I don’t recall having a tough time with the subject of Bahasa Melayu (BM) back when I was in Standard/Primary 1. But then again, it was nearly 30 years ago so I guess maybe it’s much more different now for the primary schools back in Malaysia.
Shafiq goes to the local mainstream school here in Singapore where English is the medium of instruction. However, it is part of the local education system that requires students to study their respective official Mother Tongue Language: Chinese, Malay or Tamil. Well, in Shafiq’s case, he has to take up Malay/Bahasa Melayu.
Blame it on Shafiq’s Dad aka Hubby who said that we should only speak English at home, and having attended an international school in Hong Kong, Shafiq’s knowledge of the Malay language is quite poor. However, after moving to Singapore, his knowledge and understanding of the subject has improved tremendously. He has even started using some Malay words in his conversations with us. (Thanks to the mother tongue lessons at school) He does sound like some “mat saleh celup” though when he attempts to speak in Malay. :D
As of late, I think he’s beginning to hate the weekly “Bahasa Melayu” spelling test. I don’t blame him for hating it because I think the words are quite difficult for a Primary 1 student.
Allow me to share some of the words from his 3rd term “Bahasa Melayu” spelling list:
• Kebangsaan
• Penggera
• Bekerjasama
• Keselamatan
• Lintasan zebra
• Jabanah (I didn't even know the meaning of this word at first. It actually means “underpass”)
• Taman permainan
• Membahayakan
• Kraf tangan (In Malaysia, kraf tangan is a one word spelled kraftangan)
And the list goes on…..
All I remembered from my Malay spelling during BM lessons was how to spell "baju", "buku", "kaki", etc…. basically a lot of 2 syllable words. Imagine if I had to learn Shafiq’s spelling list 30 years ago.
p/s: Check out my Standard/Primary 1 class photo. Guess which one is yours truly??? hehehe
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