Bridging the Divide: Indigenous Language Integration in Open Educational Resource Accessibility

Abstract

The use of information resources is dependent on their accessibility by users. The accessibility of information has attracted the attention of researchers from different parts of the world. However, Open Educational Resources (OERs) accessibility issues have not been adequately addressed in South Africa. This article explores the use of indigenous languages in the development and adaptation of OERs for accessibility at the University of South Africa. A total of 108 OERs were available for selection on UnisaIR. Ten of the 108 OERs were purposefully selected. Exploring and analysing OER development at Unisa took a qualitative and exploratory approach. This article presents the findings of a thematic analysis that was used to identify dominant themes in OER. The findings highlight two main concerns that underpin OER operations at Unisa: 1) translation as a method of OER creation and/or adaptation; and 2) deficiency of OER creation in indigenous languages. Though using indigenous languages in the construction of OERs can help to address the accessibility gap in the supply of teaching and learning resources, this aspect of accessibility as a discourse in the OER space has yet to be explored extensively. It is a matter of concern that many OERs at Unisa are written only in English. To address the gap in accessibility of OERs in the South African context, the following three language-related factors should support the creation of OERs: development in local languages, linguistic pluralism, and translation into indigenous languages.