Talkback Thursday: Concern over the quality of our English teachers

In an article in The Star dated 11th September 2013, Second Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said that two-thirds of English language teachers in the country were "incapable" or "unfit" to teach the subject in school. And today The Star features an article that has examples from parents about how their children are taught the language in schools.

In many of these instances, because English are these children’s mother-tongue or are encouraged to speak the language at home, many innocently correct their teachers in classrooms, the same way their parents would correct them at home. This has caused them to be reprimanded or made fun of, so silence instead of learning the right way is instilled.

But what about teachers? Being corrected by a student in a classroom where you’re the authority, can be embarrassing and to some extent. Is reprimanding a student over teaching what is correct, the right thing to do?