Malaysian English teachers expected to reach fluency of native speakers by 2020

PUTRAJAYA: English teachers in the country are now expected to achieve a level of fluency in the language to match those of native speakers by 2020.
Education Ministry English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) director Mohamed Abu Bakar said about 52% of Malaysia's 40,000 English teachers are considered proficient under the Common European Framework Reference (CEFR).
They are currently graded C1 (proficient) while and the goal is to have all English teachers achieve a grade of C2 (fluent) by the end of collaborative efforts with Cambridge English (CE) to improve English teaching and learning in the country in 2020.
Mohamed said the remaining 48% of teachers are at the B2 level, which means they can only read, write, and understand English well enough to function and communicate.
He said training has already begun and he is confident that the target will be met.
"Training is going on (to reach the target by 2020). When our teachers graduate from universities their level was already quite high.
"But because of postings and working in rural areas, and teachers not using the language often enough, you will lose the language along the way," Mohamed said.
He was attending the Education Ministry's signing ceremony with CE and the launch of the English Education Reform 2015-2025.
Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid (pix) said the Cambridge standard represents the best in English and to be able to work with the institute is an honour.
With the English Education Reform, he said, the government aims to establish a sustainable and high-quality programme that will turn Malaysians into the best English speakers in the region by focusing on several aspects.
These are increasing students' language proficiency, increasing teaching proficiency, streamlining English curriculum and assessment with international standards, and improvement teaching and learning materials.
The signing was attended by Deputy Education Minister I Datuk P. Kamalanathan, British High Commissioner to Malaysia Victoria Treadell, and CE chief executive Saul Nasse.