What kind of Spoken English?

Abstract

Teachers of English are often worried about the kind of English they should teach. Most of them are aware that there is a wide variety in the way different groups of native speakers of English pronounce the language. They can distinguish, for example, between a British speaker and an American speaker. The problem is complicated in Malaysia by the fact that English has been widely used as a lingua franca and for official transactions. Many Malaysians are so familiar with English that the question occasionally arises, “Why not teach ‘Malaysian English’?”