Stellenbosch University experts highlighted at SAALT Conference

​The South African Association of Language Teaching (SAALT) hosted its annual conference in Pretoria at the Time Square Maslow Hotel in Menlyn, Pretoria, from 19-21st June. This year’s theme was “Advancing multilingualism – mining the wealth of our languages”.

Mrs Shannon Bishop-Swart, an English Language and Literature lecturer in the Education Faculty, Curriculum Studies Department, attended the 2023 SAALT conference and presented a section from her PhD research titled “The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the emotions of teachers of multilingual students”. Prof. Nhlanhla Mpofu, the department chair of Curriculum Studies, was also in attendance at the conference and presented on the following topic: Translanguaging practices in English reading comprehension: a case study of five expert multilingual teachers.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to listen to fascinating presentations and attend workshops highlighting the challenges and successes of teaching and learning languages in the current South African context” Shannon Bishop-Swart said.

The event concluded on Wednesday, 21st June, with a gala dinner in which highlights from the conference were mentioned. Prof. Christa van der Walt, an emerita professor in the Education Faculty, Curriculum Studies was also in attendance and presented the key note address on the final day, titled ‘Possibilities for multilingual education during lockdowns’.