The Historical Background to English Language Education in Malaysia

Chapter 2: The Historical Background to English Language Education in Malaysia

he aim of this chapter is to explain how the present English language programme came to be the way it is, and to ascertain our starting off point for future developments.

We trace the development of the education system as a whole, with the focus on language education and on English language education in particular. The perceived purpose of education has changed fundamentally over the decades, and taking into account changes in the perceived purpose in response to changes in the outside world, we can divide the historical account into four main periods (Zuraidah Mohd Don, 2014):

1. Before Independence

2. After Independence

3. Globalisation

4. The contemporary situation Our concern here is not just with historical facts, interesting

in themselves though these may be. We need to understand the circumstances that led from one historical period to another, in order to understand the contemporary situation with sufficient depth to make informed plans for the future. A matter of particular interest is what sort of people education was intended for, and what sort of education they were given. The material is presented in such a way that we can now learn and benefit from our own educational history.

English language education was first introduced to the future Malaysia – and indeed to South East Asia – on the opening of the Penang Free School in 1816.

In tracing the history of education in Malaysia, we are not Institution 2 . Following the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, Penang and concerned with mere historical facts, but to look for clues Singapore were joined by Melaka to form the Straits Settlements, which point to the main historical issues, including who receives

and 1826 saw the foundation of Malacca High School. There are education, and what the education involves. This enables us to

few details about the curriculum taught at this time, but we do place current initiatives now taking place in the fourth of these

know that these schools were open to children regardless of race periods – including this roadmap – in their historical context, and

or religion, and that Malacca High School admitted girls as well as build on the successful initiatives of the past.

boys, followed in this respect in 1844 by the Singapore Institution. The Straits Settlements were at this time governed by the

2.1 Before Independence

East India Company, and would be affected by Macaulay’s Minute on Indian Education of 1835, which introduced English language

English language education was first introduced to the future education to India. British interests in the region extended to Perak following the Pangkor Treaty of 1874 Malaysia – and indeed to South East Asia – on the opening of the 3 , and eventually the

Malay College was founded in Kuala Kangsar Penang Free School in 1816 4 1 . Soon afterwards, in 1823, Stamford in 1905.

Raffles founded the Singapore Institution, now the Raffles

1 http://www.pfs.edu.my/ 3 D.G.E. Hall (1994) A History of South East Asia, p. 595. London: Macmillan. 2 http://www.ri.edu.sg/

4 http://www.mckk.edu.my/

English Language Education Reform in Malaysia The Roadmap 2015-2025

Students could take the Cambridge Overseas School Certiicate groups with an international outlook and excellent English, drawn Examination, and go on to such higher education as was available from all races, and including men and women. anywhere in the Empire. Local higher education began with the

Some education was available for Malays in Islamic schools and Medical School in Singapore which was founded in 1905, and later

government-funded village schools known as sekolah pondok ‘hut became the King Edward VII College of Medicine before merging with

schools’ (Mior Khairul 2011, p. 35). These schools typically provided Rafles College to form the University of Malaya. The outcome was

four years of education in practice, in contrast to the oficially claimed that long before the foundation of present-day Malaysia, high quality

seven years, and used Malay as the medium of instruction for reading English language education was already in place and open to children

and writing, simple arithmetic, and geography (Ozay, 2011). This of all races, and at least in some cases open to girls as well as boys.

was a practical kind of education designed to provide poor children Although English-medium schools were open in principle to with the knowledge they would need to follow in the footsteps of all ethnic groups, they depended in practice on the population their parents and grandparents as farmers or ishermen. within their catchment areas. Since they were typically located

There were also rapidly growing immigrant groups including in towns, they recruited mainly from an urban and substantially

Indians recruited to work on the estates, and Chinese workers in Chinese population, and included many fewer urban Indians and

the tin mines. For children in these communities, it was important urban Malays (Ozóg, 1993). The introduction of English language

to maintain ties with their home country, and this was achieved education had the effect of creating a largely urban privileged class

through elementary education. As in England, those interested drawn in different proportions from each community, but ultimately

in providing education were allowed to set up their own schools separate from the rest of the community (see e.g. Asmah, 1995).

(Powell, 2002; Watson, 1980).

Having English as a common language, Malays, Indians The education system was thus made up of different strands

and Chinese from privileged backgrounds would share more of with different educational goals and brought about by different

their values and way of life with each other than their separate initiatives. Chinese schools in towns benefited from financial

communities. English was already becoming associated with support from private individuals and organisations, and from

economic opportunity and social mobility, and taking on the role the assistance of mainland Chinese authorities concerned with

of the language of prestige in education, law and government. The Chinese education overseas, which gave them access to the

long term consequence of this is that Malaysia still has privileged long term consequence of this is that Malaysia still has privileged

a new nation with Malay as the national language (Ozay, 2011). China. They remained independent until the introduction of

We now take for granted that education should be available for the registration of schools in 1920 (Kua, 1999, pp. 23–37) which all children, whether their families are rich or poor, and whether brought them under government control. they live in the town or the countryside, and that education should

For the Indians, by contrast, a rudimentary Tamil education give children from less privileged backgrounds a better start in life. was provided at primary level by rubber estate owners, often in

In the United kingdom, the 1944 Education Act made provision for dilapidated buildings. As Asmah (1993) points out, some of the

free secondary education for all children up to the age of 15, and teachers sent from India to maintain ties with the old country paved the way for mass higher education later in the century. This were ill trained, and the education did little more than prepare the

came alas too late for British Malaya, for the final years leading up children to work on the rubber estates.

to independence were dominated not by education but by national security. It fell to the new independent government to usher in

In the later nineteenth century, the government in London

post-primary education for all 5 .

began to take more seriously its responsibility to educate all of its people. This was reflected in a new attitude that emerged after the formation in 1895 of the Federated Malay States, and the

2.2 After Independence

establishment of vernacular schools for the Malays, including a limited number of secondary schools.

The government that took over the newly independent Federation of Malaya in 1957 was faced with a seemingly impossible task. Apart

An important figure at this time was the Malay scholar R. J. from the substantial minorities that would have to be catered for,

Wilkinson, who having been appointed Acting Inspector of Schools the new government was facing the internal troubles known as the

in 1899, set out to provide the new Malay schools with libraries Malayan Emergency. In 1963 the former British territories of North (Lim, 2008), and went on to serve as Federal Schools inspector Borneo and Sarawak were added to Malaya to form Malaysia. If the

from 1903 to 1906. Wilkinson promoted publications in Malay, and new country was to survive at all, it was essential to bring these

established a Malay Literature Series for schools published by the disparate and far-lung populations together to form some kind of company that in 1906 came to be known as MPH. The influence

5 According to the former Minister of Education, only 7% of the population had secondary education or more in 1957, compared with 76% in 2013. Source: http://

www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/muhyiddin-education-blueprint-to- put-malaysia-within-top-countries, 9 November 2013. Accessed 25 April 2014.

English Language Education Reform in Malaysia The Roadmap 2015-2025

Sekolah pondok or ‘hut schools’ typically provided four years of education in practice, in contrast to the officially claimed seven years, and used Malay as the medium of instruction for reading and writing, simple arithmetic, and geography.

national unity. This situation posed a major challenge for education in independence in 1957, Malay was officially given the status of the general, and for language education in particular.

national language under the terms of the Malaysian constitution, while English was to be the co-official language for ten years.

English was still needed for practical reasons, but as the former During this period, English was to be used for official purposes colonial language it was singularly ill-fitted for a role in creating amongst others in Parliament and in state legislative assemblies. national unity. The only language which could do this was Malay.

Just before independence, the Razak Report of 1956 proposed that The Rahman Talib Report of 1960 took an important step to English should be retained at least for a time, but that Malay should

raise the status of Malay. Although English was retained alongside

be phased in as the national language, particularly in education and Malay for use as the official languages of education, the ultimate in connection with government, for example as a qualification for

intention was to make Malay the main medium of instruction entry into government service (Gaudart, 1987).

(Gaudart, 1987). Public examinations at secondary level were to be in English or Malay, so that other schools were put under

The report also proposed education at secondary level, pressure to adopt English or Malay as the medium of instruction.

with either Malay or English as the medium of instruction. English remained the medium of instruction at tertiary level. On

The Education Act of 1961 went further, and foresaw “an The consequence of the legislation was that English was educational system in which the national language is the main medium

replaced by Malay as English-medium schools were converted to of instruction” (cited by Gill, 2007, p. 114). The emphasis was now

Malay-medium schools, and reduced to the status of a language clearly on Malay as the national language and as the medium of taught as a school subject and used in universities for the teaching instruction. The co-oficial status of English was brought to an end

of science and technology. The next generation went through their by further legislation in 1963 and 1967, although it was retained for

education in Malay, and as a result had less access to English than certain oficial purposes in education and administration.

their parents. The inevitable outcome was a decline in national standards of proficiency in English, and as Asmah put it (1983, p.

Following the events of May 1969, the decision was taken 338), “It is unrealistic to aim for a level of proficiency equivalent

to replace English by Malay as the medium of instruction, and to that attained by students in English schools when learning and to convert English-medium schools to Malay-medium (Gaudart,

teaching is done in Malay…”.

1987). According to the Second Malaysia Plan of 1971, Malay was to be introduced progressively for the teaching of all subjects apart from English and other languages, in primary schools by 1975 and

2.3 Globalisation

in secondary schools by 1982 (Asmah, 1985, p. 42). By a historical accident, the phasing out of English in Malaysia

The 1970s saw the implementation of ideas developed earlier for a national education system which provided for “national schools” using

coincided with two other developments, namely the rapid Malay as the medium of instruction alongside “national-type schools”

improvement of the education system, and accelerating globalisation. The growth of education in Malaysia enabled many people to obtain

using English, Mandarin or Tamil as the medium of instruction, but

a good education and even gain entrance to university, with the including English and Malay as compulsory subjects (Asmah, 1985,

pp. 41–42). Malay took precedence over English following the New result that the number of qualiied people rapidly increased. Education Policy of 1971, and in 1983, Malay became the oficial

The creation of a generation of educated young people medium of instruction in institutions of higher education.

meant that Malaysia could aim higher, and raise its profile on the international stage. The new climate was epitomised by Vision 2020 put forward in 1991 by Tun Mahathir Mohamed during his

English Language Education Reform in Malaysia The Roadmap 2015-2025

time as Prime Minister, with the aim of getting Malaysia recognised Those who were disadvantaged most by the new requirements as a developed nation by the year 2020.

for English were young people who had benefited from the extension of education to the extent of obtaining academic

It was clearly recognised from the time of the Razak Report qualifications, but who discovered that the English they had learnt in 1956 that Malaysia would continue to need English. The Third at school was not sufficient to get them a suitable job or support Malaysia Plan (1976 – 1980) included measures “to ensure that English them in their careers. The switch to Malay made little difference is taught as a strong second language” (Government of Malaysia, to children from wealthy families, because they could still be sent 1976, p. 386), in order “to keep abreast of scientiic and technological abroad for an English education. Nor did it make much difference for developments in the world and to participate meaningfully in many people whose need for English was minimal in any case. international trade and commerce ”(p.391). According to Gaudart

(1987) although intentions were expressed in national plans and Scholarships enabled some bright children from less privileged elsewhere to train teachers and maintain standards of English, there

backgrounds to go to residential school and obtain a quality grounding were no actions to put the good intentions into effect.

in English, but for many, insuficient English proiciency was to prove

a serious handicap. Nor was the problem shared equally between Since the 1980s, increasing investment by multinational the town and the countryside. A quarter of a century ago, Rosli and companies had created a growing need for skilled workers, and Malachi (1990) found a huge difference in performance in English since these companies used English, their recruits also needed

between rural and urban schools, so that the extension of education English. The international requirement for Malaysians able to

to rural areas had done little for the poor.

communicate in English at an international level was increasing at the very time when the phasing out of English as the medium of instruction was reducing national levels of proficiency in English

2.3.1 The return of English

and the number of Malaysians able to use the language effectively. The problem was that without sufficient English, it was becoming

In the new century, English was to be brought back for the increasingly difficult for educated people – including teachers and

teaching of Mathematics and Science, and then phased out again. academics – to perform appropriately or even to obtain employment

Policy changes were clearly required, as low levels of proficiency commensurate with their qualifications and aspirations.

in English were making it difficult for Malay-educated graduates to in English were making it difficult for Malay-educated graduates to

... there was no step-by-step or

The supply of textbooks, whether by writing original

year-by-year changeover schedule

textbooks in Malay or translating them from English, had not

as was the case when the English kept up with demand; and since the textbooks and the results of

scientific research were written in English, the best solution was

schools were converted into Malay-

for Malaysian students to use English textbooks. The new policy

medium national schools. Nor

Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa

was there any warning given to

Inggeris ‘the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics

teachers, parents, textbook writers,

in English’ (“PPSMI”) required Science and Mathematics to be

and publishers on the change that taught in English with effect from 2003, and applied from the first

year of education to tertiary education.

was suddenly to come. Teachers instead experienced hands-on The success of the policy would depend on the ability of teachers

to teach Mathematics and Science in English; but most teachers

on-the-job training in teaching

belonged to the generation that had been educated in Malay, and

these subjects in English and

would therefore need special training in English. Textbook writers

retired teachers fluent in English

educated in Malay would also need training in English.

were brought back to teach in the

Students would need sufficient proficiency in English to

schools. Textbooks were written

benefit from being taught in English. The teaching of Mathematics

as the teaching proceeded.

and Science would need to be closely monitored to check that the new policy was yielding the improved results hoped for, and that mechanisms were in place to deal with any problems that might arise in the course of its implementation.

English Language Education Reform in Malaysia The Roadmap 2015-2025

2.3.2 The reversal of policy

Teachers were also forced to teach in Malay to help students understand the subject matter better. This problem was especially

In the longer term, the manner in which the PPSMI policy was prevalent in the rural areas, and a widening gap in academic

introduced may have compromised its viability and implementation. performance for both subjects emerged between the rural and

Asmah (2007), for example, commented on the haste with which the urban areas during the period of the implementation of this policy.

PPSMI policy was implemented, which resulted in poor structural implementation:

A second change of policy was made public on 8 July 2009, in the face of immense pressure from mother-tongue education

… there was no step-by-step or year-by-year changeover lobbyists and despite support from urban educated Malaysians, schedule as was the case when the English schools were

when the Education Minister announced that the teaching of converted into Malay-medium national schools. Nor was there

Science and Mathematics in English would be phased out from any warning given to teachers, parents, textbook writers, and

2012. Students who had started learning these subjects in English publishers on the change that was suddenly to come. Teachers

would be allowed to continue to do so until they completed instead experienced hands-on on-the-job training in teaching

Form 5. The government adduced research findings and public these subjects in English and retired teachers luent in English

consultation outcomes to argue that the teaching of Mathematics were brought back to teach in the schools. Textbooks were

and Science in English was not effective.

written as the teaching proceeded. (pp. 355–356). Having themselves studied Mathematics and Science in Malay,

2.4 The Contemporary Situation

the majority of teachers were unable to conduct effective content- based teaching and learning in English. According to the Ministry

The reversal of policy which took place in 2009 meant that of Education (2010), many schools continued to use Malay despite

some other means had to be found to make an appropriate response the PPSMI policy in the teaching of both subjects. The problem

to the continuing challenge of global English. The response – or identified by Asiah Sharif (2013) was that the teachers lacked rather the series of responses – that was made has already been

proficiency in English. described in some detail in the first section of Chapter 1, which traces the provenance of this document. Our perspective here is proficiency in English. described in some detail in the first section of Chapter 1, which traces the provenance of this document. Our perspective here is

from 2015 until 2025, each wave having a different focus (see the English Language Education Roadmap in Section C).

The first step was to formulate the new MBMMBI policy to redefine the respective national and international roles of English

The MEB stimulated a number of initiatives designed to put and Malay. English is now increasingly viewed as a facilitator some flesh on the bones, and aiming to improve learning on the of economic development. The repositioning of English as the part of students, or teaching on the part of teachers, or both. driver of national development and global competitiveness under

Many initiatives were of course already in place, and some of these MBMMBI policy coincided with the implementation of a number

were continued. The main initiatives are listed in the Editorial of National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) under the Government

Introduction to Section B, and some are mentioned in the chapters Transformation Programme (GTP).

of that section.

Given that the objectives of many NKRAs are related to In order for any reform of our education system to succeed, it is national economic development, much emphasis has been placed essential to pay attention to quality. The first step was to evaluate on programmes to enhance the teaching and learning of English, the quality of the existing English language education system, and especially under GTP 2.0, with the intention that English should

this was done by commissioning a baseline report from Cambridge contribute more effectively to the economic well-being of the English. The outcome of the study was that the existing system country. It may be that, in this new role, English will carve out a more

was benchmarked against international standards by means of stable and strategic position in the Malaysian education system.

the CEFR, so that the system was henceforth de facto open to international comparison and so to external quality evaluation.

The new policy led to a comprehensive review of the Malaysian education system undertaken by the MoE in October 2011, the

While the MEB was in preparation, approval was given eventual outcome of which was the Malaysian Education Blueprint,

for the establishment of the English Language Standards and the “MEB”, which appeared in September 2013. The MEB identifies

Quality Council (ELSQC), which came into being in 2013. The eleven shifts which need to be undertaken in order to transform the

establishment of this body put in place an internal mechanism education system. The shifts most relevant to English language

for quality assurance. The ELSQC was given the task among its education are discussed in Section C. The programme of reform

many responsibilities to “prepare policy papers, concept papers,

English Language Education Reform in Malaysia The Roadmap 2015-2025

proposals papers, information papers and executive summaries”.

2.5.1 The changing purpose of education

It was therefore fitting that the first major task assigned to the When evaluating education systems and policies, it is necessary

ELSQC was the preparation of this Roadmap for English language to start with the purpose of education. The contemporary purpose

education in Malaysia. of education may be so obvious to us that it is scarcely necessary

to make it explicit; but later generations have to reconstruct

2.5 History and planning: why history matters

it according to the evidence that happens to have survived. An abundantly clear finding from the study of earlier education

It has been said that the only lesson to be learnt from the systems that the purpose of education is not fixed, but changes in study of history is that the lessons of history are never learnt. In

the course of time.

the present case, in our attempt to reform the English language All governments need a workforce to carry out the business

programme, we have in fact much to learn from the history of of government, and one of the real-world goals of education is

English teaching in our country. Moreover, we have to understand to produce people who can do government work. When Britain and learn from our own history if we are to devise an effective had an empire, one of the purposes of the public schools was to reform plan for the coming years. produce an administrative class for service at home and overseas,

There are three important lessons to be learnt. The first is and those stationed in Malaya set up schools of the kind with which that education, including language education, has a purpose, but

they were familiar to educate local people in their own image. this purpose is not fixed and immutable, and changes in the course

The government needed workers proficient in English, and so of time. The second is that in order to understand contemporary English was the medium of instruction. Independent governments problems, it is essential to approach them in the spirit of historical

after 1957 also needed a government workforce, but they faced realism. The third lesson concerns the important moral aspect of

the pressing question of national unity, and this is reflected in a education.

change of emphasis in education policy to contribute to nation building.

Further change followed the challenge posed by globalisation In order to understand why, it is essential to grasp the concept towards the end of the century. In this new situation, the perceived

of discontinuous change (Handy, 1989). There is likewise no purpose of the national education system is to contribute to specific point in time when English ceased to be the colonial national goals, and this is the driving force behind the agenda-

language and began to be the global language, or when it ceased driven planning model for English language education outlined in

to be in the national interest to phase English out and it came chapter 1. The reform of our English language education system

to be in the national interest to phase English back in. But when has to be undertaken in order to provide our young people with the

the change has been completed, we can look back and see that a English language skills they need to maximise their contribution to

change has indeed taken place. And when we look back, we see national goals.

with the perfect 20-20 vision that comes with retrospect. Change does not happen suddenly, and even the British

Of course while the change is taking place, things are not so Period did not come to an abrupt end on 31 August 1957 to be

clear at all. We can now look back and see clearly that Malaysia‘s replaced by the Independence Period on 1 September. There was

need for English was going to increase rapidly to meet the time to prepare for and manage the changes that would follow

demands of globalisation. We can also see that Malaysia would independence. Changes began to take place after the Second need a workforce able to use global English not only for external World War, and were reflected in the Barnes Report of 1951, and

purposes, but also – as globalisation came to Malaysia – within the the change was not completed until the phasing out of English

country itself.

many years after 1957. The successful management of change includes awareness of

Similarly, globalisation did not happen overnight, but took place its discontinuous nature, and acting proactively as change is taking incrementally over a long period. There is, of course, no speciic point

place instead of delaying a response until the change has been in time at which an independent Malaysian language policy took over,

completed. In this connection, it is greatly to Tun Dr Mahathir’s or when English became a global language, although in both cases it

credit that he became aware of the major changes that were taking is clear in retrospect that a major change has taken place.

place in the global status of English during his time as Prime Minister.

English Language Education Reform in Malaysia The Roadmap 2015-2025

We now have in place the educational infrastructure to Malaysian government has raised standards of mass education to the support the reform of English language education, starting with

extent that it is now taken entirely for granted.

the MBMMBI policy and other developments reported above, and Governments in the decades following independence are we are ready to implement reform. Understanding the changing routinely blamed for the decline in standards of English which

nature of education enables us to grasp the problem we are trying followed as an inevitable consequence of the language policy. The

to solve. We are no longer trying to solve the problems of the past, context in which this has to be seen is one in which the government

and we are preparing our young people to compete successfully in was seeking to create a nation out of disparate and far-flung

the world of the future (see e.g. Chapter 8). populations; and while there is a long list of newly independent

nations that have fallen apart in the course of the last fifty years, Malaysia is mercifully not on that list.

2.5.2 Historical realism

It is not logically possible to criticise the language policy without When we compare the present with the past, we have to start

at the same time implying that the government should not have set with a realistic understanding of conditions in the past. A typical

as its priority the creation of a viable nation. Again, the main story unrealistic approach is to look back with the benefit of hindsight,

is one of success and not one of failure. If English had not risen to and see with perfect clarity the shortcomings of past times.

global dominance in the way it has, we might well now be praising It is true, for example, that the British authorities only provided

the phasing out of English as a great success.

rudimentary primary education for the rural poor in the period before

A matter that has to be considered seriously but critically is independence; but mass secondary and higher education across the

the routine complaint that standards of English in Malaysia are in a world is a product of the second half of the last century. Equally

state of chronic decline. If this is true, then it follows logically that unrealistic is the opposite tendency to look back to a past when all

there must be at least one sector of Malaysian society that has was well, and students learnt their lessons and did their homework,

experienced the decline. The historical question we have to ask is and teachers knew exactly what to teach and how to teach it. These

which sector or sectors of Malaysian society this applies to. two together contribute to the prevailing but unjustiied negative

evaluation of the state of Malaysian education. The real story is one As observed above, when we trace the history of education in of progress and success, for it is a matter of fact that since 1957 the

Malaysia, we have to ask who was receiving it. Education before Malaysia, we have to ask who was receiving it. Education before

from social backgrounds without the same advantages.

and it would be difficult to argue that their standards of English Although the purpose of education has changed over the

have declined. decades, this does not mean that what young people need to get

The introduction of mass education has given students from out of their education has changed. Education involves very much less privileged backgrounds who in previous generations would more than transmitting to the next generation the content of have had no access to English at all at least some opportunity to

academic subjects. Young people need to be prepared for the adult learn it. Although the results may be regarded as insufficient, it

world in which they are going to spend their careers and live their would be impossible to argue logically that standards of English

social lives. This includes the soft skills that have traditionally been among the unprivileged have actually gone down. This leaves the

associated with education, and in the case of English it includes people in the middle. It is surely this group that has benefited most

the ability to use the language interactively in real social situations. from greater access to education.

The expansion of our education system has led to the social Far from experiencing a decline, it is in this group that the mobility expected of a modern education system, but the greatest advances have been made since 1957 in raising standards

provision of academic content needs to be complemented by the of English. It is very unlikely that there has been an absolute rest of personal education. This is the context in which we have to national decline in standards of English, which would mean that the

consider the problem of graduate employability.

number or proportion of Malaysians able to use English effectively There is only a problem at all because of our success in creating

has gone down over the last fifty or hundred years. When people mass higher education, and enabling larger numbers of young

complain about declining standards of English, what they are really people to study for a degree. When access to higher education

talking about is a relative decline. is restricted to the privileged, then of course graduates have

As in other countries, mass education creates opportunities at the command of English and other social skills associated with the top. The school leaver who would formerly have worked in a

privilege. The few ordinary people who get into higher education shop is now at university, and the bright youngster whose ambition

are under pressure to adopt the manners and style of those from was formerly to teach in the local school is now a university more privileged backgrounds.

English Language Education Reform in Malaysia The Roadmap 2015-2025

Those who need support most urgently are perhaps those young people from less privileged backgrounds who have the potential to escape from poverty but who now find themselves vulnerable on account of their lack of proficiency in English.

The introduction of mass higher education, however, has had same time as opportunities for bright young people are greatly the inevitable consequence that some of the new graduates will

increased, it is inevitable that some of those drawn into teaching have the academic ability to get a degree, but not the social skills to

will have less opportunity than their predecessors to develop the succeed in an international world formerly and to some extent still

language proficiency and teaching skills that they need to perform dominated by privilege. The failure to provide the new graduates

effectively in the classroom.

with the English skills they need undermines to a considerable The education system is clearly succeeding if young people

extent the success of the extension of higher education. from humble backgrounds are enabled to go into teaching and

Similar arguments apply to the familiar complaints about other professions; but their education needs to prepare them for standards of English teaching. When the education sector is the role they are expected to play. Social mobility could, taken out small, and opportunities for bright young people are limited, of context, give rise to the widespread impression that standards of bright young people from favourable social backgrounds will go

English are in chronic decline among graduates, English teachers, into education, bringing their social skills with them. But if, as and others. There might even appear prima facie to be objectively has happened, the education sector expands massively at the measurable evidence of decline.

If the University of Malaya recruits students from privileged beyond repair, then there is no solution to be found. On the other backgrounds, standards of English in the university will be very

hand, if we accept that we have a system designed a long time ago high; but if the university recruits students on merit, including for a purpose very different from the one required in the twenty- students from less privileged backgrounds with no tradition first century, then the solution is to reform our present system and of speaking English, then the mix of new students will include bring it up to date. some without the traditional high levels of proficiency in English.

Many countries have much the same problems as Malaysia, Students from privileged backgrounds who cannot get into the

and thanks to research undertaken over the last 70 years or so, University of Malaya will still have good English, and so the overall

there are internationally known solutions already available for us net effect is a national rise in standards of English.

to use. The whole of our English language programme has to be The real problem is that our standards of English have not kept

benchmarked and aligned to prevailing international standards, pace with the advance of our own education system and the social

and these are de facto defined by the CEFR, which is the topic of advance that it has helped to bring about. From a national point

Chapter 3.

of view, what is important is that young Malaysians have much It is also known that the key to a top-performing education greater opportunities open to them than former generations. An system is to recruit a high calibre teaching force, and this is dealt

optimist will point to the increasing number of graduates, while with in Chapter 9. In sum, the important lesson to be learnt from

a pessimist will point to their inadequate English; and both will history is that while we face a difficult task, it is not an impossible

be right. The supply of teachers must also be seen in the wider one. We have to build on the successes of the past, and complete

historical context. It is easy to complain about our teachers and the task of creating a top-performing English language education

lose sight of the important fact that we have succeeded in building

system as part of a world class education sector.

up a large teaching workforce that makes universal secondary education possible.

Tracing the problem to a failure to keep pace has important consequences for the solution we adopt. If we take the pessimistic view that our present English language system is broken and

English Language Education Reform in Malaysia The Roadmap 2015-2025

We have to ensure that the new programme enables children from poor rural backgrounds to succeed in English, that the style of teaching and learning is appropriate for boys as well as girls, and that the programme makes equitable provision for children from different ethnic backgrounds.

2.5.3 Education and morality

and sometimes conflicting legitimate interests, but also with

a horizontal stratification with different layers made up of the The third lesson is that education has an important moral side.

privileged, the poor, and those in between. The first group has The provision of education is unusual and possibly unique in its

always been able to look after itself, and can continue to do so moral consequences. It is not a zero-sum game, so that one party

without government support.

gains at the expense of some other party, but creates a win-win situation, in which both education providers and those provided

The word school derives from Greek skhole meaning ‘leisure’, with education have much to gain as a result. Even though the

which reflects the fact that until very recently, only the rich had provision and extension of education may initially be motivated by

the leisure and the means to obtain and benefit from an education. practical real-world goals, the implementation of an enlightened

Today’s privileged children can be sent abroad to the UK or education policy brings with it substantial moral benefits.

Australia to enjoy a complete English language education. Malaysian education policy has not only to provide for

The poor, especially the rural poor, who traditionally had very diverse groups within the population, each with their different little access to education, need support, and while much has been The poor, especially the rural poor, who traditionally had very diverse groups within the population, each with their different little access to education, need support, and while much has been

2.6 Conclusion

no longer take the condition of the poor to be part of the natural order of things, or take for granted that the children of the poor will

It is something of an irony that as educational standards follow in their parents’ footsteps, without the hope of improving

have been forced up by economic necessity and other practical the conditions in which they live.

considerations, the scope for developing the moral side of education has greatly increased. Mass education provides the government

While it might seem from their way of life that they have little or no need for English, this is not true: these are the very people

with a more effective workforce; but a quality education system would also enable young Malaysians from humble backgrounds

for whom English has most to offer in providing opportunities for – almost certainly for the first time in history – to improve their

a better life. It is therefore a matter of concern that the baseline study found significant differences between urban and rural and

situation in life.

remote schools both in performance in English, and in provision for In planning changes to our English language programme, we English language education.

have to understand and address the problems that we have inherited The life chances of children in the middle group are reduced

from our history. We have to ensure that the new programme enables children from poor rural backgrounds to succeed in

by their insufficiency in English. Without the growth of this group English, that the style of teaching and learning is appropriate for

there would be no problem at all, especially if Malaysia were boys as well as girls, and that the programme makes equitable

content to survive indefinitely as a sleepy nation growing rice and making nails. A problem only exists because Malaysia has with good

provision for children from different ethnic backgrounds. Taking

a moral approach, and balancing the national advantage with the reason come to demand more of itself, and has greater ambitions,

needs of the students themselves, is built into the very fabric of which are to be achieved by satisfying the needs of the middle

group and enabling them to contribute to national development. the Education Blueprint, and is accordingly taken for granted in the preparation of this Roadmap.

The three important lessons to be learnt from our educational history lead to three important insights to guide the reform of our English language system. The first is that the task we face is to build

English Language Education Reform in Malaysia The Roadmap 2015-2025

something new. Whatever the merits or demerits of our existing system, it was designed for the decades following independence, and we now have to design a system to respond to the demands of global English in the twenty first century.

The second insight is that if our current provision for English is perceived to be inadequate, it is because the teaching of English has failed to keep up with the advance of our own education system. The solution to this part of the problem is in our own hands, and we have every reason to be confident that we can solve it.

The third insight is that we can make the greatest contribution to the national economy, and bring about the greatest benefit to the people of Malaysia, by concentrating on the needs of the most vulnerable groups in the population, so that by taking advantage of education they cease to be vulnerable. These include the poor, and those in rural and remote locations. Those who need support most urgently are perhaps those young people from less privileged backgrounds who have been able to take advantage of the advances in our education system, and who have the potential to escape from poverty for the first time in our history, but who now find themselves vulnerable on account of their lack of proficiency in English.

English Language Education Reform in Malaysia

The Roadmap 2015-2025