WSU DEPARTMENT OF INITIAL PRIMARY TEACHER EDUCATION HOSTS A TRANSLANGUAGING COLLOQUIUM EVENT

The WSU Department of Initial Primary Teacher Education within the Faculty of Education hosted a successful translanguaging colloquium at the Mthatha Health Resource Center recently.  

The practice of leveraging multiple languages to facilitate learning was showcased as a powerful tool for promoting linguistic diversity and inclusivity in the classroom. The event organisers brought together educators, scholars, researchers, and policymakers to give insight on the role of translanguaging in the future of education. 

Superintendent General of Education, Dr Naledi Mbude-Mehana who is also a multilingual science education specialist and language in education specialist in the Department of Basic Education (DBE), said “this colloquium is very important to DBE because it starts the conversation about mother tongue-based bilingualism and translanguaging (MTbBE), which are key dependents of learning outcomes for children”. 

 The event highlighted the importance of embracing linguistic diversity in education, particularly in the African context, where multilingualism is a rich resource that can be leveraged to enhance learning outcomes and promote cultural understanding. By exploring innovative approaches to teaching and learning, participants were able to engage with the latest research and trends in translanguaging and MTbBE. 

“I am hoping that this conversation will not only be confined to the initial primary teacher system, the department that invited us, but become a topic throughout the University of WSU and other universities,” she said.  

Mbude-Mehana also applauded WSU for being the first university to hold a conversation of this kind.  

DBE Consultant and organisational transformation specialist, Xhatilomzi Mhlubulwana, said: “If we are to transform or reform the education system, one of the key areas we are to look at is language transformation, and we see translanguaging as one of the vehicles or methodologies that is designed to help us in terms of making sure that we create an impact and we make a change in the system.”  

The colloquium provided a platform for participants to share insights, best practices, and research findings on the implementation of MTbBE and translanguaging pedagogies.  

DBE Chief Arts Education Specialist, Dr Sello Galane shared the Language Transformation Policy Implementation and said: “In the rights to education section, 29B says everyone has a right to basic education and a right to understand basic and further education and training in a language of their choice.” 

Dr Naledi Mbude-Mehana concluded by saying we should understand the real cause of failure of our students: it is language.  

By Amahle Haseni