Abstract Malawi’s language-in-education policies have been through numerous changes since the colonial period. In 1996 a policy directive was announced which encouraged the use of mother tongues in the early stages of education before transitioning to English. However, this policy was never effectively implemented and, in 2014, an English-only policy was announced. This has resulted in renewed debate on which languages are suitable for use as mediums of instruction in the country. This article will discuss the Malawian language-in-education policy context with a focus on university education, and the prevailing attitudes which students and staff exhibit towards English. This will be done through an analysis of data collected from focal groups and interviews with students and staff in Malawian universities. Results show that while English is viewed positively and as suitable for use within universities it is not viewed uncritically and there are complex attitudes towards the language. English skills are viewed as a valuable resource; however, so too are multilingual language skills. Students and staff also display positive attitudes towards the use of a multilingual language policy in the university suggesting that the recent policy changes in Malawi do not reflect stakeholder attitudes.

中文翻译：

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马拉维大学对英语作为教学语言的态度

摘要 自殖民时期以来，马拉维的语言教育政策经历了多次变化。1996 年宣布了一项政策指令，鼓励在过渡到英语之前的早期教育阶段使用母语。然而，这项政策从未得到有效实施，2014 年，宣布了一项仅限英语的政策。这导致了关于哪些语言适合在该国用作教学媒介的新辩论。本文将讨论马拉维语言教育政策背景，重点是大学教育，以及学生和教职员工对英语的普遍态度。这将通过分析从焦点小组收集的数据以及对马拉维大学学生和教职员工的访谈来完成。结果表明，虽然英语被积极地看待并且适合在大学内使用，但并不是不加批判地看待英语，并且对该语言存在复杂的态度。英语技能被视为宝贵的资源；然而，多语种语言技能也是如此。学生和教职员工也对在大学使用多语言政策表现出积极的态度，这表明马拉维最近的政策变化并未反映利益相关者的态度。