Called the Standard Curriculum and Assessment at Form Six Centres, the guide is aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and aims to produce students who are sufficiently competent in English before they enter university.
In its introduction, the guide acknowledges that “in the era of global competitiveness, the mastery of English language is vital for pupils to gain access to information and knowledge”.
It prescribes that university entrants must obtain at least a “B2” ranking according to the CEFR curriculum target to reflect post-secondary school level competency.
According to a Form Six teacher, this is equivalent to Band 4.5 in the Malaysian University Entrance Test (MUET), which is compulsory for all sixth formers and a prerequisite for admission into public universities and colleges across the country.
Under MUET, the minimum score students need to achieve for admission varies according to the courses they sign up for.
It presently ranks those who are most proficient in Band 5, while the weakest are placed in Band 1.
Most local universities require that students secure a Band 4 score as a prerequisite.
Students undergo 320 minutes of English lessons per week to prepare them for the MUET examination.
The ministry guide requires students by the end of Form Six to be able to do the following:
- understand standard spoken language on concrete and abstract topics and follow complex lines of arguments;
- interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity to allow for regular interaction without strain;
- understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in their fields of specialisation; and
- produce clear, detailed texts on a wide range of subjects and explain viewpoints on issues of various topics.
“This document contains teaching, learning and assessment standards to enable English teachers at Form Six centres to ensure that pre-university students achieve at least a B2 score at the CEFR level.
“They must maximise the potential of the students to ensure that the aspirations in the English language education reform which ends in 2025 is achieved,” the ministry said in the document sighted by FMT.
Under the CEFR, the scores are:
- Basic User – A1 (pre-school), A2 (primary school);
- Competent User – B1 (secondary school level), B2 (post-secondary); and
- Proficient User – C1 (university), C2 (teacher education).
A check with several Form Six centres in the Klang Valley showed that about 94% of students fall in the B1 and B2 categories, while only about 4% were in the C1 bracket. According to teachers, hardly anyone ever makes it to the highest C2 grade.
“An estimated 1% fall under A2, which means they graduate from Form Six with primary school competency. This especially involves those who fail their English paper in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination,” one teacher told FMT, adding that such students are difficult to transform.
Several groups have repeatedly expressed concern over the poor standard of English among graduates from local universities despite their average or high grades in the MUET examination.
The Malaysian Employers Federation has said in the past that companies in the private sector prefer taking in overseas graduates as they have a much better command of the language, which is vital for the business sector.