Personal growth through English proficiency: a case study in Sarawak

Globally, English is known as the most spoken language. In Malaysia, learners may face challenges in learning English as a second language; however, the capability to master the language is believed to be able to develop one's personal growth. Essentially, personal gro...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chan, Siaw Leng, Kapong, Joyce Morris
Format: Article
Published: Akhmet Yassawi University 2021
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94559/
_version_ 1848862030557085696
author Chan, Siaw Leng
Kapong, Joyce Morris
author_facet Chan, Siaw Leng
Kapong, Joyce Morris
author_sort Chan, Siaw Leng
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Globally, English is known as the most spoken language. In Malaysia, learners may face challenges in learning English as a second language; however, the capability to master the language is believed to be able to develop one's personal growth. Essentially, personal growth in learning involves a continuous change in behaviour, attitudes, and values. Therefore, this case study aimed to understand the learners' personal growth through English proficiency development. A qualitative case study design using a semi-structured interview was utilised to investigate personal growth experiences in English proficiency development. Interviews were conducted as the most compelling way to understand the participants' narrative descriptions and subsequently uncover the meaning of their values, beliefs, and experiences. Data collected was analysed using Morse's four stages of analysis to extract the essence of the participants' lived experiences. Five themes emerged as personal growth experienced by the learners, namely, the courage to take risks, individual values in diversity, enriched interpersonal relationships, cognitive adjustment, and positive attitudes. The findings provided educators with some indications and a holistic view of the learners' lived experiences of personal growth through English proficiency development which is often an overlooked issue during the teaching and learning process.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T13:10:33Z
format Article
id upm-94559
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-15T13:10:33Z
publishDate 2021
publisher Akhmet Yassawi University
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling upm-945592022-12-05T01:36:50Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94559/ Personal growth through English proficiency: a case study in Sarawak Chan, Siaw Leng Kapong, Joyce Morris Globally, English is known as the most spoken language. In Malaysia, learners may face challenges in learning English as a second language; however, the capability to master the language is believed to be able to develop one's personal growth. Essentially, personal growth in learning involves a continuous change in behaviour, attitudes, and values. Therefore, this case study aimed to understand the learners' personal growth through English proficiency development. A qualitative case study design using a semi-structured interview was utilised to investigate personal growth experiences in English proficiency development. Interviews were conducted as the most compelling way to understand the participants' narrative descriptions and subsequently uncover the meaning of their values, beliefs, and experiences. Data collected was analysed using Morse's four stages of analysis to extract the essence of the participants' lived experiences. Five themes emerged as personal growth experienced by the learners, namely, the courage to take risks, individual values in diversity, enriched interpersonal relationships, cognitive adjustment, and positive attitudes. The findings provided educators with some indications and a holistic view of the learners' lived experiences of personal growth through English proficiency development which is often an overlooked issue during the teaching and learning process. Akhmet Yassawi University 2021 Article PeerReviewed Chan, Siaw Leng and Kapong, Joyce Morris (2021) Personal growth through English proficiency: a case study in Sarawak. Bulletin Of Yasaui University, 4 (122). 85 - 93. ISSN 2306-7365; ESSN: 2664-0686 https://journals.ayu.edu.kz/index.php/habarshy/article/view/280 10.47526/2021-4/2664-0686.08
spellingShingle Chan, Siaw Leng
Kapong, Joyce Morris
Personal growth through English proficiency: a case study in Sarawak
title Personal growth through English proficiency: a case study in Sarawak
title_full Personal growth through English proficiency: a case study in Sarawak
title_fullStr Personal growth through English proficiency: a case study in Sarawak
title_full_unstemmed Personal growth through English proficiency: a case study in Sarawak
title_short Personal growth through English proficiency: a case study in Sarawak
title_sort personal growth through english proficiency: a case study in sarawak
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94559/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94559/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94559/