Sinfree B. Makoni
African Studies Director at Penn State
State College,PA
Summary
Liberal Arts Chair Professor of Applied Linguistics and African Studies at Penn State, specializing in language policy, decolonial linguistics, and multilingual healthcare communication, with decades of academic and applied experience across Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Strong background in research, knowledge production, community engagement, and cross-cultural collaboration. Founder of the African Studies Global Virtual Forum, reaching participants in 33 countries. Recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh (2025). Fluent in English with professional expertise spanning multilingual and postcolonial contexts.
Overview
36
36
years of professional experience
Work History
Professor, African Studies and Applied Linguistics
Pennsylvania State University
07.2021 - Current
- Developed the African Studies Global Virtual Forum (AFGF) in 2020, a major global initiative in Southern epistemologies and decoloniality. AFGF embodies my commitment to addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion at a global level. Meeting weekly and, at times, biweekly since 2020, AGVF has been remarkably successful, reaching North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Since 2023, AFGVF has held three summer schools, at Penn State; Nelson Mandela University, South Africa; and Doha, Qatar.
- Delivered lectures on advanced topics in education and research methodologies.
- Developed curriculum materials for undergraduate and graduate courses in education.
- Supervised student research projects and provided mentorship to graduate students.
Associate Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics and Program in African Studies
Pennsylvania State University
07.2002 - 06.2021
- Taught and researched language policy and planning, language and security, language and ageing, language and dementia, and integrational linguistics to enhance understanding of their societal impacts.
- Developed and delivered engaging course content across multiple disciplines.
- Mentored graduate students in research methodologies and academic writing.
- Collaborated with faculty to enhance curriculum standards and educational practices.
Executive Director, Society, Culture, and Identity Research
Human Sciences Research Council
, South Africa
07.2006 - 12.2006
- Directed research on identity among Black South Africans to inform policy recommendations and enhance community engagement.
- Conducted research on organizations in South Africa to assess their contributions to local community development and social cohesion.
Associate Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Long Island University
Brooklyn, United States
07.2001 - 06.2002
- Taught and conducted research on language disorders in multilingual contexts.
Associate Professor, Department of English Language and Literature
University of Cape Town
Cape Town, South Africa
03.1995 - 07.2001
- Taught and conducted research on psycholinguistics in English language applied linguistics.
Dubois-Mandela Rodney Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Afro-American Studies
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, United States
08.1999 - 01.2001
- Conducted research on bilingualism in dementia.
- Research institution in Ann Arbor.
Deputy Director, Applied Language Studies and Literacy
University of Cape Town
Cape Town, South Africa
02.1998 - 02.1999
- Oversaw the development of projects and academic programs in Applied Linguistics for the faculty of Education.
Head of the Department of Linguistics
University of the Western Cape
, South Africa
03.1994 - 02.1995
- Main responsibilities included setting up the Department of Linguistics.
Lecturer
University of Swaziland
, Swaziland
02.1990 - 02.1994
- Taught undergraduate courses in Semantics, Sociolinguistics, and Syntax in the English Department.
Education
PhD - Applied Linguistics
University of Edinburgh
United Kingdom01-1989
BA, cum laude - English
Accra University of Ghana
Legon, Ghana01-1984
Skills
- Development of curriculum
- Language policy writing
- Language assessment development
- Research methodologies
- Technical writing
- Cross-cultural communication
Service - Professional Memberships
- Literacy and Applied Linguistics Research Network in Africa
- Co-president, International Association for the Study of Colonial and Postcolonial Linguistics
- Global Special Issues of Aging Network (Europe, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa)
- Southern Multilingualisms and Diversities
- International Association for the Study of Colonial and Postcolonial Linguistics
- International Association for the Integrational Study of Language and Communication
- Literacy and Applied Linguistics in Africa
- African Research on Ageing Network (AFRAN)
- Southern African Association of Applied Language Studies (SAALA)
- International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA)
- Applied Linguistics in Africa
- British Association of Applied Linguistics
Awards
- Best Advisor of the Year, 05/01/26
- Meritorious Service Citation, 04/01/26
- Presidential Award for Excellence in Integrating, Research, Teaching and Service, Pennsylvania State University, 04/01/26
- Advanced Humanities Fellowship, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), 01/01/21-12/31/23
- Extraordinary Professor, University of the Western Cape, 04/01/22-02/01/25
- Visiting Professor, Nelson Mandela University, 10/01/21-10/01/25
- Research Fellow, University of Zululand, 01/01/23-12/31/26
- Extraordinary Professor, North-West University, 01/01/19-01/01/25
- Recipient of the Andrew Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Award, 03/01/20-12/31/20
- Andrew Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Award, Carnegie Foundation, New York, 11/01/19-08/01/20
- Visionkeeper's Program, University of South Africa, Pretoria, 11/01/18-10/01/20
- Research Fellowship, Department of English Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria, 08/01/16-08/01/20
- Andrew Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Supplementary Award, Carnegie Foundation, New York, 08/01/19-09/01/19
- Visiting Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, 05/01/18-08/01/18
- Visiting Professor, University of South Africa, Pretoria, 05/01/17-07/01/17
Teaching - Courses
- AAS 110: Introduction to Contemporary Africa
- AAS 403: South Africa Today
- AAS 150: Film in Africa
- AFR 110: Introduction to Contemporary Africa
- AFR 150: Africa in Cinema
- AFR 297A: Health and Illness in African Worlds
- AFR 496: Independent Studies
- AFR 505: African Studies Methodology
- AFR 596: Individual Studies
- APLNG 200: Language Culture and Society
- APLNG 210: The Ecology of Global English
- APLNG 482: Introduction to Applied Linguistics
- APLNG 491: Theory of Second Language Acquisition
- APLNG 496: Independent Studies
- APLNG 575: Language Ideology
- APLNG 580: Proseminar in Applied Linguistics
- APLNG 583: Language Testing
- APLNG 591: Seminar in Second Language Acquisition
- APLNG 596: Individual Studies
- APLNG 597: Special Topics
- APLNG 600: Thesis Research
- APLNG 601: PhD Dissertation
- APLNG 602: Supervision and College Teaching
- AAH 402: African Health & Development
- CIED 597: Special Topics
- ESL 4: ESL/Composition for American Academic Communication
- INTST 493: International Studies
- LING 496: Independent Studies
- LING 548: Sociolinguistics
- AFR 501: Topics in African Studies
- AFR 510: Postcolonial Theory
Research
Language policy and planning, Colonial linguistics, Critical discourse analysis, Sociolinguistics of protests in higher education and policing, Language and health, Ageing and dementia, On Northern, Southern, and entangled cosmopolitan. English language Ideologies among migrants in Australia., Nguyen Trang, under revision, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, Language Policing and the discourse of English normativity among migrant youth in Australian schools., Nguyen Trang, Language, Culture and Curriculum, Rethinking applied linguistics in the Global South: A conversation with Sinfree Makoni., Shah, W. A., & Makoni, S., 2024, Journal of Education, Language, and Ideology, 2, 1, 219-230, Decolonizing applied linguistics in Africa and its diasporas: Disrupting the centre., Makoni, S. B. (coauthor, 50%), Unyierie, U.A., & Rudwick, S., 2024, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, Língua e raça no Brasil colonial., Severo, C., Makoni, S. B., 2023, International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 15-53, Postcolonial language policy and planning and the limits of the notion of the modern state., Makoni, S. B., Abdelhay, A., & Severo, C., 2023, Annual Review of Linguistics, 9, 483-496, The politics of Southern research in language studies., Makoni, S. B., Severo, C., & Abdelhay A., 2023, Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 17, 4, 371-379, Southern perspectives of language and the construction of the common., Makoni, S. B. (coauthor, 55%), & Severo, C., 2022, Language and Communication, 87, 1-15, Translanguaging in the Global South., Severo, C., Makoni, S. B. (coauthor, 40%), & Abdelhay, A., 2022, Scrutiny, 25, 1, 104-109, Language and race in colonial Brazil., Makoni, S. B. (coauthor, 55%), & Severo, C., 2023, The International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 282, 15-53, Proverbial futures: Proverbs and political discourse in Africa., Khasandi, V., Makoni, S. B. (coauthor, 35%), & Bade, D., 2022, Linguistic Forum, 19, 7206-7225, Sociolinguistic protests for decolonial future making: Toward decentering languaging in the streets., Lee, E., & Makoni, S. B. (coauthor, 45%), 2022, Bandung, 22, 1 & 2, 300-324, Integrationism and language ideologies., Severo, C. G., Pable, A., & Makoni, S. B. (coauthor, 30%), & Jones, P., 2022, Linguistic Form, 19, 7151-7159, A partnership of unequals: Global South-North research collaboration in higher education institutions., France, K., & Makoni, S. B. (coauthor, 45%), 2021, Modern Africa, 8, 2, 9-24, Determinants of participation of young famers with and without disability in agricultural capacity-building programs designed for the public in Uganda., Agole, D, Baggett, C., Bremman, M., Yader, E., & Makoni, S. (coauthor, 15%), 2021, Sustainable Agriculture Research Archives, 10, 2, 74-85, Southernizing and decolonizing the sociology of language: African scholarship matters., Rudwick, S., & Makoni, S. B. (coauthor, 48%), 2021, The International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 267-268, 259-263, Reviewing and the politics of voice: People in the Arab World 'name' their struggle 'revolutions and not the 'Arab Spring'., Abdelhay, A., Severo, C., & Makoni, S. B. (coauthor, 30%), 2021, The International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 267-268, 9-20
Timeline
Professor, African Studies and Applied Linguistics
Pennsylvania State University
07.2021 - Current
Executive Director, Society, Culture, and Identity Research
Human Sciences Research Council
07.2006 - 12.2006
Associate Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics and Program in African Studies
Pennsylvania State University
07.2002 - 06.2021
Associate Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders
Long Island University
07.2001 - 06.2002
Dubois-Mandela Rodney Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Afro-American Studies
University of Michigan
08.1999 - 01.2001
Deputy Director, Applied Language Studies and Literacy
University of Cape Town
02.1998 - 02.1999
Associate Professor, Department of English Language and Literature
University of Cape Town
03.1995 - 07.2001
Head of the Department of Linguistics
University of the Western Cape
03.1994 - 02.1995
Lecturer
University of Swaziland
02.1990 - 02.1994
PhD - Applied Linguistics
University of Edinburgh
BA, cum laude - English
Accra University of Ghana