I REFER to Ms Jessica Walker's letter on Tuesday, 'Teachers can't do it alone'.

While I agree with her that teachers cannot do it alone, there is no running away from the fact that they have the biggest role to play when it comes to children learning English.

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I beg to differ with Ms Walker that the recent discussion surrounding the standard of spoken English has been blown out of proportion. Singlish has become an accepted lingua franca in classrooms and in most homes.

Perhaps two generations of Singaporeans speak the present brand of Singlish. When we talk about Singlish, we are actually referring to various shades of Singlish from 'lah' to poor diction, incorrect noun-verb agreement and economical use of words (like 'off the light').

As an English language tutor, I insist my students rephrase everyday phrases such as 'I got do before' and 'she have it'. Most children who attend my classes give me quizzical looks when I correct 'theef' to 'teeth', 'deaf' to 'death', 'graps' to 'grasp' and so on.

Students often give feedback that while their English language teachers may occasionally correct them, their other subject teachers often speak Singlish. This comes as no surprise as the younger teachers are themselves products of a generation that grew on a diet of Singlish.

I must add, however, that it would be unfair to brand all Singapore teachers and students with one sweep of the pen as guilty of not speaking Standard English.

Some Singaporeans find the nuances of Singlish dear to their hearts. But Singlish makes our children sound like aliens in another part of the English-speaking world. We have to remember we are part of a global village.

Kala Puspanathan (Mrs)

This article was first published in The Straits Times.