TO BE GOOD IN ENGLISH, LOVE ENGLISH

When much debates are going on about the teaching of science and maths in English, I have been keeping quiet all these while.

I am neither totally for nor totally against the policy.

It is just that the policy will never reach its objective - that is to improve English among Malaysians.

I love English, so too all all my children. I do not know how and why I do so. I was good in English from the primary school.

I remember exchanging English novels or English comic books with Normah, a secondary school student a few years older than me when I was in standard six.

I remember reading many many English story books from the school library when I was in SDAR. Most English books would for sure have my name recorded on the card.

I remember watching and enjoying most English TV programmes, even comedies like All In The Family. Many a time the TV set would go on till morning when I dozed off in the middle of good movies.

I was lucky to have a VSO English teacher and a Peace Corp English teacher ---so I was exposed to both the Queen's English as well as American English.

I was lucky too to be when the policy was to teach everything in English...even Bahasa Malaysia was once taught in English by a Chinese teacher by the name of Mr Wong Seng Tong!

Still remember how I looked forward to get back essay homeworks...why? Words like these from teachers motivated me a lot: "Nobody except Azahar did a good essay on the subject!"

Also still fresh in my mind how I memorise words from the dictionary. That was why I know words like scurry, scuttle besides run; huge, mammoth, gargantuan, large besides the plain and widely used big; flabbergasted, nonplussed for surprised...

That's why many Professors and lecturers over in UGA were asking me where did I learn English...not to boast or anything like that, my thesis was so flawless that there was nothing to correct!

To be good in English, first students must love English, second expose them to books, movies and tv programmes early in life, thirdly get them to write more essays, involve in story-telling, debates, etc

To love English does not mean you are less patriotic...Be bilingual, trilingual...don't be an American (know only English..that too with haywire grammer!)