Attitudes toward English as a Lingua Franca in Multilingual University Contexts of Northeast Thailand

Abstract

This study examines attitudes toward English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) among international relations (IR) offices in universities of Northeast Thailand featuring a cosmopolitan climate of multilingual communities. The English language has become vital as a means of communication within such institutions. To collect quantitative data, a questionnaire was sent out electronically to 140 respondents including foreign students together with foreign lecturers, researchers, and Thai IR officials. With regard to qualitative data, there were 45 interview participants, including 18 Thai IR officials and 27 international visitors. The findings confirm the widely expressed view that ELF exists, and the research participants generally accepted a wide variety of English variants. They also showed a clear preference for the model of native English speakers as a reference for language learning.