Bachelor of Arts Honours in African Languages for Professional Contexts
Communication Studies and Language - Language
Purpose and Rationale
Qualification Purpose and Rationale
Purpose:
The Bachelor of Arts Honours: African Languages for Professional Contexts program aims to equip students with theoretical knowledge and applied competencies to understand and develop effective language policy and planning for African languages in a multilingual context. Graduates will be able to analyze, plan, implement, and manage discourse practices of African languages in professional contexts within the public, private, and educational sectors. The program also seeks to address the challenges faced by African languages in education, the public sector, and business environments by producing graduates competent in language policy, planning, and discourse analysis for African languages.
Rationale:
The qualification addresses the critical need for language practitioners who have advanced knowledge of professional discourse in African languages and understand the complexities surrounding the promotion and advancement of these languages in professional settings. The African languages have been underrepresented in public and business sectors, and this program aims to produce graduates who can contribute to the promotion and use of African languages in professional contexts. By developing language planners, communication practitioners, and educators with the ability to design and implement multilingual language policies that prioritize African languages, the program aims to fulfill the growing demand for professionals in this field.
Graduates of this program will be experts capable of initiating, planning, and executing strategies and projects related to language policy and planning in professional environments. They will possess a comprehensive understanding of how discourse in African languages can be utilized in both public and corporate spheres. The qualification outcomes will meet the need for professionals who can apply their knowledge and competencies to promote multilingualism in professional contexts effectively.
Outcomes
- Demonstrate an advanced theoretical knowledge of language policy and planning, pragmatics and discourse analysis, as applied to African languages in public and business sector contexts.
- Demonstrate a principled understanding of how the promotion of the use of African languages in professional multilingual contexts relates to values, ideologies, attitudes, social identities and relationships.
- Construct, interpret and analyse spoken and written discourses in the African languages in institutional and organisational domains, for both internal and external communication.
- Relate professional discourse practices in African languages to broader issues concerning language and society in the implementation of multilingual language policy.
- Identify and analyse problems relevant to the development and sustainability of a multilingual language policy in institutional and organisational contexts, for the creation of a culture, sensitive to discourse practices in African languages. Critical Cross-Field Outcomes: All Critical Cross-Field Outcomes are embedded appropriately in the modules and will be assessed within the context of the relevant Exit Level Outcomes.
Assessment Criteria
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
- Demonstrate a comprehensive, integrated knowledge of theoretical approaches in the interpretation of Language Policy and Planning for practice.
- Evaluate and critique current research on Language Policy and Planning in terms of existing language policy and plans formulated for professional contexts.
- Identify, analyse and present solutions to complex problems concerning the status and role of African languages in Language Policy and Planning in multilingual professional contexts.
- Demonstrate familiarity with the current scholarly literature in the fields of language policy and planning, pragmatics, and discourse and genre analysis, and applied research relating to the African languages in the context of multilingual language policy.
- Select appropriate research methodologies for pragmatic investigation or analysis of a research problem.
- Identify, analyse and present theory-based solutions to complex phenomena in discourse of African languages in independent investigations.
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
- Justify the importance of promoting the use of African Languages in professional multilingual contexts.
- Identify and critique the role and influence of values and attitudes within relationships in a social context.
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:
- Effectively present the findings of independent investigations of discourse analysis of African languages to a range of audiences.
- Conduct research on a topic of Language Policy and Planning for African languages in a multilingual professional context and present the findings according to institutional requirements.
- Communicate the arguments and proposals to a range of specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:
- Present principles of communication types in professional contexts and intercultural competence.
- Analyse and articulate the nature of discourse analysis in professional contexts in relation to the implementation of multilingual language policy.
Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5:
- Analyse problems related to sustainability regarding multilingual language policy within institutional and organisational contexts.
- Provide innovative solutions to address problems identified in discourse practices for the African languages.
Integrated Assessment:
- The University has a formal Assessment Policy which regulates all assessment practices in qualifications and which fulfils diagnostic, formative and summative functions.
- Ensure the attainment of assessment validity, reliability, transparency, fairness, attainability, and timeous feedback.
- Academic honesty is ensured through a formal policy on the curtailment of plagiarism.
- The qualification assessment requirements entail a series of six - eight major written assignments and three major tests for formative and summative assessment.
- The research assignment, comprising 30 Credits, constitutes the major summative assessment.
Qualification Details
- Type
- Honours Degree
- NQF Level
- 08
- Min. Credits
- 120
- SAQA Source
- More Information
Education Cost Calculator
This page includes information from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) . Builtneat Pty Ltd trading as Study Start, has modified all or some of this information. SAQA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.