BANGI, Oct 25 — All public university graduates are targeted to achieve English B2 proficiency under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which is able to speak fluently, within the next three to four years.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh was optimistic that it could be achieved through the implementation of Malaysia English Assessment (MEA), is in line with CEFR, and implemented since the academic session in September.

He said currently majority of public university graduates were at B1 level, speaking with limited vocabulary.

"Under CEFR there are six levels of proficiency: A1 (capable only to introduce themselves), A2 (capable to communicate briefly), then B1, B2 and the advance level is C1 (capable of teaching English) and C2 (native speaker).

"We want the graduates to be at least to achieve B2 level which is to speak fluently so they can communicate well,” he told reporters after launching of MEA at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), here yesterday.

Idris said MEA, implemented in compulsory English courses in all public universities, comprise two components namely MEA 1 (formal learning) and MEA 2 (informal learning, outside the classroom).

He said as part of MEA 1, a ‘question bank’ or Higher Education English Language Test Repository (HELTR) was being developed for all participating higher learning institutions to deposit their English examination papers.

"This question bank will provide a wealth of materials for lecturers to construct future examination papers that must adhere to the MEA test specification and constructs formal assessments in order to ensure that the questions are aligned with the CEFR,” he said.

He said MEA 2 would require students to accomplish tasks using appropriate language within specific cultural and social context.

"The performance assessments will be carried out in six engagement sections namely extra-curricular and co-curricular activities, interdisciplinary collaboration; online resources; community engagement; industry-academia collaboration; and global engagement,” he said. — Bernama