Language, class, and coloniality in medium of instruction projects in the Philippines

Abstract

This chapter maps out the interplay of social class, neoliberalism, and colonialism in spaces of disconnect and tension between language policy and practice. More specifically, it examines the historical and socio-political conditions of the production of the language policy of a university in the Philippines which aims to elevate the status of Filipino, the national language, by promoting its use as a language of instruction in the university. However, the infrastructures of the admission process, specifically its admission test, sustain the privileging of English as the main language of instruction. Thus, language choices in the classroom continue to privilege the use of English since it serves mainly both the needs of the global market, as well as the needs of “multilingual” students who, despite coming from different parts of the country, are essentially socially privileged, having had access to quality English-medium instruction (EMI) prior to coming to the university. Hence, as access to English is provided through EMI, the dominance of English is all the more perpetuated at the expense of the national language and other local languages. The privileging of English as medium of instruction despite the incorporation of a "nationalist" agenda into language policy reveals how class, neoliberalism, and colonialism come together as conditions which shape language choices in educational settings

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