Exploring Islamic Discourse Exposure In Tertiary Level Malaysian Esl Learners

Abstract

Muslims around the globe are multicultural, from different age range, and from multi socioeconomic backgrounds. This highlights the importance of exploring the lingua franca of the multilingual Muslims in communicating Islamic related genres in multiple forms of discourses. Currently, studies exploring how Malaysian multilingual tertiary level students approach Islamic spoken and written discourses, have been insufficiently limited. In relation to this, appropriateness, aptness, unambiguousness of interpretation, and clarity of comprehensibility of English as a second language are pragmatic aspects to be scrutinised in examining multilingual ESL language users. This study aims to analyse tertiary level Malaysian ESL learners’ linguistics and semiotics interpretations of Islamic lectures in English medium. A total of 30 infographic materials developed by tertiary level Malaysian ESL learners were analysed in terms of their language and graphic representations of what they have aurally perceived. These infographic materials correspond to the learners’ understanding of Islamic English lectures discussing on supplication, repentance, the End Time, and matters of the heart. The findings show that in tassawuf (process of realizing ethical and spiritual ideals) related matters, the ESL learners tend to represent their understanding more linguistically rather than visually. This is related to the intangible elements of this subject matter, which limit in signifying the depictions of what is comprehended and interpreted.