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UFS language policy commits to multilingualism

10 August 2022 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo iStock

Translanguaging — Several presenters presented their themes during the translanguaging virtual session. The seminar sought to improve participants' awareness of using more than one language in lecture rooms across the institution, particularly for tutoring and academics.

Language continues to be a barrier to access and success for many students at South African higher education institutions. Despite their status as official languages, indigenous languages have in the past and at present, structurally not been afforded the official space to function as academic and scientific languages.

Language policy for higher education seeks to address the challenge of the underdevelopment and underutilisation of official African languages at higher education institutions whilst simultaneously sustaining the standard and utilisation of languages that are already developed.

The University of the Free State (UFS) Centre for Teaching and Learning hosted a multilingualism virtual seminar on 20 July 2022 that aimed to broaden an understanding of utilising more than one language within lecture rooms across the university, specifically for tutoring and academics. The following speakers presented various topics at the seminar:

• Professor Leketi Makalela, Wits University ( Translanguaging, decoloniality and epistemic (in)justice in education)

• Letsela Motaung, UFS ( Translanguaging as a pedagogical practice to resuscitate indigenous languages at a South African institution)

• Dr Tolani Hlongwa, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) ( Development of Bilingual Tutoring Training Programme: The Importance of Understanding Translanguaging)

• Monnapula Molefe, UFS ( Translanguaging pedagogies in higher education: moving from informal to formal settings)

• Dr Lehlohonolo Motake, Central University of Technology (CUT) ( Transforming learning with translanguaging in multilingual settings)

Prof Makalela stated that the foundation of sustainable growth is excellent education, but the issue is, are we any closer to what one considers quality education? “You can’t, in my opinion. How can we know if you don’t examine epistemic difficulties at this level?” he further enlightened.

Linguists believe that the practice of “translanguaging” can aid in learning, and the word has recently gained popularity in literature on bilingual and multilingual education with various universities incorporating these changes in their policies and to ensure that it’s all-inclusive as indicated by Dr Tolani Hlongwa. She further explained that languages are tools to navigate better understanding, whilst English should be used as a tool to communicate, not to measure intelligence.

What is the UFS’ role in addressing this?

The university’s language policy expresses its commitment to multilingualism, with particular emphasis on Sesotho, Afrikaans, and isiZulu. This policy ensures that language is not a barrier to equity of access, opportunity, and success in academic programmes or to access to the UFS administration.

The UFS also developed an Academy for Multilingualism. This academy hosts the Multilingual Mokete, a popular annual tradition celebrating different cultural expressions in visual art, poetry, storytelling, drama, music, and songs by different language groups and in the different languages that are dominant at the UFS (i.e. English, Afrikaans, Sesotho, isiZulu, and Sign Language.

In partnership with the University of Cape Town (UCT) and UKZN, the UFS will also conduct a Multilingualism Education Project colloquium on the new language policy framework for South African public higher education institutions on 28-29 September 2022. This language policy used in the new policy framework for public higher education institutions as well as its impacts will be examined in this virtual seminar. This is also an opportunity for diverse stakeholders to contribute suggestions on how to improve the existing status of language policy.

News Archive

New violinist for Odeion String Quartet

2013-02-06

Samson Diamond
06 February 2013

The Odeion String Quartet has a new member, a young accomplished violinist with a string of awards to his name. Samson Diamond, who won the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Music in 2010, has joined the quartet. He is the first male member the quartet has had for about five years. The Soweto-born violinist replaced Denise Sutton, former leader and first violinist. He will lead the quartet, a flagship of the university and the only resident string quartet at a South African university. The other three members are Sharon de Kock (violin), Jeanne-Louise Moolman (viola) and Anmari van der Westhuizen (cello).

Twenty-eight year old Diamond, a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK, says he is looking forward to working with students from the Odeion School of Music. “I am sure there are many talented students here.”

The musician, who obtained both his Bachelor of Music Honours degree and his Masters of Music Performance degree with distinction, will be based in Bloemfontein on a full time basis. As a member of the quartet, he will be giving concerts, coaching chamber music for the various chamber ensembles and will also give individual lessons to some of the violin students at the School.

Diamond, who started playing the violin at age ten, boast a long list of achievements. At age 12, he was leader of the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble, one of the country's prominent youth projects. He was a founding member of the jazz classical band Quattro Fusion and former leader of the Diamond quartet. He has performed before many distinguished guests, including Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh and former presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki.

Diamond says being the first male member in years will not bring about a change in the quartet He says it is about the standard of playing and the calibre of music.

“Music is music whether you work with men or women.”

Diamond’s first performance as member of the quartet will be on 21 February 2013. Details about the performance will be communicated later.

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