ELG101 Understanding Singlish and Its Cultural Significance – ECA Essay, Singapore

Question 1

This ECA contains 3 components: an educational infographic, a critical reflection, and a reference list. All three components should be submitted as a single document (Microsoft Word) to the submission folder in Canvas. Please refer to the details of each component in the sections below.

Background

Singlish, also known as Colloquial Singapore English (CSE), is a variety of English spoken in Singapore. Locally, there has been debate over the appropriateness of its use as Singlish is viewed as a less prestigious variety compared to Standard Singapore English (SSE). Against the backdrop of Singapore establishing a global name for itself post-independence, Singlish presents a unique case study on the intersection between language, policy, and culture.

Part 1: Educational Infographic (50 marks)

This part tests your ability to recognise the linguistic significance of Singlish. Describe features, practices, or beliefs related to Singlish and apply these to the relevant topic. Your target audience is non-Singaporeans (expatriates) who are coming to Singapore to live and work for the first time. With the objective of educating such individuals about Singlish, prepare a single-page infographic using a template from https://www.canva.com on ONE of the following topics:

Suggested topics

1. Changing attitudes towards Singlish. In the past, the Singapore government advocated strongly against the use of Singlish. However, this position has eased over time. What evidence is there of this shift, and what does it tell us about the role of Singlish in Singapore?
2. The value of Singlish in a modern world. Singlish is spoken widely in Singapore. Taking into consideration that Standard Singapore English is the preferred variety in domains such as education, what value is there in speaking Singlish today?

Guidelines:

• The infographic should be presented in two forms: a shareable link and an image.
• The infographic should contain some background about Singlish. This may include (but is not limited to) its speakers, status, contexts of use, and prominent features.
• The infographic will be assessed on three criteria: 1) Content, 2) Clarity and Cohesiveness, and 3) Creativity and Visual Appeal.
• You are not required to include in-text citations and references in your infographic; however, sources used should be included in the reference list in Part 3 of the ECA.

Instructions for Canva:

• Create a free account on https://www.canva.com and select any of the infographic templates. These can be found under Templates > Marketing > Infographics. Ensure that your infographic is ONE page as additional pages will not be graded.
• Generate a shareable link for your infographic: after your infographic has been finalised, navigate to Share > change the ‘Collaboration link’ options to ‘Anyone with the link’ and ‘Can view’ > Copy link > paste the link into your document.
• Download an image of your infographic: after your infographic has been finalised, navigate to Share > Download > change the ‘File type’ option to ‘PNG’ > Download > insert the image into your document. Crop the white space from your image so that it better fits the page.
• Penalties will be imposed for failing to adhere to the stated guidelines. There will be a 10-mark deduction for each of the following: submitting an infographic of more than one page, failing to include a shareable link to your infographic, including a faulty link that does not allow for the viewing of your infographic, failing to include an image of your infographic.

Question 2

Part 2: Critical Reflection (40 marks)

This part requires you to demonstrate your understanding of linguistic concepts and concerns. Write a critical reflection to explain your choices with respect to the educational infographic presented in Part 1, as well as any insights gained in the process of putting together your infographic.

The word limit for Part 2 is 500 words.

Guidelines:

• Your reflection should include justifications for your choice of topic and linguistic data. What factors did you consider when making these selections? What features of Singlish did you decide to highlight to an audience unfamiliar with Singlish and why?
• Your reflection should also include personal insights gained from the research conducted on Singlish. Did you encounter any challenges or surprising findings?
• Avoid the use of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, and QuillBot to construct your response as AI-generated content will be detected by Turnitin.

Question 3

Part 3: Reference List (10 marks)

Present a reference list in APA style (7th edition) for this ECA. Your reference list should include the sources used for your infographic in (a), as well as any sources cited in (b).

You may refer to the APA Style Example Guide or APA Style website linked below to aid you in this task:

• https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-examples.pdf
• https://apastyle.apa.org/

Guidelines:

• You may choose to refer to the course textbook and Study Guide as sources. Other credible academic sources include journal articles and books, which may be found using SUSS Library or Google Scholar. Government websites are also acceptable sources of information for this task.
• Non-academic sources such as Wikipedia, online articles with no publication date, student papers/dissertations, and academic resources from other universities are discouraged.