At early age, babies and toddlers possess an innate facility which eases the acquisition of any particular language. This
facility is known as the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which is a
theory expounded by Noam Chomsky who is also a reputed linguist. This
postulated congenital device that resides within the brain of human
beings during early stages of life enables the quick acquisition of the
vast vocabulary and grammatical system of any natural language such as
English, Chinese, French and also our national language, Malay. Even
so, researchers have shown that the availability and usefulness of this
device declines significantly as the child increases in age and he/she
also has the tendency to be more resistant to learning a new language. This
is the primary reason why it was more difficult for an adult to acquire
a new language in comparison to a child who is able to obtain it
despite the lack of formal language instruction.
Another theory which supports the importance of learning language at early age is the Critical Period Hypothesis. In
accordance to this theory, there is an ideal window of time during the
age of human beings to procure a language in a linguistically opulent
ambience. Even though this
theory is quite controversial, it was nevertheless widely accepted by
linguists to explicate language acquisition. The first few years of human life after his or her birth are the most crucial time for language acquisition. Hence, this is the time wherein sufficient amount of stimuli should be made available to a child. If
a child is unable to experience a linguistically rich environment
during these critical periods, he or she might not be able to gain full
command of a particular language especially the grammatical system. This is greatly important in learning the English Language considering its intricate and complex grammatical system. Irrespective
of the complexity of the grammatical system, a child would able to
acquire a mastery of the English Language if adequate linguistic inputs
are provided during these critical periods.
Getting
a good grasp of the English Language at early age is of more importance
now in view of the reversal of the medium of teaching and learning of
Science and Mathematics subjects from English to Malay commencing from
2012. It is even more
imperative that one should strive harder to master the English Language
especially if one has the intention to further his/her studies to
overseas. Currently,
proficiency in the English Language at SPM level is known to be an
advantage for any potential applicant for the Public Service Department
scholarship for overseas stint. If one observes, there are two grades for English Language at SPM Examination. One is for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia and the other one is for the General Certificate of Education (GCE). It is quite common that a student would score A+ for English at SPM Exam but may only obtain 5C for GCE. How is this so? The SPM result is for the overall marks for Paper 1 and Paper 2 whereas the GCE grade is only for paper 1. Why Paper 1 only? Paper 1 is the composition and this paper would really reflect the proficiency of a student in the language in a written form. A student with a strong command of the English Language would score A+ for SPM and A1 for GCE.
There are two forms of language skills. They are Basic Interpersonal Communications Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). These
two concepts of language skills were posited by Dr. Jim Cummins who is a
professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the
University of Toronto. BICS is a
language skill which is normally utilised in a social ambience such as
when conversing with a peer regarding daily topics or when ordering a
meal at a restaurant. It is the first form of language skill acquired by babies and toddlers. In contrary to BICS, CALP is a language skill which is required for academic work and is cognitively demanding. It
is used when an individual is comparing, synthesising, assimilating or
manipulating abstract knowledge. Mastery in this language skill is a
prerequisite if one has the intention of performing excellently in an
academic endeavour. This language skill can only be obtained once the individual has acquired a good grasp of BICS. Thus,
if we want our children to prosper academically, it is imperative to
expose them to the nuances of the English Language when they are young
so that they are able to acquire CALP more effectively in that language.
However, one might contend
that after the abolishment of PPSMI (Teaching and Learning of Science
and Mathematics in English) there is no need for our children to obtain a
high level of CALP in the English Language. One should be aware that Mathematics and Science will only be taught in the Malay Language up to Form 5 only. Thereafter, Science and Mathematics-related subjects will then be taught in English at pre-university and university level. At these academic stages, the level of CALP required is greater than that of during secondary or primary level. If
our children did not obtain a strong grip in BICS of the English
Language during the early phases of their life then it will be
strenuously difficult for them to acquire even a satisfactory level of
CALP in the English Language particularly if they have the intention of
furthering their studies in a science-related field. Ergo,
following the abolishment of PPSMI, it is of greater priority to expose
our children to English linguistic inputs at early age considering the
decrease in the amount and quality of exposure they will experience once
they enter the formal education system. Even
with an increase in the amount of teaching time for English in the
school’s formal time table, it can never replace the cognitively
demanding atmosphere of a science or mathematics class.
Children are one of society’s greatest assets especially in terms of quality prospective human capital for our nation. Without
them, it is improbable that our beloved country will ever progress.
Hence, it is germane to equip them with essential arsenals to compete in
today’s knowledge-oriented world by giving them the gift of the English
Language. Prospective parents
who are considering having a child should be prepared to fully develop
the language ability of their future child. One of the earliest language abilities to be obtained is reading. Parents should designate a small section in their home specifically for the convenience of a child to read. Purchase
several age-appropriate children books and place them in areas of the
section where it is easily accessible to the child. Books authored by Enid Blyton are one of the most popular children books. The
reading area should be decorated with children-themed items and
furniture so that the child feels more comfortable being there. In
order to strengthen the emotional ties of the child to the English
Language, parents should allocate some time reading a storybook with
their child. Parents should ask
questions and opinions of their child regarding the story being read to
stimulate the child’s thinking abilities in the English Language. This allows the child to handle and process information more easily in the English Language later on.
A
pertinent question would definitely crop up among those non-English
speaking parents. How could they inseminate the desire of their children
to speak the English Language when they themselves could not speak the
language? There are several avenues that they could employ. Firstly, parents should allow their children to view English children television programmes such as Sesame Streets. Parents can buy DVD of these children shows so that the child can watch them whenever convenient. Watching
these shows would not only sharpen listening skills but also engages
the imagination of the child for proper intellectual development. Secondly, parents should encourage their children to mix with those children who speak English. As
the child grows older, parents should buy good children English books
so that they are exposed early to the beauty of the language.
Parents have a key role to play in increasing their child’s listening skills. For
those parents who could speak the language, they could provide audio
linguistic inputs by speaking to them in proper English. By doing so, the child is able to learn the English grammatical system more accurately. The child does not need to learn that ‘a’ is an indefinite article and ‘the’ is a definite article. At
this early stage of life, the daily usage of the language is of greater
precedence than the explicit knowledge of the grammatical system.
Parents should just converse with each other and to the child in a
conversational manner. If
sufficient linguistic input is given, the child will attempt to
reproduce the English Language by speaking it in its most basic form. If
the child made a mistake quickly rectify it by uttering the corrected
sentence in a soft voice. Exempli gratia, if the child says that ‘The woman puted the glass on the table’ then correct him or her by saying ‘Yes dear, “The woman put the glass on the table”.
With
the current English syllabus taught in school where the emphasis is
more on English communication skills rather than proper English grammar,
a student could only acquire proper English grammar through regular
reading of good English books. In
view of the changes made to the English Syllabus taught in school, it
is even more important that children should be exposed to the language
at early age with the hope that they would able to acquire sufficient
skill to carry them through in their studies especially at overseas
stint.
Within
this article the theories underlying the importance of learning the
English Language at early stage have been presented as well as their
manifestations through practical means. Scientia est potentia or knowledge is power. Hence,
we should not deny the rights of the young children to obtain the
wealth of knowledge presented through the English Language especially in
this K-Economy global society. Prior to ending this article, it is pertinent to address several matters of grave concern. Many
societies are currently being subjected to linguistic imperialism which
is the transfer of a more dominant language to the society and the
eventual replacement of the society’s current language with the
aforementioned one. In
Malaysian society today, it was perceived that the English Language is
considered a great threat to our national language which is the Malay
Language due to its greater economic value and global status. We
have to understand that despite the sense of economic power that the
English Language induces we cannot afford to lose our cultural identity
and allow our minds to succumb to this linguistic form of
neo-colonialism. Each language,
whether it is English, Malay, Chinese, Latin or even Kadazan, have
their own unique qualities and each of them carries a great wealth of
human culture as well as different perception of reality. Thus, it is absurd to perceive one language to be more unique than the other. However,
it is vividly undeniable that the English Language is the global lingua
franca and to be competitive at the world stage, we have no choice but
to be proficient in the English Language. It is also readily perceived that the English Language is the international academics language. As
such, we should not be misled by our patriotism to our native or
national language to the extent that we would become uncompetitive at
world stage due to our incompetency in the English Language.
Nevertheless,
it is greatly advisable that those who were born in an English speaking
family wherein English is your first language, strive to learn your
mother tongue to maintain your cultural identity. However, for those who
were born in a non-English speaking family and your mother tongue is
your first language, you are encouraged to strive to learn the English
language in order to equip yourselves for your future undertakings.
Language will always and will be the main avenue for human emotional, intellectual and spiritual expression. Thus, let us use this God-endowed gift for the betterment of mankind and to glorify His name.
Government
servants currently in service also have to take the MUET for purposes
such as promotions. This will ensure that their command of English will
adhere to a certain credible standard.
The Malaysia Examination Council test centres are largely in national secondary schools (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan)
that offers Form 6; Matriculation Colleges, certain universities, as
well as certain private and semi-private colleges. The test is run three
times annually, in February, July and November beginning next year
(2012). As of this year, twice - the MUET June and December papers.
The
Speaking component is tested where the students are divided into groups
of four, with different papers, that change for every session (two
sessions from morning till noon) and for every examination day. The
candidates are tested according to two tasks, A and B. Task A is for
individual presentation and Task B is for group discussion. During the
test the candidates are first being quarantined. They will remain there
until they are called into the test room. This is a standard procedure
to prevent them from communicating to people outside the Speaking test
group. This is to ensure the integrity of the MUET Speaking Paper.
