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I AM grateful for the efforts last Friday of the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, as well as the Ministry of Education, in stressing the importance of mastering good English in Singapore ('Good English the way to go').
It is reassuring to read their assertion that English is the language of business and government in Singapore. It is too easy to believe otherwise.
Of late, it has become commonplace to encounter service staff in retail outlets who are unable to transact in basic English. They are China imports, and I do not mean any disrespect to them. But in multiracial Singapore, how can they serve customers who are non-Chinese? Often, I find myself having to DIY in such outlets.
In the workplace, things should be better. But at the recruitment stage, many employers insist on mother tongue proficiency, which is not always required in the job. So you have a work environment that is very mother-tongue friendly. Naturally, employees in those firms have no need to learn English. Worse, they perpetuate a situation in which only mother-tongue proficient staff can 'fit in'. Goodbye to talent...
Even if you understand English, but do not speak it, you will not become proficient in it. Tellingly, staff who work in a more diverse work environment are more confident English speakers than those in a mother-tongue environment.
Finally, in many SMEs, you will find nationals from India, China and Myanmar working side by side. They are hardworking, diligent and committed, but employers confirm that language barriers hamper productivity a great deal.
In the absence of a common language, many time units are lost just trying to understand what the other is saying, or correcting errors caused by communication gaps.
To create prosperity, teamwork is required. And all winning teams have three major ingredients for success: Efficient Communication, Willingness to Share Information and Willingness to Cooperate. In this scenario, success is threatened by scarcity of the first ingredient: Efficient Communication.
As a solution, when recruiting, employers should give due weight to English proficiency of both Singaporeans and foreigners. When the language barrier is removed, real talent can flow more easily into the company, raising total productivity.
Prema Jayakumar (Mrs)
This article was first published in The Straits Times on December 17, 2008.
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