With this in mind, JW Sew set up a learning project for language students to comprehend different roles in their Malay classes.  A video clip was used to induce the interest of the Malay learners.  The 37-second video clip showed two speakers of Malay in a romantic setting.  The focus was three-fold:

1. Speak the language they learn.
2. Show the language communication acts.
3. Behave according to the cultural norms.

The outcome of this project for learning Malay as a foreign language was a reflective discovery on language teaching practice.  In order to achieve the first objective above, the video clip of human interaction became an invaluable media for listening purposes.  From this project, the video clip was found to be a viable resource in lieu of a lab recording.  A worksheet enabled the measurement of how well the students listened as well as checked on how well they retained the broadcast.

To achieve the second objective students learned about the strengths as well as weaknesses of talk.  The learners enhanced their comprehension of what an interaction looks like when phrases were put into play.  They saw how Malay phrases turned into Malay acts of communication.  A note on gregarious living suggested in the learning project was (positive) ways of being, through language activities.

The third objective was an understanding of cultural-specific speaking styles.  Typical Malay speaking norms were discussed to inform on cultural intelligence. The effectiveness of the video clip for this goal was subjective.  It could only be reflected from learners’ verbal hygiene.  However, a positive outcome from using the clip was making passé material relevant again for Malay language learning in the global age.

Initial Results

2007
Section Presentation at CLS Meeting on 19 Nov. Guild House, NUS.

2008
 ‘Learning Malay in the Global Classroom: Mirroring Social Progress’. Paper for roundtable meeting on Malay as a Language of Knowledge and Practical Communication: Appraisal, Challenges and the Future, 26-28 Mar, Leiden, the Netherlands

'Semiotik dalam Wacana Persembahan (Semiotics of Performing Discourse)'. Dewan Bahasa  8(4): 51-53.

Review of Speak Standard Malay: A Beginner's Guide e-FLT: Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching 5(1) 114-119 .

Syed A li T awfik A l -A ttas , Eh! Wat yu talking?: Chronicles of Malay humour .

California Linguistic Notes 33(2). 1-3 pp.

Khoo Gaik Cheng, Reclaiming Adat : Contemporary Malaysian Film and Literature. Intersections 16. http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue16/sew_review.htm

Presentation: Language Pedagogy in the Global Age: A Malay Experience.  Paper presented at ASAIHL Conference on 'Borderless Education: Challenges and Opportunities for Southeast Asian Universities' 7-9 Apr. 2008 Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Bangkok.

2009
'Semiotik Persembahan Wacana [Semiotics of Discourse Performing]' .  Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit Universiti Malaya.  Pp. 148 + xii