English Language Capital and its Implications for Higher Education Institutions and Researchers: The Case study of Three African Flagship Universities

• In Event: Dissertation workshop session
  In Special Session: Language Policy

Proposal

Research Objectives
Universities in Africa are often considered to focus on teaching than research. More recently, however, some universities are in the move towards becoming more research intensive with goals of becoming active participants in the internationalization and regionalization of higher education, while producing locally relevant research at the same time. Taking the case of three (aspiring) flagship research universities: University of Pretoria (in post-colonial and post-Apartheid South Africa), Eduardo Mondlane University (in postcolonial Mozambique where English is not the primary medium), and Addis Ababa University (in uncolonised Ethiopia where English still serves as a primary medium of research), this PhD research focuses on investigating the major English language-related issues that have implications for quality, quantity and relevance of research.

One reason for giving a particular attention to analyzing the expanding use of the language for research in the selected diverse and multi-lingual African flagship universities is the need to interrogate the often taken-for-granted notion that English is the language of science and research. A focus will also be made on examining how the presence or lack of English language capital might have implications for accessing other research-related economic (funding) and social capital (networks and collaborations). In light of recent debates in some African countries like South Africa on decolonizing the university and research itself, questions will be asked regarding the place of the English language in the ‘Africanised’ university by engaging with the works of postcolonial scholars like Fanon(1968) and Wa Thiongo(1994).

Research Questions
The main research question of the study, therefore, is: What are the implications of current distribution of English ‘language capital’ on the journey African universities are having towards being research intensive?
The specific research questions are:
• Considering the institutional research habitus of the universities and researchers in them, is English an enabler or barrier of research and knowledge production?
• What are (if any) the implications of the current distribution of English language capital on other forms of research-related economic and social capital?
• What would the expanding use of the language for research in the contexts being studied mean in terms of quality, quantity and relevance of research produced?
• What would the increasing use of English for research mean for the institutional identity of universities and initiatives at Africanizing and decolonizing research?

Rationale of the study
Among the three functions of language in higher education (language as a medium for teaching and learning, as a means of archiving knowledge and research, and as an object of theoretical study), according to (eg. Brumfit 2004; Saarinen, 2017) its functions as a means archiving knowledge and research have not been prominent in higher education research. In African contexts, this ‘language as medium of research and knowledge production research gap’ seems even more pronounced considering initiatives at enhancing capacity of universities. The study is expected to contribute to our understanding of issues related to English as the dominant medium of research in African universities.

Theoretical framework
Pierre Bourdieu’s (1991, 1992) concepts of capital, field and habitus and specifically that of linguistic capital (as an aspect of cultural capital) are used to inform the conceptualization and the analysis of the research. To explore issues pertaining to language, knowledge production and relevance of research in local contexts, ‘postcolonial’ perspectives(e.g. Achebe, 1994, 2000; Fanon, 1968; Nyerere, 1968; Cesaire, 1972; Said 1978, 1993; Rodney, 1982; Wa Thiongo, 1994) on language and education are used to inform the analysis.

Methodology
A mixed-method multiple case study design is used to come up with an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the implications address the research objectives. As Adelman et al. (1976) state, this research also adopts case study design to especially explore and inquire how a phenomenon (English language for the purpose of this study) behaves in a given context.

The research utilizes document analysis and in-depth interviews as data collection instruments. Research data (bibliometric information) from international, continental and national research repositories is used to map out and analyze research and publication data from the case-study universities. In-depth interviews with university research leaders and researchers across disciplines in the three higher education institutions are expected to give a nuanced understanding of the English language and the role it plays in research and knowledge production in Africa.

Status on Research
I have recently started collecting data.

Author

• Addisalem Tebikew Yallew, University of the Western Cape