A Neglected Resource and Skill in the Teaching and Learning of English in Malaysian Schools: Dictionaries and Their Use

Abstract

It has been well documented by numerous educationalists, parents and practising teachers that the current curriculum implemented in Malaysian schools is excessively over-loaded. The preoccupation with facts and knowledge is in response to the demands of examinations and pressures of competition. Thick text-books, guide-books and model-answer books are in abundance and reflect the need to cope with the curriculum and the examinations. The number of text-books and exercise books that fill a student’s bag should cause concern. If this concern has not provoked anxiety about the load on the pupil’s mind then it should at least be expressed in terms of the weight of materials he has to shoulder each day at school. It would be rather unusual to find a normal and conscientious pupil whose bag is not chock-full and heavy.