CHAPTER 1 1.0 Introduction - DSpace@UM - University of Malaya

The cabinet committee recommended that the Malaysian Certificate of Education
(Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) or SPM to be continued. With SPM qualification, a
candidate can enter higher institutes of learning for certificate, Dilpoma or Higher
Diploma courses. They can apply for jobs in the private or public sector. The Form 6
level involves two years of education in government or private institution; they sit for
the STPM (Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia). With STPM qualification candidates can
pursue professional courses at the local, public or private Universities. The STPM
qualification is accepted by foreign Universities.
The researcher feels that the Malaysian Educational system has made tremendous
progress from its humble beginning. Malaysia has become the educational hub
because we have world status colleges and Universities. Students come from all over
the world to pursue professional courses. We can proudly compare our educational
system to that of a developed nation.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Since 2003, science and mathematics have been taught in English but all along the
medium of instruction from primary to secondary schools has been Malay. The
teachers as well as students are facing problems because they are not proficient in the
English language either in the speaking or writing skills. Therefore, teachers will be
forced to code-switch to make the pupils understand the subject matter.
The researcher is interested to investigate how code-switched utterances are going to
affect the teaching and learning process especially in the rural areas. Besides that, the
researcher will further investigate if code-switching is a sign of language interference,
reasons and factors which cause code-switching.
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