No Student Left Behind

Abstract

The end of 2019 was punctuated by the emergence of an infectious disease spread through human-to-human transmission. This resulted in the suspension of contact classes as countries tried to contain the widespread virus. institutions were thus left with only one option: e-learning. E-learning entails the electronic delivery of learning experiences through the use of electronic mail and can either be synchronous or asynchronous. Through sociolinguistic lens embedded in the funds of knowledge and Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy, this chapter reports on a qualitative study that sought to delve into the pivotal role language play in the e-learning of multilingual undergraduate science students at a university in Zimbabwe. The students received e-learning lessons in the form of videos and narrated slides in English with subtitles in Shona and Ndebele languages. Data was collected through focus group interviews held via Microsoft Teams. This study suggests commendatory cognitive and socio-cultural benefits of multilingual e-learning pedagogy and espouses its use in higher education.