A communicativity index (Index I) is described that measures the potential communication function performed by a given language in a designated communication situation. Significant sociolinguistic contrasts between the language situations of West Malaysia and Singapore are revealed by applying this index. (PMJ)

Examines how code switching and mixing are used as communication strategies in multilingual communities and discusses how to establish solidarity and rapport in multilingual discourse. Examples from the main languages spoken in Singapore--English, Mandarin, Hokkien, and Teochew--are used. (Author/OD)

Shows how both macro- and microsociolinguistic perspectives are necessary to explain national language management. Macrolevel language planning is motivated by tasks of national consolidation by the state, notably in Singapore's case tasks of socio-ethnic integration and economic development. Microlevel language management pertains to individuals'…

Malay's long use as the dominant linga franca throughout modern Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore is partly responsible for its current status as the national language of all three countries. However, political and economic developments during and since the colonial era have created sociolinguistic contexts, motives, and results of the language's…

This paper explores curriculum evolution processes in relation to sociocultural considerations with respect to a (teacher-of-English-as-a-foreign-language) TEFL program conducted in Singapore for inservice (English-as-a-foreign-language) EFL trainee-teachers from the People's Republic of China (PRC). It reports on how curriculum evolution was…

Many English tests based on Western culture are inappropriate for regions where English use differs from that of Europe and North America. In these non-Western settings, it is desirable that English assessments be based on real-world English use. Therefore, identifying tasks of non-Western English language use is a beginning step in developing…

In accordance with the growing trend in language teaching philosophy towards assessing learner needs before choosing methods and materials, this study concentrates on the attitudes of final year bachelor degree program students towards learning and using English. These 821 students from Thailand, India, and Singapore were majoring in the fields…

This paper examines efforts to save rapidly declining indigenous languages around the world. The entire process of language preservation and revitalization is a massive undertaking that requires immense long-term planning and support. These problems extend well beyond the linguistic concerns of the language itself. Language policy is inherently…