1. New Straits Times Online (http://www.nst.com.my)
Teaching Of Science And Mathematics In English: Police going after protesters , 13 March 2009
KUALA LUMPUR: Police are looking for 22 people in connection with a march to protest the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English last Saturday. The march was from the National Mosque to Istana Negara.
Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Datuk Abdul Samah Mat said police wanted them to assist in police investigations into the case.
They are urged to contact Dang Wangi police head of criminal investigation department Deputy Superintendent Lee Foong Koi at 013-8675507 or investigation officer Assistant Superintendent Suhaimi at 012-6927362.
Some 5,000 people had taken part in the gathering. They defied police orders and proceeded to march to Istana Negara to submit a memorandum to the king to protest the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English.
Police were forced to fire tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd which became unruly.
The crowd split into smaller groups but later regrouped in several other places. Further clashes with police were reported in the Jalan Mahameru area. The gathering also caused massive traffic jams.
22 WHOSE ASSISTANCE IS SOUGHT BY COPS:
• Nasaruddin Mat Isa
• Datuk Abd Samad Mohamad Said
• Prof Dr Shaharir Mohd Zain Hasni Abas
• Datuk Dr Hasan Ahmad
• Datuk Hadi Awang
• Che Shamsudin Othman
• Mohammad Faizal Abd Aziz
• Aizad Mohd Saleh
• Muhammad Haafizuddin Abirerah
• Kamarulzaman Mohamad
• Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin
• Salahuddin Ayob
• Abdullah Hasan
• Suhaizan Kaiat
• Ainon Simo
• Hasni Abas
• Saifuddin Nasution Ismail
• Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin
• Idris Ahmad
• Mahfuz Omar
• Mohamad Sabu
• Rozan Azen Mat Rasip
© Copyright 2009 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
2. Malaysiakini.com (http://www.malaysiakini.com)
(1) Language policy: understanding the brain..., 13 March 2009
by Leekh
Experts in learning have not contributed to the on-going debate on learning science and mathematics in English or in the mother tongue. At least not to my knowledge.
from the this and that and here and there that I heard and have been to, I have a lot of questions to ask of the experts. Maybe all those who actively participating in this debate can also take a look.
As a result of searching Google I am told that we have 100 billion brain cells or neurons in our skull. Everyone who has a friend or relative suffer a stroke knows that different parts of the brain - meaning clumps of brain cells - perform different functions.
So some brain cells help us see/visualise while others help us to hear. We also hear rumours that we are logical on our left and emotional on our right. This is the great divide between the right brain and the left brain.
The right side of the physical body is controlled by the left and vice-versa. Thus, if someone has a damage on the right side of his brain, then probably he will suffer some kind of a disability on his left physical body - like a stroke patient.
Without going into details, let us imagine that all the neurons in our brains are like light bulbs. We now have invented the MRI machines. This magnetic resonance machines can take a picture of the brain.
So let us imagine that when we learn a language, we have the MRI take a picture of our brain. Now we ‘see’ all the neurons light up. That would be the brain cells required for learning your mother tongue. We can postulate that, most probably, if the learners are all learning Malay, the same parts of the brain would light up.
And all who learn Chinese would have different parts of the brain light up. Most probably because the Chinese language is pictorial and in some places your eyes would be going up and down and not left to right. Thus different parts of the brains are used or light up etc.
Alright, maybe it is fair to assume that when a ‘new’ brain is learning any language, certain and similar brain cells are being used. Different parts of the brain may become activated when you learn different languages. Anyone with an MRI for loan?
What would the difference be between the brain of a mono-language learner and a multiple- language learner? Would it be fair to assume that the more languages you learn, the more of your brain cells become activated?
By the same token, we suspect that when you learn maths, different clumps of your brain cells would be used. And different clumps of brain cells are used for history, art, religion, athletics, football, gin rummy etc.
I would like to assume that when you subject a group of students to learn the same set of knowledge or skills like maths, the same neurons would light up. If only I can lay my hands on a MRI machine...
The latest rumour, well actually not so late, has it that when you learn maths or science or history, the brain neurons actually produce different types of chemicals called neurotransmitters. Brain scientists have managed to identify more than one hundred of these neurotransmitters like melatonin, seratonin, dopamine, acetylcholine, norepinephrin etc.
Now, it seems that if you learn maths, the brain cells will have to produce a specific brain chemical for learning maths. So whenever we learn anything or do anything new/different, some new clumps of the brain will be activated.
More interesting is, of course, when the brain comes across something new. It seems that it will search through all the brain cells for all existing information/knowledge or data that is stored and it will start to compare, analyse, jiggle and decide to accept, reject or reorder the new information and file it away for use.
The more information you have inside your brain, the more activities/operations your brain will be running. All this information is on the Internet so I am thinking Google..
Wah. So I type in a word, a Bahasa Malaysia word biologi and within 0.13 seconds Google has dragged up 7,810,000 documents carrying the word biologi.
Wah. I try again and I type in the English word ‘biology’ and within 0.11 seconds, 92,300,000 pages are fetched by Google and served to me.
I wonder what all those experts out there make of learning languages and science and maths?
(2) Trust needed for language policy implementation, 13 March 2009
by Ve Elanjelian
I refer to the Malaysiakini video Malaysia’s education system polarises?
It was indeed a great effort to produce a video that sought to understand the nexus between the national type (the ‘vernacular’) school system and lack of integration among the citizens of Malaysia.
While the video captured a number of contending viewpoints rather well, I felt it failed to touch on the real debate that we as a nation ought to be having ie, how do we provide quality education to our children given our nation’s multicultural, multilingual background?
Research shows that children learn better if taught in their first language, and the longer the medium of instruction in their first language, the better. After all, homes are the first schools; and
parents are the first teachers. Formal schooling builds on the foundation that was laid by parents.
Now, how do we implement that in Malaysia given our multi-cultural background? During the colonial era, it was much easier because we were all living in our own little enclaves but that is no longer true; we increasingly live in mixed neighbourhoods. And schooling becomes an issue.
Take my case for example. I live in Putrajaya and the nearest school, a large complex in fact, is a National School located few hundred metres away. Whereas Tamil Schools – there are three close by – are all outside Putrajaya, around 10 km away.
Will I be considered a Tamil chauvinist were I to send my child to one of these Tamil schools, or a ‘traitor’ if chose the National School complex?
Ideally, there should only be a single system – a national system, which (note this point) will have different mediums of instruction. The Vision Schools, in that sense, are a great concept but like many things in Malaysia, they translated into something else on ground.
The Tamil and Chinese medium schools are treated like a pendatang with limited access and rights. So, it isn’t about culture, really.
We want to give our children a great, well-rounded education that equips them with the skills, attitude and awareness needed for the 21st century workforce. We live in an age where information and facts are available just a few mouse clicks or screen touches away.
So, today’s education shouldn’t be testing students to see if they remember this or that date or fact or definition or contributing factor or, even, consequence. All are easily available (in Wikipedia, for example).
Instead, the system should equip our children with the skills and discretion needed to search, sort, store, analyse, and communicate information.
But sadly, in an age when the debate should be about interactive whiteboards and technology- integrated classrooms, we are still debating about tables and chairs and brick and mortar (very much true as far as Tamil schools are concerned, anyway).
Coming back to my earlier point, even though Malaysian parents are not all that gung ho about culture per se, we do not trust the government and the civil service (both in the thrall of a racialist party for half a century) to protect minority interests, which also include our language and culture.
Language and culture, to me, are the visible markers of our rights. We are hypersensitive because we know – at least we feel -- that once the floodgates are opened, then there is no telling how further marginalised and alienated, we’d become.
To recap, children learn best if taught in their first language; but ground realities complicate. The government could perhaps help – if it could be trusted...
(3) 'English not a prerequisite for success', 13 March 2009
‘Science is a systematic method to acquire knowledge. Learning by heart the English vocabulary that describes scientific facts does not lead to success.'
On Language policy: 'Malaysia will stagnate'
Lian Wee Ler: I would like to offer my opinion on the topic of teaching maths and science in English. My first language is Mandarin Chinese, and I completed my primary and secondary education in a Mandarin language school.
I have obtained a Bachelor's degree and am pursuing a PhD in biochemistry at an English language university in Canada. Here are my views:
1. Learning in English is not a prerequisite for success in science. Science is a systematic method to acquire knowledge. Learning by heart the English vocabulary that describes scientific facts does not lead to success.
Success depends on an understanding of the scientific method, creative thinking, and passion in scientific pursuit.
2. Although knowing English helps us understand the latest scientific publications, at the primary and secondary school levels, what we learn is not exactly the latest.
In primary and secondary schools, we learn all the well-established scientific facts and scientific methods; and the vocabulary required for this is available in all major languages, including Bahasa Melayu.
3. Returning to the topic of achieving success in science, most Malaysian students do not speak English as their mother tongue and I barely passed the language when I first started to learn it in school.
Learning maths and science in English must be hard for most of our youngsters. Making maths and science difficult is not the way to cultivate interest among children in these subjects.
4. Will teachers in our schools, though well-trained, have the ability to effectively teach these two subjects in English? If not, I fail to see the reason why we should educate our children ‘ineffectively'.
5. Finally, guess what? My broken English does not hinder me from pursuing science in an English-medium higher learning institution.
In fact, in my laboratory, the majority of the PhD candidates and post-doctoral fellows don't speak English as their first language.
Neither did they learn science and maths in English while in primary and secondary schools. I speak better English than my professor and we understand each other just fine.
In conclusion, English proficiency is not a guarantee for success in science. Language is a skill, which can be obtained by hard work; but for many people, it is a mission impossible.
Maths and science should be taught in the mother tongue or in Bahasa Melayu. We should ensure that we won't deny our students the opportunity to obtain sufficient knowledge in maths and science, especially for those who will never be proficient in English.
Baiyuensheng: I think it will be shortsighted for the government to revert or review the current language policy for maths and science.
Maybe the original pretext to improve language skills was flawed. I think the main objective is probably is to enhance understanding in these two important subjects and to prepare the students for the employment world.
To stop this now would, in fact, be more of a disadvantage to the Malays generally than to the other communities. The Chinese and Indians are generally more adaptable to languages generally.
The gap between the communities could get wider in terms of education qualifications and employment prospects in the private sector. And the gap between those well-to-do Malays and the rest of the Malays will also widen.
I fail to see how one's identity can be eroded by being proficient in languages other than the mother tongue.
The Indonesian Chinese are fluent in Indonesian and most can't speak Chinese but that doesn't take their identity away.
I talk about this after watching a news clip on TV about a Malay student protesting the use English and complaining of an identity crisis if two Malays speak to each other in English.
Singaporean Malays often speak in English and they are the vanguard of their culture and identity. Is the Singaporean Malay less Malay?
Chris Frankland: The core issue here is the extent to which our younger primary school students, and particularly those in rural areas, are willing to accept English as the medium of instruction, in order to build a solid foundation for later.
For that to happen, you need two things. Firstly, and above all, we need rural primary teachers of English, maths and ccience, who are competent as well as confident in the language, and are able to deliver interesting, interactive and motivating lessons.
Children, even at a very tender age, are very perceptive, and are quick to suss out any negativity or lack of confidence in their teachers, and their inability to offer fun learning. This rubs off quickly on their attitude to learn.
Secondly, we need the parents to be supportive. They need to understand the importance of English in giving their children a good start in life, and a chance to make good in an increasingly competitive world.
Only in this way can Malaysia hope to narrow the gap between the educated urban ‘haves' and the comparatively disadvantaged rural ‘have-nots'.
Jing Yi Lim: It is perplexing to see the ministry of education taking such a long time to deal with this issue concerning the future generations of our country.
After all, this policy has been implemented for so many years and hence it should be evident if the policy is beneficial to students.
Since the pros and cons of adopting this policy have been widely debated across the media, I don't intend to do the same thing here.
But what is worth noting is that some people tend to confuse the fundamental purpose of using English as the medium for teaching maths and science.
It would be naive to think that by using English as the teaching medium, our students' proficiency in English would be boosted. As a matter of fact, the effect would be mediocre.
Most of the technical and scientific terms learned in maths and science class will not be applied in daily conversations. The discussions in class are different from those outside of classroom.
For example, one would suggest to use stove for cooking but not Bunsen burner; one would explain how household expenses sum up in simple language without involving the theory of calculus whatsoever.
On the same note, students do not need to possess a high level of English to begin studying maths and science in English at the lower primary. In fact, a basic level of English is sufficient.
As time passes by, students will find it easier to study maths and science in English when they have become accustomed to the language and have mastered more scientific terms.
A major indicator to show that teaching maths and science in English does not help students master English is the current situation in Hong Kong.
Some columnists have pointed out that college graduates in Hong Kong have no problem with using English to discuss scientific issues but they cannot use proper English in casual conversations.
If we were to enhance the proficiency of our students in English, we ought to go back to basics - allocate more hours for English class, provide better learning equipment, equip teachers with a better level of English and emphasise writing, listening, and speaking in English.
Society Manner: I happen to be one of those who sat for the last LCE, MCE and HSC examinations in Malaysia. After that, we only have the SRP, SPM and STPM exams.
We were in a slightly better position as far as command of English was concerned compared to those who were in school after us.
This was noticeable when we were in institutions for higher learning, looking at our juniors. This was partly due to the reason that science and maths were taught in English during our time.
My job involves human resources matters. I have the chance to see how ‘bad' school-leavers are in their command of English language. You will have to agree with me when you see their application letters.
You can imagine how difficult it will be if they were to further their studies at institutions where English is the major language used.
However, teaching science and maths in English in schools alone will not help the students master the English language. Most students learn the language through other means and not solely in schools.
Certain schoolteachers are themselves weak in English and English still remains not widely used despite having these two subjects being taught in English. More needs to be done.
They are many effective ways to improve the command of English amongst our younger generation while they are still in schools.
If everybody could stop fighting and get to the root of the problem by putting our heads together, for sure we'll find ways to improve our English.
KC Pang: Malaysia is part of the global economy and English is the most commonly used language in international business.
Critics of this issue must understand that for Malaysia to keep progressing so that we can achieve the Vision 2020 vision set by Dr Mahathir, we must be part of the global economy.
Hence, teaching maths and science as well as business courses in English is critically important.
Malaysia is one of the most successful emerging economies, so let's not let politics set us back.
May I borrow the wise words of Dr Martin Luther King: ‘I have a dream, I dream one day where all Malaysians will look at ourselves as Malaysian. No more ‘Malay Malaysian', ‘Chinese Malaysian', or ‘Indian Malaysian', just Malaysian'.
(End)
