Is English Needed in a Malay Workplace?

Abstract

Research has indicated that support staff are less likely to speak English in the workplace (e.g. Morais, 1990; 1998; Nair-Venugopal, 1997; Tiong, 1996). The present study examines whether support staff need to use English in a predominantly Malay organisation, and how they cope with the English language demands of the workplace. The questionnaire and interview results show that communicating in English with the public posed a problem for the support staff although the nature of their work did not require them to read or write in English. They found ingenuous ways of coping with the situation, but their work performance was affected. The findings suggest that it is worthwhile to give greater emphasis to the teaching of English oracy skills in school to students who may enter the workforce as support staff so that they have a sufficient command of English for basic communication.