AFTER viewing three videos released by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), I am not surprised that our students still have a poor command of English.
The problem has been going on for more than two decades.
Recently, I had the opportunity to have breakfast with an ambitious young man.
While working in the public sector, he is pursuing a four-year course in Psychology on a part-time basis.
He is in his third year, but to my surprise, his command of English leaves much to be desired.
A year ago, I met a doctor who didn’t seem to understand what “bone density” meant.
Before my retirement more than three years ago, I interviewed graduates whose command of English was so weak that they couldn’t convince me that they could handle the job, let alone communicate with foreign clients.
I was once a victim of poverty and family neglect, which caused me to fare poorly in English.
Unable to catch up with most of the subjects taught in English in the 1960s, I dropped out of school at 13 in 1970.
I realised the importance of this global language, which is the lingua franca of the scientific community.
My children and I managed to build a strong foundation in English.
This enabled them to complete their studies in United Kingdom master’s degree programmes.
A self-taught student, my daughter achieved the fourth best ranking worldwide in 2009, beating 6,710 candidates.
My son, who went on the same path, also performed well and received a gold award as top scorer in 2010.
They were both employed by international firms upon graduation.
Studies have shown that language is key to effective learning.
To learn a new language, one has to start from young.
A child would not be burdened by bilingual and trilingual exposure.
I urge parents to not wait for the Education Ministry to implement an effective programme to address the English proficiency problem among students.
If you can afford the fees, send your children to international schools or employ home tutors.
This is especially so during the children’s formative years.
n PATRICK TEH,Ipoh, Perak