Should You Use Singlish in PSLE or O-Level English?

Should you use Singlish in PSLE or O-Level English? Use standard English for the script you will hand in and for the oral answer you will be marked on. A local word belongs only where the task is quoting a speaker, and the sentence around it stays grammatical. The answer changes by slot. Home conversation is a different setting.

A submitted script is assessed in standard English

O-Level syllabus 1184 assesses candidates on their ability to use standard English, and on understanding written and multimodal texts. On 17 July 2026, SEAB said the PSLE English examination is aligned with the MOE Primary English Language syllabus. It credits a relevant, well-developed response, and the syllabus aim includes language used for purpose, audience and context.

For a script you will hand in, or an oral answer you will be marked on, the default is standard English. This page does not rank the varieties, and it does not say that Singlish is incorrect outside school. What Singlish is, as a variety, is explained on the Singapore English page. Particle meanings sit on the particle page. This page decides the submitted script.

A local word in direct speech is a narrow, dated exception

On 12 June 2016, The Straits Times reported an MOE comment: students should not use Singlish for formal written or spoken communication. In composition, Singlish words should be used only appropriately, usually in direct speech. The reported examples kept standard grammar around the local word. Treat that as a 2016 news report, not as the 2026 marking scheme. Recheck the current school instruction before relying on it.

Narration is not that exception. A particle or a missing verb outside quotation marks is still non-standard grammar. Here is a practice pair, not a guaranteed 2026 specimen. Cut the narrated line "He was scared lah and ran." Write "He was scared and ran." Keep a quoted line such as "Don't be so kiasu," said Mei, because the local word sits inside a grammatical sentence and the narrator's verbs stay standard. The 2016 report is not a promise that this quoted line earns full marks.

Comprehension answers and oral replies are not dialogue scenes

The composition exception does not cover the rest of the exam. A comprehension answer explains the passage in standard English. An oral reading or a spoken reply has to be intelligible standard English unless the task itself asks you to quote a character. One quoted example inside an explanation is not an entire reply built from particles.

Place a sample line in one of these four slots before you keep it. A role-play is the oral exception only when the task says you are quoting a character.

A dictionary entry does not move a word into the narration

A dictionary listing shows that readers somewhere recognise the word. It does not choose the register of a national paper. "Kiasu" inside a grammatical quotation is a different decision from "kiasu" used as the grammar of the sentence. Cut "He very kiasu one." The meaning has to survive the cut: "He was determined not to miss a mark."

If the same non-standard grammar returns in narration or in answers after the student can already spot it, match the class to the stage. Primary 6 pupils can use Primary School English at iWorld Learning. Secondary students can use Middle School English. The class marks the script in a group of 3 to 6, after a CEFR placement, with live feedback on the sentence that will be handed in. Home speech can stay as it is.

FAQ

Should my child stop using Singlish at home?

No. This page decides the submitted script and the oral answer. Dinner conversation can stay. Rewrite the line that will be marked. A particle at home is not the same decision as a particle in the narration.