JULY 24, 2016 NEW SUNDAY TIMES

LEARNING CURVE

~. "' t.

The MUET impactPROFICIENCY TEST:Local requirementfor tertiary studiesemphasises,importance of Englishlanguage

, l,o.c.YEOHocyeoh@nst:com.my,,·

STUDENTS in.Malaysia plan-ning to pursue a first degree ina local university are required

to sit for the Malaysian UniversityEnglish Test (MUET), a test of Eng-lish language proficiency.

Run by the Malaysian Examina-- tions Council (MPM)to set a bench-mark for English among Malaysianstudents, MUET is recognised main-ly in Malaysia and Singapore.

As'stated by MPM, the objectiveof MUET is to measure the Englishlanguage proficiency of pre-univer-sity students for entry into tertiaryeducation.

The test involves the four lan-guage skills of Listening, Speaking,Reading and Writing. '

Candidates' level of proficiencywillbe based upon an aggregatedscore range of zero to 300. The scores_correlate with( a banding systemranging from Band 1to Band 6.

Dr Koh Sao Ling, a former associ-ate professor ofUiTM who has writ-.ten books and conducted courses on'MUET for both students and teach-ers, said that MUET is a reason whymore students are acknowledging the"importance of the English language., ,"It's not just to be able to get by, but"it is to be able to communicate effec-tively, to be able to comprehend whatyou read or hear and to put what youknow into writing," she said. ,

"It is about having an acceptablelevel of spoken and written English."

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)Vice-Chancellor Professor Datin

Professor Dotin Poduka Dr Aini Ideris

Paduka Dr Aini Ideris said MUETgenerally serves as a useful indica-tor of English proficiency levels ofpotential university students.

"As it assesses and reports onperformance for all four types oflanguage skills, the students' MUETscores help us plan the English Ian-guage learning experience they willbe given when they are admitted intothe university," she said.- While a MUET score is requiredfor admission to undergraduateprogrammes,differentprogrammesand courses require different MUETscore levels, with Band 1being thelowest and Band 6 the highest.

"In UPM, professional pro-grammes require higher scores.Suchprogrammes include VeterinaryMedicine, Medicine, Engirieering,and of course, English Language-centred programmes"

Most courses in the Malaysianuniversities set the minimal require-ment of a Band 3 in }.iUET.

Said Koh: "Students aiming toenrol for courses like Law or Phar-macy should obtain a minimumBand 4 or even Band 5, not only toget a place in the universlty but alsoto be able to cope With the demands

, of these courses, which include longreading lists with most ofttie bookswritten in English." '

Professor Dr Nuraihan Mat Daud,Kulliyyah of Languages and Man-agement dean at. the InternationalIslamic University Malaysia, said

, that students applying for direct "

DrKoh Sao Ling

Leela Chakraborty

admission into the first year mustpave achieved at least a Band 3 in-MUET.

"However. they still have to sitfor our in-house test, the EPT, andwill be required to take our Englishcourses if they fail this test," shesaid.

A high band score for MUETwould also be a plus point for gradu-ates, especially in the private sector, 'Kohadded. .

"I have friends working in humanresources and recruitment, and theyhave horror stories of hopeful appli-cants who fail at interviews, not'because they do not have contentknowledge but because of a poorcommand of the language," she said.

Nevertheless, while the MUETscore is considered for admission intouniversities like UPM, it is not an exitrequirement where students instead

, STUDENTSinmatriculation colleges are required to, take the MUET. .

Theyattend Englishclasseswherethel~cturersinclude preparationfo~ MUETas,par,pe ?y,lIabus.

JohorMatriculation Collegelectl!f ........ ireen,Mohd Ba'shirsaid matriculation and Fohn Sixstu--dents would need to be introduced to theMUET .format as it is different from what they were used to \, in schools. ",

Apart from attending classes for at least threehours each ~eek, the students wil..! also take part inworkshops., ..... ," '.:Ii

Jashireen said thatprivate candidat~$preparing.for the MUEI bur who do not have access t6 suchclasses and workshops usuallyface problems during

I, the Speaking tE!'st. ""Frommy experience as an examiner for MUET'

Speaking component,l usuallyen"count~rprivatecandidates who do not knowwhat'to do'during thet~~t: stie"~~,i9·.:I:;~•....'.'$.r ( :

"Thereare r~f~r~rkebooks tnat t i ..an practisewi,thbut they nee,dto be exposed through,class,es

, to prepare moreeffectlvely, espedallyfor Speaking,, ,and Writing.' , '

"hithe case ofWriting, they have to be familiarwith the format and the different genres. ,, "It'isbest for private students tol09k for teach-ers who San~!?Ip~pe\por,-at least, tal~t9 ~~?sewho'have taken the test." ' '

LeelaChakrabarty regularly conducts(MUETworkshops as part of the NSTschool holid,aypro- "gramme for students. , ... These workshops are mainlyattended bystu-

, dents who haveno access to school-based MUET. preparation cla~ses: . ". '. "Manyofthese,st,u9€nts.regist~.» e the"MUETbut do not knowwhat or how to prepare,said Chakrabarty.' .

"Getting the reference books onlyhelps to someextent,and many do' not .evenfind the time to go .

, through the whole book, .'The workshop opens their eyes to what they

....should expect, especiallyfor the Speaking and Writ-, ingcomponentsi and they get a better idea what todo for their personal preparation lat~r." ,

are given a specific English lan-guage package known as ELEx (Eng-lish Language Experience) whichincludes courses and activities.

Tests are given to monitor andensure that they exit with proficientEnglish.

"It is more likely that employers"assess the graduates' English duringinterviews or based on their gradesin English language courses," saidAini.

+