New Horizons in Education

Abstract

The language policy of Singapore is one of “pragmatic multilingualism”. The Malay Language is the National Language of Singapore, but English has become the principal medium of instruction in schools since 1987. All of the four official languages, i.e. Malay, Chinese (Mandarin), English and Tamil are taught in schools and students in Singapore Government and Government Aided schools must take their Mother Tongue as a compulsory subject. As Singapore is dependent on foreign investments, a good command of English is crucial for career advancement in local as well as multi-national companies. For cultural ballast, ethics is taught in the Mother Tongue in the Primary schools. The bilingual model of Singapore is representative of its multi-racial population.

The bilingual policy has been implemented for fifty years. In retrospect, making English Language the communicating language between the different racial groups is a wise move. But continual stress on the importance of the Mother Tongue is essential for maintaining the cultural values besides communicating with and doing business with our neighbouring countries like China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam. As the bilingual policy is beneficial to the Singapore people, it will be here to stay.

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