Translating the Academy – What does it mean to decolonize teaching and learning?

This paper asks what role language can play in de-alienating the academy for students in South Africa in particular. The presenter argues that the core issue of this process is decolonization not just of the content of what... [ view full abstract ]

This paper asks what role language can play in de-alienating the academy for students in South Africa in particular. The presenter argues that the core issue of this process is decolonization not just of the content of what is taught, but also of the mode of delivery; moving from the more powerful to the less powerful dimensions of communication and literacy on the scale proposed by Hornberger (2004). The paper describes and discusses the language diversification project utilizing different modes and different language varieties, which the presenter and her research partner introduced into one particular module taught at third year level in the Department of Linguistics, University of the Western Cape. 

In support of the normal classroom lectures offered in English, students could also draw on translations of these lectures in formal as well as informal varieties of the two languages used by the majority of the student population, viz. Afrikaans and isiXhosa. These translations were made available on the university's student online platform both as powerpoint slides (reading) and podcasts (listening). A further development has been the inclusion of multilingual forms of assessment for this module. Data to determine the effects of this approach was collected through questionnaires and written assignments submitted by the students.

This paper critically assesses the impact of this ongoing project on both students and lecturers. The theoretical framework adopted for this paper is a critical interpretation of (i) decoloniality, (ii) missionary linguistics and the effect of standardized languages on literacy development, and (iii) the continua of biliteracy model designed by Hornberger.