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INTPART-International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research

MultiLing in partnership with South Africas top universities

Alternative title: MultiLing i partnerskap med Sør-Afrikas topp universiteter (MultiLingSA)

Awarded: NOK 3.1 mill.

The Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan (MultiLing) is a research Center of Excellence (CoE) established at the University of Oslo. MultiLing's goal is to generate state-of-the-art scientific knowledge on individual and societal multilingualism across the lifespan. We investigate how we learn multiple languages, how we use them, and how sociopolitical factors influence multilingualism across the lifespan. Important research themes are multilingual competence in the individual, multilingual language choices and practices, and the management of multilingualism in language policy and ideologies. Our vision is to understand and to contribute to how society can deal with the opportunities and challenges of multilingualism through increased knowledge, promoting agency for individuals in society, and a better quality of life, no matter what linguistic and social background. South Africa is a highly multilingual country that offers an important and unique perspective to the study of multilingualism. The main goal of the INTPART partnership project was for MultiLing to establish, strengthen and further develop collaboration with top research and teaching institutions in South Africa, namely University of the Western Cape, University of Cape Town, University of the Witwatersrand, and Stellenbosch University. Each of the chosen partner institutions are committed to excellence in research and education, and have research and education profiles involving the field of multilingualism. Our activities included jointly organized seminars, workshops and conferences; guest researcher visits; exchange of research and teaching staff, as well as research administrative staff; postgraduate student exchanges; and discussions towards enriching course and curriculum development. The project officially started in 2016, with the kickoff event taking place at Stellenbosch University at Stellenbosch University on March 7 to 8, 2016, where 70 researchers from all the partner institutions met. From the beginning of the networking project, several researchers and administrative staff conducted short or long-term researcher visits at partner institutions. In 2016 the partners from South Africa were reserved slots at the PhD Summer School in Oslo and they hosted a Summer School in Cape Town with lecturers from all of the partner institutions. The latter was funded by the INTPART project. In 2017 researchers from MultiLing lectured at an intensive course on experimental methods in the study of multilingualism for students and staff from the INTPART partners in Cape Town. Research fellows within the project have also attended Winter and Summer schools organized by MultiLing staff in Oslo and Copenhagen. During the autumn 2017, the project had a network meeting and a new Summer School in Johannesburg funded by the project. The final summer school was held in December 2008 at University of Cape Town.

Increased international research collaboration and publications Top research training courses Co-supervision of doctoral candidates and joint courses Mobility of students and researchers, as well as structures that support mobility Joint presentations at international conferences Joint articles and publications among researchers and/or (post)graduate students in the partnerships Lectures at partner institutions

The main goal of the partnership project is for MultiLing to establish, further develop and strengthen collaboration with scholars at key South African universities whose work is highly relevant for the research agenda at MultiLing, including researcher training and education. MultiLing's goal is to generate state-of-the-art scientific knowledge on individual and societal multilingualism across the lifespan. The Center?s vision is to understand and to contribute to how society can deal with the opportunities and challenges of multilingualism through increased knowledge, promoting agency for individuals in society, and a better quality of life, no matter what linguistic and social background. In order to do so, MultiLing's goals involve bringing together disciplines that have hitherto often been fragmented within linguistics, namely psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic approaches to language and multilingualism, through the study of the whole multilingual individual at all phases of life and in the context of society. Important research themes are multilingual competence in the individual, multilingual language choices and practices, and the management of multilingualism in language policy and ideologies. These research themes are central for the proposed project and collaborative activities. While there is increasing attention to mobility and linguistic diversity resulting in widespread multilingualism in a European context, there is a growing interest and need to draw attention to southern experiences of multilingualism, mobility and diversity. The South African scholars are all engaged in relevant research for MultiLing's goals. The joint activities include jointly organized seminars, workshops and conferences; guest researcher visits; exchange of research and teaching staff, as well as research administrative staff; postgraduate student exchanges; and discussions towards enriching course and curriculum development.

Funding scheme:

INTPART-International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research