English Language Essay

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

English is a very important language as it is used frequently at international level as a means for people from different countries to communicate with one another . However, English significance as a communication tool has grown and expand not just as an international language but also used as the language in international relations, and in exchanging knowledge and technology. In the early phase, English hd been spread internationally through colonization, migration and settlement, but as the years passed, English quickly gained a high prestige in cultural, scientific, technological and other fields that contributed to English becoming global (Leitner, 1992). Nowadays, it is generally acknowledged that learning English is a “must”. Therefore, English was formally accorded the status of second language in Malaysia when the National Language Policy was implemented in 1970 and then officially taught in primary and secondary schools in Malaysia .

Although English was granted the second language status in 1970, English had a comparatively long history in Malaysia (Solomon ,1988). During the colonial era, the British practiced divide and rule system that segregated the three main races of Malaya which were the Malays, Chinese an Indian socially. As a result, linguistic segregations also occured educationally when each community used their own native language as a medium of instruction in schools that catered exclusively to their ethnic. English, meanwhile, was used in National-type schools that located in the urban areas where most of the pupils were from noble and wealthy background and most of them were Chinese and Eurasians. After gaining independence from the British in 1957, English was the estab...

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...area that was set up in schools, the students can find an organized learning materials and equipment were made available and accessible to them such as worksheets, cassette tapes, videotapes, and also Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) programs and games that were used in English lessons.

Over the years new improvement was made and added to the existing syllabus to increase students English language proficiency. One of the major improvement made was the introduction of the Literature component as part of the KBSM English Language syllabus in the year 2000. Prior to this, Literature in English was an elective subject at the upper secondary level (Rosli Talif, 1995). The implementation of the literature component into the English language syllabus was made after the Ministry of Education recognized that literature plays a vital role in language learning.