The propagation of the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide has affected education and communication globally. The sudden shutdown of schools and universities in most countries of the world mainly during the first half of 2020 were behind the rapid rise of distance learning of which digital communication is a fundamental aspect. In Africa, the pandemic forced many governments to use digital connectivity in unexpected ways. The present volume, indeed, is a timely book that describes digital communication in Africa by offering examples of digital communication in Africa during the pandemic. This book discusses the priorities, difficulties, and innovative practices experienced during this period. In fact, these difficulties and practices were already present before the spread of the virus, and are reflected in the chapters of this book, which were written before the world went into lockdown.
The book is divided into four different, yet related, parts; the first part contains two chapters that revolve around the theme of multilingual practices. In chapter 1, Leketi Makalela discusses how technology can respond to ways of knowing peculiar to African cultural competence and literacy initiatives that cut across a number of languages. In chapter 2, Epimaque Niyibizi, Cyprien Niyomugabo, & Juliet Perumal reveal through the results of their study that translanguaging practices boost positive social dynamics among communicators. The second part deals with linguistic and cultural maintenance. Elvis ResCue & G. Edzordzi Agbozo's study reveals the intersections between digital technologies and multilingualism and vitality of African languages. In the next chapter, Kirsty Rowan demonstrates how training in new technologies delivered to the Nubian diaspora can promote multilingualism through heritage language learning. The third part describes the various effects of communication outside Africa through three chapters. Sarah Ogbay & Goodith White, for instance, examine communication between female members of the Eritrean diaspora on the Network of Eritrean Women Facebook site, while Bonny Norton's work finds out that digital technology increases the range of students’/teachers’ imagined identities. In chapter 7, Susanna Sacks reveals how social media publications have influenced poetic forms and literary communities in Malawi. The last part, and chapter, of the book, by Abdulmalik Yusuf Ofemile, tackles the theme of language change outlining implications for English language teaching and theories of listenership in multilingual EL2 blended learning contexts. In fact, throughout this interesting book, the reader will find that the above themes are often echoed by the different contributors over the entire book.
