Abstract:

When native language fails as the medium of communication, such as in international collaboration communication, one often turns to the second language to communicate. However, in crossborder collaborations particularly, if the speakers share the same border which denotes similar climate, geographical environment, culture, and resources, it is a wonder if the speakers with neighboring nationalities would resort to communicate in another language such as English or learn each other’s language. This paper aims to examine the use of native language usage among the participants during a collaborative project between a university in Malaysia and a university in Thailand. Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) and the Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya (RUTS) have conducted a collaborative project for their undergraduate students. Findings indicate, compared to the use of English, the use of native language is low in all skills. The lowest skill which native language is reportedly used is in writing. The highest use of native language is listening. All in all, the use of native language is low in these Softskill activities, indicating that such activities have achieved the objective of the program which is to encourage the use of English language.

Keywords:

Native language, Softskill, Malaysia, Thailand, collaborative.