English 101: It's Not That Simple

One, two, buckle my shoe,

Three, four, knock at the door,

Five, six, pick up sticks,

Seven, eight, lay them straight,

Nine, ten, a big fat hen..!

Hands up those who have never sang or even heard of this song. Bollocks. Haha.. You are such a big liar. How could you not...?? This is a must-sing song for everyone, anyone who has been a kid before. Unless your childhood was a deprived one, then you must have heard of or sang this song..!

Ok, to discuss about this song is definitely not my intention. Just reminiscing on the earlier years of me learning English. Yes, just recently Inche Papa was sorta complaining that I should write more in English. He said that's almost essential in order to avoid my English becomes rusty (I'm actually taken aback by the mere fact that he reads my blog!).

[Credit]

There's somewhat an element of truth in his statement. I myself am actually concerned that the quality of my English is deteriorating. Not that it was anywhere excellent before. But I think my English has become, well, from bad to worse now. -___-"

Inche Papa's English is beyond excellent. He reads in English a lot and his know-how of English in the family is well acknowledged. Although, Puan Mama's accent is better. Haha.. Even then, as a family, we do not speak English at home. I don't know why, but Malay has always been the lingua franca of the house.

As a result of that, my English is rather mediocre in the primary school. I started to catch-up when I went to Sekolah Bintang. There, my friend, Jo Jambul encouraged me to read more in English. He introduced me to Christopher Pike's and R.L Stine's. I had been reading Enid Blyton's hitherto. After Peqnas, a junior of one year, introduced me to Harry Potter then only I realised how rubbish Pike's and Stine's are..!  

One of my few encounters with Pike's. [Credit]

And from there, I started to read piles of books, fiction being my obvious favourite. Whenever a book manages to capture my utmost attention and dedication, haha, I would voluntarily delve into its world as if it's my own. I am so enthralled by the beautiful writings that I can almost imagine myself to be an important part of the story-line. I'd reckoned that's the very reason why some people can read and read and just read, for the inexplicable satisfaction  (euphoria?) they garner from it. Nerd? Haha, it's so awethome okayyy..? (Miss Morbids, 2010) xp

Writing in English is a different thing. Honestly, I would prefer to write in Malay. Partly because I know you, my readers, also prefer to read my Malay writings, no..? And I think I can convey better in Malay. Of course, with all the jokes and lame humours, my writings in Malay are somewhat more appealing. 

Whenever I write in English, it will take me longer to finish it up. Why? Because most of the time I think in Malay. So whenever I'm writing in English, the thoughts don't always come out easily. It'll to take longer for me to construct sentences, find the right words (oh how I love Microsoft Word's synonym function!) and choose the right phrases. And even longer to browse through my grammar. To write one article in English probably take 4-5 times longer than writing the same length article in Malay. 

My spoken English has also deteriorated, or so I think. For instance, whenever I call somebody and I know I have to speak in English, sometimes I'll just stutter. Words just refuse to come out of my brain. Or whenever I speak to someone in English, somehow or rather I would be using all the wrong words or my grammar can be very embarrassing. And the weirdest thing is, those things won't happen when I'm all alone. I can speak fluently, almost flawless when I'm alone. Pfffttt...!

Woah, why am I writing this then? To satisfy Inche Papa just in case he reads this..? Wahahaha.. Nah, just feel like writing in English. But seriously, I think we should put more emphasis on improving our English. Be it written or spoken. I've seen numerous times where people embarrass themselves by not being able to speak good English. No, I'm not belittling these people. But nowadays, whether you like it or not, mastering English is a must.

Even for a dai'e, English is a skill that he or she cannot afford to neglect. If we really want to spread the message of Islam, we need to go universal and it's a fact that English IS the preferred universal language. And I have met many Malays who prefer to read Islamic literatures in English because they can grasp and comprehend better in English. Please read Mawdudi's biography. He may not be able to speak good English, but his English is perfecto! He even corrected the author of his English works for failing to come out with more precise words and phrases! How cool is that..??

People could have easily mistaken Mawdudi as an English professor!

Ok I think I should stop here. I can't stand the thought of you, braggarts out there, scrutinizing every grammatical mistake you come across! Hohohoho.. Oh I surely hope you enjoy reading this post, as much as I enjoy writing it. It always gives me this crumb of satisfaction, whenever I managed to write in English. Cheers..! ;)

One, two, buckle my shoe,

Three, four, knock at the door,

Five, six, pick up sticks,

Seven, eight, lay them straight, 
Nine, ten, a big fat hen.

-gabbana- 

Oh yes, please comment. And please feel free to correct my English wherever applicable. Thanx!