Tuesday, June 23, 2009

malaysiakini and ANOTHER CHANGE in ENGLISH Policy?

BEGADS! That would be another major blunder if this malaysiakini article is to be believed: A change in language policy by July?.
There are many who oppose the switch to English even though everyone agrees that English is important for global trade and even getting employment in the private sector.
To me the switch back to English was a good decision made by TDM before he retired but it seems during the past 6 years, little has been done to improve the teaching standards in schools and many teachers still struggle with English.
Of course the sudden switch to English would have caused major disruptions but if the Education Ministry is still in the "To teach or not to teach in English" pondering stage, then the future of our children is in great jeopardy.

We should be asking the Education Ministry some pertinent questions like:
1.How many teachers have been trained to teach Maths and Science in English in the past 6 years?
2.How many teachers have been sent for English language degree courses in the last 6 years?
3.How many trainers for English has the Ministry produced in the past 6 years?
Learning English is not rocket science and the media especially TV should be a useful tool. I would suggest English language programs can be broadcast on Astro and RTM to reach the rural folks so that parents can learn English to enable them to help their children from Darjah 1. All it needs is a little discipline, some time and most importantly the willingness to learn.
Those with Internet access can even get free lessons from Livemocha.com

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