Mine Language

Literally translated Mine Language means Bahasa Saya and Bahasa Kita is the plural of it, which is Our Language.
As much as my Bahasa and English is good, i still cannot figure out how they want to implement the English part into our education system.
I am still confused over the whole thing.
I know some have resorted to taking a neutral stance towards the whole thing.

This morning i was trying to remember, how i learnt to speak English?
I do remember singing the Nursery Rhymes like Baa Baa Black Sheep, Humpty Dumpty, London Bridge and what not. I do remember many Nursery Rhymes in Bahasa Melayu like. Bangun Pagi gosok gigi, tom tom bak and what not.
I know that the Malay part comes naturally.
Only my late father speaks and write in English. My mother only in Malay and Jawi, the Arabic Malay.
I was trying to remember an occasion in my Primary school days when i spoke in English to another classmate of mine..well guess what, i cannot remember!!!

I remember that i can read and write and speak English as early as Std One or Two.
I remember reading Beano and Dandy comics as early as Std One and being exposed to these comics even before my primary school days...

I remember speaking in an Elocution contest when i was in Standard Six.
But i cannot remember using English to speak to another friend of mine or even my family?

Likewise in my Secondary school, i do not quite remember speaking so much in English other than in the class, i.e. using English as a means of communications.
I was merely using English in my reading part and also in watching tv.

Come to think of it, my longest session in using English whilst conversing was in England and whilst i was lecturing at the Armed Forces Staff College, where we had students from overseas.

Most of the time my spoken English in full sentences is very limited not because of anything else but more of convenience and circumstances....

With so many subtitles on tv, it do disturb my concentartion on the spoken English, because the eye sees faster than what we hear...

Because of all these, Mine Language is a mixture of Malay and English and i dare say that i am good at it.
Like it or not, i do not have any other choice but to use Mine Language or Bahasa Saya...
What's Your Language?

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...

Where have i been?

I just realised that i have been busy. My last posting was weeks ago.
Today is Thursday 9th of July.
I have been missing on my cycling routine and keeping empty promises to my cycling buddies.
It is not that i do not have the time, but more that i have other priorities.
Will try to write in with more substantial news and muses through with my second thoughts, which actually there are many looking at the daily happenings including the lastest No English..and also how Michael Jackson is buried?