Strategically positioning African languages in the development of students’ academic literacies

Abstract

Concerns are frequently raised about most students’ ability to handle academic discourse in the dominant language of teaching and  learning, namely English. This is arguably a result of the fact that the majority of first-year students entering universities are largely  African language speakers. However, literature on academic literacies shows that while the language issue is critical, there is also a need  for students to be initiated into their academic disciplines to appropriate disciplinary conventions and knowledge. This article explores  the role of African languages in the development of students’ academic literacies in South African higher education. The article argues  that African languages have the potential for individual meaning and academic knowledge construction in higher education. The article  posits that the academic literacies model is employed in advancing the view that literacy is a set of social practices that deal with the  construction of meaning from the perspective of student identities, power and relationships in institutional discourse. Consequently, it is  important for institutions of higher learning to reconsider the role of African languages in the curriculum and traditional pedagogical  practices to facilitate effective academic literacy development.