This document outlines a roadmap for English language education reform in Malaysia between 2015-2025. It aims to: 1) Develop an English language program that meets international standards and is supported by a high-quality delivery system. 2) Increase the English proficiency of Malaysian students so that they can compete globally. 3) Establish clear proficiency levels based on the Common European Framework of Reference at each stage of education. The roadmap proposes comprehensive reforms across the education system, including curriculum, teaching, assessment, and teacher education aligned to CEFR standards. It establishes 3 phases of development and priority areas to improve areas like teacher quality, learning time, and remedial support. The goal is to drive

1. English Language Education Reform
in Malaysia: The Roadmap 2015-2025
Zuraidah Mohd Don, PhD
Chair, English Language Standards and Quality Council
Professor, Department of English Language
Faculty of Languages and Linguistics
University of Malaya 1
zuraida@um.edu.my

2. Two critical issues
What kind of student is best prepared to meet
the challenges of the 21st century economy?
What kind of EL education prepares our young
Malaysians for this rapidly globalising world?
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MEB, E-9

3. What kind of student is best prepared to meet
the challenges of the 21st century economy?
School leaver
• Can cope with the demands of a
job in Malaysia requiring some
English
• Can cope with the demands for
English at university
Student Teacher
• Can cope with the demands of
using English to help students
achieve what they are capable of
achieving in the English classroom
and beyond

4. • An EL programme consistent with
international standards supported by a quality
delivery system
What kind of EL
education prepares our
young Malaysians for this
rapidly globalising world?

6. International standards: CEFR

7. • presents what needs to be
considered in the teaching, learning
and assessment of language and
• addresses issues to help teachers
determine what learners need to
know and to do with the language
The CEFR is a
reference tool that

8. What can we do
with the CEFR
• Language learners will be able to describe their
proficiency with “I can do” statements, and set
proficiency goals
• Language teachers will be able to assess the proficiency
of students and provide parents with meaningful
reporting that answers the question ‘can my child
understand, speak, and write’ English.
• MoE/MoHE will be able to link language curriculum to
internationally recognised proficiency levels.
• Schools and HEIs will be able to recognise measurable
achievement in language proficiency.
• Professional organisations will be able to set standards of
language proficiency for language teachers.
• Employers will be able to identify the level of language
proficiency needed for a job and assess the suitability of
candidates’ language proficiency.

9. Language proficiency is measured in relation to the five skills
(R, L, spoken interaction, spoken production, and W) on a
scale beginning with A1, and progressing through A2, B1, B2,
and C1 to C2.
The CEFR helps us to set and define EL proficiency levels for
each stage of education and measure assessments against
recognised international benchmarks.
Proficiency in each skill is defined at each level by a series of
“can do” statements.
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The Common European Framework of Reference

10. 10

11. “Reading, for example, progresses from familiarity with the
alphabet and simple acts of comprehension based on word
recognition (A1), through the ability to read simple texts that make
frequent use of familiar vocabulary (A2), to the development of
basic study skills, e.g. using diagrams and illustrations to support
reading comprehension (B1).
“… writing begins as a matter of copying or writing individual
words and copying simple sentences from the board (A1); the pupil
then moves on to writing his/her own sentences (A2); and from
there he/she progresses to the composition of short texts (B1).”

12. Communication skills and language proficiency
• 5 communication skills: listening, spoken interaction, spoken
production, reading, writing
• The CEFR adopted the action-based approach where the focus of T&L
is on purposeful communication – We use language purposefully to
accomplish tasks which motivate interaction with other people
• We learn in order to communicate and we learn by communicating

13. Benchmarking
We have to know how good our existing system is in
comparison with prevailing international standards
Our EL programme was benchmarked to the CEFR in 2013;
benchmarking leads on to alignment.
Alignment
We have to bring our current system up to the standards
achieved in international best practice
What adopting the CEFR involves

14. • Set internationally accepted standards based on the CEFR,
tailored to the specific needs of Malaysia
• Adopt the CEFR levels as the guiding framework for
curriculum development, teaching and learning (including
material selection), and assessment at all levels of education
• Measure our students’ EL proficiency according to the
CEFR
What we need to do to move
forward

15. Building our reform programme into
the CEFR will ensure a coherent
system for teachers, students and
stakeholders committed to achieving
our national aspiration –
to give young Malaysians a chance to
develop the necessary proficiency
skills in English so that they are in a
position to compete for appropriate
employment
Adopting the
CEFR as the
guiding framework

16. Between now and 2025
we expect an
increasingly large
proportion of our
students from all social
backgrounds to achieve
the target proficiency
level expressed in terms
of the CEFR set for
each stage of
education.
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Establishing levels
of proficiency for
each level of the
school system
against the CEFR

17. A quality delivery system

18. 1. a continuous and sufficient supply of high-calibre teachers;
2. the provision of high quality learning materials including online
learning resources;
3. the creation of a high quality learning environment.
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19. Teachers must have the knowledge and
skills to teach effectively and the
necessary qualifications
Quality teachers need quality tools, and these include
textbooks and other learning materials of
international standard, and equipment to enable them
to make the most effective use of class time.
A high quality learning environment is one that
optimises the conditions for student learning and
needs to be extended beyond the classroom, so that
students are exposed to English and can use English
in situations relevant to their everyday lives.
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20. English Language Education Reform
The Roadmap

21. 17/3/2023
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To produce an
EL programme
of an
international
standard
supported by a
quality delivery
system
To make available quality
EL education to all
students, and as far as
possible narrow or close
achievement gaps
irrespective of ability,
gender, socio-economic
background, and
geographical location
To produce a
time-tabled
implementation
plan or
‘roadmap’
supported by a
dedicated team
to oversee its
effective delivery
The key aims of the reform
are:

22. To drive up standards in EL curriculum, T&L and
assessment requires a holistic, integrated and systematic
approach, not a piecemeal one, and this includes a
timetabled implementation plan.

23. Comprehensive
evaluation of
the EL
education
system in
Malaysia
Producing a
Roadmap with
CEFR targets
set for 2025
Implementing
the Roadmap
Transformation of the EL education system
THE REFORM PROCESS
A comprehensive
review process
An implementation plan
Implementation &
monitoring

24. A comprehensive review
process
• Phase 1 - Involved assessing current levels of
English of students and teachers from primary to
secondary and reviewing the current curricula,
teachers’ guides, teaching practices and
examinations. This baseline study conducted by
CE in 2013 evaluated the current state of EL
T&L according to the CEFR
• Phase 2 – Involved a critical evaluation of the
current EL programme from pre-school to
university and including teacher education, and
make recommendations for reform and
sustainable improvement

25. THE ROADMAP
The roadmap gathers together every
component of our educational system into a
coherent programme:
• 3 phases of development ordered
according to the 3 MEB waves
• 4 main modules
• Conditions for reform
• Actions and expected outcomes
• Priority areas for intervention
A detailed time-tabled
implementation plan which
outlines the route that we have
to follow for 10 years to achieve
our targets set for 2025
2015-2025

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• Rebuilding the infrastructure on which the EL programme is
based
• The setting of staged targets, the development of CEFR
descriptors and capacity building
Phase 1
(2015-2016)
• Introducing structural change including CEFR aligned curricula,
T&L, and assessment
• A benchmarking operation to be conducted in 2017, to monitor
progress and to measure the impact of the initiatives and any
change since the baseline
Phase 2
(2017-2020)
• The time to “scale up structural change”, a time to strive
for excellence.
• The end of the implementation plan will be marked by a
final benchmarking study .
Phase 3
(2021-2025)
3 phases of development ordered according to the 3 MEB waves

27. Four main modules
• General – conditions for reform applicable to all stages of
education
• The EL programme from preschool to post-secondary
• The EL programme at tertiary level
• EL teacher education

28. Strong CEFR foundations
CEFR alignment, other critical developments and
priority areas of intervention
Implementation, monitoring, reviewing and revision
Conditions prerequisites for successful reform
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29. Set staged targets
Develop CEFR descriptors
Build capacity
Strong CEFR foundations

30. EL curricula
Teaching and learning
Assessment
CEFR alignment from preschool to university including teacher
education

31. Other critical
developments
• a highly immersive English-rich
environment,
• remedial programmes,
• CEFR-informed pedagogy
• optimal EL engagement time,
• parental and community engagement,
• integrated use of online material,
• teacher competence,
• etc

32. •Strict criteria for the selection of teacher trainees
•Qualification and proficiency requirements for EL teacher educators
•Professional programme standards for EL teacher education
•English as a medium of instruction in the delivery of the TESL curriculum
•Outcomes-based education
•A standardised internationally benchmarked exit exam as the EL requirement
for all teacher training programmes
•Linguistically and pedagogically competent teachers
•Internationally recognised specialisms in language teaching, particularly
primary teachers
•Basic qualifications for EL teachers
•Licensing and certification of new teachers and re-certification every 5 years
•Shared goals for EL improvement by all education stakeholders
Pre-service
In-service
Other critical developments (teacher education)

33. Priority areas of intervention
Interventions that have to be prioritized to address
matters of concern relating to quality, access and equity
QUALITY,
ACCESS,
EQUITY
TEACHER QUALITY
LEARNING TIME
REMEDIAL SUPPORT

34. We do for ourselves as
much as we can do
We need technical
assistance to set the
right direction and train
our own people
(knowledge transfer &
capacity building)
We utilise expertise
from Cambridge
English and the CEFR
in accordance with our
own plans
The implementation Stage

35. Planning
Implementation
Monitoring
Review
Revision
A cyclical
process
Set up a monitoring and
evaluation system to
measure progress and
ensure that the plan is
implemented effectively
and successfully.
Monitoring and
evaluation must be
followed by review and
revision, adjustments
and changes being made
where necessary

37. • inclusive: covering all education stages,
including teacher education
• comprehensive: addressing all aspects of
the system
Reform needs to be
• some steps occur before others,
• some problems take precedence and
• resources must be deployed strategically
Comprehensive
reform does not
imply going off in all
directions at once
• A timetabled and integrated
implementation plan to fit the parts
together
Reform requires
conducive conditions
for change
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38. • Public attention has focused on graduate
unemployment and its connection with inadequate
English. But the solution has to start at the
beginning of education in preschool
• To create a top performing education system, it is
essential first to create a high-calibre teaching force.
• Curricula, teaching and learning, and assessment
need to be closely integrated into a single
programme, so that students are faced with a
coordinated set of learning activities.
Our EL education system has
to undergo systemic reform,
and the special remit of the
EL education Roadmap is to
mark out the way ahead.

39. Educational changes must be taken in compassionate, generous and
nurturing ways where care for the individuals becomes a genuine core value
(Galway, 2012, p. 22)
THANK
YOU
TERIMA
KASIH
© ZMD
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