Focus on our languages, say experts

Cultural exchange: (From left) Eisen Sawabe of Japan, Farah Noratikah Aishah of Malaysia, Nutnicha Chaisarn and Janyaporn Phadan of Thailand, Xiong Xi of China and Annisa Sinar Chandra of Indonesia learning each other’s languages at Erican Language Centre in Kuala Lumpur. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star

PETALING JAYA: Learning the languages used across Asean will be useful for Malaysians – but first there is a need to address problems in foundational language education, say experts.

The government needs to focus on the mastery of Bahasa Malaysia, English and mother tongues and on reading, writing and mathematics skills first, they say.