Improving our languague and communication

We observed that a lot of people in Singapore like to speak Singlish. What is Singlish? Basically, it is English that is greatly influenced by the Singapore culture and languages. Common words used are "mah", "leh", "lah", etc...People here especially the students love to use words such as, "right?", "like" when they construct their sentences. Honestly I sometimes get irritated because a supposedly beautiful language has been poorly spoken and used. In my opinion, the government should create more awareness in the proper use of English.

Speaking proper English is only one of the communication skills. I am not a language expert or gifted communicator. And I only started to use English more frequently when I came to Singaore in year 2000. However, as I want to improve my communication skill, I set some standards for myself in the following areas:

1. Speaking clearly - Don't have to use bombastic English to get our points across. But using the correct word is important. It is fun to learn and discover how one English word can be used in so many ways.
2. Creating simple sentence - Use basic and correct sentence structure. Try not to construct lengthy sentences as it will confuse people. Do away with redundant words. The most basic sentence consist of a noun, a verb and an object.
3. Listening & understanding - Pro 18:2, "A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions". I learned the truth of this verse in the hard way. I seldom sought to understand and clarify other people's point. I focused on airing my own opinions and I always spoke rashly. Now, I make sure I am fully clear of what people say. If what they say is vague, I will seek to clarify and question what was being spoken. In this way, I not only know the issue clearly, but also help people to clarify their own thoughts.

I believe communication is an art. It requires life-long learning process to improve. We can gradually improve through diligent and active listening, speaking, reading, writing (like what I am doing now) and practising.