SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Up to 16 years ago, Malay was taught only to Malay pupils in Malay medium and English medium schools. Today, it is a compulsory subject in all schools and a pass in Malay is a condition for all public examinations. Malay (Bahasa Malaysia) is now the official language of Malaysia, The ultimate aim is that Malay will be the sole medium of instruction for all subjects in schools. In this new situation, teachers of Malay have a special responsibility. Not only does the success of government policy depend on their skill; on their ability depends to a large measure the prospect in life of their pupils. In the past, the basis of Malay instruction to non-Malay learners has been the finding of research done in the teaching of English as a second language, together with certain assumptions, for example, on the extent of the influence of bazaar Malay, which may not be well- founded, There seems to be now a strong case for a more specific and direct research into the teaching of Malay language itself. This thesis is written in the belief that a study of the errors made by Chinese learners of Malay in their written composition will reveal the true nature of their problems. Teachers might find indications of the areas for remedial teaching which will be required of them ; they might be able to consider how best to prevent the growth of bad language habits by effective teaching at a more elementary stage. The work has been divided into four stages (i) The identification of the errors. (ii) Their division into two majjor classes - grammatical and lexical, the emphasis in this thesis being on the grammatical. Grammatical errors are classified into types and sub-types with reference to the grammatical description outlined in chapter two, (iii) The explanation of the errors and their possible causes. (iv) Some suggestions which might help those concerned with the teaching of Malay to combat those errors.