WHY TEACHING OF SCIENCE AND MATHS IN ENGLISH IS CRUCIAL

I RECENTLY tried watching the movie Gravity with Malay subtitles and I couldn’t understand half of the words and phrases used in the language. 

Some of the scientific terms used could not be properly translated into Bahasa Melayu. 

For those who are not proficient in English, these words must have gone straight over their head. It gave me the feeling we are so far behind in terms of scientific knowledge.

I am not being overdramatic; this simple example proves the inadequacy of our mother tongue in delivering the scientific and technological concepts of the day. Of course, this invites certain complications.

The debate about the use of Bahasa or English in the teaching of Science and Maths is conducted in the wrong spirit. It is not about the language, it is about the knowledge. The vernacular for Science and Maths subjects exist in English; hence, access to the knowledge and information.

If we care greatly about the language used, we must put an effort to develop our OWN research and reservoir of knowledge. Perhaps then, we can put our own stamp (i.e. terma sendiri) on the discovery.

The debate is not about which language to use. Development of scientific knowledge is the point.

Science and Maths should be taught in English in our schools, while the teachers can choose to conduct the explanation in Bahasa, which is absolutely fine – as long as the terms remain in English.

Another point is that: the cause to preserve Bahasa Malaysia as a national identity should not be antagonistic to the efforts to boost the scientific achievements of our country. I’d say more push in both efforts, without one devaluing the other.