Comprehension of Academic Communication Among Indonesian Students at a Public University in Malaysia

• Published in: Journal of Asia TEFL 2021-07, Vol.18 (2), p.633-639
• Main Authors: Hakim, M. Arif Rahman, Putra, Ori Andika
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic discourse; College students; Communication; Communication (Thought Transfer); Comprehension; English as a second language; English language; Foreign language instruction; Foreign students; Higher education; Indonesian; Reinforcement; Second language learning; Self Reward; Universities
• ISSN: 1738-3102; 2466-1511
• DOI: 10.18823/asiatefl.2021.18.2.17.633

Growing numbers of tertiary students now undertake their education in a country other than in their home country. Malaysia is one of the destinations for international students. Based on the current data, 136,293 international students from over 150 countries joined Malaysian higher education (Memon et al., 2020). Most international students came from Southeast Asia, Middle Asia, Middle Eastern countries, African countries, and a few from Europe. Malaysian universities use both English and Malay as their medium Language. However, English is used more widely when involving international students, depending on the nature and needs of their studies. Using English as a primary language is therefore important because English is considered a universal lingua franca. "English is the centerpiece of the global knowledge system. It has become the lingua franca par excellence and continues to embed that dominance in a self-reinforcement process" (Crystal, 2012). Based on the above context, this study will gauge students’ comprehension of academic communication. The study aims to help Malaysian academics to better understand the issues faced by Indonesian students in comprehending academic communication.