ABSTRACT
Historically, the Southeast Asian region (of which ten countries belong to ASEAN – Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has been a site of cultural developments, migrations, cooperation, exchanges, conflicts, colonial powers, and foreign governments. These have all left their traces, especially their languages. As this dynamic geographic, historical, and political entity has made English its foremost working language and as Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and the Philippines have been Anglophone colonies, Southeast Asia and ASEAN raise a range of linguistic and educational language issues that warrant investigation. These issues are of interest in themselves and for the geopolitical region and its place globally and contribute to the study of English as a lingua franca. This contribution examines the roles and challenges of English in ASEAN and the ELF interactions among its speakers. It discusses current developments impacting on ELF in ASEAN and implications for applied linguistics in Southeast Asia. Aspects pertaining to English language education, language policy, the changing status of English, and the need to move away from a traditional norm-bound approach to one that focuses on mutual comprehensibility and cultural identity are included.
