Malasía

As Malaysian families reflect the cultural diversity of the country, it is difficult to describe their typical characteristics. Regardless of their ethnicity, the family is a very important institution: often, an AFS student will live with an extended family, sharing a bedroom with same-sex siblings.

Students can be hosted throughout the country, primarily in small towns and rural areas. Regardless of location, there is an unwavering respect for adults and older people, who are never addressed by their first names. Malaysians are very careful about etiquette, especially in public, and avoid attitudes considered improper. They are protective of their children and demand compliance with family rules and curfews.

The father is usually the head of the household, while the mother and children take care of the house and household chores. Cooperation is also expected from foreign students. Isolating oneself or locking oneself in one’s room for long periods of time, perhaps to use the internet, is considered inappropriate and rude.

Students are enrolled in the middle of the third term, then resume classes at the start of the next school year after a break between November and December. 

School, in fact, usually starts in January and ends in November. Classes can be held from 7:30am to 1:30pm or 1:30pm to 6:30pm, Monday to Friday. However, in predominantly Muslim regions, Friday is a holiday and classes are held Sunday to Thursday. At the school’s discretion, AFS students are usually enrolled in the penultimate or final year, attending morning classes so that they can participate in afternoon extracurricular activities. 

Courses are taught in the Malay language and foreign students are also expected to make serious and consistent efforts to learn local languages such as Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin and Tamil.

The school has strict rules: uniforms must be worn at all times (the cost of the uniform is not included in the participation fee) and smoking is strictly prohibited inside school buildings.

Malaysian institutions play a key role in the education and moral development of young people, offering extracurricular activities such as photography, music and choral singing courses, and computer classes.

Young people spend most of their time studying, and the rest of the day is often devoted to sports such as football, badminton, martial arts and water sports, or going out with friends to the cinema or downtown.