Patterns of language choice in the education domain: The Malaysian context

Abstract

With Malaysia being a multilingual, multicultural and multiracial country, it is not surprising that everyone in Malaysia speaks at least two or more languages. Such a multilingual situation leads people to choose and use different languages for different purposes in different domains. Even within a single domain the choice of language varies on contexts, topics and participants. The purpose of this study was thus to investigate the patterns of language choice and use in the domain of education in Malaysia and also to investigate what influences this choice. The study examined the patterns of language choice among UPM(University Putra Malaysia) undergraduates through a questionnaire survey and the data was analyzed. The findings reveal that language choice in education varies on sub-domains. It is also found that language proficiency, ethnicity, gender, and discipline of study constrain the choice and use of language.

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