PRESENTLY, a dynamic and critical debate has arisen in the media and within the Ministry of Education about the fading standard of English in Fiji.
The Minister for Education, Dr Mahendra Reddy, has described the need to promptly address the issue of our graduates’ poor English language skills.
During parliamentary debate, the minister identified some strategies that might be employed to lift the standard of English in the education system.
Noting that English is a second language for the majority of Fijians, the minister’s comments, in my view, bring to light the importance of teaching the four basic language skills to our children: listen, speak, read and write.
Further, by promoting tertiary courses concentrating on the five sub-sections of language-phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics-advanced skills in English usage might be developed among our teachers here in Fiji.
Moreover, it is vital that English teachers have sound knowledge of basic elements of English.
The onus is on all facilitators to step up and deliver correct language skills. The significance of English to both students and the nation is incontestable.
English is not only the most important of our national languages; it is also the official language of education, commerce and governance.
Consequently, English is an influential tool for personal and communal mobility and national economic progression.
Thus, if we continue to fail in our efforts to educate the young people of Fiji to be competent in English, we hamper their personal advancement, which is in turn detrimental to the nation.
A simple solution is to move away from teaching English as a subject and treat it as a language.
The very moment we have this realisation that English is a language, proficiency becomes the goal and its achievement enables the study of English as a subject of literary studies.
Basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) in English need to be developed in contexts similar to those deployed for teaching English as a second language in adult education.
The same strategies, applied to primary and secondary education, will enhance the learning experience and competencies of children.
