English Language Education Reform in

Malaysia:
d
le
International
CEFR
Zuraidah
Mohd Don, PhDStandards and the
u
d
i
ch e
Chair, English Language
Standards and Quality Council,
MoE
Adviser, Council of Language
Deans, MoHE

ta t
As
n
e
em
impl lan for
on p cation
du
EL E

The
key
aims
of
the
refor
m

To produce a quality EL
programme of an international
standard
To make available quality EL
education to all students, and
as far as possible narrow or
close achievement gaps
To produce and implement a
time-tabled implementation
plan or roadmap
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THE REFORM PROCESS

A
comprehensiv
e review
Comprehensi
process

ve evaluation
of the EL
education
system in
Malaysia

An implementation
plan

Producing
a
Roadmap
with CEFR
targets
set for
2025

Implementation
& monitoring

Implementi
ng the
Roadmap

Transformation of the EL education

system

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THE REFORM
PROGRAMME
1. The Roadmap - a 10 year time-tabled implementation plan, the
first five years supported by Cambridge English
2. CEFR-Malaysia development and adoption
Building the capacity to undertake reform
Creating a cadre of CEFR Master Trainers to cascade
background information about the CEFR
3. Curriculum evaluation, revision and rollout
Reviewing and evaluating Primary and Secondary English
language curricula and aligning to the CEFR framework
4. Learning materials aligning to the CEFR
5. Assessment evaluation, development and capacity building
6. Teacher development programme and its evaluation

An EL programme
consistent with
international standards
supported by a quality
delivery system
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Curricula, course materials and assessments aligned to

international standards
(the Common European Framework of Reference)
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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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What we need to do to
align to international
standards
Set internationally
accepted standards
based on the Common European
Framework of Reference (CEFR), tailored
to the specific needs of Malaysia
Adopt the CEFR levels (A1, A2, B1, B2,
C1, C2) 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
Build the capacity for reform
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Establishing
levels of
proficiency for
each level of
the school
system against
the CEFR

Adopting the
CEFR will
entail shifting
English
language
programmes
to skillsbased,
outcomeoriented
copyright_ZMD-MoE_MoHE
learning.

Between now
and 2025 we
expect an
increasingly
large
proportion of
our students to
achieve the
target
proficiency
level set for
each stage of
education.

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MOE-CE PLAN

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Roadmap
reviewed &
evaluated

Supplement
ary books
Year 1 and
Form 1

Schoolbased
assessment

Pre-service
and inservice
teacher
education

CEFRMalaysia
developed

Curriculum
reviewed &
evaluated

Material
adaptation

Textbook
survey

Textbook
survey

Textbook
survey

Learning
materials:
selection
criteria

CEFR curriculum

CEFR curriculum

CEFR curriculum

CEFR curriculum

CEFR
familiarisa
tion

Impact &
Baseline
study

New
assessment
familiarisati

FR
E
C
A
:
G
IN
D
L
I
N
U
O
I
B
T
Y
A
T
S
I
I
C
R
A
CAP FAMILIA SHOP
K
R
O
W

The cascading
model
The aim: to reach as
many teachers/lecturers
in a short period of time
First generation
participants:
MasterTrainers (MTs),
Persons of Reference
(PoRs), Observers
Second generation
participants: EL
teachers/lecturers

Cascading of knowledge from

a few experts all the way
down to a large community of
teachers/lecturers
A first generation of EL
teachers/ lecturers trained on
the CEFR to become the MTs
to educate the second
generation
Training is provided to ensure
that knowledge is transferred
from experts and specialists
(CE) to the MTs

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CEFR Familiarisation Workshop

for EL Teachers/Lecturers

m
i
A
l
l
a
r
e
v
O
The
To familiarise teachers with the
CEFR in order to create awareness

e
l
o
R
r
u
Yo
To familiarise the teachers at your
schools/zones with the CEFR in
order to create awareness

The goals of the workshop are:

a. an introduction to and familiarisation with the CEFR
and its various scales across the four language skills
b. an introduction to and familiarisation with the can
do language used in the scaled to describe user
abilities
c. an introduction to and familiarisation with progress
up the levels of the CEFR
d. an introduction to and familiarisation with teaching
and learning theory informed by the CEFR.
e. an introduction to and familiarisation with the various
uses to which the CEFR may be put and decision it
may inform
f. to give participants some insight into the types of

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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)

TERIMA
KASIH

Our children are the nations future.

r teachers shape the future for our child
THANK
YOU

ZMD

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