This page is for learners in Singapore who wonder where Singlish fits when they prepare for IELTS Speaking and Writing. It sets out what Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE), the National University of Singapore (NUS) and ielts.org say about standard English, style and accent, and what NUS calls Singlish, as read on 24 October 2026, and then adds practice ideas that are marked as ours.
What two Singapore sources say about standard English and Singlish
Neither source below is about IELTS. They show how two Singapore education sources word standard English and Singlish, one source for each.
| Source | What it says | Our reading |
|---|---|---|
| MOE, English Language Syllabus 2020 (Secondary G2/G3) | The syllabus continues to underscore the teaching of "internationally acceptable English (standard English)" as a common standard for every student in the classroom. A footnote describes internationally acceptable English that is grammatical, fluent and appropriate for purpose, audience, context and culture as the formal register of English used in different parts of the world. | The syllabus ties standard English to the formal register. |
| NUS, international prospectus | English is the official language of instruction at NUS. The prospectus adds that English helps you pick up Singlish, which it calls "Singapore's unique colloquial English". | "Colloquial" points to everyday, informal use. |
The MOE sentence concerns the teaching of English in secondary school, and the NUS sentence is a line in NUS's international prospectus. Neither is about how IELTS is marked. The MOE syllabus we read does not mention Singlish, and the NUS line does not mention standard English.
Our reading. Setting the two side by side is our inference, not a statement from either source. Read that way, they use the vocabulary of register: standard English as the formal register on one side, Singlish as colloquial English on the other. It is why the rest of this page asks about style and intelligibility rather than about whether a particular word is "allowed".
What IELTS Speaking looks at: style, word choice and accent
IELTS Speaking is an interview of 11 to 14 minutes in three parts. Part 1 is an introduction and questions on familiar topics (4 to 5 minutes). Part 2 is a long turn: one minute to prepare, then one to two minutes speaking on a cue card, followed by one or two rounding-off questions (3 to 4 minutes in all). Part 3 is a discussion of more abstract questions linked to Part 2 (4 to 5 minutes).
Speaking is scored on four criteria of equal weight: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. Register and accent come up in two of them, in ielts.org's Speaking key assessment criteria (PDF).
| Criterion | What the key criteria list | Our plain reading |
|---|---|---|
| Lexical Resource | Among its key indicators: the adequacy and appropriacy of vocabulary in relation to "style (formal/informal)" and "collocation (including idiomatic expressions)". | One thing considered is how well word choice suits the style, and whether words are combined the way they normally are. |
| Pronunciation | Among its key indicators: the production of sounds at the word and phoneme level and "the degree of effort required of the listener to understand these", and "the overall effect of accent on intelligibility". | One thing considered is how easily a listener can follow you, including the effect of accent on that. |
Two details are worth noticing. First, the Pronunciation wording is about intelligibility: it names the effect of accent on how well you can be understood, not a particular accent. Second, the Lexical Resource wording names style (formal/informal) without saying which style the Speaking test calls for. As we read the key criteria, they do not say; where a source is silent, this page does not fill the gap.
Accent and intelligibility: what IDP Singapore says
IDP Singapore publishes an article on accents and IELTS Speaking scores. It makes two statements that are easy to run together:
- Examiners are described as experienced language teachers who have been certified to assess your spoken English and not your accent.
- If the examiner has trouble understanding you because you mispronounce words and have unusual stress patterns in your sentences, you will probably get a lower score because, in the article's words, "it prevents communication and causes misunderstanding".
As read on 24 October 2026, the article names Australian, Irish and American accents as examples and does not mention Singlish. This page does not stretch it to cover Singlish.
Our reading. Put side by side, IDP's article and the Pronunciation criteria come back to the same point: whether the listener can understand you without extra effort. For practice, the useful question is therefore less "is this Singlish?" and more "would someone who does not share my everyday phrases follow this at the first hearing?"
IELTS Writing: the style line in the Academic format
IELTS Writing lasts 60 minutes. Task 1 asks for at least 150 words (about 20 minutes): in Academic you describe a chart, graph, table, diagram or process, and in General Training you write a letter. Task 2 is an essay of at least 250 words (about 40 minutes) and counts twice as much as Task 1 in the Writing band. The four criteria carry equal weight: Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
On ielts.org's Academic Writing format page, the instruction on style reads: "You should write in an academic or semi-formal/neutral style." As we read the page, it names a style and does not list words or varieties of English to avoid. That ielts.org page covers the Academic format only, so read ielts.org's General Training Writing page for the letter task.
Lexical Resource is one of the four criteria in both Speaking and Writing, so word choice is looked at in both. The pages we read do not say how a given word or phrase from everyday Singapore English is judged in either. IELTS Writing feedback explains how Writing is marked in a session.
Our own illustration: informal and neutral wording
The pairs below are our own illustration of how one point can be put in an informal and in a neutral register of English. They do not come from ielts.org, IDP or any marking guidance, they are not examples of Singlish, and they say nothing about how any phrase would be scored.
| Informal | Neutral | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| "Loads of people have smartphones now." | "Many people now have smartphones." | A casual quantity word becomes a neutral one. |
| "It's a total nightmare for drivers." | "It causes real difficulty for drivers." | A colourful exaggeration becomes a plain statement. |
Collocation is a different matter from register. It is about which words normally go together: we make a decision, take a risk, do homework and make a mistake. "Do a mistake" or "make homework" reads as wrong in any register.
A practice routine built from these sources
These are general practice ideas, not guidance from ielts.org, IDP or any test provider, and they promise no band.
- Record a Part 2 answer. Take one minute to prepare, then speak for one to two minutes and record it. The Part 2 cue card themes and the Speaking Part 2 timer help with this.
- Mark your everyday phrases. Listen back and note any word or phrase you would not use in a message to someone you do not know.
- Choose on purpose. For each marked item, say the answer again with a neutral version, so that you can move between the two when you decide to.
- Ask a listener. Play the recording once to someone who does not share your everyday phrases and ask which words they had to work to follow. This is the "effort required of the listener" idea from the criteria, tested informally.
- Do the same for Writing. Draft a Task 2 paragraph, reread it for wording you would use in a chat with a friend, and replace that wording with neutral wording.
Nothing on this page asks you to give up the way you speak with family and friends. Our view: the aim is to be able to choose your register, not to have only one.
How one-to-one lessons with Mike can help
Band Booster IELTS is a one-to-one online service. Mike, a CELTA-certified teacher based in Hanoi who scored 8.5 in Speaking in his own IELTS, teaches every session live in English on Google Meet; there is no group class and nothing in person in Singapore. A Speaking session can follow the real three-part format, with feedback during the session rather than days later, and sessions can be recorded on request, so you can listen back as in the routine above. In Writing sessions, Task 1 and Task 2 are marked against the public band descriptors, and written progress notes appear in your account after each session. The IELTS Speaking tutor page for Singapore, the IELTS Speaking coaching page and About Mike give more detail.
The limits matter as much as the offer. A session gives practice feedback, not an IELTS result, and no band is promised: progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions. Band Booster IELTS is a private tutor, not a test centre, and you book the test itself with IDP or the British Council. The booking page shows open times in your own time and your price in your own currency before you pay; the online IELTS tutor page for Singapore explains how booking works.
Where this fits with university English requirements
If a Singapore university asks you for IELTS, the score and the rules on validity are set by that university, not by this page. The IELTS scores NUS lists are on our NUS English requirement page, and IELTS scores for Singapore universities compares several universities. For what institutions list next to IELTS, with no claim that one equals the other, see IELTS and O-Level English in Singapore. Requirements change, so read the university's own page.
What this page leaves open
- Whether a specific word, particle or sentence pattern from everyday Singapore English changes a score. The pages cited here are silent on it.
- Which style the Speaking test calls for, beyond the words "formal/informal" in the criteria.
For a specific case, ask your test provider and read ielts.org's Speaking and Writing pages yourself, because test guidance can be updated.