SIBU: A local teacher, Penny Nyanggai, supports the policy of teaching Mathematics and Science in English, but not “local English”.
“Because sometimes I can’t fully understand local English,” she said.
“The meanings could be completely different from actual English, so that would be problematic in the school setting.”
For example, someone might say, “Saya boring lah!” (I feel bored.) Here, who or what is boring. Surely the speaker isn’t saying he/she is boring (uninteresting or unattractive).
“The right word should be ‘bored’ instead of ‘boring’, but that’s local English. You don’t dare correct the speaker because you don’t want them to think that you are stuck up or something,” she said.
Still, Penny said she was hopeful because she had seen some improvement among students who were taught in English since 2004.
“In my opinion, the students must be taught Maths and Science in proper English because they must learn the correct vocabularies to ensure that they understand the subjects well,” she said.
She believes that if students are spoken to in local English, it will bring negative effects because many might not be able to tell which is correct and which is not.
