There are quite a few good reasons for a student who is looking to learn English in a foreign country to study English in Singapore. This is especially true if you already live in Asia. It’s within a 6-8 hour flight to most destinations in Asia. This makes studying English in Singapore quite convenient for traveling purposes.


Singapore is a quite developed country. It has really good infrastructure and most buildings here are very modern. A lot of the buildings and condos are under ten years old. The subway system, called the mrt, is also very young. Most of the lines have been built within the past ten years or so. To put it simply, Singapore has got all the comfort and facilities of a modern western country.


The transportation system here is rated excellent. It is very “contemporary”. The buses are clean and new. Most of the mrt, as mentioned before, is within ten to fifteen years old. It still looks very clean and new. A majority of the taxis are, “likewise”, recent. They are very well maintained and are also quite clean. Buses run every five minutes or so. The mrt is about the same. So, you never have to wait long to catch a bus or the mrt. Which means they are really convenient. Taxis are rather “abundant”, as well. Catching one is pretty easy. Did I mention that the cost of public transportation is “somewhat” cheap here compared to other countries? Oh, and all the transportation here has signs written in English. This is a good way of motivating yourself to improve your English skills.





In addition to all of the transportation using English, most of the people here speaks English. This is good for the student who wants to practice their English outside of their English class. We consider this the indigenous immersion approach to learning English as a second language. You can actually live in English here. You can shop, eat, go to a movie, watch other forms of entertainment, and play sports in English. Living and studying English in Singapore will most assuredly improve your English skills more quickly than if you simply learn it in your home country. As a bonus, most Singaporeans are kind. Any time you need help, they are “more than willing” to “give you a hand”.


There is a wonderful cultural mix here, as well. Studying English in Singapore will allow you to learn about and experience these diverse cultures directly. This is not the case in most other Asian countries. It’s hard to find this level of diversity. Singapore has large Indian, Chinese, and Malay communities. “To a lesser extent”, you can find British, American, Thai, Japanese, and Korean communities here also. These are but a few. What does this mean? This means that, not only can you meet people with diverse backgrounds and learn about their cultures, but you can also eat lots of delicious foods from all over the world. This is a nice little side benefit to living and studying English in Singapore.


Alan Bruhn

Canadian Education College teacher, Singapore