Should Singlish be used In the Classroom?


This essay was meant to be written as an article in a school magazine but never saw print, unfortunately.


“I ain’t got no know this, c’est ne pas?”


If you find yourself not understanding the above, you are in exactly the same position as a foreigner first exposed to Singlish. Do you find the sentence above very annoying? You can be very sure Singlish is annoying to them too.


Singlish is a local form of English that has its roots in the largely uneducated masses attempting to communicate in English. The influences of their mother tongues (including the dialects) are both direct (“siong” being Hokkien for “a lot of hard work required”) and indirect (Singlish grammar is different from English). Since both the ministry and the parents are trusting us to educate the children properly, it is highly important that our students learn to speak the proper form of English.


You may think to yourself – the teacher here can understand me, what is the problem with me using Singlish? While it is true that I can understand you (after all, I am a Singaporean who grew up here for twenty-seven years), I would have to grade your language abilities using British English. Why? Simply because unlike the PSLE, your secondary four examinations (called the “O” Levels) are marked by people from Britain.


Habits are hard to break. If I allow you to use Singlish in your speech and in your writing, you will get a very nasty shock when you get your “O” Level results. No British examiner will be able to make sense of your writing, and your may even fail your exams because of this! And I can assure you that by then, you will have formed habits in writing that will make it very difficult for you to change even if you want to.


Now think again – what will happen when you grow up and start looking for jobs? Singapore is a country with many big foreign companies here. Their bosses, who will interview you, are not likely to understand Singlish. Even if they do, they would be afraid of hiring you, since they may not be able to send you to other countries to study or to work (who can understand your Singlish in those places?).


So by now, those of you in my classes will understand why I am always picking on your Singlish! Do consider well what I say, so you would not grumble the next time I give you a poor grade for the use of Singlish in class!


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