Transformation of English Language as the Language of Knowledge in UKM Teaching and Learning: Highlights of Students’ Perspectives

UKM's mission to defend the sovereignty of the Malay language and internationalise knowledge moulded on a strong sense of the national culture, has boosted the Malay language as the language of knowledge in its teaching and learning. Nevertheless, the implementation of PPSMI in 2003 has impacted the choice of medium language in science and mathematics courses at UKM. The purpose of this research is to review students’ preferences and perspectives on the transformation the language of knowledge. A survey has been conducted on 441 students from four faculties which offer courses related to science and mathematics. Descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation and odds-ratio are performed for analyses. The findings of the study showed that, in general, students tended to use English as the language of knowledge in the teaching and learning of science and mathematics at UKM. However, the preference level is the lowest for students from Faculty of Education.