I came back from the 35th edition of the HKSBP three days ago, and remembered a conversation I had with a friend on the declining standard of English especially among schoolchildren. I mean, when I was in uni, we were exposed to the different methodologies of teaching reading, speaking, listening, and writing to our students, but when we came to school, the real battle zone, the picture was different. dramatically.

I've never been one to believe that one should sound American/ British/Australian to be believable, to speak 'good English' . To me, what matters is that as long as people understand what we're trying to say, and we manage to get our message across to our target audience, it's all good. It pains me (and my delicate lil eardrums especially) when students mispronounce words or speak using atrocious English (sometimes just to show off or just to sound sophisticated to others).. cos I believe that as important as it is for the students to get good grades for their SPM exam, it is equally important that they should be able to communicate effectively with people from all walks of life. and frankly, i believe that nowadays, proper pronunciation, grammar, listening and speaking skills have taken a backseat to getting an A in the English paper. Which is sad. Cos at the end of the day, yes, students can get an A. but then again, the A they obtained is useless since they can't even string a single grammatically correct English sentence!

And believe me, it's not easy trying to speak English when the environment around you thinks that 'speaking English makes one less a Malay/Malaysian'. To me, I feel more comfortable speaking English than Malay, since I know I can get my message across more effectively. Yes, in a way, I am fortunate, having learned English since I was an infant. But that should not be made an issue, really. I am as much a Malaysian as someone who speaks fluent Malay. Yes, some people do not have parents who speak and/or understand English at home. But that should never be an excuse. If you want it bad enough, you will make it happen.


Yes, it is important to master the language.simply because it's a tool for communication. I mean, we can't expect people from all around the world to speak Bahasa Malaysia now, can we? And besides, it adds to your X-factor.and makes you more marketable in the job/scholarship market.

well, that's what i think, anyway.