Functionality of English in Language Education Policies and Practices in Nepal

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss the functionality of English in Nepal’s education, with a focus on the medium of instruction policy. The data are drawn from our ongoing ethnographic work collected from various sources such as curriculum description, interviews with policymakers, parents and teachers, and media reports. The analysis particularly zooms in its focus on parents’ and teachers’ ideologies towards English as the medium of instruction policy and examines its functions in Nepal’s broader sociopolitical context. We build on the theoretical framework of neoliberalism to analyze why English is used as a medium of instruction in Nepal’s school education system. The findings overall show that English as a medium instruction policy is deeply influenced by neoliberal ideologies while its functionality in terms of its educational relevance remain less significant and more complex.