FOR parents in rural areas, learning English has become a family affair, thanks to the government’s Dual Language Programme (DLP) to teach Math and Science in the language.

But for Norsherina Mohd Hashim, whether her daughter Nur Shahira Abdul Aziz is fluent in the language depends on something beyond the school and the govenrment’s control – the rural environment.

General resistance to English in rural areas, even in this day and age, threatens to hobble the DLP’s aim to improve proficiency in rural schools, said Nur Shahira’s teachers.

“Nur Shahira speaks English quite confidently to me and her father at home,” Norsherina told The Malaysian Insight during a visit to SK Bandar Tasek Kesuma in Beranang, Selangor, recently.

“My husband and I have even bought English-BM dictionaries to help all of us learn.

“But when we go out, she is very shy about using English and she speaks very slowly to us then,” said Norsherina.

SK Bandar Tasek Kesuma principal Noridah Abdul Aziz has noticed that schoolchildren are uncomfortable speaking English outside the classroom in rural Selangor.

“In urban areas, speaking English is natural. That’s why kids in urban areas pick it up easily,” she said, adding that urban parents are also more likely to use the language at home.

“In rural schools, kids still get teased for using English. Among boys, especially, it has led to fights,” she said.

“Kids in our DLP classes do improve their English. They become better at it and use it in class. The problem is when they step out of class.

“They lack the confidence to use it. Most rural families use only BM.”

And if the children do not use the language in their daily lives, chances are they will lose proficiency later, she said.

High demand

The optional DLP is the government’s latest effort at halting the decline in English among Malaysian students.

Participating schools conduct some Math, Science and Technical design classes in English for selected Year One, Two and Five pupils. In secondary school, DLP classes are held for some Form One students.

It is a paradox that the demand for DLP is growing in rural schools while the rural environment is not conducive to students of English.

Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon said when the programme was introduced last year, rural schools comprised only 27.4% of the 300 participating schools nationwide.

This year, close to one third, or 32.5%, of the 1,214 DLP schools are in rural areas.

“It’s not correct to say that only urban parents want their kids to be good in English. In fact, it’s the other way around; the demand is higher in rural areas,” said Chong.

Changing minds

This high demand is not translating into a more supportive environment even when it is clear that the DLP is benefiting pupils.

In SK Bandar Tasek Kesuma, teachers say pupils on the DLP have shown a noticeable improvement in proficiency.

Nationally, Chong said a study last year showed that 79% of pupils in DLP classes scored highly in English proficiency tests, compared with  53% of non-DLP students.

The challenge, said Noridah, to cement that proficiency so that rural kids is fluent in the language for life.

Noridah’s strategy is to get the whole school to speak more English. The school’s DLP pupils must only communicate in English even outside of their special classes.

This means that they have to speak English not only to their DLP teachers, but to their others teachers, their coaches, friends, and even the canteen staff.

All staff and students on the dual language programme wear the “Speak English Please” badge.

“We have to make speaking English a culture outside of class. Otherwise these kids will never have the confidence to use the language outside of class,” she said.

“We want the DLP to not just benefit a small group of pupils but the whole school.”

Because unless the prevailing attitude towards English outside of class changes in rural areas, the DLP will not live up to its promise. – August 18, 2017.