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Purpose: This paper aims to identify the difficulties postgraduate students face in writing the literature review for their thesis and dissertation. Methodology: Seventy postgraduate students from 9 faculties in one public university in the Klang Valley consented to participating in this study. They were 49 Masters candidates and 21 doctoral (PhD) candidates attending a workshop on academic writing. Among them, 31 were Malaysians and 39 were foreigners with the majority being Arabs and Africans. After an icebreaking session, participants were asked what their writing difficulties are when doing their literature review. They were told to write their responses in English in a paper. A linguistic analysis was then applied to the written phrases and expressions which denote their difficulties. These were then categorised under common themes and manually counted in terms of the frequency. Findings: A total of 37 categories of difficulties were detected. They encompassed basic and advanced skills in reading and writing including "not knowing what to read", "how to read", "how to start writing", "organising", "doing a critical analysis", "summarising" and "synthesising". Significance: The findings imply that most of the participants do not possess the necessary skills of reading and writing which are required in most postgraduate programmes. Thus, it is imperative that institutions of higher learning develop stricter criteria for student selection. Alternatively, a programme providing support in reading and writing may enable these postgraduate students to raise their level before being admitted. This kind of support can help to mitigate the burden imposed on supervisors as well as develop better quality postgraduate students.

This paper addresses the issue of lifelong learning as experienced by a Malaysian female senior citizen in the current era. Data were retrieved from the participant's reflections which had been chronicled during the course of her learning in 2011. A linguistic analysis was applied to detect major issues described in the reflections which were written in English. These were then itemised under specific headings while the contents of the reflections were then categorised according to these headings. The overall findings suggest that lifelong learning was perceived to be a rewarding experience although the advancing age affected some aspects of her health, memory, vision, physical movement and so her attitude towards learning. The outcome of this paper suggests that lifelong learning was undertaken by the senior citizen for personal satisfaction and this learning process can be made more pleasant if some of the challenges identified can be addressed duly and aptly. In this regard, tertiary institutions may want to look into the development of retiree-friendly curriculum design, retiree-friendly course materials, flexible assessments, retiree-friendly locations and infrastructure as well as conducive learning environments. Senior citizens can contribute to the development of a nation because of their rich experiences and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on a minority group of Malaysians called Chindians, a group comprising children of mixed marriages between mainstream Chinese and Indians. This paper aims to identify the language choice of the Chindians in four domains: family, education, employment and religion. In particular, this paper examines where Chindians are likely to use their native languages such as Chinese (including dialects) and Tamil (including sub-varieties) which are linguistically passed on by their parents and the two other languages of official status: Malay and English. Interlocutors involved, domains and their reasons for using or refraining from using these languages are explored. Little research has been done on Chindians due to their small demography in this country. In this study selected respondents were 18 children aged from 10 to 31 and 11 parents who are 6 Chinese and 5 Indians respectively. All are from an urban area located in the Klang Valley of Selangor, the biggest state of peninsular Malaysia. A questionnaire that has been refined from a pilot study was then administered. A structured interview was also conducted with the parents to validate the findings. Analysis of data was done based on the items of the questionnaire and these were then presented in percentages. Findings suggest that Chindians' main choice of language rests on English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Malaysia is a multiethnic society, not many studies have been conducted to examine the cultural differences of its three dominant ethnic groups. This study examines how Malay, Chinese and Indian Malaysians respond to disagreements. Three domains in which disagreements take place were identified: family (parents, siblings, spouses/partners), friendship (friends), and workplace (bosses). A questionnaire was used to obtain data from 655 Malaysian respondents from the three main ethnic communities. SPSS was used to obtain quantitative results. The findings indicate that although Malaysians express themselves verbally in these three domains there are variations among the three ethnic groups. The findings will benefit researchers working on cross-cultural norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refusals are one of the many speech acts of conversational analysis. Many people find themselves engulfed in problematic situations because they do not know how to say 'No' and many have had to experience negative emotions such as shame, embarrassment, anger, guilt, inferiority complex, resentment or even vengeance when they are caught in the web of the imposition in not knowing how to refuse. The communication process may be two-way, but the feeling conveyed by one party may not always be the same as the other. This study focuses on how Malaysians, ranging from young children, teenagers, adults to the senior adults of various ethnic groups and professions, use language to make refusals. The approach adopted is that of participant observation where people are observed in the various contexts of interactions. The purpose of this study is to explore how people say 'No'. Spontaneous data is subtly entered into a journal as they occur and where possible, the setting, gender, ethnic background, and likely occupation are indicated. Data is then analysed by focusing on two aspects: politeness theory and language and identity. The findings of this data will elucidate aspects of how language is used both positively and negatively to make refusals. The reasons for doing so will be discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]