I am aware that we are known to be able to adapt to different ways of speaking according to our different audiences. That means we can revert to Mandarin whenever we speak to mainland Chinese who work here, or even Singlish whenever we speak to people who are not so good at speaking proper English. However, this compromises my ability to speak proper English. Now that I am going to London, I am an ambassador of my country and must project a positive image. This to me, means that I must brush up even more on my oral English skills. Sometimes, I do get irritated when I hear improper English being spoken by teachers and journalists.
I am not referring to our local accent but to our lack of speaking grammatically correct English. We can speak proper English in our local accent, as Lee Kwan Yew does in England. Singlish is a unique dialect of ours but its little expressions can render our oral English improper in its sounding. Ironically, I used to be ashamed of our accent and had tried to pick up the accents of the people in UK and US. However, London just had Singapore Day almost a month ago and somehow it made me develop a sense of pride in our local accent. The strange thing is that foreigners actually find our accent intriguing. Thus, as I leave for London tomorrow, I go with the thought that it is our accent that makes us Singaporeans but it is my proper English that should show how proud I am to have it as my first language.
Then again, the environment I am in has a great influence on the way I speak English. Once I came back to Singapore, I reverted to Singlish. When I am with Singaporeans, in another country, I do the same. It takes effort to speak proper English all the time, but for the sake of my students, I will try! I've taken the first step by watching more documentaries, so that I can listen to the narrators speak in their impeccable English :)
My student asked me how I feel when I hear Singaporeans speak Singlish. I feel as if I am with familiar people in a foreign country but at the same time, I feel ashamed of the improper way English is spoken.
2 comments:
Hi!
I'm an IT trainer, in one of the school here in Singapore. I find it difficult to communicate with my students because of their accent. What do you think should I do to have a better communication with them. I'm a filipino, and my english pronounciation and accent are much like of the americans.
I'm new to the field of teaching and its not easy for me to talk and talk but some of the students can't understand my english.
Thanks.
Give yourself time to get used to the Singaporean accent. It is also tinged with Singlish, which increases the difficulty. You will be able to understand what they are saying sooner or later. Some of them are better at Mandarin and so their English is not so good. Also, in the midst of the local students are foreigners such as China students who are worse in English. We follow British English rather than American English.
I'm not trying to discourage you though. This will actually help you understand their language background. They are probably not exposed to other English accents. Hence there is miscommunication between both parties.
Perhaps you can watch local situation comedies like Sayang Sayang, Class Daze, Army Daze or Phua Chu Kang to expose yourself to Singlish. This may help you understand the way they speak. Good luck!
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