ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA: IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES AT PRIMARY SCHOOLS

This paper discusses English language education in Malaysia, focusing on the primary school level. It begins by presenting the background of the English language education pathways that is provided by the national education policy in Malaysia, generally, and then a more focused discussion on the development of English language learning and teaching programs at the primary education level, their aspirations as well as the realities. The realities shared will put into perspective how the implementation of the English language education initiatives is juxtaposed against the multilingual and plural socio-political circumstances resulting in several paradoxical challenges, contexts as well as practices. Of particular interest is the effect that the new Primary School Standards-Based Curriculum or KSSR for English language education (SBELC), which was first introduced in 2011 to Year One primary pupils and will be fully implemented by 2016 to Years One to Six, has on the performance of the primary pupils in the LINUS LBI (literacy and Numeracy Screening for English Literacy) test at the end of year three. Concurrently, the recent shifts in language-in-education policies experienced between 2013 and 2015 will also be referred and discussed in view of the reintroduction of English as a medium of instruction alongside Bahasa Melayu, Mandarin or Tamil languages, towards a bilingual context in the public education system. Finally the paper concludes by sharing innovative initiatives, implemented at the local and national levels that have shown potential in strengthening proficiency in the English language in this multifarious Malaysian setting, right from the onset of learning English at the primary school level.