The Permaisuri of Johor, Raja Zarith Sofiah Sultan Idris Shah recently made a call to provide more opportunities for the younger generation to learn and master the English language, for them to realize their full potential in the global context.

Being the Royal Patron of the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (MELTA), Raja Zarith Sofiah said that there is an urgent need to arrest the ‘dramatic and drastic’ decline of the students’ proficiency in both written and spoken aspects of the English language.

According to BERNAMA, she also said that, other than the initiatives carried out by the Government in schools, other parties too such as individuals, corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations should play their role in providing support and encouragement for students in schools and institutions of higher learning to learn the language.

At Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), the School of Languages, Literacies and Translation (PPBLT) has been tasked to provide opportunities for students, be they full-time or in a specifically-designed programme, to learn and immerse themselves in various language classes. The language courses can range from those regarded as compulsory in fulfilling requirements for graduation to those which are designed to be intensive in content and duration.

In addition to instructions on Malay and English languages, other languages available for students to choose include Mandarin, Tamil, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, French and Spanish. At one time, German and Russian were available as options as well. At the same time, students may also go for the Minor, Undergraduate or Graduate programmes.

As they attend a university aiming for global reach and recognition, students at USM are also encouraged to master a third language. By knowing yet another language, the younger generation would have more opportunities to interact with students and community groups from other countries on campus.

Moreover, the students could participate in student exchange programmes, where they would be placed in different parts of the world for a limited time to gain desired educational experiences there. Knowing the language of that particular country would surely come in handy. For the extrovert and the adventurous, they could even become ‘student buddies’ on campus, to assist new, incoming foreign students in adapting themselves to the new surroundings and culture.

Roger Bacon once said, "Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom". Being proficient in two or more languages then would be the means to be and stay ahead in the future. The local and global job markets will become more competitive and present more challenges, and having additional skills or talents such as being proficient in another language, would surely bring advantages in seeking out potentialities and securing opportunities.

Text: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin