The Difference Of English Language In China And Singapore

By Author: peter
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In Singapore, the role of traditional NS models (for example, British spoken English) is less prominent though not altogether unimportant. The teachers' discussion illustrates the tension that exists in Singaporeans' language choice attributed to opposing orientations towards social-cultural identity and economic capital (Alsagoff 2007). Some teachers argue that since English in Singapore has its own linguistic features and conventions of use, they must be careful not to impose an exonormative model that students may reject. The presence of ED Hardy Hoodies Singlish which has its own grammatical features means that local students do not need British norms when interacting in a casual style. British spoken grammar features are nevertheless welcomed as a means of raising language awareness (The information can be used to complement existing information on grammar ... they will also attain a more balanced perspective'.).

See also Teacher 83's comment. Others see no harm in referring to British English norms in the Singapore classroom (‘we do ...
... need some guiding models to follow and we have been using British English forms as a guide to teaching English in Singapore'.). Interestingly, when discussing foreign E S L students studying in Singapore (for example, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indonesian students), the teachers recommend that spoken grammar be taught to help these students speak more naturally. The dilemma that Singaporean teachers face is not lost on their Chinese colleagues during the discussion, with one of them calling on the former to give due emphasis to traditional NS models in the classroom ('Otherwise, when they grow up with a good command of their English dialect (Singlish), they will go far away from what is called "good English"'.) This concern is reflected in Alsagoff s observation that for Singaporeans to be globally relevant and economically competitive, they need English that is of 'international currency' which she calls 'International Singapore English', a variety that is exonormatively defined, benchmarked against features of anglo-English, and creates an image of high education attainment, formality, and authority for its speakers (Alsagoff 2007: 35). The Singaporean teachers' views further illustrate issues about language competence and language standards in ELT contexts where a new indigenous English variety exists (Davies 2003).

On the whole, the Chinese EFL teachers welcome the idea of introducing spoken grammar to their students. Where they and their Singaporean counterparts are ambivalent, it is in respect of its apparently ungrammatical nature. Spoken grammar forms such as heads, tails, and ED Hardy Boots ellipsis, for example, are seen as deviations from established notions of 'proper' grammar where sentences follow typical structures, such as subject-verb-object and subject-verb-complement. Some teachers are also constrained by a narrow interpretation of the term 'grammar'. They find it confusing that lexical items in the form of modal expressions (for example, 'hopefully', 'perhaps') are a part of the grammar of English. Coordination of multiple clauses with 'and' as well as the use of vague language (for example, 'sort of, 'kind of like') are also perceived to be speech habits that learners should avoid, particularly in formal interactions.