Improve Your Academic Writing Skills with SADiLaR’s Free Tools – North-West University (NWU)
Academic writing is a cornerstone of academic success. It enables students to articulate their research ideas and findings in a clear and structured manner. This proficiency allows them to engage effectively in academic discourse and ultimately contribute to the knowledge within their fields.
The journey to mastering academic writing can be daunting, particularly for students whose first language is not the language of instruction. Thankfully, the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) has developed a suite of tools to assist students in honing their academic writing skills. These resources are freely accessible, catering to the diverse linguistic landscape of South Africa.
Write-it: Educational Videos and Handouts
Write-it is an educational program composed of instructional videos, reference handouts, and optional online exercises available in all 12 of South Africa’s official languages, including Sign Language. Developed by the Inter-institutional Centre for Language Development and Assessment (ICELDA) under SADiLaR’s language development and testing node, this program covers 15 essential topics.
The topics include:
- Task analysis: Understanding what is being asked of you.
- Introduction and conclusions: Crafting effective opening and closing sections.
- Discourse markers and logical connectors: Guiding your reader through the text logically.
- Voice, stance, and engagement: Establishing authority and engaging the reader.
- Referencing support: Correct referencing techniques.
- Plagiarism avoidance: Integrating and referencing sources appropriately to avoid plagiarism.
According to Prof Tobie van Dyk, ICELDA-SADiLaR Node Manager, students have expressed the need to write and study in English while receiving support in their native languages. “Write-it aims to fill that gap by guiding students in their writing process,” he explains. The combination of handouts and videos acts as a comprehensive package, providing translation support between English and home languages where needed.
This modular course allows students flexibility; they can choose to partake in the entire program or focus on specific areas that pose challenges for them.
Explore the videos here in various languages: Afrikaans, isiXhosa, Sesotho sa Leboa, Xitsonga, English, isiZulu, Siswati, Sign Language, isiNdebele, Sesotho, Tshivenda, Setswana.
Spelling Checkers for South African Languages
The Spelling Checkers for South African Languages is a software tool designed to assist in identifying and correcting spelling and typing errors in ten of South Africa’s official languages. Excluding English, which already has widely available spell-checkers, this tool works seamlessly with Microsoft Office Suite, allowing users to select their language.
Key features include an extensive word list for each language, precise word hyphenation, and the ability to create custom dictionaries for frequently used words not currently in the tool’s database. Users also have the option to share these custom dictionaries with developers for future updates.
Download the Spelling Checkers for South African Languages to enhance your writing efficiency.
LwimiLinks: Centralized Multilingual Terminology
The LwimiLinks platform is a revolutionary tool designed to empower language practitioners across South Africa. It centralizes multilingual terminology and related information in various academic disciplines.
Friedel Wolff, SADiLaR’s technical manager, highlights that LwimiLinks aggregates South Africa’s terminology lists and initiatives, giving due credit to the work already accomplished. “LwimiLinks prevents unnecessary duplication of effort by encouraging institutions to upload their resources and register related projects,” he explains. Through this platform, students, linguists, academics, and other users can access a vast repository of resources.
The platform’s name, ‘Lwimi’, means ‘language’ in the Nguni languages, while ‘linking’ refers to the extensive connections it fosters between languages, institutions, subjects, and users.
Users can search for terms in specific texts to find definitions or equivalents in different languages or peruse available support resources in their preferred language. This initiative bridges languages, institutions, and subjects to enhance the visibility of resources, even beyond a student’s home institution.
Get started with LwimiLinks and broaden your linguistic horizons.
For questions or further support on these tools, please reach out to the SADiLaR team at gro.ralidas@ofni.
