Raising proficiency in English pivotal to next gen's future

KUALA LUMPUR: Improving English language proficiency in the country will prove pivotal in improving employment opportunities for our next generation.
Education Ministry secretary general Tan Sri Madinah Mohamad said the future generations need to be equal or better in their English proficiency to compete in the rapidly changing globalised world.
She also added that prowess in the English language does not make one less patriotic, but that it would gain respect for Malaysians when they go abroad because they will be able to communicate and represent the country to the best of their abilities.
“It is relevant because this will give our students a vital push in competing on the global market,” she said.
Madinah added that one of the main goals of the Malaysian Education Blueprint is to rejuvenate and reform the education system in helping Malaysia achieve its developed nation status by the year 2020.

“One of the main shifts is making sure every child is proficient in both Bahasa Malaysia and English,” she said, adding that this includes "upskilling" of English language teachers and expanding the opportunities for more exposure to English.
She said that to do this, it is imperative that a compulsory English Literature component should be taught at the secondary level.
“This will expand the imaginations and passion for reading among students,” she said in her speech at the Sentul Raya launch of the English@CLiC programme to boost English language proficiency in schools around the Sentul area.
The English@CLiC programme encourages teachers and students to improve their command of the language via Information Communication Technology and a Visual Learning Environments (VLE).
Also at the event was Top 50 Global teacher nominee, Yasmin Noorul Amin, who said that the level of the language in the country is average.
“When I went overseas for the Global Teachers prize ceremony, I found that I would not have been able to communicate had it not been for English, it’s the language all over the world. You need a good command of English and not the colloquial ‘Manglish’,” she said.
She also added that the Education Ministry needs to put more emphasis on instilling a reading habit among students instead of forcing them to read.