AbstractThis research attempts to investigate the extent of the use of Bahasa Melayu to teach English. Fifty four inexperienced and experienced ‘non-optionist’ English teachers from three districts in Pahang took part in this study by responding to a set of questionnaire. These teachers were originally trained to teach other subjects but were given the task to teach the second language due to the lack of ‘optionist’ English teachers. The results of the findings show that there are differences on the extent of the use of Bahasa Melayu by inexperienced and experienced ‘non-optionist’ English teachers