Math and Science blues, again..

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First of all, I applaud the Ministry of Education for (finally, after a friggin' long time) deciding on which language Mathematics and Science will be taught on. But you'll have to ruin the applause by saying it's gonna revert back to Bahasa Malaysia.

For your information, I'm the first batch if students learning Maths and Science in English since it's introduction 2003. The transition had indeed given me a hard time to cope as I'm not good in English at that time. And nope, my English didn't improve due to the switch, but from fanfictions reading/writing which I took up later on.



Even if it were to remain in BM, it won't necessarily mean I'll be better in it, nor will I use it more often in my daily conversations. Even if we're forced to 'speak' Maths and Science in BM, at most we'll just mention the terms in BM, and then revert back to the language we're comfortable speaking in; English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien , Tamil, Hindi, Japanese Korean Indonesian you name it. Tell me, how can 'national unity' be enforced this way?


Didn't anyone realise we're so good at rojak-ing? I find it more of a pride than a disgrace of languages, as it defines who we truly are. Yes I'm proud of rojak-ing. Has it eroded my grasp of languages? No. But hey, that's not the main point here.


I hear that some parties argue that Mathematics and Science being taught in English is harder to understand and thus, the reason many students fail in their tests and examinations. I also hear something like this: "When teachers teach these subjects in English, students cannot understand and concentrate, so they sleep in class." If they teach in BM but if students still don't understand it, would they still be awake too? You guys jduge.






Now now, I'm sure my batch has also experienced problems such as teachers who are unable to teach properly in English. While it is true that we might not learn much (or should I say, properly) from them, a student who really wishes to learn do not get their knowledge solely on the teachers alone, but they find their resources elsewhere too. Rather than listening alone, they will 'help out' during the lessons, pointing out the errors and such.



There's nothing embarrassing to have students correct teachers, because no one's perfect. My Physics teacher previously struggles with English sentences during her lessons, often spitting out sentences with missing 'is', going "What the measurement of vernier clip..", "What the result you all get ah?" Laugh, but remember we have our own weaknesses as well.




Ask any students my age "Do you find learning Maths and Science in English helpful in college/university life?" and you'll find that most of the answers are yes. Obviously. All the terms we learn here are in English. Perhaps other government universities or matriculation centres had it in BM, I don't know. However, it would be easier for us to go further with a strong grasp in English (the terms at least). I'm having a headache right now so I can't think of the right words but anyway I meant it benefits us in the long run, in the futuristic view.




After more than six years of using us as guinea pigs (which, thankfully, beared fruits for me), I really wonder if they gathered statistics fully from ALL of us. If they're not listening to the voice of the people, I wonder whose voice do they listen to then.


I have no power by myself, but I do hope we can have our children learning Mathematics and Science in English too. Not to 'erode national unity', but for their future's sake.




This is my generation, and this is OUR voices.


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