English again..

i was 'shannel-surfing' in the car this morning on the way to work, when i stopped at this Malay radio station (i think it was Hot fm). there was this caller who was speaking English, telling the DJs that it is good that the English subject be placed at this importance.

it caught my attention, so i settled and listened to what was going on.

apparently, the issue was about the policy that the government wanted to implement. the topic for the 'morning-call-in-forum' was 'Mesti Lulus Bahasa Inggeris Jika Hendak Lulus SPM. Setuju atau Tidak?'

to me, i agree whole-heartedly. 

yes, you may say that i am biased, without thinking about people di 'luar bandar' which schools are lacking QUALITY english teachers. and that, because of this policy, these students will not be able to pass their SPM, and wont be able to work in the future. this policy could only work in towns or cities where the teachers are more qualified and that the parents can send their kids for tuition.

i think all that is Hogwash!

there are 2 ways of changing things - gradual or radical.

i think gradual is no longer applicable in this matter.

it has to be radical.

and you may say that it is easy for me to say this, as it does not and will not affect my kids.

true, but then again, think.

our grandparents and our parents came from the village. and they were educated with the English education background. 

i didnt see anyone die out of learning english.

actually, i do see alot of the older generation prosper. they may not have degrees or masters, but they sure can speak their mind eloquently!

when will everyone start to realize that this is beneficial for everyone?! that English is the Universal language, and this is done to help our young generation, regardless where we live in?!

let me share with you a story:

i graduated from UiTM Shah Alam in Food Quality Management. UiTM has always been a University that lectures in ENGLISH. And it has been beneficial because all of our reference books in the library is in ENGLISH. And it helps because in the era of the internet, you can actually use journals and papers online that will more often than not be in English!

i also have classmates who come from 'sekolah berasrama penuh' who have aced their SPM, and yet they had difficulty in scoring because they didn't know how to express in English (all our exams are in English) 

they didnt have trouble learning, because they understood what they were reading. but when it came to application questions, they were slumped. they didnt know how to express! and this is because they didnt have the vocabulary to be able to write down their answers!

there were only 4 people in my class that graduated with a First class degree. i am one of them, and it became an issue with some of my classmates, as they felt i didnt studied hard enough to earn it. 

but then again, how they answered was by MEMORISING the whole text, and writing every single word down, before 'blanko-ing' whatever that was not relevant to the question. smart?! no!

(as i re-read what i have been writing, i realise that i digress)

anyways, back to the topic....

i still think English is the best way to go....i mean, for the sake of discussion, lets say, you didnt pass your english, but then you managed to get into University. then you spend 5 years to get your degree, graduate, only to find that NOBODY wants to hire you since you cant even speak well in your interview!

then!? whose fault will it be?!

it wont matter if you get a hell of a CGPA, if at the end ofthe day, you cant ever persuade your future-employer to hire you!

sigh. 

i rest my case.

************

somethimg cute:

my aunt stopped by one of the rest stops along the highway approaching Alor Setar. 

a man came beside her in the shop and ordered:

"Ayaq Lemu Belaga 2!"

Guess what drink was he ordering?!

RED BULL Drink!!!

hahahhahahahha!

will write more about Aloq Setar soon!