Rest assured that the revision of the NWU’s language policy is still one of our greatest priorities and that the process is progressing well.
In this more comprehensive article we will address two matters in depth. The first one is the reasoning behind the planning principles and the second is how the faculties will use these planning principles to compile their own plans to implement the language policy.
Just a reminder: For the purposes of this article, we focus on the provision of the language in the teaching-learning arena (which includes the language of instruction, and languages that add value to the curriculum) – in other words, the languages that are going to be used, and added to our teaching in classrooms.
Boundaries and road signs
Let’s start with the circumstances that influenced the planning principles.
“There were internal and external factors that informed these principles,” says Prof Robert Balfour, deputy vice-chancellor for teaching and learning and chairperson of the Language Policy and Plan Task Team.
“Internally our strategy, unitary structure and Statute – which states that the NWU is a multilingual university – guided us.
“Externally we are governed by a regulatory environment. In this environment bodies such as the Council on Higher Education and the different statutory and professional bodies have certain demands that have a direct bearing on the accreditation of our academic programmes.
“What’s more, the new revised draft Language Policy for Higher Education states very clearly that African languages must be developed as languages of instruction. All universities must plan for the promotion of these languages – given the education and transformatory imperatives in education, this is no longer an option.
Why do we need planning principles?
“The NWU is a unitary institution, and thus its approach to languages supported, and developed by the university, in the area of teaching-learning, must similarly be unitary, while we acknowledge the very real differences in region and demography of our campuses. The approved planning principles thus guide the faculties to compile their own language policy implementation plans that given expression to the University Multilingual Language Policy.
“The reason for involving the faculties is that a one-size-fits-all solution won’t work, especially if we are serious about providing students with choices on the one hand, and developing African languages, on the other hand,” says Robert.
Furthermore, circumstances (legislative, statutory, regional, and market) differ in each faculty, for each programme and even on each campus where a faculty offers a specific programme. Faculties themselves are best equipped to deal with these varying circumstances precisely because academic programmes are developed, implemented and quality assured at this level.
They know their programmes, their students, the needs of industry and also what resources – such as staff and budgets – are available to them. The Senate, however, must also exercise academic oversight to ensure that each Faculty develops and gives expression to the Policy commitment concerning multilingualism.
Faculties also know the requirements of the statutory or professional bodies that are responsible for the accreditation of their qualifications. They realise, for example, that the exams of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) are written in English and that their students must therefore be empowered to do that.
Be language savvy for the workplace
In the case of a faculty such as Humanities, the guideline for using specific languages might be the working environment in which graduates might eventually find themselves.
Communication students taking a BA may, for instance, opt for employment at an Afrikaans newspaper, while others may choose an English newspaper. The language competencies developed for that market, must thus be sufficiently well developed and supported.
In cases such as these, the language of instruction might differ – for instance Afrikaans to allow for training Afrikaans journalists, and English to train English journalists. In these cases, there may be differences between campuses as some degree programmes cater for different language markets.
“In the end, we are committed to multilingualism to open access to as many deserving students as possible, and to see to it that these students are successful,” says Robert.
