Monday October 3, 2011
PETALING JAYA: Parents and teachers say that the move to make English a compulsory pass subject in national examinations needs strong supporting structures to succeed.
Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said the proposal to make English a must pass subject in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations was a good move.
“At the same time, we need to ensure there are enough English teachers to properly teach the subject.
“Otherwise it will be unfair to impose English as a compulsory subject if students are not being equipped to do well in the subject. As it is, teachers are still teaching subjects that they are not trained for,” she added.
Yesterday, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said a timetable should be set to make English a compulsory pass subject in the SPM.
“Mother tongue languages should also be encouraged and eventually made compulsory in all national schools.
“If such initiatives are planned properly with a staggered timeline, they are achievable,” he said in his speech at the MCA's 58th annual general assembly yesterday.
Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (Melta) president Dr Ganakumaran Subramaniam said students needed to be provided with opportunities to use English within the school environment.
“This need not be confined to just classroom lessons; students can be encouraged to use the language in school projects or co-curricular activities.
“The methodology of teaching English should also be more motivational and interesting to better engage students.
“There is no one solution to solving the issue; there needs to be a comprehensive and integrated approach,” he said.
A secondary school English teacher from Selangor said that examinations alone were not enough to ensure students were able to master English.
“The current assessment system does not adequately determine whether students have basic English language skills.
“If the examinations were useful, then all our students should have no problem with English because the passing rates and number of top scorers in the subject keep increasing,” she said.
(http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/3/nation/9619786&sec=nation)
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