Stepping into Someone's Shoes: Malaysian Readers' Perceptions of a Character-Chain Narrative Prototype for English for Specific Purposes

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instruction in Malaysian higher education has often been described as disconnected from students' everyday bilingual language use. This study reports a descriptive survey of learner perceptions of a locally produced narrative-based ESP prototype developed as a diploma-level final-year project within a public higher education institution in Malaysia. The prototype comprises seven first-person short stories, each set in a distinct vocational field, and embeds 129 glossary entries across seven per-chapter glossaries linked through a character-chain design in which a secondary character in one story becomes the primary narrator of the next. A bilingual questionnaire was administered via Google Forms to a convenience sample of Malaysian readers, and 33 valid responses were retained for analysis. Descriptive statistics were computed for six perception constructs (comprehensibility, conversational authenticity, relatability, perceived realism, perceived vocabulary usefulness, and perceived overall effectiveness) and for story preference. Readers characterised the prototype as broadly comprehensible (M = 4.36, SD = 0.74), rated the combination of storytelling with English for Specific Purposes as positively effective (M = 4.36, SD = 0.70), and endorsed both relatability and situational realism at 100.0%. Three negative responses on Yes/No perception items came from Beginner English readers. The Information Technology story and the Business and Entrepreneurship story attracted the largest share of preference selections. The findings offer preliminary reader-perception evidence for locally produced narrative ESP materials in Malaysia and identify design considerations for lower-proficiency readers.

English for Specific Purposes, narrative-based materials, learner perceptions, Malaysian ESL, character-chain design

1. Ahmad, N., Sayadi, Z. A., Danuri, N., & Ismail, S. (2023). A multi-dimensional approach to managing English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses and assessment practices in technical and engineering education context. AIP Conference Proceedings, 2544, 030020. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0116414 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Anthony, L. (2018). Introducing English for specific purposes. Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Atek, E. S. E., Hassan, I., Azmi, M. N. L., Azmi, N. J., & Alias, M. H. Y. (2020). Students' perceptions of the English literature component in Malaysian secondary schools. Language Related Research, 11(5), 125–144. https://doi.org/10.21859/LRR.11.5.125 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Basturkmen, H. (2006). Ideas and options in English for specific purposes. Lawrence Erlbaum. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Belcher, D. (2012). English for specific purposes: Teaching to perceived needs and imagined futures in worlds of work, study, and everyday life. TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 133–156. https://doi.org/10.2307/40264514 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. De Vooght, E., & Nemegeer, G. (2021). Reading and analysing short story collections: An empirical study of readers' interpretation process of Benni's Il bar sotto il mare. Language and Literature, 30(4), 361–380. https://doi.org/10.1177/09639470211047817 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2018). English language education reform in Malaysia: The roadmap 2015-2025. Ministry of Education Malaysia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Erkaya, O. R. (2005). Benefits of using short stories in the EFL context. Asian EFL Journal, 8, 1–13. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Harwood, N. (2025). Materials development and English for specific purposes. In S. Starfield & C. A. Hafner (Eds.), The handbook of English for specific purposes (2nd ed., pp. 205–223). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119985068.ch11 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Hyland, K. (2022). English for specific purposes: What is it and where is it taking us? ESP Today, 10(2), 202–220. https://doi.org/10.18485/esptoday.2022.10.2.1 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Jain, Y., Sidhu, G. K., & Lim, B. K. (2012). The attitudes of freshman undergraduates in learning English as a second language. Asian Journal of University Education, 8(1), 85–106. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Jerome, C., Su Hie, T., Taibi, M., & Albert Abell, F. (2025). Reconsidering students' voices in English language education reform: A case of a Malaysian public university. International Journal of Educational Reform. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10567879251331216 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2013). Malaysia education blueprint 2013–2025 (preschool to post-secondary education). Ministry of Education Malaysia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Mohammad Sauffi, K., Mohd Sani, M., & Senom, F. (2026). Translanguaging and identity preservation in English language learning: multilinguals’ voices from a Malaysian University. International Journal of Multilingualism, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2026.2619880 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus design. Oxford University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Ocaña, M., García-Cañarte, A., & Rosales, M. (2025). Enhancing EFL vocabulary through short stories: Insights from learning analytics. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, 1348, 438–449. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-87701-8_32 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Pang, B., Abd Majid, F. B., & Narayanan, G. A. (2025). Systematic literature review on needs analysis in ESP within higher education: Implications for future research. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 10(1), e003162. https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v10i1.3162 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Pardede, P. (2011). Using short stories to teach language skills. Journal of English Teaching, 1(1), 14–27. https://doi.org/10.33541/jet.v1i1.49 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Savski, K. (2020). Local problems and a global solution: Examining the recontextualization of CEFR in Thai and Malaysian language policies. Language Policy, 19(4), 527–547. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-019-09539-8 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Schüler, A., Kammerer, Y., & Becker, D. (2025). First come, first remembered: Text position influences attention allocation and recall of digital texts. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 39(6). https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.70144 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Tomlinson, B. (Ed.). (2011). Materials development in language teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Yang, W. (2020). The development, adoption and evaluation of the integration of an ESP and CLIL textbook: Perspectives from the CLIL learners. ESP Today, 8(1), 68–89. https://doi.org/10.18485/esptoday.2020.8.1.4 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Zhou, W., & Li, X. (2025). Reading short stories to enhance beginning Chinese learners' reading skills. Reading in a Foreign Language, 37(1), 1–17. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Psychoanalytical Criticism in Korean Literature: A Study of Trauma, Repression, And Desire in Han Kang’s Novels
• Enhancing Students’ Grammar Awareness Using the Think-Pair-Share Strategy in English Classes
• Reading Motivation Vs Reading Comprehension of Filipino ESL Learners in the Public Schools: Its Correlation to Phi-IRI Reading Results
• Women and their Presentation in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus
• Grammar Self-Efficacy as a Predictor of Academic Writing Performance of BAELS Freshmen in Cavite State University: A correlational study