Singapore flag waving in the wind.
Problems
I give workshops as part of Toastmasters Meetings in the China, Singapore and the UK. Here is a flyer for one of my past workshops.
I have recently attended several demonstration meetings to college students and their instructors. I have given workshops on Speech Structure, and most often Language. I have observed several problems:
The Toastmasters Of The Day or the other speakers and instructors speak Singlish. The pupils sometimes speak English as a second language.
Firstly, the official speakers are unable to correct the pupils' use of English.
Secondly, they are reinforcing the idea that Singlish structures are standard British English. The pupils do not know any better. Worse still, pupils copy what they hear.
Thirdly, any pupils and visitors who speak British English may feel unable to correct what they hear. you do not want to correct a VIP who is your host, who collected you from the station. You do not want to correct a teacher in front of their pupils because the teacher would lose face. The pupils would be disappointed and embarrassed on behalf of their teacher.
Fourthly, presenters may speak well, but the slides have spelling or grammatical errors.
Fifthly, the slides are correct and produced from the USA or by another instructor or from the internet. However, the speaker has their back to the slides and misquotes text from memory, adding errors, or reads fast and incorrectly.
Finally, signs around the building are in incorrect English. For example, signs in the lifts and toilets. Signs might be produced in the buildings or left by contractors.
What are the solutions?
How To Give Feedback Politely
Agree in advance how to correct the VIP seniors' mistakes.
In Toastmasters as a Language Evaluator or Grammarian, I would name speakers who have used English correctly.
However, when drawing attention to errors I would simply say, "I heard: ...."
If you are a student or teacher of linguistics, or a teacher of English, you would enjoy a trip to Singapore. There you can read and hear examples of Singlish from local people. On the train station concourses and platforms you can hear the three other local languages, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. This will demonstrate how the intonation in other languages affects speakers learning English as a second language.
Singapore is a great stopover if you are travelling between the USA or Europe or Russia and want to continue on to Australia and New Zealand. Singapore Airlines in a member of Star Alliance if you need to mix and match airlines and use airmiles and lounges.
Useful Links
To find a Toastmasters International Club, use Toastmasters International Website and find a club. Or look at Meetups in your city.
Singapore Airlines
singaporeair.com
Author
Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several posts on Singapore - everything from 24 hours McDonalds to Changi airport eating and day and night (Night Safari) attractions and free attractions (Botanical Gardens), and London, England. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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