Repositioning English Language Teacher Education for Global Competence and Local Realities: Adopting the Cline of Glocality

Abstract

ABSTRACT Singapore is an ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse nation‐state that has always practiced deliberate language policy and planning. The bilingual education policy, introduced shortly after the young nation's independence has led to the emergence of English‐knowing bilinguals who are proficient in both English and their ethnically ascribed mother tongues, namely, Mandarin for the Chinese, Malay for the Malays, and Tamil for the Indians. The linguistic landscape of Singapore, documented in the most recent population census of 2020, shows the rise in the use of English as the home language across all three major ethnic groups, leading scholars to adopt the term “English‐dominant bilinguals.” It is of prime importance to document the English used by these English‐dominant bilinguals who have to balance between being globally competent but also having to be accommodating to the local realities of English use in Singapore. This paper extends the findings in Low's presentation of an empirical study of 31 expert users of English who hold Director‐level positions in the Singapore civil service and 6 literary writers to examine the linguistic spaces where Standard Singapore English and Colloquial Singapore English (also known as Singlish) function and the choices and factors influencing the choices are made. Through an online qualitative survey, a new model for looking at variations in the use of English in Singapore is introduced. This three‐dimensional model proposes the cline of glocality which adds to Pakir's original 1991 two‐dimensional model of the expanding triangles of English expression in Singapore which only has the clines of proficiency and formality explaining the variety of English used at the time. Proposing the cline of glocality more accurately reflects the current situation of English in Singapore where users need to balance between achieving global competence while yet adapting to the local realities of its use. Adopting the cline of glocality also necessitates rethinking how language teacher education needs to be repositioned to help young Singaporeans navigate between the global and local uses of English. This paper articulates the key concepts surrounding the theory of change proposed and practical implications for language teacher education policy and practice to effect this change.

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