The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 23 Dec 2012 03:55 PM PST DEC 24 – Declining English proficiency standards among our students has been a major concern for years and apparently we are now keen on bringing in English teachers from India to address the issue. At first I thought I had stumbled onto a satire piece, but a quick check confirmed that I was reading a valid news report from a reliable news portal. Importing English teachers from India will not solve this problem, because it is yet another short-sighted quick-fix that superficially attempts to cure deep-rooted problems in our English education system. Misguided teaching approach The teaching approach is the biggest problem with our English education system. At the heart of it, our education system attempts to teach English to our students the same way it teaches all the other subjects: by drilling bits and pieces of it into their heads in an exam-oriented environment. Hence our English classrooms continue to be defined by teacher-centric methods, especially the chalk-and-talk variety1 whereby students sit quietly and give their undivided attention without interrupting the teacher speaking in front. Drilling students by going through past-year examination questions, work sheets and exercise books remain the preferred method of teaching2. We focus on tangible skills that we can measure in examinations. By drowning our students in grammar rules and specific language mechanics that the students are to master in classroom-specific situations, we hope that mechanically going through exercise after exercise ad infinitum will confer on our students the perfect mastery of English. However, language learning doesn't work that way. Our approach continues to neglect the sociocultural aspects of language learning3 and does not sufficiently expose our students to actual communicative uses of what they have learned, the ins and outs and exceptions that govern English as a tremendously tricky language. The system presents English as a subject that can be mastered by mindless repetition of exercises like Mathematics, whereas it is actually the opposite. No one learns a language by endlessly answering grammar questions; people learn a new language by speaking it, using it, reading it, singing it, listening to it — regularly using it in real situations in which language is used. Instead of proficient English speakers, this system produced a new breed of students and graduates who can pass examinations but have no actual competency in productively using English when they need to outside of examinations2, thereby creating illusions of proficiency derived from paper qualifications. The teaching system doesn't work, and the ones with good or at least passable English are usually those whose families encourage the use of English, even if the English in use isn't perfect, i.e. they learn English outside of school. A question of mentality In addition to the problem of how we teach English, the general attitude of most Malaysians towards English remains negative. English is viewed as a necessary evil — just another subject in school that their kids must study and get good grades in, not a second language to master as a valuable skill. As a result school is the only place where our students encounter English in a meaningful way. Outside of the English classroom, English is hardly, if at all, used, and sometimes even actively avoided. Those using English or even stray English words here and there are still stigmatised in school and in social groups, accused of betraying their native tongue or aspiring to be "Mat Salleh." This creates students lacking in both enthusiasm and interest in learning English within an environment that already does not encourage English use4 in the first place, further hampering the learning process. A case study analysing 72 essays written by Form Four students in a semi-urban secondary school found that on the whole, students have not mastered basic grammatical structures despite going through 10 years of learning English in school5. In 2010, an employability study found that as many as 88 per cent of our graduates are "unemployable" with poor English cited as one of the primary reasons6. These are but a taste of the situation today. We can bring in the best teachers from around the globe, but without a mentality conducive to English learning, it will not make much of a difference. Addressing the negative mentality towards English as a second language that is still prevalent among Malaysians should be high up our priority list in this matter. Native-speaking vs non-native speaking teachers Bringing in English teachers from India does not directly address either issue. Debate rages on about the benefits of native-speaking English teachers (NSET) as compared to the plusses of a non-native-speaking English teacher (NNSET), so let us compare both. A NSET brings the advantage of innate "feel" for English that non-native speakers struggle for years to (and in some cases may never) attain. They know the language inside-out. They also come with a deep understanding of the cultural background behind specific words and their usage in different contexts, offering deeper insight into a higher level of English usage. Moreover, they provide a fluent and natural model of speech that students can emulate and learn from. However, NNSETs have themselves gone through the learning process, they've been there and done it, and they know how to guide their students around potential pitfalls that would otherwise hamper progress — aided by good understanding of the students' own cultural background and how that impacts the learning process. In fact, the NNSET's proficiency may serve to encourage the students further, since they prove that proficiency is not beyond reach — the teacher is a living example of the success they are pursuing. NNSETs also understand the mother tongue of their students, and are thus able to help explain and derive equivalences between English and Malay for example which would help students better understand what they are learning. NSETs and NNSETs both come with their own advantages with regards to English teaching. While the effectiveness of either over the other is arguable, what is clear is that bringing English teachers from India to address our failing English standards will not work because they are NNSETs without the advantages held over NSETs. Hurdles for "import" teachers Granted, they themselves were English as Second Language (ESL) students, but without a good command of Malay, Mandarin or the other native tongues we have in Malaysia, their communication with our students will be limited to English, which is what our students are having problems with. They would have lesser understanding of our different cultures and even less of how it impacts our students' learning. The major advantage of NNSETs over NSETs is the ability to draw parallels between English and the native tongue of the student. This helps tremendously because we lean on our native tongues to absorb and master another language. If we take that ability away, what does the teacher have left? And thus if this importing goes through, we will be spending resources in the assumption that the teachers we are importing bring some vital Indian ingredients of English teaching expertise — that our own local teachers are lacking — which will offset their disadvantage of not having the cultural understanding or common non-English language to communicate to our students with. However, the Indian education system itself revolves around rote learning7, not much different from our own public education system which has been noted as "responsible for a memory-based learning designed for the average student." Despite having an estimated 350 million English speakers in 20057, that can perhaps be attributed to the prevalent use of English in India (it is one of their national languages) as opposed to the effectiveness of their English education system. Will bringing their teachers to our shores make a difference, then? Long-term perspective Even assuming that the above assumption is true, the fact remains that we cannot sustainably depend on foreign expertise in something as fundamental as language teaching in our own schools. Short-term quick-fixes only address our problem superficially; sustained effort must go towards addressing the core of the problem if progress is to be made in solving it. Amid these considerations, the more prudent thing to do would be to take a long hard look at why the current system isn't working (some reasons being outlined above), and take politics out of the equation as we find long-term solutions that will address the heart of the matter, not merely increase the number of passing students per year. Maybe revise our teaching approach and develop a suitable, effective and Malaysia-specific one that resolves the weaknesses of our current methods. Maybe resources should instead go into improving and training our English teachers' capabilities as well as developing a sustainable way of producing effective local ESL teachers for our schools. Maybe alleviate the get-good-grades-in-exams pressure when it comes to English and actively cultivate an interest in learning English as a second language within our society, not just another subject to pass as we keep churning out mechanical grammar bots who can't speak coherent English. Long-term solutions may not be politically popular, and we will not see quick results measurable in terms of our annual examination statistics, but surely the importance of good English command among our citizens go beyond getting favourable statistics. After all, our students should not be seen as "guinea pigs" as we experiment with endless quick-fixes hoping for instant results. Their futures are at stake. References [1] Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2003). Education development plan 2001-2010. Kuala Lumpur. [2] Ambigapathy, P. (2002). English language teaching in Malaysia today. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 22(2), 35-52. (Online) Retrieved 30 January, 2011 from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0218879020220205#preview [3] Normazidah Che Musa et al. Exploring English Language Learning And Teaching In Malaysia. GEMA Online™ Journal of Language Studies 35 Volume 12(1), Special Section, January 2012, 35–51. [4] Nor Hashimah Jalaludin, Norsimah Mat Awal & Kesumawati Abu Bakar.( 2008). The mastery of English language among lower secondary school students in Malaysia: A linguistic analysis. European Journal of Social Sciences, 7 (2), 106-119. [5] Saadiyah Darus & Kaladevi Subramaniam. (2009). Error analysis of the written English essays of secondary school students in Malaysia: A case study. European Journal of Social Sciences, 8 (3), 483-495. [6] http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/4/1/north/5963162&sec=north [7] Gretchen Rhines Cheney, Betsy Brown Ruzzi and Karthik Muralidharan. (2005). A Profile of the Indian Education System. Paper prepared for the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. [8] Nagaraj, Shyamala, Chew Sing Buan, Lee Kiong Hock, and Rahimah Ahmad. (2009). Education and Work: The World of Work. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Posted: 23 Dec 2012 03:41 PM PST  Raman (kanan) dan Lakshumanan mahu meneruskan tradisi keluarga. Rencana umum itu adalah berdasarkan pembacaan, pemerhatian dan pengalaman. Bagaimanapun, pada 15 Disember 2012, saya berpeluang bertemu petugas tanah perkuburan Hindu di Buntong, Ipoh dan mendapatkan pelbagai maklumat tambahan. Apabila peluang pertemuan itu dikemukakan oleh Neelakanthan Munisamy, maka saya dan Murugan Alimuthu yang kebetulan menemani beliau untuk membuat satu lagi wawancara di Kampung Kacang Putih terus bersetuju. Pasangan kembar Raman dan Lakshumanan, 41 tahun, menyambut kunjungan kami dengan gembira. Ternyata kami amat bertuah kerana keluarga itu yang menguruskan tanah perkuburan berkenaan selama enam keturunan sejak sekitar 200 tahun dahulu biasanya tidak mahu diwawancara mana-mana media; lebih-lebih lagi berikutan suatu isu yang berlaku baru-baru ini. Namun, Neelakanthan berjaya mengatur pertemuan khas ini. Menurut Lakshumanan, tanah perkuburan Hindu di Buntong itu berusia lebih 300 tahun tetapi kebanyakan kubur rosak atau musnah berikutan pengeboman tentera Jepun semasa Perang Dunia Kedua. "Keturunan sebelah datuk saya datang dari Chettinad, Tamil Nadu, India dan terlibat dalam kerja-kerja pengurusan kubur dan pembakaran mayat mengikut tradisi Hindu. Selepas datuk kami, Muniandy, bapa kami, Balachendran pula mengambil alih tugas di sini. Kini, saya pula meneruskan tradisi itu dengan bantuan adik-beradik," beliau menceritakan sebelum membawa kami melawat sekitar tanah perkuburan di sebelah rumah. Harus juga saya akui bahawa apabila tiba di tanah perkuburan dan melihat suasana di sana, saya segera teringat akan filem "Pitha Magan" (2003) lakonan Vikram dan Surya. Namun, pasti ada perbezaan antara layar perak dan realiti. Setiap kubur ada cerita tersendiri mengenai si mati dan keluarga yang masih hidup. Agak menarik bahawa pasangan kembar Raman dan Lakshumanan serta adik-beradik mereka adalah pemegang ijazah sarjana muda. Sejak pemergian mendiang Balachendran, Lakshumanan memutuskan untuk berhenti kerja dan menumpukan sepenuh tenaga di tanah perkuburan ini. "Apabila bapa kami mengalami masalah kesihatan dan lumpuh sebahagian tubuh, saya sedar bahawa tradisi pengurusan kubur ini akan berakhir jika salah seorang daripada tujuh orang adik-beradik tidak meneruskannya secara serius. Maka, saya berhenti kerja pada awal tahun 1990-an dan memikul tanggungjawab yang saya anggap sebagai suatu amanah," katanya. Saya, Neelakanthan dan Murugan seronok mendengar pengalaman serta proses pengebumian dan pembakaran mayat secara tradisional mengikut hukum-hakam agama Hindu dan budaya India yang masih dipegang oleh keluarga ini tanpa kompromi. "Ada banyak kisah dan pengalaman istimewa yang mungkin orang ramai tidak akan percaya kalau kami ceritakan. Misalnya, mengenai pengalaman melihat roh – bukan hantu – dan kuasa-kuasa ghaib yang sebenarnya memang wujud di tanah-tanah perkuburan," Lakshumanan menceritakan sambil dipersetujui oleh kembarnya, Raman yang hadir sama dalam sesi perbualan itu. Mengimbau kenangan silam, beliau menceritakan bahawa penggali kubur pada tahun 1980-an hanya dibayar lima ringgit untuk menyempurnakan pengebumian jenazah. Bagi menguruskan pembakaran jenazah pula, bayarannya sepuluh ringgit. Raman yang turut terlibat dalam kerja-kerja di tanah perkuburan sejak usia kanak-kanak mencelah untuk menghuraikan bahawa tugas mengorek lubang mengambil masa purata empat jam. Beliau masih ingat bagaimana mereka berdua bertungkus-lumus mengorek lubang bersaiz 9 kaki (panjang), 4 kaki (lebar) dan 7 kaki (dalam) selepas pulang dari sekolah untuk membantu mendiang bapa. "Bukanlah mudah untuk mengorek tanah untuk mengebumikan jenazah kerana semuanya bergantung pada komposisi tanah. Banyak pengalaman yang kami pernah lalui. Selalu juga terpaksa menahan gigitan semut dan serangga lain. Bayaran yang diterima memang tidak seberapa tetapi kami teruskan demi mengekalkan tradisi," katanya. Tapak pengebumian sudah penuh Lakshumanan menjelaskan bahawa berikutan mesyuarat dan perbincangan pada awal 1990-an, bayaran sepuluh ringgit bagi pembakaran jenazah dan lima ringgit bagi pengebumian jenazah dinaikkan kepada tiga puluh ringgit dan lima belas ringgit. Itu pun tentulah hanya jika ada kematian dan jika jenazah tidak dibawa ke tanah perkuburan lain atau ke tempat pembakaran moden yang menggunakan mesin. Tanah perkuburan yang diuruskan oleh keluarga Lakshumanan pada mulanya kawasan hutan yang dibersihkan sedikit demi sedikit. Pada suatu masa dahulu, keluasannya sekitar 14 ekar tetapi kemudian mengecil kepada tujuh setengah ekar. Malah, kini keluasan tanah perkuburan itu antara lima dan enam ekar sahaja. Lakshumanan tidak mahu menghurai lanjut mengenai perkara itu kerana bimbang menyentuh sensitiviti pihak tertentu. Tambahan pula, tanah perkuburan berkenaan diuruskan oleh jawatankuasa sebuah kuil dan keluarga beliau hanya menjalankan kerja-kerja yang diamanahkan demi meneruskan tradisi tinggalan generasi terdahulu. Kami dibawa melawat sekitar tanah perkuburan itu sambil diberikan penerangan lanjut dan terperinci oleh Lakshumanan. Tiga tapak khas yang disediakan untuk membakar jenazah secara tradisional menggunakan kayu pokok getah menarik perhatian saya. Tambahan pula, dua daripadanya sudah siap disusun memandangkan dua jenazah akan dibakar pada hari berkenaan. Pengurus kubur itu menerangkan bahawa tapak perkuburan sudah penuh dan mereka tidak dapat menerima permintaan untuk mengebumikan jenazah baru. Perlu dinyatakan bahawa dalam budaya India-Hindu, ada jenazah yang dikebumikan dan ada yang dibakar; seperti saya terangkan dalam makalah bertajuk "Menghadapi Kematian". Menurut Lakshumanan, ada juga keluarga si mati yang meminta supaya abu daripada jenazah ditanam di kubur. Permintaan itu juga terpaksa ditolak kerana sudah tidak ada ruang kosong. Maka, abu perlu dibawa untuk dicairkan di sungai atau laut mengikut tradisi. Beliau menjelaskan bahawa memang ada banyak upacara yang perlu dibuat apabila jenazah dibakar. Sejak turun-temurun, keluarga mereka tidak mahu berkompromi dalam hal ini. Keunikan itulah juga yang membuatkan ramai orang tetap memilih tanah perkuburan yang mereka uruskan apabila ada kematian dalam kalangan ahli keluarga. Bukan sekadar misteri roh dan mayat Semasa melawat tanah perkuburan, saya perhatikan beberapa batu nesan yang tumbang dan ada juga tanda-tanda beberapa bahagian di kawasan itu seperti pernah dikorek menggunakan jentera berat. Lakshumanan mengakui bahawa pernah ada kerja-kerja mengorek dilakukan pihak tertentu; tetapi beliau enggan mengulas lanjut. Nampaknya tanah perkuburan memang penuh dengan misteri! Bukan hanya misteri berkaitan hantu, roh dan mayat seperti yang sering diperkatakan, tetapi juga mengenai kumpulan manusia yang masih hidup serta diberikan amanah menguruskan tanah rizab kubur Hindu. Saya pernah membaca laporan di beberapa media mengenai isu melibatkan "politik" tanah perkuburan di sekitar Ipoh. Misalnya, laporan di Malaysia Nanban, Tamil Nesan dan Makkal Osai dari Julai 2010 hingga Julai 2011. Tidak ketinggalan juga peristiwa penyerahan memorandum bertarikh 5 Ogos 2011 oleh Human Rights Party (HRP Perak) kepada Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir unuk meminta kerajaan negeri "membina incinerator krematorium moden bagi masyarakat Bukan Islam di atas sebidang tanah yang selain daripada tanah perkuburan rizab Hindu di Buntong, Ipoh". Hasil carian di internet, saya mendapati bahawa satu lagi memorandum susulan disampaikan oleh HRP kepada Zambry – dengan salinan kepada Perdana Menteri tercinta, Datuk Seri Najib Razak – pada 29 Mei 2012 bagi "menuntut menunaikan janji Kerajaan BN Negeri Perak untuk membina krematorium moden bagi masyarakat yang beragama Hindu di Buntong dan Taiping sebelum PRU-13". HRP mahu supaya semua kubur dan krematorium masyarakat beragama Hindu digazetkan dan diselenggarakan oleh kerajaan tempatan serta "tidak sepatutnya menganaktirikan dan menolak tugas kerajaan tempatan kepada pertubuhan bukan kerajaan, pihak pengurusan kuil dan parti MIC untuk menguruskan dan menyelenggaranya". Bagaimanapun, saya memilih untuk tidak mengemukakan pertanyaan berhubung isu-isu itu kepada Raman dan Lakshumanan kerana tidak mahu meletakkan mereka dalam situasi penuh dilema. Mereka adalah generasi keenam yang tekun dan penuh dedikasi menguruskan tanah rizab perkuburan Hindu di Buntong sejak sekitar 200 tahun lalu. Raman khabarnya akan berkahwin tahun hadapan manakala Lakshumanan masih bujang. Seorang lagi adik mereka yang turut membantu, juga belum berkahwin. Pembakaran jenazah masih dilakukan secara tradisional dan konvensional. Lalu, apakah tradisi yang diwarisi ini akan mampu diteruskan sebagai sebuah legasi demi mengekalkan budaya dan keunikan upacara agama Hindu? Soalan saya disambut dengan ketawa penuh makna oleh pasangan kembar berkenaan yang berumur 41 tahun. "Harapan kami adalah bahawa apabila kami berkahwin dan masing-masing ada anak, maka anak-anak itu akan meneruskan tradisi ini. Apa yang pasti, kami tidak mahu tradisi keluarga kami terkubur begitu sahaja," kata Lakshumanan dengan penuh yakin selepas ketawanya reda. Menurut beliau, datuknya meninggal dunia pada usia melebihi 70 tahun, lalu amanah menguruskan tanah perkuburan itu diambil alih oleh bapa mereka. "Kalaulah wang menjadi perkiraan, tentulah bapa, datuk dan moyang kami tidak terlibat dalam pekerjaan ini. Tentu mereka tidak bertungkus-lumus mempertahankan tanah perkuburan ini. Bagi keturunan kami, tradisi keluarga perlu dipelihara dan terus menjadi legasi. "Ibu dan mendiang bapa selalu berpesan, walau setinggi mana pun kami adik-beradik belajar dan sibuk dengan pekerjaan bergaji sebesar mana pun, kami tetap perlu bersedia untuk bekerja di tanah perkuburan ini. Walaupun tanah rizab ini bukan milik kami, tetapi ia menjadi tapak bagi meneruskan tradisi keluarga sejak turun-temurun," katanya dengan penuh semangat. Walaupun menghadapi cabaran dan rintangan yang datang dari pelbagai sudut dan daripada pelbagai pihak, keluarganya tetap mampu bertahan serta mengekalkan tradisi dan integriti. Tidak semuanya dapat saya catatkan di sini secara terbuka. Sambil kami melawat tanah perkuburan, Lakshumanan turut berkongsi pelbagai cerita suka dan duka, aneh dan pelik melibatkan tingkah-laku orang ramai yang datang ke tempat berkenaan. Tentu sahaja lawatan saya ke mana-mana tanah perkuburan tidak akan sama selepas ini. * Uthaya Sankar SB gemar mengunjungi tempat-tempat yang unik untuk meneroka kisah-kisah yang kurang diketahui umum. ** Ini adalah pandangan peribadi penulis |
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