Embracing diversity under isolation and cease-fire: a poststructuralist look at administrators’ policy on multilingualism

The study situates itself within growing globalization and super-diversity that have transformed university classrooms into multilingual, multicultural spaces. While higher education should nurture multilingual ideologies, monolingual, standard-language policies often prevail, marginalizing learners’ linguistic resources and identities. In North Cyprus—a politically unrecognized, economically isolated territory where universities nonetheless attract a highly international student body—the paper examines how administrators at an English preparatory school perceive and enact multilingualism. It explores the tension between diversity, equity, and prevailing English-only norms. The research aims are to investigate (1) the director’s and assistant directors’ perceptions of multilingualism in higher education and (2) the extent of their practical engagement with multilingual paradigms in their institutional context.

The literature outlines how educational institutions often enforce standard monolingual norms, excluding vernaculars and minoritized varieties, even amidst increased mobility and super-diversity that foster hybrid repertoires and translanguaging. A poststructuralist framework (Derrida, Foucault) challenges grand narratives, logocentrism, binary oppositions, and institutional power/knowledge regimes, advocating recognition of difference and decentering of stable identities and truths. In ELT, logocentric binaries manifest as privileging monolingualism, native-speaker norms, and compartmentalized views of languages, leading to target-language-only ideologies and marginalization of learners’ linguistic resources. Translanguaging is presented as an equitable, improvisational practice that can redistribute power and validate learners’ repertoires, though empirical studies report mixed perceptions: concerns about isolation, fairness, and learning efficacy coexist with evidence of benefits for comprehension, socialization, and vocabulary. Research specifically on administrators is scarce but suggests administrators often express strong support for multilingualism as key to internationalization and quality (Doiz et al., Llurda et al.). Other work shows external pressures (testing/accountability, official policies, ideological hierarchies) shaping leaders’ language-policy decisions, frequently favoring English-only programs. Overall, evidence highlights a gap between espoused support for multilingualism and more cautious or monolingual classroom practices, underscoring the need for further inquiry—particularly in contexts like North Cyprus.

Design: Qualitative case study examining school administrators’ perceptions and practices of multilingualism using multiple data sources for triangulation. Data collection: Semi-structured interviews and informal chats were conducted and audio-recorded; interviews lasted about 90 minutes each. Recordings were transcribed verbatim using a web-based tool (otranscribe), then transcripts and audio were imported into NVivo for coding. Themes were identified through iterative reading and coding. Credibility procedures included member checking by sharing identified themes and relevant extracts with participants. Contextual inputs included the school’s mission and vision emphasizing real-world language use and preparation for multicultural communication at international standards. Participants: Three administrators (one director and two assistant directors) at the School of Foreign Languages of a North Cyprus university; Turkish Cypriot citizens with 25–30 years of service. Directors are elected by school staff and appointed by the rector; the current team’s tenure was extended for three more years in 2022. Ethical considerations: Participants provided informed consent, were informed of voluntary participation and right to withdraw, and could refuse questions. Ethical approval was obtained from the Eastern Mediterranean University Ethics Committee.

• Administrators’ view of diversity and internationalization: Participants expressed pride in the university’s cultural and linguistic diversity, seeing it as a symbol of institutional recognition and educational quality despite North Cyprus’s political non-recognition. Diversity was associated with empathy, tolerance, and fostering world citizenship.
• English as lingua franca and equity: Administrators perceived diversity as reinforcing the indispensability of English as the common language. English proficiency was viewed as synonymous with inclusion, academic success, and better life prospects, especially for students from conflict-affected regions. This positions English as high-value symbolic capital.
• Classroom language policy (teachers): Administrators unanimously endorsed monolingual English instruction, framing it as essential for fairness and equal access to learning. They emphasized adherence to university rules and global norms of English-medium instruction, warning that use of other languages could hinder learning and foster dependency on L1.
• Classroom language policy (students): A similar stance applied to students’ language use. Non-English conversations were seen as risking exclusion, misunderstandings, and disruption of class unity. Immersion and practice in the target language were emphasized as the key to progress.
• Materials and assessment: While restrictive on classroom language use, administrators were more flexible regarding materials and assessment. They reported that materials are designed to respect cultural/linguistic diversity and foster belonging. Assessment historically prioritized native-speaker pronunciation and grammatical accuracy, but recent revisions introduced more holistic criteria (e.g., task fulfillment, coherence, organization), reducing exclusive emphasis on native-like norms while not eliminating them.
• Poststructuralist engagement: Findings reveal a divergence: conceptually, administrators value diversity and internationalism; practically, they maintain English-only norms. Limited poststructuralist engagement is evident in materials and partial assessment reforms, but translanguaging and integration of learners’ repertoires into instruction remain discouraged.

The study illuminates how pro-diversity discourse can operate as a vehicle for homogenization and reinforcement of English-only policies. Administrators celebrate diversity and global citizenship yet classify languages by market value, positioning English as the lingua franca for cohesion and equity. This structuralist monolingual orientation conflicts with poststructuralist ideals that validate dynamic identities and learners’ linguistic resources. The persistence of English-only practices can be interpreted through Foucault’s disciplinary power and Bourdieu’s symbolic violence: institutional norms are internalized and reproduced without overt coercion, naturalizing standard English and sidelining minoritized repertoires. In the North Cyprus context—marked by political isolation—English proficiency functions as convertible symbolic capital in global education and labor markets, incentivizing conformity to dominant norms. Administrators show some willingness to reflect diversity in materials and to adjust assessment toward holistic criteria, indicating constrained poststructuralist engagement; however, translanguaging and broader integration of students’ linguistic capital into instruction remain largely unimplemented.

The study, using a poststructuralist lens, finds that administrators at an English preparatory school in North Cyprus regard multilingualism and diversity as valuable symbolic capital and markers of international quality. Yet, in practice, they consider fairness, inclusion, and internationalization to be achievable primarily through English as the lingua franca, sustaining English-only policies in teaching and learning. Limited shifts—such as diversity-sensitive materials and more holistic assessment—suggest partial movement away from strict native-speaker norms, though translanguaging and fuller integration of learners’ repertoires are not embraced. The work contributes to scarce research on administrators’ multilingual policies in higher education, particularly in politically isolated contexts. Future research should examine the conceptual–practical gap across additional institutions in North Cyprus and beyond, and explore policy designs that align assessment and pedagogy with multilingual paradigms and poststructuralist principles of equity and identity validation.

• Single-institution case study limits generalizability beyond the studied university.
• Small sample comprising three administrators (one director, two assistant directors).
• Findings reflect a specific geopolitical context (North Cyprus) that may shape attitudes toward English as symbolic capital.
• Data are not publicly available due to privacy concerns, constraining external audit of the dataset.