The study focuses on the influence of English language in Macedonia, which is a multilingual, multicultural, and multiethnic country, situated in Southeast Europe. More precisely, the study investigates and compares the role of English inside and outside the classroom in two different environments. Firstly, in Tetovo as a multilingual place where quite a lot of people very easily shift from the local languages in use (Albanian, Macedonian and Turkish) and English when necessary, and secondly, in Prilep, as a mainly monolingual place, where from the local languages, mostly Macedonian is used. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative data collection includes learners’ questionnaires. The qualitative data phase includes descriptive research by using interviews. Finally, the study identifies several important issues regarding the positive and negative influence of English and compares the participants’ attitudes towards the role and the influence of English in a multilingual vs. monolingual environment. The findings of the study are expected to be of use to policy makers in the country and wider, the local government, educational institutions, current and future English teachers and students.
Keywords: Classroom, English, Environment, Influence, monolingual, multilingual
