Teaching of science and maths in English

I thought the letter from KJ which appeared in the nst  of 9^th September 2008 quite balanced.

Some highlights:

"The issue here is not the importance of English.

Furthermore, the problems and weaknesses of this policy are not confined to one ethnic group. The study revealed that the ones who gained from the policy were a small percentage of Malay students from upper middle-class families who went to good, urban schools. The paper further showed that even Chinese students struggled with learning Maths and Science when taught in English, demonstrating that this is a problem that cuts across ethnic lines.

They don't need to be taught Maths and Science in English to read reference books in English later on. They just need to be proficient in English, which clearly this policy has failed to achieve.

It is high time we ditched this policy for the failure that it is and learnt from an episode of a flawed and ill-conceived policy defeating what were, I presume, noble intentions."

There was another letter which appeared in the star  of 8^th September 2008 on the same topic  from someone who was taught science and maths in Bahasa Malaysia.

Some highlights:

"Hence, my main points are:

1. It is not important for English to be the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics. Stop wasting money and resources trying to implement this.

2. The standard of English in our schools has been deteriorating for so long that many of the teachers we have in schools are themselves not proficient in English.

3. The problem is the teaching of the English language itself. Don’t send Science and Mathematics teachers for English courses when some English teachers themselves need English courses, and English teachers who don’t need English courses need a useful syllabus from which to teach!

5. Don’t make the use of Bahasa Malaysia the scapegoat. It is important for Bahasa Malaysia to remain the medium of instruction in schools for the sake of national identity, which is vital for genuine national unity.

Finally, please identify and address the real problems in our school system.

Make sure Science and Mathematics are taught properly, and don’t discriminate against students who are poor in English but may have the aptitude for Science or Mathematics."

Food for thought.