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61 NEW STRAITS TIMESHIGHER ED

WEDNESDAY JULY NEW STRAITS TIMESHIGHER ED 17

COVER STORY

Proficient wat better EnglishZULITA MUSTAFAzulita@nst.com.my

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ENGLISH language proficiency is animportant factor in employability,especially in an era of globalisation.

While the level of proficiency amonglocal undergraduates continues to be poor,should universities be responsible for improvingtheir English language skills or should it comeunder the purview of teachers in schools?

For most Malaysians, the English languageis taught to them formally through the education

system from primary to tertiary level.Dr Hazita Azman, a professor of

Applied Linguistics and Literacy at theCentre for Literacy and Sociocultural.Transformation at Universiti KebangsaanMalaysia (UKMl, said these formalencounters are limited in terms of hours,use of the language and restricted tofuridamentallinguistic knowledge aboutthe language.

At the same time,' she added, asthe English lang'uage is foreign to themajority of students, learning it will be alifelong endeavour.

Associate Professor Dr Arshad AbdSamad, who is Universiti Putra Malaysia(UPM) Centre for the Advancement ofLanguage Competence director, saidEnglish proficiency is required at variouslevels of a student's education and ateach, there is a different emphasis.

Arshad added that schools shouldprovide students with basic proficiencyto communicate in the, language while

universities focus on its academic aspect.Language experts refer to these two kinds

of language abilities as Basic InterpersonalCommunicative Skills and Cognitive AcademicLanguage'Proficiency.

"Universities often find that some studentsare unable to use basic interpersonal languageand therefore need to improve their ability beforethey can move on to the more demanding aspectsof academic English."

Hazita Azman

ArshadAbdSamad

on instructorsand institutionsbeats the purpose ofpreparing studentsfor the workplace.If they considerthemselves to be .functioning adults,then they have tobehave and learnlike one.ABU BAKAR RAZALIEnglish lecturer,UPM Department ofLanguage and HumanitiesEducation

UMFaculty of Education conducting The Amazing Race as part of learning English in afun way.

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Undergraduates aptly listening to trainers during an English language workshop.

English lecturer Dr Abu Bakar Razalifromthe Department of Language and HumanitiesEducation at UPM said that apart from teach-ers and lecturers, other parties are not takingon the responsibility for providing students theteaching, learning, experiencing and practisingof the English language.

The language has to be not only taught butalso experienced and this is where, for ex-ample, the family, the neighbourhood and the'workplace can step in.

"School teachers are already burdened withclerical tasks." .

THREE LEVELSHazita said that at university, three levels ofEnglish language proficiency are expected ofundergraduates. .

"Firstly, they are expected to have achievedat least the intermediate level and should beable to speak, read, write, understand andcommunicate in English.

"Secondly, they must master the languagewell enough to grasp specialised texts for aca-demic purposes and synthesise them to gener-ate Critical views or knowledge to demonstrateopinions andnew ideas. .

"Thirdly, they must master enough lan-guage repertoire and related skills to functioneffectively in the language at the workplace soas to secure employment."

However, Arshad said many un-dergraduates are not confident touse the language as they are afraidof making mistakes, lack readingand prefer to hang out with friendswho speak their mother tongue,. Hazita agreed that the lack of areading culture among undergrad-uates and limited opportunities. tospeak the language are commonfactors affecting proficiency.

"The undergraduates have not Lilliati Ismailacquired enough vocabulary inthe language to be fluent users of it. -Ihey la-ment that they 'do not know the words' and arereluctant to express themselves and explainsomething in the language, even though theyunderstand what they hear and read.

'Their dependence on lecture notes andsimplified or translated texts further reducestheir exposure to the language.

Even though the formal medium of in-struction is Bahasa Malaysia, this should notcurb reading in English or any language," sheadded. .

Englishworkshops helpundergraduatesto developcommunicationand presentation

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overall oral proficiency of its third-yearstudents highlighted the focus on pro-ficiency and its link to employability,

"The assessment led to more stu':dents' requests to hold oral presenta-tions, while academic programmesincluded reading lists in English forstudents to read-and-respond."

UPM Department ofLanguage and Humanitiessenior lecturer Dr LilliatiIsmail said some under-graduates are proficient inEnglish because they comefrom an English-speakingbackground and may havebeen exposed to the lan-guage from young whileothers may have limitedaccess to resources in Eng-lish:

Foundation English caters for the beginnerwhere general linguistic knowledge and generalEnglish proficiency skills are given focus,

'This level is for in-coming students whoachieved Band 1 and Band 2 levels in the MUETtest. As the entry requirement-for MUET Band 3is not mandatory at most public universities, it isthus incumbent on them to provide training for.students to attain the said level before they can goon to academic English,"

MUET Band 1 and Band 2 levels are for the ex-tremely limited user and limited user respectivelywhile Band 3 level is for the modest user.

Those who have achieved Band 3 learn Englishfor Academic Purposes to prepare for reading atthe tertiary level.

"In both speaking and writing tasks, studentsare trained to synthesise and respond to the writ-ten information. Students in their second yearor third semester at university learn English forWorkplace Communication. Presentation skillsare also given focus but not extensively."

Depending on the university, two to three credithours are allocated for this basic level per semes-ter. .

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM ATTERTIARY INSTITUTIONSZuwati HasimThe undergraduate's pathway in learn-

ing English at university is first determined by theMalaysian University English Test (MUETI.• The=lower in proficiency at entry level, thehigher the need for fundamental languageknowledge and skills,

Most often students who are at this level re-quire a rich and extensive input of the languageas well as extended opportunities for languageuse.

Hazita said the English language curriculumat university comprises three categories - Foun-dation English, English for Academic Purposesand ~nglish for Workplace Communication.'

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''A positive attitude and a high motivation tolearn the language can enhance proficiency." .

University of Malaya (UM) Language and Lit-eracy Education Department senior lecturer Dr .Zuwati Hasim said undergraduates should showinitiative such as organise activities at residentialcolleges and take part in student" mobility pro-grammes at English-speaking countries.

"These activities provide a platform to im-prove their writing, speaking and communicationskills."

Hazita added: "UKM's decision to assess the

The formal structure of the English lan-guage curriculum at the university is limited tothe three categories and exposes students toonly 80 to 120 hours of English per semesterthroughout the three years at university.

The Common European Framework ofReference ,1CEFR) for Languages: Learning,Teaching, Assessment recommends at least600 to 800 structured hours in a four-monthterm for an individual to achieve mastery at any. one level of the six levels on the CEFR scale (A1,A2, B1, B2. C1 and C21.

'Therein .lies the main problem with learn-ing the 'English language at university as verylimited time is allocated for the subject in thedegree programmes,"

Nevertheless, in an effort to provide addi-tional exposure and opportunities for languageuse, the Language Centres, which are respon-sible for English language proficiency at univer-sity, do provide students the chance to experi-ence English in action beyond the classroomand in collaboration with the faculties.

At UKM, Enqlish enrichment programmesare conducted beyond the formal structurethrough English camps, role-play immer-sion programmes such as Bravehearts, andEnglish-speaking zones at residential cotteqeswhere debates and drama play-acting are held.However, these programmes are not compul-sory,

UPM Centre for the Advancement of Lan-guage Competence (CALC) is responsible forraising English language proficiency of stu-dents.

Arshad said as the university expects its stu-dents to have a basic command of the Englishlanguage, the modules focus on reading, writ-ing and oral presentation skills.

"CALC has introduced the three-componentEnglish Language Experience (ELEx) packagethat allows students to use the language in amore meaningful and interactive manner.

"The first is the conventional course compo- •nent delivered in the classroom with a focus onacademic language required at university while

. the second is the Language Activities segmentwith no credit component which focuses onstudent interaction in English in order to com-plete specific tasks, .

"For example, group discussions are con-ducted in English and to"minimise student anxi-ety, the teacher plays only a peripheral role inthe interaction.

'With the introduction of this package, stu-dents have become more willing to interact inthe English language, which is a good first steptowards better lar1guage proficiency, especiallyfor less proficient students.

"Another part of the ELEx package is theCertificate in English Language Courses whichfocus on workplace or occupational languageneeds. We plan to also introduce higher levelEnglish language courses such as CriticalReading and Creative Writing for more profi-cient students so that they can hone their abili-ties in the language.

'We encourage outbound as well as inboundmobility programmes that allow students touse the language in real-life situations. Hence,language use is more meaningful and studentswill want to use good and correct language,

"At the same time, other entities in UPM,most notably the residential colleges, conductactivities that encourage the use of the Englishlanguage through activities such. as debatesand drama and writing competitions:' said Ar-shad,

Lilliati added that UPM has a stringent se-lection process to ensure that undergraduatesare proficient in the English language.

'We further polish their English languageability and equip them with the necessary ped-agogical knowledge and skills through coursessuch as content-based second language in-struction and teach writing skills and' gram-maticarCescrij5tions~

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"There is also a strong emphasis on teach-ing literature in English and developing class-room practices in line with current develop-ments in second language teaching,

"The high quality of our graduates contrib-utes to a supply of well-trained and proficientEnglish language teachers in schools all overthe country," added l.illiati. ,

Zuwati added: 'The pedagogy of teachingthe language should be fun learning. The lec-turer should create modules in class that at-tract students to learn the language in a funway.

"Encourage students to engage with theirpeers and lecturers in an interactive sessionand speak their mind,"

There is no one best approach to teach thelanguage as the lecturers are free to designtheir lesson plans, '

Abu Bakar said in tertiary education, thefocus of instruction, especially in the first fewsemesters of the students' English languagelearning experience, is on developing skills inreading, writing and communicating,

As their courses progress, students will betaught to read, write and communicate in their.specialised fields of study.

CONTINUUMHazita said in dealing with English languageproficiency, the relevant ministries and agen-cies should put in place an English languageeducation plan that is comprehensive and in-clusive to ensure' there is a continuum fromschool to the tertiary level and right up to theemployer.

The responsibility for helping the younggeneration to master the English languageshould not be confined to the school and uni-versity but should also be borne by the em-ploying agencies.

This empowering approach will see allstakeholders collaborating rather than put-ting the blame unfairly on the school and uni-versity.

"If well implemented, the English Lan-guage Education Roadmap will realign re-sponsibilities and ensure the continued devel- .opment of language skills from pre-school totertiary and employment," added Hazita.

Abu Bakar said when it comes to educa-tion, be it English, Malay, Math, Science orSTEM, everyone should be responsible espe-cially the student, parents and society.

"Undergraduates have the responsibility toimprove their own learning, and not rely 100per cent on teachers and institutions.

"Over-reliance on instructors and institu-tions beats the purpose of preparing studentsfor the workplace. If they consider themselvesto be functioning adults, then they have to be- .have and learn like one," he added .

Zuwati said the university should provide asupport system for tertiary students to learnnot only general English but also the languageused in theses and dissertations.

"As students have different language ex-posure before university, the tertiary institu-tion should emphasise content and languageintegrated learning such as English for com-munication, law, engineering and science un-dergraduates.

Arshad said universities should also try togive attention to workplace-related Englishproficiency even with the constraints of thecurriculum that focuses on the content of theprogrammes.

"With a good functional ability in English,language skills can be honed while on {hejob."

With the implementation of the. revisedEnglish language curriculu,m that is alignedwith the CEFR beginning last year (for YearOne and Secondary Onel. there is hope thatthe approach to teaching English and the pur-poses for learning it will be more cornrnunica-five in nature. ~ - --

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