KUCHING:
The move taken by Ministry of Education, Science and Technological
Research encouraging elected representatives to assist in measures to
improve the level of proficiency in the English language in schools
within their constituencies is a commendable initiative that deserves
the support of all elected representatives, said Ba Kelalan assemblyman
Baru Bian.
Baru, who is state PKR chairman, said he was happy to receive the circular two weeks ago from the ministry on the matter.
“I
have spoken about this issue a few times in DUN (State Legislative
Assembly) asking the government to take measures to improve the standard
of English in schools, but never received any satisfactory reply from
the government.
“It is therefore encouraging that the minister
(Dato Sri Michael Manyin Jawong) is now addressing this matter and
showing his concern that the level of English proficiency be raised.
Although it is regrettable that he has indicated there will be no budget
allocation to the elected representatives, I hope that some allocations
can be made to the schools for this purpose,” he said in a press
statement recently.
Baru added: “When I was a primary school
student in Long Semadoh, there was already a practice of speaking
English in school. If a student was caught speaking Lun Bawang, he or
she was rewarded with a clothes-peg on the earlobe.
“He or she
then had to find someone else who was speaking Lun Bawang and transfer
the peg to that student. I am not saying that this should be implemented
– it is merely an example of the initiative shown by the teachers to
encourage the speaking of English.”
He said it must be recognised
at the outset that for this initiative to work, the principals, teachers
and parent-teacher associations (PIBGs) must be involved and committed.
“A
good case-study would be the Ba Kelalan Primary School, which together
with SK Ulu Lubai, was declared co-champions in ‘Commonwealth Education
Good Practices’ in 2009. The story of SK Ba Kelalan is documented by a
Fulbright volunteer teacher called Blair Daly — other schools can learn
from their experiences and adopt some of their practices to suit their
needs.
“I think that once there is commitment and determination
from all parties involved, implementation will be easier. Attitudes and
mindsets play a key role here.”
At the same time, Baru said the
ministry must ensure that teachers are proficient in the English
language as they are the ones who have a major role to play in this
initiative.
“Those who are less fluent must be encouraged to take
steps to improve themselves and the ministry should provide the means
for them to do so.
“On a much broader vision and long-term plan to
ensure English eventually becomes a main ‘lingua-franca’, I proposed to
the government some practical steps, including reintroducing the
teaching of English by radio broadcasts (this will ensure consistency
and accuracy), rehiring retired English teachers and inviting volunteer
English teachers from the Peace Corps or Fulbright programme, as
requested by some parent groups in my constituency.
“I hope these proposals will be considered seriously by the ministry and implemented.”
On
his part, Baru said ever since he was elected in 2011, he has regularly
distributed English language storybooks to the schools in his
constituency, with the assistance of some supporters.
“The total
number of books distributed is estimated to be around 10,000. I have
been extremely gratified by the response – in some boarding schools,
there is a specified reading hour each day when all the students gather
at the reading corner to read.
“The importance of reading cannot
be overemphasised, and I would say that it is equally important as
speaking English. Books are where we learn our vocabulary and where we
are exposed to ideas and learning.”
He stressed: “The horizon is
expanded for those who have a good grasp of the English language, and we
must all do our part to ensure that our younger generation are given
all the help to acquire such profic
My comments:
Don’t forget to create the grammar awareness to go
with the fluency of the language. Based on my personal experience,
observation, investigation and experiments on my students young and old, I dare
to declare that “communicative English” must go hand in hand with
grammar awareness, otherwise, accuracy of the English is always a “sore spot”
to be treated all the time.
How can a person speak English with little idea of how
the language works? How can you expect a person to speak with full
confidence when s/he is not sure if s/he uses the language correctly or not in
both speaking and writing? For writing especially, you have the record in
“black and white” or “blue and green” to be qualified or disqualified in a job
interview or more.
Which one is correct, for example:
He is confidence / confident in himself.
He speaks with confidence / confident.
This is mine / my.
This is mine/my book.
We all know the importance/important of education.
You are blur / blurred about the right tense to use.
Henry has / had taken a very heavy breakfast. He
is so full to bursting now.
Henry has / had taken his breakfast when Ahmad
came to his house.
Please allocate 30% to Grammar to force everybody to
take a serious look at the basics.
Another very very important component is the
pronunciation of the language. Being
able to pronounce whatever words at sight is essential as you can remember the words
when you know how to pronounce them.
With the speech sound record of the words, you can remember and retrieve
them easily. Knowing how to read the phonetic symbols is
crucial as you can check the pronunciation of the words independently and
easily.
For example, if I am not sure how to pronounce “diabetes”,
I look up the transcription of it in the dictionary online or hard-copy version. I don’t need to listen to the pronunciation
through loudspeaker as I know how to read and articulate each of the phonetic
symbols, both British or American well.
I believe in self-investigative and independent studies. A student can learn more and fast as well as at his own pace if he
adopts this mentality in learning.
Don't neglect the spelling or phonics in the school curriculum.
