Bonny Norton, , is a professor and distinguished university scholar in the Department of Language and Literacy Education,
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
, Canada. She is also research advisor of the
African Storybook and 2006 co-founder of the Africa Research Network on Applied Linguistics and Literacy. She is internationally recognized for her theories of
identity and language learning and her construct of investment. A Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), she was the first recipient in 2010 of the Senior Research Leadership Award of AERA's Second Language Research SIG. In 2016, she was co-recipient of the
TESOL Award for Distinguished Research and elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
.
Biography
Born in 1956 and raised in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
during the turbulent
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
years, Norton learnt at an early age the complex relationship between language, power, and identity. As a reporter for the student newspaper at the
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...
(WITS) in Johannesburg, she investigated the draconian language policies of the state, which sought to impose the
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
language on resistant African students, precipitating the
Soweto Riots in 1976. After completing a BA in English and history, a teaching diploma, and an Honours Degree in
applied linguistics
Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are education, psychology, communication rese ...
at WITS in 1982, she received a
Rotary Foundation
The Rotary Foundation is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely b ...
Graduate Scholarship to do an MA in linguistics (1984) at
Reading University
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
in the UK. Thereafter she joined her partner, Anthony Peirce, in
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
, US, where she spent three years as a
TOEFL
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ) is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by more than 11,000 universities a ...
language test developer at the
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service (ETS), founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization. It is headquartered in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, but has a Princeton address.
ETS develops var ...
, and had two children, Michael and Julia. The family moved to Canada in 1987, where Norton completed a PhD in language education (1993) at the
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) is Canada's only all-graduate institute of teaching, learning and research, located in Toronto, Ontario. It is located directly above the St. George subway sta ...
at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. Prior to her appointment at the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
(UBC) in 1996, she was awarded postdoctoral fellowships from the US National Academy of Education Spencer Foundation and the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada, CRSH) is a Canadian federal research-funding agency that promotes and supports post-secondary research and traini ...
.
Research program
Norton is centrally concerned with the ways in which language and literacy research can address larger social inequities, while supporting educational change at the grassroots level. Her research seeks to make visible the relations of power that language learners and teachers navigate in diverse classrooms and communities. An advocate for international development, her trajectory of research extends from Canada to sub-Saharan Africa, focussing on a broad range of topics including digital literacy, popular culture, health literacy, language assessment, and teacher education. In 2006, she co-founded the Africa Research Network on Applied Linguistics and Literacy, and is active in the innovative African Storybook in which her former UBC graduate students, Juliet Tembe and Sam Andema, are team members. The ASP is an open-access digital initiative of the South African Institute for Distance Education, which promotes early literacy for African children through the provision of hundreds of children's stories in multiple African languages, as well as English, French, and Portuguese. Its spin-off, the Global-ASP, is translating these stories for children worldwide. In her capacity as Research Advisor of the African Storybook, Norton has worked with Espen Stranger-Johannessen, also of UBC, to initiate the African Storybook blog and YouTube channel to advance this and other projects.
Recent awards
Major recent awards/distinctions include:
* Elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
* TESOL Award for Distinguished Research, 2016. https://www.tesol.org/enhance-your-career/tesol-awards-honors-grants/tesol-awards-for-excellence-service/tesol-award-for-distinguished-research
*
Beijing Foreign Studies University
Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU; ), is a public university in Beijing, China. BFSU boasts the oldest language programs in China offering the largest number of foreign language majors on different educational levels. Located in Haidia ...
Distinguished Visiting Scholar, 2015
* Vernon Pack Distinguished Scholar and Convocation Speaker,
Otterbein University
Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio. It offers 74 majors and 44 minors as well as eight graduate programs. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Bre ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, 2015
*
Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies
The Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies was founded in 1991 and is the senior research institute at the University of British Columbia. It supports basic research through collaborative, interdisciplinary initiatives. The institute brings toge ...
Distinguished Scholar in Residence, UBC, 2013/2014
* Research Advisor, African Storybook, South African Institute for Distance Education, 2013 to present
*
American Educational Research Association
The American Educational Research Association (AERA, pronounced "A-E-R-A") is a professional organization representing education researchers in the United States and around the world. AERA's mission is to advance knowledge about education and p ...
Fellow, 2012
* AERA Second Language Research SIG, Senior Research Leadership Award (inaugural recipient), 2010
* Visiting Senior Research Fellow,
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, 2007–2010
* Honorary Professor, Education,
University of Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...
, South Africa, 2007–2010
* UBC Killam Research Prize, 2007
* UBC Distinguished University Scholar, 2004 to present
* UBC Killam Teaching Prize, 2003
Selected works
Books and journal special issues
* Norton, B. (Guest Ed.) (2014). Multilingual literacy and social change in African communities
pecial issue ''Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 35''(7).
* Norton, B. (2013). ''Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation. 2nd edition.'' Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
* Higgins, C. & Norton, B. (Eds.) (2010). ''Language and HIV/AIDS.'' Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
* Norton, B., & Toohey, K. (Eds). (2004). ''Critical pedagogies and language learning.'' New York: Cambridge University Press.
* Norton, B., & Pavlenko, A. (Eds.). (2004). ''Gender and English language learners.'' Alexandria, VA: TESOL Publications.
* Kanno, Y., & Norton, B. (Guest Eds.). (2003). Imagined communities and educational possibilities
pecial issue ''Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 2''(4).
* Norton, B. (2000). ''Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity and educational change.'' Harlow, England: Longman/Pearson Education.
* Norton, B. (Guest Ed.). (1997). Language and identity
pecial issue ''TESOL Quarterly, 31''(3).
YouTube videos
* November, 2016
Bonny Norton, FRSC: The African Storybook in the Digital Age.
* November, 2015
British Council YouTube Interview on Language and Identity.
* April, 2014
African Storybook Tribute to Jim Cummins, Toronto.
* February, 2014
UBC Peter Wall Institute talk: "The African Storybook Project: What questions for research?"
* February, 2014
UBC interview, the African Storybook.
* March, 2013
Webinar, Global Conversations in Literacy "Identity, Investment, and Multilingual Literacy (in a Digital World)".
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Bonny Norton's home pageBonny Norton on Google ScholarBonny Norton's Youtube channelAfrican StorybookAfrican Storybook blogApplied Linguistics and Literacy in Africa & the Diaspora Research Network* GCLR 2013 Webina
"Identity, Investment, and Multilingual Literacy (in a digital world)"American Educational Research Association (AERA)Global-ASP
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Academic staff of the University of British Columbia
Living people
1956 births
Applied linguists
Sociolinguists
Women linguists