Valuing linguistic diversity in higher education

The purpose of this chapter is to critically engage with the literature on language ideologies and language hierarchies and argue how the exclusive use of particular languages may lead to less equitable access to international higher education. The chapter problematises the upholding of ‘standard’ languages and their features, particularly accent, and shows how this contributes to inequalities around language in higher education contexts. It will ultimately argue for the opportunity for students to meaningfully draw upon the languages they can use during the course of their university studies. The ideological implications of this stance are considered towards the end of the chapter.