Seeing Things as They Are, Not Just as We Are: Investigating Linguistic Racism on an Australian University Campus

Globalisation in higher education has brought linguistically diverse students and staff to Australian campuses. Universities have a range of language policies/practices around diversity, however, these often reflect national language planning policies in their strong monolingual tendency, with almost exclusive use of English dominant in most areas. This study was based on the premise that linguistic racism is present on Australian university campuses, because while some students experience linguistic invisibility others experience linguistic privilege. Specifically, the study examined the micro-ecology of one Australian university campus in order to explore (1) the extent and nature of linguistic racism present on the campus and (2) how discussions about linguistic racism can inform overall language policies in Australian higher education. Qualitative data were collected from in-depth interviews with students and staff and were contextualised by the examination of university policy documents, staff development materials and the university's visible signage. Findings suggested a mismatch between current academic thinking on the importance of translingualism in education and the relative invisibility and lack of privilege given to languages other than English on campus.