Vocational English language education in multilingual context: the case of Singapore

ABSTRACT

Given the emergence of English as a global lingual franca, English proficiency has become necessary for workers in many sectors and therefore should be given special attention in vocational education and training. While there is no shortage of research on vocational education and training in general, this body of work lacks a focus on English language education. In view of this gap, this study adopts a desk research approach to examine research published in journal papers, book chapters, dissertations, and websites to provide an overview of vocational English language education in Singapore, and examines how policy makers, educators and researchers in Singapore and beyond may benefit from the knowledge of Singapore’s practices. The findings of this study are presented with a focus on 1) Singapore’s language policy; 2) historical changes in English language education in Singapore schools; and 3) vocational English language education in Singapore’s secondary schools, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), and other institutions. This success story of the city state can offer practical reference to other nations, particularly in addressing issues of diversity resulting from a multilingual and multiethnic population and also the varied ability of students in the education system.

KEYWORDS:

• Vocational education and training
• vocational English language education
• Singapore

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Weiyu Zhang

Weiyu Zhang is a PhD candidate in the English Language and Literature Academic Group at National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research interests include discourse analysis, academic writing, and English for Research Publication Purposes. She has published in international refereed journals including Ibérica, International Journal of English Studies, and Asian ESP Journal.

Sun Xiaoya

Sun Xiaoya is a Lecturer in Xi’an International Studies University, PR China. She has a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research interests include English for research publication purposes and academic discourse. She has published her research in several refereed journals.

Yin Ling Cheung

Yin Ling Cheung earned her Ph.D. (Linguistics) from Purdue University, USA. She is Associate Professor at National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. She specialises in second language writing. She co-edited Advances and Current Trends in Language Teacher Identity Research (Routledge, 2015). She has published in journals such as System, The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, and RELC Journal.