Abstract

Malaysia implemented its new education policy of teaching mathematics and science in English in 2003 in a move to keep abreast with global developments and have greater access to science, technology and business knowledge. In order to understand the impact that this new policy has on classroom practice, this study was conducted to find out how teachers of science met the challenges of teaching through the medium of the English language. Fifty three science teachers from various secondary schools located in a sub-urban area in the state of Selangor participated in this study. Questionnaires, written protocols and audio-taped interviews were used to obtain feedback from the teachers. The results indicated that the respondents faced pedagogical challenges such as lack of teaching skills in integrating content with language teaching and English language proficiency. In turn, they employed various strategies to cope with the challenges. Implications for teacher education and professional development are addressed.