Give more time for teaching in English
SANDHYA Menon’s “Master English to progress” (The Star, Nov 24) is a timely reminder of the critical importance for Malaysians to achieve proficiency in English proficiency. The Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB) 2013-2025 emphasises that, apart from proficiency in our national language (Bahasa Malaysia), we need to be proficient in English as it is the international language of communication in the workplace and business.
Most Malaysians would agree that our proficiency in English needs to be enhanced to be globally competitive. The research used by MEB found that “Malaysia’s 15% to 20% instructional time in English may be insufficient for students to build operational proficiency”. It is useful to note that Hong Kong and Singapore’s strong bilingual education policy, focusing on competence in English competence, has been their key to becoming regional financial centres and advanced economies.
In a social sense, being Malaysian should not be seen as a matter of subtraction but of addition. Being also good in English should not reduce our sense of being Malaysian. It is logical and necessary to master English so we are equipped to work well in a competitive global world.
Hence, there is merit in groups like the Parent Action Group for Education advocating for a return of Englishmedium schools as one avenue to improve our English skills. Put bluntly, it is a case of urgently mastering English or we will find we are left trailing behind in our economic and technological race with other competing countries.
SZE LOONG STEVE NGEOW Kajang