To this date, English as a medium of instruction is being widely practiced at many Malaysian tertiary institutions. However, English competency among Malaysian graduates leaves much to be desired. How true? Of which sources are we referring to? Or the issue has been sensationalised? According to anonymous reliable sources from industries, they did not mock up the issue. The graduates are just being complacent with Bahasa and take for granted of English. When foreign multinational investors start pouring money in the country, we lack of graduates of excellent English competency.
This is issue so complex that finding an absolute answer is like seeking a tiny needle in a haystack. Pertaining matters such as racial factor, educational background of an individual, school system, university's academic system, and the country's language policy, just to name a few, are intertwined and complicated. Are we at the crossroad now?
2 comments:
Definitely. I think it has to do with English as a second language in Malaysia, not English as a second language in a native country. The complex reality of a multiracial, third world country such as Malaysia makes it complicated as to discard any sentiment towards Bahasa thus explains the attitude of the Malaysian graduates. There's also the issue of imbalanced k-society especially when it comes to English competency between the east and the west coast graduates.
This subject just wont go away. It makes a comeback again today in the star newspaper.
My two cents worth of thoughts on the matter is ...it is not as much as the lack of competency between the east and the west coast but more of the rural and urban reality where there are many more opportunities to practice or necessity that necessitates the use of English language in daily conversation given the multiracial urban population.
In comparison, many rural folks are living among their own kind thus there is no need to use any other language since the communication purposes are met.
Exposure to real or genuine usage of the language (experiential learning), besides the motivation is badly needed.
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