The study of self-esteem, academic self-image and oral skills with reference to English as a second language in Malaysia.

The aim of this study was to ascertain the nature of the self-esteem, academic self-image and oral skills of the first year students at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and to examine how these variables were associated with a number of independent variables; sex, age, ethnicity and English SPM scores (examination at a upper secondary level). These variables are related to the complex background of Malaysian society and the learning of English. The sample consisted of 212 first year students from UTM. The short version of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem inventory - 1967 (Bahasa Malaysia and English version) was used as the measure for students' self-esteem; the Barker-Lunn Academic Self-Image - 1970 (Bahasa Malaysia and English version) was used as the measure of academic self- image and the ARELS Oral Examination was used as the measure of students' oral skills. Eight research questions were formulated and a number of statistical analyses were employed to analyse the data gathered. They included descriptive statistics, the Pearson product-moment correlation, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and stepwise multiple regressions. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficent revealed a direct relationship between self-esteem and academic self-image. The results also showed a direct relationship between academic self-image and ethnicity and between oral skills and English SPM scores. There was no evidence to show that sex or age had any effect on the self-esteem, academic self-image and oral skills of the students. The stepwise multiple regression results demonstrated that sex, age and ethnicity were poor predictors of students' self-esteem and oral skills. In conclusion, this study emphasises the need to enhance students' self-esteem, academic self-image and oral skills to assist them to achieve excellence at the highest level.