Portuguese is the mother tongue for many Angolans yet a majority continue to use African languages in everyday interactions and schools struggle to provide equal educational opportunities for students whose first language is not Portuguese. Recognizing this challenge, the Angolan government has created a language policy that will introduce six African languages into the school system. For a country that has maintained a monolingual education system for over 32 years, the new policy is perhaps a milestone achievement. This study examines the historical and ideological processes that gave rise to new medium of instruction policies in Angola. Then, interview data collected from policymakers, educators, and students are examined to illuminate how these language policies are interpreted and appropriated in schools and communities. We argue that, while recent language policies create ideological spaces for multilingual education, the hegemonic status of Portuguese, and the growing influence of English, are formidable obstacles.