Shadowing Practice: How Much Do Foreigners in Singapore Earn? | Street Interview - Learn English Speaking with Video
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1
What's your current job here in Singapore?
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I work in reinsurance.
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Okay, and do you mind asking me asking how much you make around a month here? like five figures, I guess.
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Okay, so five figures in one month.
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Yes Yeah.
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About $10 ,000 a month?
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A bit higher than that.
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And what is your current job here in Singapore?
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Domestic helper.
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Yeah.
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And can I ask you how much you make a month as a domestic helper in Singapore?
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950 a month Yeah, plus another food allowance. So...
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200 per month.
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Thank you.
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Currently I'm unemployed.
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Uh...
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- Thank you.
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because of some layoff.
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But I was a software engineer in an AI company.
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So in your previous job as a software engineer, could you tell us roughly how much you made a month?
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uh...
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Yeah, I was making a 8 .6K...
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I'm 13 months.
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Okay, so 8 .6 K Singapore dollars in one month, yes?
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I'm a software engineer.
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I will give him the financing.
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around 250 -300 So I alternate between here and California and I teach.
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I teach at NTU.
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And Would you mind sharing how much you make currently per month?
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- Roughly, if we were to say, would it be more than $5 ,000?
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- Oh yes sir.
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More than $10 ,000?
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Yes.
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And do you think you would earn more or less in the same position from your home country compared to Singapore.
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I'm more in the home country.
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country.
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I work in oil and gas.
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trading, oil and gas trading.
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So do you think you would earn more or less in the same position in the United States?
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Uh, well, uh...
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That's a difficult question because probably I might earn more but then after taxes and everything,
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probably It's difficult to say because Expenses are more here in Singapore stuff so I don't know, it'll probably break even.
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And what is your job in Singapore?
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Domestic helper.
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And can I ask you roughly how much you make per month?
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Yeah, how much your salary is per month?
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800 Would you say that is higher or lower than the average?
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It's normal.
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Yeah, it's normal.
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I see. And, uh...
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You know...
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Singapore is considered one of the most expensive cities in the world.
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I'm curious What are some things that are expensive here in Singapore?
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Everything is very expensive here.
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How much does a meal cost in Singapore?
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eating meal?
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Just eat the alarm.
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- Pink color.
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But in Philippines, how much?
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And Philippines just only 30 pesos.
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30 pesos is below $1 It's a big difference.
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And what is your current job here in Singapore?
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I'm the managing director of a British American firm and we manufacture office accessories.
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in China and we sell throughout Asia.
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And can I ask how much you make around a month?
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Roughly, if I was to give a range.
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No, it was not.
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Okay.
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Do you think you would earn more or less? here in Singapore versus in Germany?
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Not at all.
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But living in Singapore was a choice.
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I've based my choice on my experience when I lived here from 1996 three tools.
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policy.
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in a similar job but different pumps.
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and I find quality of life.
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so much higher here than in any other country where I've lived.
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And when I talk about other countries, I'm talking about Asia.
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Middle East.
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and drifting southern so I have lived certain places already in my life.
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Singapore is doing a great job quality of even though the cost of
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Do you think you would earn more or less in the same position back in Australia?
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Probably similar.
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Yeah.
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If it's similar, why did you choose kind of Singapore to work here?
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Yeah, I would say it's Like firstly the sunshine makes me pretty happy,
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international lifestyle and I guess ability to like travel and see other cultures.
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Where are some places that you like to travel here in this region?
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Yeah, I love all Southeast Asia, like, you know, obviously Bali.
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And I guess like Bali, Thailand, even the Philippines sometimes.
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I do some diving.
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well. So, yeah.
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Cool.
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And do you feel like your salary is enough? to cover your living expenses here in Singapore as a foreigner?
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It is, but the rent is very expensive.
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How much do you have to pay for rent here in Singapore?
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I...
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I would say I spend like over 30 % of my money of my salary on rent.
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Do you feel like your salary is enough for your life right now in Singapore?
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Actually it's not enough.
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Yeah because I got two kids and I need to support my mother also.
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And some I give to my sister because she's actually she's got cancer now.
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So I need to.
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So now it's not enough.
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900 is not enough.
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Yeah.
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And can you tell me about how much money you send? back home to the Philippines.
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Actually, I can send all... About 800?
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100 is for my allowance Yes.
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And with that $100, what can you spend on here in Singapore?
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I spent in Singapore sometimes I feel like eating this So I need to buy.
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Do you feel like your salary is enough to cover your living expenses right now?
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You kind of mentioned that Singapore can be expensive.
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Yeah, well, I mean, with with with the kid and everything, I mean, my wife, my wife,
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works and everything as well so I think with that with the schooling coming up rental.
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everything.
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Not to say we don't live comfortably, but it's nice to have a two salaries and that's really kind of what makes life livable.
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HERE.
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Do you feel like your current salary is enough to cover and sustain a life here in Singapore?
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It's workable.
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But, you know, I mean, over the years, things have gotten fairly expensive.
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What specifically?
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What?
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everything really.
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Right.
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I mean, when you talk about inflation, It's hit you know, all kinds of goods and services. that.
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Everybody is correspondingly raising the prices on everything as well.
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THERE WAS THAT WHOLE PERIOD OF TIME WHERE RENT WENT THROUGH THE ROOF.
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right?
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I think it's coming down again, but as always, When the rent gets one of those major adjustments, it never goes back down to the original level.
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So you're dealing with a number of challenges in that respect.
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Do you feel like with your current salary, it's enough?
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Yeah, actually it's enough, but sometimes, since I have three colleges,
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I have three kids and they are all in college so maybe I have to earn more.
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So sometimes I have to borrow money in Philippines
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because here in Singapore we're not allowed to borrow money here because it's not allowed in the government.
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So what we do is in Philippines we have to borrow money
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and then we can just pay slowly slowly for our salary here.
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Well after COVID the hike of the price of uh,
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Actually much more, but...
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- Uh...
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Yeah, I guess it was a bit everywhere.
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In a world like this, I don't I don't I don't really know the market in France now,
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Over the last year of the rents, uh, came a little high, but It was the
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It wasn't a big problem as It was certainly way higher than what when I came to Singapore.
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And then like it increased by 40 50 percent so that was A little.
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hard to take but it's fine.
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Now they're cooling down so Yeah.
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And so when you first arrived to Singapore, how much was your rent?
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When I was first to die, it was 5k a month.
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and then during the increase uh...
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Like the same apartment in my condo started going for seven.
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Certainly by 40%.
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But now, Like my renewal is coming up so I'm hoping I would renew for the team.
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price But because Singapore is considered one of the most expensive places to live.
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in Asia, but also in the world.
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Could you give us some insights of what aspects makes it so expensive to live here in Singapore?
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Yes, the alcohol is taxed heavily.
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First.
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Eating in a restaurant can get quite pricey.
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taxi bills can pile up.
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And what about your rent here in Singapore?
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Is that also quite expensive?
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It's quite high.
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on the order of 6 ,000 a month.
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And would you say that is more or less compared to the United States?
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comparable to where I live in California.
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I mean, mainly it's the rent.
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Um, And well, I mean, and to be honest with you, if you want to you know, having a social life can be a little bit expensive,
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you know, if you want to If you're planning to go out on weekends, stuff like that.
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Um, you know, the alcohol isn't cheap here.
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So, I mean, I would say nothing, nothing out of the ordinary, just kind of day to day life.
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But that said, I mean, all that said, I mean, we're talking about expenses.
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I mean, you can have a cheap life.
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Singapore you know, Um, you know, food here delicious and you don't have to go to the expensive options by any means.
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Um...
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I mean, one of the benefits of living here that's relatively cheap is actually you can fly out, you know, go to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Bali.
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all you want for relatively, you know, a few hundred dollars a flight ticket,
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Do you think that your salary is enough to cover your expenses in Singapore?
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Yes, it's very enough.
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Have you ever had some financial issues while living in Singapore?
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No, no I never So good for five years.
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-Yes.
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And I'm curious, how much money do you think you have to make in salary?
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to have no worries.
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How much salary you need to have no worries.
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living in singapore $1 ,000 a month?
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Yes.
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How much do you think you'd have to earn?
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Is there like a magic number that would be kind of a worry -free salary here in Singapore?
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Okay, like...
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I have a whole philosophy there, which is probably too boring for your channel, but I think it's got to be about passive income, not about salaries.
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So, I would say like, you know, if I had A few million dollars.
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then I'd be you know, pretty stress free.
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I think as long as you're working for your salary, you're always going to have some
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And do you think it is possible in Singapore to have this kind of like passive income of like, you know, getting this like million dollar here in Singapore.
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Yeah, I think it is, but it's like just a lot of work and obviously for Singaporeans, it's a lot of work,
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well right trying to save money and and reduce how much you spend So it might take like, I don't know how many decades, long term goals.
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So what kind of salary would be completely worry -free? here in Singapore.
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I think...
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I know 900 or 900 more than that.
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So right now, would you say it's pretty comfortable?
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For me, for now, it's pretty comfortable, yeah.
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Do you send money back home then?
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How much do you send?
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I send like, almost like 30 ,000 pesos.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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Roughly how much is that?
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900. Yeah, so most of your money you actually Yeah,
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most of my money most of my salary so I have to keep saving
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So what I've saved now is my food allowance.
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Yeah, I see.
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How much do you think you would need to make in Singapore in order to have like a worry -free like lifestyle.
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That's a good question.
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It depends on if you have government subsidies, so if you are a foreigner living here.
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comfortable lifestyle would be on the minimum of 10 grand.
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A month.
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I don't know, like a million dollars.
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So one million dollars, yeah?
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So do you think that is actually possible to make a million dollars as a salary here in Singapore as a foreigner?
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Yeah, I think it's very possible if you work hard, there are enough opportunities to make that kind of work.
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I have no idea.
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- Yeah.
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I haven't given that any thought.
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Any number comes to mind?
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I don't know.
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I mean...
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Obviously it's one of those situations where the sky's the limit.
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Right.
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I mean, you can talk to the richest people in the world, and they'll probably still say, "Oh, I wish that we're making more." So...
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What are some of the biggest advantages of working here in Singapore as a foreigner?
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I don't know if I would fully consider myself a foreigner at this point anyway, being a PR.
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I mean, for me, it's a very, It's a very advanced country.
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The schooling here is very good.
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local school.
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Um, It's very connected internationally.
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I mean, if you look at it from the perspective of someone that's lived in various countries,
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here in Singapore because everything is imported you can get goods from pretty much all over the place and it's functionally equivalent.
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to the point where
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There's stuff that we would have been used to getting in Europe
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that we're able to get here that we wouldn't have been able to get in the U .S very easily.
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And here it's just like a normal item in cold storage or something like that.
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So from that perspective, It's quite nice, it's very international.
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you know, I think the weather is really great to Farron is.
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I think the travel options are amazing.
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- I think The tax is good as well.
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So I think that's also a positive, but I think it shouldn't be the main reason.
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So actually I've lived in Hong Kong and Japan previously.
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I would say Singapore is bike one of the easiest places to live outside of Australia that I've ever found.
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What makes it a lot easier compared to Hong Kong and some of the other places you've lived in?
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Well, I think it's just like really...
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You know?
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stable, sunny.
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And it's a bit selfish, but obviously, like everyone speaks English, even this interview here, right?
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completely English.
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That just makes it easy.
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quality of life is one of the key advantages that Singapore has to offer?
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the people of Singapore offer a very amicable environment.
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respectful environment.
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I'll give you an example.
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step in the bus in the early morning and the bus driver looks at He says good morning, he acknowledges you as a customer and that you are there and is smiling.
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It doesn't cost any money but it makes me feel so good.
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And I share this even now with you saw little things of Alberta Um...
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Yeah.
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issues.
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It's very safe here.
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walk around with expensive.
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stuff on you.
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My wife can walk around here in the evening doesn't need to issue.
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It's super safe.
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fantastic And then on the flip side, any big challenges of living here in Singapore?
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Maybe, for example, like the working culture or anything like that?
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Um, well, I mean, the challenge for me personally is that it's far from family far from everywhere so
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You kind of have, like I mentioned before, you have to travel a lot.
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I mean, if-- to be completely honest with With work culture, the only thing that I really had to get
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used to was I feel like I'm in the US people are more um like,
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maybe blunt and or how do you say it, like straight to the point,
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Um, here sometimes you have to frame questions in a way where like the person that you're confronting
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Sabe's face or doesn't get embarrassed.
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you know I think that's something that, you know, how something culturally like how you how you challenge someone.
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you know, if there's a disagreement or if you see things differently.
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might require a different strategy than how you would I'm not sure.
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in the U .S at least at least culturally.
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And so the last question that we'd like to ask you for our global audience is, For anyone who is considering working in Singapore,
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Do you have any advice or any kind of tips that you would share with them?
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First piece of advice, try to come at a higher level than the lowest level.
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because climbing the ladder here It could be much lengthier experience than it could be else.
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at least in some countries.
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So come at a slightly higher level.
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That would be my one for advice.
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other be open to changing the balance of work priorities.
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because work priorities tend to, depending on the sector, be very different here than, let's say, for example, - I don't think.
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Yeah, I would say...
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I would say two things.
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I'd say one, you know, you've got to you've got to have a pretty valuable skill set because Singapore You know, it's quite hard to get the employee passed now.
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And I think that's right such a popular city but
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You're going to need some pretty special skills so invest in yourself and study and work hard.
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And maybe secondly, you know, persevere, maybe your first job application is not successful.
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But if you really want to go to Singapore, then You know, keep trying.
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And in the meantime, you can visit Singapore anyway. So.
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Don't live in an expat bubble.
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Right?
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I find there's been a number of instances, not everybody of course, but there's been a number of instances where people live in what I call the expat bubble.
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Um.
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I would strongly recommend against it.
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Make sure you have lots of local friends.
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Really get tapped into your local communities.
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And, uh.. you know it will make your life in the long run I think a lot more.
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Well, I mean, do it.
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It's...
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It's a safe, clean place.
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and it's you know, uh, There's a lot of opportunity both here in and in the region to travel around Um,
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I think one of the advice is just common like be be open -minded really and open to like you know, experience.
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you know, a different culture.
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I actually kind of said this, you know, I would say, I feel like Singapore is a bit like Asia.
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for beginners or Asia 101.
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especially for foreigners because everyone speaks English.
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The work culture is not that different.
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You know, people are friendly.
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And so, It's easy to to come here and to move here and to start working here as opposed to, you know, if you Um,
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It-- As opposed to if you went to a country where like, you know, English, a lot less people spoke and it was to get around and everything. So.
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When I first moved here, finding a group of friends and a social activity.
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and things like that took a while, and that was probably the most hard part for me.
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Um, But you know, stick it out, be open -minded, and and that.
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and Yeah, and I think if you can make it past like a year, year and a half, then you'll know.
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But like don't bail early.
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I guess we could be there.
328
if that's something that you want.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “How Much Do Foreigners in Singapore Earn?”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: singapore, month, salary. This video has 329 sentences and 3187 words to shadow. The speech runs for 21:48. The speaker talks at a steady 146 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 67 of its 329 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| foreigner noun | /ˈfɔɹ.ɪ.nɚ/ | A person from a foreign country. |
| expense noun | /ɪkˈspɛns/ | A spending or consuming, often a disbursement of funds. |
| helper noun | /ˈhɛlpɚ/ | One who helps; an aide; assistant; auxiliary. |
| peso noun | /ˈpeɪsəʊ/ | The circulating currency of various Spanish-speaking American countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Uruguay) and the… |
| allowance noun | /əˈlaʊəns/ | Permission; granting, conceding, or admitting. |
| borrow verb | /ˈbɑɹ.oʊ/ | To receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it. |
| lifestyle noun | /ˈlaɪfˌstaɪl/ | A style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group. |
| expat noun | /ˈɛksˌpæt/ | An expatriate; a person temporarily residing in a foreign nation, often for an occupation, training, or education. |
| culturally adverb | In a cultural way. | |
| oppose verb | /əˈpoʊz/ | To attempt to stop the progression of; to resist or antagonize by physical means, or by arguments, etc.; to contend against. |
| passive adjective | /ˈpæs.ɪv/ | Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction. |
| bubble noun | /ˈbʌbəl/ | A spherically contained volume of air or other gas in a liquid, commonly a soapy liquid. |
| depend verb | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition |
| amicable adjective | /ˈæ.mɪ.kə.bəl/ | Showing friendliness or goodwill. |
| condominium noun | /ˌkɑn.dəˈmɪn.i.əm/ | Joint sovereignty over a territory by two or more countries. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come up verb | To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly. | |
| come down verb | To descend, fall down, collapse. | |
| cool down verb | /kuːl ˈdaʊn/ | To become cooler; to be reduced in temperature. |
| get around verb | To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path. | |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. | |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| pile up verb | To form a pile, stack, or heap. | |
| send back verb | To return (something) to its origin. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Do you think you would earn more or less?
- Do you feel like with your current salary, it's enough?
- How much do you think you'd have to earn?
- Do you send money back home then?
- How much do you send?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've based · I've lived · have lived |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is considered · is taxed · is imported |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | there, which is · anyone who is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 59 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: reinsurance /ˌɹi.ɪnˈʃʊɹ.əns/, selfish /ˈsɛlf.ɪʃ/, inflation /ɪnˈfleɪ.ʃən/, sunshine /ˈsʌnʃaɪn/
- Long words — get the stress right: amicable /ˈæ.mɪ.kə.bəl/, condominium /ˌkɑn.dəˈmɪn.i.əm/, correspondingly /ˌkɔ.ɹəˈspɑn.dɪŋ.li/, reinsurance /ˌɹi.ɪnˈʃʊɹ.əns/, accessory /əkˈsɛs.(ə.)ɹi/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like foreigner, expense, helper.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.