Language use and attitudes of mainstream and Madrasah students in Singapore

• Main Author: Amirah Adnan
• Other Authors: Francesco Paolo Cavallaro
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66056
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Despite the extensive research done on language shift, use and attitudes on the Singapore Malay community, little is known on madrasah students in Singapore. Malay students attending these Islamic religious schools are more exposed to a Malay-speaking environment. This is in comparison to those coming from mainstream schools, where English is primarily used to interact with non-Malay interlocutors. Thus, this study aims to investigate the differences in Malay language use and attitudes between mainstream and madrasah students in Singapore. A total of 158 respondents, aged between 18 to 21 years old, were asked to report on their language use across interlocutors in the home domain. Findings from this study revealed that language use for both mainstream and madrasah students differ, with madrasah students recorded higher Malay use than mainstream students in the home domain. However, both madrasah and mainstream students displayed similar attitudes towards Malay, especially on their willingness to maintain the language. Malay language maintenance could also be actively promoted through religion, as participants pointed out their preference towards the use of Malay rather than English. With a lack of research studies on madrasah students in Singapore, this novel study will contribute to future research on similar topics.