National needs and global goals in plurilingual settings: implications for multilingual education in Malaysia

Abstract

In a multilingual and multicultural country such as Malaysia, language plays a central role in nation building in that it has inherent 'power' to unify the diverse cultures and to create shared national identity. It is instrumental in providing access to education and therefore to human resource development. It is the key to the modernization and development of the country, particularly for knowledge, information and communication in this era of Information technology. It is a major element in creating equal social, political and economic opportunities. In a developing nation such as Malaysia these needs and goals are achieved through three types of languages; the national language, the global language and the ethnic languages. This paper will explore the typology of the multilingual education system implemented in Malaysia. It will highlight the complex relationships between the language user and his microenvironment, the language education policy, and the sociolinguistic situation or macro-environment within which the system is situated. The typology offers a framework that enables language planners to determine whether a language

policy and use in the education system are congruent with the micro-environmental and macro- environmental factors identified. Through this framework congruence between the local needs, national

aspirations and global goals can possibly be achieved, with cognizance of what is feasible inside as well as outside of the classroom. At the same time teacher training in language pedagogy and language textbook development can be informed of these feasibilities. A nation valuing heterogeneity and multiculturalism will be prepared to provide support for such initiative within the framework of the education system.