Dr. Toboso Mahero Bernard is the current acting Chair of the Department of Language and Literature
Education. The Department of Language and Literature Education was established in the year 2017 upon the
establishment of Alupe University College.
Language, literature, and education are important disciplines in different fields. The market for literary specialists, grammarians and linguists have continued to broaden its scope, and this shift demands a curriculum that caters for the job market needs. It is for this reason that the department commits and seeks to redefine the role of literary specialists, linguists, and language educators in language-literature related fields in academics.
Degree Programmes
The department teaches students specializing in Bachelor of Education Arts who have the option of selecting any of the following subjects in combination as a requirement for secondary school teachers – Kiswahili, Literature, and English. These are organized under the following sub-categories: Kiswahili (Linguistics, Literature, Kiswahili Education), Literature (Literature in English and Literature Education), and English (Linguistics and English Education).
A student taking English as a teaching subject must take it with Literature as the other teaching subject, while a student taking Kiswahili as a teaching subject will take it alongside a teaching subject from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Education, these include Religion, History or Geography. All students will take courses subject education courses in each of their teaching subjects. In the future, there are plans to introduce masters and Ph.D. courses in Kiswahili, Kiswahili Education, English Linguistics, English Literature, Literature Education, and English Language Education.
The Department of Language and Literature Education has a committed team of seven highly
experienced lecturers and researchers – four full time and three part-time academic staff members. It is
a community of scholars and researchers who are committed to the advancement and dissemination of
knowledge in literature, languages, and education. They are committed to the training of highly qualified professionals with impeccable education, language, and literature skills and competences. The seven members and their areas of specialization include:
1. Prof. Caroline Omulando – Applied Linguistics and English Language Education
2. Dr. Toboso Mahero Bernard – Kiswahili
3. Dr. Florence Anyonje – Kiswahili and Kiswahili Education (Part-time lecturer)
4. Ms. Gladys Nyaiburi Ogaro – Literature
5. Mr. Boswell Owuor – Linguistics
6. Mr. Solomon Mutaliani – English Language Education (Part-time lecturer)
7. Mr. Francis Okaye Okedi – Literature and Literature Education (Part-time lecturer)
Our Bachelor of Education programme – English and Literature or Kiswahili plus other subjects mainly
focuses on the basic training of teachers of Kiswahili and English/Literature.
However, the knowledge and skills acquired can also fit into various professions and our graduates can
take up a range of careers. The following are the other available opportunities of employment: trains
professionals in linguistics better suited to meet the challenges that linguistic diversity poses for the
Kenyan academia and the society at large, today and in the future. The Department of Language and
Literature Education believes in producing graduates who are well-grounded in literary studies, language education, and in general and theoretical linguistics. Our graduates would be employed as consultants in language and literature related matters as educationists, curriculum developers, teaching and learning material developers, policymakers, teachers of English and Literature, tutors, lecturers, researchers, lexicographers, language translators and interpreters, media and journalism personnel like newscaster, newspaper editors and news writers, editors with book and magazine publishing firms, theatre and performing arts, film and play writers, directors and producers, advertising, marketing, and public relations officers, customer service social media managers, and speech therapists among others.
The department. Among these are African literature, children’s literature, African linguistics, language
education, translation, and interpretation.
Staff Areas of Research Interest
The Department boasts of members with a wide range of research areas across the specific
specializations and whose expertise is sought after both at the international, national, and regional
levels. More specifically, they engage in the following areas of research:
African literature Children’s literature
Drama and theatre arts
Caribbean literature
Oral literature
Theoretical linguistics
Applied linguistics
Language education
Sociolinguistics
Multilingual issues
Translation and interpretation
Language planning, policy, and education
English grammar
Historical development of Kiswahili
Communication Studies
Poetry
Prose works
Kiswahili Play
Comparative Literature
Theory of Literature
To our prospective students, consider joining us:
a) We have dedicated and caring faculty
b) We offer training through student-centered and community-based learning experiences
c) There are dynamic career prospects after your training
For further inquiries, please contact:
The Dean School of Education and Social Sciences,
Alupe University College,
P. O. Box 845 -50100,
Busia – Kenya.
Email: sess@auc.ac.ke
