— E.E. Cummings
Malaysia Oh Malaysia..
comment?
comment?
Thursday, 13 February 2014 @ 15:49
In De Lotbinière’s article, Malaysia drops English language teaching, the ideas presented by the author focus on the differing views of abandoning PPSMI as it was under-achieving its desired objectives. However, contrary to Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s pro nationalistic ideas, English is undoubtedly the global language in communication and the business world. Therefore, Malaysia falls behind their South-east Asian competitors as they have failed to recognise the importance of mastering English. Furthermore, the sudden conversion of classes to be taught in English without a strong foundation is a recipe for disaster. Lotbinière presented a strong perspective against the dropping of the curriculum and highlights the essence of learning English in his article.
De Lotbinière reports about the decision to abandon PPSMI due to the negative outcomes reflected in students’ under-achievements in the national exams. With Bahasa Malay being the dominant language, critics feared that the PPSMI threatened students’ grasp of their own language and culture. This is precisely the reason it failed as the narrow mindedness of the nationalists did not consider the economic benefits that would give them a global edge.
Furthermore, the failure to integrate English due to the lack of competent teachers has floundered students’ understanding and motivation to master the language. Therefore, should this not be addressed, the chain effect between teachers and students would be detrimental to future generations of students. As Khoo Kay Kim, emeritus professor at the University of Malaya’s history department commented, “the education system requires very competent teachers”. However, qualified teachers are only part of the equation which must be coupled with the students’ desire to learn and achieve success.
On the other hand, the proposed solution mentioned in the article is simply a means to an end of keeping English in the curriculum. By doing so, they are side lining the importance of mastering the language which takes them back to where they began. Perhaps, the success of Singapore’s multi-lingual society is arguably what Malaysia can model upon.
Building up the right education system would take years to achieve. However, Malaysia would be able to emerge successfully from their counterparts by embracing English to their education system. Hence, they will have to start adopting measures to keep up with the ever-changing world or face a high risk of being left behind.