The Importance of English to Me

Before taking up full-time studies at SIT, I was involved in design work and site coordination in an engineering consultancy firm. This meant that I had to liaise with both clients and contractors to make sure the project design brief was being understood clearly by all parties.

When I was first assigned to the project, I noticed that the contractor management team was made up of foreigners who were not permanently residing in Singapore. I was pleasantly surprised, however, when I found out that the management team spoke good English, albeit heavily accented, and was able to facilitate our joint coordination meetings effectively. Many of the blue-collar foreign workers were also able to report on their works using simple English. After speaking with some of the workers, I learnt that they decided to pick up English via classes and books, as it would make communication in Singapore easier, which would lead to them performing their jobs more efficiently.

Through observing the actions of the contractors, I have come to recognize the importance of English to me. Though everyone in the contractor team may have come from various countries, each with their own native language, they had all understood the need to learn English to be able to seize global opportunities and work on projects in different countries than their own. They had also taken active steps to resolve issues regarding miscommunication and enhance productivity by implementing English as a common language.

Singapore is an interesting melting pot of cultures, where many of us come from various racial and religious backgrounds. As a result, I often find myself engaging in casual conversations with others using an amalgamation of languages, including Mandarin and Malay. English, however, remains one of the most popular languages in the world for communicating ideas and instructions, and thus it is essential for me to improve my command of the English language so that I can convey my thoughts with clarity as well as courtesy in the workplace in order to be more effective.

- Ike