The Potential of the Language Portrait as a Self-Reflective and Decolonial Research Tool for Undergraduates: A Case Study

Abstract

The study reports on undergraduate students’ introduction to the Language Portrait (LP) as a creative inquiry resource that they used to embark on a scholarly journey through which they could potentially decolonise their subjectivities. We argue that the coloniality of English in the South African context has undermined subaltern students' scholarly knowledge production and contribution, ways of thinking, and how they value themselves outside the accepted Western norms as embodied in the English language. Consequently, this has shaped their subjectivity. By using LPs, students were able to reflect on their learning experiences. The study finds that self-reflective research skills can provide resources for shifts towards a non-colonial subjectivity. Using an exploratory case study design, students' engagement with LPs was utilised as data, accompanied by interviews. Twelve students studying at an Islamic higher education institute were asked to colour in a body silhouette (LP) and were then interviewed to explain the meaning of their LPs. The study found that the LP was an effective tool for reflecting on students learning and scholarly aspirations. Students responded very positively to the way they could do self-reflection in a colourful and playful manner. We also found that learning Arabic allowed the students to realise that there are alternative ways of thinking about who they could become. LPs added to their skill set by giving them a new research tool that they may use to pursue an epistemic delinking from the colonial project.