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Why South African universities have a duty to develop multilingualism

20 September 2023 | Story Prof Francis Petersen | Photo Kaleidoscope

VC Prof Petersen — Prof Francis Petersen is Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Free State.

Opinion article by Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Free State.

In the South African higher education landscape, there has for several years now been a comprehensive and very welcome emphasis on decolonising the curriculum, with tertiary institutions systematically and deliberately including indigenous knowledge systems in their teaching and learning ambits and incorporating views and comments from individuals and communities that have been excluded or marginalised in the past. But what is often overlooked is the necessity to also incorporate local indigenous languages. These should, in fact, form an integral part of the decolonisation process, as they not only promote inclusivity, but also facilitate more effective teaching and learning. Heritage Month is the perfect opportunity for us as institutions of higher learning to take stock, and to critically evaluate what we are doing to introduce and promote multilingualism on our campuses, and to develop the use of indigenous languages in the academic and scientific spheres, says Prof Francis Petersen.

When it comes to language diversity, South Africa is a global frontrunner. Only Zimbabwe, India, and Bolivia have more official languages. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent amendment of the Constitution to introduce Sign Language as South Africa’s twelfth official language emphasises the government’s commitment to cultivating a multilingual society. Section 29 of the South African Constitution stipulates that everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of his/her choice in public educational institutions, where such education is reasonably practicable. Regrettably, the reasonably practicable stipulation is often used as an excuse by many learning institutions to focus on English only, since there is still a widespread lack of learning resources in indigenous African languages. The recent Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions states that: “It is apparent that there has been little progress made in exploring and exploiting the potential of African languages in facilitating access and success in higher education institutions.” This serves as an indictment against the entire higher education sector. I believe it is our duty as institutions of higher learning to not only create, develop, and implement indigenous language resources, but to come up with innovative policies and strategies to actively advance multilingualism on our campuses.

Necessity of a multilingual approach

Language continues to be a barrier to access and success for many students at South African higher education institutions whose proficiency in English simply does not match that of their mother tongue. Research has shown that language proficiency and the pursuit of knowledge are closely intertwined. Ultimately, languages are tools to navigate better understanding.

There is a renewed emphasis at many institutions of higher learning – including here at the University of the Free State (UFS) – to have research that addresses the needs and challenges experienced in the communities that surround us, as well as in the wider global environment. An essential component of this is how the knowledge we produce are communicated to and taken up by the global scientific community, but also by the ordinary citizens whose lives it aims to impact. The important role that language plays in this cannot be denied.

Against this backdrop, it is essential that African universities re-intellectualise African languages to contribute meaningfully to the knowledge community – using technology and innovation in our efforts to do so. Indigenous languages may be afforded the status of official languages, yet they have clearly not been adequately developed or utilised as academic and scientific languages.

Multilingualism practices promote inclusion

Apart from the fact that multilingualism helps to remove teaching and learning barriers, as well as to facilitate better communication, understanding, and uptake of the knowledge we produce, linguistic variety also serves a very important role in ensuring inclusion and a sense of belonging on our campuses. This, in turn, works towards generating the social cohesion that we cherish so deeply on our campuses. By implementing multilingualism practices, we embrace diversity in academic and social spaces, foster a positive attitude towards linguistic diversity, and nurture students’ pride in their native languages.

An encouraging example of this is the Philippolis Public Speaking Competition, which the UFS has been hosting for learners from small Southern Free State towns for several years now. Each year the participants are invited to share their thoughts on a heritage-related topic and are encouraged to do so in their mother tongue – which in this area is mainly Sesotho, Afrikaans, Setswana, and isiXhosa. The feedback from schools is that the confidence and pride this initiative has sparked in young mother tongue speakers has led to a renewed interest in and appreciation of their heritage.

Ways of introducing multilingualism in higher learning pedagogies

But how do we introduce multilingualism at universities when an overwhelming portion of learning material and references are written in English? An important departure point can be to create multilingual academic glossaries, forming the bedrock for further language development. When it comes to developing multilingual strategies, it is furthermore vital that, instead of just implementing a few random initiatives, higher learning institutions have a systematic, integrated approach across faculties, campuses, and knowledge spheres.

At the University of the Free State, our Language Policy expresses the university’s commitment to multilingualism, with particular emphasis on Sesotho, Afrikaans, and isiZulu – the languages spoken by a significant part of the student population. We want to create a language-rich environment, ensuring that language is not a barrier to equity of access, opportunity, and success in academic programmes – or to accessing the UFS administration. A direct outflow of this is the Academy for Multilingualism, which was established with the express purpose of promoting indigenous languages on institutional and social levels through various academic and community-based projects and initiatives. Among the academy’s successful strategies are the production of PhD abstract translations, providing multilingual voice-overs for digital lessons, and training personnel in teaching within multilingual classrooms.

Introducing innovative translanguaging practices

One of the most promising focus areas is the facilitation of translanguage tutorial sessions in various faculties. Translanguaging is a pedagogical practice where one receives input in one language and gives output through the medium of another language in order to maximise learning and to promote full understanding of the subject matter. It also serves the important function of developing what speakers perceive to be their ‘weaker’ language. In a university context, this would entail that lectures are presented in English, while students get a chance to discuss the subject matter and ask or answer questions in tutorial groups, using another language in which they feel more or equally comfortable. This results in the dynamic and fluid use of multiple languages in teaching, learning, and communication within lecture rooms.

The value of these practices is not only in expanding cultural horizons and students’ exposure to different languages – it, in fact, also promotes better understanding and knowledge retention. In a monolingual teaching situation, it is for instance very possible for students to answer questions or complete assignments without full understanding, because processing for meaning may not have actually occurred. Sections from textbooks can merely be copied or adapted, without reflecting solid comprehension. This is, however, less prevalent with translanguaging, because reading a topic in one language and then discussing it in another requires the subject matter to be processed and digested first.

Internationalisation and developing indigenous languages

It is important to note that the development of indigenous languages should never be at the expense of expanding students’ proficiency in English as the language of instruction. English is undoubtedly the primary language of modern international scientific communication, with an estimated 98% of all scientific publications written in this language. For all academic purposes, plus to facilitate effective international collaboration, it remains essential that students are well versed in English. At the UFS, indigenous language initiatives dovetail with programmes that develop English writing and language skills. By creating a truly multilingual environment in this way, we equip students for the demands of diverse working environments – both locally and abroad.

The importance attached globally to multilingualism is abundantly clear. One of the ways in which this is reflected, is the fact that the United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the decade from 2022 to 2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

As South African institutions of higher learning, we should latch on to and support this important global drive – and in the process, promote both academic success and inclusivity by implementing innovative multilingual strategies.

News Archive

During 2011: Achievements at the UFS

2011-12-01

Sarah Shannon

Dr Alex Amtaika, Department of Political Science

During a conference at Khon Kaen University in Thailand, Dr Alexius Amtaika from our Department of Political Science was elected as Executive Director and Convener of the International Committee of Scholars of Local Government. This honour was bestowed upon Dr Alexius during the first International Conference on Local Government at Khon Kaen University.

Sarah Shannon

We all have heard stories about inspirational people, who defy the odds, fight circumstance every day and never give up. Sarah Shannon has cerebral palsy but has never stopped dreaming and achieving them.

Sarah is also a competitive swimmer, and is currently ranked seventh in the world in her class of disabilities.

She is currently completing her postgraduate certificate in Education, Foundation Phrase, through Unisa. She is also studying Sociology at our university.

DW Bester and Sannah Mokone, Rhodes Scholars

Of the four open Rhodes Scholarships available to students from all universities in Southern Africa, two of our students won these prestigious scholarships. DW Bester, B.Sc. Hons. Actuarial Science student, and Sannah Mokone, BPub-cum laude student, joined Oxford University in the United Kingdom in September 2011 to further their studies.

The Rhodes Scholarships, arguably one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world, were founded in 1903 in the will of Cecil John Rhodes and cover the full costs of study at Oxford University.

While academic excellence is a pre-condition for consideration for the Rhodes Scholarship, these scholarships are unique in that Rhodes Scholars are outstanding young students who excel academically, but very importantly, demonstrate leadership, are committed to making a difference in the world, and have the energy to fulfill their ambitions.

Dr Derik Coetzee, Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences

When you suddenly receive a call during a World Cup year and requested to come and assist in leading the Springboks, then you have to know, you have something to offer. This is what happened to Dr Derik Coetzee from our Department of Exercise and Sports Sciences. This year he once again became involved in the Springbok rugby team, after he had been die Bokke’s conditioning trainer from 2004 to 2007.

His primary task as conditioning head was to help in seeing to it that the Springboks reached their best level of play – psychologically, physically an emotionally. Amongst others, his duties included the optimisation of the players’ muscle and explosive power, speed, anaerobic ability and technical skills.

Jefferson J Dirks-Korkee en Mart Kotzé

Jefferson J Dirks-Korkee, from Willowmore in the Eastern Cape, and Mart Kotzé from Bloemfontein, recently made history by being the first students from our Department of Drama and Theatre Arts featuring in an Afrikaans South African film Skoonheid, the first ever to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival.

The movie won the Queer Palm Award at the 2011 Cannes International Film Festival, where Robert de Niro was the chairperson of the panel of judges.

Prof. Muriel Meiring, Department of Haematology and Cell Biology

Prof. Muriel Meiring, Specialist Scientist in our Department of Haematology and Cell Biology, is responsible for establishing the Specialised Haemostasis Laboratory at our university and the Universitas Hospital’s National Health Laboratory Service. She established this centre as a reference centre for Von Willebrand disease, a genetic bleeding disorder, in South Africa. This laboratory is internationally recognised for their research and as a reference laboratory.

Prof. Meiring develops and tests antithrombotic (anti-clotting) agents and her long list of publications, research awards and congress presentations has earned her a nomination for the Department of Science and Technology’s Distinguished Woman Scientist Award. She was one of two scientists of the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) to receive the award – Prof. Meiring being the only woman from our university.

Medical facilities from all over the country make use of her and her team’s expertise when testing for blood disorders and she hopes to expand the centre even further.

Melinda Jonker

Melinda Jonker, one of our third-year financial economic students, won the overall national competition of the prestigious Traders Trophy competition at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

The competition, sponsored by Nedbank Capital and Oxyor in Amsterdam, requires participants to trade actual JSE-listed shares against one another on a simulated platform. The winner is determined not only by the highest profit, but also by the technique used throughout the trading session.

Christopher Diab, also a student from our Department of Economics, won the regional UFS competition.

ASSAf members

Seven of our academic colleagues have been elected as members of the Academy for Science of South Africa (ASSAf). They are Proff. Hendrik Swart, Physics; André Roodt, Chemistry; Zakkie Pretorius, Plant Sciences; Max Finkelstein, Mathematics; James du Preez, Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology; Maryke Labuschagne, Plant Breeding; and Neil Roos from our Postgraduate School.

Due main objective of the Academy is to promote and apply scientific thought in the service of the society, in order to determine the quality and scope of the role that the Academy can plays in the country’s life and progress, and eventually apply it

Other colleagues who are currently members of ASSAf include Proff. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector; Johan Henning, Dean: Faculty of Law; and Frans Swanepoel, Senior Director: Research Development.

Samantha Renda-Dollman

Samantha Renda-Dollman, a BSc (Zoology) student on our Qwaqwa Campus, has obtained 19 distinctions out of the 22 modules she has written since 2009.

Her hard work earned Samantha the prestigious Dux Student award of our 2011 Annual Student Affairs Excellence Awards, held at our Qwaqwa Campus. This makes her the best overall academic performer of the entire student body on this campus.

Jaco Griessel

Jaco Griessel, an Honours student at our Odeion School for Music, received a prestigious Mandela Rhodes bursary for 2012 to study towards his Master’s degree next year.

Jaco, who is currently busy with his BMus Honours degree, is a performer par excellence, with many achievements to his name. In 2010, he received the Fanie Beetge Prize for the best undergraduate student in Systematic Music Studies. A year before, he received the same prize as best undergraduate student in Historic Music Studies. He shall continue his Master’s degree with Music Composition as field of specialisation at our university in 2012.

Prof. Helena van Zyl, UFS School of Management

Prof. Helena van Zyl, Director of the UFS Business School, was elected as President of the South African Association of Business Schools (SABSA). Since the beginning of 2010 she has been acting as president. Prof. Van Zyl is the first woman to occupy this position and also the first woman who is currently heading a business school in South Africa. She will serve SABSA as the president for the next two years.

Prof. Zakkie Pretorius, Department of Plant Sciences

Research by Prof. Zakkie Pretorius from our Department of Plant Sciences, has become part of Phase II of a mayor global project to combat deadly strains of a wheat pathogen that poses a threat to global food security.

Prof. Pretorius focuses on the identification of resistance in wheat to the stem rust disease and will assist breeders and geneticists in the accurate phenotyping of international breeding lines and mapping populations. In addition, Prof. Pretorius will support scientists from Africa with critical skills development through training programmes.

The Ug99 strain was discovered in Kenya in 1998, but are now also threatening major wheat-growing areas of Southern and Eastern Africa, the Central Asian Republics, the Caucasus, the Indian subcontinent, South America, Australia and North America.

Prof. Danie Strauss, research fellow in the Faculty of Humanities

Prof. Danie Strauss, a research fellow in our Faculty of the Humanities, won the Dooyeweerd Prize from the Board of the Association for Reformational Philosophies in Amsterdam. Prof. Strauss, former Dean of our Faculty of the Humanities and head of our Department of Philosophy, won the prize for his book Philosophy: Discipline of the Disciplines. The prize is awarded for work in the field of systematic philosophy.

Nida Jooste and Ryan Lamb, Abe Bailey Travel Bursary holders

Nida Jooste and Ryan Lamb are two of the proud recipients of Abe Bailey Travel Bursaries. Both students are academic achievers, but also excel in other fields. This is what set them apart from the rest of the applicants for the bursaries.

Ryan (23), a Medical Physics Honours student at our Faculty of Health Sciences, received the Senate’s Medal for the best Bachelor’s Degree student at the UFS. He was one of 100 students at the Brightest Young Minds Summit this year and was one of the 2008 delegates to the World Youth Forum, hosted by the International Association for Poetry and Solidarity in Italy.

Nida (21) is a very familiar face on our Bloemfontein Campus, as she served as the Deputy Chairperson of our Interim Student Council in 2011.

Loerie Award for Tarran Jacobs, Elizabeth Forson and Mafohlela Mahlatsi

The creativity of a group of students from our university was rewarded with a bronze Loerie Award after they won an internal competition. Tarran Jacobs, Elizabeth Forson and Mafohlela Mahlatsi, all third-year Marketing Communication students, won the award for an advertisement they designed for Cansa.

Each year, the third-year Marketing Communication students of our Department of Communication Science have the opportunity to flex their creative muscles in the Copy-writing class. The challenge is to design two advertisements for any charity organisation by applying the knowledge they gained from the subject in a practical way. The top three groups are then entered for the Loerie and Pendoring awards – two of the most prestigious awards in the South African advertising industry.

The top three groups designed advertisements for Cansa, the South African Blood Service and Crime Line.

Hendrik Kruger and Anke Malan walk away with awards at Pfizer UKZN Young Health Scientists Research Symposium

Two students in our Faculty of Health Sciences won awards at a Pfizer UKZN Young Health Scientists Research Symposium.

Hendrik Kruger, a medical student, represented his group, which won the clinical category with the paper “Injury patterns of occupants surviving motor vehicle accidents in the Free State”. This presentation was based on a study which is the first of its kind in South Africa.

The group with Anke Malan from our Department of Nutrition and Dietetics as presenter received the prize in the community-based category with the presentation ’Knowledge, practices and perceptions of undergraduate students at the UFS regarding the risk factors of osteoporoses’. Anke’s team was also nominated as the overall winner of the symposium. Presentations were delivered in three categories, namely clinical, community-based and laboratory research.

Prof. Louis Scott, Department of Plant Sciences

Prof. Louis Scott from our Department of Plant Sciences was formally rewarded the Fellowship of Royal Society of South Africa (RSSA).

Prof. Scott is an internationally recognised Palinologist at our university and a B-rated scientist.

Fellows of the RSSA are considered to be part of a very elite group of South African scientists who have achieved international acknowledgment.

Prof. Aldo Stroebel, International Academic Programmes in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Prof. Aldo Stroebel has been elected as a Founding Member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS).

He is Associate Professor in our Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension, as well as the Director of International Academic Programmes in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor.

The Young Academy has as its objectives to represent young scientists in advising the government on science and technology policy and human resource development. In addition, they will prepare the SAYAS to join the Global Young Academy (GYA) to engage with high-level international bodies, including the World Economic Forum.

Prof. Lodewyk Kock, Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology

Prof. Lodewyk Kock was a sought-after keynote speaker at various conferences and seminars around the globe on our nanotechnology breakthrough research.

He delivered keynote lectures at international conferences of repute in the USA, China and Greece. In the USA he delivered a the keynote address at the Conference & Exhibition on Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs (Pharma-2011), held in Baltimore, and was a keynote speaker at the 2nd World Congress on Biotechnology in Philadelphia. He was also invited to present various lectures abroad.

He posted two video lectures in e-conference format on his research on the web page of the journal Translational Biomedicine. He was also invited by the International Society of Translational Medicine (ISTM) to head their “Molecular Imaging” Division.

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