Who We Are
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Co-Convenors – ReN Africa (AILA)
Dr. Sinfree Makoni Department of Applied Linguistics and African and African American Studies, The College of Liberal Arts, Pennsylvania State University Sinfree Makoni is a Pan Africanist. He has held professional appointments at the University of the Western Cape, and the University of Swaziland. He currently teaches at Pennsylvania State University. He is co-author of “Language and Aging in Multilingual Contexts” which was short listed for Best Book in Applied Linguistics by the British Association of Applied Linguistics in 2006. He has co-edited numerous books including “Disinventing and Reconstituting Languages” (2007), “Black Linguistics”, “Language Society and Politics in Africa and the Americas” (2003), “Ageing in Africa: Sociolinguistic and Anthropological Approaches (2002), “Freedom and Discipline: Essays in Applied Linguistics from Southern Africa” (2001), and “Language and Institutions in Africa” (1999). He has published in a number of journals across the globe including The Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics, Per Linguam, the Southern African Journal of Applied Linguistics, TESOL QUARTERLY, Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, Journal of Language Identity and Education, and International Journal of Multilingual Research, and Current Issues in Language Planning. His main research interests are in urban African languages, popular culture, language and health, and police communication.
Dr. Bonny Norton Professor, Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia Dr. Bonny Norton is Professor and Distinguished University Scholar in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia, Canada. She is also Honorary Professor in the School of Education, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, and Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Education, King’s College, University of London. Her award-winning research addresses identity and language learning, education and international development, and critical literacy. Recent publications include Identity and Language Learning (Longman/Pearson, 2000); Gender and English Language Learners (TESOL, 2004, w. A. Pavlenko); and Critical Pedagogies and Language Learning (Cambridge University Press, 2004, w. K. Toohey). Her forthcoming book, Applied Linguistics in the field: Local knowledge and HIV/AIDS, edited w. C. Higgins, is being published by Multilingual Matters. She edited the 1997 special issue of TESOL Quarterly on “Language and Identity,” and co-edited (w. Y. Kanno) the 2003 special issue of the Journal of Language, Identity, and Education on “Imagined Communities and Educational Possibilities.” She has served as Teaching Issues Editor of the TESOL Quarterly from 1994-2007, and is currently a series editor (w. V. Ramanathan and A. Pennycook) for Multilingual Matters and a Co-convenor (w. S. Makoni and P. Stein) of the AILA Africa research network on Applied Linguistics and Literacy. In 2003, she was awarded a UBC Killam Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Her website can be found at http://lerc.educ.ubc.ca/fac/norton/
Dr. Ashraf Abdelhay Linguistics and English Language, Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Cambridge University, United Kingdom Dr. Abdelhay’s interest is in the area of language planning and policy, focusing on the relationship between language planning, ideology and power relations. His current research involves a critical analysis of the Naivasha language policy discourse and its implications for the question of national identity in the Sudan.Steering Committee – ReN Africa (AILA)
L. Oladipo Salami Associate Professor, Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife Dr. Salami is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He has contributed to a number of books including Nigeria and Globalization: Discourses on Identity Politics and Social conflict (Center for Black and African Arts Civilization, 2004) and Explorations in the Sociology of Language and Religion (John Benjamins, 2006). He has publications in a number of international journals among which are Language in Society, Anthroplogical Linguistics, Journal of Asian and African Studies, ODU: Journal of West African Studies, SKASE: Journal of Theoretical Linguistics and Language Policy. His areas of research interest are language variation and use, language contact, bi/ multilingualism, language policy (national language, language and education) and language and identity.
Dr. Nkonko M. Kamwangamalu Professor, Department of English, Howard University Nkonko M. Kamwangamalu is a Professor of Linguistics and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English at Howard University, Washington, DC. He is recognized internationally for his scholarship in the field of sociolinguistics, and more specifically in the areas of codeswitching, multilingualism, language policy and planning, world Englishes, language and identity, and African linguistics. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received a Fulbright award. Before joining Howard University, Dr Kamwangamalu taught linguistics at the National University of Singapore, the University of Swaziland, and the University of Natal in Durban, South Africa. Dr Kamwangamalu is Polity Editor for the Series Current Issues in Language Planning. He is a member of the editorial board of World Englishes, Language Policy, and Studies in Language Policy in South Africa. He has served as editor of Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, and as a manuscript consultant for the University of Natal Press, Multi- lingual Matters, TESOL Quarterly, Language Problems and Language Planning, Applied Linguistics, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, and Multilingua – Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication. His publications include a co-edited book, Language and Institutions in Africa (2001), a monograph, The Language Planning Situation in South Africa (2001), some fifty peer-refereed articles, and book-length special issues he has guest-edited for Multilingua 17 (1998), International Journal of the Sociology of Language 144 (2000), World Englishes 21 (2002) and Language Problems and Language Planning (2005). Dr Kam- wangamalu has presented over fifty scholarly papers at professional meetings in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Dr. Ulrike Hanna Meinhof Professor, School of Humanities, University of Southampton
Mastin Prinsloo School of Education, University of Cape Town Mastin Prinsloo is an Associate Professor in the School of Education, University of Cape Town and Director of the Centre for Applied Language and Literacy Studies in South Africa (CALLSSA). His fields of interest include the New Literacy Studies and literacy and language in contemporary and historical social practice, including early childhood literacy, digital literacies and adults’ literacies. He was the Convener of the AILA Scientific Commission on Literacy from 1999 to 2003.

Dr. Juliet Tembe Department of Languages, Literature and Linguistics – Islamic Univer
sity in Uganda Uganda Dr. Tembe completed her B.A (English Language Studies & Literature with a concurrent diploma in Education) and M.Ed. degrees at Makerere University (Uganda) specializing in TESOL. She has since taught at secondary school, national teacher training colleges and at the university level. After teaching English at the high school level for several years, Dr. Tembe completed an M.Ed. course at Makerere University after which she joined the teacher education programme at the Institute of Teacher Education, Kyambogo. She recently completed her PhD in TESL at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. She is currently a lecturer in the department of Languages, Literature and Linguistics at the Islamic University in Uganda. Her research interests include: second language teaching; language policy and planning; bi-/multi-lingual literacy; and minority language education. As a member of the Association of World Education (Uganda Chapter), she has been involved in research on conflict management among pastoral communities in North eastern Uganda. Her current research is in gender and literacy as well as the use of ICTs for teacher development. She is the current chair of the largest non-governmental HIV/AIDS service organization in Uganda and Africa: “The AIDS Support Organization (TASO)” and a member of the Uganda AIDS Commission.
ReN Newsletter Editor and Webmaster
Lauryn Oates Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia Lauryn Oates has a background in international development studies and peace and conflict, and is now working towards a doctorate in language and literacy education. Her research is concerned with access and use of mother tongue resources for teachers in Uganda, particularly in the conflict-affected region of Gulu in the north, and the potential which information communications technologies holds for facilitating mother tongue teaching at the primary level. She has worked with a variety of international human rights, gender equality and international development organizations around the world and has field experience in Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
ReN Africa Members
Dr. Carolyn Temple Adger Director, Language in Society Division Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC (Language in Society) USA Research interests: multilingual education; mother tongue education; language and literacy. Dr. Wale Adegbite Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State Nigeria Nigeria Research Interests: Bilingualism and Multilingualism in Africa; Mother Tongue and English Language in Education ; ESL: Usage and Uses in Nigeria; Text/Discourse Analysis in ESL
Marlene Asselin Associate Professor, Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia Canada Research interests: New literacies and social media, Information literacy, School librarianship in international contexts, Teacher education and literacy education in Ethiopia
Margaret Loyce Baleeta Language Education, Bugema University UGANDA Research Interests: Literacy and applied linguistics
Gary Barkhuizen Dept Applied Language Studies and Linguistics, University of Auckland New Zealand Research Interests: sociolinguistics and language teacher education; narrative perspective.
Prof. David Barton Literacy Research Centre, Lancaster University United Kingdom Research Interests: The changing nature of literacy in contemporary societies, including Malawi; literacy and social justice; missionaries, migration and literacy; research methodologies; reading and writing on the internet.
Dr. Hassan Belhiah Center for Academic Development, Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane Morocco Research Interests: TESOL, second language acquisition, conversation analysis, nonverbal communication, literacy skills, language policy and language planning.
Dr. Joseph Benjamin Archibald Afful Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Cape Coast, Ghana Research Interests: academic literacy (writing), disciplinary discourse (variation), sociolinguistics, postgraduate pedagogy, (critical) discourse analysis, and general linguistics.
Mathakga Botha Wits School of Education – Curriculum Division South Africa Research Interests: Teaching of reading and writing in primary schools, in particular problems with poor literacy in African languages
Grace Bunyi School and Department: Kenyatta University, School of Education Kenya Research Interests: Language policy and practice, multilingual classroom talk, use of African languages in education and language and educational inequalities.
Suresh Canagarajah Pennsylvania State University, Departments of Applied Linguistics and English Sri Lanka and USA Research Interests: Bilingualism, discourse analysis, academic literacy, ethnography, critical practice.
Mr. Ian Cheffy SIL International and Lancaster University United Kingdom Research Interests: literacy and development, literacy and globalisation, adult literacy programmes, adult literacy methodology, literacy practices in rural contexts, ethnographic research, multilingual education, and minority language development
Ms. Brigid Goitse Conteh Communication and Study Skills Unit, University of Botswana Botswana Research Interests: English Language Education, Verbal and written classroom discourse, English for Academic/specific purposes, e-learning, instructional materials development
Diane Dagenais Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University Canada Research Interests: second language education with a focus on language learning in contexts of sociocultural diversity, immigration, bilingualism, multilingualism, literacy, and bilingual (immersion) programs.
Ms. Snoeks Desmond Family Literacy Project Research Interests:The impact of parental reading with children on the development of early literacy skills, especially in Africa; and the long term benefits of this interest by parents in their children’s reading habits.
Ms. Kerryn Dixon Department of Languages, Wits School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand South Africa Research Interests:Early childhood literacy, language policy, teacher education
Ms. Iris Dumenden School of Educational Studies, Faculty of Education, La Trobe University Australia Research Interests: The learning needs (literacy and ESL) of young adult refugees from Africa who have had minimal or severely interrupted schooling before arriving in Australia.
Charlyn Dyers Associate Professor, Dept Linguistics, University of the Western Cape Uganda Research Interests: Space, migration and multillingualism; focus on newly integrated townships in the Cape Town area to find out how people are negotiating the new space and issues of identity through language.
Ms. Paula Gains The Molteno Project: Language Literacy and Educator Development South Africa Research Interests:Early literacy pedagogy in a multilingual context and the centrality of the conceptualizations, identity and actions of the early literacy teacher.
Dr. Audrey Grant A. Faculty of Education, La Trobe University Australia Research Interests: East African education and Australia: post-colonial ‘Africanisation’ policy; (with John Kole) Kenyan schooling and international students; (with Sarah Hasaba) women, literacy and poverty reduction.
Dr. Christina Higgins Department of Second Language Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa United States Research Interests: Sociolinguistics of multilingualism in East Africa: Linguistic and cultural hybridity in Swahili and English discourse; globalization and language use; crosscultural communication in HIV/AIDS education.
Dr. Hizzaya Hissani UPLIFT Uganda Research Interests: Adult Literacy Methodology
Dr. John Holmes School of Education, University of Leeds United Kingdom Research Interests:Mother tongue literacy, postcolonial language teaching methodologies, community based education.
Prof. Hilary Janks Applied English Language Studies, School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand South Africa Research Interests: Critical literacy, language and literacy education, postgraduate pedagogy, language policy
Ms. Dora Johnson Center for Applied Linguistics United States Research Interests: Issues of access in language and education, in the U.S., Africa and Asia; Language policy
Ms. Shelley Jones Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia Canada Research Interests: Gender, education, literacy and international development; global education
Ms. Namugenyi Deborah Kaggwa Kyambogo University Research Interests: Home language and its role in the development of literacy skills in young bilinguals
Dr. Doris Muhwezi Kakuru Department of Sociology, Makerere University Uganda Research Interests:Gender and education; children affected and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Seraphin Kamdem SOAS, University of London (UK) United Kingdom and Cameroon Research Interests: Applied Linguistics, Bilingual education, Adult literacy, African languages, Language policy and planning, Grassroots community development, Language learning, Teacher training, Sociolinguistics.
Michael Kevane Department of Economics, Santa Clara University USA Research Interests: Impact of community libraries on reading and literacy in Burkina Faso.
Prof. Nkonko M. Kamwangamalu Department of English, Howard University United States Research Interests: Language policy and planning, language and identity, codeswitching, World Englishes, African Linguistics.
Gregory Kamwendo Department of Languages & Social Sciences Education, University of Botswana Botswana Research Interests: linguistics (mainly language teaching and learning); language planning and language policy.
Ms. Elspeth Kempe Department of Applied English Language Studies, University of the Witwatersrand South Africa Research Interests: Ways of helping students form communities of practice within their learning and teaching contexts, as an aid towards building empowered identities.
Dr. Maureen Kendrick Language and Literacy Education Department, University of British Columbia Canada Research Interests: literacy as a social practice; multimodality and ethnography.
Dr. Katalin Egri Ku-Mesu Department of Educational Studies, University of York, Adam Smith College United Kingdom Research Interests: the African literary ecosystem, reading for pleasure in Africa, censorship and publishing in Africa, multilingualism, cross-cultural communication, English language teaching/teacher training
Dr Kizitus Mpoche (Senior Lecturer) Department of English, University of Yaounde I Cameroon Research interests: Language Acquisition, Language Description, Language Education and Communication, Multilingual/Multicultural Issues.
Dr. Carolyn McKinney Applied English Language Studies, School of Education South Africa Research Interests: Critical literacy and critical pedagogy; language and identity; language, race and gender in education.
Sarah Murray Department of Education, Rhodes University South Africa Research Interests: Initial literacy in bilingual contexts (i.e. first four years of schooling).
Dr. Abolaji Samuel Mustapha Dept. of English, Lagos State University Nigeria Research Interests: sociolinguistics – language and gender, language variation and change, multilingualsim, language policy and planning, politeness & speech functions, pidgins and creoles, discourse; applied linguistics, language teaching (teaching ESL).
Harriet Mutonyi Centre for Cross Faculty Inquiry, University of British Columbia Canada Research Interests: Adolescent health, HIV/AIDS and Education
O.J. Alfred Ogot Tutor of English Language, Languages Department, Rubengera Teacher Training College Rwanda Research Interests: ICT for Teaching and Learning; Language teaching and Learning; HIV/AIDS Prevention and care; Community Education and Training
Margie Probyn Institute for the Study of English in Africa, Rhodes University South Africa Research Interests: Language and learning in multilingual contexts; language in education policy and practice; language and science learning; teacher education and development; English additional language teaching and learning.
Suzanne Smythe Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario Canada Research Interests: Refugee experiences with schooling in the diaspora, with a particular focus on literacy. Home-school relations, mothering and social/educational policy.
Sue Starfield The Learning Centre and Department of Linguistics, University of New South Wales Australia Research Interests: Thesis and dissertation writing; academic literacy; writing and identity; postgraduate pedagogy; critical pedagogy; language policy in higher education.
Prof. Toussaint Yaovi Tchitchi Département des Sciences du Langage et de la Communication, Faculté des Lettres, Arts et Sciences Humaines, Université d’Abomey-Calavi République du Bénin Research Interests:
Dr. Juliet Tembe Department of Languages, Literature and Linguistics – Islamic University in Uganda Uganda Dr. Tembe completed her B.A and M.Ed. degrees at Makerere University (Uganda) specializing in English, Education, and TESOL, and in 2008 she completed her PhD in TESL at the University of British Columbia, Canada. She has taught at secondary school, national teacher training colleges, and at the university level. Her research interests include: second language teaching; language policy and planning; bi-/multi-lingual literacy; and minority language education, and she has published her research in such journals as TESOL Quarterly and Canadian Modern Language Review. As a member of the Association of World Education (Uganda Chapter), she has been involved in research on conflict management among pastoral communities in North eastern Uganda. Her current research is in literacy and gender, as well as the use of ICTs for teacher development. She is the current Chair of the largest non-governmental HIV/AIDS service organization in Uganda and Africa, The AIDS Support Organization (TASO), and a member of the Uganda AIDS Commission.
Mr. Mushakavanhu Tinashe PhD student, School of English, University of Kent Zimbabwe Research Interests: post-colonial writings, especially the concepts of Diaspora, creativity and politics in African literature with current research on the Zimbabwean short story and the politics of nationhood.
Eddie Williams Institution and Department: Bangor University, Wales, School of Linguistics and English Language Wales, UK Research Interests: Language policy, literacy and development in Africa; Reading in a first and second languages in African educational contexts; “Voice” and rural communities in Africa.
Dr.Geoff Williams Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia Canada Research Interests: Educational linguistics; early child literacy development; early child language development; social class effects on educational access; systemic functional (Hallidayan) linguistic theory.
John Willinsky School of Education, Stanford University USA Research Interests: New ways of supporting and strengthening scholarly publishing in Africa by developing and conducting research around open source software systems that enable journals to be part of a global and public knowledge exchange.
Jane Zuengler Department of English, University of Wisconsin-Madison USA Research Interests: ethnographic microanalysis of discourse; critical perspectives on language acquisition and use; issues in English spread.
Elsa Auerbach English Department, University of Massachusetts at Boston USA Research Interests: Adult education and literacy, participatory curriculum development, English as an Additional Language, worker education, teacher education.
Cathy Davison SIL International Africa Area Cameroon Research Interests: Adult education, development of literacy skills (particularly in adults), training and capacity building.
Monica Hendricks Institute for the Study of English in Africa, Rhodes University South Africa Research Interests: into children’s classroom writing in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa; sense of self and identity that emerges from classroom writing.
Sarita Monjane Henrikson PhD Candidate, Roskilde University – Department of Culture and Identity Denmark Research Interests: Language in Education Planning and Policy, Bilingual/Multilingual Education
Dr. Dudu Jankie Department of Languages & Social Sciences Education, Faculty of Education University of Botswana Botswana Research interests: language, literacy and literature education, postcolonial and culturally relevant/appropriate pedagogical approaches, multicultural teacher education, comparative education, as well as curriculum and policy issues.
Mr. Swallows Mbuyiselo Henning Khume HOD of History and IT at Fezeka High School South Africa
Mr. Rudy Klaas Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) Senegal Research Interests: local language literacy
Mr. John Kole Department of Educational Studies, La Trobe University Australia Research Interests: curriculum differentiation, Pedagogy, student learning needs, international education, and counselling.
Dr. Robinah Kyeyune Department of Language Education, School of Education, Makerere University Uganda Research interests: The place of literacy competences in learning effectiveness and its demonstration. The two areas of focus are basic literacies and academic literacies.
Dr. Lia Litosseliti Department of Language and Communication Science, City University United Kingdom Research Interests: Gender, Language and Discourse (including in African contexts); Research methodologies (especially focus groups).
Prof. Alison Love Department of English, National University of Lesotho Lesotho Research Interests: discourse analysis in political and institutional discourse in Southern Africa, discourse of academic disciplines, pragmatics.
Prof. Sinfree Makoni Department of Applied Linguistics and African and African American Studies, The College of Liberal Arts, Pennsylvania State University United States Research interests: Gerontology, urban multilingualism, identities, popular culture and music
Ms. Evelyn Markwei School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of British Columbia Canada Research Interests: The role of information in poverty alleviation among women in rural and deprived urban communities in Ghana; their information needs, information seeking behaviour, sources of information, and problems encountered in accessing information for poverty alleviation.
Dr. Dawn Marley Department of Languages and Translation Studies University of Surrey United Kingdom Research interests: language attitudes in Morocco, and role and status of French in Morocco.
Professor Marilyn Martin-Jones School of Education, University of Birmingham United Kingdom Research Interests: bilingual discourse practices and multilingual literacy.
Mrs. Janet Marx Applied English Language Studies, University of the Witwatersrand South Africa Research Interests: Systemic evaluation in reading in primary school children in multilingual contexts. I am interested in the notion of what constitutes a literate subject in today’s global knowledge economy.
Mr. Sekepe Daniel Matjila Centre for Pan African Languages and Cultural Development South Africa Research interests: Education and Multilingual and Multicultural Setting
Mrs. Lits’episo Matlosa Departments of Linguistics and Deaf Education, University of Witwatersrand South Africa Research Interests: language policy and planning; Deaf education; gender, democracy and disability issues.
Dr. El Hadji Mansour Mboup Department of English, Lycée de Bargny Senegal Research interests: Sociolinguistics, Historiography, Teaching English in Francophone Africa.
Prof. Ulrike Meinhof Centre for Transnational Studies, School of Modern Languages, University of Southampton United Kingdom Research interests: Discourse and identity. Ethnographic research on transnational networks of migrants, especially musicians from African countries, in multicultural neighbourhoods across European borders , provincial regions and cities.
Ms. Penelope G. Moanakwena Communication and Study Skills Unit, University of Botswana Bostwana Research Interests: Literacies for the information society and issues of closing the digital gap; implications for the classroom practice.
Jean Moore Faculty of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa Research Interests: Academic literacy development, particularly reading, especially in contexts where the language of instruction is not students’ primary language.
Cyrus Kabucwa Murage Bible Translation & Literacy Kenya Research Interests: Development of literacy through mother tongue education programmes for adults.
Dr. Margaret J. Muthwii Africa Area Translations Services, United Bible Societies Research interests: Language issue in African context as it interacts with society, education, development, literacy, policy and planning. African linguistics; multilingualism; text/Bible translation; Literacy and publishing in African languages.
Dr. Hizzyz Hissani Mwani UPLIFT UGANDA Uganda Research interests: The impact of a significant and widespread literacy program for community development, for the individual and for local institutions; parameters defined as sufficient to meet Millennium Development Goals and applied in an African regional context, with use of African traditional communication and methodology.
Ms. Jacinta Ndambuki English Language Studies, University of the Witwatersrand South Africa Research Interests: Applied Linguistics research with particular interest in Critical Discourse Analysis (gender and political discourse); academic literacy/writing.
Mr. Finex Ndhlovu Department of Linguistics, Monash University Australia Research interests: language policy and politics, language and power, minority languages and their maintenance (special focus on Southern Africa), language endangerment and language revitalization.
Denise Newfield English Department, University of the Witwatersrand South Africa Research Interests: Literature in education; multiliteracies and multimodality; contemporary youth poetry in Africa; poetry in Africa; curricular development; innovative pedagogies; working in contexts of disadvantage.
Willy Ngaka School of Adult and Higher Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal Uganda Research Interests: Intergenerational Literacy Learning, Lifelong learning, Language and Literacy Policy issues, and Literacies and capabilities.
Dr. Bonny Norton Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia http://lerc.educ.ubc.ca/fac/norton/ Canada Research interests: identity and language learning, education and development, and critical literacy.
Lone Elizabeth Olebile PhD Student, Language and Literacy Department, University of Georgia (USA) Botswana and USA Research Interests: Indigenous literacy, reading education, minority literacy, emergent literacy, and adolescent literacy.
Dr. Tope Omoniyi English Language & Linguistics, School of Arts, Roehampton University, London United Kingdom Research interests: Languages in education, policy, literacy & development, sociology of language & religion, language & identity in transnational communities, African diaspora, and popular culture; Language issues in EU accession & identity.
Mr. George Ladaah Openjuru Institute of Adult and Continuing Education, Makerere University http://georgeopenjuru.cgpublisher.com/index.html Uganda Research Interests: rural communities literacy practices; development of adult literacy programmes for rural peoples; adult literacy education policies and rural communities uses of reading and writing in everyday life.
Dr. Kate Parry Department of English at Hunter College, City University of New York United States Research interests: community libraries, culture and literacy, reading, Uganda, English language learning.
Dr. Kristen Perry Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Kentucky United States Research Interests: literacy development and culture, particularly in African communities; home and community practices of literacy; immigrant and refugee children; literacy brokering; family literacy
Dr. Elizabeth Platt Dept. Middle & Secondary Education, Florida State University United States Research Interests: early second language learning processes, also language & education policy w/r/t English language learners in Florida
Ms. Yvonne Reed Applied English Language Studies, School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand South Africa Research interests: materials development for distance education and for language textbooks for schools; assessment issues in language and literacy education; the construction of subject English in schools
Ms. JeDene Reeder SIL International United States Research interests: adult literacy in minority languages; sociolinguistics; orthography development (newly written languages); organizational leadership and development
Dr. Elaine Ridge Curriculum Studies, University of Stellenbosch South Africa Research interests: Teacher Education relating to EFL in Africa; language acquisition of English in EFL contexts; extensive reading; South African children’s literature
Prof. Stanley Ridge Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), University of the Western Cape South Africa Research interests: Discourse studies of contemporary and historical texts, language policy and planning, actual use of languages in multilingual situations.
Dave Roberts Langage, Langues et Cultures d’Afrique Noire, INALCO (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales) Togo Research Interests: Tone orthography of African languages, especially Kabiye (Gur, Togo).
Prof. Theresa Rogers Dept. of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia www.theresarogers.ca Canada Research interests: Adolescent/Secondary literacy practices
Prof. Casmir Rubagumya Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, University of Dar es Salaam Tanzania Research interests: language in education in Africa; language planning and language policy in multilingual societies; literacy development; language and power.
Dr. Oladipo Salami Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife institution:www.oauife.edu.ng Nigeria Research interests: language variation and change, bi/multilingualism, language contact, language policy, language in/and education and language and identity.
Beth Lewis Samuelson, Assistant Professor W.W. Wright School of Education, Indiana University, Bloomington – Literacy, Culture and Language Education (LCLE) USA Research interests: Language policy and planning; Teaching English as a foreign or international language; Central and East Africa; Rwanda.
Ms. Leila Schroeder SIL Africa Area United States Research Interests: linguistics applied to reading methodologies (including reading transition), and multilingual education (including curriculum development, teacher training, 2nd language acquisition)in primary schools.
Mr. Zachary Simpson Learning Centre, University of Johannesburg South Africa Research Interests: Academic literacy/ies, writing, writing centres, writing and identity, plagiarism.
Connie Ssebbunga-Masembe School of Education, Makerere University, Department of Language Education Uganda Research interests: literacy education, reading education, gender and education, ICT in education, discourse analysis, medium of instruction.
Dr. Tajudeen Y. Surakat Dept of English & Literary Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Nigeria Research Interests: General / Theoretical Linguistics, Pedolinguistics or Child Language Studies, TESOL, Varieties of English, Applied Linguistics / Translation Studies
Lucia Thesen Language Development Group, Centre for Higher Education Development, University of Cape Town South Africa Research Interests: Academic literacies and multimodality in different sites, including the first year lecture, and postgraduate experience.
Ms. Carol Thomson School of Education and Development, Faculty of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa Research Interests: the broad domain of the New Literacy Studies and ensuing theoretical developments i.e. literacy/ies, bilingualism, power; and phenomenological research in the field of applied and critical linguistics.
Dr. Barbara Trudell Director of Academic Affairs, SIL International Africa Area, SIL International United States Research Interests: Language policy in Africa, language and literacy, community action in local language development, mulilingual education, language and education, language and development.
Agatha J. van Ginkel Leeds Metropolitan University, UK and SIL Africa Area UK, Netherlands, Kenya Research Interests: Mother tongue literacy, bilingual education, transfer literacy from the L2 to L1, language planning and policy, testing and evaluation of reading.
Dr. Frans C. Verhagen Earth and Peace Education Associates International (EPE) United States Research interests: sustainability usage in development work, sustainable communities research in rural areas in West Africa, sustainable aviation and surface transportation issues.
Dr. Patricia Watson Research Fellow University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa Research Interests: Linguistic Human Rights; Youth, culture, media and development; Mathematics, Science and Language literacy; Comics, popular culture and visual literacy; Memory, memorialisation and heritage; History and citizenship education
Professor Rosemary Wildsmith-Cromarty Language, Literature & Linguistics, University of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa Research Interests: Multilingualism, language acquisition, language and concept literacy, Translation, African Language Development.
Eddie Williams Institution and Department: Bangor University, Wales, School of Linguistics and English Language Wales, UK Research Interests: Language policy, literacy and development in Africa; Reading in a first and second languages in African educational contexts; “Voice” and rural communities in Africa.
Dr. Hirut Woldemariamm Department of Linguistics, Institution of Language Studies, Addis Ababa University Ethiopia Research Interests:Morphology, historical and comparative linguistics, language and education, language documentation
Dr. Eva Yerende University of Kankan Guinea Research Interests: Bilingual/Multilingual Education, Comparative International Education, Anthropology and Education, West Africa; Central America; US; Greece
