Go forth and learn

Couldn't agree more.

My comment will be coming up soon. Please read the article to get the grasp of the issue.....

MIND MATTERS
By RAJA ZARITH IDRIS

mindmatters@thestar.com.my

In a public lecture at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia on Jan 8, Raja Zarith Idris argues why it is important to have a strong command of the English language in 21st century Malaysia. The following article is a condensed version of her speech.

LAST year, we celebrated 50 years of independence, after
having been a British colony since the 19th century. In view of this, it may seem strange that I should suggest that Malaysians – especially our young people who are at school and university – be given opportunities and the encouragement to learn how to speak, read and write in English.

In these first years of the 21st century, fluency in English and a good, strong command of the language, whether it is used as part of our daily life, at social gatherings or at work, is necessary.

It has nothing to do with being pro-English or pro-British, nor with glorifying our colonial past, or being any less nationalistic or patriotic.

We have bright, intelligent young people who, if guided in the right direction, can achieve a lot in whatever discipline interests them.

I dream of reading about young – and maybe not so young – Malaysians who have caught the world’s attention for having excelled as respected novelists, scientists, architects or filmmakers.

For that dream to come true, however, our young people must be given the right tools to work with, one of which is the English language. The other is a thirst for knowledge.

We need to make sure that younger Malaysians can read English and understand it, speak it fluently, use it to express their thoughts and opinions, and understand it when it is spoken by either native English speakers such as Americans, British or Australians, or non-native speakers such as Asians and Europeans.

This will give them the chance to be on a par with their peers from other countries where English is spoken, either as a first or second language.

It also means that we will be able to convey our knowledge about ourselves as a society to peoples from other countries – whether from the East or the West – by writing about our heritage, cultures, religions and arts. We can also share our views about both national and world events with foreigners who use English as we do – that is, as a means of communication and a common global language.

We must think of being able to converse in English as an advantage: that we know the language spoken by so many native speakers although they may not know ours.

The impact of technology, telecommunications and the Internet on the English language

We must dissociate our willingness to study the English language from any kind of hidden political or social agendas. We must try to see our efforts to get our young people to be fluent English speakers as something that is done for their benefit, as well as contributing towards the reputation of Malaysia as a dynamic country with a dynamic young generation.

One of the many reasons that the English language is used far more now than ever has a lot to do with the fantastic rate at which telecommunications and technology have advanced.

As most of us are aware, for good or bad, we too have bloggers – from ex-journalists who write about political and social issues, usually courting the controversial, to the young housewife who tells us about her daily life, children, and, during Ramadan, what she cooked for the breaking of fast and sahur, complete with colourful photos.

Writing as Malaysians for a mainly Malaysian “audience” or readership, why do our bloggers bother to write in English?

Perhaps it is to get a wider readership.

The borderless Internet world that we are part of means that we can no longer afford to be the proverbial katak di bawah tempurung.We have to try and be frogs who are no longer ignorant and merely satisfied with that little world beneath the boring coconut shell. We can still argue and discuss local issues but let’s be more daring and confident, and take our place in the global blogal world.

The English language in global literature and as part of global understanding

India – because of its British colonial past – has maintained and kept a high standard of English. I’ve visited India three times now and I keep making comparisons between India and Malaysia because we share the same colonial past. India gained independence in 1947, and we in 1957, a difference of 10 years. But while India kept as its strength the ability and facility of using English, we have let it go. India has about eight newspapers and just as many tabloids. We can only boast of having three national English-language newspapers. Why do we not have more? It is perhaps because most of us find it difficult to express ourselves in English.

If we do not make an effort to catch up with the rest of the world, we will be left far behind.

There is another valid reason for using English as a means of communication with other countries: post-9/11, and in a world where wars, terrorism and violence occur too often, there is a great need for all of us to understand each other. Books can help us to better understand peoples of other cultures, religions and races. Unless a newer, global language replaces English, we have to rely on the knowledge from books written in the language.

Last year, I met some American lecturers from a film school that has an Asian base in Singapore. Earlier, I had asked some friends to take them around Johor because they wanted to see real kampungs.

They were invited to visit a small Malay kampung and were amazed by the hospitality they received: it was during Ramadan, and all the villagers were fasting but they had made the effort to cook lunch for their guests. These Americans had of course seen the daily media reportage about Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon, and the aftermath of suicide bombings.

When I tried to explain that Muslims in Asia are a peaceful people, they were able to nod in agreement because they had experienced the peacefulness of the village, and the warmth and kindness of the villagers themselves.

This interaction is an example of how the use of English (which I used to explain the Islam as practised in Malaysia) can help foreigners gain a clearer picture of our society, including our religions, cultures and races.

This sort of interaction matters. Our students who are studying in countries where the native language is English can act as ambassadors who can give clear explanations about our country.


English as it is spoken in the 21st century

Pop music and what we see on television have a strong impact on the younger generation of Malaysians. We cannot ignore the pop culture of the young people nowadays: to do so is to alienate them. We should, on the other hand, try to understand them, the way our parents once tried to understand us even though they too were perplexed by our own youthful behaviour.

At one time, I was upset that Malaysians had its own rap groups and singers, denying it was part of our culture.

But when I was growing up, I listened to British and American rock groups and pop singers, like Deep Purple and Santana, or Olivia Newton-John and Barry Manilow. I was a great fan of the Jackson Five and the Osmond Brothers. They were not part of our culture.

In the same way, my parents, aunts and uncles listened to Engelbert Humperdinck, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Connie Francis. These singers were not part of our culture either. But our parents loved their songs and sang them to us. And our parents were respectable, responsible people.

We have to let go of our young people a little. Guide them, teach them, but give them the chance to be curious about our cultures and to make judgments of their own. We turned out all right, you and I. So why can’t the younger ones be all right too?

Living in the 21st century means that we have to think 21st century thoughts and act in 21st century ways but still retain our identity, hold on to all the values that our grandparents taught us, be proud of our historical and cultural heritages, and yet be able to absorb new ideas.

The English language is not just useful but can offer us knowledge that would be denied us if we did not have the motivation and conviction to be heard in the 21st century world.

Raja Zarith Idris is Royal Fellow,
Faculty of Language Studies and Linguistics, UKM, and holds an MA (Oxon) in Chinese Studies. She also writes a column in Sunday Star called Mind Matters.