KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia would like to see more young people speaking English in the Borneo state of Sabah and have called for schools to implement new strategies to enhance English language learning, the country's State Resource Development and Information Technology Assistant Minister Jainab Ahmad. Ahmad showed her dismay that only a small number of pupils in the state are proficient in English, and she said mastering English was “important in the era of globalisation and information communication technology.” Across Malaysia, the government has begun to implement new curriculum to help boost English language learning as a means of pushing the younger generation towards being better able to compete with the global community. “However, English lesson in the classroom is not sufficient to master the language,” she said. “School children need to practice it in daily life. Do not be shy to speak English as you can learn from experience. Language proficiency will improve when one speaks English whenever he could.” Ahmad, who is also Karambunai assemblywoman, was speaking at the launch of a free English program developed by Royal Group for three selected schools in Sepanggar. She also expressed her regret that most pupils read English books and reading material only during an English class, but not after school. “Most students hardly speak English, they do not watch English programmes unless there are subtitles and read only Malay newspapers and magazines,” she added.
