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Multilingualism at the UFS reaches remarkable milestones

15 June 2021 | Story Dr Cindé Greyling

Drummers entertained the Mokete crowds throughout the day.

During the past eight months, the University of the Free State Academy for Multilingualism has reached remarkable milestones. The Academy for Multilingualism was born from the UFS Language Policy (2016) and was approved by Senate in November 2020.

Letting languages grow

Multilingualism at the UFS entails the use of English as the primary medium of instruction, with Afrikaans, Sesotho, and isiZulu used selectively in tutorials to support the achievement of greater levels of academic literacy and understanding of the epistemology of the discipline, mostly among undergraduate students. “Accordingly, the academy’s drivers are to develop Sesotho and Isizulu as academic languages, encourage multilingualism in teaching and learning and as a social asset, and to develop English as a language of instruction,” says Dr Peet van Aardt, Custodian of the Academy for Multilingualism.

Developing Sesotho and Isizulu as academic languages

Academic word lists from seven departments are in the process of being translated, in conjunction with the Unit of Lexicography, to create glossaries. The team at South African Sign Languages will add videos to these glossaries to provide unique and inclusive content in the realm of multilingualism.

In April 2021, the academy – in collaboration with the TK Mopeli Library on the Qwaqwa Campus – hosted the launch of an English and Sesotho book on the campus. This work, Meriana ya Dimela tsa Basotho Medicinal Plants, was authored by Prof Rodney Moffett, honorary Research Fellow on the Qwaqwa Campus.

Multilingualism in teaching and learning

To assist students in overcoming the language barrier caused by English as medium of instruction, the academy is working with the Centre for Teaching and Learning’s A_STEP programme to pilot the use of translanguaging in tutor sessions. It is currently done in Law and Geography on the Bloemfontein Campus, and in Academic Literacy on the Qwaqwa Campus.

Voice-over translations of English lessons in the Faculties of Theology and Religion into Afrikaans and Sesotho paved the way for the academy to proceed with this practice in other subjects. They have been able to start with the Departments of Political Studies and Governance (Afrikaans, Sesotho, isiZulu) and Criminology (Sesotho).

English as a language of instruction

The university’s Academic Literacy and Language Development (ALLD) unit has also launched their English Academic Literacy courses for the Faculties of Law, Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Education, the Humanities, Health Sciences, and Economic and Management Sciences.

UFS staff will also be trained in teaching and translanguaging practices. Thus far, one lecturer has been nominated to track her use of translanguaging in the Academic Literacy classroom on the Qwaqwa Campus.

Multilingualism as a social asset

The fourth annual iCAN (Initiative for Creative African Narratives) was launched in April 2021. This project motivates students from all three campuses to write short stories in their mother tongue, and at the end of the year an anthology of stories will be published. In addition, some of the English stories will be injected into the English Academic Literacy courses for first-year students in order to localise the curriculum.

The Kovsies Multilingual Mokete will be hosted online this year and will include activities from the Bloemfontein, Qwaqwa, and South Campuses. The theme of this year’s festival is ‘Hearing you, hearing me’, ‘Ukungizwe, ukukuzwa’ (isiZulu), ‘Ons luister na mekaar’ (Afrikaans), and ‘Mmamele ke o mamele’ (Sesotho).

Academy for Multilingualism extending its footprint

A building that will house the academy on the Qwaqwa Campus is currently being built next to the new media lab. The building will comprise, among others, a 100-seater multipurpose lecture hall that can be converted into four smaller lecture halls. Similarly, a building for the academy is being constructed on the Bloemfontein Campus.

“The Academy for Multilingualism wants to ensure that the UFS becomes the South African leader in multilingualism, and at the impressive rate that they are delivering outputs, this goal will be reached soon,” says Dr Van Aardt.

News Archive

UFS awards honorary doctorate to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

2011-01-01

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

The University of the Free State (UFS) will reach a milestone in its history today when an honorary degree, the Doctor of Theology, will be conferred on Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

At the same event Archbishop Tutu will launch the university’s International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice.

The idea of the establishment of such an institute originated after the Reitz incident in 2008. In 2009, during his official inauguration, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, embodied this idea when he stated that the university would be an example of a place where reconciliation, forgiveness and social justice would not only be studied, but where it would also be applied in practice. “Students and scholars from across the world will come to the UFS to study the theory and practice about the building of societies across the boundaries of race, as well as religion, gender, disabilities and national origin,” Prof. Jansen said.

“The institute is a critical intellectual space where engaged scholarship, public discussion, community engagement and contextually relevant teaching are innovatively harnessed towards exploring and finding solutions to the complex and challenging work of social transformation in South Africa,” says Mr John Samuel, Interim Director of the institute. Mr Samuel was the former Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

According to Mr Samuel, the institute seeks to establish itself as a premier international site for research on race, reconciliation and social justice. “We want to link the manifestations of race in higher education, to the related matters of reconciliation and social justice in the South African context against the backdrop of racial and ethnic conflicts elsewhere in the world,” says Mr Samuel.

The institute will, amongst others, publish groundbreaking research, organise national and international conferences about reconciliation and social justice, as well as contribute to the establishment of national and international networks that are actively involved in matters relating to race, reconciliation and social justice. Through its research, the institute will endeavour to understand the challenges facing the UFS better, as well as how to address these challenges. For this reason, the concept of the UFS as a “live laboratory” and the use of evidence-based practice remain important for the university.

By honouring Dr Tutu, the UFS recognises the contribution that Dr Tutu has made in the field of Theology through his teachings and the books he has written. However, the UFS is not only honouring him as a moral and religious leader who has maintained his integrity as a Christian. “We honour a great son of South Africa who has made a huge contribution to peace, reconciliation and justice in South Africa and in the world,” says Prof. Jansen.

The unveiling of the new corporative brand of the UFS will render further lustre to the day.

Media Release
17 January 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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