Singapore’s English Language Policy and Language Teacher Education: A Foundation for Its Educational Success

• In Event: Educational Policy Innovations: Leveling Up and Sustaining Educational Achievement

Abstract

Purpose
This presentation will provide a perspective of what lies at the heart of Singapore’s educational success: its language policy and rigorous language teacher education programmes. A carefully conceptualised language planning and policy implementation, coupled with a rigorous language teacher education programme, have contributed significantly towards Singapore’s high and sustained performance in internationally benchmarked tests of student achievement that is notably taken in English. Although a myriad of factors have to be realistically considered in order to gain a holistic picture of Singapore’s educational success, this presentation will focus specifically on the contribution of Singapore’s English language policy and language teacher education as a foundation for its educational success.

Perspectives
This paper presents the historical and cultural background of Singapore’s language planning policies, specifically on Singapore’s language planning policies, and language-related educational policies. It goes on to elaborate on the bilingual education policy and its link to educational achievement and allowing the country to gain a competitive edge in engaging in international trade while allowing Singaporeans to maintain their cultural ties and heritage of their mother tongue languages. The paper proceeds to consider the relationship between language competency and academic achievement. Teacher selection, Language Teacher Preparation and Professional Development in Singapore are discussed against the backdrop of Singapore’s English Language Policies.

Methods and Data
This is a case study which presents a meta-analysis of Singapore’s English Language Policy and Language Teacher Education. The presentation relies on data from multiple sources including a wide range of documents: program handbooks; scholarly articles and book chapters; government reports; media commentaries; web-based data.

Results
Findings provide concrete evidence that the English spoken in Singapore is moving away from Inner Circle native English-speaking norms and shows evidence of developing our own norms (Low 2010). The dilemma presented here is that while it is good that Singapore English is ready to evolve our own norms, the challenge of remaining internationally intelligible arises. For a nation that relies heavily on international trade for economic success, this can potentially be a serious issue.

Singapore’s prudent language planning policies and fidelity in the implementation of these policies system-wide with great coherence has been a foundational cornerstone explaining Singapore’s high performing education system. It is also important to cast one’s eye on potential challenges that lie ahead so that Singapore can not only sustain but continue to scale new peaks of success in their educational achievement that has so far been lauded by other systems around the world.

Significance
This paper reveals how Singapore’s English Language Policy and Language Teacher Education is the foundation for its educational success with a detailed account of the careful thinking behind its teacher selection process, the conceptual framework behind its Language Teacher Education programme and carefully conceptualised professional development that builds on the continuum of lifelong learning for the nation's language teachers. Such judicious language planning ensures that the nation achieves the status of a HPEs in spite of taking the test in English and competing with test-takers from other native English speaking countries.

Author

• Ee-Ling Low, National Institute of Education - Nanyang Technological University