Anne Pakir

Connecting with English in the Context of Internationalisation.

Access to the emerging global language—widely perceived as a language of opportunity—needs to be guaranteed. (Crystal, 1997, p. 220)

Two tongue tied: Bilingualism in Singapore

This paper examines the problems and issues connected with the implementation of the bilingual policy in Singapore which is a multiracial, multicultural and multilingual nation. Bilingualism in Singapore describes more than just a policy, a programme, a population, or a progression. It involves a major transformation since bilingualism is important insofar as English is ‘claimed’ as the cornerstone of that operation towards bilingual achievement. In other words, bilinguals in Singapore are increasingly English‐knowing bilinguals. Some of the problems and issues connected to English‐knowing bilingualism including language maintenance and shift and the inter‐relationship between language and culture, are examined.

Issues in Second Language Curriculum Development: Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei.

This paper summarizes current theoretical and practical issues of second language learning and teaching in the national curricula of three countries—Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam. One unifying feature of these three countries in ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is the fact that they are multilingual communities with a vast range of complex linguistic and cultural traditions. A second is that they represent parallel cases of countries in which English has played an internal role historically. A third is that these countries all have Malay as the national language (albeit, in Singapore, with a large Chinese majority and with English as an important working language—Malay is not as widely used). A fourth is that bilingualism is a language policy, whether publicly advocated or implicitly sanctioned.

Making Bilingualism Work: Developments in Bilingual Education in ASEAN.

Abstract Systems of bilingual education in three neighbouring countries, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam are examined in an attempt to understand basic issues. These are ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries that fall into the category of Small Young Countries (SYCs) previously discussed in Pakir (1992a). A unifying feature is the fact that they are multilingual communities, with a vast range of complex linguistic and cultural traditions. A second feature is that they represent parallel cases of countries in which English has played an internal role historically. Third, these countries have Malay as the national language (albeit in Singapore, with a large Chinese majority and using English as a working language, Malay is not as widely used). Fourth, bilingual‐ism is a language policy, whether publicly advocated or implicitly sanctioned.

Glocal English in Singapore? A Re-exploration of the Localization of English

This chapter re-considers the notion of ‘glocal English’ or ‘glocalism’ in discussing the use of English in Singapore. As a global language, English has developed in interesting ways via social media and the Internet all over the world. However, it is only in special polities such as Singapore where it is used as the ‘working language’ of the country for a multilingual population base, that English has developed into a phenomenon that has to be studied, better understood and perhaps given a label such as ‘glocal English.’ The chapter will contribute to the ongoing discussions of what it means for English to be a global language and how it adapts as ‘a communicative tool of immense political, ideological, and economic power’(Kachru, Kontalinguistik, 1996, pp. 906–913) in global-local tensions (e.g. commerce, trade, finance, industry, science and technology versus intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic communication within Singapore). In the shifting perspectives of what English is (really global or truly local?), what it does (for and in education), and how it is used in this country (globally and/or locally), the paper hopes to elucidate the dimensions of teaching and learning English in the Singapore context and perhaps more widely in an Asia-Pacific context.

Standards? Dictionaries and their Development in Second Language Learning Contexts

This paper focuses on ‘English’ dictionaries and their development in second language learning contexts, taking the perspective that ‘standards’ are usually codified in reference grammars, pronouncing dictionaries and word dictionaries. It begins with a presentation of contemporary discussions of ‘English’ and ‘Englishes’ in Asia, a phenomenon that has come about through the global spread of what is now a truly universal language. With the second diaspora of English (Kachru, 1992), many of the educational institutions in Asia are beginning to feel the tension between rigid and loose canons, and between traditional and emerging norms of language usage. In English as an additional language learning communities, lexical innovation is evident in new canons, and in primary sources of data such as newspapers. How do dictionaries handle such innovations, and become themselves a secondary source? The question may not be an easy one to answer but the discussion leading to it may herald a new dawn in dictionary-making in Asia.

English in Singapore: striking a new balance for future-readiness

Abstract English in Singapore has always presented a balancing act for its founders. The colonial era saw a distinct role for English, i.e. to produce English-speaking officers for the British administration, while modern Singapore sees English being used as both a national and international lingua franca and as a major language that connects the island city-state to the world. ‘English-knowing bilingualism’ has gained ascendancy in Singapore and may become a core competency for the 21st-century world with the rise in status of English as a global language. However, the path to English-knowing bilingualism in the pluri-lingual and heterogeneous country was often marked by paradoxical debates surrounding the issues of language maintenance and shift, identity and the transmission of values, equity and meritocracy, as well as balancing between local versus global linguistic norms and standards. This paper focuses on the continuing debates, from the past to the present, as new challenges arise and argues how a new balance has to be achieved in the language strategy, policy and management for future-readiness in Singapore.

Founding father of World Englishes, Professor Braj B. Kachru, passes away at age 84

It is with an extremely heavy heart and considerable pain that I write to inform you of the passing on of our esteemed colleague, mentor, teacher, inspiration, and big brother, Braj B. Kachru. Kachru-ji, as many of us affectionately and respectfully called him, or ‘father of the nation’ as the African graduate students affectionately referred to him, passed away at home in Urbana-Champaign yesterday (July 29, 2016) apparently in his sleep.

Innovative Second Language Education in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, located between India and China, represents approximately six per cent of the world’s population (450 million), but more than fifteen per cent of the world’s languages. With a heritage of over 2,000 years, Southeast Asia contains all the religions and cultures of the world, giving it a distinctive character of cultural diversity and plurality. Modern Southeast Asia can be considered along two demarcations: the seven countries belonging to the regional organization called the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) formed in 1967 and the three currently outside ASEAN: Laos, Kampuchea (Cambodia), and Myanmar (Burma). A recently published book (Thumboo, ed., 1996) provide country studies of each ASEAN nation in terms of their rich cultures and the likely directions of their development.