DINAMIKA ILMU - Vol. 16 No. 1 - The Interesting Teaching and Learning of Malay Language to Foreign Speakers: Language through Cultures

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dhado

The paper examines how Malay language teaching and learning can remain engaging and effective for foreign students who already know basic Indonesian-Malay variation after four semesters in their home country, Germany. It argues that program effectiveness depends on sociocultural factors, teaching style, learner characteristics, and program design, then narrows focus to culture-related socio-cultural factors and structured activity programming. Based on observations and interviews, it finds that providing more activities helps students grasp lesson meanings and highlights an outdoor activities curriculum that supports excitement and learning effectiveness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Teaching as facilitation and creating fun learning environments

Sociocultural basis for language and culture connections

Outdoor activities as curriculum and student approaches

DINAMIKA ILMU Vol. 16 No. 1, 2016 P-ISSN: 1411-3031; E-ISSN: 2442-9651 The Interesting Teaching and Learning of Malay Language to Foreign Speakers: Language through Cultures Mazlina Baharudin1 Pusat Pengajian Bahasa, Literasi dan Terjemahan, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia [mazlina@usm.my](mazlina@usm.my) Siti Ajar Ikhsan2 Pusat Pengajian Bahasa, Literasi dan Terjemahan, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia [sajar@usm.my](sajar@usm.my) Abstract The interesting teaching and learning of Malay languages is a challenging effort and need a relevant plan to the students’ needs especially for the foreign students who already have the basic Indonesian Malay language variation that they have learned for four semesters in their own country, Germany. Therefore, the variety of teaching and learning strategies should be considered by the teachers to make teaching and learning become interesting, effective and not boring. Basic effectiveness of a language program was the factors of socioculture, the style of teaching and learning, the students, and the characteristics of the program. This paper however focused on the socio-cultural factors (learning of cultures) and the activities program that enable to generate excitement and effectiveness in the teaching and learning of Malay language as a foreign language. In the teaching and learning process found that the more we gave the activities to the students, the more the students acquired the meaning of the lessons. In this study, the selected respondents were the two groups of students from TWG, Konstanz, Germany who have followed the Malay Language and Culture Program in the Languages, Literacies and Translation Center, University of Sains Malaysia, Penang, in 2011. The first group was started in March to June, and the second group in September to November. The research was based on formal and informal observations and interviews. This paper also discussed about the outdoor activities program used as curriculum in the teaching and learning process that gives an interesting environment to foreign students. Keywords: strategy, the outdoors activities, foreign students A. Introduction Teaching is one of the activities to produce a relatively permanent of behavioral change in a person. Mok (2006) defines teaching is an activity that includes the teachers’teaching accompanied by the student activities. Therefore, as educators, the responsibility that needs to be done is to facilitate the students’ learning. To meet these demands, an educator should provide a fun learning environment, harmonious and also can lead to an effective teaching. According to Kamus Dewan (2005) the meaning of fun is to evoke a sense of fun (pleasant, unpleasant, etc.) . This means the teacher/educator must be able to create a learning environment that can stimulate students' interest besides thinking of the policy and the need of the students. Similarly, the teaching and learning of Malay as a second language or a foreign language is a challenging endeavor for the teachers / educators and it requires a relevant planning toward the students' needs. Linguistically, the teachers must somehow have contrastive information between the Malay language and native language students, even the teachers are not necessarily proficient to communicate in their students’ first language. The teachers should also be prepared to understand the socio-cultural background of the students. In that point, the teachers in the program were easily to communicate with their students in Malay language. It is because the students already having a basic Indonesian Malay language variation that have been learned by them during the four semesters in their home countries, namely Germany. Too, in the first two weeks, the students have been introduced in advance about the variations of Malay and the diversity of language that exists in Malaysia. Thus, the diversity of teaching and learning strateg

FAQs

Why does the paper emphasize relevant teaching plans for foreign learners?

Because teaching Malay as a foreign language is challenging and requires planning aligned with students’ needs, including their existing basic Indonesian-Malay variation.

Which factors are stated as influencing the effectiveness of a language program?

The paper lists sociocultural factors, teaching and learning style, student factors, and the characteristics of the program.

What role do outdoor activities play in the proposed teaching and learning approach?

Outdoor activities are used as curriculum elements that create an interesting environment, increase excitement, and help students acquire lesson meanings.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dhado