ABSTRACT
The English language in Singapore, first taught here soon after Raffles' founding of Singapore as a trading post, has seen a dramatic role change since those early days. From being the language used by locals to communicate with their colonial masters on mundane matters like administration and trade, it has become a language that the locals have colonized and made their own to serve the more august functions of shaping national consciousness and creative expression. Generations of Singaporeans have graduated from English-medium schools who speak, read, write, think and dream in English. Testifying to the success of English language teaching/learning in Singapore are the thousands of home-grown English teachers with native like proficiency in the language, whose students now include students from other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, and, from further afield, China. Parents from these countries are sending their children to school and university in Singapore in the hope of reaping the benefits of an English-medium education.
