The A to Z of English - English lessons on sale

IN Petaling Jaya, most days the past weeks I have seen a Caucasian-looking young gentleman with two others in tow standing at a traffic junction in Section 14, holding a placard inviting all and sundry to "Free English Class". I was at first taken aback that English lessons have landed with the street vendors and operators have resorted to marketing English lessons as if they were cupcakes.
On further contemplation, I thought this could have perhaps worked for those who were looking for a quick-fix to improve their English but here is yet another reminder that quick fixes don't work, not for learning a language.
With the propaganda on the need to improve English going around the country from months to years now, there has been fervent and rushed interest in opening up English language centres in every nook and corner the way the kopitiams have been mushrooming.
However, with people having less disposable income these days, the smaller centres with limited advertising budget allocations are finding it difficult to attract students and operators have turned to various unconventional gimmicks for sales and marketing.
The issue about English proficiency has been bumping in and out like the stars and the moon on a cloudy night, surfacing when some odd statement is made and then being shoved into a vacuum.
Recently, the Malacca chief minister threw brickbats at state government officers. He claimed that the officers did not have the desired proficiency level and that it would work against the state's efforts to find a comfortable spot for Malacca in the world tourism map.
He said the situation was worrying for the state government and him, especially when Malacca was now striding forward to establish itself as an international port.
He said that for international trade and business, Malacca needs government officers who are fluent in English for effective communication.
It is heartening that the state has been rudely woken up and the chief minister has instructed the parties involved to obtain information on officers who have problems communicating in English. I believe some entity is making big bucks in Malacca re-training the government officers on the rudiments of the English language beginning with the subject-verb agreement. In the meantime, the world is passing us, leaving behind irrecoverable distance.
If we also care to recall, Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem made headlines on the same subject last year when he declared English as the state's second official language. Despite strong opposition he refused to budge from his stand justifying his decision with the fact that English is the "language of science, learning, literature, technology, business, research, communication and international relations".
While what these two state heads did is indeed laudable, the issue about lack of English proficiency has to be addressed from the source and the various stakeholders have spoken enough on this.
More exposure to English from primary and secondary schools will see tangible results apart from us becoming a nation with progressive thoughts and reformist attitude towards the way we think and live.
Incidentally, I was in Malacca last weekend and I noticed huge billboards carrying the phrase, "Don't Mess with Malacca" displayed conspicuously around the city especially at tourist spots.
I was a pinch offended with the sternness with which the words screamed out and later I learnt that the messages were aimed at getting people to take cleanliness seriously.
Snobbish and haughty as it sounded, the Malacca Government declared that it was the least perturbed about the tone in the message as it is "meant to be a harsh reminder not to litter".
Whoever thought of the phrase, the implied and expressed meaning is, "Don't annoy me". "Don't make me angry". It's something you'd say to someone who was bugging you, or teasing you, or otherwise getting on your nerves, warning them that you might lose your temper and respond in a way they won't like.
The association between "mess" and "litter" is only assumed. This further attests that semantics and contextual meaning in English can only be understood with in-depth study and use of English.
Perhaps Malacca should stop Messing with English before anything else!
The writer believes that the Malaysian education system will reach greater heights with a strong antidote to revolutionise just about everything. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com