Each quarter, we submit content to be considered for the SU Management Report to Senate and Council. We thought we’d also share here what the Language Centre has been up to during the last quarter (from the beginning of May to the end of July)!
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1. A thriving Stellenbosch University
Promoting institutional multilingualism at SU
Stellenbosch University (SU) is committed to developing and maintaining Western Cape regional languages Afrikaans and isiXhosa as academic languages, and to give support to SASL. Promoting a multilingual mindset among students and staff forms part of the initiative to humanise the institutional culture at SU. Recent activities through the Language Centre during the reporting period are reported on below.
Interpreting into three languages available at new Chancellor’s installation
SASL, isiXhosa and Afrikaans interpreters at the installation of SU’s new Chancellor.
Interpreting into isiXhosa, Afrikaans and South African Sign Language (SASL) was provided by the Language Centre at the installation of SU’s new Chancellor on 20 June. Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, was formally installed as the institution’s 16th Chancellor, and has been serving in the position since January 2025. The installation ceremony took place at Endler Hall.
Interpreting at such high-profile events is an important element in welcoming a multilingual audience and acknowledging the worth of the languages used.
Say my name workshop
On 29 May 2025, the Language Centre successfully hosted the Say My Name workshop, attended by staff members from various departments/faculties. This engaging session aimed to create awareness around the importance of correct name pronunciation as a step towards mutual respect in multilingual spaces. Participants shared that the experience was enjoyable and meaningful, with lively interaction throughout. We hope that more staff will benefit from similar sessions in future.
Brand new Afrikaans Stylgids available to everyone at SU
The brand-new Afrikaans US Stylgids, aimed at SU staff and students, was released on 1 July and is available here. It is fitting for the Stylgids to be released in the year in which we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Afrikaans as an official SA language.
The Afrikaans Stylgids is intended as an accessible resource on Afrikaans language usage for the whole of the SU community and anyone else who chooses to use it. The guide aims to ensure that the language we use for the content and communication we provide on behalf of the University is consistent with the image of the University and consonant with our vision and identity as a university. The Stylgids therefore represents guidelines and house rules rather than a comprehensive set of universal grammar rules, and the preferences reflected in the guide are those of the institution.
Like its English counterpart, the SU Style Guide, the Afrikaans Stylgids was commissioned by the Corporate Communication and Marketing Division (CCMD) of the University and compiled by the SU Language Centre in a university-wide consultative process. The Stylgids is meant to be used in combination with the Brand Toolkit, which gives more guidance on the unified SU brand in terms of how we present the University visually and how we speak of it.
Exploring belonging through language: Staff workshop fosters connection and inclusion at SU
On 17 June, the Language Centre successfully hosted the first Zive usekhaya: Language and Belonging at Stellenbosch University workshop, attended by 15 staff members. This reflective session forms part of the Language Centre’s multilingual mindset series and offered participants a space to explore belonging, language, and identity through storytelling, discussion and beading. The workshop fostered connection, intercultural awareness and meaningful dialogue around inclusion in our multilingual campus culture. Similar workshops are lined up for students later this year to support their experiences of belonging at SU.
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2. A transformative student experience
SU Language Centre Writing Lab activities during the first semester
The Language Centre’s Writing Lab strives to create a safe, friendly and caring space which provides personal support to students from different faculties and campuses. Between January and May, just over 1 391 writing consultations were conducted. The Writing Lab consults during exam time and vacation periods, during which consultations are primarily with postgraduate writers. Consultations are conducted in-person at the Writing Lab, or online via MS Teams, which accommodates distance students and any other student at the venue of their choice.
During the reporting period, the Writing Lab has had ongoing writing consultation collaborations with the following groups:
Agricultural Economics 478 and 781
Economics 214
Curriculum Studies (Afrikaans Home language 1st and 4th year students) (Education)
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management
Political Science 114
Technical Communication Skills (Engineering)
Scientific Communication Skills (Science, in collaboration with the Language Centre)
MBA
Sustainable Development
Research Assignment 743 (Business Management).
In addition, the Writing Lab worked with lecturers and student writers who make contact independently.
Consultant training happens continuously throughout the year. During May, the Writing Lab collaborated with the Centre for Learning Technologies to explore the topic of artificial intelligence to help consultants to be prepared for consultations with students using AI in their writing. Consultants also study Writing Centre pedagogy and engage with the differences and similarities in various Writing Centres’ methodologies in terms of writing consultations. This sensitises consultants to the different needs of multilingual students from varying educational backgrounds.
Quality was enhanced this year through the use of electronic observation and evaluation forms for easy and effective data capturing. Observations form part of consultant training and involve consultants observing another consultant and giving feedback about their consultations. Student feedback about their consultation experience is used to ensure that students’ and lecturers’ specific needs and expectations are being addressed, and that all student writers and lecturers at SU have a positive experience working with the Writing Lab.
Campus Courses
The Language Centre kicked off the year with more than 50 students joining its interactive language courses: Campus isiXhosa and Campus Afrikaans. Offered in a relaxed and engaging environment, the courses are free to all students who are keen to grow their language skills, meet like-minded peers, and join a vibrant network of language learners on campus. Here’s what two of our recent participants had to say: “Being able to hold even a small conversation with isiXhosa speakers has been incredibly rewarding”, and “The energy in class and the positive, supportive atmosphere among new friends who all wanted to learn Afrikaans made the experience truly enjoyable.”
Presenter Nika Ndlela with a few of the isiXhosa course participants
Expanding access through South African Sign Language
In a significant step toward academic inclusion, the Language Centre, in partnership with the Faculty of Science, provided South African Sign Language (SASL) interpreting for a Deaf Honours student at the ISCB‑Africa ASBCB Conference on Bioinformatics, held from 14 to 17 April 2025, in Cape Town. The event, a gathering of researchers and students in computational biology, offered a rare opportunity for SASL interpreters to engage with specialised scientific terminology and discourse. The interpreting team described the experience as professionally enriching, underscoring the importance of inclusive access to high-level academic content. The Faculty of Science is commended for its proactive commitment to accessibility and for creating space for full academic participation in a highly specialised field.
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The Language Centre has offered its South African Sign Language – Beginner Level A1 short course to 13 participants during the first semester. To enable participants who have completed the beginner course to expand their SASL knowledge further, a follow-up short course, South African Sign Language – Elementary Level A2, has been developed this year, and nine participants have completed the first offering.
In addition, a Teach South African Sign Language (SASL): Trainer short course has been developed and will be offered later during year. The course aims to equip first-language SASL users with the knowledge and skills to design, develop and teach a beginner SASL course to a broader audience. It introduces key elements of course creation, including basic structure and analysis, teaching methodology, assessment design and foundational business English.
3. Purposeful partnerships and inclusive networks
Internationalisation through multilingualism
SU is one of six global partner universities EUTOPIA associates with beyond its core alliance of 10 universities in Europe to create an international gateway for exchanging knowledge and culture. In May, Stellenbosch University was profiled as EUTOPIA’s University of the Month for its contribution to multilingualism through various activities on campus. In the feature article, Dr Kim Wallmach, Director of the Language Centre, comments:
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Stellenbosch – as a town and a campus – is a space where many conversations around identity, belonging and redress, intertwined as always with language, are taking place currently. One of the contributions SU can make […] is to provide a space where students from other countries can experience how a multilingual, yet divided, community is negotiating difference and finding commonalities.”
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The SU Language Centre has worked on developing courses and partnerships to enhance the experiences of international students visiting SU and on building student communities through a multilingual mindset. Some recent initiatives were:
University of Georgia Students learn Afrikaans and isiXhosa
In May, the Language Centre had the privilege of hosting a group of 16 students from the University of Georgia (USA) for a short language acquisition course in Afrikaans and isiXhosa. The students thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to engage with both languages and gain a brief but meaningful introduction to the linguistic and cultural diversity of our region. The Language Centre looks forward to welcoming the University of Georgia again in future and continuing to share the richness of Afrikaans and isiXhosa language and culture with international visitors.
Afrikaans language and culture course for Dutch-speaking students celebrates 10 years
The Language Centre’s celebrated 10 years of language and cultural learning at the end of the first semester this year. This milestone is being celebrated with a series of social media and blog posts shared on the LC’s social media platforms in collaboration with SU International.
A highlight included an interview with Sen Joostens, a former student from Belgium who is currently facilitating Afrikaans language learning at KU Leuven. Over the years, the course has drawn more than 200 students from Belgium and the Netherlands.
Stellenbosch University expands its partnerships with Côte d’Ivoire
The Language Centre hosted a group of 28 students from the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-) INP-HB (Côte d’Ivoire) from 4 July until 1 August. This is the fourth cohort since 2023 and the second cohort for 2025. The students are master’s level students aiming to improve their general and business English skills. Previous students have commented that one of the benefits of coming to SU is the opportunity for immersion, where they are able to use English in everyday interactions in and around Stellenbosch to enhance their communicative competence.
Then, in a new collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Côte d’Ivoire, a group of 9 participants has completed a two-week block of the Intensive English Programme (IEP) at the Language Centre from 4 to 18 July. These students are professionals from the language department from the Chamber of Commerce. This collaboration was initiated by the 1st Secretary (Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO)) of the South African Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
IEP students and their teacher (Ammie) in the classroom
In addition, fifteen international students (from Germany, South Korea, Japan, Madagascar, DRC, Benin, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Italy) enrolled for Intensive English Programme blocks during June and July.
The Language Centre offered bespoke creative writing workshops in English, Afrikaans, and isiXhosa to a cohort of 15 participants in the first semester on-site at Hazendal wine estate.
One of the main aims of the workshops was to upskill and empower the Hazendal staff at various levels, and to bring the team together.
Estelle Meima of the University of Groningen and Vernita Beukes of the SU Language Centre, presenters of the Intercultural Group Dynamics module in the EQUiiP Summer school in Groningen.
Dr Vernita Beukes, a lecturer at the Language Centre, was part of an international panel of five who presented the EQUiiP Summer School at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands from 16 to 20 June this year. The EQUiiP programme is a collaborative summer school that encourages peer learning and sharing teaching practices to professionally develop practitioners. Participants hailed from Iran, Croatia, Latvia, South Africa and the Netherlands, which gave both presenters and participants the opportunity to network with educators from around the world.
The programme explored the concept of internationalising the curriculum, identified effective strategies for creating inclusive classrooms, and developed practical skills on utilising the principles of universal design for learning to meet the diverse needs of students.
The diverse backgrounds and experiences of the participants enriched the discussions and provided multiple perspectives on the challenges and opportunities of internationalising curriculum and creating inclusive classrooms. Collaborative activities and group discussions facilitated the exchange of ideas and best practices, fostering a sense of community and mutual support.
5. Research for impact
The Language Centre does ongoing targeted research to inform best practice.
6. Employer of choice
Strengthening intercultural practice in language teaching
Colleagues involved in teaching Afrikaans and isiXhosa at the Language Centre participated in a two-part professional development series focused on the book Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language Teaching (Council of Europe, 2002). The sessions, held in March and June 2025, created a space for staff to engage critically with foundational concepts and practical strategies for fostering intercultural competence in multilingual classrooms. Presenters and participants reflected on how these ideas resonate within the South African context and shared insights grounded in current teaching practice.
Language Centre Comms Lab short course offerings strengthen professional communication at SU
The Language Centre’s Comms Lab has continued its efforts to streamline professional communication at SU during the reporting period. Courses presented include:
The Deputy Director of Internal Communications from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency, Tshwane, was one of the participants attending this course. Staff from Student Recruitment, Maties Gymnasium and other environments also attended.
The popular course was presented on 20 and 21 May. A total of 13 participants, six marketing experts from table grape exporter EXSA, and staff from Residence Services, Corporate Communication and Marketing Division, Bureau for Economic Research and the Language Centre, attended the course.
Some feedback: “Excellent course. Surpassed my expectations. Good balance of theory and practical application. Constructive feedback at all times. As facilitator, Eduard created a safe space in which to learn. Perfect and enough to cover the content. There was nothing to fault with this course. Will highly recommend it.”
Five staff members and two external professionals, a medical doctor with her own practice and a senior superintendent from City of CT Municipality, attended this course during May and June. This is what one of our participants had to say:
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Great course, the presenter made everyone feel part and comfortable to share. It gave me confidence and the feedback on assignments were valuable.”
Contributors:
Vernita Beukes
Arné Binneman
Sanet de Jager
Bongiwe Dlutu
Fatima Halday
Christine Joubert
Anne-Mari Lackay
Susan Lotz
Andréa Müller
Helga Sykstus
Kim Wallmach
René Wheeler
A few weeks ago, Fatima Halday, Head of the Communication portfolio at the Language Centre, had the opportunity to visit Luanda and participated in the 2nd Edition of the Scientific Conference and Technology Fair of University of Luanda (UniLuanda), with the theme ‘Research, Extension and Innovation for Sustainable and Inclusive Development’.
Fatima describes her visit as follows:
Prof Gerhard Venter (SU), Fatima Halday (SU) and Prof Hanlie Dippenaar (CPUT).
The UniLuanda Conference took place from 22 to 24 May 2024 in Luanda, Angola. We were three in the South African delegation, consisting of me, representing the Stellenbosch University (SU) Language Centre, Professor Gerhard Venter of the SU Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, and Professor Hanlie Dippenaar of the Faculty of Education at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). The conference was attended by students and academics from the University of Luanda and other institutions in Angola.
Academics from various universities from Brazil also attended: Professora Rossana Valéria de Souza e Silva, Executive President of Grupo de Cooperação das Universidades Brasileiras (GCUB); Professora Joana Angélica Guimarães da Luz Rector, Vice chancellor of Universidade do Sul da Bahia; Professora Adriana Marmori Lima, Rector of Universidade Estadual da Bahia; Professor Edmar da Costa, Vice- Rector for International relations of Universidade Federal do Pará; and Professor Marcelo Figueiredo Massulo Aguiar of Universidade Federal do Pará.
Stellenbosch University and the University of Luanda share an institutional agreement. A few academics from UniLuanda, most of whom are Engineering academics, will be visiting SU later this year to enhance their English skills as well as to engage with academics from the Faculty of Engineering at SU. We had an opportunity to meet those academics and discuss their needs to gain more insight into the context overall in preparation for their arrival.
The language used for the conference was Portuguese and we had an interpreter who interpreted from Portuguese into English for the South African delegation presentations. On the second day, Professor Gerhard Venter did a presentation showcasing the activities and achievements of SU’s Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering.
My presentation, which was on the last day of the conference, focused on the role that the Language Centre can play in linguistic preparation and breaking down possible barriers that limit partnerships. In my talk I shared information about English improvement course offerings. Additionally, I described activities and services offered by some of the other centres such as the Centre for Collaboration in Africa and the Africa Centre for Scholarship which both form part of SU International.
On the topic of possible barriers that may limit partnerships, I highlighted the point of managing expectations, and taking into consideration language barriers, various communication styles, and time orientation differences. Elaborating on the time orientation difference, in low-context cultures, time is limited and considered a commodity. It is connected to productivity, efficiency and money. On the other hand, time is unlimited in high-context cultures. It is a resource to be enjoyed and decisions take time and expectations with regard to response time to emails, work ethic, and the pace of work may be different.
In closing my presentation, I emphasised the power of collaboration and South-South cooperation in driving positive change, whether through joint research projects, knowledge sharing initiatives, mobility or capacity-building programs. I also mentioned that we tend to look outward to the Global North for examples of advancements and best practice. In my view, by nurturing partnerships with neighbouring countries, we can lift each other up and become stronger as a unified Global South, accelerating our development efforts and achieving sustainable outcomes.
Faima presenting with Portuguese-English interpreter Carlos.
The evening culminated in a closing ceremony where academics and students were awarded certificates. As guests we had the honour of presenting the certificates to the academics. As presenters, we also received certificates of participation.
The Vice-Chancellor of UniLuanda, Professor Buza, spoke about the successes their university attained over the last year, fervently repeating the motto, ‘Act in the present to guarantee the future!’
Fatima Halday receiving a certificate of participation from UNILuanda Vice-Chancellor Prof Alfredo Buza.
The ceremony consisted of music rendered by a choir singing the UniLuanda anthem, followed by dancing. Thereafter students performed in a play raising awareness of poaching animals. Then students flaunted their vocal and musical talents by singing and performing instrumental pieces. The ceremony finalé was a fashion show showcasing traditional garments made from rich prints, concluding the evening on a colourful note.
Student performances
1st image: Fatima Halday (SU), Adao Francisco Pedro Lucas (Head of International Relations, Cooperation and Partnership, UniLuanda), Prof Hanlie Dippenaar (CPUT), Prof Edmar da Costa (Vice-Rector for International Relations of Universidade Federal do Pará).
2nd image: Hanlie and Fatima Halday with a UniLuanda academic.
Beyond my speaking engagement, the conference provided opportunities to engage in conversations with fellow attendees. I was struck by the shared commitment to finding innovative solutions to common challenges, whether in the fields of education, technology, or environmental sustainability, and the enthusiasm to exchange knowledge and resources, as well as to forge meaningful connections.
As I reflect on my experience, I am moved by the warmth, friendliness, and hospitality of the Angolan people. From the moment we arrived, UniLuanda went above and beyond to ensure that we were well taken care of for the entire duration of our stay. I would like to thank Dr Nico Elema and Norma Derby of the Centre for Collaboration in Africa for affording me this opportunity and experience. I am excited about the collaboration between our universities and the possibilities in driving positive change.
Get to know us through the books we read! This month we chat to Selene Delport, coordinator of writing skills workshops for postgrad students at the Writing Lab.
Selene joined the Writing Lab as a consultant in 2006. In 2009, she started conducting its writing skills workshops for postgraduate students. “My work at the Writing Lab has afforded me the privilege of travelling to various countries – among others Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Eswatini and Lesotho. Each country I’ve visited holds a piece of my heart. The Writing Lab, as a liminal and transformative space, has taught me so much,” she says of her workplace. “In particular, I’ve learnt how to help students navigate sometimes very restrictive and silencing institutional structures, without becoming complicit in those structures myself.”
What is the title of your favourite book, or a book that had a great impact on you? That’s a terrible thing to ask a reader. 😅
I’ve always loved reading. Some of my favourite children’s books are Matyn die Stermannetjie (Lochner de Kock), Huppelkind (WO Kühne), and Grobbelaartjie van Velskoendorp (Oscar Prozesky). I still have most of my children’s books and they look a bit worse for wear from being lovingly read and reread over decades.
As an adult, I’ve kept my love for children’s stories. I still regularly reread Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll) and The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame). And, of course, I love fantasy (JRR Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman) and young adult fiction. I think fantasy and young adult (YA) fiction are often underappreciated, especially YA fiction written by African writers. Two of my favourite YA fiction/fantasy authors are Tochi Onyebuchi and Lily Herne.
Onyebuchi is a Nigerian author who wrote Beasts Made of Night. It tells the story of Taj, who is an ‘aki’ – someone from the lower classes who is hired to devour the sins of the upper class so that they can live guilt-free. Beasts Made of Night is one of those books where I had to take a bit of time before being able to start reading the next book. Onyebuchi’s characterisation of Taj makes it impossible for readers not to connect with Taj on a deep emotional level. I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel, Crown of Thunder.
Lily Herne is the pen name of a mother/daughter writing duo. They wrote the Deadlands saga set in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested South Africa. I’ve finished the first three books and am desperately looking for the last book, Ash Remains. (If someone knows where I can buy or borrow a copy, please let me know!)
Why did this book make such an impression on you? All these books, and many others, have left a lasting impression on me. The reasons are varied – some of them give readers glimpses into the lives of people or characters who usually would not get platforms in canonical works or public spaces; some of them are just enjoyably weird.
One book that made quite an impression on me is Musrum. It’s by far the weirdest book I’ve read. It is a British publication, written by Erick Thacker, a Methodist minister, and Anthony Earnshaw, an artist, art teacher and also an atheist. The book came about by them exchanging letters. The book also contains a lot drawings – some with religious themes, others containing symmetrical patterns and some even in the form of maps. The lettering and meaning of Musrum keep changing. (The picture on the opening page gives you an idea of how wonderfully strange the book is.) I’m still not sure if Musrum is a brilliant masterpiece or just delightful nonsense.
Opening page, Musrum.
Who is (are) your favourite author(s)? Also tell us why? Again, there are several! One of my favourite authors is Yvonne Vera. Her poetic prose voices unspeakable traumas: violent liberation wars and their aftermath in Nehanda and The Stone Virgins; the horrifying loss of a child in Without a Name; and brutal violence against women in Under the Tongue and Butterfly Burning. But her stories also foreground the resilience that people can have.
What are you reading at the moment? I’m reading something light at the moment – Fiona Snyckers’ The Cat That Had a Clue. It’s the first book in a series called The Cat’s Paw Cozy Mysteries. The stories are Agatha Christie-like whodunnits with lots of cats in it.
Do you have a preference: reading physical books with paper pages or on a Kindle or other electronic platform? Why do you say so? I enjoy both. There’s nothing better than the feel and smell of a physical book, but it’s so much more comfortable reading a Kindle book in bed.
Who is your favourite literary character? There are many: Gandalf from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Alice from Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Grace from Atwood’s Alias Grace, and Tiffany Aching from Pratchett’s Discworld novels. I think I like them so much because their identities are never really fixed; they’re constantly evolving and changing – sometimes heroically, sometimes in unsettling ways.
Have you perhaps learnt a life lesson from a book or character that you would like to share with us (if this hasn’t come up in one of your answers already)? The best advice ever comes from Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: “A towel … has great practical value”.
But jokes aside, a life-changing book is Sheldon B. Kopp’s If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him! The Pilgrimage of Psychotherapy Patients. What resonated most with me is Kopp’s description of situational ethics:
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Rules will come to serve as tentative guidelines. Each act will have to be judged as a personal experience, in terms of its existential meaning, rather than by checking it out against a rule carved on a stone tablet long ago and far away.”
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What book/books would you recommend to your students, friends or anyone else? My recommendation is to read any books you want, but to read widely. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warns us against the “danger of the single story”. Reading widely saves us from the “incomplete” stories about other people and other places, it helps us recognise “our equal humanity” and “regain some kind of paradise”.
On 4 October, the head of the SU Writing Lab, Rose Richards, attended an online colloquium about decolonisation in South African writing centres. She shares her thoughts about the colloquium with us.
As a writing centre practitioner, I am very glad to see that other writing centre practitioners across the country share my views about the potential of writing centres to change the educational landscape.
The colloquium I attended was hosted by Durban University of Technology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Mangosuthu University of Technology. It was the first writing centre event hosted by universities of technology and I was excited to see what the presenters would discuss. The topic promised to elicit robust discussion and I was not disappointed.
Decolonisation is a provocative topic for many and because of this, people don’t explore what it really means. It’s not an ‘either … or’ proposition where European values and traditions are discarded in favour of African ones. It is a ‘both … and’ proposition, rooted in social justice and democratisation. If you want to see good breakdowns of the meaning and potentials of decolonisation, consider reading this paper by Prof Gift Mheta, one of the speakers, and this one by Savo Heleta (see full details at the end of this piece).
Language, flattened hierarchies and ubuntu were the themes that infused all of the talks. Studying in a country that has multiple languages is one issue that many South African students face. Because of this, writing centre practitioners tend to use code-switching and even shuttle between languages in consultation with students. This is one way of giving back some power to the students and creating space in which they can express themselves.
The peer tutoring approach and the writing centre ethos of being welcoming and nonjudgemental goes a long way to create a more democratic space in which students can rehearse academic identities and make mistakes without censure. We don’t give students their voice – they already have voices, but we help them to develop their voices and work out ways of being heard.
These and other writing centre approaches are part of what in South Africa is known as ubuntu. Baken Lefa, a science education researcher, describes ubuntu as the soul force that “expresses compassion, reciprocity, dignity, harmony and humanity in the interests of building and maintaining a community with justice and mutual caring”. For me, that force is strong in writing centres.
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Who were the speakers?
[us_cta title=”” btn_label=””]Prof Mheta (Durban University of Technology) spoke on the topic ‘Towards decolonised writing centre spaces: The reflections-for-action of a DUT Writing Centre practitioner’. Prof Mheta heads the DUT writing centre. His research interests are broad, with a focus on corpus development and maintenance, computational lexicography and language technology applications for the development of African languages. [/us_cta][/us_hwrapper]
[us_cta title=”” btn_label=””]Ms Puleng Sefalane-Nkohla (Cape Peninsula University of Technology) addressed the topic of ‘Being and becoming: Decolonising the writing centre space. How do we decolonise students’ academic support at CPUT?’ Ms Sefalane-Nkohla is acting head of department of the Student Learning Unit at CPUT’s Fundani Centre for Higher Education and Development. She has worked in writing centres for 22 years and has a 20-year association with the SU Writing Lab. She specialises in academic literacies, and language and technology.[/us_cta]
[us_cta title=”” btn_label=””]The final speaker, Mr Ntuthuko Mhlongo (Mangosuthu University of Technology), discussed ‘Location and Power: Appraising the opportunities and challenges for writing centres as spaces for transformation and decolonisation in the South African university context’. Mr Mhlongo started his writing centre journey at DUT. He is working on his PhD, which is about the challenges rural youth face in South Africa. His research interest lies in developing youth for the changing global environment and his interest in writing centres is about one way of achieving that.[/us_cta]
Lefa, Baken. 2015. The African Philosophy of Ubuntu in South African Education. Studies in Philosophy and Education 1(1):15.
Mheta, Gift, Lungu, Bwalya Nyangu & Govender, Thaiurie. 2018. Decolonisation of the curriculum: A case study of the Durban University of Technology in South Africa. South African Journal of Education, 38(4), 1-7. https://dx.doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n4a1635
This June, the SU Language Centre’s Writing Lab is celebrating its 20th birthday. The Writing Lab prides itself as a welcoming, friendly and safe space where students and academics feel free to discuss writing issues and get support from dedicated staff and writing consultants.
What started as a dream for Prof Leon de Stadler (former director of the Language Centre), became a reality when the Writing Lab opened its doors in June 2001. Since we work with so many students and upcoming professionals, it seems fitting to highlight this milestone in Youth Month.
At the Writing Lab, we believe that everybody deserves to be heard and seen. But if you can’t speak ‘university’, you will not have a voice on campus. This is why we work with writers to develop their academic voices and improve their ability to argue their points. Our peer-learning approach developed from American progressive pedagogical movements of the 1970s and is all about increasing student access to higher education and participation in academic activities.
The Writing Lab has come a long way since its humble beginnings, in a consulting room borrowed from the University’s Department of Social Work, 20 years ago. Sharifa Daniels and Rose Richards shared the consulting room as an office and had one e-mail address! The office was so small that each time one needed to use the computer to send an e-mail, the other had to leave the room to make space. The dean, who had an office two doors away and didn’t know what was going on, must have thought that we looked quite suspicious, lingering in the corridor like that. Two floors above, in the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, Anne-Mari Lackay shared a desk with several other people in a common room. None of us had a phone, so every time we needed to contact each other, we would run up and down the stairs.
Back then, in 2001, we conducted consultations with 20 students; now we are doing 3 000 and more. Although Sharifa retired in 2018, Rose and Anne-Mari still work at the Writing Lab and have since been joined by Selene Delport, Vinelene Hartley and Celestia February. We are supported by about 35 postgraduate students who are trained to be writing consultants. Many of these young academics go on to be supervisors and mentors of young writers themselves.
Before 2020 – the difficult year of the Covid-19 pandemic – our consultations were largely face to face. When the pandemic struck and we saw how isolated students were and how worried they were about their academic work, we took on the challenge to start consulting online via MS Teams. It’s going well. This April alone we reached more than 500 students online. The writing workshops for postgraduates, about 60 annually, are also online now and in high demand.
We feel honoured and grateful for the opportunity to work with students. These writers are the voice of tomorrow and with good writing they can be heard where it counts. If you have some academic writing to do, you’re most welcome to book a writing consultation with us. If there is something else we could assist you with, please reach out and e-mail us!
– by Rose Richards and Anne-Mari Lackay
Note: At the Language Centre, we observe the required Covid-19 protocols. These pictures were taken before the pandemic.
The Language Centre is a vibrant hub for students, staff and clients who require language and communication assistance.
One of our most important jobs is to help students speak university. Although academic language is no-one’s mother tongue, you could get by very well once you’ve learnt its ins and outs.
We assist students to get there, in many different language-related ways:
We present credit-bearing academic literacies modules in seven of the University’s 10 faculties to equip our students for strategic communication – in an academic setting and in their occupation and industry. Modules focus on professional, business and scientific communication, writing skills and skills for academic discourse.
We provide real-time interpreting in lectures – in Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa or South African Sign Language.
We’ve created a safe space to discuss one’s writing with a trained writing consultant at our Writing Lab, as well as opportunities to create writing support groups, take part in writing marathons, or attend workshops on writing research proposals, literature reviews, journal articles or other academic writing.
We’ve established a Reading Lab that offers workshops, consultations and a visual cognitive processing program to optimise reading.
We’ve built a trilingual terminology tool for subject terminology in Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa – try it out here.
The Language Centre also casts its language and communication assistance net wider than the student community:
We offer an editing and translation service in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa, and we translate into more than 12 other languages. Our services are available to the University, corporate clients and individuals, and we can edit and translate any document – from letters, reports, journal articles and advertisement copy to informed consent forms. In addition, we do transcriptions.
We provide an interpreting service at meetings or conferences. We work in Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa and German, but you could speak to us about other language combinations too.
We offer language courses aimed at individuals or groups who would like to learn isiXhosa or Afrikaans, or prepare themselves for the International English Language Testing System(IELTS) exam, or who wish to gain the skills to teach English as a foreign language (TEFL).
We also present superbly crafted corporate communication short courses through our Comms Lab. Think: effective office documentation, report writing, writing for the media, or crafting confident presentations, to name but a few possibilities.
For us, language creates a transformational space that has the power to change lives, inform policy and unite people. If one of our services or courses appeals to you, speak to us at taalsentrum@sun.ac.za or 021 808 2176.
Sharifa Daniels, one of the founding staff members of the Writing Lab of the Language Centre, retired in 2018, after nearly 17 years of service to the writers on campus. We decided to honour her with a special issue of Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus (SPiL Plus), an accredited open-access journal. The issue is called ‘Space, place, and power in South African writing centres’, since space, place and power are concerns close to Sharifa’s heart, as we explain in our introduction to the issue.
Sharifa often discussed these issues with us when we considered the role of the Writing Lab on campus. Coming from a background that was part of the anti-apartheid struggle, Sharifa saw that it was one thing to admit ‘non-traditional’ students, but quite another matter to help the students to feel part of campus. Before working at the Writing Lab, Sharifa had a long career in secondary education at disadvantaged schools. Here and elsewhere, she witnessed first-hand what happened to people’s lives and educations under apartheid. She also won a scholarship to the University of Iowa where she became interested in writing centres and their social justice possibilities. These are the ideas she brought home and later was able to use at Stellenbosch.
The special issue is the first special issue in the world about South African writing centres. The themes of space, place and power have long been significant in international writing centre work, but have a particular significance in South Africa where our political past and present revolves around how space and place allow power relationships to play out. Writing centres exist to help student writers develop their academic writing identities, but they do this within institutional structures that affect how and why they work.
The special issue has 12 articles and represents seven South African writing centres. It also has seven research notes, written by former Stellenbosch writing consultants whom Sharifa trained. The volume ends with a comic by a former writing consultant who is an artist. She describes the Writing Lab as a community of learning, where everyone was welcome. If you would like to know more about this friendly space, please e-mail or phone Anne-Mari Lackay at 021 808 2928.
The special issue was published as Volume 57(2019) of the accredited journal Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus (SPiL Plus).
Writing Lab comic by Neeske Alexander, an artist and former writing consultant.
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Opening page, Musrum. 
The Language Centre is a vibrant hub for students, staff and clients who require language and communication assistance.
Sharifa Daniels, one of the founding staff members of the Writing Lab of the Language Centre, retired in 2018, after nearly 17 years of service to the writers on campus. We decided to honour her with a special issue of Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics Plus (SPiL Plus), an accredited open-access journal. The issue is called ‘