Perkembangan terbaru isu Bahasa Inggeris dan PPSMI

Nampaknya kepimpinan baru di bawah Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia sedang mengambil langkah positif untuk memajukan Bahasa Inggeris di Malaysia. Caranya ialah dengan meletakkan syarat WAJIB LULUS Bahasa Inggeris dalam SPM.

Aku setuju dengan cadangan ini dengan syarat PPSMI DIHAPUSKAN.


Oh ya, Prof Dr. Farida Habib Shah (dulu UKM, sekarang kat UTAR) ada membuat soalan susulan mengenai PPSMI untuk sama-sama fikirkan. Antara petikan surat beliau ialah:

#1
From my observation, Science graduates from UKM ( yang dilatih dalam BM sepenuhnya) were never at a disadvantage, as the good ones (with good grades) went on to do their postgraduate studies in Britain, Australia, etc. At no time did we feel that our students' capabilities and scientific knowledge (content) were compromised because of the medium of instruction.

#2
So, let me put the questions to parents (mostly in urban areas) and the relevant authorities: why this obsession with teaching 6- or 7-year-olds and older children Science and Maths in English when the medium of instruction of education is Malay or (in vernacular schools) Chinese and Tamil? If Chinese schools have decided to maintain the teaching of Science and Maths in Chinese, why can't the national schools teach in Bahasa Malaysia?

#3
Why teach Maths and Science in English? What do we expect these students to achieve? Do we want to teach Science and Maths so that students competence in English will improve as an additional important language? Or do we think that by using English, the students' command of Science and Maths will improve?

#4
There must be a clear focus on English language goals as well as goals within the command of Maths and Science curriculum. If it is the former, then teaching Science and Maths is not the solution. If it is the latter, then it is again not true. If it is the former that we are worried about, surely the answer would be to teach and learn English as a second language. We can increase the teaching hours for English from seven to 15 hours per week, change the method of pedagogy, teach more grammar and communication skills, etc.

#5
On the other hand, those who think that Science and Maths are better taught and learnt in English are not aware that Science and Maths are not learned by memorising facts.

Ok, ini sebahagian. Selanjutnya sila lah baca sendiri di SINI

Kelihatan semakin ramai SAINTIS dan PAKAR memberi pandangan masing-masing tentang isu ini. Kesimpulan awal, isu PPSMI bukan isu remeh yang boleh dibincang tanpa sebarang nilai akademik.

Mudah-mudahan Timbalan Perdana Menteri merangkap Menteri Pelajaran membuat keputusan yang tepat.

~peja~