LANGUAGE PLANNING AND POLICY IN SINGAPORE

1
LANGUAGE PLANNING AND POLICY IN SINGAPORE
2
General Information

• Island-city state
• a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast
  Asia
• is unique as it is the only country in Asia which
  has English as its first language.
• Highly cosmopolitan and diverse population (4.99
  m).
• It includes many Chinese (74.2), Malays (13.4),
  Indians (9.2), Eurasians, Caucasians and Asians
  of different origins (3.2).

3
History

• British Colonial Rule (1819-1940)
• Japanese invasion during World War II.
• Independence (1946-present)

4
Languages

• A multi-lingual nation.
• English is the official language.
• The forms of English spoken in Singapore ranges
  from Standard Singapore English to Singlish.
• The English used is primarily based on British
  English, with some American English influences.

5
Languages

• The use of English became widespread in Singapore
  after it was implemented as a first language
  medium in the education system
• English is the most common language in
  Singaporean literature.
• In school, children are required to learn English
  and one of the three other official languages.

6
Languages

• The Singapore government recognises four official
  langauges
• English
• Malay (National)
• Chinese (Mandarin)
• Tamil.

7
Languages

• The national language of Singapore is Malay for
  historical reasons,and it is used in the national
  anthem. However, 85 of Singaporeans do not speak
  Malay.
• Mandarin's use has spread largely as a result of
  government-sponsored public campaigns and efforts
  to support its adoption and use over other
  Chinese languages. It is generally spoken as a
  common language amongst Singapores Chinese
  Community.
• Tamil is spoken by about 60 of Singapores
  Indian community.
• Indian languages such as Malayalam and Hindi are
  also spoken in Singapore.

8
Singapores Media of Instruction Policy

• Gupta (1997)
• the empowerment of individuals should have
  primacy over the development of an individuals
  mother tongue, and even over the preservation of
  a language

9
The Colonial Period

• The medium of instruction was the mother tongues
• Instruction in English for only an elite group
• Inequality between groups
• By 1986, enrolment in schools offering Tamil,
  Malay, and Mandarin was so low that the
  government had to close them down.

10
The Colonial Period

• In 1987 English was made the dominant medium of
  instruction in the national school system.
• Concern among the Chinese who felt that their
  language and culture were being threatened by the
  global spread of English.
• The annual Speak Mandarin Campaign (1979)
• Special Assistance Plan schools (1980)
• English and Mandarin are learned as first
  languages by the Chinese elite

11
Fishman (1969)

• Type C model of LP
• There are several competing great traditions and
  the country is unwilling to choose just one.

12
LP in Singapore

• Bilingual education policy was found inadequate
  by the Goh Report of 1978 because of low levels
  of biliteracy and large numbers of failures in
  the Primary School Leaving Exam.
• In 1987 the national school system was made
  English medium with the mother tongue, decided on
  the basis of paternity, to be learned as a second
  language.

13
LP in Singapore

• This created problems for the children of mixed
  marriages.
• English in Singapore was not imposed by the
  government, rather it was a market-driven demand
  by the community.

14
LP in Singapore

• Report on Improving Primary School Education
  (1991)
• curriculum time from P1 to P2
• 33 English, 20 Mathematics, 20 other subjects,
  27 for mother tongue and moral education.
• Three language streams in primary school based on
  the ability of students
• EM1, EM2, EMO or EM3

15
English and Mother Tongue Taught as First
Language (EM1)

• the children take higher Mother Tongue.
• Mother Tongue 5-6 hours per week
• Difficult topics (including poetry) included and
  examinable
• Only children considered to be very good at
  language are allowed to take higher Mother
  Tongue.

16
English and Mother Tongue taught as second
language in a simplified curriculum (EM2)

• They take regular Mother Tongue.
• Mother Tongue is taught at second language level
  4-5 hours per week
• All the other subjects are the same as EM1.

17
English and Mother Tongue Oral(EMO or EM3)

• all the subjects are at a basic or foundation
  level.
• Mother Tongue is at a basic proficiency level
  with more emphasis on oral rather than writing
  skills.
• EM3 students take different (simplified) national
  exams compared to EM1 and EM2.

18
A Classroom Dialogue (28th September, 2004)

• Mrs. L A hut. Hut right? Some people, oh not,
  not in Singapore right now okay. All over the
  world, people from all over the world stays in,
  okay? Like a hut. Maybe some part of Malaysia
  people still stay in a hut. Remember? Okay. So
  you can get your answers from here or you may erm
  recall what you have learnt previously alright?
  Ill give you until 12.20. Okay, write it down
  now.
• Student Miss Lee, number one write what answer?
• Mrs. L Number one will write yes. Okay, the rest
  will contribute Go into your group now
• Male student We stay here until what time?
• Mrs. L Until end of the day
• Male student Miss Lee, last time one hor a
  discourse particle in Singlish meant to get the
  attention of the listener not now one hor?
• Mrs. L Depends. Whatever that you know of.
• Male student Any house also can ah?

19
The Dilemma

• The central tension between the processes of
  globalization and school linguistic practice is
  the rising demand for the linguistic capital of
  English, on the one hand, and, on the other hand,
  the challenge to bilingual programs to meet this
  demand by mobilizing the childs mother tongue as
  a resource.
• In other words How can bilingual programs make
  sustainable additive bilingualism their main
  educational outcome?

20
Interpretation of the Dialogue

• The teacher does not want to advantage one group
  by speaking in Tamil, Malay or Mandarin, so she
  uses English, consistent with the English-medium
  policy.
• Though the teacher tries her best to use standard
  English the students ask her questions in
  Singlish

21
Interpretation of the Dialogue

• Any house also can ah?, means can I write
  about any type of house?
• The teacher does not correct the Singlish of the
  students because she is focused on getting the
  content of the lesson across to them.
• The teacher invites and encourages questions,
  creating an interactive dialogic classroom. This
  is important in the Singaporean context as
  classes tend to be teacher fronted and it is
  difficult to elicit student participation.
• The teacher circumvents this problem by creating
  a space for Singlish in the classroom while
  trying her best to give the children as much
  input as possible in standard English.

22
Ministry to look into improving teaching of
English language

• despite being the medium of instruction since
  1987, English standards are deteriorating.
• Policyspeak in newspapers is often about low
  standards of English as an outcome of the
  linguistic practice of speaking Singlish most of
  the time.
• Thus, language ideology in Singapore tends not to
  value Singlish as a linguistic resource.
• However, Singaporeans feel that use of Singlish
  displays their identity as much if not more than
  their mother tongue.

23
In conclusion

• use of mother tongue in the classroom, or as in
  the case of Singapore the judicious use of the
  daily register, can be a resource through which
  children can access Standard English while also
  continuing and cultivating multilingual practices
  inclusive of their own local languages.

24
REFERENCES

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore
• Hornberger, N. Vaish V. (2009) 'Multilingual
  language policy and school linguistic practice
  globalization and English-language teaching in
  India, Singapore and South Africa', Compare A
  Journal of Comparative and International
  Education, 39 3, 305 320

25
(No Transcript)