savoy093

Semantic mapping is a kind of graphic organizer. It illustrates a number of approaches designed to demonstrate how key words or concepts are associated to one another through graphic representations. From the previous studies, semantic mapping has demonstrated as a practical teaching and learning technique for students at all grade levels both in regular and remedial classrooms. This method has been identified by researchers as an excellent technique for increasing vocabulary and improving reading comprehension. However, the use of semantic mapping as a writing technique in ESL classroom has been relatively unexplored. The objective of this study is to exemplify the students’ feedback during and after the implementation of semantic mapping in the essay writing process. The data was collected via observation and interview. The findings showed positive feedback received from the subjects on the use of semantic mapping in their writing. By using semantic mapping, a slow transition happens...

In Malaysian local universities, Mandarin is offered as the third language course to students who are the non-native Mandarin speakers. Since Mandarin is distinctive with its own grammatical and sentence patterns, Mandarin instructors need to come up with the effective method to teach the non-native speakers who are rather weak in restructuring Mandarin sentences. Many non-native speakers of Mandarin are fail to restructure Mandarin sentences correctly at elementary level due to the limited contact hours, unsupportive Mandarin learning environment, and the influence of mother tongue. To reduce this learning predicament among these non-native speakers, this paper proposes the use of GAT method for restructuring Mandarin sentences. GAT, an acronym for Group-Arrange-Touch-up, incorporates ‘Word Sequence’ Diagram (WSD) in the form of graphic impressions, which can be used by non-native speakers in their quest of learning Mandarin. This method is supported by the ‘word sequence’ approach an...