'Grads falter due to bad English

TONGUE-TIED- Job seekers unable to express beyond ‘the script’

JOHOR BARU: THE lack of English language communication skills can ruin your chances in the job market.

Many graduates were still tongue-tied when it came to expressing themselves in English, said linguist Datin Dr Maimunah Abdul Rahman.

"I had received graduates for job interviews. But many were not able to express themselves beyond introducing names.

"They were not able to go beyond the 'script'," she said at a forum held at the end of the 4th English Language Conference, here, yesterday.

"There is a need to groom students well into the job market through proper English learning," said Maimunah, who is also M Suites hotel executive director.

The hotel had sponsored the venue, accommodation and meals of the participants throughout the three-day event, as part of its corporate social responsibility.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Associate Professor Khairi Izwan Abdullah, another panelist, said there were exemplary graduates who could not be employed due to their lack of command in the language and analytical skills.

"The good ones often falter due to their lack in communication skills in English and critical thinking. As teachers, we have to teach beyond linguistic skills which is just an aspect of language teaching," said Khairi.

Other panelists at yesterday's session were SM Engku Tun Aminah principal Salina Hussain and school inspector S. Selva.

The forum was moderated by English language trainer Lucille Dass. She said it was the teachers' job to uncover the syllabus subject and teach students to learn and understand its application.

"We enter the class to cover the syllabus taught to the students. But the thing is, we need to uncover them," said Lucille.

The conference with theme of "Revitalising Teaching -- Learning Link" ended yesterday.

It was jointly organised by the non-governmental organisation Johor Baru English Language Teaching and the Johor Education Department.

The New Straits Times was the event's official media partner.

More than 350 English teachers, lecturers and tutors from Johor, Malacca, Penang and Kuala Lumpur attended the conference which held workshops on improving English language teaching skills to promote better learning among students.

Among the examples used were teaching the language through creative ways including music to improve interaction in class.

- New Straits Times