[lg policy] The Malaysian way to better English

Fri Aug 14 14:56:24 UTC 2009

The Malaysian way to better English
Kee Thuan Chye

I WAS recently invited by the Education Ministry to a discussion on
"strengthening English" in schools, but from the way the proceedings
went, it seemed like an exercise in futility. The fact that it was
being held in tandem with another discussion to "memartabatkan"
(uphold) Bahasa Malaysia speaks volumes. As we all know, the standard
statement that comes with any official announcement on the need to
raise our standard of English must invariably contain the apologetic
caveat: "but it must be carried out without threatening the position
of the national language". This occasion was evidently no different.

Both the English and Malay groups congregated at the outset in the
same conference room where everyone was briefed on the purpose of the
event and then parted ways to deliberate on their respective language
concerns. During this initial common briefing, it was made
unequivocally clear that even though there were plans to "memperkukuh"
English, this should not be seen as a challenge to Bahasa Malaysia.

As to be expected then, the meeting on the English side was
characterised by guardedness and underdog ambition. Issues raised were
mainly those that had been raised before – again and again ("I’m
hearing comments I used to hear 20, 30 years ago," said a veteran
educationist). Many of the participants had been embroiled in many a
discussion past and were now wary of whether their current proposals
would amount to anything. You could tell by the conversations outside
of the meeting room that most were pessimistic.

Nothing has changed. Certainly not the political will of the
government to truly revolutionise its attitude towards the teaching,
learning and use of English in this country, which would call for a
radical overturn of an official position that has been entrenched
since 1970. Who in the current administration would dare venture that
way when their uppermost consideration is winning the next general
election? Which is why the vision on English has been always
short-term. And what the recent reversal of the teaching of science
and mathematics in English was motivated by.

No one in power has dared to think of the long term, of the potential
future of a Malaysia dragged down by its lack of proficiency in the
global language, of the future of the rural populace who must continue
to wallow in their lack of command of the language because they are
not ardently advised otherwise. To get them out of their complacency
with being monolinguistic would risk raising the ire of certain
interest groups – and that could be disastrous for the ruling party.
Most of us at the meeting were too polite to bring this up, but an old
hand in education did ask, "What is our language policy now?
Monolingualism or bilingualism?".

So, by and large, we dutifully confined ourselves to discussing the
areas of training, marketing and pedagogy. We gave suggestions on how
to make the noble profession of teaching seem truly so to those going
into it ("most students go into teaching English because they have no
choice", observed a participant); on the need to take in only
teacher-trainees who had an acceptable level of proficiency in
English; on getting teachers to employ non-formal teaching methods
that would be filled with fun for the learners and to organise
out-of-class activities; on making more use of e-learning and ICT; on
what to avoid if grammar were to be taught explicitly; on how to
instil confidence in English teachers and give them the support they
need when this is denied them by the school environment.

One of the best ideas – and possibly the only political one – was to
urge the government to commit to promoting "coordinate bilingualism"
rather than "subordinate bilingualism", such that no language would be
eclipsed or even dominated by another. That kind of commitment is
essential, especially in a school environment where the ustaz can have
a powerful influence on the headmaster’s policy implementation. At the
meeting, no one suggested bringing back the English-medium school or
making a pass in English compulsory for passing SPM (Sijil Pelajaran
Malaysia). Most of us thought this would be pointless, anyway.

After all, Dr Mahathir floated the English-medium school idea briefly
when he was prime minister and then backed off. And only recently,
Deputy Prime Minister and new Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin sent
up a test balloon regarding the compulsory pass but nothing has come
out of it since.
To me, that meeting was a sad reflection of what we are – a people who
are rich but are afraid to cultivate our wealth and let it blossom,
and all because of our insecurities. We fear opening our minds so we
deny our children access to our vaults. Each time a new education
minister comes into office, there will be an attempt at some
stock-taking and cursory spring-cleaning, but this is then followed by
the same old business as usual. We pay lip service, we opt for
eyewashes.

Will this time be different? I much doubt it. So, as has been
happening over the years, those who have the means will find ways to
improve their English, mostly outside of the school system, and those
who don’t will lag behind. And when it comes time for university
graduates to attend job interviews, that’s when the difference will be
telling. Still, at the end of the day, these will just amount to being
mere statistics. It’s the outcome at the elections that matters more.

It is, as we say, the Malaysian way.

Kee Thuan Chye, who retired from journalism in May, is an advocate of
good English, having edited a column on the subject in a national
paper for years. He also authored the book March 8: The Day Malaysia
Woke Up, which has been translated into Chinese. Comment:
letters at thesundaily.com.

http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=36933

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