Ubuntu translanguaging: An alternative framework for complex multilingual encounters

Ethnolinguistic Vitality, Identity and Power: Investment in SLA

“…A related challenge is that much of this extensive research has been conducted in countries in the Global North, where, with some exceptions (see Olko et al, 2020), minority language groups are frequently migrants in majority language communities. In the Global South, in contrast, communities are generally multilingual (Makalela, 2016; Pennycook & Makoni, 2019), and local language groups often seek access to more powerful international languages, such as English, French, or Portuguese (Shoba & Chimbutane, 2013). Since the vitality framework is concerned with the central question, “is a linguistic community likely to thrive in intergroup settings?” a set of related questions can be asked: What is the role of international languages for multilingual groups in the Global South?…”

Language learning and teaching in South African primary schools

“…Heugh (2015, p. 281) problematises the various meanings of bilingual/multilingual education, pointing out that there appear to be ‘mismatches’ between policies and practices borrowed from northern contexts and the multilingual realities of southern contexts. The tension arises from perceptions of languages as ‘bounded entities’ which is considered a northern perspective (Makoni & Pennycook, 2007; Makoe & McKinney, 2014), and the more fluid, flexible use of languages in African multilingual settings (Makalela, 2015, 2016). The latter perspective speaks to the provision, in the LiEP, for both vertical and horizontal understandings of multilingualism.…”

“…The perception of language as pure and bounded (Makoni & Pennycook, 2007; Makoe & McKinney, 2014; Makalela, 2015, 2016) is what influences teachers’ sometimes guilty attitudes towards their use of code-switching in the classroom (Probyn, 2009), while at the same time preventing them from putting their learners’ multilingual repertoires to productive use in the classroom. The latter would open up affordances for new multilingual pedagogies which may well be more appropriate in South African classrooms, as they engage learners linguistically, emotionally and cognitively (Makalela, 2015, 2016).…”

“…It also affects how the learning of additional languages is understood and interpreted, especially in an environment where multiple languages are used, and because of the interactions that are possible among the languages and the processes involved in learning them (Cenoz & Genesee, 1998). This may include not only code-switching from one language to another, but also drawing simultaneously on several languages in order to communicate effectively in a given context – a phenomenon that is more common in the South African context (Heugh, 2015; Makalela, 2015, 2016; Probyn, 2015). This type of functional multilingualism has been termed ‘multicompetence’ by Cook and Wei (2016) who also question whether assessing a person's language proficiency according to a monolingual, purist norm is relevant in this context (see also Makoni & Pennycook, 2007; Garcia & Wei, 2014; Makoe & McKinney, 2014).…”

“…This type of functional multilingualism has been termed ‘multicompetence’ by Cook and Wei (2016) who also question whether assessing a person's language proficiency according to a monolingual, purist norm is relevant in this context (see also Makoni & Pennycook, 2007; Garcia & Wei, 2014; Makoe & McKinney, 2014). In South Africa, the process of acquiring and using several languages (or parts of several languages) simultaneously has only recently become a focus for research (Makalela, 2015, 2016; Probyn, 2015; Heugh, 2015) with increasing investigation into multiple language use in educational settings for epistemic access. The term ‘additional language learning’ thus needs to be examined against this complex linguistic tapestry and in terms of the language-in-education policies over time.…”