Moving linguistic mountains

BY THAASHAA DIVEENA

In my previous article, I had mentioned about English in Malaysian education on the surface. I do have to mention this though: there is more to it than what meets the eye.

Malaysia took part in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for the first time in 2009. It serves as an international survey to determine the performances of 15-year-old students in Reading (English), Mathematics, and Science.

This is an excellent gauge to determine the competencies of students. The crux of the matter, however, is that the PISA scores in Malaysia have shown a massive inconsistency over the years.

Meanwhile, English has been made a compulsory subject for students to obtain a pass in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination since 2016. Unlike PISA, English scores in SPM have shown a promising consistency over time.

Fret not, though. Enhanced strategies can be implemented to maintain academic progress for both PISA and SPM. Never try, never know, right?

Teachers can include past year papers as revision materials, where students can practise them collectively during class hours. Incorporate more reading activities in the classroom as well.

An excellent initiative which was done many years ago, especially during my schooling years, is the inclusion of newspapers in education. They were given out to schools to enhance English lessons. Examples include The Star and News Straits Times. Teachers can use them as a part of their lesson plans too.

Practise both old and new formats of SPM past year papers in class. This idea may appear to be unconventional, but it can surely improve overall English proficiency.

I recall the time my English teacher handed out worksheets from the British Council as an in-class practice. Teachers can utilise such materials as well, whereby practice papers from other countries can be used.

Many of them tend to take the mandatory SPM pass requirement too lightly, causing them to laze around. That would lead to an unsatisfactory English proficiency, resulting in further damage in the long run.

They will struggle when they pursue further studies, apply for a job, and even communicate with others on a daily basis. Therefore, it is important for every student to put their shoulders to the wheel too.

The educational community can up their game to enhance English in Malaysian education. Parents can converse more in English with their children. Families can gather and watch English movies and shows every so often, and listen to more English songs as well.

Meanwhile, if parents have suggestions on improvements that can be done in the school for their children, they can voice these ideas out to the respective Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru (PIBG) body of the school during annual meetings.

If approved, schools and educational agencies can highlight them to the Education Ministry. After all, everyone can collaborate extensively to make English in our nation’s education system up to par within Malaysia and beyond.

Technology in education has truly taken over the world by storm, especially in this day and age. A wide number of online learning platforms were created over the years, and digital technology has truly paved the way for enhanced English language education.

An online learning platform known as Frog Virtual Learning Environment (Frog VLE) was introduced to all schools in 2012. My teachers and batchmates used it frequently during classes on individual Chromebooks connected to the school’s internet.

It catered to various learning styles and caught our attention with its layout consisting of quirky fonts and bright colours alongside various features. The pages were easy to navigate too.

We were able to complete tasks provided by our teachers anytime and anywhere at our own pace. We were also able to personalise our dashboards, upload files, watch educational videos, play different games and view community posts as well.

For teachers, task allocation and evaluation were made so much easier. For parents, they were able to stay updated with school events, PIBG reports, notices, forms and so on.

Frog VLE was abolished in 2019 and is now replaced with a new learning platform. During the same year, MOE Digital Learning was launched, and in 2020, it was renamed as Digital Educational Learning Initiative Malaysia (DELIMa) in 2020.

DELIMa is another online learning platform for school students, and this time, along with its enhanced features, it has also included Matriculation and Form 6 syllabi. It was created thanks to the massive collaborations between Google, Microsoft, and Apple.

DELIMa serves the same benefits as Frog VLE, but what makes it stand out is the addition of various educational tools and materials. Some of them include Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications such as ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot, and Google’s Gemini. Other resources include digital textbooks, EduWebTV videos, and online worksheets, just to name a few.

It truly revolutionises digital education, and facilitates communication between educators and learners. If used wisely, it can truly improvise English language acquisition.

With the domination of English in our country’s education system, there are a few noticeable bumps on the road.

The endless debate on balancing the promotion of English proficiency and preserving the heritage of Bahasa Malaysia continues when forming language policies. This occurs especially when writing plans on elevating the status of Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction in educational institutions to foster stronger national identity and inclusivity amongst Malaysians.

Therefore, it is crucial to embrace linguistic diversity and harness the best benefits of English proficiency simultaneously. By doing so, students can thrive in a rapidly evolving global environment by equipping themselves with adequate skills.

The evolution of English as an integral part of Malaysia’s education system underscores its dual functionality as a stimulant of global connections and as a catalyst for discourses on cultural identity and equity in education. By embracing linguistic diversity and advocating for inclusive educational practices, Malaysia can leverage the transformative power of language to empower future generations and advance national development objectives in the 21st century.

• Thaashaa Diveena is currently pursuing a degree in Teaching of English as a Second Language (TESL) and is based in Kuala Lumpur. She offers online English classes for national school syllabus students.

The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.