"This book deals with current linguistic challenges that you read and hear about everyday in the media, issues with which Malaysian society is greatly concerned. These are dichotomous challenges between national concerns and international needs, between the use and application of the national language and the international lingua franca - English - and between sub-varieties of Malaysian English and standards for international communication"--Back cover.

Scientific Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Pedagogy - Miscellaneous Topics, University Kebangsaan Malaysia (Center of language learning), course: TESOL, language: English, abstract: Now days, there is no hesitant due to fact that the status of English language of becoming a forerunner in worldwide communication as it has become the language of choices in most countries of the world. Hence, English has play an important role in united the country in the world bringing them together. As a result, many people are being involved in the teaching sector of English to people of foreign origin. Despite that, the heightened interest in the English language, teachers frequently face various difficulties and challenges while teaching English as a foreign language meanwhile the students also facing the same predicament as the teachers. According to Chia-Ming (2008), majority students who major in English not only face the challenges in learning, acquiring and mastering English but also the type of knowledge to be equipped for future globalised markets and advanced skills.In Malaysian context, the most emphasizes issues in the education ministry sector is that the use of English language in teaching Science and Math in English, which replaced with Malay language. This change has to do with the new government policy in education. The implemented of this action in the education system have brought such a huge problem towards the teachers and students. The sudden change is hard to be accepted by as the teachers are used to teach in Malay language. Because of the lack of experienced teaching in English they tend to code switch terms to Malay Language from English. That makes the study becoming more complicated. Moreover not all the teachers can speak English fluently and this somehow does affect the quality of teaching the Math and Science using the English language. While for students, they also prefer to code switch to their mother tongue language as it makes them understa

Set in Malaysia, this book encompasses language and cultural policy challenges that many other multi-ethnic nations currently have to address. The people of Malaysia constitute a diverse ethnic, linguistic and cultural population and one of the continuing challenges is the development and establishment of the Malaysian people’s ethnic, national and global cultural identities. This challenge is evident in the journey of language and cultural policy from the post-independence period to the 21st century; a period of over 50 years. The book highlights political, socio-cultural, economic and knowledge economy factors as they impact on decisions made by the government with regard to language policy in the various educational systems. It examines decisions made on the selection of the national language, the medium of instruction in educational systems, the varying changes in language policy for the field of science and technology and the maintenance and sustenance of minority languages.

The spread of English is so much an integral part of globalization that it has become an essential global literacy skill. In Asia, this poses immense challenges to governments and English language teaching and teacher education professions as they attempt to meet this demand from students for a high level of English proficiency. This volume examines English language education policies across ten Asian jurisdictions, the corresponding teacher education policies, and how these policies affect teachers and teacher educators. Each chapter covers a different jurisdiction, and is written by a scholar engaged in the implementation of government policies on English language and teacher education, providing the reader with insiders' perspectives. It gives a fascinating glimpse into the remarkable similarities in the challenges posed to these countries and the critical issues that have emerged from the local responses despite their markedly different socioeconomic, political, cultural and historical backgrounds.

In today's global world, where Asia is an increasing area of focus, it is vital to explore what it means to 'understand' Asian cultures through English and other languages. This volume presents new research on English in Asia, alongside Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi-Urdu, Malay, Russian and other languages.

Like several other Asian countries, Malaysia uses English for a variety of official, professional and everyday purposes. Many Malaysians use English alongside their first language, typically Malay, Chinese or Tamil, but have a particular need for English if they are to succeed in their careers. What is special about this book is that it looks under the surface of the use of English, and shows how the teaching of English is tailored to bring this language situation about, by applying recent developments in the study of English and of English Language Teaching. It deals with questions such as the use of corpora in language teaching, and investigates some of the obstacles young Malaysians face in acquiring the necessary command of English. Issues investigated include the link between lack of proficiency and lack of motivation, the effect of examinations and the ‘washback’ effect, and the problems of academic writing. Other chapters deal with English in the workplace, including doctor-patient communication, the communication challenges facing tour guides, and gender-based differences in the learning of computer skills. The book will be of great value to anyone professionally involved with global English, ‘glocalisation’ or language contact, including teachers, publishers and language planners, especially those concerned with the use of global English in Asia.

This volume offers an account of the English language used in present-day West and East Malaysia and its status as seen from different social and linguistic domains. The chapters cover original topics and data, providing new analysis/observations.