WHICH IS BETTER, TO STUDY

MATHS & SCIENCE IN BAHASA

MELAYU OR TO STUDY MATHS
AND SCIENCE IN ENGLISH?

To argue
Wen Yun
Yan Hong
Firdaus

Article 1 (English in Maths and Science)

Asia leads the world for having the best students in science and
maths, as shown by the 2007 report by TIMSS (TRENDS IN
INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE STUDY). The
international educational scores for 2007 show that Asian countries
top the ranking with 1. Chinese Taipei 2. S Korea 3. Singapore 4. Hong
Kong 5. Japan 6. Hungary 7. England 8. Russia, 9. United States and
10. Lithuania. Sadly, Malaysia came in a distant 20th position in
Mathematics, compared to 10th in 2003. The Ministry of
Education should look to Asian countries for solutions to the issue of
Maths and Science for students in Malaysia. Learn from our closest
neighbour Singapore which took first position in TIMSS 2003 and 3rd
position in TIMSS 2007. Singapore teaches maths and science in
English. No one is questioning the sovereignty of Bahasa Malaysia.
Maths and Science can be taught in any language, but parents choice
should be respected. To join the new global age of a knowledge
society it would be in the best interest of Malaysia to encourage
students at secondary schools to learn Maths and Science in English.

Article 2 (Malay in Maths and Science)

The Ministry consulted various stakeholders and conducted
in-depth studies on the effectiveness of PPSMI and its
impact on student learning before scrapping the flawed
policy. We found that during the implementation of PPSMI
only 4% of Mathematics and Science teachers used
90% or more of English in the teaching and learning of
the two subjects. A majority of them used a mixture of
Bahasa Malaysia and English. More often than not, the
teachers had to switch to Bahasa Malaysia in their teaching
because students could not understand their lessons in
English. A study conducted by a group of educationists from
the Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI) revealed
that 70% of Form Two students found it difficult to
learn Mathematics and Science in English. Another
study done by a Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
professor concluded that PPSMI hampered students ability
to understand Mathematics and Science concepts, hence
resulting in their poor performance in the two subjects. The
Education Ministry also received numerous views from

Introduction
The Ministry of Education has after
months of debate and dialogue decided
that teachers should use Bahasa Melayu
to teach Maths and Science in secondary
schools. This has caused considerable
disbelief and distress among many
parents who prefer to have their children
learning Maths and Science in English.

Body 1ST Paragraph

During the implementation of PPSMI, the majority of the
teachers do not use 90% of English when they are teaching
and learning both subjects. Moreover, they tend to mix
Bahasa Melayu and English when their students unable to
understand the lessons in English. A study had done to
reveal 70% of Form Two students found it is difficult
to learn Mathematics and Science in English. Another
research had been done by UKM, this policy causes the
students perform badly in Math and Science due to low level
of proficiency in English. Besides, students who are good in
English also can perform well in other subjects taught in
Bahasa Melayu. This shows that Bahasa Melayu can be used
in teaching Math and Science.

Body 2ND Paragraph

However, Science and Technology is the wave of the future. In
the field of knowledge, world libraries and the internet use
the English Language as the primary language of
communication. It is a sad fact that the libraries of
Malaysian universities have failed to provide adequate
Bahasa Malaysia reading material in Science and
Technology for our university students. However their
parents are very much aware that their children can have a
better chance to equip themselves with science and
technology if they are well versed in the English language.

Body 3rd Paragraph

We could not agree with the author in second article that PPSMI
is the only way forward for education in Malaysia. However, the
Ministry of Education should look to Asian countries for
solutions to the issue of Maths and Science for students
in Malaysia. We can learn from our closest neighbour Singapore
which took first position in TIMSS 2003 and 3rd position in TIMSS
2007. Singapore teaches Maths and Science in English. No one is
questioning the sovereignty of Bahasa Malaysia while Singapore
is also a multi-racial country. To join the new global age of a
knowledge society it would be in the best interest of Malaysia to
encourage students at secondary schools to learn Maths and
Science in English. It is very true for rural and kampong students
who can benefit immensely by learning English Maths and
Science at secondary schools. They can be in the mainstream of
global advancement.

Conclusion
We strongly agree that learning Maths and
Science in English is much more better
than in Malay because English is a neutral
global language that everyone must learn.

REFERENCE
http://www.thestar.com.my/story/?file=%
2F2011%2F10%2F5%2Ffocus%2F9631026
http://
homeworktips.about.com/od/essaywriting/
a/argument.htm
http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2009/07/17/which
-is-better-learning-maths-and-science-in-bah
asa-malaysia-or-in-english
/