ACADEMIC LITERACY THROUGH THE STUDENTS' LENSES: THE VOICES OF STUDENTS FROM A MULTILINGUAL CLASSROOM

ABSTRACT In education, a common emphasis across definitions of student voice is ‘granting students the authority of their experiences as learners and their right to have a say in those experiences’ (Rodgers 2018, 89). Student voice in teaching and learning has to do with the ownership of learning inclusion in the curriculum, so that there is engagement and meaningful learning (Parr & Hawe, 2022). The current study looks at the students’ voices and perceptions about academic literacy offerings in Higher Education (HE) and their ability to critique Academic Literacy (AL) content in an English only curriculum through multilingual engagement. New Literacies Studies—NLS was used in this study as a useful theoretical lens for engaging with student perspectives and reflections on how they experienced integrated learning and the teaching of AL. The aim of the study was to explore student voices in the AL curriculum, their perceptions and how they would engage more effectively if the curriculum were presented in the languages of their choice. The study was conducted in one HE institution through the use of qualitative research methods. Two hundred multilingual students participated in the study. The results of the study indicate that in order to improve both linguistic and AL skills of students in HE, the curriculum must also be made available in the languages of students, thus accommodating a multilingual engagement and full participation across different linguistic backgrounds. Keywords: Students’ engagement, students’ voices, students’ perceptions, curriculum, multilingualism