Whose language is it anyway? Students’ sense of belonging and role of English for Higher Education in the multilingual, South African context

The current decolonial commitments in Higher Education necessitate a need to deepen our understanding of the relationship between English as Medium Instruction (EMI) and students’ sense belonging, their identity, epistemological access. This article investigates how EMI influences personal academic identities well belonging higher education space. Using student focus groups, this study is exploratory nature informed by voices undergraduate postgraduate Humanities students at South African university Free State. responses were mixed, but there was general consensus that although does have place can contribute it also has an adverse effect on identity; use indigenous languages provides them with greater A differentiated approach multilingualism possible way forward. Keywords: medium instruction, education, access,