Saturday, October 12, 2013

In Malay or in English?

By Chi Siew Yin
2012-122469
Topic : Ministry of Education

Science, a core subject that will influence the technological advancement of a nation. Presently, the lingua franca of Science are conducted  in English to the point that non-native English speaking nations are upgrading their level of English to master the subject. In the previous 6 years Science was supposed to be taught in English but due to lack of language proficiency, many teachers taught the subject in Bahasa Malaysia mixed with English.  Our country  has now reverted back that Science is taught in Bahasa Malaysia starting with Form 1 in 2013 and this does not bode well for our nation to the point that other nations are progressing and we are regressing.

"On Oct 7, Dr. Mahathir again expressed his concern at the lack of proficiency in English displayed by students, when he complained about the quality of graduates, who presented themselves for job interviews. In one case, he claimed that only seven out of the 333 potential job applicants in information technology, were suitable. The unsuccessful graduates did not know English and had asked for the interview to be conducted in Malay. "(FMT News, 2013)
"With the emphasis on Malay, Malays are reluctant to speak English with some claiming that it is unpatriotic to speak anything but Malay. The irony is that these Malays complain about the difficulty of getting jobs in the private sector, or with multinational companies."(FMT News, 2013)
With this policy, future generations will face difficulties communicating with people in other country in Science field that will cause serious impact towards Malaysia's economy. As a transmitter of knowledge, skills and values to the mass population, teachers in Malaysia or in any other parts of the world, are always considered as the nation’s greatest asset. As such, teachers must be able to play their roles and fulfil their responsibilities to their utmost capabilities. To be able to do so, teachers must be well prepared for the profession and at the same time maintain and improve their skills through lifelong career learning. In total of RM 125 million allocated to enhance teaching in Science by breaking RM 500 million into four parts for four subjects. Let's push the cost of training a Science teacher with quality that is able conduct his or her class in English to a maximum of RM 4000, with 10094 schools in Malaysia now including primary and secondary education, every school can at least boost the quality of 3 Science teachers to ensure their qualification. Support for their well being and professional development should therefore be an integral and essential part of the efforts made to raise the standard of teaching and learning, and students’ achievement. At the same time, teachers must also inculcate in their students dispositions towards lifelong learning and skills required in facing the upcoming national and global challenges especially Science and Technology.



The flip-flop policy of Malaysia in education created confusions to Malaysians.


The point of learning Science is to acquire knowledge, struggling between which language to conduct it is not the main point, our objective is educating the younger generations.
The trend of Malaysian mixing Malay language with English even though they owned a diploma, degree or for those who already have a stable job during communication.
Competition nowadays are tough, Communicating in English is one of the must in the society.
Conducting Science in English must be pressed to ensure the development of the nation.

Reference
1. Mokhtar, M. (2013, October 11). Mahathir’s policies, Malaysia’s loss. In FMT news. Retrieved October 11, 2013, from http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/10/11/mahathir%E2%80%99s-policies-malaysia%E2%80%99s-loss/
2. Flip-Flopping in Malaysia: Should We Revert to Teaching Science and Mathematics in Malay? (2009, August 10). Inkampunghouse. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://kampunghouse.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/flip-flopping-in-malaysia-should-we-revert-to-teaching-science-and-mathematics-in-malay/
3. Speech Budget 2013 (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2013, from http://www.pmo.gov.my/dokumenattached/bajet2013/SPEECH_BUDGET_2013_28092012_E.pdf
4. Mahatir, Mohamad. "Mahathir’s policies, Malaysia’s loss." FMT news. N.p.: Mariam Mokhtar, 2012. N. pag. Web.
5.UNIT PERANCANG EKONOMI JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI PUTRAJAYA. (2010). Rancangan Malaysia Kesepuluh 2011-2015. Retrieved October 11, 2013, from http://www.pmo.gov.my/dokumenattached/RMK/RMK10_Mds.pdf
6. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://akinyiviv.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/cgon456l1.jpg>.
7. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://www.thenutgraph.com/user_uploads/images/2009/07/08/080709-EnglishMalay-NEW400.jpg>.
8. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <http://www.google.com.my/imgres?espv=210&es_sm=93&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=3ZWqlHXwBScG1M:&imgrefurl=http://topyaps.com/top-10-differences-between-sarcasm-and-satire/&docid=kywgzXuaHZ3U5M&imgur>.
9. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFJDvF7wI1azeTaA2vJ0lF9WVff1VkmaQZY9-Z8yQBX0hy23jGGRu-d387jN6Uja1C1NFirZQm-EId_sZ9N36rGH5P91xAgU7uT0TtT46rCsnKBV6ncXdh1c1RqTxBVGx7wJXxa_bm-s/s400/pic00530.jpg>.

13 comments:

  1. I totally agree with this article and Science subject must be taught in English as English is not only the international languange and it is also important when the student want to further their study in the university as all the subjects wii be taught in english except the language subject.

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  3. I strongly agree that the science subjects should be taught in English. Most universities and colleges use English as their core language. Thus, teaching the science subjects in English helps the students to adapt when it comes to further studies.

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  4. Science subjects should be taught in English so that the students can get use to it and can understand when they reach college or university. Most of the teachers from secondary school prefer to use Malay when teaching because they are poor in English and easier to teach. This might suffer the students when they come to further studies as they will confuse with what are the terms should use.

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  5. I strongly agree that Science should be taught in English as students are able to understand the scientific terms better in English, thus, they are able to answer the questions better during exams. This will also help them in the future as most universities use English to teach Science.

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  6. I agreed with your article too which science subject must be taught in English. So that they will not suffer when they get in to the university or further study at other country. English is a very important language around the world. If they can't speak English, this will cause them suffer not only when study but for their future especially the job interview.

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  7. i totally agree with your article the implementation of English in teaching Mathematics and Science should be carry out to enable students further their tertiary studies as all the subjects will be taught in english in universities.
    -Ashwinder Kaur-

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  8. i do agree with your statements that science and mathematics should be taught in english..so that it will be easy for them to further their studies in overseas..

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  9. i totally agree your article. Science must be taught in English because it is one of the national language and important to future. Student will very suffer when they continue their Study in university especially in this subject. there are a lot of term in science are in English too.

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  10. i agree that science and mathematics should be taught in english. this is because english is a international language. So if you study Science and mathematics in english you would be able to further your studies it other countries.

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  11. English is an universal language that is very important for all to apply. with this, I will definitely agree with all your statement. With the presence of English language, not only in science field, for sure every individual will be able to communicate regarding other matters discussed with other country citizens. Very good article:)

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  12. I strongly agree your point of view. As in English is a international language and i think that Science subject must taught in English. Students are more comfortable to study and memorize it .

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