This thesis is contextualized in the development of Bahasa Melayu, (the Malaysian language) and attitudes towards Bahasa Melayu and approaches to teaching Bahasa Melayu to multi-ethnic students. Specifically, the study examines the effectiveness of approaches to teaching Bahasa Melayu through an Experiential-Appreciation approach and an Eclectic approach to two different groups of Form Four students during fourteen weeks of teaching in the Datuk Sheikh Ahmad Secondary School, Arau Perlis and the Syed Hassan Secondary School, Kangar Perlis, Malaysia. The Experiential-Appreciation approach is a new approach to the teaching of Bahasa Melayu. Being a relatively new approach, its effectiveness in developing Bahasa Melayu skills and its relation to students' attitudes towards Bahasa Melayu is still being explored. Using this approach, students' experience is directly related to reading, essay writing, grammar and an appreciation of Bahasa Melayu lessons. The first chapter provides the Malaysian historical background, and considers the development of the Malaysian education system in a pluralist society. The second chapter discusses the status of Bahasa Melayu as a National Language and its relation to national unity and national integration. This focuses on using Bahasa Melayu as the medium of instruction in the national curriculum. Chapter three focuses on the current development of the Malaysian education system and the function of National Ideology or Rukunegara in the national educational system. Chapter four reviews the development of approaches to teaching and learning Bahasa Melayu. Chapters five, six and seven describe the research methodology and findings of the study. Chapter eight concludes the thesis by examining the limitations of the study and makes a series of recommendations.