Mastering English

The position of English as the major lingual franca of the world cannot be disputed. It is the language of scientific journals, international conferences,world sporting events, commerce and ICT. Whoever masters English will certainly have an edge over the others in terms of job and business opportunities.
    English is such an important language that even a lawyer who is not proficient in English can hardly be called a lawyer. A lawyer who is competent and proficient in English can go far in his profession. He can easily pursue his legal career and climb up the corporate ladder. One Malaysian tycoon who readily admits that because of his excellent English, he was able to strike a business deal with an American who was very impressed with the former's ability to articulate well in English. That first business deal has made him a rich businessman. He would have lost that great business opportunity if he has no knowledge of English.
     Comparatively, the standard of English in Malaysia has gone down over the years. It is mainly due to the fact that it is no longer a must-pass subject in the present education system. It is also because of a switch to Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction in the government schools and the continual emphasis on it as the national language to the detriment of the position of the English language. Nowadays it is not a surprise to come across students and graduates who cannot even speak English competently and confidently even after ten years of learning the language. Quite a number also cannot write and express themselves coherently. 
     We need to revisit the old times when English was the medium of instruction in Malaysian schools. All the other subjects were also taught in English like civics, mathematics, science, history, geography and general studies. For English, we were taught the fundamentals of English especially grammar. I remember my English teacher in my primary school had a cane ready in his hand when he went round the class asking each student about verbs. You better answered promptly when he wanted the past tense form of any verb in the list given the day before. You literally had to learn every verb and know it like the back of your hand. That particular English teacher was ever ready to teach you an extra lesson. Till today, I still admired his method which was effective as all the students in his class passed English with distinction. 
      During the secondary school years, we were introduced to English classics such as the books written by Charles Dicken and other famous authors. Some were simplified versions but we still enjoyed reading them. Every class was stocked with lots of English books for us to read during the silent reading period every week. After reading the book, it was compulsory to write a short summary of what you had read and to be submitted for perusal every week. The English teacher would pick out the best summary and he would read it to the whole class. As a result, we were particularly motivated to write the best summary to be read. In the same way, when we were taught to write a composition, the teacher would choose the best composition to be displayed on the notice board so that everyone could read and imitate the best writing style.
     During the upper secondary years, we enjoyed reading novels such as "Cry, the Beloved Country" by Alan Paton and "Far From The Madding Crowd" by Thomas Hardy. Later, we also enjoyed reading the poems written by William Worthsworth. The teacher always challenged us to think critically and appreciate the poems. Slowly, we were introduced to the classics of William Shakespeare's plays like Romeo and Juliet, Richard II and Julius Caesar. The tragic love tale of Romeo and Juliet made us literally cry in the class as Brother Henry, my English teacher spoke and delivered the best parts of the text in a rather dramatic presentation.  We were all so eager to learn English and we always looked forward to the next literature lessons. 
       Nowadays when we look at the English literature that the secondary students study, it is no more like the yester's years. They only have some simple 'novels' and 'poems' to study. I doubt whether they can be considered English classics at all. Some literature materials have been simplified and 'modified' to become cartoons and comic books. The students have also not been challenged to think critically and to express their ideas and feelings creatively. Most of the times, they have been spoon-fed since they have been given answers  to certain particular questions as a preparation for the examination only. You will never learn the essence of English unless you find yourself enjoy reading literature and expressing  it critically and creatively in your own words and not to regurgitate what you have been spoon-fed.
      In order to arrest the decline of the English standard in schools, we have to make sure  that we have the best English teachers and if necessary,even to extent of hiring them from other countries. We also have to make it compulsory for every student to pass English as a prerequisite for entry into the universities. 
       We also need to seriously look into the English syllabus and English literature has to be made a compulsory subject with the reintroduction of Shakespeare's plays and English novels. It is simply unthinkable to say that you have learned English without studying and knowing William Shakespeare. Let the famous playwright, poet and novelist 'enter' the class to conduct the English lessons in our schools.