English and the linguistic ecology of Malaysia

Abstract

The Southeast Asian region is undergoing rapid social, economic and cultural change brought about by movements of capital, people and ideas within and beyond the region. The dynamics of independence, nation-building and globalization have had an impact on most of the nation-states in the region, many of which attained independence only in the second half of the 20th century. This paper focuses on the development of Malaysia's language ecology within the context of nation-building, its embedding in the Southeast Asian region, and the global challenges it seeks to meet. Malaysia's languages are an essential component of the nation's ability to communicate internally in a multilingual country and externally to the region and the world. The interplay of English with Malay and other languages, and the tensions that arise and call for responses in education and other domains like the law in the wider multilingual situation are also discussed.

ASEAN English teachers as a model for international English learners: Modified teaching principles

“…They, including those now in the managerial position, are all ‘suitably trained’, equipped with at least BA in TESL, and speak grammatically correct, intelligible, comprehensive, educated English with little or no localized accent. Palpably identifying themselves as ‘appropriate English language teachers’, however, the research participants note that they might not be representative of Malaysian TESL professionals because decades‐long Malay‐medium schooling (Hashim, ) has yielded a number of young teachers or teacher trainees with declining English proficiency.…”

The Acquisition of English Grammar Among Malay- English Bilingual Primary School Children

“…Input mainly depends on the parents' language practice at home and the dominant environmental language of the community. In Malaysia, it was reported that many parents, especially those in the urban areas, opt to speak English at home to further boost their children's English proficiency (Hashim, 2014). For these parents, according to Romaine (1996), their input variety is considered as the "Type 5" variety -the strategy in which the parents or one of the parents talk to the child in a language not of his/her L1.…”

A Case Study on the Acquisition of Plurality in a Bilingual Malay-English Context-bound Child

“…Type 5, in which the parents or one of the parents talk to the child in a language not of his/her L1, is also the most common type in Malaysia. This is due to the fact that English is the second language of the nation and therefore, many Malaysian parents opt to speak English to their children at home (Hashim, 2014;Salehuddin, 2012). This typology is, however, not exhaustive.…”