Background and Purpose: Self-efficacy is one of the aspects of human behaviours related to performance in social cognitive theory. It has been studied in social sciences, education, and languages. There are a variety of self-efficacy scales available in the English and French languages to test one’s self-belief in their ability to learn the target language. To date, no self-efficacy scale catered to the unique characteristics of Mandarin as a foreign or third language (MFL). The objective of this study is to give practical recommendations on creating valid self-efficacy instruments of MFL and making judgments on factor extraction, factor rotation, and factor labelling based on the foreign language literature.   Methodology: This quantitative study gathered information through an administration of a survey. The multipart survey consists of the demographic information section and the MFL self-efficacy scales distributed to MFL learners in Malaysian public universities. Data were collected randomly from 614 participants studying MFL at three different levels. Items for MFL self-efficacy were examined using SPSS version 25.0 software. Findings: The final 13 MFL self-efficacy items were reduced to four factors with a total variance of 68.99%. The Promax rotation matrices revealed the presence of a simple four-factor structure, exhibiting the degree of strong factor loadings. The four factors were MFL Speaking, MFL Listening, MFL Reading, and MFL Writing.   Contributions: This research provides valid self-efficacy scales for MFL learning. The skill-based Scale could contribute to MFL teaching literature in the Malaysian context. Additionally, the study proposes future investigations which involve learning Mandarin with more emphasis on Chinese Characters.   Keywords: Mandarin as a foreign language, self-efficacy, exploratory factor analysis, non-native speaker, scale development.   Cite as: YanJu, S., Yusuf, M., YanMei, S., & Abdullah, H. (2023). An exploratory factor analysis examining Mandarin as a foreign language (MFL) learners’ self-efficacy at Malaysian public universities. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 8(2), 425-440. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol8iss2pp425-440

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of voice recording activities in improve undergraduate language students’ oral fluency in Mandarin as a foreign language. The data collected for this study from 44 year two undergraduate Level three Mandarin learners in semester 1 2016/2017 participated Online questionnaire, and data collected and analyzed according to the attitudes and effectiveness of using voice recording activities in the classroom. The study find out that voice recording activities are effective to help foreign language learners to improve oral fluency. Mandarin language teachers might consider devoting additional attention to Mandarin oral fluency teaching by using new technology like voice recording, whatApp, Wechat ect.to help Mandarin learners to improve their Mandarin oral fluency especially for learners who are shy and lack of confidence. It will help learners to improve their foreign language leaning in general.

This empirical study attempts to investigate the causal relationships between the predictors of online learning readiness and its effects on learning engagement and perceived teaching quality. In other words, the study aims to explore the direct relationship between goal orientation and perceived teaching quality, on the one hand, and the students’ learning engagement and perceived teaching quality and their indirect relationships via online learning readiness. A total of 703 students from Malaysian and Omani higher institutions voluntarily participated in this study following the quota sampling technique. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data gathered. The results of the analysis suggested that the goal orientation and perceived self-efficacy were statistically and directly related to learning engagement and perceived teaching quality and indirectly via online learning readiness.Furthermore, the analysis showed that goal orientation has a direct positive and significant relationship with learning engagement and perceived teaching quality and positive indirect relationships with them via online learning readiness. However, while perceived self-efficacy had a direct positive correlation with learning engagement, it had a negative and direct relation with perceived teaching quality but a positive indirect relationship via online learning readiness. Hence, due to the ongoing covid19 global pandemic, this study implicates that highlighting the roles of goal and efficacy in an online context is essential because they would affect students’ learning engagement and their evaluation of teaching quality.

Communication strategies are important in helping L2 learners to communicate successfully when they are faced with a problem in speech production. This study looked at one of the components in Communication Competence, i.e strategy competence or the use of Communication Strategies (CS) in oral interactions among Middle Eastern students and counter staff in institute of postgraduate studies (IPS) at University of Malay. Data collected from video-tape and interviews were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. It was found that the most frequently used communication strategy was the use of “modification devices‟. The other strategies used frequency were“interaction strategies”, “compensatory strategies” “avoidance strategies” and “L2-based strategies”. The results showed that students used different communication strategies to overcome their communication difficulties. The main aim of using the communication strategies is to avoid communication breakdown. Consequently, Second language learners should be encouraged to use communication strategies to develop their oral skills and help them more effective in oral communication with their limited English language proficiency. The implications and suggestions from this study towards development the teaching and learning of ESL were also presented.