Sharmini Abdullah
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Preferred name
Sharmini Abdullah
Official Name
Sharmini, Abdullah
Alternative Name
Abdullah, Sharmini
Sharmini, A.
Abdullah, S. F.A.
Main Affiliation
Scopus Author ID
57200994082
Researcher ID
FXY-9043-2022

Research Output
Now showing 1 - 10 of 12
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Learning styles: an exploratory study of foreign learners learning styles preferences at University Malaysia Perlis. a case study.

2010-11-12 , Sharmini Abdullah , Sharifah Anis Zarith Syed Dziauddin , Rozilawati Mahadi , Ina Suryani Ab Rahim

“Learners with a strong preference for a specific learning style may have difficulties in learning if the teaching style does not match with their learning style” Felder & Spurlin (1988) With this in mind, a study was conducted to investigate the learning styles of foreign students from University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) who took the Yemen Preparatory Programme as an effort to maximise the students’ English language learning potentials. This study is a preliminary report that aims to identify and categorize the learning styles of these international students. In other words, identify the learning style preferences of the students.The Index of Learning Styles (ILS) questionnaire developed by Felder and Soloman (2004) was adopted. The ILS questionnaire was based on Felder and Silverman's (1988) model and reported to be valid, reliable and suitable in identifying learners' learning styles (Felder and Spurlin, 2005). Results obtained would help in understanding the UniMAP Foreign students’ learning styles which would contribute in raising UniMAP’s English Language Instructors awareness of such styles especially in the development of course materials and pedagogy which is important in the learning and teaching process of the English Language to foreign learners.

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Translating metaphors in political speeches from English to Arabic: strategies and procedures

2023-12 , Eman Abdallah Hassan Elqubaisi , Sharmini Abdullah , Harshita Aini Haroon

This study investigates the metaphors’ translation from English to Arabic in political speeches, with the aim of identifying the metaphor translation procedures employed. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, the research analyzed the translation of 82 English source language (SL) metaphors into Arabic target language (TL), employing Newmark's Metaphor Translation Procedures as a framework. The findings reveal that while certain SL metaphors have direct equivalents in Arabic, the Arabic translator introduced two new variants or procedures (H1 and H2). Appropriate metaphors’ selection in the TL is found to be affected by all of cultural as well as linguistic factors, in addition to text type and metaphor class. The study sheds light on how translators in the TL effectively address linguistic and cultural challenges during metaphor translation, offering valuable insights into the process of English-Arabic translation. Accordingly, Future studies are is recommended to comprehensively analyze metaphor translation in the political discourse context

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The rhetorical moves of abstracts in thesis

2023 , Faharol Zubir , Ina Suryani Ab Rahim , Sharmini Abdullah

Abst-ract plays an important role in representing research articles (RAs) or theses. A clear, concise, informative and interesting abstract helps the RAs or theses in terms of visibility and drawing attention towards the research. Being among the first writings read by the target audience, that is after the title and name of the researcher/s, it determines whether the rest of the RA or thesis will be read or not. Therefore, this paper draws attention to the rhetorical moves found in Engineering discipline thesis abstracts compared with the TEFL discipline thesis abstracts. The sample of the study are 10 thesis abstracts, selected from the best thesis award recipients of Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). All the thesis analysed are from the engineering discipline and are written in English. The corpus size is 4540 words. Then, the result obtained were compared with a previous study on TEFL thesis abstracts done by [1]. The study uses Move analysis guided by CARS Model (2004) and utilizes frequency count (presence of Move). The findings of the study show that Move 3 is the most utilized Move in these abstracts. Move 3 is present in all of the theses for both the Engineering and TEFL abstracts. The Move step analysis indicated that for Move 2, the Engineering discipline thesis has more occurrences as compared with the TEFL discipline abstracts. The finding can be used by instructors for teaching abstracts writing based on best practice and from a more personalized perspective taking into account the discipline and cultural variation of the abstracts. As most instructors teaching academic writing in university comes from the linguistic or English language education background, it is hoped that the comparison made in this study would benefit those instructors teaching academic writing, particularly abstract writing for Engineering students.

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Anxiety in using learning aid software in learning English language among primary school children during the pandemic Covid 19: A case study in rural primary schools

2023-08-16 , Junainor Hassan , Sharmini Abdullah , Loo Shih Min , Ibrahim S.B.M.K.M.M. , Nurhidayah Marzuki @ Yahaya , Abdul Rahman Abdul Manaf , Ahmad Fahmi Mahamood , Mat N.M.J.N.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships in using the learning aid software in learning English language among rural primary school children during the Pandemic Covid 19. This study has shown that the most contribution socio demographic factors in influencing the occurrence of anxiety among the rural primary school children in using the learning aid software in learning English language were the parents' or guardians' education and income followed by internet accessibility, number of siblings, place in siblings and gender. The basic computer skills that the rural primary school children had significant contribution in anxiety namely somatic, cognitive and avoidance behaviour. Assessing the ability of mastering the ICT basic skills contributed to anxiety whereby cognitive scores the highest followed by somatic and avoidance behaviour.

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From classroom to screen: examining academic achievement in Indonesian students’ transition to online learning in pre- and post-pandemic

2025 , Sharmini Abdullah , Mulyanto Abdullah , Fausta Ari Barata , Erni Puspanantasari Putri , R Badlishah Ahmad , Tri Pramesti

The COVID-19 pandemic posed an unprecedented challenge to the education system, requiring rapid adaptation to online learning. This study investigates how sustainable educational innovations facilitated this transition and supported student learning outcomes. The academic performance of 321 Indonesian university students from various fields was analyzed in online and offline learning environments. Findings revealed a notable improvement in GPA scores of 2.75 or lower in online settings compared to offline learning, while no significant differences were observed for higher GPA ranges. Students reported that online learning was more understandable, offered readily available multimodal resources, and provided additional learning time. Additionally, they felt that online learning enhanced academic success and promoted self-directed learning. This study highlights the critical role of online tools in sustaining academic continuity and addressing global educational challenges by offering adaptable educational frameworks. These insights can guide policymakers and educators in leveraging digital innovations to ensure uninterrupted learning experiences and ensuring academic continuity.

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Factors affecting service satisfaction among students: the case of a higher learning institution in Malaysia

2010-11-12 , AliReza Jalali , Md. Aminul Islam , Sharmini Abdullah , Dayang Hasliza Muhd Yusuf

This research attempted to find out factors that affect students’ satisfaction in a higher learning Institution. The students were randomly selected from degree, masters and PhD programs to evaluate the level of students’ satisfaction. The primary data source was a questionnaire that was distributed to the students. The researchers collected 165 completed questionnaires out of a total of 190. Four factors were chosen as independent variables namely; gender, race, student status and CGPA. This study showed that the overall, services offered by the university was moderate from students’ perspective. This means that the university has enough ability to continue its improvement. This study showed that the academic-related activities are more important than non academic-related such as the availability of financial advice and the level of decoration. The academic activities should not be limited to classroom activities only. It must cover everything that can develop and instill good values, attitude, character and strong personality. Universities world-wide are now competing both nationally and internationally. In order to attain new students and retain current students they should aim to enhance student satisfaction and reduce student dissatisfaction. This only can be achieved if all the services that related to academic life such as implicit services, explicit services and physical services must be delivered to a suitable standard. We also noticed that student status have an important influence on the perception of service quality. This is probably because student expectation increases as they have more contact with the university. Another element that also has influence on the perception of service quality is race and nationality. In relation to this, the academic or non-academic staffs that prepared services directly for the students should be able to identify and understand different levels of student expectations across years of study (from first year to final year) and races.

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Metaphor translation in Chinese documentaries: a case study of 'A bite of China'

2024-12 , Cai Yujie , Sharmini Abdullah , Siti Balkis MKM Mohamed Ibrahim

This study explores the translation of metaphors in the subtitles of the Chinese documentary A Bite of China, using Newmark's metaphor translation procedures as a guiding framework. Documentaries are vital for cultural exchange and shaping international perceptions, making accurate subtitle translation crucial. Despite the growing popularity of Chinese documentaries, their subtitles often suffer from inconsistencies and lack a solid theoretical foundation. This results in translations that may be inaccurate or fail to adhere to established principles, potentially diminishing their ability to convey the intended message and cultural details to global audiences. The study seeks to investigates the extent to which metaphors are used in the documentary's subtitles and identify the types of metaphors in the subtitles of the documentary translated from Mandarin into English. By examining the relationship between metaphor translation and subtitle translation, this study emphasizes the critical role of precise translations in promoting Chinese culture internationally and enhancing the global reception of Chinese documentaries.

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Figurative Language in Malay to English Translation: An Analysis of the 2015 UniMAP VC's Keynote Speech

2016 , Sharmini Abdullah , Muhammad Bazli Mahmood , Khairul Hisham Jamalludin , Ahmad Hifzurrahaman Ridzuan , Mohamad Zaki Abdul Halim , Siti Nurul Jannah Fital

Translating figurative language involves more than just replacing the figurative language with its equivalent in the target language. Therefore, it is not surprising for the translation of figurative language to have its own set of challenges. Problems the translator faces in translating the Malay Figurative Language into English include complexities in understanding, interpreting and recreating the Figurative language that are unique in the Source Language (SL) culture; which have to be explained and described in Target Language (TL) where such practices and customs are non - existent. Secondly, the Source Text (ST) figurative language may appear in a variety of types and have a distinct denotative and connotative meaning and reference; most often, it is difficult to find an equivalent which totally matches the original meaning or concept. This particular paper analyses the translation of figurative language extracted from UniMAP's Vice Chancellor Keynote Speech in 2015. Findings reveal that the three categories of figurative language identified were namely idioms, metaphors and similes. Translation strategies used are either not translated, paraphrased or translated with a similar meaning but in different form.

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The status of EFL writing instruction in Saudi Arabia

2020-12 , Najwa Rebhi Wahdan , Sharmini Abdullah , Rozilawati Mahadi

This paper examines the status of writing instruction among EFL learners in Saudi Arabia. It attempted to highlight the current teaching methods and curriculum used to teach EFL writing in Saudi Arabia. Findings revealed that the traditional teaching methods are still used for teaching EFL writing skills in writing classes and the focus is on the form of the written product rather than on the process of writing. The implementation of traditional teaching methods led to students’ low achievement in writing skills among Saudi students. There are also other factors responsible for writing difficulties such as cultural factors, sociocultural factors, and psychological factors. The paper concludes with implications and suggestions given to the EFL instructors to enhance students’ abilities in writing skills and improve their writing achievements.

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"Talking Phonics for Autism": developing a multi-purpose touch screen technology software application which utilizes sound articulation point to teach autistic children

2018-02-26 , Noriha Basir , Ameer Fuhaili Mohamad Hashim , Sharmini Abdullah , Noor Asliza Abdul Rahim , Masturah Sabri , Afifah Hanani Yusuf , Wan Norhaizar Harun , Dipima Buragohain

This paper aims to examine the potentials of the multi-purpose touch screen technology application which utilizes a sound articulation point software called "TALKING PHONICS FOR AUTISM"as an alternative method of teaching phonics to autistic children. "TALKING PHONICS FOR AUTISM"is developed via a collaborative effort between the Centre of International Languages (CIL) and the School of Human Development and techno Communication (iKOM), University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). The reading skills of autism children are developed intofive (5) levels ofMalay reading comprehension skills. The first level consists of open syllables - vowels and consonants. The following consecutivethree levels comprised of closed syllables. The fourth level introduces vocal sequence while the fifth level constitutes of Malay language loans. The Malay-language dialect phonological theory by Tajul Aripin Kassin (2000) which is based on Clements & Keysher's (1980) Generative Booking Generic Fonology Model (CV) forms the theorectical framework of this paper.

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