VIRAK CHAN (PURDUE UNIVERSITY)

LANGUAGE CHOICE AND EDUCATIONAL EQUITY: A CASE STUDY OF A CAMBODIAN HIGHER EDUCATION : LANGUAGE PLANNING AND LANGUAGE POLICY

This qualitative study examines language policy of Cambodia and investigates language choices at different policy levels and the social, economic, and political contexts surrounding its implementation. It also examines how choices about language of instruction impact educational equity. Data were drawn from larger research on the medium-of-instruction policy and include policy documents obtained from the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports and one flagship university, job and scholarship notices collected at the university, interview with students, teachers and administrators at the university, and non-participatory classroom observations. Tools for discourse analysis were employed for data analysis to examine discourses around how decisions are made about language in education and what that could mean for educational equity. The results show the desire to promote Khmer language and the increasing influence of English in Cambodia higher education. The results show a strong preference for the adoption of English medium, discuss the demand for English in relation to Khmer language in the context of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Integration and the internationalization of higher education, and a potential educational inequity created by this demand. Finally, the study draws important implications for policy makers and actors in the choices they make about the language of instruction particularly in the resource-limited contexts.

Virak Chan is currently a Clinical Associate Professor in literacy and language at Purdue University. He has extensive English language teaching and research experience, and has published in the areas of language planning and policies, linguistic landscape, teacher education, and teaching writing. He has also facilitated professional development activities for English language teachers.