings indicated the child’s strength in her language performance that was consistent albeit with weak central coherence account and that she was not at the optional infinitive stage of grammatical development. Significance – These findings led to a further understanding of the language acquisition process in high-functioning children with ASD in Malaysia, and called for mainstream teachers to 1) upgrade their skills, enhance their knowledge and develop their awareness of the linguistic ability of high-functioning ASD children, and 2) implement effective teaching methods in managing them.

Reading English academic texts can be a daunting task for many ESL university students. The complex features of academic texts which include academic discourse, text structure, and vocabulary may affect the reading process. An investigation of how ESL university students read English academic reading materials would provide insights on what learners do to attain comprehension of the text. This study aims to investigate the cognitive processes that take place when ESL undergraduates read English academic texts using eye movement data. Quantitative data (total fixation duration, total fixation count, fixation duration) and qualitative data (scan path) of eye movements derived from eye tracker accompanied with retrospective interview were collected from twenty ESL undergraduates from two academic programmes. The findings revealed that participants who failed to recall the texts had longer fixation duration and resulted in more in words regressions compared to participants who recalled and explained the texts accurately. Vocabulary used in academic texts was found to be one of the factors that affect the comprehension of the texts. The findings of the study suggest that specialised instructions that emphasise academic reading skills should be implemented at the early level of tertiary education.