Collaborative Learning of the Malay Language among Korean Learners

The Malay language course is one of the major courses at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Korea. This language is used widely in Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Indonesia. In addition, this language is taught at universities in China, Japan, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, United Kingdom, and the United States. The learning of the Malay language as the second, third or fourth language has been a trend among university students; students learn the language for extra knowledge and satisfaction. Therefore, the aim of the study was to enhance collaborative Malay language learning among Korean learners. The objectives of the study were to identity the activities in collaborative learning activities and to discuss the interactions during collaborative learning among Korean learners of the Malay language. The samples of the study consisted of nine male and three female volunteer subjects from a class of Malay language proficiency. The subjects were divided into groups of four. They were each given one topic over a period of three weeks. Each topic was discussed for one and a half hour every week. The subjects’ discussions were observed and videotaped. The extracts of the interactions were selected based on the objectives, and were analyzed for the purpose of the study. The results revealed three activities in collaborative learning among the students; i.e., drawing mind maps, discussing main points, and supporting details and negotiation in discussion. It is hoped that further studies will concentrate on the pair work collaboration among Korean learners of the Malay language.