Multilingualism makes you a global citizen

I COULDN’T agree more that English proficiency should be enhanced and multilingualism be encouraged, as stated in the front page story in Sunday Star (“‘An asset to be a multilinguist’”, April 3; online at bit.ly/star_languages).

As a member of Gen-X who was born in 1967 and raised in a Mandarin-speaking family, my primary and secondary education was in vernacular schools where I was fortunate enough to be exposed to a learning environment offering three languages: Bahasa Malaysia, English and Chinese.

I realised that the scheduled English class hours were not enough to make me proficient in the language. So I looked for alternative ways to improve – reading English language newspapers and magazines and listening to news and songs in the language became my pastime in those days. I still remember vividly the thick Oxford English Dictionary that was my ever-ready tutor.

All other subjects were taught in Bahasa Malaysia but most of us whose mother tongue was Chinese faced tremendous challenges in doing well in that language as well.

Then, when we pursued a tertiary education at local universities, all the lectures and examination papers were in Bahasa Malaysia but almost all the reference books were in English. After graduating, some found themselves in a predicament as English proficiency was often a prerequisite for employment, especially in the private sector. Again, we had to struggle hard to adjust and augment our professional skills.

Undoubtedly, Bahasa Melayu should be a compulsory subject to pass in government examinations so it will remain our proud national language. Nevertheless, English, the international language, is undeniably important because of its global and professional value.

Nowadays, thanks to the Internet, the dream of having a good command of multiple languages can easily come true. With online resources as well as proper guidance from teachers and parents, students can master languages in fun ways. There are so many channels that can expose us to different languages like YouTube (TED Talks are good), TikTok and even language learning apps.

The more languages we master, the more assets we have. The more multilingual we are, the more marketable we will be. As Nelson Mandela once said “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” In a nutshell, a multilinguist is a global citizen !

EE FUI MEI , Bukit Beruang Melaka