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English for Mathematics and Science: current Malaysian language-in-education policies and practices

Bahasa Malaysia (the Malay language) was chosen as the national language to unite the linguistically diverse groups in Malaysia in the mid-1950s. This choice brought about a total change in education policy, whereby Bahasa Malaysia became the medium of instruction for all subjects (other than Englis...

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Main Authors: Heng, Chan Swee, Tan, Helen
Format: Article
Language:English
English
Published: Taylor & Francis 2006
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18280/1/English%20for%20Mathematics%20and%20Science.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18280/
http://dx.doi.org/10.2167/le631.0
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spelling my.upm.eprints.182802015-09-17T04:08:07Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18280/ English for Mathematics and Science: current Malaysian language-in-education policies and practices Heng, Chan Swee Tan, Helen Bahasa Malaysia (the Malay language) was chosen as the national language to unite the linguistically diverse groups in Malaysia in the mid-1950s. This choice brought about a total change in education policy, whereby Bahasa Malaysia became the medium of instruction for all subjects (other than English) in public schools. The decision saw a complete reversal of the role of English, which before the implementation of the 1963 National Language Act was the medium of instruction and administration. The current milestone in policy change is the decision to make English the medium of instruction in mathematics and science. With this change, a number of corollaries emerged that may determine the direction of policy execution. This paper examines contentious reactions to this new policy from various interest groups, teacher trainers and classroom practitioners, and to the implementation of language education programmes related to the teaching of mathematics and science. Among the issues discussed are the perceived difficulty of mastering English, the advantaged and disadvantaged bilingual learner, the rural-urban dichotomy in learner capability, and the question of national identity. © 2006 S.H. Chan & H. Tan. Taylor & Francis 2006 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18280/1/English%20for%20Mathematics%20and%20Science.pdf Heng, Chan Swee and Tan, Helen (2006) English for Mathematics and Science: current Malaysian language-in-education policies and practices. Language and Education, 20 (4). pp. 306-321. ISSN 0950-0782 http://dx.doi.org/10.2167/le631.0 doi:10.2167/le631.0 English
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
building UPM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Putra Malaysia
content_source UPM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://psasir.upm.edu.my/
language English
English
description Bahasa Malaysia (the Malay language) was chosen as the national language to unite the linguistically diverse groups in Malaysia in the mid-1950s. This choice brought about a total change in education policy, whereby Bahasa Malaysia became the medium of instruction for all subjects (other than English) in public schools. The decision saw a complete reversal of the role of English, which before the implementation of the 1963 National Language Act was the medium of instruction and administration. The current milestone in policy change is the decision to make English the medium of instruction in mathematics and science. With this change, a number of corollaries emerged that may determine the direction of policy execution. This paper examines contentious reactions to this new policy from various interest groups, teacher trainers and classroom practitioners, and to the implementation of language education programmes related to the teaching of mathematics and science. Among the issues discussed are the perceived difficulty of mastering English, the advantaged and disadvantaged bilingual learner, the rural-urban dichotomy in learner capability, and the question of national identity. © 2006 S.H. Chan & H. Tan.
format Article
author Heng, Chan Swee
Tan, Helen
spellingShingle Heng, Chan Swee
Tan, Helen
English for Mathematics and Science: current Malaysian language-in-education policies and practices
author_facet Heng, Chan Swee
Tan, Helen
author_sort Heng, Chan Swee
title English for Mathematics and Science: current Malaysian language-in-education policies and practices
title_short English for Mathematics and Science: current Malaysian language-in-education policies and practices
title_full English for Mathematics and Science: current Malaysian language-in-education policies and practices
title_fullStr English for Mathematics and Science: current Malaysian language-in-education policies and practices
title_full_unstemmed English for Mathematics and Science: current Malaysian language-in-education policies and practices
title_sort english for mathematics and science: current malaysian language-in-education policies and practices
publisher Taylor & Francis
publishDate 2006
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18280/1/English%20for%20Mathematics%20and%20Science.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18280/
http://dx.doi.org/10.2167/le631.0
_version_ 1643826759332790272
score 13.211869

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