tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010953641145956608.post7566159858214268688..comments2024-01-18T05:08:18.454-08:00Comments on Borneo Expat Writer: Quick Fixes Never Work - Borneo Post, 10 July 2009Borneo Expat Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15657806224924444058noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010953641145956608.post-41893886523980531492009-07-25T00:38:00.932-07:002009-07-25T00:38:00.932-07:00Ina,
Thanks. Yes it's a sad state of affairs. ...Ina,<br />Thanks. Yes it's a sad state of affairs. We're starting the children off on the wrong foot by giving them an English teacher that can barely speak English and clueless about grammar and sentence structure. It's always this, ah, never mind lah. Then these same students show up in the university level Band 1 and 2 and are equally clueless by grammar, and no doubt they'll, by default, become teachers too and this vicious cycle continues for another generation... <br /><br />Yes, by all means link by blog! All the best.Borneo Expat Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15657806224924444058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010953641145956608.post-56215002963990074522009-07-23T05:25:53.039-07:002009-07-23T05:25:53.039-07:00Dear Sir,
I totally agree with you on several poi...Dear Sir,<br /><br />I totally agree with you on several points. First, university students should at least get a Band 3 in Muet to be able to study in universities. Not just sitting for it like they're doing now. Please do some justice to the exam. If you do not want to use it, just abolish it! Anything is possible in Malaysia, right?!! <br /><br />I've examined candidates for Muet who could hardly converse in English and was terribly shocked and saddened when I found out that he/she was teaching English in the primary school. The education system needs people of quality to be teachers not quantity!<br /><br />I wish somebody 'up there' would consider the future of their fellow Malaysians instead of just thinking to save their own skin politically. <br /><br />Thank you Sir for sharing the passion for the future generations. Is it okay if I link your blog to mine? I'll wait for your permission before I link. Thanks.Inahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14708745847160040979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010953641145956608.post-33344635222177004262009-07-18T00:28:21.924-07:002009-07-18T00:28:21.924-07:00Thanks for the link. Enjoyed your blog. It's...Thanks for the link. Enjoyed your blog. It's very true. There are proven ways out there to teach English with good results. Find one, stick with it. But without properly trained teachers the language will continue to go nowhere very fast despite the great infrastructure they aleady had going for them. Teachers will continue to get burned out and will always find more money elsewhere -- like teaching tuition to the very same students they should be teaching English to in school.Borneo Expat Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15657806224924444058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010953641145956608.post-89631252020082474852009-07-17T17:23:46.655-07:002009-07-17T17:23:46.655-07:00Nice post, Robert, which I agree with on many poin...Nice post, Robert, which I agree with on many points. As an English teacher, I recently posted on this issue too. <br /><br />Hope you'll check it out at: <a href="http://rightreads.com/2009/07/10/raising-the-standard-of-english-in-malaysia/" rel="nofollow">Raising the standard of English in Malaysia</a>Kithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05063799051007038906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7010953641145956608.post-82804891075100559642009-07-10T17:33:00.374-07:002009-07-10T17:33:00.374-07:00When I referred to English not being compulsory I ...When I referred to English not being compulsory I was referring to the PASS -- an oversight. It was a rushed article brainstormed and written in a couple of hours to meet someone else's deadline. What's the point of making a subject compulsory if they don't need to pass it! We teach students at the university level who have taken compulsory English since primary school (and tadika) and it seems to have zero effect on the weaker students when it comes to speaking, writing and especially grammar! The vast majority of students we get at Unimas have a Band One and Two in MUET! Without that compulsory pass, we'll continue to get the same results!<br /><br />People assume that compulsory English means compulsory pass to get their SPM. Don't be faked out by this. Very, very misleading. I was shocked to find this out recently, and my son went through the national schools! I just assumed compulsory means compulsory! They have to take it and pass it! <br /><br />In Malaysia, it does not. It's called lip-service. We can proudly say to the world that English is compulsory, but for Malaysians, never mind lah, you don't have to pass....This is an incredible injustice to Malaysians. If they had to pass it, they will. They'll learn it. Parents will see to it, otherwise they will not get their SPM. Talk to their parents and grandparents who learned it way back when. They speak and write with eloquence. Give this new generation the same opportunity and they'll thank you for it for the rest of their lives -- better pay, better opportunities for them and their families.Borneo Expat Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15657806224924444058noreply@blogger.com