How to improve our English

The recent proposal to make it compulsory for SPM candidates to pass the English Language prompts me to write this post.

The importance of the English Language in this cyber age cannot be denied. With a command of this international language, one is able to read tons and tons of knowledge from the Internet. Besides proficiency in English enables one to have no problems when it comes to job-seeking and travelling overseas.

To master a language, one has to practise four areas, that is listening, reading, speaking and writing.

For the listening part, the radio is the best aid. Tune in to English broadcast, especially news and interviews. As for reading, get hold of the English daily, books and magazines and make it a habit to read something English every day. Speaking is a must. Open your mouth and find people to talk with. They can be your neighbour, friends, or someone you meet at the bus stand. Smile and he will strike up a conversation with you. It doesn't matter if he speaks other language to you but you speak English in the hope that he will use the same language to speak to you. Writing journals daily is a good way of practising the language.

Let us improve our English as days pass by.