Negotiating Neoliberal Language Policies for Multilingualism: Epistemic Agency of Teachers and Students at a Chinese Language School in Macau

Abstract

ABSTRACT Under neoliberal logic, language policies often frame languages as commodities with material returns but downplay their epistemic potentials. This study investigates how teachers and students at a Chinese language school in Macau interpreted and appropriated such neoliberal language policies. Analysis of the school's mission statements and curriculum design revealed the institutionalization of a “subtractive resource policy,” which prioritized Pinyin as an expedient path to Mandarin proficiency and relegated Chinese characters to an optional status. Drawing on the concepts of neoliberal versus epistemic agency, this research uncovers a nuanced spectrum of stakeholder appropriation. While some participants initially exhibited neoliberal agency by aligning their learning with a pragmatic, Pinyin‐centric approach, the majority demonstrated growing epistemic awareness. This awareness led to the exercise of epistemic agency, enabling participants to resist the policy's subtractive effect by pursuing a deeper and more complete understanding of the language through character literacy. The study argues that this individual and collective agency serves as a grassroots effort to transform a market‐driven policy into a more equitable and holistic educational experience. It contributes to the literature by demonstrating how neoliberal policies can create a hierarchy of knowledge and how local stakeholders can become powerful agents in fostering epistemic diversity and inclusion.

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