Education policy always appears to be controversial, especially in post-colonial nations. In Vanuatu, the dual educative system inherited from the period of colonization has raised many debates. The government of Vanuatu is certainly aware of national educational issues in the school system such as the poor literacy rate and high school fees but finding solutions in a complex multilingual context is difficult. As a sovereign state Vanuatu not only has to articulate its own linguistic problems while dealing with a complex linguistic colonial heritage, but needs to pay specific attention to donors since the country is still economically dependent. As in many others states, Vanuatu has to simultaneously deal with local issues and global interests. Through the example of Vanuatu's national education policy, this article shows how global pressures and national linguistic ideologies can influence decisions made in a postcolonial state.

During the last few years, mobile phones and social networks have deeply changed relationships and, insidiously, the use and representations of languages in Vanuatu. In spite of being very recent, it seems that new ways of communication imply changes regarding the various ways of using and adapting languages, amongst which are code-switching and language-shifting. Bislama, the national local lingua franca, is becoming more and more used in phone conversations. Internet and especially social networks (such as Facebook) are revealing new language strategies in social intercourses. This article examines interactions of languages that are mediated through social networks and mobile phone exchanges. More specifically, this paper discusses different language ideologies that are manifest in and deployed over forms of telecommunication.