Out of Ferocity Comes Curiosity

I got called by my bank earlier this week because I was late in making a payment for my credit card (Gasp! Shock! Horror! ...Yeah right?! As if none of you got called like this before). Seriously though, I was indeed called.

I appreciate the call to remind me to make payments but what I do not appreciate is the caller’s mediocre attempt to speak to me in English. Here’s how the call went:

Bank Rep: Good afternoon. May I speak to MR Angeline? (Excuse me, if you have my number, name and amount payable, I’m sure it’s stated that I’m a Ms somewhere there. When did Angeline become a guy’s name?)

Me: This is MS Angeline here.

Bank Rep: Oh ya, Ms. Apa ni, berkenaan dengan payment kad kredit you ni. Belum bayar lagi.

Me: Sorry, could you repeat that?

Bank Rep: Oh ya, nilah. Your kad kredit, overdue ya miss. Min paymentnya RM , kalau nak bayar penuh RM (come on, you didn’t think I was going to reveal the amount?!) Pay tomorrow, can or not?

Me: Thank you for the reminder. I’m sorry I’m late this time. However, I would not be able to pay tomorrow. I’ll pay by the end of this week.

Bank Rep: Oh ya ke? So, macam mana ni ya. Due sudah payment you on 26^th ni. Tomorrow tak dapat ke. So when ah?

Me: Like I said, I’ll make the payment this week.

Bank Rep: Oh, ok lah. Minggu ni ya. Tak ‘pa lah. [Tuk, hang up!]

Me: What the *!&#@%? Can’t you even say “Thank you” or “Good bye”?

Obviously this lady representing my bank could understand English. She just doesn’t want to speak in English so much. And she’s rude. Now, I don’t swear a lot, and certainly not in public. But when I get mad, I do!

I read in a report recently that 90% of primary school teachers in the northern state of Peninsular Malaysia are still teaching Math and Science using BM or Mandarin as the medium of instruction instead of English like they’re supposed to. They cite the reason is that their students don’t understand English, and it therefore takes them longer time to translate if they were to teach in English.

The teachers surveyed said that they’re not against the raising of the standard of English among students, but it shouldn’t be done through Math and Science. It should be done in English language subject only. Come on, yes these teachers are not against raising the standard of English usage/proficiency, but they’re not supporting it either with them still teaching in Malay or Mandarin.

• More than 50% of the teachers in the study conducted admitted that they were not fluent in English so therefore they had challenges understanding terms in English. (Get a bilingual/trilingual dictionary! Ever heard of the Internet?)

• About 30% of these teachers say that they have problems in grammar and pronunciation. (Go learn. How did they get employed as teachers if their primary school level grammar and pronunciation is a problem?)

• 40% of the primary school teachers surveyed teaching these subjects aren’t able to give precise and clear explanations in English.

• 75% of these primary school teachers say that they are confident in teaching the subjects in English.

Hello, am I missing out on something here?! 60% of these teachers say they cannot deliver it very well, and more than 50% also said they cannot understand the terms. Only 10% are teaching Math and Science (primary school level) in English even though 75% of all the teachers surveyed are confident to deliver these subjects in English? So why aren’t these 75% of primary school teachers teaching Math and Science in English if they’re so confident?

This year, the Education Ministry is considering all factors in deciding whether the Go English policy will be continued. Come on, the Education Ministry can’t be so blind in not knowing the root cause of why the level of English in Malaysia is so bad. Wake up, its the implementers - the teachers. This questions the effectiveness of the teacher training colleges in producing teachers capable of teaching students Math and Science in English. Could it be that there is something lacking in the selection procedure on teachers who are capable of teaching Math and Science using the current syllabus? Maybe, it is the pure ignorance of the teachers in implementing this policy.

It’s been 6 years since the Go English policy was put into effect. This mean that those who took UPSR earlier this month, are taking PMR next month, and SPM in November will be subjected to the Math and Science papers in English. 6 years has gone by for the teachers to learn the terms, find ways and means to teach their students in English in a way that the students can understand. 6 years is a long time. One can earn a university degree and Master degree in that time. I'm curious to know, why couldn’t more teachers learn Math and Science in English and teach the students in English by now?

Whatever the reason, please don’t put the blame on the students on their lack of proficiency in English. You know the students' English isn't so great, so what are you going to do about it? The Education Ministry has to put more effort in ensuring that the Go English policy is fully implemented. Otherwise, 10 years from now (assuming I’m still around), when I forget to pay my credit card bill on time, I’ll get another call from my eager bank representative (fresh out of university) saying, “Ni, Mr Angeline, kad kredit you. Overdue lah.”