Universities urged to support the multilingualism study
Universities South Africa’s Community of Practice for the Teaching and Learning of African Languages (CoPAL) Chairperson, Professor Nobuhle Hlongwa, has urged public universities to support a vital multilingualism study currently underway. Professor Hlongwa is the Dean and Head of the School of Arts: College of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
The study is a benchmarking project commissioned by USAf’s Teaching and Learning Strategy Group (TLSG) to investigate the strategies, policies and procedures that universities use to support multilingualism, as well as the funding available to them. The TLSG is one of USAf’s strategy groups whose mandate is to advise the USAf Board on all matters about teaching and learning at public universities. CoPAL reports to the TLSG on the teaching and learning of African Languages and multilingualism as a teaching approach for enhanced learning and student success.
Rhodes University (RU) – as the host of the SARChI (South African Research Chairs Initiative) Chair on African Languages – is undertaking the study under the leadership of Professor Dion Nkomo (left), Associate Professor of African Language Studies at RU, and the current SARChI Chair for Intellectualisation of African Languages, Multilingualism and Education.
At the first sitting of CoPAL for 2025 on 20 March, Professor Nkomo explained that, in anticipation of receiving all responses by the end of April, he aims to complete the study in June this year – notwithstanding some delays experienced with obtaining the required authorisation from some public universities.
“We had requested gatekeepers’ permissions from different institutions as part of the application for ethical clearance. However, not all universities have authorised the study, despite the USAf Secretariat alerting all the Vice-Chancellors (VCs). The VCs, in turn, referred us to the relevant offices, but, in some cases, we have had no joy in getting the gatekeeper’s permission.”
He reported that the research had obtained ethical clearance from the Humanities Faculty Research Ethics Committee (HF-REC) of RU.
Nkomo added that although university lecturers can also participate in the study in their personal capacities, “We want a report representative and reflective of all the good work that our colleagues are doing at the different institutions.”
The CoPAL Deputy Chairperson, Professor Lolie Makhubu-Badenhorst from the University of Cape Town (UCT), questioned whether the data being sought was not already available, considering that “seven universities are already involved in another study on African Languages, and two others in a study conducted by UCT. There is a concern that academics teaching African indigenous languages are feeling over-researched. The faculty suggested sharing the data provided in some studies to avert pushback from individuals who feel that the information is duplicated.”
Nkomo responded that while there may be some overlaps between certain studies, the scope of the benchmarking study cannot be compared with that of other studies in the field. “For example, we examined the difference between this study and the audit previously undertaken by the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR). While the two complement each other, there is something unique about this study and the knowledge gap that it will fill.
“As universities, we will always be conducting research. This study is important. It will be a shame if we produce a report and some CoPAL members do not see their work reflected in it as examples of good practices that need to be supported and replicated,” Professor Nkomo stated.
Hlongwa echoed the importance of the benchmarking study. She urged universities to grant the necessary permissions, and the relevant staff to complete the questionnaires timeously.
Janine Greenleaf Walker is a contract writer for Universities South Africa.
