Sagah delivers his closing speech at the event. – Photo by Lim How Pim
SERIAN (May 12): Sarawakians must master English to stay competitive, a global language with about 20 per cent of the world population or 1.5 billion people speaking it, said Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn.
The Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister added that most of the English speakers he observed are not native speakers.
“Only about 360 million people speak English as their first language and more than 430 million speak it as a second language.
“Given its popularity in everyday communication, academia, business and entertainment, it is no wonder many are saying it’s important for non-native speakers to hurry up and learn English,” he said when closing the Serian Highly Immersive Programme (HIP) Colloquium 2022 themed ‘We Share We Progress’ at a local hotel here today.
Sagah asserted that English is also essential in the field of education as children in many countries are taught and encouraged to learn English as a second language.
He said even in countries where English is not their official language such as the Netherlands and Sweden, people can still find many syllabi in science and engineering being written in English.
“Even in Malaysian context, the Ministry of Education has placed emphasis on the importance of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and strengthening Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in line with a 60:40 policy to increase students’ enrolment in STEM.”
Given this, he said it was undeniable that English is an important medium to support the learning of STEM subjects.
Sagah further pointed out that many top universities in the world are English-speaking higher learning institutions.
He said most of the research studies in any given scientific field will be written in English for it is the dominant language in science and international research.
“At the university level, students in many countries study almost all their subjects in English in order to make the material more accessible to international students,” he added.
According to Sagah, having a good understanding of communicating in English makes it easier to travel around the globe.
“After all, about one in five people know or understand at least a little bit of English.
“Imagine you’re on a holiday in Spain, while your hotel receptionist would not understand Malay, it’s likely they will be able to answer your question in English,” he said.
Sagah said not only is English useful for tourism but many international conferences, competitions and celebrations such as the Olympics are also held in English.
“Even if you’re not actively working on improving your overall understanding in English, you might find it helpful to memorise a few English phrases before travelling, to help you get around,” he added.
He said although many people found learning English difficult and confusing, the international language “is actually the easiest language in the world to learn”.
“As soon as you decide you want to start learning English as a second language, you will find there are thousands of resources on the Internet and in bookstores.
“I’m not just talking about lessons and grammar books. You can supplement traditional learning materials with children’s TV shows and books. I suggest watching as much TV as you can, in English with English subtitles, and you will pick up conversational English in no time,” he said.