• East Africa
• West Africa
• Southern Africa

Transfer of reading from the language of wider communication to the first language

Contributed by: Agatha van Ginkel, SIL International

Multilingual education in Africa offers many opportunities for research into different aspects of reading. Between 2005 and 2008 a study was carried out to understand why transfer reading from the language of wider communication (LWC) to the first language (L1) of a person causes problems in certain linguistic and socio-cultural environments. It particularly focused on the linguistic and socio-cultural environment of the Sabaot people in Western Kenya. It used a qualitative mode of inquiry to explore what could be factors that contribute to transfer reading from the LWC to the L1.

This study has shown how studying the linguistic context, the literacy context, the socio-linguistic context, and the physical and economical context is necessary to develop a set of principles that guide the development of the transfer reading methodology suitable for a certain social and linguistic context. It proposes a contextual framework for developing guidelines for a transfer reading methodology for other, each unique reading transfer context. This study has shows that LWC to L1 transfer reading an area that needs its own attention, and cannot just be assumed.

A part of this research has been presented at PAN African Reading Conference for All, Accra, Ghana, August 6 – 10, 2007 as Reading in two languages, transfer reading from the L2-L1.  A part of the research has been published: Van Ginkel, Agatha (2007) Transfer of reading from the language of wider communication to the first language. In Brian Tomlinson (ed.), Language Acquisition and Development, Studies of Learners of First and Other languages. London, Continuum, pp. 32-45.

For more information e-mail Dr Agatha van Ginkel: Agatha_van_ginkel@sil.org

Special On-Line Edition of English Studies in Africa Dedicated to Dr. Pippa Stein

This online publication of English Studies in Africa Vol 49.1, 2006, pays tribute to one of its guest editors, Dr. Pippa Stein, who is also one of the founders of the Africa Research Network on Applied Linguistics and Literacy. Pippa Stein, a much loved and respected colleague, passed away on August 7, 2008, at age 53. An Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, Pippa Stein is internationally renowned for her work on multimodality and multiliteracies, powerfully articulated in her 2007 book, "Multimodal Pedagogies in Diverse Classrooms". Her democratic ideals for classrooms have inspired teachers, educators, and researchers around the world. We hope that this Special Edition, entitled English in Education in Africa, edited by Denise Newfield and Pippa Stein, will be of interest and use to teachers and scholars in Africa and the international community, and that it will encourage creativity, communication, and democracy in language classrooms.
 
We will always remember Pippa with affection and admiration. She is deeply missed by her colleagues, her students, and the Africa Research Network.

Denise Newfield, University of the Witwatersrand, newfield@iafrica.com
Bonny Norton, University of British Columbia, bonny.norton@ubc.ca
Yvonne Reed, University of the Witwatersrand, Yvonne.Reed@wits.ac.za

Helleiner Visiting Fellowship at The North-South Institute, Canada: Call for Proposals for 2009

The North-South Institute is pleased to invite applications for its annual Visiting Researcher position. The Fellowship is named after Professor Emeritus G.K. Helleiner, one of Canada ’s leading academics on international development issues, who has dedicated many years to working in Africa and other developing countries and is a founding member and former Chair of the North-South Institute.

The aim of the Helleiner Visiting Fellowship program, which is funded with the support of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), is to provide mid-career policy researchers (i.e. 5-10 years’ experience), whether presently working in a university, a policy research institute or a think-tank, or another relevant institution, with the opportunity to undertake policy-relevant research in an area that is compatible with the overall goals and areas of interest of The North-Institute. For further information on current research activities please visit the NSI website at http://www.nsi-ins.ca

This year’s position is open to African policy researchers interested in spending from nine months to one year at the Institute, which is based in Ottawa , Canada . The proposed policy research should fall in one of the following three broad areas:

1. International Finance, Debt, and Development Cooperation Effectiveness;
2. Trade and Migration; and
3. Governance, Civil Society, and Conflict Prevention.

Research that addresses issues of gender equality or sustainable development (including climate change) in any of these three areas are also encouraged.

Visit  http://www.nsi-ins.ca/english/about/helleiner_2009.asp for details.

News on Access to Scientific Journals On-Line for Africa, from e-Learning Africa

Access to scientific journals requires subscriptions, but most university libraries in Africa cannot afford the high subscription costs. With more than 4,000 electronic scientific journal titles that can be accessed for free or at low cost, AGORA, HINARI and OARE are changing this situation. Brenda Zulu reports.

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New in early childhood research: Early Childhood in Focus

This is a series of publications produced by the Child and Youth Studies Group at The Open University, United Kingdom, with the support of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Netherlands. The objective of this series is to provide accessible reviews of recent research, information, and analysis on the Bernard van Leer Foundation’s key policy issues: strengthening the care environment, successful transitions, and social inclusion and respect for diversity of children. According to the Open University, consulting contributors are leaders of international research, policy, advocacy, and children’s rights….

Click here for more info…

International Professors Project (IPP) - Global

The International Professors Project (IPP) is a non-profit global network of professors who have begun working on university campuses in the so-called "developing world" - teaching, mentoring, and conducting local research as they internationalise college and university faculties in their respective host countries. A core goal of IPP is to enhance international and regional perspectives of developing and developed world universities, while meeting the developing world’s need for professors and instructors. The project consists of an interconnected web of academics, post-doctorates, independent scholars, and graduate students. The members provide global information, ideas, and knowledge channels - using both information and communication technologies (ICTs) and face-to-face interactions to share ideas, information, and knowledge of country and regional variations in teaching, learning, research, and living.

Contact Dr. Ron Krate info@internationalprofs.org

Click here for more info…

2008 Editions, African Security Review:

The African Security Review (ASR) is a multidisciplinary review journal that publishes articles on the spectrum of human security issues, including: security sector transformation; civil-military relations; crime, justice and corruption; small arms control; peace support initiatives; conflict management; and articles dealing with the interplay between economics, politics, society and culture and human security and stability. ASR hereby invites submissions of feature articles, country case studies, research essays, short commentaries and book reviews for publication in the journal in 2008. For more information on themes and deadlines visit: http://www.issafrica.org/index.php?link_id=&slink_id=5053&link_type=&slink_type=12&tmpl_id=3

East Africa

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Uganda: 1st National Intergenerational Literacy Learners’ Conference

The 1st National Intergenerational Literacy Learners’ Conference organized by the Uganda Rural Literacy and Community Development Association and its partners. Theme: Literacies in Livelihoods and Development: Bridging the Divides. Dates: January 27 – 30, 2009.
Click here to read the Conference’s Concept paper.
For more information, please contact ReN member Willy Ngaka.

The East Africa Working Group on Multilingual Education Meets in Nairobi

Language, nationhood, pedagogy and policy: these were among the topics discussed as the East Africa Working Group on Multilingual Education met for the second time on 11 June 2008. Based in Nairobi, the Working Group is comprised of representatives from universities, non-governmental organizations and Kenyan government education offices. The one-day meeting of 18 scholars and specialists was characterized by both energy and vision, as the group explored concrete ways to influence the language and education situation in Kenya and in East Africa more generally.  

One topic of particular interest was presented by steering committee member Dr. Angelina Kioko: "language, ethnicity, nationhood and multilingual education". The role of language policy, and the use of African languages in the media, were linked to current perceptions of ethnicity and nationhood in Kenya. The group agreed that both vernacular media and multilingual education can be used to significantly enhance communication and learning among rural peoples, if used wisely.

Another important outcome of the meeting was a request by UNESCO Nairobi that the Working Group develop a discussion paper on language and education issues in Kenya, for use with policy makers and community leaders alike. This commissioned paper will be available for the use of UNESCO Nairobi and others in late 2008. Also, the need was recognized to broaden the scope of the Working Group to include representation and issues from elsewhere in Eastern Africa.

The East Africa Working Group on Multilingual Education is led by a steering committee consisting of Dr. Margaret Muthwii, UBS Africa; Dr. Barbara Trudell, SIL Africa; Mr. Seth Ong’uti, Academy of Educational Development; and Dr. Kioko, of the US International University in Nairobi. Funding for the working group meeting was made possible by SIL Africa Area.

West Africa

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Southern Africa

New On-Line Self-Publishing Tool

Via Afrika has launched a brand-new division. Crink, a ground-breaking online self-publishing platform, is set to lead the way in e-publishing in South Africa by enabling authors to self-publish, sell, buy and market their books online. Customers will be able to order books from Crink’s online shop and have it delivered to their doorsteps in printed format. The Web 2.0-enabled Crink platform is 80 per cent automated and the success of publications is determined mainly by the involvement of authors who now have the luxury of managing their titles. Crink simultaneously runs traditional self-publishing services to guide authors through the publishing value chain from manuscript origination to the final product in the bookstore.

Please visit www.crink.co.za for more information.

Are you a ReN member and have something to post to this page? Send your regional research news to us.