When language use doesn't see eye to eye: Language practices of teachers and students in a Philippine comprehensive university

Driven by the need to codify a language policy framework in a university setting, a researcher-made instrument, which was primarily aimed at describing language practices, was fielded to a group of 1014 students and 107 teachers representing various academic fields via the Blackboard (Bb) system in one of the comprehensive universities at the capital of the Philippines. Through the use of descriptive and inferential statistics, study results indicate that across the four macro skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing, a slight difference in the use of the English (x = 2.21) and Filipino (x = 1.50) language, was noted among university student respondents while a preference for the use of the Filipino language was observed among the teacher respondents. Results of t-test for independent sample showed that marked significant differences (p < .05) exist in the extent to which the English and Filipino language are used as communication means across the four skills areas with the student respondents showing extensive use of the English language. By and large, results of this study can expectedly yield valuable inputs in crafting policy measures and mechanisms that spell out maximum effective use of bilingualism in certain tasks and situations.