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Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Please look at the standard of English teachers

DAP National Deputy Chairman and MP for Kepong Dr Tan Seng Giaw calls on the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to look seriously at the standard of English in primary and secondary schools. He will find that while some teachers are good, many are not able to teach properly.

Dr Tan comments on the media report on 9.6.2009 that Muhyiddin had a shock revelations when he learnt that students need not pass the English paper to get a Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia certificate and that English grammar was no longer taught in school.

While it is necessary for Malaysians to be fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, it is well known that the standard of English in the country is not high. What is revelations to the Deputy Prime Minister is not news to many. We are not shocked. He should start talking to English teachers or teachers who teach English in primary or scondary schools.

Parents who send their children to Chinese schools wish that the latter also have a good command of English which is the most popular language in the world. This is one of the reasons why the number of private schools increases by leaps and bounds.

Other countries such as Sri Lanka have English week. As the Sri Lankan Government has declared that the civil war with Tamil Tigers has ended, we hope that it will treat all people including Tamils as well as it treats the English language.

In fact the Federal Government should review the teaching of English and other languages. The world is cosmopolitan. Multilingualism is the order of the day.

Dr Tan Seng Giaw

4 Comments:

At 6:27 AM, Blogger Semut Api said...

Dr..

Saya setuju kita jadikan English satu matapelajaran utama yang perlu lulus dalam SPM. Tentang kelemahan guru, kurikulum BI dll, kita cuba selesaikan satu persatu...

Saya rasa patut ada satu panel untuk mengkajinya dan saya sangat berbahagia untuk mencadangkan supaya Dr menyertai panel sedemikian...

saya telah banyak mengikuti perjuangan Dr dan saya dapati Dr memang prihatin dengan isu-isu kemasyarakatan, sosial, pendidikan, kemanusian dan lain-lain. Dr tidak menumpukan semata-mata kepada isu politik walaupun ianya lebih mendapat perhatian oleh masyarakat umum dan pemimpin DAP yang lain...

Syabas...

 
At 9:14 AM, Blogger Voice of the Oppressed, Suppressed said...

Dr,
You are right.
I have seen the decline in the standard of English Language in schools - both in teaching and learning.
The recent boast about the percentage of passes in the language is all one big bluff. Yes, they pass but what is the grading like?
Students who can't write a simple sentence are getting As.
Now Dr. why not you challenge the Education Minister to pick 50 or 100 teachers at random from primary and secondary schools and just try to manage a conversation with them individually.
Then give them a written test - grammar and essay writing.
AND HE WILL KNOW THE REAL SITUATION!!!
How can our children improve in English when teachers themselves are atrociously non-proficient in the language?
These teachers would not even get a P7 if they had sat for English the Senior Cambridge Certificate in the 1960s.
I bet my last ringgit, the entire lot in the education service will protest vehemently if English is made compulsory in SPM.
Why? Because even Directors of Education and Headmasters can't speak English these days.

 
At 2:42 PM, Blogger Ted Torrence said...

Ah Dr Tan, DAP want our children to master English kah?

http://thextalks.blogspot.com/2009/06/dap-doesnt-want-you-to-learn-english.html

 
At 1:56 AM, Blogger Semut Api said...

YB Dr..

Readers spend time reading what you have to say and take time to respond to your ideas... could you acknowledge us back in retun?

Thank you

 

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