S’pore teachers to teach us English? Well, perhaps but …

Listen first. Sometimes three-minute experts just throw criticism on social media. The facts are wrong. What I discussed with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, is to introduce a volunteer scheme, paid by the Singapore government, to go to urban poor areas, rural areas, and the interior of Sabah and Sarawak to teach English.

Let’s be fair to our government, or rather Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. I am referring to recent news reports in the national media about the Prime Minister’s request for Singapore educators to teach English in Malaysia.

He had asked the island republic’s visiting Premier Lawrence Wong recently to send teachers to our rural areas, villages, and the interior of Sarawak and Sabah to teach English.

No sooner had the media reported Anwar’s proposal than his comments were met with backlash by netizens on social media, with some saying “he was not respecting his own people”.

The proposal also received brickbats from educationists and parents, who blamed the government for the declining proficiency in English. The National Union of Teaching Profession rejected the proposal, arguing that there are more than enough locals who could do the job.

A reader in his letter to a national news portal questioned Putrajaya’s proposal when he asked: “Have we finally reached the bottom of the pit, where a population of 34 million cannot source its own English teachers but has to reach out to a six million-people neighbour for resources?”

Nevertheless, with critics being a little too quick on the draw over the proposal, Anwar was forced to clarify his proposal, stressing Putrajaya was only considering taking in ‘volunteer’ teachers from Singapore to teach English.

He said the volunteer programme would not only boost English proficiency but also improve bilateral ties between Malaysia and Singapore.

“Listen first. Sometimes, the ‘three-minute experts’ will simply make claims on social media and all their facts are wrong. The assumption is that we are appointing English teachers from Singapore. That is wrong.

“Recently, I met with Lawrence Wong and discussed several matters, including establishing an aid scheme from Singapore or getting volunteers, fully paid by the Singaporean government, to go to rural areas, villages, and the interior of Sabah and Sarawak to teach English,” Anwar said.

“These included the possibility of establishing an aid scheme from Singapore or getting volunteers, fully paid by the Singaporean government, to go to rural areas, villages, and the interior of Sabah and Sarawak to teach English … it is a ‘diplomatic move’ between countries and does not mean that Putrajaya wants to hire English teachers from the republic.

“There were some who said I am trying to ‘bring in Communists’ from Singapore. We offer it to all countries. Luckily, I am the prime minister. If not, I would have flared up. So, don’t be so quick to shoot off, to attack, and end up being wrong in your criticism,” he said

It was good of the Prime Minister to come out with a quick clarification or else the issue would have escalated, and knowing how politics works in this country, opportunist politicians would have capitalised on the issue, further worsening the volatile situation.

Initially, I too joined the bandwagon of critics against the proposal, thinking that the government was disrespecting local teachers; Anwar’s clarification, however, should now let the matter rest. After all, the volunteer Singapore teachers would be paid by their own government.

Which reminds me of the Peace Corps Volunteers serving as teachers in our country in the Sixties. Well, if the Singapore volunteers are paid by their government, there is no harm done for them to serve Malaysia, especially in rural areas of Sarawak, where many of our own teachers are unwilling to serve in.

Having said that, what’s the long-term solution to the English teacher shortage issue? The problem is not recent; it has been around for decades. True, many of our teachers are not proficient in the language, with some hardly able to construct a proper sentence.

How do we tackle the problem? I think, lies in recruiting retired English teachers, as pointed out by former minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, who is very much still active in her own ways, offering suggestions on and solutions to issues affecting society.

“Why not get retired teachers in Malaysia with English teaching experience and proficiency? Many of them are available …,” she was reported as saying by local papers.

Rafidah suggested the teacher training syllabus should be revised to include competency in English, which can be done through the expertise of the retired teachers.

She asserted the school syllabus should include English proficiency.

English language education in Malaysia is certainly not on the right path. For example, those who graduated with high cumulative grade point averages of 3.80 in TESL (Test of English as a Second Language) still have a poor command of the language.

Back in the 1960s, we were taught English by native speakers who understood the language and by proficient speakers who underwent teacher training so they could teach it. In the 1990s, we were taught English by teachers who had grown up with parents and teachers who had learned English from native speakers. They too spoke very well.

Along the way, a change in the teaching medium from English to Bahasa Malaysia and a growing economic divide caused many more to lose out on the opportunity to learn English at an early age.

Over the years, we began producing graduates with a poor command of the English language. And these graduates are the ones taking up courses to teach English. As long as the proficiency level of our English teachers is not fixed, our nation will continue to face this problem.

Those who decide to teach English do not have a firm grasp of the language, and this is where the problem lies. For the last 20 years at least, our students have been taught English by teachers who speak and use the language poorly.

So, what are the solutions?

The first is to only allow fluent English speakers to become English teachers. There are many Malaysians who speak very good English; they are the ones who should be trained to teach English – not half-baked teachers who hardly speak in English!

Another solution is to make it mandatory for anyone wanting to teach English to take an English proficiency course, something like when one wishes to study in France, for example, to learn French for a year, pass the exam, and only then be allowed to take up a course.

Therefore, if our policymakers are serious about tackling the shortage of English teachers, they should fix the English proficiency of those who want to teach English first. Later, compel them to learn the rules and methodology of teaching the language. Only then will Malaysian students benefit from learning from proficient English language teachers.

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