Master English or be left behind in global market

I REFER to the report “English essential for core subjects” (Sunday Star, Nov 28).

It is completely incorrect to suggest that Japan, South Korea and Germany have advanced economically and scientifically without English. Scientists in these countries publish their papers in English.

There is a trend among Japanese companies to make English their official in-house language. Japan’s biggest online retailer, Rakutan, plans to make English the firm’s official language. “No English, no job,” the CEO said.

In Beijing, learning English is part of an official drive to transform the Chinese capital into a “world city”. A government programme calls for all pre-schools to introduce English courses within five years. Police officers and civil servants would be required to pass English tests.

One could go on but – like it or not – English is becoming the world’s first truly universal language. It is the international language for business, the language of the information age, and of science, medicine, sports, diplomacy etc. For this reason, almost all the countries in Asia (and most of the world) are working hard at mastering the English language.

In Malaysia, English is not a compulsory pass subject in SPM. This has an important negative consequence. While the stated objective of the Education Ministry may be that all students acquire competence in English, in effect, the official policy is that English does not matter because students are not given an incentive to learn it.

Of course, many students become competent speakers of English in spite of this, partly because of responsible parents (especially in the urban areas) who realise the importance of English.

But all students should learn the international language and a pass in English should be compulsory. Let us try to make the problem of graduates who are unemployable because of poor English skills a thing of the past.

JOHN GREIG,
Subang Jaya.