“Nuba Laya, Kinupi and Budu”

About the Book

This book is a celebration of the diversity of cultural experiences amongst our Malaysian youths that is reflective of a small microcosm of Malaysia’s society. In these personal narratives, we can read of cultural practices we may or may not be familiar with, how cultures have evolved through modernisation, how each person uniquely experiences culture, how one may choose to affirm or reject aspects of her/his culture she/he deems worthy or unworthy of preserving, and the enduring power culture seems to have over us. It is our hope that these stories could be read for pleasure or utilised in the classroom as reading materials. This collection of personal narratives aims to challenge the perspectives on Malaysian culture that is often reduced to stereotypical representations particularly in Malaysian textbooks by using the students’ own lived experiences.

About the Author

Biodata of the editors Azlina Abdul Aziz is a TESL lecturer at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She has an Ed.D in Teaching of English from Teachers College, Columbia University, U.S.A. Her research interests are in the Teaching and Learning of Literature and Teacher Education in TESL. She is interested in how literary texts and personal narrative may be utilised to help students to examine social, cultural and political issues in a particular context. Maslawati Mohamad is a Senior Lecturer of Teaching English as a Second Language at Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Her main research interest is on innovation in teaching English as a Second Language. She is also an English trainer for government and private institutions. Melor Md. Yunus is an Associate Professor of TESL at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia with a B.A. in English (Linguistics) from the University of Nevada-Reno, USA, an M.A. in TESL from the Arizona State University, USA, and Ph.D in Education (TESL) from the University of Bristol, UK. Her areas of expertise are technology-enhanced language learning, CALL, ICT in language education, TESL and writing skills.