Apparently, 2014
was the last time I posted on my blog. It was incredibly 7 years ago, peeps! Well,
the only excuse that I can think of right now is that I have been tied up at work. Nope,
I am lying. I am such a lazy bum. Here are a number of controversial issues of
the importance of English mastery brought up by typical Malaysians.
Issue 1: I am Malaysian who lives in Malaysia. What is the point of
knowing English, then?
Education aims at preparing
young Malaysians for a better tomorrow – not for the sake of exams! Pupils at
school normally find their future unpredictable or else they will never have a
hard time selecting elective subjects for upper secondary curriculum.
Meanwhile, only if students at university ever knew what exactly they would do
for a living in the next five years will they never grumble for taking the
wrong course either.
Some jobs demand employees with a good command
of the English language – no question! Thus, learning English at an early age
is a must! Enrolling for an English course when they have grown up later is
possible yet it is not always a good idea.
Issue 2: English is our colonial language!
Living in the twenty-first
century, Malaysians should no longer have such a mentality. Think of English as
a great opportunity to help boost the country's economic growth i.e. tourism.
We play a 'small ambassador' role in our home country. Our small effort lending
a helping hand whenever some holidaymaker asks for directions to some tourist
destinations is considered such a big help to the country. Even better, we are
able to share useful info regarding the cultural diversity, local cuisine as
well as the preaching of Islam!
Issue 3: Most Malaysians speak Malay!
Do we really need a listener every
time we speak? Think again. Actually, not necessarily. When having a bad day,
we tend to whine, grumble or even curse and it need not have people around,
correct? So why don't we do it in English instead?
For instance, 'Ah, I'm
knackered! Need a rest soon'.
This might sound simple to you but when we keep
it in practice, we shall definitely see the change after a while. What about
saying several English phrases while conversing with somebody? For example;
Eg 1. 'Aku dah tolong ambil
buku kau tadi.' 'Oh, thanks!'
Eg 2: 'Jom pergi shopping,
nak?' 'Let's go!'
It is not a sin to do so, is
it?
Issue 4: Some people can be so sarcastic sometimes when I speak in
English to my children.
Honey, those children are
yours. Screw them! Have faith! Your children will not have trouble learning
English at school later – but please keep in mind that your children should
speak Malay as well. Let them be bilingual, at least. Growing up in Malaysia,
we shall not worry pretty much about their Malay mastery since the
Malay-speaking environment certainly helps! So, take it easy.
Issue 5: A lot of Malaysians speak Manglish.
In my view, learning British
or/and American English is best. The truth is Manglish is not the correct
English, so why bother? For the record, British English is taught at Malaysian
schools and that Malaysia was a British colony is the reason why. Even so,
school seems to have already accepted both Englishes lately. Besides, who cares
if we would rather speak American than British English anyway? Don't you think,
in the end, to get the message across really counts?
Issue 6: Some Malaysians can be a brutal grammar nazi!
These things happen.
Nevertheless, that does not mean we have to stop speaking in English. Grammar
mastery helps us convey our message more precisely, be it spoken or written
English. But we know it does not take 24 hours to master it. It can be months
or even years. So, all we need to do is never ever give up our learning.
These
days, there are numerous learning resources to choose from. Examples are Youtube
videos, educational websites, reference books – you name it. Everything is actually
at our fingertips! Even better if you can afford an English course and I would
say, 'go ahead!' Learning grammar does help us speak better English. Isn't that
what we are after?
Issue 7: It is so hard to imitate British accents!
Oh well. Does it matter? For
the most part, if Malay is your race, your accent most probably sounds Malayish
while speaking. To me, the main focus should be on pronunciation. Learn to
pronounce every word as accurately as possible. Use Google for help. Why is that?
Because after all, our hope is to get the message across when we talk. Whilst
mispronouncing too many words can only cause either misunderstanding or
misinterpretation.
Hopefully, I have just left
something for you to contemplate. Who knows? My views could be the answers that you have
been searching for. Look on the bright side and stop being pessimistic! With
that, all the best!
Love,
Mohd Khairul Anuar
B.Ed TESL (Hons), UIAM
