English Language Education in Asian Context
193
then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Official languages in Singapore are
English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil (Lin, 2002). Since its independence,
the Singaporean government has launched a bilingual education policy with
an ever increasing emphasis on the use of English (Rubdy, 2001). Therefore
currently, English is the language of education in all levels and types of
schools in Singapore. English is the primary language in various sectors of
the Singaporean society including public administration, education,
commerce, science and technology (Lin, 2002). Letters and workplace
documents in government offices, business contracts, and public signs are
written in English. All subjects except the mother tongue classes are
instructed in English.
Platt and his associates (Platt, 1975; Platt & Weber, 1980) recognized
two distinct varieties: one is formal English as the H variety, and the other is
informal English as the L variety. According to Gupta (1991, 1994), the
formal one can be classified as ‘Singapore Standard English’ (SSE) and the
informal one ‘Singapore Colloquial English’ (SCE). SSE is officially learned
at schools, and it is not different from a Standard English such as British or
American English, with a few differences in pronunciation and a few lexical
borrowings. On the other hand, SCE is learned and used in vernacular
situations. In fact when a child is born in Singapore, she acquires SCE first.
In a sense, it is the native language of Singaporeans. About 3.2 million
people speak SCE or Singlish at home, on the streets, and at shopping malls.
They even enjoy Singaporean actors and actresses speaking Singlish.
However, SCE has been negatively perceived as bad English by the society.
The Speak Good English Movement Campaign was launched to eradicate
this so-called bad English. Singlish is strongly discouraged in schools, at
workplaces, and in the media. However, some Singaporeans argue that
Singlish identifies them and bonds them as Singaporeans in this multi-racial,
linguistic, and cultural society. The role of Singlish, therefore, is to establish
group identity and solidarity in a sense (Rubdy, 2001).
2.2 Historical dimension of Philippine English
The Philippines is well-known for its large English-speaking population. In
fact, it is the third largest English-speaking country (Bolton & Bautista,
2004; Gonzalez, 2004). English is indeed the major language in public and
personal life of Filipino people. It is a co-official language used in various
sectors including government, law and education (Bolton & Bautista, 2004).
In addition, it plays a major role in print media, films, television, and creative
writing.
From 1565 to 1898, the Philippines were dominated by Spain who
introduced Catholicism into this nation. From 1898 to 1941, the USA
colonized the Philippines. From 1941 to 1944, the Philippines were briefly
controlled by Japan. Even after independence, the language and the