JOHOR BARU: Diffidence stemming from a want of knowledge and consequent inability to frame their thoughts are most likely the root causes of Malaysian undergraduates not wanting to use English in public discourse.
Despite 11 to 13 years of primary and secondary school education during which English is taught, varsity students are not equipped to speak confidently in standard English though they can get by with colloquial English.
Manglish (English distorted by the Malaysian slang) is favoured by them when speaking with peers.
Amirah Hanani Nor Shah, currently pursuing a course in Social Science Language and Cross Cultural Communications at the National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM), said: “Most of my friends speak Manglish and sometimes switch from Bahasa Malaysia to Manglish and back again.”
The 20 year-old said many of her friends are simply not confident enough to use standard English, adding that “they fear they may make mistakes when speaking.”
That fear inhibits their ability to speak standard English.
The first year student, who is from Johor Baru, explained: “They do not know what is awaiting them in the workaday world in terms of English proficiency.”
According to another undergraduate, Gan Wei Nye, 24, who is majoring in International Business at Universiti Tunku Abdul Tahman (UTAR), a student speaking in standard English is apt to be perceived as being elitist or superior.
“Most students don’t want these labels because they will feel isolated,” she opined.
She said undergraduates depend on each other for sharing notes, for companionship in revision exercises, and for research.
“They are comfortable with their mediocrity,” she observed.
Amily Lee Chee Hui, 22, from HELP University said, “The effort to break the taboo around standard English is not something students are willing to undertake.”
Lee, who is studying Mass Communications, is of the opinion that by speaking Manglish, they are understood and what they want to get done, gets done.
“Students just don’t read. They only read their textbooks and email messages,” said Lee, presently in her third year.
She pointed out that as much as speaking English was important for economic and occupational reasons, it was more important for Malaysians to speak and understand English as a language of culture.
Meanwhile Sasikheeran Hariharan, 21, who is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Science, majoring in Geology, said many undergraduates simply can’t speak standard English and this has put them out of the running for jobs in a wide range of industry.
The third-year student at University Malaysia Sabah said: “This makes them virtually unemployable because Malaysia is a trading nation and the connectivity with the regional, continental and global market place is strong”.
“English is the language of international business. Even the Chinese and Japanese, with pride in their own languages, accept the fact of English's importance,” he stressed.
Sasikheeran, who hails from Penang said given the disinclination to read beyond their textbooks, students have only newspapers and magazines as reading materials.
He said that curiosity about what is going on in the world may prompt undergraduates to read the news, whether it is in printed form or in digital text.
“This of course leads to an improvement in their comprehension and speaking skills,” he added.
Reading newspapers and digital text would have to suffice for these people who in any case are not interested in reading as a general interest.
This can result in an improvement in their command and comprehension of the English Language but not in deepening their understanding of English as a language of culture.
The latter requires familiarity with the dramas of William Shakespeare and other formidable writers of English literature.
To expect students to include these authors in their reading list is to expect a beginner at swimming to dive-in at the deep end.