This paper proposes a study to design a special English language curriculum for young indigenous learners in Malaysia. It argues that while English has become the global lingua franca of business and commerce, indigenous communities in East and West Malaysia — including speakers of Iban, Kadazan, and other regional languages — lack meaningful access to English-language learning environments. The paper outlines a three-part purpose: reviewing relevant international literature on indigenous English language curricula, identifying essential curriculum components, and generating policy recommendations. It also presents research questions, describes a mixed-methods design combining literature review with a primary survey, and acknowledges key limitations and delimitations of the proposed study.
The proposed study seeks to design a special English language curriculum for young indigenous English learners in Malaysia. The national curriculum places them at a disadvantage due to a lack of exposure to English-speaking environments. Although English is increasingly becoming the international lingua franca (Tender & Vihalemm, 2009; Matras & Bakker, 2003), these indigenous speakers lack sufficient opportunities to gain fluency, and English remains a completely foreign language to them. The primary focus of the proposed study will therefore be on developing basic literacy and vocabulary building, as described further below.
According to Kameda and Sullivan, "As global competition increases, more and more firms in many countries are doing business with each other. This increase in business transactions requires negotiations and discussions over prices, sales terms, contracts, and so forth. English-speaking managers are fortunate in that English has become the language of business internationally, but what of the plight of non-English speakers doing business with each other?" (1999, p. 52).
Although English is widely spoken in Malaysia, the official language is Bahasa Malaysia, and various forms of Chinese, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, and Thai are also extensively used (Malaysia, 2001). Moreover, in East Malaysia, a wide range of indigenous languages are also spoken, with the most common being Iban and Kadazan (Malaysia, 2011). Young indigenous Malaysians in this polyglot environment may therefore not have ready access to English language resources, despite the growing need for English proficiency in an increasingly globalized marketplace — a problem that directly relates to the purpose of the proposed study, discussed further below.
The purpose of the proposed study is three-fold:
A. To deliver a critical review of the relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature concerning special curricular offerings and methods that have been developed in other countries to build English-speaking skills among indigenous youths.
B. To identify the fundamental components needed for a special curriculum designed for this population.
C. To provide a set of recommendations concerning what steps need to be taken by local, provincial, and national authorities to implement and administer a special curriculum for young indigenous learners of English in Malaysia today.
In recent years, Malaysia has emerged as a burgeoning economic powerhouse (Tsen, 2005), having transformed from a largely agricultural and harvest-based society to one that actively competes in the international marketplace through a wide range of value-added enterprises, including electronics and petroleum (Rahman, 1999). To sustain this pace of economic development, young people entering the job market will need to possess a new set of skills, including the ability to speak and write English (Kameda & Sullivan, 1999).
This point is reinforced by Charles, who emphasizes, "In the past few decades, it has become widely accepted that the lingua franca of international business is English; witness the way companies increasingly choose English as their official corporate language" (2007, p. 260). The numbers of non-native speakers of English have grown considerably in response to this demand. As Charles reports, "From the global perspective, the position of English as the universal lingua franca — shared language — of today is beyond dispute. The number of people who speak English as a foreign language (nonnative speakers, or NNSs) far outnumbers those who speak it as their mother tongue (native speakers, or NSs)" (2007, p. 261).
Moreover, some authorities estimate that the number of non-native speakers of English now exceeds the number of native speakers. According to Charles, "The literature speaks of English as a foreign language (ELF) communication, which involves nonnative speakers of English. Arguably, more international business is actually done in English between NNSs than between NSs" (2007, p. 261). This global shift underscores the urgency of developing accessible ESL curricula for underserved populations such as indigenous youth in Malaysia.
"Best practices, cross-cultural factors, and obstacles"
"Mixed-methods data collection and analysis plan"
"Study scope, constraints, and policy relevance"
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