THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SYLLABUSES FOR SINGAPORE SECONDARY SCHOOLS FROM 1965 TO 1994 : RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT

Abstract

This study focuses on the past and present English Language syllabuses for Singapore secondary schools from 1965 to 1994. Specifically, it examines to what extent these syllabuses reflect the language pedagogical principles and teaching approaches prevalent at the time. The aim is also to establish whether the present revised English Language Syllabus has been a useful guide to teachers planning the English Language curriculum in schools. The study first looks at the syllabuses used in 1965, 1983 and 1994. The 1965 and the 1982 syllabuses were basically grammar-based structural syllabuses with a focus on grammar teaching. Accuracy rather than fluency in the language was the main objective of English Language teaching then, arising from the fact that English was primarily a foreign and second language of the majority of the pupils. The present (1991) revised syllabus has moved away from the prescriptive grammar-based structural approach to an integrative "indigenised" one that advocates pragmatic competence in both linguistic and communicative competences. It is intended to develop in pupils the ability to be independent learners for future education and for the world at large. Next, the study gives an account of some teachers' perception of the 1991 English Language syllabus. A series of interviews was conducted with 30 teachers to find out the relevance of the subject content specified in the present English Language Syllabus for today's context. The interviews also ascertained the usefulness of the syllabus as a helpful and comprehensive guide to teachers in the planning of the English Language curriculum in schools. The syllabus has provided teachers with the aims of teaching English, the content to be taught and how it should be taught and assessed. Generally, teachers felt that the content covered in the English Language Syllabus was relevant in providing pupils with the language competence to ensure effective communication with other people and to be able to function fully in all spheres of life in an increasingly complex society of the 21st century. The thematic-integration approach to teaching English makes the English Language lessons more stimulating and relevant to the pupils' experiences. Arising from my discussions with English Language specialists and curriculum developers, I submit that the syllabus will continue to be an eclectic one incorporating selective language pedagogy and learning principles adopted at the other major educational centres in the United Kingdom and the United States. However, in the light of the increasing indigenisation of English in Singapore, the English Language syllabus has to be "indigenised" to meet the language needs of the multiracial and multilingual pupils in Singapore schools. The prognosis is that future English Language syllabuses will need to keep up with current changes in language pedagogy and learning principles and, at the same time, be "indigenised" for effective English learning in Singapore secondary schools.