Malaysia: Enhance The Effectiveness Of English Language Teaching

[Harold F. Schiffman]

>>From Malaysian National News Agency
May 08, 2006 18:10 PM

Enhance The Effectiveness Of English Language Teaching


MELAKA, May 8 (Bernama) -- Initiatives that help teachers and lecturers
enhance the effectiveness of English Language Teaching (ELT) are of
immense importance in this age of K-economy, Higher Education Minister
Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said. He said language skills, particularly English
had been identified as one of the main areas of improvement to ensure that
all graduates, were readily employable. "For us to successfully nurture a
first class metality and succeed in our quest, all those within the
workforce, regardless of occupation, strong communications would be a key
factor," he said at the Sixth Malaysia International Conference on English
Language Teaching (MICELT 06), here.

The text of Mustapa's speech was read out by the ministry's Secretary
General Ministry Datuk Dr Zulkefli A Hassan. MICELT is organised by
Universiti Putra Malaysia through its Faculty of Educational Studies with
the participation from Asean and Middle East countries. Mustapa said under
the Ninth Malaysia Plan, emphasis was given to generating new sources of
wealth in technology and knowledge intensive sectors such as information
communication technology (ICT), biotechnology and skills based services.

" Here, implicit within several key thrusts to move the economy up the
value chain and to raise the capacity for knowledge and innovation, lies
the Malaysian context as to the importance of mastering English," he said.
He hoped that the MICELT programme as a whole would be seen as a role
model for others to follow, as it formed a building block towards
establishing Malaysia'a reputation as a centre for educational excellence.


http://webevents.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=195959