PT3 candidates all ready to sit for the first paper of the day in this file photo.
PUTRAJAYA: Beginning this year, the Form Three Assessment (PT3) English Language papers will be aligned to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), followed by the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) in 2021, and the Primary School Achievement Test (USPR) in 2022.
Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said with the alignment of the UPSR, PT3 and SPM English exam papers to CEFR, pupils will know their respective proficiency of the English language at the CEFR level.
“Statement of proficiency level with descriptors ‘can do’ is an international standard that proves students’ ability to master every English language skills,” he said when speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the panel of experts in the Rating Standards and English Language Quality Council’s (MPSKBI) session 2018-2020 at the Education Ministry here yesterday.
The CEFR which originated in Europe is now a framework used globally for various languages such as Arabic, Japanese and French.
Speaking to reporters after the event, Maszlee said MPSKBI was set up to control the standard and quality of the English language in Malaysia in order to reach international level.
Six of the seven panel members comprising English language experts from universities, English Language professional bodies and individuals who are active in research, received a letter of appointment to the MPSKBI panel at the ceremony today.
They are Adjunct Professor Dr Zuraidah Mohd Don from the Sultan Idris Education University; Professor Dr Anna Christina Abdullah from the Wawasan Open University of Penang; Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Prof Dr Hazita Azman, and a former associate professor at the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication Universiti Putra Malaysia Datin Dr Mardziah Hayati Abdullah. — Bernama