Malaysiakini :: Letters

Improve English? Just teach it in English, not BM

Posted: 08 Aug 2011 02:19 AM PDT

Responding to the story 'Muhyddin to order review of teaching of English', it is my contention that the general standard of English has fallen below ground zero over the years, simply because teaching of English at grassroots level is mainly conducted through Bahasa Malaysia.

It is not the teaching of English per se that is at fault, it is not the curriculum that undermines the learning, also it has got nothing to do with our youngsters' abilities to learn the language. When the teaching and learning of English relies heavily on the use of Bahasa Malaysia for most part of primary and secondary education, no amount of curriculum review, methodological reorientation or content repositioning can provide answers to this on-going dilemma.

The minister of education admitted that he simply could not understand why students could not pick up the basic language skills despite going through 13 years of classroom learning.

Well at least the minister knows something has gone very wrong somewhere and he chooses the time-consuming way of going through data collection, fact finding plus a final report on recommendations and remedies.

Again, at the end of the day, this report will not reveal that the teaching of English is largely conducted through the use of Bahasa Malaysia at grassroots level.

English must be taught through the use of English, save for those initial years at primary schools. The minister can actually go around any rural or semi-rural school, get hold of a few English language teachers at random and speak to them using simple English.

It would be generally expected that the majority of these so-called trained and qualified English teachers will not be able to communicate using simple and plain English. If speaking simple English is hell of a big problem for English teachers, how do we expect them to conduct language classes effectively?

The declining standard of English is a big issue but the truth is very simple. It all falls to the teachers themselves but it is not their fault anyway, as they themselves are products of our national schools system.

Once again, if we care to admit truthfully, our English standard is so bad that we cannot rely on our own system to groom future English teachers. In order to teach any language, one must be fluent and competent at least verbally.

It is high time we look at the problem honestly. English teachers that rely on Bahasa Malaysia to teach English must be replaced by competent ones who speak the language. If there is a need to rely on more foreign teachers to conduct English lessons, why not just do it now?

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Star must wean itself from racist fodder

Posted: 08 Aug 2011 12:22 AM PDT

I refer to the highlighting of the news concerning contracts being given to bumiputeras at the expense of Chinese by Star, citing Penang MCA Wanita chief Tan Cheng Liang.

Tan has no credibility. During the last election she was thrashed and lost her state seat. As the chairperson of PPC she has never kept her word, other than to attack the Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng.

And when the CM once announced that the state was considering introducing a ferry service for the public Tan went ballistic and announced that it was her idea, as Penang Port Commission (PPC) which she was chair at the time had already promised to introduce a new mode of transport to reduce traffic jams and provide an alternative means of transport in the form of a ferry service from various points on the island and the mainland.

There was no follow up. Instead, with the change in MCA leadership Tan was shipped out of PPC.

This woman is a down right racist. Just last Saturday, she and Star went to town with a bold headline 'Talk of the town', with the news that a 19-year-old bumiputera had been given a contract, worth a million ringgit and wondered how a 19-year-old bumiputera could be better than a Chinese contractor to win the bid.

Yesterday, Star shamelessly carried a small item quoting the boy's father, that, the contract was in fact won by the mother in an open tender. Both the father and mother are contractors in their own right.

As a newspaper that claims to tell the truth and have in depth investigative news gathering team, did Star not bother to check the veracity of the source, in particular from someone like Tan? And the paper has not even apologised for shooting from the hip.

Every other week Star's editor in chief Wong is penning articles and wondering as to why there is increasing racism and hatred in our society. Does he not read his own paper? The answer to his question is after all within its pages, playing up racist issues such as these, telling half-truths or even outright lies.

For example, regularly highlighting that there are now more Malays than Chinese in Penang when that is not the truth. Figures cited by the CM from the Statistics Department confirm this.

In any case, why the need to highlight this? What is the agenda of Star and its owner MCA? Are both Chinese and Malays in Penang not Malaysians? Why can't the Malays be the majority in Penang? Is it because MCA's support only comes from the Chinese? And if that is so, how then did MCA lose every state and parliamentary seat in Penang?

Honestly, is this a newspaper or a MCA propaganda machine? Do they have any morals, professional standards or have these chaps sold their poor miserable souls for the mighty ringgit? Look at the lead writers in the paper. They write disgusting, manipulative stories.

The last was on how Ku Li will replace Anwar. Did the writer interview either one? Of course not! They merely cited unnamed sources, who cannot be verified. Even a child knows who the mysterious 'source' is.

For God's sake, Star's editors, lead writers and their reporters should be guided by their conscience and not by the disgraced MCA.

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Kredit: www.malaysiakini.com

Isnin, 8 Ogos 2011

Malaysiakini :: Letters

Malaysiakini :: Letters

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