This paper looks at the role of English in Brunei and the sociocultural structure of Bahasa/language in Brunei Darussalam. The aim of this research is to critically analyse sociocultural theory from Vygotsky's "peak psychology" approach and understand depth-knowledge of sociocultural theory from other scholars' perspectives. The…

Studies on Brunei Malay have made inconsistent findings: while some have asserted that this variety is thriving and is in no way endangered, others have found that its use is now waning. As the dynamics of family speech can inform what is happening linguistically at the community level, this study seeks to investigate the family language policies…

This study aims to examine the challenges in translating Malay cultural terms into English, and to determine practical procedures to overcome these challenges. The translation challenges in translating Malay cultural terms into English raised due to some factors; sound, lexis, grammar, and style. Both English and Malay originate from different…

This paper highlights the findings of a study into the language use, identity and attitudes of some Bruneian Malay government officers and students living in London. It is found that their allegiance towards the Malay language and Bruneian culture remains strong, despite their living in a largely Anglophone metropolis which requires them to…

Many nations have attempted to create different language-in-education policies that would cater not only to the needs of learners but also to the demands of preserving a country's native languages. The emergence of multilingual education has led to a proliferation of research that shows the benefits of using a learner's first language. These…

The main focus of this article is on the multilingual literacy practices and values of English-educated university students (aged 14-20) in Brunei Darussalam, Southeast Asia. Multilingual literacy is used as a lens to examine the impact of globalization on the communicative practices of these young people and to investigate the specific ways in…

This paper summarises the results of a qualitative study which focused on 60 Malay students aged 17-19 years in Brunei Darussalam. It explored the interplay of factors that colour the participants' attitude to the English language and its role in their education as well as in their lives. Brunei's status as a former British protectorate was taken…

The socio-cultural settings of English-language and English-medium classrooms are intrinsically bi/multilingual and bi/multicultural as both learners and teachers bring their multiple identities and home-community languages and sociolinguistic practices into the classroom. However, more often than not in such contexts, monolingual ideologies are…

Over the last century, the small Malay Islamic Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam, on the northern coast of Borneo, has moved away from an oral tradition, to a print culture and towards mass literacy. Discovery of oil in the early part of the 20th century transformed the economic situation in the country, and led to major changes and developments in…

Despite a significant increase in the number of published genre analyses and a continuing refinement of genre theory, little research has been done to determine the effectiveness of genre-based pedagogy. Research that has been carried out has shown mixed results. One problem that has been identified is that a genre approach requires language…

An elementary version of the "Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction" (QTI) and a scale for determining students' "Enjoyment of their Science Lessons" (ENJ) were translated into Standard Malay. This process, together with its initial validation carried out in 136 classrooms with 3,104 students, is described in this paper.…

English has been an important language of education in Brunei since the inception of public education there but, as is often the case when a language becomes a second language within a country, it is taking on some unique local characteristics, despite official condemnation of such developments. Can the desired balance of roles between English and…