University Students’ Attitudes towards English as a Lingua Franca in a Multilingual Sustainable Society

Yuntao Zeng, Matthew P. Wallace, Chun-Wai Fan and Yawei Guo
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Yuntao Zeng: Faculty of Education, The University of Macau, Macau 999078, China
Matthew P. Wallace: Faculty of Arts and Humanities, The University of Macau, Macau 999078, China
Chun-Wai Fan: Faculty of Education, The University of Macau, Macau 999078, China
Yawei Guo: School of Studies in Fundamental Education, South China Normal University, Shanwei 516625, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: The present study investigated Macao university students’ attitudes towards English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). Macao maintains a diverse multilingual society, with speakers from several cultures converging into one city for work and travel. Traditionally, the common languages of communication have been Chinese and Portuguese, due to Macao’s historical connection with both mainland China and Portugal. However, with the development of tourism and economy, English has become a lingua franca in the city. Despite this, it is unclear what attitudes are held about ELF and whether these attitudes may differ according to academic interest, academic background, and experience with intercultural communication. To address this need, 303 university students completed a survey measuring attitudes towards ELF on five dimensions. Afterwards, nine participants were interviewed to expand on their survey responses. The descriptive results indicated that in general Macao university students’ attitudes towards ELF were positive in many aspects, but also included conservative attitudes. Results from t -tests showed that English minors, local Macao students, and students who have overseas intercultural communication experience held more positive attitudes towards ELF than English majors, mainland Chinese students, and those without overseas experience, respectively. Implications for English teaching in Macao are discussed.

Keywords: ELF; Macao; attitudes; English majors; intercultural communication experience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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