Competition or Cooperation; War or Peace? Language and Education in Singapore
Competition or Cooperation; War or Peace? Language and Education in Singapore
Keywords: Singapore, language, education, cooperation, competition, discourse, metaphor
Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew
National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Bio Data
Dr. Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew is Associate Professor/English Language and Literature, at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. She teaches language methodology, literacy studies, and sociolinguistics. She has published in many journals including World Englishes,Linguistics and Education, and the International Journal of the Sociology of Language; and has been invited keynote &/or plenary for many conferences in linguistics, woman studies, comparative religion both locally and abroad. She is also the project advisor for the series of the textbook for primary schools in Singapore entitled In-step . She served four years on the Ministry of Education (Singapore) Speak good English Committee, which aims to improve the standard of English in Singapore.
This paper examines Singapore s response to its perceived geographical constraints by an analysis of the state discourses of its key leaders and through an examination of the current language textbooks used in its schools. It discusses the key metaphors of statehood, that is, war, sports and the marketplace and juxtaposes these with the predominant aim of the language syllabus which is to promote cooperative living and social harmony. It examines the paradoxes apparent in such a comparison and discusses the implications in the promotion of moral values such as peace, cooperation and social harmony in an increasingly globalized, divisive, and unpredictable world
See page 230-249
[/private]Category: Main Editions, Volume 10 Issue 2
