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117-491: English was introduced in 1819 with the establishment of the modern port in Singapore . The port attracted migrants from neighbouring countries, such as China and India, resulting in a diverse linguistic landscape . Proximity to these languages has over generations influenced Singaporean English . Known colloquially as Singlish , the vernacular dialect is characterised by the mixture of local expressions with Standard English (e.g.

234-513: A court order, closed down the venue scheduled to host the Festival's closing event since there was Palestinian Authority involvement, but the British Council stepped in and the evening was relocated to its grounds. The British Council supports the festival, also known as PalFest. A controversial issue arose in 2012 because PalFest's website states that they endorse the "2004 Palestinian call for

351-444: A curious zoo specimen to be dissected and described by scholars. The Speak Good English Movement is the government's effort to encourage Singaporeans to speak Standard English rather than the colloquial form, Singlish . Many Singaporeans have criticised this as trying to eradicate Singlish. Arguing that Singlish is a distinctive marker of Singaporean identity, supporters of Singlish criticise SGEM. Their support for Singlish stems from

468-502: A dialogue session at a student education conference that his ministry was looking at hiring "native speakers" to teach English language in schools in order to improve the standard of teaching the English language in school. Following this, many Singaporeans wrote in to newspapers forums with questions such as "Why aren't our English teachers suitably qualified?" and wondering if "native English speakers" meant foreign English-speakers hailing from

585-559: A different theme focusing on the target audience is created. The themes that were used in the campaign up until 2015 are: In 1999, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong highlighted the problem of speaking Singlish in his National Day Rally . A year later in April 2000, he officially launched the Speak Good English Movement with the tagline 'Speak Well, Be Understood'. He stressed the importance of speaking standard English and reducing

702-678: A former Literature Director of the British Council itself. In March 2007, the British Council announced its "intention to increase its investment in the Middle East , North Africa and Central and Southern Asia ". In June 2007, MPs were told of further closures in Tel Aviv and East Jerusalem (where there had been a British Council Library since 1946). The British Council libraries in Athens and Belgrade were also scheduled to close. Similarly in India,

819-528: A humorous way by Lawrence Durrell in his collection of anecdotes about a diplomat's life on foreign postings for the Foreign Office – Antrobus Complete . In the six Olivia Manning novels that make up The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy, Guy Pringle is an employee of the British Council, and Council politics make up several of the plot points. The books portray Eastern Europe and the Middle East in

936-463: A manuscript which she claims is a novel to an English publisher who she says is "her friend"! It is also featured in one of the scenes in Graham Greene 's The Third Man – the character Crabbin, played by Wilfrid Hyde-White in the film, worked for The British Council. In 1946, the writer George Orwell advised serious authors not to work for it as a day job arguing that "the effort [of writing]

1053-404: A platform for local artists, it had hoped to use the power and reach of those artists to send its message to youths in Singapore. It also used social media platforms such as MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, STOMP , Youth.Sg, The Speak Good English Movement website and blogs by band members. Partner programmes in 2007–08 Launched by Minister Lim Boon Heng, Prime Minister's Office, on 26 August 2008,

1170-931: A rethink of its strategy in Latin America . In Italy , British Council closed its offices in Turin and Bologna and reduced the size of offices in Milan and Rome (with the closure of the library in the latter). Charles Arnold-Baker , author of the Companion to British History said of the British Council's shift in priorities: "This whole policy is misconstrued from top to bottom. We are going somewhere where we can't succeed and neglecting our friends in Europe who wish us well. The only people who are going to read our books in Beirut or Baghdad are converts already." The article also points out that

1287-747: A small-scale trading settlement continued in Singapore for some time afterwards. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the Malay archipelago was gradually taken over by the European colonial powers , beginning with the Portuguese conquest of the Malacca Sultanate in 1511. In 1613, the Portuguese burnt down a trading settlement at the mouth of the Singapore River , after which Singapore lapsed into insignificance in

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1404-461: A spectacular success. As news of the free port spread across the archipelago, Bugis, Peranakan Chinese , and Arab traders flocked to the island, seeking to circumvent the Dutch trading restrictions. During the first year of operation, $ 400,000 ( Spanish dollars ) worth of trade passed through Singapore. It has been estimated that when Raffles arrived in 1819, the total population of the whole of Singapore

1521-676: A week-long festival packed with events such as plays and a speech marathon. Later in the year, the public sector also organised year-long programmes as part of the movement. One such event was the seminar held by the Singapore Teachers' Union (STU) at the Shangri-La Hotel, attended by about 500 participants who were mostly teachers. The seminar emphasised the power of pronunciation and the teaching of grammar, and encouraged teachers to teach English in more creative ways in schools using dramas and role-playing. Other highlights in 2000 included

1638-474: A wider knowledge of the UK and the English language; encouraging cultural, scientific, technological and educational understanding and cooperation; changing people's lives through access to UK education, skills, qualifications, culture and society; and attracting people who matter to the future of the UK and engaging them with the UK's culture, educational opportunities and its diverse, modern, open society. In 2014–2015,

1755-454: Is Paul Thompson , and its CEO is Scott McDonald . The British Council's total income in 2014–2015 was £973 million principally made up of £154.9 million grant-in-aid received from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; £637 million income from fees and teaching and examinations services; and £164 million from contracts. The British Council works in more than 100 countries: promoting

1872-588: Is a wing of our Secret Intelligence Services, however minor. Officially it is no such thing but there are connections. Why should it be otherwise because all information is invaluable? After all, the British Council also deals with trade missions and inevitably that involves low-grade intelligence-gathering." In 2005, along with the Alliance française , the Dante Alighieri Society , the Goethe-Institut ,

1989-548: Is bad, that's because they speak broken English, not Singlish. We all know we can't speak Singlish to foreigners because they'll all catch no ball. That's just common sense. The fault isn't with too much Singlish, it's because English is taught so badly. In an event held on 24 August 2006, TalkingCock in Parliament: We, the Citizens , Ruby Pan (a former Ministry of Education scholar and a graduate of Princeton University ) displayed

2106-461: Is currently hosted in the UK by Sian Eleri since 2024 - previous hosts include Jamz Supernova, Goldierocks and Andrea Oliver – and many countries take the English language version of the show and create a new show from the tracks and features, translating the 'links' into the local language. The British Council has been running a teacher training programme in North Korea since 2001. In July 2014

2223-422: Is encourage people to try. Have a go even if they can't speak well, even if they cannot use long words, even if they can't use long sentences; it's not important. The idea is to use simple words, simple sentences and convey their message clearly." The movement continued throughout the year until March 2004 so as to create greater impact and awareness. In its fifth year, acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen launched

2340-461: Is imperative to raise living standards in Singapore, and Singlish causes problems when Singaporeans need to communicate in the " global language of commerce, business and technology". The movement thus campaigns for an improved standard of English used in Singapore. In hopes of extending its reach, the movement adopts a different theme and target group each year, and also collaborates with various partner organisations to provide programmes in line with

2457-841: Is in Berlin . Formally it is to its sponsoring department, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office , that the UK Parliamentary Table Office refers any parliamentary questions about the British Council. The effectiveness of British Council efforts to promote higher education in China was examined in the UK by the House of Commons Select Committee on Education and Skills in a report issued in August 2007. It expressed concern that in terms of joint educational programmes involving Chinese universities,

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2574-451: Is not understood by others, we will lose a key competitive advantage ." The movement was spearheaded by a committee of people in the private sector led by then Colonel (NS) David Wong, a senior adviser with the consulting company Ernst and Young . Its target audience was Singaporeans under 40, which included young working adults, parents and students in schools, tertiary institutes, polytechnics and technical institutes. The launch kick-started

2691-462: Is recognised as the official founding of modern Singapore and also the beginning as a British settlement. Raffles returned to British Bencoolen (Sumatra) the day after the signing of the treaty, leaving Major William Farquhar as the Resident and Commandant of the new settlement, supported initially by some artillery and a single regiment of Indian soldiers. Establishing a trading port from scratch

2808-485: Is too far away from the main trading route. In 1818, Raffles managed to convince Lord Hastings , the then governor-general of India and his superior in the British East India Company , to fund an expedition to establish a new British base in the region, but with the proviso that it should not antagonise the Dutch. Raffles settled on the island of Singapore because of its position at the southern tip of

2925-518: Is too much to make if one has already squandered one's energies on semi-creative work such as teaching, broadcasting or composing propaganda for bodies such as the British Council". In her autobiography, Dame Stella Rimington , the first woman head of MI5 , mentions working for British Council in India before joining the British Intelligence Services. The British Council was referred to (and its man on-station, Goole ) – frequently in

3042-544: Is used, in order to create a conducive environment where those less proficient in the code can learn by example. Fluent speakers of Standard English are encouraged to use it more frequently in all conversation, regardless if it is with family members, colleagues, hawkers, or taxi drivers. In a bid for Singaporeans to 'Get It Right'-where those proficient in Standard English take note to use the language accurately and those who are less proficient at it try to use it correctly;

3159-425: Is young people of the wired generation, aged 18 to 29. This year, the movement initiated an online drama titled Six Lives which followed the lives of six friends planning a wedding for their friends John and Huileng. Over a span of 12 episodes, Six Lives aimed to show the importance of communicating well and how 'Impress, Inspire and Intoxicate' can be incorporated into daily situations that friends get into, through

3276-608: The Alliance française and the Goethe-Institut , unlike the British Council, are both expanding and replenishing libraries Europe-wide. France opened its new library in Tel Aviv in 2007, just a few months after the British Council closed there and shut down the British Council library in West Jerusalem . In Gaza , the Institut français supports the Gaza municipal library in partnership with

3393-649: The English language (and the Welsh language in Argentina ); encouraging cultural, scientific, technological and educational cooperation with the United Kingdom. The organisation has been called a soft power extension of UK foreign policy, as well as a tool for propaganda . The British Council is governed by a Royal Charter . It is also a public corporation and an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB), sponsored by

3510-543: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office . Its headquarters are in Stratford , London. Its chair is Paul Thompson and its chief executive is Scott McDonald. The British Council is a charity governed by Royal Charter . It is also a public corporation and an executive nondepartmental public body (NDPB), sponsored by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office . Its headquarters are in Stratford, London. Its chair

3627-570: The Instituto Cervantes , and the Instituto Camões , the British Council shared in the Princess of Asturias Award for the outstanding achievements of Western Europe's national cultural agencies in communications and the humanities. At the time of this joint award, the full extent of The British Council's closure policies in Europe was not yet public knowledge. Royle also goes on to note that

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3744-617: The Majapahit Empire and the Siamese at different times in the 14th century. Around the end of the 14th century, its ruler Parameswara was attacked by either the Majapahit or the Siamese , forcing him to move on to Melaka where he founded the Sultanate of Malacca , Archaeological evidence suggests that the main settlement on present-day Fort Canning was abandoned around this time, although

3861-818: The Persian Gulf area. Council offices were closed in Lesotho , Eswatini , Ecuador and provincial Länder in Germany in 2000–2001 – as well as Belarus – prompting Parliamentary criticism. Subsequent promises by British Council Chair Neil Kinnock to a conference in Edinburgh that the Belarus closure would hopefully prove to be just a "temporary" withdrawal proved illusory. The British Council office in Peru also closed in September 2006 as part of

3978-473: The Sultanate of Malacca and the Johor Sultanate . A significant port and settlement, known as Temasek , later renamed Singapura , existed on the island of Singapore in the 14th century. Vietnamese records indicate possible diplomatic relationship between Temasek and Vietnam in the 13th century, and Chinese documents describe settlements there in the 14th century. It was likely a vassal state of both

4095-634: The "Post-its Tak Bak Chew Campaign", inviting supporters to send in snapshots of their own home-made signs with proper Singlish. The original Facebook page was established on 11 September 2010 with the following statements: We are not against the Speak Good English Movement in Singapore. But we believe that we should get it right with speaking English as well as Singlish. We are tired of people confusing Singlish with broken English. We are tired of people pretending to speak Singlish by speaking bad English. We are tired of people caricaturising Singlish speakers as uncouth and unintelligent. If you don't bother to learn

4212-421: The 2007/08 Movement targeted four broad groups – youth, parents, teachers and frontline staff. The key focus was on the youth, while parents, teachers, and frontline staff were seen as the main people to have interactions with them, thus having a vital role in the language input that they receive. The organizers tried to encourage young Singaporeans to express themselves through the arts and music. This year also saw

4329-608: The Arts & Heritage Development Division from the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and Ho Peng, Director of Curriculum Planning and Development from the Ministry of Education, wrote in a letter published in The Straits Times on 12 December 2008: While Singlish may be a fascinating academic topic for linguists to write papers about, Singapore has no interest in becoming

4446-579: The British Council (due to a lack of regulations on its activities) along with the general consulate in St. Petersburg . The move was reported to be retaliation against the UK's actions toward Russia for the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal . The British Council has been a primary partner of the Palestine Festival of Literature since the Festival's beginning in 2008. In 2009, the Israeli police, acting on

4563-591: The British Council Associate Parliamentary Group. Nigel Griffiths MP was Vice-Chair of this British Council lobby group until stepping down as an MP. In 2008, the British Council was called before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) following the earlier publication of a National Audit Office report. The subsequent PAC report confirmed that Nigel Griffiths MP – Vice Chair of The British Council Associate Parliamentary Group –

4680-627: The British Council Libraries at Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram were closed despite protests from library users as part of the Council's policy to "reduce its physical presence" in the country and to divert funds to mega projects in the fields of culture, education, science and research. British Council libraries and offices have also been closed in several other countries judged by the British Council to be of little strategic or commercial importance, as it refocused its activities on China and

4797-701: The British Council announced a global programme with the BBC , British Film Institute , the National Theatre , the Royal Shakespeare Company , the Shakespeare 400 consortium, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Shakespeare's Globe to celebrate Shakespeare's life and work on the 400th anniversary of this death. Selector Radio is a weekly two-hour radio show, produced by Folded Wing for

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4914-491: The British Council gave the example of India where their UK India Education and Research Initiative is being "championed" by British multinational oil companies such as BP and Shell , the pharmaceutical giant GSK and arms company BAE Systems . Criticism of British Council marketing efforts in this area has also come from Scotland where The Sunday Herald obtained documents under the Freedom of Information Act showing that

5031-456: The British Council in more than 850 towns and cities in 2014–2015. The British Council jointly runs the global IELTS English-language standardised test with the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations and IDP Education Australia. Over 2.5 million IELTS tests were delivered in 2014–2015. In 2014, the British Council launched its first MOOC, Exploring English: Language and Culture, on

5148-500: The British Council relaunched the global website Education UK for international students interested in UK education. The site receives 2.2 million visitors per year and includes a search tool for UK courses and scholarships, advice and articles about living and studying in the UK. From 2014 to 2020, the British Council and Ecorys UK jointly administered almost €1 billion of the €14.7 billion Erasmus+ programme offering education, training, youth and sports opportunity for young people in

5265-616: The British Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for cultural and educational exchange. The British Council's Young Creative Entrepreneurs Awards identify and support talented people from across the creative industries, such as the International Young Publisher of the Year , International Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year , International Young Music Entrepreneur of

5382-535: The British Council spent: £489 million developing a wider knowledge of the English language; £238 million encouraging educational cooperation and promoting the advancement of education; £155 million building capacity for social change; £80 million encouraging cultural, scientific and technological cooperation; and £10 million on governance, tax and trading expenses. The British Council offers face-to-face teaching in more than 80 teaching centres in more than 50 countries. Three million candidates took UK examinations with

5499-570: The British Council's Marketing Co-ordinator in the US had been referring to the University of Stirling as "The University of Sterling" (sic) and also documenting "tensions" between Scottish Executive civil servants and British Council in India and China over overseas promotion of universities in Scotland where education is a devolved responsibility. The Sunday Herald reported that these turf wars were undermining

5616-503: The British Council's internal rules for overnight stays in London. In 2007, the Russian government accused the British Council of an illegal operation by breaking Russian tax laws and ordered the organisation to close two of its offices. Many believed that the council had become the victim of a diplomatic row between the UK and Russia. In 2018, Russia expelled 23 British diplomats and closed down

5733-562: The British Council. Originally launched in 2001, the show is now broadcast in more than 30 countries around the world, connecting a global audience to a wide range of music the United Kingdom has to offer, covering a variety of genres from grime , indie , soul , dance and more. The show features interviews, guest DJ mixes and exclusive live sessions from some of the UK's most exciting artists. It avoids many mainstream acts, in favour of emerging talent and underground styles. It has an estimated listenership of over four million people. The show

5850-565: The Chief of Police in Rangoon to the British Ambassador stating their belief that there had been British involvement in the assassination of Aung San and his Cabinet for which one of his political opponents was hanged and that "the go-between" had been a British Council official named in the programme. In August 2011, a journalist from The Irish Times discovered a certificate dated 2007 issued by

5967-411: The Dutch. In 1826, Singapore was grouped together with Penang and Malacca into a single administrative unit, the Straits Settlements , under the British East India Company . British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and

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6084-406: The English language proficiency of all their teachers. A new programme called Functional Literacy for Our Workers (FLOW) was initiated by the Workforce Development Agency with the aim to equip workers who had little English literacy with some basic tools required for them to do their work. Other activities to promote good English were also held throughout the year, such as the WISH programme (as in

6201-439: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Annual Report, the Foreign Affairs Committee spends an hour each year examining witnesses from the British Council but even this level of scrutiny is undermined by a Commons ruling exempting MPs from the requirement to declare overseas trips paid for by The British Council. Two members of the Public Accounts Committee ( Nigel Griffiths MP and Ian Davidson MP ) were office-bearers in

6318-426: The Malay peninsula, near the Straits of Malacca, and its excellent natural harbor, fresh water supplies, and timber for repairing ships. Most importantly, it was unoccupied by the Dutch. Raffles' expedition arrived in Singapore on 29 January 1819 (although they landed on Saint John's Island the previous day). He found a Malay settlement at the mouth of the Singapore River , headed by Temenggong Abdul Rahman for

6435-429: The SGEM. Since Singapore gained independence in 1965, English is taught as a first language and is also the most dominant language in Singapore. All public schools use English as the medium of instruction. But one cannot classify all Singaporeans as native speakers of English because the main languages spoken at home are not necessarily English. In 2006, then Education Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam mentioned during

6552-442: The Save Our Singlish Campaign "as complementary, not adversarial". TalkingCock found it important to save Singlish for it is a crucial part of the Singaporean culture and heritage: Why we're fighting for Singlish, is because it's simply a part of our culture. In fact, it may be the ONLY thing that makes us uniquely Singaporean. It mixes all the various languages, which to me, seems to spread multi-cultural understanding. I thought this

6669-582: The Scottish Executive's key Fresh Talent policy. Some of the activities of the British Council were examined in 2007/2008 by the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO's report, The British Council: Achieving Impact , concluded: "that the British Council's performance is strong and valued by its customers and stakeholders". It also concluded, however, that its English classes are elitist and have unfair advantages over commercial providers, as well as questioning thousands of unanswered phone calls and e-mails to British Council offices. As part of its examination of

6786-400: The Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals), a Sumatran prince called Sang Nila Utama landed on Temasek (Singapore's old name) and saw a Lion which is called 'Singa' in Malay. Thus he gave the island a new name, 'Singapura'. In 1818, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the British colony at Bencoolen . Raffles believed that the British should find a way to challenge

6903-521: The Speak Good English Movement 2008 targeted the workforce who were seen as the people both Singaporeans and international visitors would encounter most frequently. Frontline staff of the service and retail sectors were especially targeted. The message of the tagline of 2008 – 'I Can' was that 'I can help others improve their English.', 'I can take action to improve my English.' and 'I can speak good English if I want to.' In order to encourage willingness to speak and improve their proficiency of Standard English,

7020-433: The Sultan of Johor . The Temenggong had originally moved to Singapore from Johor in 1811 with a group of Malays, and when Raffles arrived, there were an estimated 150 people governed by the Temenggong, most of them Malays, with around 30 Chinese. Although the island was nominally ruled by Johor, the political situation was precarious for the Sultan of Johor at the time. The incumbent Sultan of Johor , Tengku Abdul Rahman ,

7137-504: The Treaty of Friendship and Alliance, was arranged by the second Resident John Crawfurd with the Malay chiefs and signed on 2 August 1824 to replace the Singapore Treaty. Singapore, including its nearby islands, was officially fully ceded to the East India Company, and in return, the chiefs would have their debts cancelled and receive an allowance for life, with each given an additional lump sum of 20,000 Spanish dollars. After installing John Crawfurd, an efficient and frugal administrator, as

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7254-485: The UK lagged Australia , the US , Hong Kong, Canada and France . In its evidence to this committee, the British Council argued that "UK degrees are highly valued by international students for their global recognition. International students adopt an essentially utilitarian view of higher education which is likely to increasingly involve consideration of value for money, including opting for programmes at least partly delivered offshore". As their preferred marketing "model",

7371-508: The UK social learning platform FutureLearn . This was accessed by over 230,000 people. "Peacekeeping English" is a collaboration between the British Council, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence to improve the English-language skills of military personnel through the Peacekeeping English Project (PEP). PEP is helping train approximately 50,000 military and police service personnel in 28 countries, amongst them Libya , Ethiopia and Georgia . In 2013,

7488-533: The UK. It was expected that nearly 250,000 people will have undertaken activities abroad with the programme. Over 16,000 schools have taken part in an international school partnership or benefited from teacher training through the British Council Connecting Classrooms programmes. The RENKEI network, established in 2012, brings together universities from Japan and the UK. RENKEI stands for "Research and Education Network for Knowledge Economy Initiatives" in English and means "collaboration" in Japanese. As of May 2024,

7605-400: The United States or from Britain. On 14 June 2006, mrbrown reported in his blog that the Ministry of Education had already put up job advertisements in the British newspaper The Guardian for experienced, qualified native speakers of English to teach English as a first language, English literature, geography, history, knowledge and inquiry. Subsequently, mrbrown created two podcasts on

7722-496: The Year and British Council West Africa Arts Programme ~ Creative Entrepreneurs 2018 awards. In 2010, Conservative MP Mark Lancaster , the then Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury , the then Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin , and other MPs were involved in rows over expenses incurred on undisclosed taxpayer-funded British Council trips. The British Council's then chief executive, Martin Davidson, also faced press criticism for expenses claimed in an apparent breach of

7839-509: The ability to switch easily from Standard English to Singlish and to different English accents. The Speak Good Singlish Movement gathers support through a Facebook page which as of September 2013 had 252 members though as reported in a dead link, an identically named group had 3,140 members in December 2012. It began as a response to the launch of SGEM 2010, in particular, its notion of using post-its to correct public signs written in poor English. The page ran its own post-it campaign, called

7956-454: The academic and cultural boycott of Israel". Susanna Nicklin, the council's director of literature, said in response: "The British Council is a non-political organisation, and we believe that international cultural exchange makes a powerful contribution to a more peaceful, tolerant and prosperous world. Therefore, the British Council does not support cultural or academic boycotts." The British Council closed its operations in Syria in 2012 due to

8073-413: The appointment for the new chairman – Mr Goh Eck Kheng, publisher of Landmark Books for a two-year term from 1 March 2008 to 30 April 2010. From August 2007 to June 2008, the movement held weekly programmes and performances which aimed to allow youths to grow their confidence and fluency with the code. Programmes included music, oratorical performances, film, drama, stand-up comedy, and poetry. In providing

8190-483: The areas reserved for the Sultan and Temenggong. They would give up their rights to numerous functions on the island, including the collection of port taxes, in return for lifelong monthly payments of $ 1,500 and $ 800 respectively. This agreement brought the island squarely under British law, with the proviso that it would take into account Malay customs, traditions and religious practices, "where they shall not be contrary to reason, justice or humanity." A further treaty,

8307-447: The belief that Singlish can forge social cohesion and according to some, "It may be the only thing that makes us Singaporean." Likewise, celebrity STOMP blogger Leow Ju Len says in this blog post: "I mean, our tourism slogan is 'Uniquely Singapore', and what could be more uniquely Singaporean than Singlish?". He also reasons that the beauty of Singlish is the fact that "It's also wonderfully time- and breath-saving. If you need to know

8424-569: The campaign at The Arts House at Old Parliament in April 2004. The target of the campaign can be summed up as English@Work&Play. Its target audience was working adults in the service industry, including cabbies, shop assistants, waiters and others, which made up 70 per cent of all workers in Singapore. People in positions of influence, parents and teachers were also encouraged to serve as positive role models in speaking good English to those around them. The movement also partnered organisations and key agencies in training workshop initiatives to improve

8541-467: The demonstration by the six characters who interacted through blog entries and comments at the Sixlives webpage. Partner programmes in 2009–10 In its 11th year, the Speak Good English Movement 2010 which was launched on 7 September 2010 with the tagline 'Get It Right'. This year's focus is on those who are less proficient in Standard English. It aimed at broadening the environment in which Standard English

8658-558: The dominance of the Dutch in the area. The trade route between China and British India passed through the Malacca Strait , and with the growing trade with China , that route would become increasingly important. However, the Dutch had tight control over the trade in the region and intended to enforce the exclusive rights of its company ships to trade, and that trade should be conducted at its entrepot Batavia . British trading ships were heavily taxed at Dutch ports, stifling British trade in

8775-450: The drafted Raffles Plan of Singapore . Further agreements of the Malay chiefs would gradually erode their influence and control over Singapore. In December 1822, the Malay chiefs' claim to Singapore's revenue was changed to a monthly payment. On 7 June 1823, Raffles arranged for another agreement with the Sultan and Temenggong to buy out their judicial power and rights to the lands except for

8892-574: The facade of Buckingham Palace. In 2015, the British Council launched fiveFilms4freedom , a free, online, 10-day LGBT film festival with the British Film Institute , supported by the UN Free & Equal campaign. It was the first global online LGBT film festival. The festival runs a 24-hour campaign to ask people to watch a movie and show that love is a human right. In 2016, films were viewed by over 1.5m people in 179 countries. In October 2015,

9009-562: The first to correct a sign at the Xin Food Court at the HarbourFront Centre. He replaced an ungrammatical sign saying 'No outside food allowed' with a one which reads 'No food from elsewhere, please'. Partner programmes in 2010–11 With the new appointment of a new chairman after ten years and the formation of a new committee, a new campaign was rolled out on 14 June 2019. Mr. Jason Leow, chairman of Speak Good English Movement, says

9126-538: The grammar of the standard version. Founding years of modern Singapore The establishment of a British trading post in Singapore in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles led to its founding as a British colony in 1824. This event has generally been understood to mark the founding of colonial Singapore , a break from its status as a port in ancient times during the Srivijaya and Majapahit eras, and later, as part of

9243-624: The history of the region for two hundred years. The early dominance of the Portuguese was challenged during the 17th century by the Dutch, who came to control most of the region's ports. The Dutch established a monopoly over trade within the archipelago, particularly in spices, then the region's most important product. Other colonial powers, including the British, were limited to a relatively minor presence in that period. Singapore's name comes from 'Singa Pura' which means Lion City in Sanskrit . According to

9360-458: The humanities. This formed part of the plan to bring the standard of English languages in schools to a higher level. Drawing from notions of linguistic interference , the "interference" argument justifies the need to eliminate Singlish by suggesting that it confuses and contaminates Standard English. It suggests that the inability to distinguish the grammars of the two varieties of English will cause learners to mix their features, thus contaminating

9477-678: The launch of Grammar Matters , a series of five books using comics to illustrate the correct use of grammar by the Regional English Language Centre in support of the movement. From 2001 to 2002, it was reported that increasingly, Singaporeans were becoming more aware and acknowledging the importance of speaking good English. The British Council continued to operate its toll-free line giving English lessons. Reportedly, year 2001 saw almost 250,000 callers while there were about 170,000 callers in 2002. Also, an inter-school Scrabble competition, in which 54 primary schools participated,

9594-572: The local authority and a municipal twinning link between Gaza City and the French port of Dunkirk . In Oslo , British Council informs Norwegian callers that "our office is not open to the public and we do not have an enquiry service". Goethe Institute also has a more visible presence in Glasgow than the British Council. There is now, in contrast, only one British Council office left in Germany – and that

9711-555: The members are the universities of Durham , Edinburgh , Leeds , Liverpool , Newcastle and Southampton from the UK and Keio , Kyushu , Ritsumeikan and Tohoku universities from Japan. ACCELERATE was a leadership programme for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the creative arts , run jointly by the British Council and the Australia Council in partnership with Australian state arts agencies, between 2009 and 2016. During that time, 35 people participated in

9828-408: The movement of this year initiated the classification of Singaporeans into three categories: 1. Singaporeans who can speak Standard English. 2. Singaporeans who cannot yet speak Standard English and are open to improving themselves. 3. Singaporeans who are not able to speak Standard English and do not see the importance of doing so. Partner programmes in 2008–09 The Speak Good English Movement 2009

9945-575: The movement recognises Singlish as a "cultural marker for many Singaporeans", but good English has value in "promoting understanding, supports business communication and helps us be understood by others wherever English is spoken – internationally and in Singapore." The logo is a quotation mark symbolising a person in conversation, with the new tagline 'Let's connect. Let's speak good English.' The SGEM has received mixed reactions from its beginning; its strongest opponents have included linguists and social commentators. In response, Liew Choon Boon, Director of

10062-456: The movement's goals. The campaign aims to discourage the use of Singlish and encourage the use of a more standardised form of English, (i.e. generally modelled on the British standard). According to the movement's chairman, then Colonel (NS) David Wong, the Speak Good English Movement aims to build a sense of pride that Singaporeans can speak good English, as opposed to Singlish, as well as to check

10179-441: The mrbrown show to express his views. The first gave insight to what will happen if the implementation of hiring foreign native English speakers to teach English became too successful. The second tells of how he imagines the interviews with the native speaker applicants for the teaching jobs. In response, Jennifer Chan, Press Secretary to Minister for Education, wrote in a forum letter reply dated 22 June 2006 that: The criteria for

10296-557: The new governor, Raffles departed for Britain in October 1823. He would never return to Singapore. Most of his personal possessions were lost after his ship, the Fame , caught fire and sank, and he died only a few years later, in 1826, at the age of 44. The status of Singapore as a British possession was cemented by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 , which divided the Malay archipelago between

10413-435: The novel The Russia House by John Le Carré (former consular official David Cornwell) opens with a reference to The British Council. The organisation's "first-ever audio fair for the teaching of the English language and the spread of British culture" is "grinding to its excruciating end" and one of its officials is packing away his stuff when he is approached by an attractive Russian woman to undertake clandestine delivery of

10530-488: The ongoing conflict in the country. The closure was a result of the deteriorating security situation and the inability to ensure the safety of its staff and visitors. In April 2012, the British Council faced a storm of protests over the exclusion of dissident Chinese writers from the London Book Fair 2012 . Critics included English PEN and journalist Nick Cohen writing for The Observer , as well as Alastair Niven ,

10647-466: The opening years of World War Two . The role of the British Council in Myanmar in 1947 came under scrutiny with the release of classified documents to a BBC investigation by journalist Feargal Keane into the role of dissident British colonial officials in the assassination of the then Burmese independence leader Aung San (father of Aung San Suu Kyi ). The BBC programme quoted from a 1948 document sent by

10764-496: The organisers introduced an Activist Toolkit. The Activist Toolkit includes sticky notes, stickers and notebooks. People are encouraged to use the sticky notes to correct English errors that they encounter anywhere. For example, correcting a wrongly expressed sign by pasting a sticky note over it. This tactic is called 'guerrilla-styled' from guerrilla marketing . The current Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan kicked off this year's campaign by being

10881-706: The previous year), and talks at selected public libraries to educate the public on the importance of reading aloud and on using English to communicate with one's family. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched that year's Speak Good English Movement on 13 May at the HDB Hub Auditorium at Toa Payoh. Chairing the movement was Professor Koh Tai Ann, professor of English Literature at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University . Professor Koh highlighted that speaking good English did not necessarily mean that one should seek to eradicate or diminish

10998-538: The programme, with many alumni going on to excel in their fields. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II hosted the official launch of the UK-India Year of Culture on 27 February 2017 at Buckingham Palace , with Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley representing Prime Minister Narendra Modi . The British Council worked with the Palace and British-Indian start-up Studio Carrom to project a peacock , India 's national bird, onto

11115-524: The region. Raffles reasoned that the way to challenge the Dutch was to establish a new port in the region. Existing British ports were not in a strategic enough position to become major trading centres. Penang was too far north of the southern narrow part of Straits of Malacca controlled by the Dutch, whereas Bencoolen faced the Indian Ocean near the Sunda Strait , a much less important area as it

11232-602: The rightful Sultan of Johor, and provide him with a yearly payment; in return, Hussein would grant the British East India Company the right to establish a trading post on Singapore. In the agreement, Sultan Hussein would receive a yearly sum of 5,000 Spanish dollars, with the Temenggong receiving a yearly sum of 3,000 Spanish dollars. This agreement was ratified with the Treaty of Singapore signed on 6 February 1819. This

11349-487: The selection of foreign teachers will remain stringent. Besides academic and teaching qualifications, they should also have a proven track record in teaching in their countries. The individuals may be native speakers or persons who have learnt EL well as a first language The hiring of "a small number" of foreign teachers was to complement the local teachers in subjects like English, the Mother Tongue Languages and

11466-419: The settlement through its difficult early years, Raffles was critical of many of the decisions he had made. For instance, in order to generate much-needed revenue for the government, Farquhar had resorted to selling licenses for gambling and the sale of opium, which Raffles saw as social evils. Raffles was also appalled by the slave trade tolerated by Farquhar. Raffles arranged for the dismissal of Farquhar, who

11583-442: The subtle rules of a natural evolving language, then please don't conclude that it is simple, shallow, and useless! Singlish is full of cultural nuances and wordplay, and it pulls together the best in the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of many languages. In an exclusive interview with The Online Citizen , one of Singapore's key social commentary websites, its unnamed founder directly called into question Dr Balakrishnan's appeal about

11700-528: The time, you say: 'Now what time?'. It gets the question across in three words. Where got time to say: 'Do you know what time it is now?'" On 27 April 2002, two years after the start of SGEM, TalkingCock launched the Save Our Singlish Campaign. They made it clear at the speech during the launch that they did not oppose the speaking of good English. Rather, they "completely support the writing and speaking of good English" and hoped that SGEM would see

11817-462: The trend where Singaporeans use Singlish as a way of identifying themselves. Instead, it envisions a brand of grammatically correct English, different from Singlish, to be linked with the unique Singaporean identity. Since 2003, the Speak Good English Movement has been launched annually with year-long programmes and activities held island-wide to increase the awareness among Singaporeans that speaking good English matters in their daily lives. Each year

11934-514: The two colonial powers. The area north of the Straits of Malacca , including Penang , Malacca , and Singapore, was designated as the British sphere of influence, while the area south of the Straits was assigned to the Dutch. This division had far-reaching consequences for the region: modern-day Malaysia and Singapore correspond to the British area established in the treaty, and modern-day Indonesia to

12051-568: The usage of Singlish or mother tongue . He recognised the importance of mother tongue and Singlish as a bonding element for Singaporeans, but emphasised that there was a right place and time for it and that Singaporeans must be able to converse in Standard English when an occasion called for it. The highlights of that year's movement included the appointment of 12 ambassadors for the SGEM 2005. They included taxi drivers, cyber gamers and media personalities. Partner programmes in 2005–06 The 2006 movement

12168-401: The use of Singlish, as Singapore is a hub city and an open economy with a need to interact with English-speaking foreigners. Singaporeans often use Chinese syntax and literal translations of Chinese phrases while speaking English, which make utterances seem truncated and incomprehensible to foreigners. In his rally, the prime minister stressed that "if we speak a corrupted form of English that

12285-410: The use of discourse particles such as lah ). Singlish is commonly used by Singaporeans in informal contexts and can be incomprehensible to non-Singaporeans. When the Speak Good English Movement was launched in 1999, then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong described Singlish as "English corrupted by Singaporeans", and "broken, ungrammatical English". According to the government, mastery of Standard English

12402-467: Was around a thousand, mostly of various local tribes. By 1821, the island's population had increased to around five thousand, and the trade volume was $ 8 million. By 1825, the population had passed the ten thousand mark, with a trade volume of $ 22 million. (By comparison, the trade volume for the long-established port of Penang was $ 8.5 million during the same year.) Raffles returned to Singapore in 1822. Although Farquhar had successfully led

12519-590: Was controlled by the Dutch and the Bugis , and would never agree to a British base in Singapore. However, Abdul Rahman was Sultan only because his older brother, Tengku Hussein, also known as Tengku Long , had been away in Pahang getting married when their father died. Hussein was then living in exile in the Riau Islands . With the Temenggong's help, Raffles smuggled Tengku Hussein to Singapore. He offered to recognize Hussein as

12636-469: Was expelled. In April 2008, the British Council was told to ensure all portable media was encrypted after losing staff data and wrongly saying the disc was encrypted. Following the accusations made against the British Council in Russia (see above) Trevor Royle, the diplomatic editor of The Sunday Herald quoted a "British diplomatic source" saying: "There is a widespread assumption that The British Council

12753-719: Was held to kick off the year's events in April 2002. According to the Government, more Singaporeans recognised the need to speak well, and took steps to improve their spoken English. Programmes organised by SGEM partners such as the People's Association and the British Council were well received. In 2003, the movement, already in its fourth year, aimed to not only encourage Singaporeans to speak well but also speak simple English. Chairman Wong said, "They may be afraid to use English; it's not natural to them. This year what we would like to do

12870-401: Was in itself a daunting prospect, but Farquhar's administration was, in addition, practically unfunded, as Raffles did not wish his superiors to view Singapore as a liability. In addition, it was forbidden from earning revenue by imposing port duties, Raffles having decided from the outset that Singapore would be a free port . In spite of these difficulties, the new colony rapidly proved to be

12987-468: Was later adapted to a regularly updated online column on STOMP which still runs today. There have also been daily enquiries regarding English language on STOMP. Its popularity led to the publication of two best-selling volumes of books of the same title- 'English As It is Broken', based on issues brought up from the site. Partner programmes in 2006–07 Launched by Radm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Minister of State For Education on 31 July 2007 at Timbre Music Bistro,

13104-601: Was launched by Radm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Minister of State For Education on 25 July 2006 at The Plaza, National Library Building. The focus of the year was on creating a standard of English for Singaporeans to be understood anywhere in the world, not just locally but internationally. The highlights of the 2006 movement include starting of the 'English as it is Broken' column in the Generation Y page of The Sunday Times which addressed questions relating to English sent in by its readers. This column continued its run for two years in print and

13221-484: Was officially launched by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean on 28 August with the tagline "Impress. Inspire. Intoxicate": impress those we communicate with, inspire others as role models of good English and using words that intoxicate to make everyday communication more engaging. The tagline also aimed to convey the message that communicating well goes beyond grammar and vocabulary and involves being able to express and be understood as well. The target of this year's movement

13338-588: Was part of the small number of PAC members who approved this report on the British Council despite not having been recorded as being present during the evidence session – in June 2008 – where the British Council's chief executive was cross-examined. Mr Griffiths had earlier travelled to Russia and spoke favourably of British Council activities there in January 1998 around the time that their man in St Petersburg (Stephen Kinnock)

13455-469: Was replaced by John Crawfurd . Raffles took over the administration himself, and set about drafting a set of new policies for the settlement. Raffles banned slavery, closed all gambling dens, prohibited the carrying of weapons, and imposed heavy taxation to discourage what he considered vices such as drunkenness and opium smoking. Raffles, dismayed at the disarray of the colony, also arranged to organise Singapore into functional and ethnic subdivisions under

13572-745: Was something to be proud of. Furthermore, they reiterated that "Singlish is not just broken English. It's a patois ." They argued that speaking good English should not be promoted at the expense of Singlish. Singapore Watch summed it up with "Speak Singlish proudly, speak English properly." Colin Goh , who started TalkingCock , pointed out that Singaporeans can tell the difference between English and Singlish: Have more faith in Singaporeans than that. We know when to use Singlish and when not to. We are intelligent enough to know we don't write formal letters in Singlish. When

13689-430: Was the last time you typed out, "Eh, give me a job, leh!" And we try not to speak Singlish to our foreign friends because we instinctively know that they might not understand. Or as we say, they'll catch no ball. He further acknowledged that there are times when improper English is spoken by Singaporeans but reiterated that the blame cannot be pushed onto Singlish: If Singaporeans' communication with Europeans or Americans

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