In this paper, we examine selected literature on classroom-based research to understand
how students and teachers (re)negotiate the language of interaction in a mathematics
classroom when the official medium of instruction is different from the students’
dominant language. We identify the tensions and dilemmas associated with the
implementation of language-in-education policy in selected postcolonial Anglophone
countries where English is used as a medium of instruction at various stages of formal
schooling. We also examine the pedagogical implications of these tensions and dilemmas,
paying particular attention to emerging issues of code-switching, translation and ‘safe’ use
of language.