What does 'that's mean'?

I spoke to an English teacher in a primary school in Sandakan, a mother of three, who was confounded when she stumbled upon an English exercise book for school pupils that hold a hundred and one misleading meanings to the English proverbs.

She never really used the book which she bought from the biggest book store in Sandakan. Until one fine day, last week, when she wanted to do activity on proverbs for her standard four students, that’s when she realised the boo-boos in the book.

She teaches pupils in standard four to six where approximately 200 students under her care barely have fair command of the language. And to have reference books like this? Instead of helping to raise the bar of the language proficiency, these books break the bar in half.

She told me that she is greatly concerned over the materials made available for students especially in the rural area where exposure for the language is scarce.

Does this mean that geographical difference is really a factor?

I know my parents (and probably yours too) were from the rural area but their proficiency in English is admirable. Back then, at times when new media is just still a fantasy, most of the baby bloomers have good English.

Does this mean that we need another war or another Western invasion to buckle up our generation’s proficiency in the English language?

She said that it is really disheartening when children who speak broken English got laughed at by their peers. This can really be a buzz kill for young children who are all motivated to speak English . Being the subject of ridicule deter their motivation to speak the language publicly. She said that we should start correcting the wrong instead of further aggravating their embarrassment.

Agreed. But then, as an example, how many of us (good English speakers) have the heart to correct the ‘that’s mean society’? How many of you have heard people say ‘that’s mean’ instead of that means? And believe me, this ‘that’s mean society is huge in our country. It ranges from students to managers to even lawyers and doctors. My true experience: Some of them when corrected, turned all defensive and actually took offence over my good deed.

The teacher I spoke to said that parents play a major role in inculcating good reading habits. Not only that, parents should also dowse their children with good TV programmes and music that not just entertain but also teaches.

I totally agree with her. I might not have impeccable English but I know I had fun learning proper English through TV, magazines and songs.

When I was younger, I hated my text books and I hated homework. I don't really fancy books. I am more of a visual person and so I learnt English mostly through rock and roll, TV and fashion magazines. I thanked my dad for letting me read his GQ magazines and my mom for her Vogue. My lullabies were of songs from the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and the Supremes. I was also an addict to 80’s TV series like Knight Rider and The A-Team. I even studied Kurt Cobain's suicide note. I found it to be deeply poetic. I was only fifteen.

I also thanked my parents for letting me watch TV with them at the time when the idiot box is blamed for every littlest thing. I remember my dad used to say, ‘The idiot box is actually the smart box - depending on who watches them'.

So, coming back (to when before I go down memory lane), my point is that English is actually easy to comprehend. It is a universal language where all the people in the universe should be able to use it eloquently and appropriately. And all it takes is really a lot of good practice and a little bit of effort by all – parents, teachers, media, government and the whole nine yards.

And whilst the government calls for a better standard of English amongst youths by raising the bar of the Malaysian University Test (MUET), I feel that the ‘bar’ should be raised at a much earlier stage.

I could not really find the English version of ‘melentur buluh biar dari rebungnya’ but I know (for sure) that it is not ‘bend the bamboo while it is a shoot’.

So, let’s settle for ‘strike while the iron is hot’ shall we?