Stellenbosch University Language Centre

Tag: academic literacies

Appreciation for a dear colleague who is retiring

Ydalene Coetsee, a stalwart academic and professional literacies lecturer at the Language Centre, is retiring at the end of 2023 after 14 years of teaching.

Academic literacies modules are presented to support students to bridge the gap between school and university, and these credit-bearing modules are tailor-made in response to the unique needs of each SU faculty. Ydalene was particularly involved in teaching students in the extended curriculum programme for sciences, and focused on engineering students. She gave priceless support to students who were finding their feet in a new and demanding academic environment.

We will miss you dearly, Ydalene! A colleague shared the following little ode to Ydalene at her farewell:

Ode aan Ydalene
Jy is vir my sag, vol geloof, vrede en humor,
Jy sien altyd die blinkkant as die lewe knor.
Mag jou toekoms skitter en blink,
En mag daar vrede, geluk en baie seelug vir jou wink.

(Ode to Ydalene
To me you are gentle, and filled with faith, peace and humour,
You always see something positive when life is hard.
May your future sparkle and glow,
And may peace, happiness and fresh sea air be with you always.)

We also had a chat with Ydalene to find out what she’ll remember about us and what she’ll do without us 😉. Read on for the interview.

What did you study and why did you start working at the Language Centre?
After finishing a master’s in translation studies, I thought I would be happy working from home, translating books for Struik Publishing House. However, I missed teaching so much that I started contract teaching for the Language Centre and later applied for a permanent position. That was in 2010, and I have loved teaching here since then. I originally facilitated lectures in different faculties (Law, Science, EMS) but later only for Engineering and Theology. The Theology classes were small and there were two kinds: residential and part-time or working students. I am so glad I was never too old to upskill and learn new things.

What changes did you experience at the Language Centre, and did you instigate some change yourself?
In my subject field (academic literacies) the biggest change was from presenting stand-alone modules to collaborating closely with colleagues from faculties to present modules. I would also like to think that I helped create a more supportive environment in the Language Centre.

Could you tell us more about the students and colleagues you’ve been working with? What did you enjoy most?
I preferred supporting students in the extended curriculum programmes because I felt I could make a real difference there. Feedback that sets my heart aglow is when a student or colleague tells me that I have made a difference in their lives. I have learnt a lot from both colleagues and students.

If you could teach first years only one thing, what would it be?
My passion is clear communication and I am still actively working on it. Students writing in their second or third language need different interventions and lots of patience. I do know how difficult it is to learn a new language and I love supporting students on their journey to become multilingual.

Would you like to share an ‘aha’ moment in class or a funny story?
What I remember best is the mistakes I have made, for instance coming to the realisation that my values were not adequately visible to students. So, I now try harder to show my respect for all people.

The funniest times were the excuses for not attending class or submitting assignments. My favourite for missing a test:

M’am, I had to go to Worcester yesterday because I had to fetch a mongoose from a service provider there. See, my girlfriend had a snake in her flat and this was the only way we could get rid of it.”

Most of the language jokes I tried telling all these years were only understood by one or two students (the first-language speakers) in the class. Then I had to explain the joke, and the further I got with the explanation the sillier I felt. I also had some embarrassing moments with technology not working as required. Then I was always very grateful that students would help me.

Tell us about the things you’re looking forward to – what will you do once you’ve retired?
Perhaps I will continue doing what I love doing (helping students to communicate clearly) in other environments. I would also like to walk in the mountains more and visit with friends more frequently and longer without feeling guilty. My grandchildren can expect lots of cuddles and my youngest son and I plan to walk the Machu Picchu Inca trail in 2024. My husband of 42 years and I love taking road trips and there are still places we have not experienced, so we have places to go and people to see!

I wish the Language Centre and my colleagues all the best for the future. Remember: Life is language.”

Also read what Ydalene says about her favourite books here.

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What’s happening on the research front at the Language Centre?

Stellenbosch University (SU) aims to be Africa’s leading research-intensive University, and here at the SU Language Centre we produce knowledge of, in and for Africa.

The Language Centre has a robust cohort of researchers, and just like staff from academic departments, we do research on various topics within our field to generate new knowledge. “We publish our research as journal articles, chapters in books and research reports, and present our findings at conferences,” explains Dr Rose Richards, head of the SU Language Centre’s Writing Lab and Research.

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We perform different types of behind-the-scenes research ‘service’ work – for example, examining theses and dissertations, supervising postgraduate students’ research, and reviewing submissions for a wide range of academic journals.”

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Rose also serves on one of SU’s Health Research Ethics Committees (HREC 1) — they can review over 40 proposals in one meeting and in their last one, they reviewed 49!

Here are some of our research interests at the Language Centre. Feel free to get in touch with our researchers to learn more about our latest research.

  • What is the future of South African Sign Language interpreting? (Contact Dr Kim Wallmach at kimwallmach@sun.ac.za)
  • Why does Afrikaans need its own readability formulae? (Contact Prof Carel Jansen at c.j.m.jansen@rug.nl or Susan Lotz at slotz@sun.ac.za)
  • Why do South African universities need academic literacy testing? (Contact Dr Kabelo Sebolai at ksebolai@sun.ac.za)
  • What is it like doing educational interpreting at a South African university? (Contact Dr Carmen Brewis at carmenb@sun.ac.za)
  • What are the key measures for ensuring quality translation products? (Contact Dr Alta van Rensburg at avrens@sun.ac.za)
  • What are the trends in South African academic literacies? (Contact Faika Haroun at faika@sun.ac.za and Fiona Stanford at fcm@sun.ac.za)
  • What type of blended learning works best for teaching Afrikaans? (Contact Dr Vernita Beukes at vernita@sun.ac.za)
  • How have South African writing centres developed to serve a uniquely South African demographic? (Contact Dr Rose Richards at rr2@sun.ac.za)
  • How can health literacy combat social ills? (For instance, fotonovelas can help people to fight crystal meth addiction.) (Contact Prof Carel Jansen at c.j.m.jansen@rug.nl and Dr Burt Davis at burt@sun.ac.za)

– by Dr Rose Richards and Sanet de Jager

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Ten hacks for expanding your vocabulary

Your active vocabulary – the words you use – and the way you communicate may increase or decrease the extent of your influence and your chances of success. Here are ten ways to learn more words and be more successful in life.  

Learn more words in your mother language:   

1. Eat a dictionary. Yeah, that was a joke. But you could read one!  

2. Be strategic about increasing your vocabulary and expanding your language ability. It will not happen by itself.  

3. Talk to older people. They may have a huge active vocab. Learn from them.   

4. Watch series and listen to podcasts. Take note of words you don’t yet use and write them down. Look them up. Take the plunge and start using them!   

5. Use the privilege of reading: on the internet, newspapers, magazines and books. Start with topics that you like; it will work better for you and you’ll be more likely to continue reading.  

 6. Be curious about words. Look up those you don’t know and try to use them. Always guess prefixes and suffixes and then check. Play word games.   

7. Be confident when you try out a new word. People will correct you if you get it wrong, but don’t get discouraged or intimidated. Next time you’ll use it correctly!  

Learn more words in another language:   

8. Expose yourself to a multilingual context. Go for diversity!  

9. Talk to somebody without using any English. Try to make yourself clear.  

10. Use all your resources: mother language speakers, technology, old-fashioned flash cards, our Language Learning Hub, discussion groups, movies with subtitles, and audiobooks or podcasts when you are commuting or even doing the dishes. Focus on topics that interest you and you’ll enjoy it more.  

– by Ydalene Coetsee

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Phakama for academic literacy

This year, lecturers from the Language Centre, Chemistry and Computer Skills launched a brand new and exciting collaboration project. They joined forces to give extra dimension to the Language Centre’s academic literacy module, Scientific Communication Skills 146, as well as to modules in Chemistry and Computer Skills for students in extended degree programmes in Science, AgriSciences and Engineering.

Students in these modules were given the assignment that they had been appointed by a fictitious government commission to form part of a scientific advisory team that had to investigate and report on a range of relevant topics related to chemistry. The students had to do research in groups and submit a written argument for or against the specific topic. Subsequently the groups had to make their research available to the public by means of five-minute videos in which they communicated their arguments.

The outcomes of this project were the application of reading and writing skills in the context of science in society in general and in South Africa in particular, the development of the ability to choose relevant sources when compiling logical arguments in support of or against a certain issue and, ultimately, to investigate new ways of communicating knowledge to a larger audience.

What made this project even more unique was that students were part of the decision-making process throughout. Right at the beginning, students were given the opportunity to vote for a name for the project. The word ‘phakama’, which means ‘rise up’ in isiXhosa, was chosen as the name. Students were then given the opportunity to identify their own research topics and eventually the students themselves voted for the top video. Topics ranged from nuclear power, genetic modification to adding fluoride to drinking water, a topic which the winning team has explored. The team consisted of Temika Moodley, Jade Opperman, Alliance Sambo and Lukhanye Swapi. Please click here to watch their video.

Students found the project to be innovative and relevant. “The Phakama Project showed me that academics can be both exciting and fun,” was the feedback from one of the students.

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