Is it relevant to learn Maths and Science in English to improve English language in our country?
After much argument and discussion, I conclude the answer is NO.
I wonder why do we idolize English so much and ignore our own language. And this statement goes to me as well. Not that I'm not good in my own language but English just seem so poise and elegant and If I write in Malay, everything seem so cheesy...; P (not that my English is that great either).
Anyway, some people argue that we should continue English in Math and Science to improve English (e.g. my mom). The argument is:
- English is the Lingua Franca of the world
- We deal with foreign investors in our country which speak English.
- It will be easier for students when they study oversea or enroll in local University since everything is in English (except UKM)
- Easier for tourist to get around, therefore helps our Tourism promotions.
English is the Lingua Franca of the world, no doubt about it. But when I travel to Beijing, no one, and I'm saying NO ONE can speak English, not even know how to read Latin letters. I only met 1 or 2 Chinese who can speak English. English was no help at all and I have to say, if you come to my place here in Russia, they don't know English either. So really? What is the advantage of studying English?
We deal with foreign investors, but let’s see. Japan, Germany, Russia, South Korea, China, Saudi Arabia. They are great nations with a lot of foreign investors too, but they don't need to know English to become a developed country. People who come to their country need to learn their language instead of the other way around. Isn't that weird? Some of them can speak English better than us, while they learn in their native tongue until they finish school.
The reason for studying maths and science in English for students who will pursue their studies in oversea in irrelevant. For one, there is only a fraction of the world which study in English (e.g. UK, US and Canada). I am studying in Russia, and I have to study in Russian. My friend in Japan is studying in Japanese, Korea in Korean, Indonesia in Indonesian, and so forth... and how many % of students are pursuing their higher education oversea anyway?
Now, let’s see the Cons:
- Primary school students, especially in the Kampung area can't cope. They don't understand shit what the teacher is teaching and it continues to Secondary School.
- Even the teachers can't teach in English. (trust me, I've seen it)
- Decreasing love for our country and language.
- Our nation’s identity is diminishing.
Basically, there's more complications happening after the 1st and 2nd. When kids don't understand, they give up, they do badly in school, can't continue their educations, etc2... what will happen to our nation?
The teacher can't do anything too, because if they teach in BM actions will be taken onto them. They're kind of in a tough situation where they don't want to lose their job but at the same time trying to teach students who don't understand what they're saying.
I told bB, I've seen students in Matriculations who find it hard to study in English because we all did SPM in BM. Then he said, we should change everything to BM until post-graduation courses. Then I told him, we don't have enough sources to study in BM, we have to translate everything. Which he said, it's not hard to do. More work opportunities for translators.
Don't you find it a little messed up that our education uses Malay for primary, secondary education and English for higher education? Why don't use our native language all the way like any other country? Studying in another language won't make you master the language. Trust me, I've been in Russia for 5 years now, I still can't get the grammar right and there's still so many vocabs and nouns that I don't know. It all depends on the individual's motivation, how bad do you want to learn another language.
Then, there's another problem. Since our country has a lot races and native tongue, some can't even speak proper Malay but fluent English and I have to say the same for the Malays. Some can't do both. It is so embarrassing. Where is our nation’s identity? Where is the love for our country?
Why do we present patient during rounds in English? Why do we conduct interview in English? Why do we idolize English so much?
This is just my mind thinking. I idolize and adore the usage of English as well, but I'm a minority who understands English. We should think about the majority. We all are open to have your own opinion.
Happy Sunday! Cheers~
