MAGPIE'S MESSAGE

Dear Concerned Citizens of this country,
On Wednesday 8 July 2009, The Star Newspaper Reported that:
The Cabinet has decided that the medium of instruction for Maths and Science will revert to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and mother-tongue languages in national-type schools from 2012 onwards.

The reversal of the Teaching of Math and Science in English (PPSMI) policy will be done in stages, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said on Wednesday.

Beginning 2012, students in Year One and Year Four in primary schools, and Form One and Form Four in secondary schools, will learn Math and Science in Bahasa Malaysia.

The change will not affect those in Form Six and Matriculation.

COMMENT:
By the way, since the above report , the reversal has been fast- tracked to start in 2011 instead of 2012.
One just wonders if the reversal was made solely by considering the welfare of the students and the country at large or due to another reason/s known best to the policy makers.
As our beloved Prime Minister had said it again on 31 Mar 2010, " THE ERA OF THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS BEST IS OVER".
So much has been said that teaching science & maths in English improves the usage of the language, gives students an early exposure to the key terms & tools necessary to plug into the unfolding potential in this area. with our Prime Minister's Slogan " RAKYAT DIDAHULUKAN, PENCAPAIAN DIUTAMAKAN" the Government will listen to us if all of us are willing to stand out and be heard.

MAGPiE IS ACTIVELY PURSUING THIS MATTER & HAS TAKEN STEPS:
1. WORKED WITH THE PTA’S , PARENTS & STUDENTS OF SUPPORTING SCHOOLS ON A SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN- WHERE 15000 SIGNATURES WERE COLLECTED;

2. PARENTS WILL PUT FORWARD A RESOLUTION AT THEIR COMING PIBG AGMS TO RETAIN PPSMI IN THEIR SCHOOLS;
3. GAVE COPIES OF OUR MEMORANDUM TO THE MALACCA MP.S & THE CHIEF MINISTER OF MALACCA.
4. GAVE A MEMORANDUM TO THE PM ON 19/1/2011 FOR THE OPTION TO USE PPSMI IN PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS IN MCCA.


PLEASE LET US JOIN FORCES IN EVERY STATE AS ONE VOICE TO MAKE THIS A REALITY !
IF NOT US, THEN WHO?
IF NOT NOW, THEN WHEN?

TOGETHER WE SHALL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!


CHAIRMAN
MAGPIE

Sunday, April 25, 2010

MALAYSIANS SHOULD BE PROUD OF THERI ENGLISH HERITAGE

Language: Bring back British English

HUSSAINI ABDUL KARIM, Shah Alam
letters@nst.com.my
2010/04/15

I HAVE a friend, Prof Dr Gerhard Leitner -- an honorary member of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, the Free University Berlin, and the Department of English Language and Literature, Habelschwerdter, Berlin, Germany -- who has been following the current development on the study and teaching of the English language in Malaysia.
He noted that "Malaysians should be proud of their English heritage".

"What I have seen is that the Malaysian government is calling for a return to British norms and that they want to bring in native teachers, including Australian ones.

"That doesn't make much sense since they (Australians) don't speak British English," said Prof Leitner, who will be speaking at University Malaya in July this year.

There must be a lot of confusion about the access to all sorts of English in Malaysia, such as American English and Australian English.

We have also developed our very own local forms. At the same time, we need to meet the demands of English for international participation.

We, therefore, should, as Malaysians, go back to our original source and develop our English based purely on British English.

Says Prof Leitner: "I see similarities with Europe, where the direction of going for forms or not is difficult. But we don't have local forms that would request legitimacy.

"However, there is a lot of talk about European English (in the EU institutions that are reaching out into the business world) and when I listen to our students in Berlin who come from Spain, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Africa, the Middle East and also from Britain and US, there is diversity.

"So the fight for good and against bad English is hard, to say the least. Lingua franca English may indeed be a way to go."

I agree. Lingua franca is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic history or structure of the language: though pidgins and creole often function as lingua francas, many lingua franca are neither pidgin nor creole. Synonyms for lingua franca are "vehicular language" and "bridge language".

Whereas a vernacular language is used as a native language in a single speaker community, a vehicular language goes beyond the boundaries of its original community, and is used as a second language for communication between communities.

For example, English is a vernacular in the United Kingdom, but is used as a vehicular language (lingua franca) in the Philippines.

Therefore, the best, most practical and cheapest way to teach or re-teach our students English language at primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, would be to bring back our retired British-trained English teachers. They understand our culture and, most importantly, the needs of our students much better.

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