The study examined the perceptions and expectations held by students towards the usefulness of their
linguistic repertoires in helping them achieve social integration and academic success at the
International University of Management (IUM) in Namibia. The general aims of the study were to
establish the nature of the linguistic repertoires of the students at the IUM who do not have English,
the IUM’s medium of instruction, as first language; to establish the extent to which students before
entering the IUM expected such repertoires to assist them in their social adjustment and academic
success; and to assess the students’ expectations and perceptions of the extent to which their linguistic
repertoires indeed assisted them to achieve social integration and/or academic success at the IUM. It
also takes a specific interest in the nature of linguistic repertoires that students expected to need to
adjust to university life at the IUM, both socially and academically.
The participants in this study were first-year students on the Windhoek campus of the IUM. The data
was collected by means of a language background questionnaire, individual interviews and a focus
group discussion. Questionnaires were completed by 44 participants, after which interviews and a
focus group discussion were held with a sample of eight students who volunteered for these purposes
on the questionnaires. The data of the study was transcribed, described, interpreted and thematically
analysed to identify recurring patterns which ultimately informed the research questions.
The findings of the study are that students at the IUM are multilingual, able to effectively
communicate in an average of three languages – mostly English (the medium of instruction), the
individual’s first language and another, third language. Also, IUM students employed different
languages or language skill in different contexts to fulfil different purposes (e.g., communication or
identification purposes). English is by far the most favoured language by the students, due its status
as the medium of instruction at the IUM, the official language of Namibia, and the campus-wide
lingua franca to interlocutors of diverse first languages, as well as the language of communication
amongst different university stakeholders. The second and third most widely used languages on
campus were respectively Oshiwambo, because it accounts for half of Namibia’s population, and
Afrikaans, due to its status of former official language in pre-independent Namibia. Other African
languages and some foreign languages (such as French, Portuguese and Dutch) also formed part of
the students’ linguistic repertoires and were mainly used in informal domains. English, by contrast,
was predominantly used in formal domains (such as in lectures, in offices and with university
authorities), but also, to some degree, in informal settings (e.g., for conversation with strangers or at
social gatherings). Finally, the study demonstrated that students have positive attitudes towards their
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linguistic repertoires helping them to achieve social integration and academic success at the IUM.
Particularly competence in English was seen as a valuable tool in meeting the students’ social and
academic needs, whereas first languages were seen as compensating in those academic areas where
the students lacked sufficient proficiency in English.