The study assessed the classroom culture of language teachers of the Collegiate Department of the Mindanao State University - Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography with the aim of institutionalizing ambitious teaching in the classrooms. Ambitious teaching is defined as not only understanding where your students are coming from, but also holding very high expectations of them. It is to engage children in not only building foundational skills but also building problem-solving skills and higher-order thinking skills. Fourteen language teachers self-evaluated their respective classroom culture using the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument for Classrooms (OCAI-C). This was cross-validated by the 185 students enrolled in their English classes using the same questionnaire. The OCAI-C categorizes the classroom focus into 6 dimensions namely dominant characteristics, teacher’s attention, classroom management, classroom glue, strategic emphasis, and criteria for success. Each dimension was evaluated in terms of 4 classroom culture classifications which are building relationships, continuous improvement, high expectations, and a stable environment. The results show that the Mindanao State University - Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography (MSU-TCTO) language teachers were more focused on building relationships, which suggested that their classroom affinity was more on developing mutual trust, care, and sense of belongingness, support, and respect. The MSU-TCTO classroom culture was more focused on developing foundational skills. Nevertheless, there was evidence that language classes had already ventured beyond building relationships. Thus, institutionalizing Ambitious Teaching in English classes is attainable, but it entails persistent reshaping of the teacher’s focus to set high learning expectations.