SAALT Newsletter: May Edition
Voices of Heritage: Building Multilingual Futures
Every year, African World Heritage Day reminds us that Africa’s greatest treasures are not only found in monuments, landscapes, or historical sites, but also in the stories we tell, the languages we speak, and the wisdom we pass from one generation to the next. Across South Africa’s 12 official languages and beyond, our languages carry the heartbeat of our communities, preserving identity, culture, memory, and ubuntu.
From Heritage to Horizon
Language, Learning, and Opportunity
As South African educators, we know that language teaching is about far more than grammar and vocabulary. It is about creating spaces where learners connect with their heritage, celebrate diversity, and recognise the value of knowledge systems in a rapidly changing world. When students engage with their mother tongue alongside other languages, they discover more than words. They learn to think in new ways, to express themselves with clarity, and to connect their personal identity to their academic journey. This is not about nostalgia, but about preparing learners for a future where adaptability, creativity, and collaboration are essential.
Multilingual classrooms are spaces of opportunity. Asking learners to describe a concept in different languages shows how meaning shifts and expands. This practice builds respect for diversity and teaches flexibility – qualities that will serve them well in a world where working across cultures is the norm. It also encourages learners to see themselves as contributors to knowledge, not just recipients, because they bring their own linguistic resources into the shared learning space. In this way, multilingualism becomes a driver of innovation, helping students to approach problems from multiple angles and to value perspectives different from their own.
African World Heritage Day, then, is more than a commemoration. It is an invitation to see language as a resource for growth and a foundation for possibility. By linking heritage and language learning, we prepare students not only for exams, but for futures where their voices can shape communities, professions, and the world. As SAALT, we celebrate this day by honouring the richness of our multilingual heritage and the educators who keep our languages alive every day. In the spirit of ubuntu, may we continue to learn from one another, teach with compassion, and build bridges across cultures, classrooms, and communities. Because when we preserve language, we preserve heritage, and when we share our stories, we shape the future together.
It is in this spirit that we look forward to the SAALT 2026 Conference, hosted in collaboration with Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley, Northern Cape, from 14–16 July 2026. Building on the momentum of African World Heritage Day, the programme will introduce keynote speakers who are leaders in language education, heritage studies, and literacy development. Together, we will explore how multilingual practices and mother‑tongue learning can prepare students for a rapidly changing world.
SAALT, in collaboration with Sol Plaatje University, is therefore excited to invite academics, researchers, teachers, and practitioners in the field of language education to submit abstracts for papers, works in progress, and workshops. Expect an action‑packed programme designed to inspire, challenge, and connect educators committed to seeing language not only as heritage, but as a pathway to growth and innovation. DON’T MISS OUT – Register for the conference today!
The Symposium ALERT!
Do not miss out on this symposium where the following will be addressed
Call for Papers & SML Conference 2026
We are pleased to let you know that the final deadline for abstract submission (30 March, 2026) and registration (31 April 2026) has been extended. This year, PhD Students are eligible for a discounted registration fee of EUR 100.
The Semmelweis Medical Linguistics Conference (SMLC 2026) will take place on 5–6 June 2026 in Budapest, Hungary, in a hybrid format. This conference series aims, for the fourth time, to bring together researchers, educators, and professionals working in the field of healthcare communication and medical linguistics. The thematic scope includes, among others, patient-centred communication, medical translation and interpreting, terminology, pragmatics, artificial intelligence, metaphors, speech analysis, medical documentation, and languages for specific purposes.
Following the conference, participants will be invited to submit their manuscripts to the Semmelweis Medical Linguistics Investigations series, published by Peter Lang. All submissions will be subjected to peer review and will be automatically considered for indexing.
We warmly encourage you to participate either in person or online. Regular presentations, poster presentations, workshops, as well as general participation are welcome from researchers, educators, and PhD students in linguistics, healthcare, and interdisciplinary fields.
We would be most grateful if you could share our Call for Papers within your professional networks. In addition to traditional academic channels, we kindly invite you to disseminate the call via social media, including Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
For further information, please feel free to contact us or visit the conference website.
We very much hope to welcome you to SMLC 2026 in Budapest.
SAALT Journal
If you have missed the latest issue of the journal, visit the link below to read the articles published in this volume.
Membership Fees for 2025/2026
Becoming a SAALT member offers valuable opportunities for professional growth, networking, and collaboration within the language teaching community. Members gain access to an online profile and a directory of expertise, where they can connect with colleagues who have indicated their willingness to serve as journal article reviewers, external examiners, moderators, and more. This creates a dynamic platform for building partnerships and sharing knowledge. In addition, members enjoy exclusive benefits, including a 20% discount on page fees when publishing in the Journal for Language Teaching (JLT). By joining SAALT, you become part of a vibrant network dedicated to advancing language education and research across South Africa and beyond.
Important notice: At our AGM held during the SAALT Conference 2025 on 30 July 2025 it was decided that SAALT will change its membership dates from 1 January to 31 December 2025 to 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. Please note if you have paid your membership fees after 1 July 2025 your membership will be active until 30 June 2026.
We would like to remind everyone to renew their SAALT Membership for 2025/2026. More information is available on our website at https://saalt.org.za/become-a-member/. From this page, you will be able to navigate to our membership levels. The following options are available:
- SAALT Individual Teacher Membership: R250
- SAALT Schools Memberships: R500
- SAALT registered Postgraduate Students: R200
- SAALT Registered Academics/researchers/Other Institutions: R500
After you have made your selection on the following page https://saalt.org.za/membership-levels/ you can choose one of two options.
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Option 1:
Subscribe and pay via our secure online payment portal, Payfast. The subscribe and pay option allows you to access your online profile immediately. -
Option 2:
Request an invoice and pay via EFT or submit your invoice to your institution. If you choose this option, please remember to submit your proof of payment to the upload link that is sent to you via email after you have subscribed. As soon as your payment has been verified (please allow 2 weeks for this process), you will be able to access your online profile.
Special Interest Groups
To join the SAALT SIG Community you can scan the QR code below, or click on the WhatsApp link for the specific SIG you are interested in.
Academic Writing
During our conference last year, we discussed opportunities for the coming year. We shared ideas on how we can collaborate and promote best practices among members who are interested in academic writing. One of the initiatives we would like to launch is to build an online bibliography of publications on academic writing. If there are members who are willing to participate and would like to share their research with us, please send an email to info@saalt.org.za.
You are also welcome to join the Academic Writing WhatsApp Group simply by clicking here.
Assessment and Testing
The past few months have been quite exciting for our Assessment and Testing SIG. We have successfully delivered three webinars as part of the series Assess smart with Albert. We would like to thank Prof. Albert Weideman for availing himself for these webinars. These webinars are available on our website at https://saalt.org.za/webinars/ This SIG also forms part of the Network of Expertise for Language Assessment (NExLA). For more information visit: https://nexla.org.za/
You are also welcome to join the SAALT Assessment and Testing WhatsApp Group simply by clicking here.
African Languages: Teaching the African Way
The Special Interest Group (SIG) on African Languages: Teaching the African Way is dedicated to advancing the teaching and learning of African languages in ways that affirm their cultural, linguistic, and pedagogical richness. The SIG provides a collaborative platform for educators, researchers, and practitioners to share innovative methodologies, grounded in African worldviews, that respond to the realities of multilingual classrooms. By promoting African languages as both subjects and mediums of instruction, the group seeks to strengthen literacy, preserve cultural heritage, and contribute to educational transformation in South Africa.
We are therefore inviting you to join this group to advance our African language education.
To join our WhatsApp group click here
Addressing Diverse Multilingual Classroom Realities
Through our Special Interest Group (SIG) on Addressing Diverse Multilingual Classroom Realities, we aim to create a community of practice among the lecturers, teachers, departmental officials and members of NGOs who celebrate our language diversity in South Africa and who view language as a resource and a responsibility. We would like to collaborate on projects to celebrate the wealth of our language repertoires and find innovative ways in which to develop and support all the languages in South Africa and to share research and best practices on how languages can be harnessed to promote learning
To join our WhatsApp group click here
Advancements in Technology: Language Teaching and Assessment
The Advancements in Technology: Language Teaching and Assessment Special Interest Group (SIG) is one of the exciting SAALT SIGs through which we aim to foster a forward-thinking community of practice—one that embraces innovation, critical dialogue, and collaborative exploration of digital tools in language education. Educators, researchers, and practitioners are welcome to join our WhatsApp community (click here), where updates, announcements, and entry points into our broader shared resource and collaboration space will be shared.