THIS particular topic never gets old. Each year the issue crops up, thanks to the ever-declining level of English language proficiency among Malaysians.
Many fingers have been pointed in many directions. When we lament the poor standard of English among Malaysians, the people are quick to point in the direction of our education system.
Bring back English as the medium of instruction, they say. This will ensure that our people remain competitive in the academic and business fields because English is the lingua franca of science, technology and business.
Meanwhile those behind our education policy (and its many changes) insist that how English is being taught in schools – as a language and used in Science and Mathematics – is sufficient.
As much as we blame the education system for the failure to produce students (and teachers) who can master the language, we also have to look ourselves in the mirror.
One would think that with the advent of technology and border-less Internet, young Malaysians would have the opportunity to be better exposed to the language.
Sadly, it falls back to our own mindsets.
Well, perhaps not ours. You and Eye would probably do as much as possible to strive to improve our command of the language.
There are many youngsters out there, particularly from the lower income groups, who just do not see the point of working to learn the language.
Why should they, when they can communicate among themselves in their own languages and dialects? Why should they when their favourite foreign television series and movies are now available with subtitles or dubbed over?
Why don’t they try speaking English? Eh, don’t want lah. Malu.
This very attitude of ‘malu’ (embarrassment) and ‘tidak perlu’ (no need), is exactly what hinders our young from improving in or mastering the language.
It is self-denial that leads to the deterioration of the command of the language among Malaysians, a state of denial which begins right at the top. Denial that there is something very wrong with the way we are teaching and learning English in schools, and denial of the fact that the language can help this country grow by leaps and bounds.
Recently, Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar took Malaysian policymakers to task, saying they were in denial over the value of using English as a medium of instruction to forge unity.
The Johor ruler was quoted by the media as saying that Malaysia should emulate Singapore, where the prominent use of English had given the republic a leading edge in the development of the country and uniting their people regardless of race or religion.
He pointed out that nationalism was not about downplaying the importance of the English language to uphold the national language Bahasa Malaysia.
He also noted that many Malaysian children have poor English proficiency and they did not mix with one another across ethnic groups because the Malays go to national schools, the Chinese go to Chinese schools, while the Indians go to Tamil schools. The more well-to-do send their children to international or private schools.
Fortunately for us here in Sarawak, the mindset is very different. We have a good mix of races and religions across in national, mission and Chinese-medium schools.
What is important to parents in Sarawak is that their children get an education. We are now seeing an increasing number of Malay and Dayak parents sending their children to Chinese-medium schools because they feel that the teaching quality of Mathematics and Science is better there, and they understand the importance of being multilingual. Other than the Johor ruler, another prominent person in Malaysia has also spoken up to call for more emphasis to be placed on mastering the English language.
Banker Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, who is also the Prime Minister’s brother, has cautioned that the current Malaysian workforce is losing its competitive edge due to poor mastery of the language.
He also reiterated what others have said, that enforcing the use of English to boost its command would not cause the national language to suffer or be forgotten.
The federal administrative centre, Putrajaya responded that the government had no plans to revert the medium of instruction in national schools to English from Bahasa Malaysia.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was then Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, said that Malaysians generally have the ability to learn and master the English language. And it was rather a question of upskilling and upgrading the proficiency in schools, especially among teachers, instead of making it the medium of instruction.
Ironically it was Muhyiddin who had, last year, expressed his bewilderment at local students’ inability to master the English language despite two decades or so of having the language used in the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics.
He also expressed his shock that Malaysian students were lagging behind, despite the fact that the country spends as much on education as developed nations.
So if it is upgrading the proficiency of teachers which needs to be done, then the Ministry of Education has to buck up on handling the matter. Those accepted into local universities to undergo degrees in TESL should score nothing less than an A+ in their SPM and a one in language proficiency exams such as the 1119.
Issues of atrocious English printed in test papers, workbooks and textbooks have also been brought to light, indicating that there is little quality control over what is printed and distributed to schools and book stores. The issue of mastering the language goes beyond just acquiring proficient teachers.
It involves a whole paradigm shift, from how the language is taught, how the young are convinced of its importance and encouraged to use the language, right down to the use of teaching materials and methods that are effective and of quality.
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