Attention!! This article is jz an opinion by the author, do not criticize! ;p
Well, i don really like English language, in fact i like Mandarin even more and more. But i'm forced to study TESL.. what can i do? i've to do well, i've to study so that i will be able to compete in my class... So i've to practice my English and that's y u read my blog in English... hurm... yeah though i don like English but i've to admit that this international language is really crucial for those who wanna be successful in their life... of coz i don mean that u will fail if u don master English.. don get me wrong alright.
No matter it's Mandarin, Malay or any other language, for sure u can be successful. But if ur aim is to compete with the world class education, u've to master English, too, i might add. Malaysian Education emphasized on BILINGUAL (+1), i.e. Malay+English. The (+1) means besides these two languages, u might can study another language, i.e. Mandarin or Tamil. Learning a language more than the others do is not a loss, but a gain. It makes u have another advantage and possibility of having a more cozy life in the future. Non-Chinese around u might sending there kids to a Chinese School, for the purpose of giving their kids an opportunity to master another language.
It's sad to see the MOE Malaysia had discontinued the PPSMI program. I remember that it was my batch who first involved in PPSMI in 2003. U cant deny that all the universities, either it's private or public, either it's local or oversea, are using English as their main medium.(mostly la). Okay maybe it's too high level, we move down a bit to PRE-U: Form 6 and Matriculation. Well here i don say much of Matriculation, personally i dunno how it works and it's not my recommendation too. To enter a better university u will need a STPM certificate, for sure, unless u go for A-Level or other pre-university program. For science subjects, STPM only offers it in English language. So i can say it's a pity la when u finish ur spm, where u studied all in a different language, and enter form 6, where u need to study all the related subjects in English, with low-English-proficiency. U'll jz have to start everything, again. U cant only start to learn English when u study at Pre-U level, it makes u face a more difficult challenge, well except for genius, no doubt.
Recently, i received the news of the trainee teacher who study in IPG, DOES NOT necessary to take the Malaysian University English Test (MUET). oh wow... oh wow... really "WOW"... IPG offers undergraduate programs. Making MUET not compulsory only bringing those undergraduate students to a lower level of English proficiency. Yes, IPG does offer few compulsory papers like EL Proficiency, these papers' level similar to SPM level at most, I don expect these papers help much in improving the language. Who knows u might be promoted to an international course in England, if u cant speak well, show me how u wanna socialize with those students there?
U cant jz say "I hv to do this bcos i like it" nowadays, u hv to know the current condition on the Earth. To be able to survive in this world, mastering English language is a MUST! U must do it although u don like it, like me. As i said at the beginning, i don like English too, the reason i wrote this is neither bcos im a TESL student nor i like English. But as MOE said to achieve a world class education, we must master English, and we should.
P.S. For reference only
By a trainee teacher of IPG