Nhlanhla Mpofu

Dr. Nhlanhla Mpofu is an Associate Professor in TESOL and Literacy at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Education, where she serves as Vice Dean for Teaching and Learning and Chair of the Department of Curriculum Studies. She also holds a Visiting Professor position at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. She obtained her PhD in Humanities Education from the University of Pretoria in 2016.

Her research focuses on second-language learning in English-medium classrooms, developing culturally sustaining pedagogies that leverage learners' mother tongues, and re-orienting language education research in multilingual systems. She leads the NRF-funded project "Exploring the preparation and experiences of teachers using English across the curriculum: An interdisciplinary approach" and specializes in asset-based approaches that challenge deficit models in language education.

Her publications demonstrate consistent focus on language policy implementation, teacher development, and multilingual pedagogies within African educational contexts, with recent work examining translanguaging strategies and disciplinary literacies.

Awards & Honors:

• Fulbright Alumna
• Golden Key Honor Society
• Rated Researcher (South African National Research Foundation)
• Member of South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS)
• Margaret McNamara Education Grantee
• COIL Fellow

Grants:

• 2019: NRF-funded project on teacher preparation for English as Language of Learning and Teaching (Principal Investigator)

She maintains professional memberships with the Southern African Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Society (SALALS) and South African Association for Language Teaching (SAALT), and serves on the South African Council on Higher Education Accreditation Committee.