Nowadays, the world’s scientific community has been publishing an enormous number of papers in different scientific fields. In such environment, it is essential to know which databases are equally efficient and objective for literature searches. It seems that two most extensive databases are Web of Science and Scopus. Besides searching the literature, these two databases used to rank journals in terms of their productivity and the total citations received to indicate the journals impact, prestige or influence. This article attempts to provide a comprehensive comparison of these databases to answer frequent questions which researchers ask, such as: How Web of Science and Scopus are different? In which aspects these two databases are similar? Or, if the researchers are forced to choose one of them, which one should they prefer? For answering these questions, these two databases will be compared based on their qualitative and quantitative characteristics.

Educational systems frequently employ technological equipment in a variety of ways to make lessons in an English Language classroom fun and meaningful. For both students and instructors, digital storytelling (DST) has evolved into a useful instructional tool that can be utilised in the teaching and learning process. To answer the research question on the role of digital storytelling in improving students’ speaking skills, The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was used to systematically review 45 articles sourced from Google scholar and ERIC, and most of these articles highlight the importance of digital storytelling as a contemporary teaching methodology. These articles showed that digital storytelling can be used as a useful tool by educators in improving students’ speaking skills from various levels of education, ranging from primary to tertiary education. Most of the authors of these research papers provided empirical proof that substantiated the advantages of employing digital storytelling in the classroom to help pupils communicate and speak more effectively.

The teaching and learning of English as a second language have always been emphasized by the Ministry of Education (MOE). In the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013–2025), among the many goals is to produce learners who can comprehend the language for various purposes, including for information and enjoyment. Over the years, the teaching and learning of English have changed from conventional chalk-and-talk methods to modern methods that involve various platforms such as Quizizz, which is free and easy to use. This systematic literature review focuses on teachers’ perception on the use of Quizizz in the teaching and learning of English. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) review methodology, a total of 45 articles related to the use of Quizizz in the English language classroom were identified from the ERIC and Google Scholar databases. Based on the articles from the year 2017 to 2021, the results show that the mixed-method research design was most used to gather teachers’ perspectives on the use of Quizizz in the teaching and learning of English. Overall, the results of this study show that Quizizz is accepted positively among teachers due to its effectiveness, feasibility, ease of use, and motivating nature for learners. As a suggestion for future research, more focus can be put on investigating the effectiveness of Quizizz from the perspective of parents and issues related to the implementation of gamified learning, such as Internet connection and device availability.

Education sector in Malaysia had put emphasis on the use of online learning or e-learning with technology and devices as a mediator of communication to replace face-to-face learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, with the improvement of learning technologies, English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers faced various challenges in language teaching. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the challenges ESL teachers faced in implementing e-learning during COVID-19. Using a qualitative approach, this research was a case study which involved 20 primary ESL teachers. Data collection was done through an in-depth interview to explore teachers’ e-learning experiences and challenges in teaching the English language. Based on the findings, the majority of teachers expressed that the use of e-learning was effective with various limitations such as teachers’ readiness to adopt e-learning, accessibility to mobile phones and Internet connectivity, classroom management in term of low students’ participation and assessment. Thus, the researcher recommended more studies to highlight teachers’ insight regarding the significance of e-learning. ESL teachers, stakeholders, policy makers, and institutions can benefit from the results of the study and come out with practical strategies to utilize online sources for education in the pandemic situation.

Blended learning in English as a Second Language (ESL) has become a growing trend in sustaining education at higher learning institutions. The impact of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 on education has made the integration of technology vital in the teaching and learning dyad. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed even more emphasis on the incorporation of technology in ESL pedagogy. Nevertheless, the reviews on blended learning in ESL are inadequate despite its great significance in sustaining education. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) were adopted for reviewing current studies, and two core journal databases, namely Scopus and Web of Science, with two supporting databases (Science Direct and Mendeley) were utilized. A total of 32 articles were identified through a systematic search of “blended learning” OR “blended education” OR “blended courses” OR “integrated learning” AND “strategies” OR “techniques” OR “applications” OR “methods” AND “ESL” OR “English as a Second Language.” Four main themes emerged from this review, namely collaborative-based learning, learning management systems, social media applications, and technology-based learning. Finally, several recommendations were presented at the end of this research that should be the focus of future studies.

With the rapid development of world and technology, English learning has become more important. Teachers frequently use teacher-centered pedagogy that leads to lack of interaction with students. This paper aims to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of integrating social networking tools into ESL writing classroom and discuss the ways to plan activities by integrating social networking services (SNSs) into the classroom. Data was collected through an online discussion board from TESL students in a state university in Malaysia. The findings revealed that integrating social networking services in ESL writing classroom could help to broaden students’ knowledge, increase their motivation and build confidence in learning ESL writing. The students’ difficulties for concentrating on the materials when they use computer, lack of enough equipment as well as access to internet, and teachers’ insufficient time to interact with the students were regarded as the main disadvantages of integrating social networking tools into ESL writing classes. Therefore, in this new technological era, it is essential for students and teachers to be equipped with technical skills to be competent for life-long learning and teaching. More studies are needed to explore the teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards using ICT in ESL/EFL contexts. Future quantitative and qualitative studies with more participants are needed to provide deeper insight.