Friday, July 10, 2009

Using my Language

So the experiment is over.
It is back to using Bahasa Melayu/Malaysia for all subjects except English.
I am trying to reason out with myself on the rationale of the Government's decision.
They must have solid reasons why.
I can also understand the dissapointment of some.
Maybe the Govt is right.
Maybe it is better to teach basic Math and Science in BM.
Once they have the basics and fullly understand it, maybe they can further their studies in learning about Science and Maths in English.
As an example, my daughter who has completed her second year medical studies at Leicester University came from an all BM primary and secondary education at MRSM.
She got her straight As in Form 3 and 5, in BM.
She graduated with an IB Diploma from Mara College Banting.
I did not see any problem even though she was educated in BM all the way.
Likewise we have students in Egypt and Russia, and they are doing well in their new found langguage studying a tough science and maths based subjects...

As for me, i was educated in English all the way.
But i did not have any problem in my BM in my later years.
Come to think of it when i was in Form 3, there were many of my friends who wrote and spoke broken English....but that did not deter them from graduating as Doctors and Engineers.
There was one guy whose English was so attrocious at Form 3 that when he became an Engineer and then a lecturer at a University, some of us were puzzled.
Like wise my English has been quite ok and i was amongst the few debaters in my lower secondary school days.
I was told that i was quite an orator back then, taking part in Elocution contest and debates...but that does not mean that it guarantees that my Science and Math are tip top...
So maybe it does not matter whether Science and Math at Primary and Secondary school level are taught in BM.
If the student has the right aptitude and attitude, he or she can always excels in their later days.....

So the effort to emphasize more on just teaching English in English might work..
Maybe the Govt is right after all.
My regret was that my Arabic never take off....because the method of how i was educated was just reading without understanding....

I belief that languages must be taught at a very young age, at TADIKA level...looking at the Smart Readers system , where children can speak English during the 4-6 years age...nothing is impossible...
After all the Chinese and Indians speaks an extra language than the Malays...

3 comments:

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear AOF,
Language is just a medium, and if one is not a native speaker, it's quite difficult to grasp concepts taught in maths and science. What more even the teachers are struggling to teach the subjects in English what more their pupils.
So it makes sense to revert the teaching of science and maths in BM. The moral here is that we should not do something affecting our children's future without deep soul searching no matter who proposed it. Education has been the target of many aspiring politicians to be used as a ladder to much greater heights or conversely one's downfall. We must depoliticise the education portfolio by making a competent person honed in the subject matter and at the same time able to withstand the political onslaught even if they want to turn the system upside down.

abd.samad said...

Pak Azudin.
Semasa projek ini dilancarkan, berbilion RM dibelanjakan. Setiap guru Math dan Science di bekalkan notebook dan projection system dan software. Bertujuan untuk membantu pengajaran.
Projek ini diteruskan disebabkan "sejumlah manusia yang beruntung" mendapat untung. Rakyat rugi, bukan masalah mereka. La ni akan dibelanjakan berbilion RM lagi. Letih dah mendengar nya.

abd.samad said...

Pak Azudin,
Saya pernah menulis kepada Utusan Malaysia untuk membuat kajian secara rasional akan tahap pencapaian pengajaran MATH dan science dalam BI di kampong2. Pandai ke Chegu tu mengajar mereka, faham ke budak yang di ajar tuh. Saya kata, Utusan akan diangkat oleh rakyat kerana mendedahkan perkara sebenar. Tapi mereka membisu. Saya faham sangat sebab mereka membisu. Hipokrit. contoh yang paling nyata anak buah saya di kampong tak faham apa chegu dia ajar. Macam mana nak jadi maju.