Languages and literacies in the 21st Century

Languages and literacies in the 21st Century

23 January 2017 - Deborah Minors

Professor Leketi Makalela chairs a research programme on complex multilingual encounters, a growing field attracting increasing numbers of PhD candidates.

Makalela is the Head of the Division of Languages, Literacies and Literatures in the Wits School of Education. His research explores the interface between languages and literacies in the 21st Century. He is intrigued by the prospect of alternating languages of input and output to enhance identity construction and epistemic access for multilingual students.

His research challenges the validity of boundaries between languages and literacies and it ‘disrupts’ monolingual bias in classroom interactions and language policies. His research highlights the fact that monolingual bias is the root cause of high failure rates among multilingual learners and that it reproduces social inequalities.

In light of these theoretical limitations, he has developed a multilingual literacies framework that is based on the African value system of interdependence – ubuntu – to define complex multilingual encounters.

Using ubuntu ‘translanguaging’ to explain cultural competence that is embedded in the logic of incompletion (i.e., one language is incomplete without the other) and interdependence, Makalela argues that all global multilingual encounters are characterised by the constant disruption of language and literacy boundaries and the simultaneous recreation of new discursive ones.

This research shifts epistemological lenses from the North to the South and proposes practical methodologies that are anchored in the cultural competence of multilingual speakers for increased access to knowledge, ways of knowing, and identity formation/affirmation.

“I believe this is the most effective way to bring about transformed school practices in South Africa and other comparable contexts worldwide,” he says.

CALL FOR PAPERS: The Hub for Multilingual Education and Literacies in the Wits School of Education invites papers for the 4th International Conference on Language and Literacy Education. Email your 250-word abstract to matlakala.moagi@wits.ac.za by 31 March 2017.

Read more about research at Wits in Wits Research Matters

- See more at: http://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/research-news/2017/2017-01/languages-and-literacies-in-the-21st-century-.html#sthash.nxDMYZjy.yqnvKq1o.dpuf

Education in the new world order: Multilanguaging frontiers- I

I gave a public lecture at the University of Seychelles on the topic that preoccupies me as I ask the world: why do we use monolingual (aka. colonial) lens if we need to maximize human potential to know and to be. Several realities ring true and they are concerning:

1) Majority of the primary school readers are at least 3-4 years below their expected proficiency levels
2) There is a vast Matthew effect in reading development: the poor are getting poorer and it seems like a journey of no return.

Our new world order is that of discontinuous continuities where there is a constant disruption of orderliness and simultaneous recreation of new ones. Many more children learn to speak and succeed in more than one language and the vast majority would have proficiency in at least 3 by the time they are 6 years old (a threshold age for language acquisition). Our contemporary children do not have 'mother tongue'; they have a repertoire that contains many languages that 'leak into each other'. The boundaries cannot hold! Besides, these have always been artificial in many complex multilingual spaces such as South Africa. One needs to stress that these new generation of speakers make sense of the world in which they live and of who they are. There is no mental or identity confusion as the old stories imposed on natural human gift: multilingualism. In terms of use, I have termed this versatile way of using at least three languages in the same speech context  as multilanguaging. More articles are forthcoming to explain this phenomenon.

The questions are: Why do we still stick to monolingual norms when the majority of the world populations are multilinguaging? Why are textbooks written in one language when readers can speak more than the language of writing?  However way one looks at it, we seem not to tap into the full potential for human capacity. Even more, we frustrate the speakers and question the nature of their being. The real problem is our thinking that language is the tail end of our teaching instead of a means to learning. Once language teacher forego their focus on what languages look like to what speakers do with their languages, we will have reached a milestone in this journey for multilingual education and literacies---an age of multilanguaging.

Related sites:
 @leketimakalela
www.leketi.makalela.co.za

Readers of the Word and Leaders of the World: 5 years of Balang Foundation

               “How can we not lead when we read? We’ve been with Balang for 5 years”

There are many weekends in one calendar year, but the 17-19 July was a very special one to Balang Foundation and its bursars who converged at Bolivia Lodge, Polokwane in Limpopo Province to celebrate 5 years of success and to receive further induction as readers of the word and leaders of the world.  Beyond the fact that Balang Foundation was ablaze with rich stories of successful mentoring of young minds, the weekend was also a special one as it coincided with the celebration of the Mandela Day. Remembering the Mandela injunction that education should be the strongest weapon in the struggle for liberation, Balang stressed the importance of education despite that fact that the post Apartheid phase has seen a snail's progress and inevitably left so many children in weak positions to develop literacy and conquer their lives. 

The idea of writing as thinking was introduced to the learners who had to think deeply about their experiences in life. Throughout this journaling exercises- asked used as ‘catch up’ sessions, the kids became emotional as they were ‘pushed’ to confront themselves and to reflect on who they are- a tough exercise often avoided by many. The exercise provided them with a unique opportunity to use writing as a tool for emotional release. After an hour of writing, the learners were given a chance to share their writings to the group (writing for an audience) after  listening to model stories from the facilitators (modelling writing). 

One of the highlights of the weekend was the book receiving ceremony where a total of 100 books (new and used) were distributed to the grateful bursars. The idea was to cultivate a reading culture and to increase their power of leading through reading extensively. It was expected that the learners would pick up writing styles from established authors and that they would read and write on a daily basis. As in the past, the bursars were given lots of opportunities to write, in at least two languages of their choice, reflective pieces on how Balang changed their lives over the past 5 years. Here, translingual development is encouraged. 

 Feedback from some of the bursars (some translations):

“I don’t know where I would have been without Balang.”

“I feel confident and I have learned to be resilient.”

“Balang Foundation taught me how to manage my day.”

“It taught me how to read my books without struggle and to read for 15 minutes everyday.”

“That there is no holiday in reading; for me reading is to the mind what food is to the stomach.” (translated)

The theme of the interdependence between the word and the world was made explicit through an encouragement by Professor Leketi Makalela. In particular, it was made clear that to conquer the world, and to make sense of it and of oneself, one needs to be hungry for words, which ultimately bring the reader closer to the world. It is in the power of multilingual words that readers are able to transform the world. 

The workshop also made a special effort to ensure that the learners understood exactly who they are. Because it is difficult for many people to define themselves, a series of pictures were distributed to the learners to scaffold the naming of self. At the end of the workshop, the learners received their second bursary tranches to buy  school uniform or take school-based excursion trips. Overall, this was a stimulating workshop that pulled together the wisdom of 5 years of the Foundation Foundation and confirmed its future mission to invest in young readers and the power of words to transform lives and conquer the world. In this connection, Balang Foundation prides itself for turning reluctant readers into leaders through reading!

Leketi Makalela

September 2015

Moving out of linguistic boxes

I have made an argument elsewhere that the boundaries between languages have no space any longer in our modern classrooms. Linguistic boxing derives from the idea of nation states from the European Enlightenment period- a period that responded to the 'dark' ages or medieval period which was ruled by anarchy, which was largely caused by foreign invasions (Those of us who are students of English will remember this fact). Italy became the last to be freed from foreign lords. The ideology of one-ness (one language, one nation) was hatched out of this brutal historical past where a foreigner was perceived with scepticism and with a natural reaction for one to protect oneself by creating a boundary between the locals and foreigners. Because language is who we are, it became a yardstick to determine 'foreign-ness' and a tool to rally around for unity against the foreigner. Hence the development of sovereign states. To be fair, nation statism was effective in bringing Europe to light and to evolve into civilization/modernization phase. As linguists, we understand that the idea of development/civilization meant necessarily monolingualism as a norm or catalyst.

When official colonisation was started in 1848, monolingualism was a twin ideological strategy to 'civilize' the new colonies. One of the moves was thus to provide monolingualism in highly multilingual spaces (multilingualism/culturalism was perceived as backwardness). Necessarily, the European languages were used as tools for civilizing the natives. This move became clearer in the Berlin Convention of 1884 where most African countries were formally balkanized to avoid potential conflict between the colonizers. However monolingualism and nation statism did not work for Europe beyond the 20th century. I attribute the first world war and the second world war to extreme forms of nation statism. Indeed after the second world war, the colonies were freed so that the colonizing countries could not potentially fight again over the colonized land. It was also a freedom of movement from the point of view of the colonizing countries.  

What are the effects of decolonisation? Movement is possible and foreigners matter; especially with the US coming into power on the basis of immigration. Learning a foreign/second language became so important that approaches such as audio-lingual method (1950's) and Communicative approach (1970's) were entrenched.

We are now in the post-modern (nation-statism) era; globalization and movement have taken a toll to the extent that knowledge of more than one language is more prestigious than having the highest proficiency in one. Multilingualism is no longer an option, but a 21st century regime that all students and teachers should uphold for survival. Yet, our orthodox classrooms are still trapped in the one-ness ideology of one nation, one language, one classroom, one language under the false pretext that using more than one language creates mental confusion.  My research proves the contrary that using more than one language enhances epistemic access and provides a safe space for identity development. It is fuelled by an ancient African value system of Ubuntu: one language is incomplete without the other. One can download my latest article on ubuntu translanguaging at the following link:

http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/7XgE8VzNys3TdwePvcZG/full



Abstract:

This paper reports on an investigation into the efficacy of a teacher preparation

programme that introduced the teaching of African languages to speakers of other

African languages in order to produce multi-competent and multi-vocal teachers. A

mixed method approach was used to elicit from a pool of 60 (30 experimental;

30 control group) multilingual pre-service teachers the participants’ storied reflections

and their reading and vocabulary achievement scores. The results of the study show

that translanguaging techniques used in the experimental class afforded the

participants affective and social advantages as well as a deep understanding of the

 

content. Similarly, a paired t-test has shown a statistically significant differential

 

 

performance in favour of the experimental group after three months of a

translanguaging intervention programme. Using the translanguaging approach, and

comparing it to an ‘ubuntu’ lens of viewing the world from an amorphous and

continuous cultural space, I argue for development of a multilingual teaching

pedagogy that is premised on this worldview to advance theory and practices of

translanguaging as a teachable strategy. Future research possibilities are highlighted

and pedagogical implications for multilingual classrooms are considered for

adaptations in comparable contexts.

 

Translanguaging as a vehicle for epistemic access

Those of us who believe in the power of translanguaging practices for learning in multilingual classrooms can argue with confidence that this 21st century phenomenon is about ways of knowing that are plural, dynamic and fluid. I have shown that translanguaging is a useful model, when aligned with the ancient African value system of ubuntu, to challenge colonial and monolingual language practices that have pre-occupied the teaching profession  for centuries and put multilingual children at the risk of failure, cognitive disadvantage and identity crisis for the rest of their lives. 

Should we still believe that use of more than one language creates mental confusion? Are multilingual children and adult speakers confused? My answer is a resounding NO. Both proposition were based on exclusive, segregating societies that would not tolerate multiplicity (aka one-ness ideology as seen in their one language, one nation mantra). In my latest publication on this subject, I present two cases: one primary school bilingual readers of African languages and English and university students learning African languages. The results of the study showed superior  performance in reading literacy and positive schooling experience in both groups.  Thus, it is instructive to argue that ubuntu translanguaging practices- where one language is incomplete without the other- are a way for African multilingual return. Here's the abstract for this piece of research:  

Translanguaging as a vehicle for epistemic access: cases for reading comprehension and multilingual interactions

Leketi Makalela

Abstract

African multilingualism has always been construed from a monoglossic (i.e., one language at a time) lens despite the pretensions of plural language policies in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study reported in this paper explored the efficacy of alternating languages of input and output in the same lessons in order to offset linguistic fixity that is often experienced in monolingual classrooms. I present two case studies of translanguaging practices, one at an institution of higher learning and another in the intermediate phase (primary school). The results from these cases show that the use of more than one language by multilingual learners in classroom settings provides cognitive and social advantages for them. Using what I refer to as the ubuntu translanguaging model, I make a case that fuzziness and blurring of boundaries between languages in the translanguaging classes are (i) necessary and relevant features of the 21st century to enhance epistemic access for speakers in complex multilingual spaces, and that they are (ii) indexical to the pre-colonial African value system of ubuntu. Useful recommendations for classroom applications and further research are considered at the end of the paper. 

Do we still have a mother tongue?Fluid identities and languaging in multilingual settings

How do we reconstruct our linguistic identities in the 21st century?
One of the realizations  in the 21st century is that boundaries between languages can no longer be defended. As different from the Medieval period when there was a 'fear of the foreigner', the 21st century has created  discursive spaces where the 'child of the soil'  and the foreigner cohabit the same geographical spaces and blend their languages in very complex way that the very notion of a stable language itself is questionable. Indeed,  we begin to see more  practices that show overlaps between languages  world wide. 

In South Africa,  is a typical example of integrated multilingualism (although the enlightenment ideology of one-ness governs management of the languages and school policies). Multilingualism is enshrined in the Constitution that recognizes 11 official languages to ensure parity of esteem and redress past linguistic imbalances where African languages were reduced to low level 'tongues'. With the advent of  the new sociopolitical dispensation that started in 1994, however, the local communities have increasingly mixed in sharing spaces and languages. 

I carried out a research  which  shows that university students from Black townships refer to their home language as kasi-taal- a hybrid language form that draws from all of the South African official languages. In other words, they do not have a mother tongue or mother tongues because they acquired at least 6 languages before they were 7 years old. A hybrid form that draws from languages across the board is preferred to any of the individual official languages. To make the point about 'leaking boundaries' between languages, I use translanguaging to explain that fluidity, fuzziness  and versatility in language use have become naturalized. Because it is though language that one BECOMES a better entity of oneself, the speakers' identities are equally fluid. It is for this reason, I argue, that the Black township dwellers do not have a mother tongue; instead they are languaging. They have naturalized alternation of languages and use this fluid system to be who they choose to be and to make sense of the world. 

TO READ MORE ON THIS SUBJECT, see the article below: "Fluid identity construction in language contact zones: metacognitive reflections on Kasi-taal languaging practices"Alert me

DOI:

10.1080/13670050.2014.953774

Leketi Makalela^a*

Abstract

This study investigated how semi-urban, multi-ethnic and multilingual students in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, negotiate their new identities through languaging experiences. Metacognitive reflections of their recreated language spaces were collected through 20 written narratives, which were analysed using a universalist reductionist approach. The results of the study revealed highly complex identifying processes that mark fluid, multiple affiliations and mobile and creative negotiation of an identity matrix through a hybrid language form, Kasi-taal, which breaks boundaries and embeds linguistic systems that were traditionally treated as discrete units. Using a translanguaging framework, I argue that the languaging strategies articulated in the narratives can be valorised to offset the symbolic violence of monoglossic ideologies that are dominant in our classrooms. Recommendations for further studies on identity-building spaces in multilingual language contact zones as well as the logic of hybrid linguistic repertoires are highlighted at the end of the paper.

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LAW OF LEAST EFFORT cultivated at Balang PLUS Workshop

Balang Plus, which is an advanced version of the Balang Foundation's literacy programmes, held its first mentoring and coaching workshop for 10 high school learners who graduated from primary schools under the tutelage of the Foundation. The workshop was held on 12 and 13 September, 2014 at the MJ Gateway Lodge in Polokwane, Limpopo Province. The Plus side of Balang (Reading +) upholds Balang Foundation’s catalyst role as an active player in engineering social change through reading literacy. After three years of training and support, the bursars were fuming with confidence and ready to share their knowledge and habits into the communities where they lived. The high school learners were given additional two years of adjustment support with increased funding to buy new school uniform, purchase extra reading materials and receive coaching on life skills as teenagers. The workshop was facilitated by a team of nine literacy and life skills experts: Leketi Makalela, Mpho Seerane, Hendrica Malete, Albert and Boitumelo of the University of Limpopo’s performing Arts as well as four pre-service teachers from the University of the Witwatersrand: Nondumiso Zulu, Banele Zwane, Nozipho Sibanda and Melica Thewe. 

The bursars had been tasked with giving back to their communities through a “read-for-a-neigbour” programme and in doing so expanding Balang Foundation’s mission to promote reading literacy in the communities. This workshop session involved conversations around how the "read for a neighbor" programme went over 8 months, with each of the bursars narrating their experiences of literacy in their communities.

The evening of their arrival included writing sessions that involved brainstorming on how to be a responsible citizen- mainly around literacy. These writings were shared and discussed with the whole team of nineteen attendees as a basis for the coaching that dwelt on self-knowledge, self-management and self-efficacy.  In addition, the learners were asked to define who they are in an attempt to determine their self-awareness- something that is a proxy for growing within their remit of who they are. The bursars had shown growth and maturity as evidenced through the high level of discussions, presentations and questioning when compared to the first time they were awarded the Balang grants  in 2010. Some of the quotable quotes from their responses are:

“One has to be responsible for her/his  existence in an effective and efficient manner”- Shane

 “ One needs to live a purposeful life” - David

“ Being responsible means to pass at the end of the year—to make parents proud and to use one’s internal powers and perform better than one’s parents”- Desney

“To look after yourself- taking risks and stop playing a victim mentality. To  be better than yesterday by focusing on the positives”- Mogau

“To take action---repair; no excuses---telling the truth and watching one’s words- being the star of one’s life”- Sello.

“To give no excuses; star small and stop procrastination”- Lesedi.

“Doing anything you want to do…taking correct decisions and  being forward looking” –Brightness.

“To choose to feel or think the way you do. Protecting and nurturing your emotional well-being and managing time”- Mojalefa

Overall, the workshop was successful in raising awareness in the learners who all realized that they needed to focus on their strengths (what they have, not what they don't have) as understood from the principle of the “Law of least effort”. In other words, to find their purposes, meaning and who they are in relation to others and the world, they needed to focus on things they can do with ease (what comes more naturally to them, yet difficult or hard for people around them) to maximize their chances of success in life.  The Reading mission of Balang Foundation has turned their world around to be inquisitive and ask deep questions about themselves till it gets crystal clear: they are who they are! 

Report prepared by Leketi Makalela, Chairman of Balang Foundation