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ASIA PACIFIC
English a failing subject for Malaysia despite national push
A survey by the Malaysian government has shown that more than 90 per cent of people
polled want English standards to be improved in local schools.

By Sumisha Naidu, Malaysia Correspondent, Channel NewsAsia

Posted 20 Nov 2015 08:30

Updated 20 Nov 2015 12:27

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia, a former British colony, is considered to be one of

Southeast Asia's more English-proficient nations. But there are still challenges to getting
students to converse confidently in the language.

It is a problem the government is taking very seriously.

Two years ago, Malaysia announced plans making it a must for all students to pass
English as a subject in a major high school examination by 2016.

But these plans were postponed after the country's Education Ministry tested out what
would happen if they did.

"If English was a compulsory subject this year, 2015, we would have had about 25 per
cent of the students failing SPM, said Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan.

We have about 400,000 students sitting for the examination. 25 per cent rate failure
would give us about 100,000 of students not being able to get certificates. That's a
concern."

Malaysia is home to a multi-ethnic population, most of whom are bilingual.

Many speak their mother tongue at home and go to government schools where the
primary medium of instruction is Bahasa Malaysia. English, on the other hand, is often
taught at as standalone subject.

Many Malaysians have some sort of grasp of the language but communicating
confidently can still be a problem.

"You go to a remote area or a rural area, the only English they get is probably only 30
minutes they get in the classroom. That's the only English the child gets, P
Kamalanathan said.

The moment the child leaves the classroom, there's no English, so we need to
strengthen and increase the number of hours and minutes into English language in
classrooms and that's what we're doing right now." Lack of immersion of English

Malaysia's Prime Minister is testing the waters, allocating funds for a Dual Language
Programme in the 2016 budget. It is a pilot project giving 300 primary schools the option
to teach subjects such as Science and Mathematics in English.

In the past, efforts to teach these subjects in English were met with a backlash from
Malay nationalists, worried it would undermine the position of the national language.

But the Malaysian government sees English proficiency as essential to communicate

with its neighbours in an increasingly globalised world. This takes on even more
importance as the ten member states of ASEAN plan for economic integration through
the ASEAN Community, set to be launched by the end of the year.

"Today we want individuals who have high self-confidence, who can communicate,
especially in English. Like it or not, English is a prerequisite in this world. So we cannot
be emotional anymore, we cannot feel that we don't need to learn English, said Prime
Minister Najib Razak.

Malaysia's Education Ministry is upping efforts to train teachers and increase students'
exposure to the English language but admitted it will need help.
Some Malaysian graduates agreed that their English would not have improved without
their parents' support and after-school practice.

"A lot of training actually, watching movies, speaking into the mirror by yourself, it's an
initiative for yourself, said Moh Izzat Mohd Anuar, a trainee engineer.

Malaysia said it would also be seeking public feedback for ideas on how to increase
English standards in the nation. In the meantime, the plan to have students achieve a
passing mark in the subject remains on hold.