Language policy in limbo: implications on the quality of english language teachers

The language that is chosen as the medium of communication and instruction is normally more dominant that other languages that are spoken or taught in the country. Thus the language policy adopted by a particular country is of concern especially in places where many languages are spoken, and when t...

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Main Authors: Mat Daud, Nuraihan, Md. Zamin, Ainul Azmin, Mat Daud, Nor Shidrah
Format: Conference or Workshop Item
Language:English
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/3999/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/3999/1/LANGUAGE_POLICY_IN_LIMBO.pdf
id iium-3999
recordtype eprints
spelling iium-39992017-12-11T09:16:31Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/3999/ Language policy in limbo: implications on the quality of english language teachers Mat Daud, Nuraihan Md. Zamin, Ainul Azmin Mat Daud, Nor Shidrah P Philology. Linguistics PE English The language that is chosen as the medium of communication and instruction is normally more dominant that other languages that are spoken or taught in the country. Thus the language policy adopted by a particular country is of concern especially in places where many languages are spoken, and when there is a need for its population to know a certain language for certain specific reasons. One such country is Malaysia. It has seen a number of changes in its language policy. Bahasa Melayu has been the national and official language since independence in 1957 as documented in the Federal Constitution and the National Language Act. It is a common symbol of identity to integrate the three major ethnic groups which are the Malays, Chinese and Indians into one nation. After Malay was declared the national language in 1967 and the severe race riots in Kuala Lumpur in May 1969 it was decided that English-medium schools would be phased out in Malaysia and by 1985 all former English-medium schools would become Malay-medium schools. In 1994, Malaysia experienced yet another change in its bilingual education when English was adopted as the medium of instruction for scientific and technical courses at the tertiary level. A bolder move was made in May 2002 when English was made the medium of instruction replacing the national language for science and mathematics at schools. Many Malay nationalists, however, lament the move resulting in a decision to move back to Malay in 2009. This paper will discuss the impact of the changes on the potential English language instructors who are the product of the system. Essays produced by those applying for a teaching position at a public university were analysed for this purpose. The study reflects the difficulty in hiring language instructors who are fully proficient in the language. 2010-07-04 Conference or Workshop Item NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/3999/1/LANGUAGE_POLICY_IN_LIMBO.pdf Mat Daud, Nuraihan and Md. Zamin, Ainul Azmin and Mat Daud, Nor Shidrah (2010) Language policy in limbo: implications on the quality of english language teachers. In: Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA), 4-7th July 2010, Brisbane, Australia. (Unpublished)
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Local University
institution International Islamic University Malaysia
building IIUM Repository
collection Online Access
language English
topic P Philology. Linguistics
PE English
spellingShingle P Philology. Linguistics
PE English
Mat Daud, Nuraihan
Md. Zamin, Ainul Azmin
Mat Daud, Nor Shidrah
Language policy in limbo: implications on the quality of english language teachers
description The language that is chosen as the medium of communication and instruction is normally more dominant that other languages that are spoken or taught in the country. Thus the language policy adopted by a particular country is of concern especially in places where many languages are spoken, and when there is a need for its population to know a certain language for certain specific reasons. One such country is Malaysia. It has seen a number of changes in its language policy. Bahasa Melayu has been the national and official language since independence in 1957 as documented in the Federal Constitution and the National Language Act. It is a common symbol of identity to integrate the three major ethnic groups which are the Malays, Chinese and Indians into one nation. After Malay was declared the national language in 1967 and the severe race riots in Kuala Lumpur in May 1969 it was decided that English-medium schools would be phased out in Malaysia and by 1985 all former English-medium schools would become Malay-medium schools. In 1994, Malaysia experienced yet another change in its bilingual education when English was adopted as the medium of instruction for scientific and technical courses at the tertiary level. A bolder move was made in May 2002 when English was made the medium of instruction replacing the national language for science and mathematics at schools. Many Malay nationalists, however, lament the move resulting in a decision to move back to Malay in 2009. This paper will discuss the impact of the changes on the potential English language instructors who are the product of the system. Essays produced by those applying for a teaching position at a public university were analysed for this purpose. The study reflects the difficulty in hiring language instructors who are fully proficient in the language.
format Conference or Workshop Item
author Mat Daud, Nuraihan
Md. Zamin, Ainul Azmin
Mat Daud, Nor Shidrah
author_facet Mat Daud, Nuraihan
Md. Zamin, Ainul Azmin
Mat Daud, Nor Shidrah
author_sort Mat Daud, Nuraihan
title Language policy in limbo: implications on the quality of english language teachers
title_short Language policy in limbo: implications on the quality of english language teachers
title_full Language policy in limbo: implications on the quality of english language teachers
title_fullStr Language policy in limbo: implications on the quality of english language teachers
title_full_unstemmed Language policy in limbo: implications on the quality of english language teachers
title_sort language policy in limbo: implications on the quality of english language teachers
publishDate 2010
url http://irep.iium.edu.my/3999/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/3999/1/LANGUAGE_POLICY_IN_LIMBO.pdf
first_indexed 2023-09-18T20:12:02Z
last_indexed 2023-09-18T20:12:02Z
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