Topic: Mainstreaming Multilingualism in Curriculum Design in Higher Education: Sharing experiences, practices, and progress on enacting the South African Language Policy Framework
Date: 25 March 2024
Time: 11:00-13:00 SAST
Audience: Academic Developers and Academic Staff
Registration Link: Click Here
Among the main purposes of the New South African Language Policy Framework for public higher education institutions (DHET, 2020) are to contribute to transformation and provide a framework for the development and strengthening of indigenous languages. It sets out the guidelines for Higher Education (HE) to develop plans and policies towards multilingualism and promoting indigenous languages in learning and teaching, research, and other key operations. The framework compels universities to develop and integrate meaningfully the use of indigenous languages into the curriculum to achieve its purpose. However, universities’ failure and/or limited attempts to develop indigenous languages for learning and teaching and the continued privileging of English present an ongoing barrier to access, social inclusion and success. Implementation and realisation of the purpose of the Language Policy Framework (DHET, 2020) are slow and not prioritised and consequently, the transformation of HE is uncertain. For it to work universities should intentionally develop and integrate multilingualism into the curriculum and allocate appropriate resources to capacitate all stakeholders to implement the guidelines meaningfully.
This seminar presents an opportunity to interrogate HE’s response to promoting multilingualism and more specifically African languages to enhance access and social inclusion and enhance learning experiences. It aims to:
- Develop a shared understanding of multilingualism pedagogy as an approach to facilitate access and inclusion for enhanced learning experience.
- Share contextually relevant approaches to infusing multilingualism.
- Reflect on the progress in enacting the New Language Policy Framework in South African Higher Education (DHET, 2020).
