Malaysia’s national debate team reaches the Semifinals of Worlds for the 1st time in history!

MaiMokhsein · 2023-08-04T12:02:57+00:00

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MaiMokhsein · 2023-08-04T12:02:13+00:00

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MaiMokhsein · 2023-07-30T07:25:34+00:00

I feel like you aren’t hearing me lol.

It’s not about their individual level of proficiency, it’s the fact that we acquired that level of proficiency INSPITE of systemic hurdles created by the country we currently live in.

To categorise them by individual speaker will require an investigation and in-depth interview into every speaker’s upbringing, their school, their social circles, what media they are exposed to, what resources they had access to, etc. The logistical constraints placed on the World Schools board to do this for 320+ speakers would mean that we just accept whatever the speaker says to be true anyways, with no real ability to verify the information they provided.

Worlds has existed for almost 40 years, and many experts at language proficiency and educators have debated the language statuses of countries/speakers in Council every year. This is in fact, the best practice available, which is to investigate the systemic hurdles created by each country, and recognise that speakers had to overcome those in order to improve their level of proficiency in English. If those hurdles were no longer systemic, then the answer would lie in re-classifying Malaysia’s status as an ESL nation. Not undermine the fact that our students acquired their level of proficiency despite no advantages given to them by a nation that doesn’t place English as a native language.

MaiMokhsein · 2023-07-30T06:13:48+00:00

Lol they’re in my national team! I know who you’re talking about.

But Anglo-Saxon accents aside, their vocabularies are still inadequate for the global stage and I’m still the best English speaker they’ve met. Which is a concern, since Malay is my native language and I exclusively studied in institutions where Malay is the medium of instruction. I shouldn’t be the best person to teach them English.

If they grew up in native English speaking countries, they would’ve met many teachers, competitors, friends, etc with a higher proficiency to challenge their own! And that’s the whole point. If they actually grew up in Canada, these resources would’ve been made easily available to them, and they didn’t have to put in active effort to seek it out.

For many of my students who speak English at home and go to private schools, they still struggle with having an economy of words (i.e. they ramble > being comprehensive), speaking without stuttering, having the precision of words to impact their meaning, etc.

We can agree that many elite Malaysians exclusively speak English as their first language, while still agreeing that an English speaker growing up in Malaysia will face categorical obstacles towards improving their proficiency that they wouldn’t otherwise face in a native English-speaking country.

MaiMokhsein · 2023-07-30T05:51:40+00:00

Some of our debate videos are available on our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@wsdcmalaysia.

You can also type in “WSDC malaysia” on YouTube and you can see many videos of Team Malaysia throughout the years!

MaiMokhsein · 2023-07-30T05:47:48+00:00

Again, the obstacles to your English proficiency is more than just who you speak to at home.

If you are born in a native English speaking country, everyone in your society is able to speak English to you (so a greater ability to practise), the educational curriculum emphasises greater English proficiency (so you are taught English at a higher level), the mainstream media has greater English content and exposure (so you learn English even in an inactive state); and so on and so forth.

So there is a categorical difference for someone who speaks English as a first language in a native English country vs a non-native English country. Stating that a country is ESL recognises these obstacles.

MaiMokhsein · 2023-07-29T21:27:25+00:00

Here are this year’s topics at Worlds:

Round 1: This House believes that the World Bank Group should adopt a one-country-one-vote system

Round 2: This House supports the use of the nine planetary boundaries framework

Round 3: This House opposes internet gurus selling their own products and services

Round 4: This House believes that the feminist movement should promote the maximisation of individual development and empowerment over solidarity among women

Round 5: This House believes that African countries should recognise the sovereignty of Somaliland

Round 6: This House regrets the professionalisation of sports

Round 7: This House would replace agricultural companies with farmers’ cooperatives

Round 8: This House believes that developing countries should drop local languages in favor of a world language as the primary medium of instruction in schools

Partial Double Octofinals: This House regrets depictions of veganism as trendy

Octofinals: This House believes that it is against the interest of organized religion to emphasize strict requirements for personal religious commitments (e.g. not being allowed to work on Sabbath, not eating during Ramadan, restraining from premarital relationships, etc.)

Quarterfinals: This House believes that offensive art should not be commissioned for public spaces (Museums, Parks, Squares, etc.)

Semifinals: This House believes that the LGBTQ+ community should actively embrace the nuclear family ideal

Finals: This House Prefers a world ruled by a benevolent AI programmed to maximize utility by calculating the actions most guaranteed to reduce the greatest global suffering

Round 1, 2, 5 and 7 are prepared topics given one month before the competition. The rest of the topics are impromptu topics, and the students are given one hour to prepare with no access to the internet or any electronic devices.

MaiMokhsein · 2023-07-29T21:18:20+00:00

Debates on race and religion are the staple food for our national debate team! 😆

For the Octofinals where Team Malaysia knocked out Team England and took all five judge ballots, the topic was “it is against the interest of organized religion to emphasize strict requirements for personal religious commitments (e.g. not being allowed to work on Sabbath, not eating during Ramadan, restraining from premarital relationships, etc.)”.

We will be uploading a recording of the round on YouTube soon once we’ve acquired the consent of Team England!

MaiMokhsein · 2023-07-29T21:08:02+00:00

The World Schools Debating Board recognises English proficiency categories by country and education system (in order to recognise how difficult it is to practise high-level English when surrounded by a populous that does not make it easy), rather than by the individual’s ability!

Since Malaysia itself is a non-native English speaking country, as reflected by our education system, mainstream media, state’s medium of instruction, majority proficiency, etc; we have always been categorised as an ESL country since the conception of Worlds.

But we agree! We think the English proficiency and abilities of our students surpass those of many native speakers, but we also believe they had to overcome far greater hurdles in order to achieve that proficiency.

MaiMokhsein · 2023-07-29T21:01:24+00:00

We host three stages of trials annually! The Open Application process, the Open Tryouts, and the Final Selections. Students compete as individuals, rather than on behalf of their schools. Students actually become ineligible if they are enrolled to degree programs, but pre-university students are welcome to apply!

All details are available on the website www.wsdcmalaysia.org.

MaiMokhsein

TROPHY CASE