Abstract
In postcolonial African higher education, standard language ideology regulates academic access through rigid hierarchies that marginalise local linguistic realities. This study examined the tension between Standard English (SE) and Liberian English (LE) at William V. S. Tubman University, where students navigate a persistent linguistic duality. While LE serves as the primary medium for reasoning and interaction, institutional norms continue to frame it through a deficit lens rather than as a pedagogical resource. Using a qualitatively driven mixed-methods approach, the research triangulates lived classroom experiences with institutional data. Evidence was generated through semi-structured interviews with lecturers (n=6), focus group discussions with undergraduates (n=18), nine classroom observations, and an analysis of pass rates in foundational English modules. Findings reveal a significant policy-practice gap: although SE is the mandated medium of instruction, LE dominates classroom discourse through routine code-mixing and limited instructor modelling of academic SE. Students display a dual linguistic consciousness, affirming LE as central to identity while conflating it with SE for academic purposes. This misalignment, termed the 'equivalence trap', contributes to persistently low pass rates below 40 per cent, highlighting a structural mismatch between monolithic assessment and multilingual repertoires. The study argues that underperformance reflects post-conflict disruptions to SE exposure rather than inherent linguistic deficiency. It calls for a shift toward a scaffolded, justice-oriented pedagogy that treats translanguaging as a strategic bridge in post-conflict higher education.