PENGUASAAN BAHASA IBUNDA SEBAGAI MEDIUM KOMUNIKASI MAHASISWA INSTITUSI PENGAJIAN TINGGI MALAYSIA: SUATU PENELITIAN CAKNA BAHASA NEGARA BERBILANG KAUM

Abstract

Malaysia is a multi-racial country with a multi-racial composition, thus producing a variety of communication languages spoken as a result of ethnic assimilation from various races. Malay language is the mother tongue and is upheld as the national language, and thus becomes an element of the identity of Malaysians. It is also considered a point of unity of all the people that lead to national cohesion. The increase in the enrolment of international students every year proves the success of the Ministry of Education Malaysia in fulfilling the vision and mission of the Internationalisation Policy of Malaysian Institutions of Higher Learning. However, in the excitement of pursuing modernisation of education today, the university is bearing heavy responsibility in lifting the position of the Malay language as the official forum for learning and teaching as well as a selection of the main medium of communication among students, especially international students. Discussion of this paper focused on dismantling trade empowerment in the context of the Malay language proficiency in the language that seeks to help assimilation and accommodating international students. This research chooses a qualitative approach by utilising the semi-structured interview method to generate empirical data from a target group of 30 international students in selected Malaysian Public Universities. The findings show that international students utilise their mother tongue to recognise their abilities and agree that the importance of understanding and having the skills of the local language can contribute to the transformation of assimilation in the culture of Malaysia’s multi-ethnic society. Ultimately, mastering the mother tongue as a medium of communication for HLI students is a universal skill requirement of international students for the improvisation of self-confidence in facing the challenges of language learning in a multi-racial country.