Speak Good English Campaign

The first Annual Speak Good English Campaign was first launched in April 2000. It was part of the Government's efforts to expand the use of standard English and discourage the use of Singlish. The campaign is targeted at Singaporeans under 40, including young working adults, parents and students in schools, tertiary institutes, polytechnics and technical institutes.

The second campaign took place in April 2001. The yearly campaign is organised by the Ministry of Information and the Arts and is officially known as the The Speak Good English Movement (SGEM). Lee Yock Suan, Minister for Information and the Arts, launched the first campaign in 2000 and Lee Hsien Loong launched the second campaign in 2001.

English-language proficiency became an issue in 1999 following reports in The Straits Times about the decline in English language standards in Singapore. The pervasive use of Singlish was blamed for it.Singlish is a form of broken, ungrammatical English sprinkled with words and phrases from local dialects and Malay. This variety of Singlish is not understood by English speakers outside Singapore. Speaking good English means using grammatically correct English during conversations, where rules for constructing sentences are strictly adhered to, and avoiding words and phrases from local dialects and Malay.

In his 1999 National Day Rally Speech on 22 August 1999, Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister, highlighted the necessity for Singaporeans to speak good English. He emphasised that Singaporeans learnt English in order to communicate with the world, and therefore, they should speak a form of English that is understood by the British, Americans, Australians and people around the world. Thus, he claimed that for Singapore to become global and a first-world economy, it was essential that Singaporeans speak good English. Previously on 14 August 1999, Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Senior Minister, had also highlighted the importance of speaking good English, saying that Singaporeams ought to speak good English "so that we can understand the world and the world can understand us". He noted that Singlish was a "handicap" he did not wish on Singaporeans. The government felt that something had to be done to promote English and hence, the speak good English campaign came about.

During the campaign, island-wide activities and programmes on good English were organised at schools, libraries and community clubs. TV programmes and articles that show how using good English can be fun were also featured in the mass media.



Author
Anasuya Balamurugan



References 
Campaign to get under-40s to speak good English. (2001, March 10). The Straits Times. 

Ng, I. (1999, August 30). Speak Good English Campaign next Year. The Straits Times, p. 1.

Nirmala, M. (2000, April 30). Buck up, poor English reflects badly on us. The Straits Times, Prime News, p. 4.

Singlish "A handicap we do not wish on Singaporeans". (2001, August 15). The Straits Times.

Speak English everyone understands. (20001, April 6). The Straits Times.

Channel NewsAsia. (n.d.) Second Speak Good English Movement kicks off on Thursday. Retrieved 2001, from sg.cna.mediacorpnews.com/articles /2001/04/04/singaporenews55927.htm

National University of Singapore. (2000). Promotion of standard English (PROSE). Retrieved October 16, 2003, from http://www.nus.edu.sg/prose/

Speak Good English Movement. (2003). Retrieved October 16, 2003, from http://www.goodenglish.org.sg/SGEM/home.php 



The information in this article is valid as at 2001 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Events>>National Campaigns
Language and education--Singapore
Language and languages--Study and teaching--Singapore
Education>>Public policy issues in education
Law and government>>Public education
People and communities>>Social interaction>>Communication



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