ELT World » malaysia

Brunei: Poor Malay not due to the bilingual education policy

david — Sat, 22 May 2010 13:58:39 +0000

The Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs yesterday defended Brunei’s bilingual education system which uses English language in majority of school subjects, saying that it has been operating well and past generations have succeeded due to their good command of English.

According to Brudirect, Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Badaruddin Pengarah Dato Paduka Hj Othman said that the bilingual education system should not be blamed for poor Malay proficiency, but authorities should take proper steps to improve students’ Malay language instead.

Read the full story here.

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Malaysia: The English language is ‘not’ being neglected

david — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:52:05 +0000

The Malaysian Government’s decision not to continue teaching Science and Mathematics in English does not mean the language is being neglected, at least that’s what the Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin claims.

A number of new initiatives are being planned to upgrade the teaching of English in schools and to strengthen the command of English among students, reports the Star Online.

Read more about these ‘initiatives’ here.

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Philippines: Teachers blamed as English standards fall

david — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:22:51 +0000

English standards in the Philippines are slipping, according to the results of a ‘major international testing system’. This can only mean one thing, the teachers are to blame, of course.

This ‘major international testing system’ also showed Malaysians have taken the top spot in English proficiency among South-East Asian countries, although whether this refers to any countries other than the Philippines and Malaysia is unclear.

According to the results of the ‘much-better-than-TOEFL’ International English Language Testing System (IELTS to those of us in the know) for 2008, Filipinos who were seeking overseas jobs in professions including nursing and engineering scored an average of 6.69 for listening, writing, reading and speaking English, while Malaysians massively outscored their fierce rivals on 6.71.

Although the figure is a slight improvement on the figure of 6.58 from 2007, it is still a worry for a country that has prided itself on its English-language ability.

Click here to read more…

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Malaysia: Government mulls 2011 implementation of new policy to teach science and maths

david — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:53:51 +0000

The Malaysian government, still not content about the amount of damage it’s done, is considering bringing forward the implementation of the new policy to replace the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) to 2011 for Year One pupils. However, notes The Sun Daily, this will depend on ’several factors’ such as availability of teachers, new curriculum and textbooks for the two subjects by end of 2010, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has said.

“Based on our experience with the PPSMI, the ministry had only six months to prepare for its implementation and this had led to many problems, including in getting enough teachers. For the new policy, we need for example some 13,000 additional teachers for all the schools. We also need more English language expert teachers which we will start by recruiting some 1,000 beginning next year until 2012.”

Got no qualifications? You know where to head for a guaranteed job.

Read the full debacle here.

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Malaysia: Muhyiddin tells educators to support changes in education system

david — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:14:12 +0000

The Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, has called on educators to give their 100 per cent support to the changes to the national education policy, particularly the decision to revert the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English to the Malay language from 2012.

“I expect a 100 per cent support from educators, without exception”, reports bernama.com. ”It won’t be good if, for instance, educators are divided over the decision. When the government makes a decision, it is doing so with a clear rationale. The educators should, therefore, be committed in upholding and supporting the decision,” he said at a gathering with educators at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here Tuesday.

Read the full story…

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Malaysia to end teaching math and science in English

david — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:43:33 +0000

According to Forbes, Malaysia is to abandon teaching maths and science in English, saying that far too many children from poor rural areas were failing by the programme. The decision to start phasing out English medium teaching from 2012 has been backed by the government and Malaysia’s main opposition parties, despite concerns that using the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, will undermine competitiveness.

Malaysia has said recently that it wants to attract more high-value investment in areas like banking and finance, industries that are global and typically demand good English. Instead of teaching maths and science in English, a policy started in 2003, the government will double the time spent on English lessons for primary children and increase that for secondary school children by half. It said it would hire an additional 14,000 teachers to teach English as a language.

Read on…

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Malaysia: An English teaching role for Gaya campus

david — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:45:09 +0000

The Malaysian Teachers Education Institute (IPGM) Gaya Campus has been picked by the Education Ministry from among IPGMs nationwide as the centre for teachers to learn English. IPGM Gaya Campus Director, Salmah Abdullah, said 25 teachers studying in the campus recently graduated in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL).

With the new expectation, exclaims the Daily Express, the institute will be able to give more focus towards producing English teachers. “We are really proud that Gaya Campus has been chosen by the Education Ministry to be the centre to teach English in the country,” Abdullah said at the opening of the Pengisahan Sejarah (History Narration) by State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun at Wisma Pertanian on Thursday.

Read on…

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Malaysia: Computer labs to become English language labs

david — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:35:18 +0000

According to the New Straits Times, the Education Ministry will upgrade computer laboratories in schools to enable them to be used as English language laboratories, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. He said the use of technology would be capitalized for enhanced English teaching and learning in schools and suitable software would be provided.

The ministry is also studying the possibility of introducing English Literature and English Grammar in schools in an effort to improve students’ writing and communication skills in English.

Read the full story…

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Malaysia: KBU launches TESOL programme

david — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:54:05 +0000

According to the Sun Daily, the Language Centre of KBU International College (KBU) will be launching a new programme that will interest those who plan to embark on a career in English language teaching.

Ng Swee Lin, Head of KBU’s Language Centre, said the demand for certified English language teachers will be great because, in a globalised world, there will be a surge in the number of people who need to be proficient in English. She added that target students for the programme would be those who aspire to be effective English teachers, those who are looking for a career change and those who are already teaching English but do not possess the formal qualifications.

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Teachers going nuts teaching subjects in English

david — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 07:37:08 +0000

Malaysia: The Star.com notes that some Malay teachers in Bagan Serai are going mad as they cannot handle teaching Mathematics and Science subjects in English, claimed a state assemblyman. Dr Khalil Idham Lim Abdullah (Titi Serong) said even the teachers themselves were having to take English classes to improve their command of English.

While they are still grappling with the language, they are required to teach their students as well, said Khalil, who was chairman of the Perak Backbenchers Club in the former Pakatan Rakyat-led state government.

Read the full story…

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