View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
Super Mario
Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 1022 Location: Australia, previously China
|
Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 2:04 am Post subject: Has Malaysia mastered EFL? |
|
|
I note there is no Malaysia board here. I'm also aware that Malaysia is one of the largest sources of foreign university students in Australia, but also that many/most of them complete their high school studies [ using Australian curricula] in their home country, rather than making the trek to the Southern Hemisphere, as Chinese and Japanese are wont to do.
So, the question is, does the Malaysian system have something going for it in EFL?
I know that as a former Brit colony, English has a strong hold there, but so do Hong Kong and Singapore, and they both seem to support a healthy number of expat TEFLers. Does Malaysia know something the rest of us don't? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
tedkarma

Joined: 17 May 2004 Posts: 1598 Location: The World is my Oyster
|
Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 2:35 am Post subject: |
|
|
From the UNESCO website:
Malaysia
Official Languages = Malay
Leading languages in daily use = Malay, Chinese, Tamil, Javanese, English
My experience has been that many Malaysians have a good handle on English - though there is a small EFL market there. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
saint57

Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 1221 Location: Beyond the Dune Sea
|
Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 2:47 am Post subject: |
|
|
Quote: |
does the Malaysian system have something going for it in EFL?
|
I have been hired to teach in one of the programs you mentioned. My director told me that the Canadian Program has only about 500 students, but the Australian program has around 2000.
In order to get a work permit you must be older than 26 and have two years of teaching experience. I don't know why they're so strict.
I am rallying to get a Malaysian forum started. I told Dave I would volunteer as a MOD, but my PM went unanswered.
I will know a lot more when I get there in about eight days. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Eva Pilot

Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 351 Location: Far West of the Far East
|
Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 2:52 am Post subject: |
|
|
Malaysia is a country that no longer uses English as an Official Language. Bahasa Malaysia is the Official Language of the country, and all educational and government matters are dealt with using Bahasa Malaysia.
In a Nationalistic way, Malaysia is phasing out the importance of English to promote Malaysian cultural identity. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124
|
Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 10:16 am Post subject: |
|
|
Years ago, whilst inbetween teaching gigs, I worked in international telesales.
The general consenus of opinion was that the country where most people answering the phone spoke English was Malaysia, closely followed by Norway and Denmark.
The reason is that the population of Malaysia is more or less evenly split between Malays and Chinese, with a significant minority of Tamils. The result is that English is needed as a link language, since otherwise there is no way the Chinese speaking half of the population can speak with the Malay speaking part. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Henry_Cowell

Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley
|
Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 7:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Eva Pilot wrote: |
In a Nationalistic way, Malaysia is phasing out the importance of English to promote Malaysian cultural identity. |
Wrong. It is just the opposite today. Bhs. Malaysia is now well established throughout the country.
Malaysia made the mistake of "phasing out" English in the schools starting in the 1950s and now regrets it. English is now being RE-introduced as the medium of instruction for science and mathematics. In time, English might be the medium of instruction in many higher schools. It is already the medium of choice on blogs and other Web sites, including some of the major English-language daily and weekly newspapers. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124
|
Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 8:04 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Hey, Henry, we agree for once. The conjunction of the planets or one of the effects of global warming! |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Henry_Cowell

Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley
|
Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 8:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
 |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Brooks
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara
|
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 1:39 pm Post subject: |
|
|
about half of the population speak Malay and at least 30% speak Chinese.
The Malay government is concerned that people in Malaysia aren`t as good at English as they used to be.
Hong Kong and the Philippines are also concerned that its people are worse at English than they used to be. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Gordon

Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan
|
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 1:51 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Brooks wrote: |
about half of the population speak Malay and at least 30% speak Chinese.
The Malay government is concerned that people in Malaysia aren`t as good at English as they used to be.
Hong Kong and the Philippines are also concerned that its people are worse at English than they used to be. |
Heck after spending so much time in Japan, I'm worried my Engrish isn't what it used to be. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Henry_Cowell

Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley
|
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Brooks wrote: |
about half of the population speak Malay and at least 30% speak Chinese. |
Ethnic Malays and "indigenous" Malay minorities) make up about 60% of the population. They all pretty much are able to speak Malay. The Chinese make up about 25% (speaking various dialects, the most prominent being Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew, Hainan, and Foochow).
However, of the Chinese, Tamil, and other resident minorities, all are required to study Bahasa Malaysia in the schools, so Malay is "spoken" by the great majority of the nation's minority groups (just not at home or with friends), as well as by virtually all the Malay majority of 60%. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
moot point
Joined: 22 Feb 2005 Posts: 441
|
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 9:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Didn't Malaysia start teaching maths and sciences in English from last year? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Henry_Cowell

Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley
|
Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 10:53 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yes. The plan was to go BACK to using English as a school medium -- as it was until the late 1950s. I believe the government started the new English-medium program in 2003, beginning with the secondary schools (STPM).
Lest there be any misunderstanding, many of Malaysia's top universities use English as the medium of instruction in many courses (and always have). The Islamic universities tend to shy away from this practice.
However, "All public universities will also have to switch to English as the medium of instruction in science and technology subjects in 2005 when the first batch of STPM students taught in English enter university.� [Sunday Star, 21 July 2002] |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
nomadder

Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Posts: 709 Location: Somewherebetweenhereandthere
|
Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 12:58 am Post subject: |
|
|
When I was there I met a former Indian and Pakistani who spoke perfect English and didn't know any other language used in Malaysia. Saw some good English bookstores and signs too. There are 3 groups but I guess English must be the connecting language. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
Henry_Cowell

Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley
|
Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 2:48 am Post subject: |
|
|
nomadder wrote: |
I guess English must be the connecting language. |
Actually, Bhs. Malaysia is the predominant connecting language. When a Chinese and a Malay meet in a marketplace, they are mostly likely to complete their transaction in Bhs. Malaysia than in English. It depends on the context. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|