english – Unspun

For many normal countries like Indonesia, getting instruction in English is something desirable and they move ahead, maybe slowly but surely, in an increasingly globalized world. Countries like Malaysia seems bent on moving in the opposite direction. Malaysia Boleh!

via the Jakarta Globe:

Ministry Turns a Deaf Ear to Critics Over Use of English in the Classroom

While the use of English as a language of instruction in schools has often sparked controversy, the government says it is unlikely to follow neighbor Malaysia and drop the use of English for math and science classes.

The Ministry of National Education’s director general of management for primary and secondary schools, Suyanto, told the Jakarta Globe the ministry would stick to its agenda of increasing the number of schools that use English for math and science lessons.

“No way will we drop it,” he said. “Students have a great capacity to learn, so we should encourage them.”

Last week, the Malaysian government announced that it would dump English as the language of instruction for math and science in schools. Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, as reported by Agence France-Presse, said his government was convinced that science and math needed to be taught in a language that would be easily understood by students.

Critics of Malaysia’s nation-wide policy of teaching these two subjects in English say that student performance has declined since the policy’s introduction in 2003, and that it is particularly unfair for children who are not proficient in the language.

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Unspun, who hates spam, was spammed today from a Singapore training outfit Fortress Intelligence. The spam, sent by one Hadijah Sahid offered an opportunity for me to “improve” my business English.

Ever one to seek improvement Unspun perused the spam but after reading the first two paragraphs decied that maybe Unspun should offer Hadijah and Fortress not only lessons to improve their Business English but also to acquire some Netiquette and to go easy on the chutzpah. Here’s the first two paragraphs of the offering. Read and know what audacity is all about:

Business English – Enhance Your Communication Skills in English, 11th-12th
September 2008,
9:00am – 5:00pm, Shangri-La Jakarta, Indonesia
_____________________________________________________________________

This Business Communication training course enables you to develop
business communications that make your point quickly, clearly and
persuasively. You will learn how to structure your thoughts, analyse your
audience’s needs, develop key information and presents it at the right
level of details so that it get the results you hoped for.

This business communication course is highly practical and will give you
the opportunity to apply the techniques covered. It will also enables you
to develop and improve your communication skills so that ideas are
expressed clearly, concisely and effectively. The skills and techniques
learned can be applied to a wide range of business communications.