Purpose: International students with low proficiency in the English language remain at high risk of academic, social and psychological maladjustment. Using an acculturation theoretical framework, this study aims to show that acculturation stress and social support mediate the relationship between language proficiency and academic, social, and psychological adjustment among 675 international postgraduate students in Malaysian public universities.Design/methodology/approach: Correlational research design was employed to gather data from 227 females and 448 males aged between 22–45 years belonging to Asian, Middle Eastern or African countries. Out of these, 292 students were enrolled in master's degrees, and 383 students were enrolled in Ph.D. Self-administered questionnaires were used which includes Student Adjustment to the College Questionnaire (SACQ) to measure students' academic adjustment, Kwak to assess students' English language proficiency, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) to assess perceived availability of social support from friends and Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS) to measure acculturation stress.Findings: The hypothesized model was tested using path analysis with manifest variables in Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) 23.0. The findings suggest that language proficiency is a significant predictor of academic, social and psychological adjustment of international students, and this relationship is partially mediated by acculturation stress and social support.Research limitations/implications: The article concludes with implications and recommendations for international student offices and program organizers to ensure conditions for successful academic, social and psychological adjustment of the international students.Originality/value: The manuscript has not been published or submitted elsewhere.

Learning in the cognitive domain is highly emphasised and has been widely investigated in engineering education. Lesser emphasis is placed on the affective dimension although the role of affects has been supported by research. The lack of understanding on learning theories and how they may be translated into classroom application of teaching and learning is one factor that contributes to this situation. This paper proposes a working framework for integrating the affective dimension of learning into engineering education that is expected to promote better learning within the cognitive domain. Four major learning theories namely behaviourism, cognitivism, socio-culturalism, and constructivism were analysed and how affects are postulated to influence cognition are identified. The affective domain constructs identified to be important are self-efficacy, attitude and locus of control. Based on the results of the analysis, a framework that integrates methodologies for achieving learning in the cognitive domain with the support of the affective dimension of learning is proposed. It is expected that integrated approach can be used as a guideline to engineering educators in designing effective and sustainable instructional material that would result in the effective engineers for future development.

Self-efficacy Sources and Reading Comprehension: The Mediating Role of Reading Self-efficacy Beliefs

In today’s globalized world, 21st century skills, such as communication and collaboration, are essential for success. For EFL (English as a foreign language) learners in Pakistan, acquiring these skills can be challenging due to the unique linguistic and cultural barriers they face. Web 2.0 tools, such as Padlet, can provide a platform for EFL learners to improve their communication and collaboration skills in a collaborative and engaging manner. The present study explores the potential of using Padlet to improve the 21st century skills of EFL learners in Pakistan. A quasi-experiment is conducted to compare the effectiveness of using Padlet versus traditional language-learning methods to improve EFL learners’ communication and collaboration skills. Learners’ perceptions of using Padlet in a collaborative learning context are also investigated. The findings indicated that the use of Padlet has a significant and positive effect on learners’ collaboration and communication skills, and that learners have a positive perception of using this tool in a collaborative learning context. The study provides preliminary and context-specific novel insights for language educators and learners on the potential of using Padlet to enhance the 21st century skills of EFL learners in Pakistan.

This study was conducted to find the association between pronunciation self-efficacy sources and pronunciation self-efficacy beliefs. It was quantitative in nature using a correlational research design. A sample of 155 Malaysian ESL university students was selected from two Malaysian universities by employing proportionate stratified random sampling. Two questionnaires were used to collect the data related to pronunciation self-efficacy sources and self-efficacy beliefs. In order to analyze the collected data, the correlational analysis was carried out with a statistical software named Smart PLS 3.0. Findings indicated that all the self-efficacy sources were significantly and positively correlated with pronunciation self-efficacy beliefs, except physiological state, which was significantly but negatively correlated with pronunciation self-efficacy beliefs. Based on the outcomes of this study, implications for ESL instructors and educational policymakers were presented.