whimsicaljottings: haha but they speak in romantic italian! who cares what they say if they are whispering it into your ears.. eh? ehh??? miss ng hated me

colin: imo singapore’s BM as the official language is a farce. sure they go all out to learn english and mandarin, but most of them can’t sing their national anthem to save their lives. or understand what it means, even. a bit like a running joke. so why have it there for internal mockery purposes? of course i’m talking about the chinese singaporeans, then again they are the majority in the country. then they should take away BM and install english as the first and official language to reflect the language’s true standing in the country.

moo_t: true. it’s not just what they have to teach, it’s how they have to teach it.

suertes: oh definitely… they had serious english lessons back then! then the authorities made exams compulsary to ‘pass’ and not how they get to ‘pass’ it. honestly speaking, still writing ‘my life as a pen’ when you are 16 is a bit stupid

vincent: don’t look at me, i agree with you

horng: oh yeah. read my earlier reply to suertes

The Envoy: true. since i submitted this blog post to the MoE and they replied back with a reference number, they will be able to read your comment

Paper qualifications merely come second to this. Although many institutions (corporate and otherwise) do, indeed, require English academic qualifications, in the actual day-to-day business, a language certificate means nothing much. If you speak good English during the interview, chances are that some companies might not even inquire after a certificate.

Conversely, if you’re operating your own business, small time (online shop for example), or something bigger (like a store chain): such certificates mean nothing. Only your own skill in the language matters.

All in all, I would conclude that proficiency in the major languages English (foremost), Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese or French is crucial to working alongside with others around you, depending on which part of the world you are in. However, learning more languages would only serve to help better your relations with others and add to your knowledge.

There! That’s my two pence on the matter.

scare to have low pass rate is really intolerable lor. it just like covering up your own mess with a piece of paper where all the dirt still there. shit.

However, some of your readers are confused about BM. No matter what, it is the national language. It is the heritage of this country and we cannot chuck that aside as we learn English.

To those who claim that BM has no use outside Malaysia and Indonesia – neither does German outside Germany, Greek outside Greece, Thai outside Thailand. And Latin!?! Where and who speaks Latin these days?

Language suppose to be another windows to open our view. However, country like Malaysia, Singapore, English are merely a tools to riches, most people just use it, ignore its substances. English can’t make people smarter or creative, it is way of thinking that matters.

But, THINKING MIND ARE DANGEROUS to 3rd world ruling government. That’s why our country teaching method EXACTLY the same as what British colonial system 50 years ago.

It is a common trend : young open minded middle class won’t vote stale-stinky government that held obsoleted ideology.

Why not teach BM for Literature and BM? I agree, in countries like Germany, Korea, Japan, China, their respective languages do help them unite, but the emphasis alone isn’t that. There’s also a role that needs to be played by cultural studies, and parents help here, too. Look at India – Hindi/English is widely spoken, but mother tongues/dialects still stay alive (no thanks to the school system). Look how competitive they are…

Singapore in my opinion is a good example to follow. Official languge: BM. Language used mostly: English (and Mandarin). Method of teaching? English. OK, you can laugh and say Singlish and all, but at least when they go elsewhere, or they are dealing with foreign counterparts, they can converse. No statements like “we have erection every 5 years”, and all.

Rote learning, I’ve heard is a problem in the Malaysian school system. As I was not a product of it, it would be unfair for me to comment, but I’ve heard the horror stories. And no, I never sat through moral studies – again, a by product of me not being part of the Malaysian school system. So my views are a bit skewed, having being schooled in Malaysia, but not with the usual system most people go through…

Learning languages is important. Learning culture is also important. But to some extent, culture needs to be cultivated at homes, not just schools.

It is not just the underdeveloped countries facing this problem. A LOT more needs to be tweaked in our Msian education system. If I didnt speak English at home or loved Enid Blyton to bits, I wonder where I’d stand where English is concerned. Remember Miss Ng who used to G R I L L us with her super long list of English homework every single day?

You know my sister is learning Modern Maths, Add Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics in English and I don’t understand a majority of it, so embarrassing. I have to keep asking her “Er, how do you say this in Malay?” >_<

Need better teachers in school, the old generation of teachers have all retired and the new generation can’t even speak proper English to begin with, how to teach it.