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SEMESTER PROGRESS REPORT

SEMESTER 2, SESSION 2017 / 2018

PROGRAMME: PHD IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES

SUPERVISORS: DR. KEMBOJA ISMAIL, ASSOC. PROF. DR. ROSNIAH

MUSTAFFA

SUPERVISEE: WAN AIZAT BIN WAN HASHMI (P90522)

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1. ACADEMIC EVENTS

In order to produce good academic dissertation, the following lectures or workshops have been
attended.

No. Title Date

1. The UKM Graduate Centre Seminar Series 13/02/2018
1/2018: GRADUATE ON TIME: SOME TIPS TO
LIVE BY & HIGH QUALITY ENGLISH LANGUAGE
EDITING SERVICES (ENAGO)
2. The UKM Graduate Centre Seminar Series 27/02/2018
2/2018: RESEARCH UNIVERSITY: ENGAGING
POSTGRADUATES WITH RESEARCH 4.0
3. Multiliteracies Cluster Research Training Series 2018: 1-2/03/2018
FROM EPISTOMOLOGY TO RESEARCH DESIGN:
THE RESEARCH PARADIGM FOR LANGUAGE AND
LINGUISTICS STUDIES
4. The UKM Graduate Centre Workshop Series 13/03/2018
7/2018: MANAGING THESIS EFFECTIVELY USING
MS WORD: Gaya UKM TEMPLATE
5. The UKM Graduate Centre Seminar Series 21/03/2018
5/2018: THESIS WRITING AND EXAMINATION
FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF EXAMINERS
6. The UKM Graduate Centre Seminar Series 26/03/2018
6/2018: STEPS TO SUBMITTING A SUCCESSFUL
MANUSCRIPT
7. The UKM Graduate Centre Seminar Series 02/04/2018
7/2018: WHAT IT TAKES TO BECOME A GOOD
RESEARCHER?
8. THREE MINUTES THESIS (3MT) UKM 2018 04/04/2018
COMPETITION (Final)
9. WRITING WORKSHOP SoLS 2: WRITING 16/04/2018
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SCHOLARLY ARTICLES FOR INTERNATIONAL

JOURNALS IN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL
SCIENCES
10. The UKM Graduate Centre Seminar Series 17/04/2018
8/2018: HOW TO WRITE A GOOD THESIS –
LITERATURE & RESEARCH GAP
11. POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH SEMINAR (POGRES) 25/04/2018
2018, FSSK, UKM (Participant)
12. POST-POGRES 2018 PUBLICATION WORKSHOP 25/05/2018
13. TALIMAT FORMAT PENULISAN GAYA UKM CIRI 3 05/06/2018
14. The UKM Graduate Centre Industrial Research 02/07/2018
Visit Series 2/2018: OPEN LEARNING GLOBAL
SDN. BHD.

2. SUPERVISORY MEETINGS

No. Date Discussion

1. 14/02/2018 - Designing Concept Paper
2. 10/03/2018 - Revising Introduction for Concept Paper
3. 16/05/2018 - Chapter 1
- Conceptual Framework
- Research Design and Sample
4. 01/06/2018 - The wordings of Research Title
- Research Questions
- Research Instruments

3. CONCEPT PAPER

By the end of last semester, the researcher started working on concept paper in order to
comply with the demand from main supervisor. The works was further resumed in this
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semester with the aim to be presented at Pogres 2018. Through the hustle and bustle, the
researcher seeks advice from the second supervisor who was on a sick leave during the early
period of this current semester. The advice is beneficial for the researcher to assess the level of
intellectualism in the short dissertation. Even though the requirement for Pogres and GEMA
UKM journal publication is substantial research findings, the researcher managed to learn
something from it. By making a concept paper, the researcher is able to get an optimal view on
how simple academic paper can be a publishable material. Furthermore, it is a great platform
for the researcher to understand the concept in his research. Nonetheless, the progress in
learning can be further developed with active participation in research presentation. As the
English saying goes, “Practice makes perfect”.

5. CHANGE IN THE RESEARCH TITLE

Based on the meeting with supervisors on 1 June 2018, the supervisee makes some
amendment to the research title. Before, the title was on “self-efficacy” but now it is changed
to “self-regulated learning”. Furthermore, the title is currently focuses on Malaysia ESL students
and not on Malaysian B40 students which has been delineated in the previous reports. With
regard to the research setting is in Malaysian public university, “academic English writing” is
specifically written on the research title.

6. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Based on the last discussion with supervisors on 1st June 2018, the researcher makes some adjustment
to the research questions in order suit with the new research title. The amendments are on the term
B40 and CEFR which are not specifically related to the new title. By looking at the previous research
questions, the researcher has come up with a conclusion that there is no synchronicity between
research title, research introduction and research questions. In the research questions, there is no
mention of B40 and CEFR while it has been extensively explained in the introduction section.
Furthermore, CEFR is one of the most problematic variables to be measured because of the requirement
for 200 hours of contact in teaching. Thus, the term CEFR and B40 have been deleted and been replaced
by self-regulated learning (SRL) and academic English writing.
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5. LITERATURE REVIEW (PAST STUDIES)

As there is a change in title, the researcher realized that there is a lack of current literature on SRL and
academic writing. Thus, the researcher took the initiative to seek for literature in five years back
whether it is a published or unpublished material. After reviewing the literatures, all of the literatures
are listed down in a matrix form. All of the literatures were being reviewed for its major point of
discussion and characteristics or methodologies. The most current of research in Malaysia come from
Devi (2013), which try to measure the impact of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model in
ESL Writing for Academic Purposes. The research itself is a mixed-methodologies study with the main
data was taken from the ESL learners and instructors. In order to make sure a literature is in line with
the research scope, the following questions have been designated by the researcher:

a. When were the studies conducted?

b. Where (Which) countries?
c. Which aspects of SRL were the focuses of the studies?
d. How the data was collected?
e. In which contexts the studies were carried out?

Research gap from the current studies that have been done:

I. Lack of studies on qualitative or mixed-methodologies approach in analyzing self-regulated

learning in academic writing. Most studies that have been conducted with regard to self-
regulated learning (Abadikhah, Aliyan & Talebi 2018; Bakry & Alsamadani 2015; Eivazi &
Khoshnevis 2017; Farsani, Beikmohammadi & Mohebbi 2014).

II. Most of studies on SRL and academic writing (Abadikhah et al. 2018; Bakry & Alsamadani
2015; Dinçer & Şeker 2017; Eivazi & Khoshnevis 2017; Farsani et al. 2014; Hapsari 2016)
were conducted in a non-Malaysian scene.

III. The researcher found out that there are only two current researches (Devi 2013; Dinçer &
Şeker 2017) that pay great attention to ESL undergraduate students ability and perception
on the function of SRL in academic writing.

7. CHANGES TO CHAPTER 1
In the light of the reform in the research’s direction, changes to the first chapter are made as the
following:

A. Background of the study is rewritten and gives more description on the causal-effect of SRL and
academic English writing.

B. In the rationale of the study section, the term “self-efficacy” has been changed to SRL. SRL is
regarded as the contributor to self-efficacy.
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C. A change in “Statement of the Problem” with issues taken from previous researches on SRL and
academic writing in the period of 5 years back.

D. The addition of sub-headings for underlying justification such as theoretical justifications,

practical justifications and policy justifications.

E. The creation of diagram on the overview of research gaps and justifications for the proposed
study.

F. The number of research objectives is being reduced to only three objectives.

G. The number of research questions is being reduced to only three questions.

H. The mention of using Zimmerman's (2000) Cyclical Phases Model for SRL in the “Significance of
the Study” section.

I. Inclusion of “science factor” as the significance aspect for study to be conducted.

J. In the conceptual framework, the factors for self-efficacy was being deleted and is are replaced
by the types of SRL.

K. Adjustment on the diagram for the conceptual framework of study.