Embedding literacies: Finding social spaces for dealing with linguistic diversity in higher education

Abstract

The growing hegemony of English in South Africa; sub-standard schooling and school language in education policy have inhibited access to English literacy for many students studying in English at university. One of the more tangible outcomes of these factors is the high attrition rate at tertiary level. It is generally accepted that a once-off literacy intervention does not meet the language needs of the majority of our L2 students and more interventions are necessary. However, it is a struggle to find meaningful, sustainable spaces in the curriculum to achieve this. This article describes the various social spaces that are being explored at the University of the Free State to integrate literacy in the curriculum. The efficacy of the various interventions is not investigated or discussed in detail. This article outlines the spaces and how these are used to integrate literacy across the curriculum and concludes with lessons learned from these interventions.