Authors’ Biodatas

AUTHOR 1

Mohamad Amirul Fadzly bin Mohamad Fauzie – nicknamed Amiwee is currently pursuing B. ED TESL in Universiti Teknologi MARA Puncak Alam. With the mottos “Pro Utilitate Hominum” latin for ‘for the service of mankind’ and “Per Ardua Ad Astra” latin for ‘through adversity and beyond the stars’ his vision is set on the potential of everyone for the benefit of everyone even through hardship and pain. Previously, he pursued a Diploma in English Communication at Kolej Profesional MARA Indera Mahkota, Pahang. The diploma introduced to him several possible fields of English; Media, Education, Academic, and Business English were fields that he has been introduced to during his times in diploma. Amirul has chosen to pursue education as his field to swing into a new direction as previously, he has only followed where the tied brought him. Indeed, it is cliché to quote the famous poem from Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken, but seeing his friends and acquaintances entering degree or start working while he stayed at home for a year, not in education, employment, or training (NEET). But that one year has allowed him to reflect on what is truly important.

With certification of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 4 (JLPT N4), he is moderately fluent in the Japanese language and its culture after learning it formally for 5 years. Acting as the president for the Japanese Language Society for two years during his high school days, he has participated and orchestrated several language-based events which includes Japanese Language Fest (JLFest), Bon Odori, and several in-house events. During diploma, Amirul had learned the Mandarin language for 3 semesters as well. His aim now is to hit where it matters, the young. While this may sound crude, the ability to mould the young ins is precisely what he is to do to build a future where everyone could communicate with one another in a more peaceful manner with his experiences of learning languages in three different times of his life. Of course, he is no savant in the arts of wording speech out of thin air. He aims to set his footing to becoming someone that people could look up too.

AUTHOR 2

Ivanatasha Abdul Majid - fondly known as Iva - is currently pursuing her study in Bachelor’s degree of Education - Teaching English as a Second Language (B. Ed. TESL) at Universiti Teknologi Mara Puncak Alam (UiTM Puncak Alam). Different than the other authors, she did not study English in her previous education. Instead, she took a Science and Mathematics course for her two-year diploma in Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). Why the change of heart? Why wasted her two years in Science and Mathematics? As bizarre as it might seems, Iva believes that changing her course means following her heart and grabbing opportunities. Her diploma is not a waste of time, rather a stepping stone for her to strengthen her foundation in life because “every knowledge is handy if you know how to use them,”

In the aspect of a third language acquisition, she took an introductory level of Mandarin language during her diploma years although it was not compulsory for diploma students to take third language courses. Yet, the importance of mastering a third language convinced her to try. Unfortunately, it was not as easy as she thought as she was constantly found herself not performing well in class; hence explaining why she truly understands the challenge faced by students in acquiring a third language. Nevertheless, her past experience does not paralysed her goal. She is now studying the Japanese language in UiTM as a compulsory course, and she is learning the French language by her own initiative because “the coolest thing is to face your fear head-on!”

AUTHOR 3

Afnie Natasha Affandy is diploma holder in English from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) and is currently studying Bachelor’s degree of Education in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). Enrolled into a Chinese school at the age of 4, Afnie acquired Mandarin as a third language at SJK(C) Siew Ching, Lahad Datu, Sabah. Hence, she is fluent in Malay, English and Mandarin. During her diploma in UPSI, Afnie took Japanese for communication as an additional course for 3 semesters and holds the position of Exco of Cultural and Arts for the Japanese club. Additionally, she picked up Korean as a result of her interest in Korean pop culture and Bahasa Banjar thanks to her grandmother.

Afnie’s burning passion for language learning started when her primary school teacher gave her very own Chinese name: 艾妮. Since then, she believed that being a multilingual opens unexpected doors to different worlds. The languages that she learned - Malay, English, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and Bahasa Banjar has a huge impact on how she perceive language acquisition. Now, Afnie is focusing on learning the fundamentals of English language teaching along side mastering Japanese and Korean. “When I become a teacher one day, I wish to share the beauty of language and 言霊 (spirit of language) to my students.”