The Language Working Group, together with the Institutional Language Unit, will be launching the first ever multilingual touchscreen directory on the Bellville Campus.

The directory was designed and developed by iPoint, a company which specialises in developing touchscreen directories for shopping malls across South Africa.
“The touchscreen earmarked for the engineering building appears to have the same features as those one would find in malls but offers much more than just directions,” says Theodore Rodrigues, the Acting Institutional Language Co-ordinator at CPUT.

This device promotes multilingualism by allowing end-users to engage with the device in their home language from its welcome screen.

Rodrigues adds that after the end-user decided on a preferred language, they are now enabled to continue their search in that language. In addition, the device also acts as a ‘language teacher’ by providing users with equivalents of certain words in various languages.  This intelligent device currently provides service in the following languages: Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa, isiZulu and Sesotho.

“To fully embrace the concept of inclusivity within a multilingual context other languages are also considered for the future,” says Rodrigues.
“The possibilities of such an innovation are endless, and its launch should be celebrated as a step in the right direction to promote the human linguistic rights of all South Africans.”

The procurement of the directory is part of a multilingual signage project which aims to have signage on all of the university’s campuses translated into the province’s official languages. This launch will take place from 12h00 on the 29th of September.

Written by Kwanele Butana
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.