Kuala Lampur, Oct. 22 -- Every semester, I meet a new group of students whose expressions change the moment I mention MUET. Shoulders stiffen, eyes widen, and the room grows heavy with unease. The Malaysian University English Test, designed to gauge language proficiency, has become a source of quiet dread for many pre-university students.

As an English lecturer, I have watched talented individuals allow fear to overshadow their ability. They speak with poise in class yet falter at the very mention of the test. They worry about mishearing instructions during the listening paper, running out of ideas in the writing test, or freezing during the speaking component. Beneath all this lies a shared anxiety, the fear of not being good enough.

W...