KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 ― To carve a name for Malaysia in the international scientific community, proficiency in the English language is a prerequisite for all local scholars, a parents group said today.
Parent Action Group for Education (Page) director Datin Azimah Mansoor pointed out that the language medium of STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine) is English, which meant that without the necessary skill in the language, Malaysians may find it harder to gain international recognition.
“Time and experience has shown that those with good English have a higher level of confidence in presentations at international conferences and gatherings compared to those who cannot speak in English.
“Poor language level not only mars the presentation but also may cause a lack of understanding on questions and issues raised,” she said in a statement.
Azimah noted that just last month, three Malaysian scientists ― Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Professor Dr Bassim Hameed and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s (UKM) Professor Datuk Ir Dr Wan Ramli Wan Daud and Professor Dr Siti Khatum Kamarudin ― were named in Thomson Reuters’ list of the “World’s Most Influential Minds in 2015” in their respective fields.
She asked if the trio had used English in their winning works and said that if so, they would have had to be proficient in its use in order to have earned the award.
“If it was English, then it has to be English at a level that has to be well understood by the panel that evaluated his application and research.
“In order to do that, applicants for such awards have to be proficient in the scientific language required,” she said.
Similarly if their sources of reference were written in English, they would have to be proficient in the language to be able to get the best and most accurate information, she added.
Azimah also acknowledged that some scientific research findings written in Bahasa Malaysia by UKM students and scholars in Indonesia have been published but said these works typically have a limited audience that do not go beyond Malaysia, Indonesia and possibly Brunei Darussalam.
“Although this is an achievement, it is not good enough. Scholarly articles from Malaysia have to reach beyond the shores of these countries and English plays a major role in this,” she said.
The Page leader added that to be good in English, the language should not only be taught as a subject but should be used as a teaching medium as well in a subject like science.
She said there was no harm in knowing an extra language and that scientific researchers able to speak and present in more than one language are often admired and respected by the international community.
“Let us not deprive the younger generation of reaching out beyond our local context including Indonesia and Brunei,” she said.
Page and Azimah have been campaigning for Putrajaya to make English the medium for science and mathematics in schools.
