Comments on: What the rest of the world thinks about Malaysians’ ability to speak English?

By: Jo

Jo — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:45:00 +0000

I remember years ago, when I still lived in England, meeting a Dutchman at a party – not only was his English excellent but he could crack jokes in regional accents as well – he was better at accents than I was and I was accounted pretty good. It absolutely floored me.

I know another phrase in Maltese Satima, it means “I left my key in my room”, more useful if not as funny.

By: Glenda Larke

Glenda Larke — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:45:00 +0000

Yes, you’re right, Satima. It is much more difficult for a Non-European language speaker to learn English. The structure is so different.

That is one reason why the younger the better. It is foolish to think you can fix things in highschool, when it is so much easier to start correctly in first grade elementary school.

By: Satima Flavell

Satima Flavell — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:53:00 +0000

I agree with you, Peter – I ‘ve yet to meet a German, Dutch, Belgian or Scandinavian person who did not speak realy good English, Of course, they have the advantage of access to native born or trained teachers, something the Malaysian education department appears to think unnecessary, although we should also remember that Malay and other languages spoken in the region bear no relation to English at all. Even Hindi or Urdu speakers have the advantage of them on that score, and the northern Europeans, of course, are streets ahead.

Jo, when I next meet a Maltese person I shall try out that phrase just to see what they do:-) (Actually they’ll probably reply in Maltese with something like “Don’t be silly, it’s pouring with rain,” which will throw me completely!)

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:35:00 +0000

Considering that English is now the popular world language for most countries, Malaysians will be at a disadvantage in trade, commerce, overseas education and internet research.

All of the northern Europeans I met during my work were fluent in English and were taught it as a second language since early childhood.

By: Jo

Jo — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:13:00 +0000

I agree with your methods for teaching English, well any language in fact. When I was learning French in school I hated it, full of books and grammar etc. etc. It wasn’t until I was 15 and went on an exchange visit with a French family that I realised it was a living language and not just boring lessons. No baby learns its own language with books and grammar lessons.

As for the bad language, some places love to teach you phrases in their language which sound rude in English. I’m not sure of the spelling, but “y shem ti shitta” means the sun is shining in Maltese and its one of the first things the Maltese kids teach you.