FRANCIS PETERSEN | Varsities need to develop multilingualism at campuses

When it comes to language diversity, SA 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 SA’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.

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. 

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. A

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.

Apart from the fact that multilingualism helps to remove teaching and learning barriers, as well as 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.

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.

But how do we introduce multilingualism at universities when an overwhelming portion of learning material and references are written in English?

At the UFS, 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.

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. This results in the dynamic and fluid use of multiple languages in teaching, learning and communication within lecture rooms.

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. At the UFS, indigenous language initiatives dovetail with programmes that develop English writing and language skills.

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.

• Petersen is vice-chancellor and principal of the University of the Free State