Malay Language For Foreigners

Malay Language For Foreigners Nor Hashimah Jalaluddin Institute of The Malay World and Civilization Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia [email protected]

The Structure of the Course 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Malay Language Malay Culture Workshops Fieldtrips Graduation Day

The Language Component • Phonetics and Phonology • Semantics and Pragmatics

• The approach seems to make the class more interesting and most importantly it hinders from the connotation of being a ‘kindergarten’ school.

Phonetics and Phonology •

Since Malay and Indonesian languages seems rather similar but there are differences that must be highlighted. In fact the pronunciation in everyday life for Malay speakers are different. For examples:

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The /a/ sound in word final position surfaces as //. Any /a/ sound that is unchanged indicates that it is a loanword. 2 syllables

bapa saya rupa •

3 syllables

/bap/ /say/ /rup/

bahawa - /bahaw/ bahagia - /bahagi/ semasa - /semas/

Malay has two phonemes for the sound /e/ that is // and /e/. Normally, // occurs in the first syllable. // /e/ emak /ma?/ elak /ela?/ empat/mpat/ enak/ena?/ sejuk /sjo?/ ekor /ekor/

Semantics and Pragmatics •

Malay language is a context dependent language. Thus, its grammatical system is quite complex, especially with respects to meaning. The teachers are trained to teach with sufficient materials and evaluate their relevancy according to the students’ proficiency. For instance, at the novice level, the ability to understand Malay is very limited; teachers will focus more on simple strings of sentences that are practical and relevant to the students. At this level our aim is to give an introduction to the students about the Malay language. At the end of the basic one course the students are able to communicate using simple Malay.

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At the intermediate levels, grammar is introduced. More vocabularies are used. Problems of polysemy in Malay words frequently occur. To overcome these problems, a lexicographic approach is adopted. The verb chosen is ‘potong’ /cut. According to Asmah Hj. Omar (1986), ‘potong’ has 20 meanings. The act of ‘potong’ determines the sizes and shapes of the objects. This can lead to confusion to the students. Hence, the practical method is necessary in order for the students to capture the meaning easily. .

The Demonstration of the word ‘cut’

Step 1: The teacher will explain the verb ‘cut’ (potong).

To ensure that all the students understand some Vegetables are used to make things clearer. The terms given are potong (cut), hiris(slice), kupas (peel), mayang (slice thinly), belah (cut into two), and etc.

Step 2: The teacher will demonstrate the act of slicing.

This is the act of hiris (slice). We normally ‘hiris’ thin objects such as leafs.

Cont. Step 3: Another word synonym to cut that is to peel is introduced.

This is the act of kupas (peel). We use to peel fruits.

Step 4: More illustrations are given with different types of vegetable and fruits.

This is the act of potong bulat (cut roundly).

Cont.

• Step 5: The final product of cutting fruits served to the students.

The Culture Component Visiting the Malay House •

Step 1: entering the Malay house

Students are told to remove their shoes. Wait until they are invited to enter the house.

Step 2:

We teach them how to sit according to the Malay customs.

Cont.

Step 3:

We teach them how to shake hands. The proper shaking hands are introduced. There are different ways depending to the age of the people involved.

The Reinforcement Activities Workshops The Japanese students are demonstrating the Japanese kites. A few types of kites are presented in the form of origami.

An American students preparing a ‘special’ coffee With his creative recipe. The utensils and ingredients in the picture are part of his wordlists used in his presentation.

Reinforcement Activities Field Trip Students experiencing their day in a fruit orchard. They were introduced to durians, mangoes, rambutans, and mangoesteens.

Students at the handcraft center. They had a chance to try and make a clay vase At the same time they managed to converse with the workers around them.

Cont.

One-day trip to the north part of Malaysia. They were taken to the Muzium of the Malay Warriors. They had the chance to read the captions written on the picture exhibited. This will improve their readings skills.

At the end of the trip, the local people held a small party. This is the time where they can use all the expression of respect they had learned in the class before. They had the opportunity To experience the Malay serving etiquette and tasted the Malay ‘kuih’ (sweet and spicy culinary).

Graduation Day

Certificates are awarded to the students.

Conclusion *Teaching a second language to foreigners really needs a skill. *Teachers with a linguistics background can make the teaching process more effective, easier and fun. *Different background of cultures and interests are other determinant factors that must be taken into considerations. *We will always ensure that additional materials and workshop presentation will fulfill their needs.

*What is more important is that at the end of the course the students can speak our language and will come back for more.