If you learn Economics in BM and meet English in questions, or the reverse, pair each concept with both names in one notebook. You learn the idea once and attach two labels to it.
This page belongs to the SPM Economics learning guide. The full term list is in the Economics glossary.
What does this look like for you?
You understand that price rises reduce the quantity bought. Then a question says “kenaikan harga” in one place and “price increase” in another, and you pause to decode the word, not the idea. The pause costs time and some confidence.
What usually causes it?
- Notes are in one language only, so the other language feels like new content.
- Terms that sound alike, such as permintaan and penawaran, get swapped under time pressure.
- Diagram labels are in English while the explanation is in BM.
- Practice questions are all in a single language, so the switch is never rehearsed.
Ten term pairs to start with
| Bahasa Melayu | English | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Kekurangan | Scarcity | Time for revision is a scarce resource |
| Kos lepas | Opportunity cost | The next-best use given up |
| Permintaan | Demand | Buyers’ wants at each price |
| Penawaran | Supply | Sellers’ offers at each price |
| Keseimbangan pasaran | Market equilibrium | Quantity demanded equals quantity supplied |
| Kadar pertukaran | Exchange rate | RM1 buys B$0.20 |
| Inflasi | Inflation | A rise in the general price level |
| Pengangguran | Unemployment | Willing to work but without a job |
| Dasar fiskal | Fiscal policy | Government spending and taxes |
| Semua faktor lain tetap | Ceteris paribus | Other things kept equal |
A two-column notebook routine
- Rule a page into two columns, one per language.
- Write the concept in the language you think in, then the other language’s term beside it.
- Add one short sentence using the pair in an invented example.
- Cover one column and recall the other.
The recall step matters most, because it tests the pair and not only your recognition.
Practise the switch
Take a practice question in one language, underline the key terms, and write the other language’s term above each. Then answer in the language your paper uses. Repeat with a question in the other language.
A short worked case: the question says “Permintaan meningkat, semua faktor lain tetap.” You note “Demand increases, ceteris paribus”, and then you know to shift the demand curve right. The supply-demand diagram reasoning explorer lets you check the shift. For a bridge that also has Chinese explanations, try the terminology bridge tool.
What can I do this week?
Choose ten terms from the table. Make one card per pair. Reviewing the ten cards for five minutes a day, five days in a row, means you recall each pair five times. Log any pair you swap in the mistake log.
When might one-to-one tuition help?
If the language switch is your main obstacle, a teacher can explain each idea in English or BM, whichever suits you, then move to the paper’s wording in small steps. That pace is hard to set in a larger group, where the language of teaching is fixed.
Say whether you prefer English or BM when you ask about online one-to-one Economics tuition, or read about the one-hour trial class (from RM50).