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SCHOOL OF LIFELONG LEARNING

OUMH1203
WRITTEN ENGLISH COMMUNICATION

ASSIGNMENT TITLE
EDUCATION SHOULD BE IN ENGLISH IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM

Name of member

Name: 1) Pausia Binti Abu

2) Sarini Fezriannie Binti Awang Doughty
3) Mohd Shar Bin Marali

Tutor’s name: Mrs. Vera Voo

Learning Centre: PPT TAWAU

May 2007 Semester

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

Acknowledgements

1.0 Introduction 1

1.1 History 2

2.0 Education should be in English in our education system 3

2.1 Government Agencies 3

2.2 Private Sectors 4

2.3 School and Academic 5

2.4 University student 5

2.5 Family and Social 6

3.0 Review 7

4.0 Conclusion 11

5.0 Bibliography 12

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our heart felt thanks to Minister YB Dato Dr Hj Shafie Bin Mohd Salleh from the

Ministry of Higher Learning who has given us a chance to make this research.

We felt really grateful because he giving us a chance to contribute something

valuable to our country. It’s really means a lot for us and really appreciated.

We wish to acknowledge the help and source given for us by Mr.

Baharuddin Anis at Hospital Tawau, Mr. Jaimi at Kunak Police Headquarters, Mr.

Mohd Zain at Ong Ya Ho Estate, Mr. Shaipon at Semporna Department of

Registration, Mohd Sofrizan at KFC Tawau, Mrs. Salfarizan at Syarikat Sri Jadi,

Tawau, Mrs. Mariani Mohit and Mrs. Aminah Benjare at SK Tagasan, Semporna,

Mr. Albert Yap at USM, Penang, Ms. Norita Sius at UUM, Kedah and Mr. Vijith

Vasu at Klang, Selangor. The cooperation you all had given to us, it was helpful

in our research.

Not forgettable to the Administration of Lahad Datu Library who giving us

their cooperation, in using the references and the facilities in the Lahad Datu

Library.

Lastly but not the least, to our tutor Mrs. Vera Voo for all her moral support

and the encouragement to pursue our writing and completed this research report.

Thank you.

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REPORT WRITING

Introduction

When we talk about the important of using English language, many issues we

can discuss about. Especially in the globalize world nowadays. English language

nowadays not only as a second language in Malaysia but as well as we know

was an International language. This language has been cross a border and

bounding between country, races and religion. It has been using and accepted as

language for communication of many countries around the world.

In Malaysia, the important of using English language increased tremendously.

Seeing this situation our government also has given a very important place in our

education system in our country to make sure our nation and the next generation

prepare for the challenge in the future in other to make them equivalent with the

nation from other countries.

“If the “practice” definition is used, then English certainly has official status in

Malaysia. Though the 1957 constitutions has declared Malay as the national

language, it has allowed the use of English for all official purposes, in parliament

and in State Legislative Assemblies, in the courts (Supreme and Subordinate)

and for all legislation purpose for a period of 10 years (i,e.until 1967) Though

Malay was subsequently designed as the sole official language in the National

Language Act of 1967 and reinforced in its revised version, the Act of 1971, the

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use of English was permitted in certain situation authorized by the head of state

this is provided for in Clause (4) of the 1971 Act.

“The Yang di Pertuan Agong may permit the continued use of the

English language for such purpose as may be dreamed fit…”

(Carmel H. L.H, The Influence of English on the Lexical Expansion of Bahasa

Malaysia, page 81 & 82)

History

The history of using English language in Malaysia introduced in the early of

nineteenth century (1816) in Malaya

1.1 On the year of 1874 – 1957 the British armies have been new colonizes

Malaya and that is how the start of English language has been using among

the Malayan people.

1.2 For north Borneo and known as Sabah, the colonial of British begin from

1946 until 1956 the first mission school in northern Borneo was open by

Roman Catholic Mission in Sandakan (Sabah in Ten Years Later,1989).that

is how the beginning of the using English language in North Borneo.

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2. Education should be in English in our education system.

As a consultant who have been hired by the Ministry of Higher Learning to

make a survey to individuals from different background, from the result of our

raw data collection we have found that various opinion have been given by them.

They are pros and contras opinion from the suggestion that education should be

in English in our education system. Below are the various opinions from our

survey:

2.1 Government Agencies

From the interviewed that we have been made to several individual from the

government agencies, some of them has says that the using of English language

not important in the government agencies, this is because the entire official

matter only using Bahasa Malaysia especially when they want to entertain the

public says Mr. Shaipon who worked as officer at Department of Registrations

and Mr. Jaimi who worked as Inspector at Kunak Police Headquarters. Both of

them agree that English language not very important in the government agencies

and also in the education system. But they agrees that the state of English now

in Malaysia was in the high level and that’s why according to them though the

English language not important in the government but it’s important for those who

want to have a promotion from the department or government.

By the way some of the government agencies were given the important of using

English language in their department such as hospital, this is because of a lot of

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medical words and phrase was using English terms. According to Mr.

Baharuddin Anis who worked at the Tawau Hospital, the using of English

language at the Hospital or Ministry of Health for official matter or daily

conversation was around 85%.

2.2 Private sectors

From the research that we have been made for private sector, we have been

found that those who worked in the private sector are totally agreed with the

important of English language. By the reason of almost private firms in our

country using English language in official matter such as in communication,

administration etc. e.g. one of our subject who worked in the plantation as an

assistant manager in the estate, he told us that it’s really difficult to do or to

perform any task that has been given because all the terms and phrase only

using English language (Mr. Mohd Zain Abas, working as an assistant manager

at TSH company). Especially for those who worked in the big city, the demand of

using English language really high. For Mr. Sofrizan who worked at KFC

restaurant at Tawau as an Assistant Manager, he also agreed that the using of

English language very important for him. Like his job, a lot of his customers were

using English and either he like it or not he have to use the language to entertain

them and for the equivalent of his work as an assistant manager. Mrs. Salfarizan

who worked at Sri Jadi Company at Tawau, she also agreed that in private sector

there are using hundred percent English languages for their official matter.

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2.3 School and academic

We also make interviewed to a two teachers (Mrs. Aminah Benjare and Mrs.

Mariani Mohit) and they are not agreed if our education system all in English.

According to them, the student will face a problem to reviews or to understand

any subject mainly to Malay students. Apart from that a lot of teachers will also

have problems to conduct a class and teach a students using English language.

Even until today they still having problems to teach students in Math & Science

subject. The real problems actually come from their background because they

used to with their mother tongue, add them.

2.4 University students

From our survey to university student, majority of them agreed if our education

system using English language. In the university the using of English language

was necessary for the process of study and reference books because a lot of

references or sources were using English language. Especially after graduate if

they want to search for a job and its quiet challenging for them because

nowadays the standard of English language in the job market very demanding

says Mr. Albert Yap who now still studying at USM, Penang and Ms. Norita

Sius who studying at UUM, Kedah.

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2.5 Family and social.

On our survey we’ve found that almost of the subjects agreed that English

language very important in the family line especially for children who need to give

some exposal since in the early of their age. The need of using English language

accompanied with the using of English language in Math and Science subject in

our education system nowadays. As parents who have to face with the challenge

in our education system now, they believe that they also have to upgrade their

self in other to help their own children for their better future.

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3. 0 Review

From the research that we have been made to our subject, the overall average of

the results was 32.5% not agreed with the suggestion and 67.5% agreed if

English language using in our education system.

For government agencies, the result was 30% agreed and 70% strongly not

agreed. Private agencies research results found that 100% agreed with the using

of English language in our education system. School and academic staff, the

result was 50% agreed and 50% not agreed with the suggestion. For university

students 90% of them agreed with the suggestion. Below are the charts showing

the result of the research:

Average Percentage Subjects Who

Agreed And Not Agreed

32.5%
Agreed
Not agreed
67.5%

3.1: The pie chart showing the result of the subject opinion on suggestion

“education should be in English in our education system”

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Bar Chart Showing Opinions from

Various Sector

120
Percentage

100
80
60
40
20
0
Government Private School and University
Agencies sector Academic students
Various Sector

Agreed Not agreed

3.2: The bar chart above showing us the percentage opinions from various

sectors.

Where as, almost of them agreed that the state of English language in our

country now was in the highest level especially in the education system. Even

though only 30% of the government agencies agreed with the suggestion, but the

government has start given the importance of English language in the early of

80s.

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“The Government has recognized that the only way to prevent the country

from lagging increasingly behind in technological information (upon which

progress in the modern world depends) is to make sure that a sufficient

number of people are equipped with a language of specialized information

such as English.

In recent years, with the implementation of the national language policy well

under way and the association of English with colonial domination fading, the

Government has been making greater efforts to improve the level of

English teaching in the country, especially in the rural areas. Large numbers

o teachers have been recruited from Britain in the belief that this is the effective

way of improving the quality of English teaching. The importance of English is

continually being stressed by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Education and

politician media. Articles on the teaching and learning of English have been

appearing regularly in the major newspaper and in journal magazines.” (Carmel

Heah Lee Hsia, 1989, Page 84.)

“In 1975, the number of Malaysian enrolled in institutions of higher learning

abroad, mainly the countries mentioned was 31,500. This was half the total

number of Malaysia n receiving higher education in that year as the number

enrolled in the local institution in the same year was 31,529. On completion of

their studies, these Malaysians returned not only with whatever skills they came

to acquire, but also with a very much reinforced command of the English

language. Back in Malaysia, they constitute an elite cadre of talent which cannot

but be influential.” (Carmel Heah Lee Hsiah, 1989, Page 86)

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As English is a symbol of urbanization, even the monolinguals from the rural

areas attempt to make use of English words and phrases (originating from

bilinguals) in their speech. Asmah (1975) has noted how powerful English is as a

means of social identification and discrimination) in the urban areas:

“In the upper class shopping centers such as those along Jalan

Mountbatten (Tun Perak) or even in the middle class section of Petaling

Street, one is liable to get better attention from the salesgirl if one were to

speak in English (even in broken English) than if one to resort to Malay, the

lingua franca. A glance should also be turned in the individuals in high

office and business, who until today still showed preference for clients

who can understand English” (Asmah Haji Omar, 1975, The Malaysian

Mosaic of Language).

Mention must be made of the efforts of the Government to promote tourism

which have given a further boost to English. The numbers of tourist visiting

Malaysia has increased considerably over the years and further increases are

expected with the boom in air travel and international tourist trade. In 1975 the

number of tourist visiting peninsular Malaysia was 1.4 million and this was

expected to increase to 1.8 million in 1980. The popularity of English as a

lingua franca among tourists is an international phenomenon. There is a

motivation, therefore, for those who are in any way connected with the tourist

trade, such as personnel in hotels, travel and tour agencies, transportation,

shopping centers, etc., to learn English. For Malaysians in general, the presence

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of a large number of tourists means greater opportunities of coming in contact

with English.” (Carmel Heah Lee Hsiah, 1989, Page 90)

Conclusion

In our point of view, the results of our research we’ve found that the using of

English language in deed important in our country now.

Therefore, from our own opinion we agreed with the suggestion “education

should be in English in our education system now” without leave out our national

language and the other language.

We like it or not, either we understand the need of it or not.., the importance of

English language can’t be denied. By learning this language was an abundance

to the entire nation in our country and our country will have a great development

if the nation willing to develop their self.

“I would die for my country………but I would not let my country die for

me.” Neil Kinnock (1942-), British Politician, “Speech Labour Party Conference”.

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REFERENCES

• Micheal H . Bake ( 1965 ). Sabah the first ten years as a colony 1946 –

1956. Singapore: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

• Carmel H. L. H. ( 1989 ). The influence of English on the lexical

expansion of Bahasa Malaysia. Selangor Darul Ehsan: Percetakan

Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka.

• D. Haji Mohd Kassim H. H. ( 26th April 1966 ). Sabah And The Sabah

Foundation. Sabah: The Sabah Foundation.

• Jeffrey G. K and Friend ( 1989 ). Sabah 25 Years Later 1963-1988.

Sabah : Institute for Development Studies ( Sabah )

• S. Anne ( 1992 ). Concise Dictonary of Quotations. Bloomsbury, London.

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