The Language Working Group recently hosted a two-day Pan South African Language Board (Panslab) Multilingual Pedagogies Workshop for CPUT staff and students at the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre.
This workshop served the purpose of this year’s annual institutional Language Indaba. The Institutional Language Coordinator at Fundani CHED, Dr Kabelo Sebolai, who welcomed the guests said the workshop was part of the effort to implement CPUT’s policy of multilingualism. “It was aimed at both students and lecturers who are involved in teaching. The decision to run the workshop was informed by a recognition that content lecturers and student tutors are not experts in using language to teach content in a multilingual context such as that of CPUT,” Sebolai noted.
He said the policy could not be implemented effectively in the learning and teaching space “if this kind of training is not provided”.
In her opening remarks, Dr Xena Cupido, Director: Fundani CHED, said: “As we gather to explore the critical importance of multilingual pedagogies in ensuring access to higher education, I am excited about the enriching discussions ahead. In a country as diverse as South Africa, language is more than a tool for communication – it is a bridge that connects us to knowledge, understanding, and inclusivity. Multilingual pedagogies, therefore, are key to making higher education accessible and equitable for all our students, honouring their cultural and linguistic identities.”
Cupido also welcomed the two guest speakers, who facilitated the workshop. Those were: Tholakele Nkwanyana, a lecturer in Language Education: Multilingual Pedagogies at North-West University (NWU). The PhD candidate’s research focuses on the intellectualisation of African languages in higher education. She is also an isiZulu Commissioner for the African Union: Academy of Languages.
Meanwhile, Prof Rosemary Wildsmith-Cromarty is an Applied Linguist and Professor Emeritus at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Wildsmith-Cromarty is currently coordinating research on multilingual pedagogies at NWU. She has served on provincial and national language bodies for isiZulu and English respectively and is on the Editorial Board for Language Teaching: Surveys and Studies.
The topics that were discussed on day one ranged from Introduction to Language Policy and Planning, Language History and Portraits, Multilingualism and Translanguaging.
Day two started with a recap from day one followed by discussions on Deconstructing Concepts, Building Resources - examples from lecturers, and then Creating tools for multilingual pedagogies by Nkwanyana and Wildsmith-Cromarty.
Sebolai was impressed by the debate resulting from the controversial nature of language policies. “The event was a success indeed. Everybody, including the facilitators, felt that the event was a success. The post-workshop evaluation bears testimony to this.”
Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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