This paper summarises the results of a qualitative study which focused on 60 Malay students aged 17-19 years in Brunei Darussalam. It explored the interplay of factors that colour the participants' attitude to the English language and its role in their education as well as in their lives. Brunei's status as a former British protectorate was taken into account with particular emphasis on its continuing choice of a dated qualifying examination that enshrines exonormative (British) standards. Participants' difficulties in this high stakes examination were set against a backdrop of their acceptance of the reality of the hegemonic nature of the English language in today's world. Optimal levels of corroboration of data were sought with data generated through observation, a brief historical study, participant journal writing, semi-structured interviews, two attitudinal tests and a short questionnaire survey. The diverse range of emergent themes that resulted point to the complexity of the participants' relationship with English and illuminate their efforts to resolve ambivalences through their own agency. These efforts have served to move them closer to the polarity representing the active appropriation of English rather than remaining at the linguistic imperialism extreme of the English language continuum. (Contains 3 tables.)