Don't butcher the English language!

It seems that English proficiency in Malaysia is not up to standard. A long time ago, the standard of education in Singapore and Malaysia were on par with each other, and with the rest of the world. English proficiency was high and a given, if you went to school in either of these countries.

Then, the Malaysian government decided to change the medium of instruction in schools to Malay, the national language, instead of English. Malay proficiency soared. Malaysians of every race spoke Malay fluently, but at the expense of English. Somewhere along the line, policy change made teaching of Science and Mathematics go back to English. Now, the goal is to get all Malaysian students proficient in English by 2016. Ambitious. I salute them.

I am not here to comment on a nation's education policies. All I want to say is that English is a universal language that is necessary for survival. My South African friend always said this:

We all speak one language around the world: bad English.

Funny? Maybe. True? Yes, indeed!

Regardless of what language you are learning, I suggest that you try your best to learn it as well as you can. Let's not insult any language by butchering it to unrecognisable bits in the name of "I can communicate; isn't that enough?" I respect every culture, even though I may not like every part of their culture. Language is an integral part of a culture. Let's be respectful and learn it well. The same goes with English.

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