Online instruction has been one of the key delivery methods in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic due to school closures around the globe. In accordance with the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013–2025), maximizing the use of information/communication technology has been emphasized to scale up learning quality across Malaysia, including distance and self-paced learning. However, online learning in the country is at its infancy stage with raised issues, causing dropping-out and school leaving in higher education. To improve teaching and learning quality, this scoping review aimed to explore higher education students’ online instruction perceptions into two main components: research on online instruction perceptions followed by factors influencing online instruction perceptions. Using Arksey and O’Malley (2005)’s methodological framework, 61 articles related to students’ online instruction perceptions were identified from Google Scholar, ERIC, and Research Gate databases. In terms of theoretical articles, the results showed that cognitivism, connectivism, and constructivism were the most used theories of online instruction. On the basis of the empirical articles gathered, quantitative research design was the most utilized to collect students’ perspectives toward online instruction. As a whole, the findings revealed that motivation and satisfaction were mostly positively perceived by students, whereas, a lack of interaction was highly categorized as an unfavorable online instruction perception. Three main factors were identified: quality instruction, online interaction, and instructional and technical support. Future studies can focus on investigating teachers’ online instruction perceptions to achieve quality in higher education.

The predominance of the use of the English language on social media entails its potential usefulness in regard to ESL learning. Amongst all social media platforms, none can boast the ubiquity of TikTok. This application has been, and continues to be, one of the largest and most influential social media platforms, as well as a massive success across a range of fields with the most active users in the world. In the field of education, it has the potential to enhance educational pedagogies. Although TikTok has various features aligned to language learning, TikTok’s application within the education field is still largely unexplored. This scoping review aims to identify the key features of TikTok that can be used to enhance pedagogical strategies in sustaining the teaching of language skills in ESL classrooms. Although studies have been conducted on this subject, they have often lacked clarity and also lacked the possibility of synthesis in regard to the contribution of this platform to language education. Thus, this scoping review is conducted in order to identify the useful TikTok elements that strengthened pedagogical strategies in ESL classrooms. A total of 60 publications with publication dates spanning from 2018 to 2021 were chosen from searches on the EBSCOhost, Google Scholar, and ERIC databases in order to illustrate the current state. The outcome of using the identified features of TikTok and key pedagogical TikTok strategies for the purposes of ESL learning were the two themes used to synthesize the data. Findings indicated that video-related features and the duet challenge feature in TikTok have potential in promoting engaging and meaningful learning, in the context of a virtual environment. This potential has enabled the use of major pedagogical strategies, such as digital assignment; active learning; collaborative and team-based learning; experiential learning; and incidental and constructive learning. Although using TikTok is beneficial for the purposes of language learning, the findings of this study also revealed several limitations associated with the platform, such as users’ behavior, poor infrastructure, and an absence of online discussion forums. This review contains suggestions for the purposes of assisting teachers in terms of maximizing their use of TikTok, via overcoming the challenges that were highlighted in previous studies.

Game-Based Learning Platform and its Effects on Present Tense Mastery: Evidence from an ESL Classroom

This study addresses the challenges most learners face in Third World and developing countries concerning education accessibility in an emergency. On the basis of the shortcomings found in a review of past studies, this scoping review introduces adapted model mobile-assisted personalized learning (MAPL), which focused on full distance learning using the personalized learning (PL) concept. This concept is rarely used in the classrooms of Third World and developing countries. MAPL is technology-integrated and customized PL but it does not depend on artificial intelligence. This model bridges the digital divide that hinders learners in accessing education by providing flexibility, regardless of weak internet reception or low bandwidth, among other hindrances, in Third World or developing countries. Learners in these countries inevitably opt for mobile devices as their preferred learning tool. MAPL is necessary and can aid underprivileged learners who are highly dependent on mobile devices. Rethinking and reforming current teaching practices are required. In this study, a pool of 60 articles from 2011 to 2021 was qualitatively synthesized. Among the articles, 29 focused on PL, 15 on mobile learning, and 16 on the potentials of MAPL. The findings indicate that MAPL could be a viable solution for achieving equity in education for every learner during full-fledged distance learning.

This review aims to examine the discrimination and prejudices toward the accent of non-native English speakers and cyberbullying as the ripple effect of these negative consequences. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s framework of conducting a scoping review, 60 studies from 2012 to 2021 were retrieved from the ERIC and Google Scholar databases. The studies were reviewed from two aspects: (1) psychological impact on speakers with a non-native English accent, (2) attitudes toward non-native English accents from the victim’s and perpetrator’s perspectives. The findings suggested that speaking with a non-native English accent drew negative cognitive, affective, and behavioral experiences. Biases toward non-native English accents were due to the general derogatory perception of an accent and the comprehensibility of speakers’ accent and pronunciation. “Accent acceptability” can be inculcated at all levels of education, not only through multicultural education but also through the concerted effort of policy makers and practitioners to seriously address this social issue. Accent awareness can dispel unwarranted and undesirable judgements of non-native English accent speakers. Future studies should be conducted on the effects of social and mental health experiences, particularly of non-native ESL and EFL teachers, given that this may be the only profession required to teach “live” during the pandemic and thus be subjected to public praise or ridicule.

Covid-19 Insights and Linguistic Methods