UTAR Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS) Year Three Bachelor of Arts (Honours) English Education student Heng Hui Ying received the Best Paper Award at the International e-Conference on New Normal in Education 2020 (IENNE 2020) held from 28 to 29 November 2020.

Titled “The Effect of Collaborative Strategic Reading on English as a Second Language (ESL) Students’ Reading Comprehension through Online Teaching” the research paper explained the effects of CSR on the reading comprehension of ESL secondary school students through online teaching and also emphasised the perceptions of ESL secondary school students about CSR approach in online teaching.

Heng walked away with a certificate of acknowledgement. When asked what inspired her to take on the topic, she replied, “This study has great relevance for teachers and syllabus designers in improving students' reading comprehension. This study has been conducted under the supervision of Ms Geetha Veerappan.” She added, “I felt glad and delighted after knowing my paper had been awarded as the best paper for the undergraduate category. It is indeed an honour to receive this award. Besides, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Ms Geetha for her guidance, continuous encouragement and support for this paper. It was an excellent experience to work along with her and I truly appreciate it.”

When asked why it was important to receive this recognition, Heng added, “This recognition is important for me as it proved that my paper does provide contributions to the education field and is invaluable for improving my future research. The award also gives me credibility and confidence to continue doing future research.”

Supervised by FAS Department of Languages and Linguistics lecturer Geetha, Heng won the best paper award under undergraduate category award.

When asked of her opinion regarding the award as a supervisor to her student, Geetha enthused, “The undergraduate category award encourages young researchers to further pursue their career in academic and research. I am glad that I have empowered my student to present her final year project at this conference. Her winning is definitely a proud moment for me at the University. This competition will further encourage undergraduate students to continue their research at the master’s level.”

The IENNE 2020 was jointly organised by Mindware PLT and Akademi Pengajian Bahasa (APB) UiTM, Shah Alam. IENNE 2020 aimed to bring together experts in the field, practitioners, scholars and various stakeholders to share pertinent issues and challenges in emerging ‘new normal’ in Covid-19 environment. The conference also featured special keynote addresses that focused on recent developments and challenges in selected research disciplines.