LANGUAGE, LITERARY STUDIES, AND DIGITAL LITERACY: THE EXPECTED ROLES OF HIGHER INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIAEDUCATION, LANGUAGES

1. THEME:
LANGUAGE, LITERARY STUDIES,
AND DIGITAL LITERACY:
THE EXPECTED ROLES OF HIGHER
INSTITUTIONS IN
NIGERIAEDUCATION, LANGUAGES
ILESANMI AJIBOLA, PhD
TETFund Center of Excellence for
Technology Enhanced Learning (TeCETEL)
Federal College of Education,
Zaria, Kaduna State
19-09 -2023
A LEAD PAPER PRESENTED AT THE
SCHOOL OF SECONDARY EDUCATION, LANGUAGES
8TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE
FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ZARIA
8TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE

2. INTRODUCTION
 The story of Mr. PhD and Amina: The erudite scholar, and the digital former student
 "Sir, I am still the Amina you knew, but I have what you lack." I am digital, you are not even
analogue but have remained traditionally manual. Sir, it is no longer about degrees only, it is
also about skills - digital skills.”
 “The speed at which artificial intelligence (AI) evolves and integrates into our lives is
only going to increase in 2024. As companies learn to unlock its potential, individuals
use it to boost productivity, and legislators scratch their heads over-regulating it, AI will
become increasingly omnipresent in everything we do.” Forbes 19-09-2023
 The theme for this conference is apt at this pivotal juncture when rapid technological
transformations are reshaping nearly all aspects of human communication and cultural
expression.
 The digital spaces have become extensions of our classroom communities where ideas,
discussions, and comments on every aspect of life are liked, shared, and discussed.
 The role of our higher education institutions is crucial to navigating these changes and
cultivating new generations of digitally literate, ethnically conscious, and socially
responsible citizens.

3. LANGUAGE
INSTRUCTION,
LITERATURE,
AND
CULTURE
 Language instruction involves developing students' linguistic competence for effective
communication within academic settings and beyond (Jimola, 2023).
 Literary studies focus on analysing literature from diverse traditions to foster critical thinking
skills (Nabhan & Hidayat, 2018).
 Digital literacy refers to the ability to effectively use digital tools for information retrieval,
research, data analysis, and creative expression (Schafer et al., 2018).
 The interplay of language and literary studies hold sway on culture and the values we uphold as
defining us as a people. Both domains are interconnected:
Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (Logical-Philosophical Treatise -LPT)
(Wittgenstein, 1922), and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o’s Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of Language in African
Literature (Ngugi, 1982).
 Wittgenstein: language is a picture of reality and the meaning of a proposition is determined by its
relationship to the world.
 wa Thiong’o: “Language carries culture, and culture carries the entire body of values by which we
live.” -“The Language of African Literature” (Ngugi, 1994),

4. LANGUAGE
INSTRUCTION,
LITERATURE,
AND
CULTURE
 At this conference, we must consider the kind of values our contemporary higher
institutions of learning in Nigeria transmit to young minds, especially in the
emerging culture of digitalisation.
 What kind of culture dominates modern literary studies?
 Is our language bereft of positive vibes that set us apart from the chequered
transmogrification of decency?
 Works of Thiong’o and Wittgenstein, as well as other writers like Chinua Achebe,
Wole Soyinka, Niyi Osundare, Abubakar Gimba, Flora Nwapa, Zainab Alkali,
Muhammadu Bello, and Ben Okri among many others, have called attention to
being aware of the power of language, and literary studies, especially on culture.
 The time to review the nexus between Language, Literary Studies, and Digital
Literacy: The Expected Roles of Higher Institutions in Nigeria was yesterday.
 This conference must reverberate the urgent questions regarding language preservation,
evolution, and digitization in the Nigerian context.

5. 
THE
DIGITAL
AGE
AND
THE
CHALLENGES
OF
LANGUAGE
PRESERVATION,
EVOLUTION,
AND
LITERARY
STUDIES
 Nigeria is a linguistically diverse country, with over 500 languages spoken.
 However, many of these indigenous languages are at risk of extinction.
 Language preservation efforts are needed to maintain the country’s rich linguistic heritage.
 The country’s complex linguistic landscape requires judicious, collaborative digital
strategies that preserve diversity and oral traditions while fostering continued
language evolution.
 Reasons for this decline in our respective language preservation.
 Dominance of English as a common language.
 Less intergenerational transmission of minority languages
 Lack of orthographies (writing systems), learning materials, and literature in indigenous
languages
 Rural-urban migration, and the influx of foreign media and technology
 Digitalization is the good news!

6. DIGITALIZATION
:THE
GOOD
NEWS?
 We live in a digital era where Artificial Intelligence, Chatbots, and various other technological
tools are available to support language preservation and evolution.
 Creating digital databases, and dictionaries, and translating materials into diverse
languages can increase their visibility.
 MySQL, a relational database management system (RDBMS) that can be used to create and
manage digital databases.
 SDL Trados, a professional translation management system (TMS) to manage translation
projects.
 Lexicography projects (ELPs) for documenting and preserving endangered languages are of
much relevance and importance.
 Digital intervention platforms can make indigenous languages relevant in the digital space,
especially in our higher education system.
 Although the English Language dominates many digital spheres now, the democratizing potential
of digital technology can gradually facilitate more multilingual and equitable online spaces.
 How may our curricula evolve to better prepare students as readers, writers, and critical thinkers
in an increasingly digital media landscape?

7. THE
EXPECTED
ROLES
OF
NIGERIA
HIGHER
INSTITUTIONS
IN
LANGUAGE,
LITERARY
STUDIES,
AND
DIGITAL
LITERACY
 Does Nigerian Higher Institutions have any crucial role to play in promoting language proficiency,
advancing literary studies, and fostering digital literacy?
 With over 500 native languages spoken in Nigeria, many of which lack a strong written tradition,
how can technology enable greater documentation and accessibility while retaining the vitality
and integrity of these vehicles of culture and traditions?
 What responsibilities do our universities bear regarding the sustained study and support of
indigenous languages and literary heritage?
 The answers to these questions are positive.
 The various disciplines in our higher institutions of learning must have all attention focused on
the integration of digital tools, leveraging Artificial Intelligence - where possible, in the conduct of
the business of teaching and learning.
 We must reckon with the Philosophy and spirit of the 6th Edition of our National Policy on Education (Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 2013).
 Especially its emphasis on the importance of quality teaching and learning, improving school infrastructure and
facilities, engaging information, and communication technology (ICT) in education, and encouraging the participation of
the private sector in education. But the NPE is just a document, it is up to us as individual lecturers, students, other
stakeholders, the private sector, the government, and the people of Nigeria to work together to implement the NPE and
make it a reality.

8. THE
EXPECTED
ROLES
OF
NIGERIA
HIGHER
INSTITUTIONS
IN
LANGUAGE,
LITERARY
STUDIES,
AND
DIGITAL
LITERACY
 At the individual level, we must be deliberate in making the details of the NPE work.
 Incorporating more digital texts into strengthening the reading culture of both students
and lecturers.
o Save costs on print media and expose students and lecturers to global access to
reading materials.
o Could teach critical analysis skills across diverse media.
 Lecturers and teachers must invest time and energy in creating multimedia
assignments.
o Enable diverse forms of digitally mediated expressions.
 Some advantages in blending with the contemporary world best practices in digitalising
our classroom experiences include:
 Helping students to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
 Assist students in learning how to work collaboratively.
 Make students apply their knowledge and skills in real-world situations.
 Make learning more engaging and relevant for students, while they learn at their own pace.

9. THE
EXPECTED
ROLES
OF
NIGERIA
HIGHER
INSTITUTIONS
IN
LANGUAGE,
LITERARY
STUDIES,
AND
DIGITAL
LITERACY
 Introduce lessons on weighing the credibility, bias, and accuracy of online
sources.
 Federal College of Education, Zaria has established a Publication Standardization Unit (PSU)
at the College’s TETFund Centre of Excellence for Technology Enhanced Learning (TeCETEL).
 For staff and students to produce high-quality work that is clear, well organized, easy to
understand, and low in online similarity and plagiarism levels.
 An enhanced reputation of an institution; protection of the institution’s collective and
individual intellectual property/ies; and, of course, better academic rating with enhanced
global visibility and recognition of the institution.
 Enable students to leverage tools such as QuillBot, Grammarly, and other grammar and
spellcheck tools, as well as critique limitations.
 Go beyond the use of red and green buttons of phones, to an entrepreneurial
engagement.
 Study how writing style and research have shifted digitally - integrating critical
literacy studies with hands-on

10. PRODUCING
GRADUATES
THAT
WOULD
BE
RELEVANT
IN
OUR
DIGITAL
AGE
 The English Language, and other languages such as Ibo, Hausa, Yorùbá,
Arabic, French and so on, likewise, other academic disciplines in our
higher institutions, like courses in Arts, Languages, Education, Business,
vocational and technical education, and the sciences, must prepare
students in the use of digital technologies effectively for communication,
research, and learning.
 Students must be helped through policies, and conscientious efforts of the
various stakeholders in the education industry to develop critical thinking
skills to evaluate the information they encounter online.

11. MOVING
FORWARD
 There should be a long-term policy plan, and an immediate discourse on ways
that Nigerian higher institutions may promote language, literary studies, and
digital literacy:
Institutions need to establish research centres and institutes that focus on the
correlation of language, literary studies, and digital literacy.
Such centre will help to create a knowledge base and generate new ideas in the fields
of language, literary studies, and digital literacy.
Further conferences, workshops, and other events which bring together scholars
and practitioners from Nigeria and around the world need be regularly organised
to foster collaboration and exchange of ideas.
The cliché of publish or perish culture should include dissemination of research
outcomes to raise awareness of the importance of language, literary studies, and
digital literacy.

12. BREAKOUT
QUESTIONS
 At this conference, we must strive to identify other key roles that higher institutions in Nigeria
can play in promoting language, literary studies, and digital literacy. We must ask ourselves, and
provide resounding answers to pertinent questions as:
 What are the challenges and opportunities for promoting language education in Nigeria's higher
institutions?
 How can digital technologies be used to enhance language learning and teaching in Nigeria's higher
institutions?
 What role can higher institutions play in developing and promoting the sciences in the country?
 What are the ethical considerations for using digital technologies in Nigeria’s Higher Institutions?
 What are the essential digital literacy skills that students should acquire in Nigeria's higher institutions?
 How can higher institutions in Nigeria ensure that all students have access to digital literacy education?
 How can digital technologies be used to enhance teaching and learning in all disciplines (e.g. Islamic and
Christian Religious Studies, Computer Studies, Agric Education, Early Childhood Care, etc) in
Nigeria's higher institutions?
 What are the specific language challenges faced by science students in Nigeria?
 How can higher institutions in Nigeria design and implement language education programs that meet the
needs of social science students?
 How can digital technologies enhance language learning and teaching in Adult and Non-formal
Education?

13. LET
OUR
DISCOURSE
BEGIN
 Esteemed colleagues, in the sessions ahead we will grapple
with the questions identified, share innovative ideas, consider
best practices from institutions worldwide, and chart an
aspirational course for the future.
 There are immense challenges, but there are also tremendous
opportunities. With our academic dexterity, openness to
modernity, and readiness to experiment, I am confident that
Nigerian higher institutions can fulfil their expected roles and
steer our nation toward an enlightened digital age.
Let our discourse begin as we brainstorm at our various sessions!