25
Jun
2009
Learning English in Singapore
Why Singapore?
Singapore is an island and a city-state in South East Asia, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. Its closest neighbours are Malaysia and Indonesia. It is composed of 63 islands and the official languages are English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. It has a population of almost 5 million and is very cosmopolitan including Malay, Indian and Chinese populations. Its climate is tropical (which means its generally hot and sunny) with two monsoon seasons of heavy rains.
Singapore was a British colony from 1824 til Japanese rule during World War II, then again after 1945. It finally gained independence, merged with several other islands to form Malaysia, but then broke away in 1965 to form the Republic of Singapore. It is now a parliamentary democracy and has developed rapidly over the last few decades as one of the ‘East Asian Tigers’. Its major industries include electronics, financial services, petroleum refining, and offshore platform construction. It is now the 5th wealthiest nation in the world by GDP per capita (per person), with a very high standard of living which also pushed it to be the tenth most expensive city in the world to live in after Tokyo and Osaka.
Due to its varied heritage Singapore can boast of many attractions, including the various exotic adventures to be found in the ethnic enclaves such as exploring Chinese antiques, Arab bazaars, or Indian spices.
Studying English in Singapore
Singapore is a great place to study as it has invested heavily in education, resulting in world-class schools, universities and training-institutions. There are also polytechnic colleges and international colleges where students can study a curriculum similar to their native country. One of the unique features of Singapore’s education system is its large proportion of international students from over 120 nationalities, making it a diverse and cosmopolitan community where students can experience different cultures, languages, and cuisine. As English is one of Singapore’s official languages it makes it an ideal and exotic destination to study English as a second language.