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Vitou Tes

Teacher Development Support Organization, Siem Reap, Cambodia

 

Kimkong Heng

Faculty of Education, Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

 

Abstract

In an era of globalization, English has become increasingly important as a communicative instrument that brings people closer together, regardless of socio-cultural and linguistic backgrounds. It has been adopted as an official language by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a linguistically diverse regional grouping. This study aims to examine the attitudes of Cambodian university students about the role of English as ASEAN’s official language. The study utilized a quantitative approach, drawing on an online questionnaire survey to explore Cambodian university students’ attitudes toward the role of English as the official language of ASEAN, particularly regarding education, employability, and communication. The study employed both descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the data. The results revealed that Cambodian university students had positive attitudes toward the role of English as ASEAN’s official language. It was also found that there were no dominant roles for English as ASEAN’s official language in the three dimensions. This study suggests that English should be a required course in the curriculum, starting as early as possible. It should also be required in examinations in general education so that students will pay greater attention to it and develop a stronger interest in studying it.

 

Keywords

Attitudes toward English, Cambodian university students, ASEAN