Equity and Social Justice Through English Medium Instruction Practices at Tertiary Level Education: A Case Study of Students from Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

To state that English is their language, whoever speaks it, may sound cliche to many but to assert that the language is not distributed equally, to ensure equity and social justice, is crucial in most non-English speaking countries, including Bangladesh. Among all the sites (e.g., trade and commerce, education and media, entertainment, and diverse other professional outlets), the neoliberal university plays the foremost important role in shaping the position of English. University is the last departure point for market-ready future employees. Based on Focus Group Interviews (FGDs) and one on one interviews with students from Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), this chapter shows how the students make sense of the neoliberal space of an EMI university, strategize to excel, and sustain their hopes to become global. It is inadequate to apply the current understanding of translanguaging on CHT pupils and allow them to use Bangla and English in their classroom as Bangla is often their second language and English, a third or fourth language. As potential human capitals within a neoliberal framework, these students have devised certain strategies to cope with reality, the option now is to facilitate them quickly.