Poor English skills: ‘Rot started in the 70s’
(Free Malaysia Today) – The lack of proficiency in the English language among the current crop of Malaysians does not come as a surprise at all to academicians.
They say the rot started when the medium of instruction was switched from English to Malay in the 1970s.
Malaysia was ranked third after Singapore and the Philippines in an English level assessment test conducted by online recruitment company Jobstreet.com.
Thailand and Indonesia came in fourth and fifth respectively.
“There has been a clear decline of English language proficiency over the past 20 years,” said an English lecturer with over 37 years of experience.
The lecturer, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the rot set in since the 1970s, when the medium of instruction was switched from English to BM.
“From then on, our children were less exposed to the language. Another reason is the lack of emphasis on English as it now not a compulsory subject to pass,” he said.
The lecturer said that many, especially those in the rural areas, did not realise the importance of English until they started working, especially in the private sector.
“Singaporeans, having a much more business-oriented economy, know they cannot survive in life without the language, but Malaysians have become aware of it much later in life,” he said.
The lecturer also lamented the standard of English teachers, saying that steps should be taken by the government to get more qualified teachers.
“Politically, we cannot reverse certain things. It’s now time to focus on getting high quality teachers, not just getting foreigners, which I feel is merely a short-term measure,” he said.
He added that the “flip-flop” decision by the government over the teaching of science and mathematics in English is not helping in arresting the decline.
Going downhill
Universiti Malaya English Language Department head Tam Shu Sim agreed that English proficiency has been “going downhill” since the switch in the medium of instruction.
