Old languages in new academic spaces: emergent pedagogy for tertiary programmes in Pacific languages

Abstract

This paper considers an appropriate pedagogy for indigenous language programmes at tertiary level in a context in which a former colonial language has become the default as both medium of instruction and subject of academic study. This pedagogy is guided by an overarching commitment to decolonisation of the academic space, is grounded in the sociolinguistic realities of each specific context, and remains flexible enough to accommodate the complexities that are inevitable when a language is made welcome for the first time in a new domain. A recent expansion in the number of languages offered for study at the University of the South Pacific serves as the backdrop to this discussion.