GLOBAL CLASSROOM: Knowledge Sharing between the Two Countries

A virtual class named "Global Classroom" was held for UHF2192 Malay for Communication course on March 10, 2021 at 1pm to 3pm (Malaysia time). The instructor of this class is Puan Juwairiah Osman who is also the course coordinator. The guest lecturer for this class was Professor Dr. Toru Ueda from Setsunan University, Neyagawa, Osaka, Japan.

During the virtual session, Professor Dr. Toru shared some methods to practice speaking the language in stages and emphasized the crucial need for having motivation and clear goals in learning the Malay language as a foreign language.
According to him, every new vocabulary acquired in a conversational situation must be recorded and put into practice when speaking. Quoting his own experience, he himself was able to speak the Malay language within nearly 2 years by practising this method consistently. “By learning many languages, you will be more open minded, confident, creative and able to view the world from various perspectives. Not only that, it will be easier to understand other people with different cultural backgrounds and not fall into prejudice when you start learning and understanding a foreign language or culture.”

Another virtual session of this Global Classroom was also held with Mr. Qurbanov Ozad Nurmuhammad Ugli from the International School of Finance and Technology, Uzbekistan. The session was held online on March 13, 2021 at 10am to 12pm. Mr. Ozad was not just a typical non-native Malay speaker, he was named as the winner of the International category in the Prime Minister’s Cup Malay Language International Speech Competition 2019.
These virtual classes held between the two countries were fun and engaging packed with activities like sharing sessions and interviews about the Malay language with the foreign speakers. The session received an encouraging participation from both foreign speakers and international students from countries like Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Our heartfelt thanks to all UMP student participants involved - Raed Abdullah, Yahya Al Hadi, Bashar, Ali Khatib Juma, Abdullah Ibn Masud, Shuai Yang, Cheng Tong, Du Boyuan, Muhammad Rashid, Adeed, Abdaziz Gharamah for whom without may not bring this session to success!

Juwairiah Osman & Nurul Nadia Muhammad, March 2021