Stellenbosch University Language Centre

Tag: student life

Celebrating women in Women’s month: Faika’s trip to Tarragona in Spain

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Faika at the BIP

Faika Haroun, an Academic and Professional Literacies lecturer at the Language Centre, had the privilege of visiting the Roviira i Virgili University (URV) from 9 to 13 December last year. This Spanish public university has its faculty of law and humanities at the Catalunya campus in Tarragona. URV is also part of the International Network of Universities (INU), a global collaboration that includes Stellenbosch University (SU).

Lidia du Plessis from Stellenbosch International (SUI) introduced Faika to the INU, and SUI funded her trip, while the URV provided accommodation in Tarragona. In celebration of Women’s month, we chatted to Faika to hear more about the trip.

“I was welcomed by Rebeca Tómas Smith, director of the international office at the URV. She had arranged for my visit to coincide with the blended intensive programme (BIP) on internationalisation at home, in which I participated and where I had the opportunity to present. This programme guides students and staff to become interculturally competent. In addition to the BIP, I attended the Inclusive Comprehensive Internationalisation Conference. This conference featured presentations by both lecturers and students, who shared their international experiences. During the breakaway sessions, I was introduced to collaborative online international learning (COIL), a teaching methodology that facilitates collaboration with international and local partners.

I must mention that I established a meaningful connection with Marina Vives i Cabré, one of the organisers of and presenters at of the BIP.  From our first meeting, we discovered that we shared many interests and experiences, both personally and professionally.

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Presenting at the BIP

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BIP participants

Tarragona is rich in culture and history. One afternoon, the BIP participants were shown around the city. We visited many of the Roman and medieval sites in the city, and stopped at the lookout point which is referred to as the gateway to the Mediterranean. When the locals visit there, they say they are ‘touching iron’, because of the iron railing.

This experience was invaluable in establishing international relationships for future collaboration. It also gave me insight into how intercultural competency is addressed internationally. A key difference between Europe and South Africa is that, in European institutions, intercultural competency is often viewed as internationalisation, whereas at Stellenbosch University we view intercultural competency as being able to communicate across various cultures within the borders of South Africa.”

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Touching iron

A key difference between Europe and South Africa is that, in European institutions, intercultural competency is often viewed as internationalisation, whereas at Stellenbosch University we view intercultural competency as being able to communicate across various cultures within the borders of South Africa.”

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Exploring Tarragona

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Roman theatre

Interested in what exactly Academic and Professional Literacies are? Read more here.

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– by Faika Haroun

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Language Day 2025

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About Language Day  

Language Day is hosted every two years at Stellenbosch University (SU). It is an opportunity for SU staff and students to learn from each other and to engage with our different experiences of language, and how language plays out in practice in academic and social settings. We explore how language shapes campus culture and supports student success, both at university and for the world of work. 

Language plays a fundamental role in shaping how students experience university life. From the moment they register to the day they graduate and enter the world of work, students encounter a range of linguistic challenges and opportunities that influence their academic, personal and professional lives. Perspectives that foreground language can therefore open up meaningful discussions about meaning-making, students’ sense of being and belonging, the nature and authorship of knowledge, and who defines who belongs and whose knowledge counts (Antia & Dyers, 2019: 91). These considerations also raise important questions around campus culture and ways in which the institution can support learning.   

As SU staff and students, we acknowledge that we live in a multilingual society on a multilingual continent. We know that a multilingual mindset equips our students to tap into a broader and more diverse knowledge base, to engage with society in a way that speaks to the heart, not just the mind, to be dynamic professionals, able to better demonstrate problem-solving, listening and interpersonal skills; and to be well-rounded individuals who can make informed decisions that take more than just their own thinking into consideration. We also know that multilingual competences are needed for African and global citizenship and employability, especially for an institution which is increasingly conscious of its duty to society as an African university.  

At the same time, multilingualism—while celebrated for its cognitive, cultural, and social benefits in a diverse and interconnected world—is facing new challenges as globalisation accelerates the dominance of English, particularly in higher education, scholarly communication and the workplace.  

This year, we focus on the following theme: “How does language play out in the SU student’s journey from registration to graduation?”   

We examine the influence of language on a number of themes that impact the SU student’s journey from registration to graduation and the world of work. The idea is to have open, conversations about real practices on campus, in class and in social and living spaces. The conference theme will be unpacked in the form of two panel discussions, followed by group discussions and plenary feedback. 

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How does language play out in the SU student’s journey from registration to graduation?”

Panel 1: Inclusion, engagement and belonging for student success 

 

The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasises how we are different rather than how we are similar.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (cited in the SU Monitors report, 2025) 

Breakaway discussions in groups will respond to the panel topic with a focus on one of the following: 

Focus 1: Academic spaces 

Focus 2: Social and living spaces 

Panel 2: Multilingual competences and global citizenship for the world of work 

 

Multilingualism is increasingly recognised as a crucial global graduate attribute which equips individuals with the capacity to navigate a diverse and interconnected world, contributing to employability and success in the workplace.  

Breakaway discussions in groups will respond to the panel topic with a focus on one of the following:  

Focus 1: Multilingualism for engaged local and global citizenship 

Focus 2: Language in/for the professions – what is the University’s role? 

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Panel presentations may be delivered in English, Afrikaans or isiXhosa.  

Programme
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Conference format  
  • Two interactive panel discussions, each followed by a group session and a plenary feedback session.  
  • Groups at the various tables will be kept small to encourage discussion (no more than 10 participants per table).   Participants will be encouraged to focus on specific themes to encourage engaged participation rather than broad and vague discussions.  
  • The group discussions will be anchored with a facilitator and scribe.  The outputs from each breakaway session will be shared separately. Panel members will then engage in further discussion based on the group feedback.  

 

Invitees 

There will be approximately 100 invitees including formal invitees and some open invitations for SU staff and students.  

  

List of sources 

Antia, B.E., Dyers, C. 2019. De-alienating the academy: Multilingual teaching as decolonial pedagogy, Linguistics and Education, Volume 51, (pp. 91-100). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2019.04.007 

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