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Department of Linguistics


Linguistics postgraduate student and staff party

All new and continuing students in Postgraduate Linguistics Courses are encouraged to attend a function welcoming new students, where you can meet staff, and where you can find out about the Linguistics Department.

Please come and join us for some drinks and light snacks from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm in the Staff Club (Building W5A) on Friday 5 August 2005.

Linguistics planning day

The recent Linguistics planning day was organised to look into future possible directions for the department, particularly in view of the major changes likely in Australian higher education policies. The day focused on research, higher degree research students, strategic financial planning, and teaching and learning. Outcomes will be fed into the department's strategic plans and will inform future planning, including a proposed refocusing of the undergraduate program later this year.

From the Linguistics Postgraduate Office

  • Changes to higher degrees in research for 2006

    Academic Senate has approved and recommend to Council a new Master of Philosophy. This will replace all of the existing Master Degrees by Research, one of which, the MA by Research, goes back to the beginning of the university. The new MPhil will not be awarded with honours, but will, like the PhD, be open to the award of Vice Chancellor's Commendation. The maximum word length will be 50,000 words. The new degree will be open to candidates from the beginning of 2006, and existing Masters by Research students may transfer to it if they choose to do so.

  • Enrolment

Students who were enrolled in first semester units don't receive enrolment paperwork for the second half of the year. Your enrolment which occurred at the beginning of 2005 is for the whole year. To add a unit/s to your second semester program all students use a Change of Program form available as a download from the web http://www.mq.edu.au/postgrad/forms.htm OR distance students you can send an email with selection of units for second semester to coecop@reg.mq.edu.au

  • Unit result notifications

    Following the successful implementation of the eStudent website, the University has determined that in future no paper-based unit result notifications will be sent to students, except for those students who qualify for an award. All unit result information and details regarding eligibility to graduate can be obtained from the eStudent website.

    Students requiring written proof of their results should arrange to purchase an official academic transcript.

  • My myMQ - the student portal https://my.mq.edu.au

    myMQ, the Student Portal, provides the gateway to information for current students. myMQ has been designed to bring all student resources to one location. The Portal contains links to:

    • Student Email
    • Calendar
    • Online Teaching Facility
    • Library catalogue and reserve systems
    • eStudent
    • Unit home pages and many other student and university resources
    • Additional services will be added throughout the year
      • View your results
      • Check and update your contact details
      • Check your email and set up an auto-forward from the official University email to your personal email
      • Check your "Expecting to Complete" details

  • Incomplete ("I") grades

    Many of you will, during the course of your study, find that you get an "I" grade when you receive your result notices at the end of semester. Generally, there is really no need for alarm if you know you have handed all your work in. The "incomplete phenomenon", which we have termed it, occurs because of administrative procedures and deadlines for a number of different departments within the University.

An "I" grade is automatically applied by the University when grades have not been received for students enrolled in a unit. Postgraduate students will often find they get "I" grades because the date for submission of your assignments for a postgraduate unit is often a date which occurs later than the date for when grades need to be resolved in time for general result notices to be sent out by the University. Often, everyone in a postgraduate unit will automatically get an "I" grade. If you have submitted all your work, your "I" grade will be resolved when the marker has graded it, when it has been approved by the Department and finally by Senate. Once these steps are done, a new grade result notice will be sent to you.

Of course, if you have not handed in your work, or if your grade is NOT resolved after a reasonable time period, you should contact your convener.

Notice to all Linguistics research candidates
Mandatory participation in the Linguistics and Psychology Divisional Research Festival

The Divisional Postgraduate Research Festival is being held December 8th - 10th this year. This is an opportunity for postgraduate students to showcase their work to others in the division, and to get feedback on their research in a friendly and collaborative environment. With the diversity of research projects in the division, the festival is a stimulating forum for students and staff.

Participation in the festival is compulsory. On-campus students must make a presentation. External candidates are welcome to present in person if this is possible. If not presenting, external candidates must submit a poster for display.

Candidates are required to submit an abstract by completing the abstract submission form on the web and indicate whether they are presenting in person or submitting a poster. This form will be active on the website from August 1 - 31, 2005. Students who don't submit an abstract by this date will still have to present, but may not be
represented in the program and may also end up presenting their work in an unrelated stream.

For those students in the early stages of their research, the abstract is not intended to be a binding proposal for the paper/poster you will present or send for display at the festival. The purpose of the abstract is to give people a sense of what your presentation is about, rather than a precise word-for-word account of your presentation.

As participation in the festival is mandatory, if you are already aware of particular commitments during the festival which may affect your ability to attend on a given day or at a given time, please indicate this on your form. While we will try to make every accommodation for reasonable requests, we cannot guarantee particular timeslots.

You can view previous years' programs at the Festival Website to help you with ideas for drafting your abstract. The website address is http://www.lp.mq.edu.au/festival_archive.htm Any queries, email the Festival Committee (Festival@psy.mq.edu.au). Don't forget: August 1 - 31 abstracts open for online submission.

Happy Writing and Researching,
The Festival Committee.

Congratulations

We are very pleased to announce that Academic Senate has approved the following two doctorates:

  • Ben Fenton-Smith on "Patterns and parameters of question time", supervisor David Butt;
  • Sharon Cameron on "Development and evaluation of a test of virtual spatial hearing", supervisor Philip Newall and recommended for a Vice-Chancellor's Commendation.

The Higher Degree Research Committee has also recommended for approval to Academic Senate the following:

  • Dewi Rochsantiningsih (Linguistics, Supervisor: Prof Anne Burns) - for her PhD "Enhancing professional development of Indonesian high school teachers
    through action research".

Congratulations to these students and their supervisors.

Writing and Communication Skills Program

The schedule for the Writing and Communication Skills Program which is available to all on-campus Linguistics Postgraduate Students for Semester 2, 2005 will be as follows:

Writing Program
Session 1 - Approaching Assignment Questions in Linguistics (Week 2)
Session 2 - Structuring and Planning Your Assignment (Week 3)
Session 3 - Developing & Maintaining Your Argument (Week 4)
Session 4 - Understanding Plagiarism & Referencing (Week 5)
Session 5 - Critical Reviews & other Written Assignments (Week 6)
Speaking and Listening Skills Seminars
 Speaking and Listening Skills Seminar 1 (Week 3)
Speaking and Listening Skills Seminar 2 (Week 4)
Presentation Skills Workshops
Presentation Skills Workshop 1 (Week 9)
Presentation Skills Workshop 2 (Week 10)
Presentation Skills Workshop 3 (Week 11)

The first session of the Writing Program commences on 10 August. For further details on how to join this program go to: http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/support/writing_skills/on_campus.htm

Writing Website

The LINGPWS Linguistics Postgraduate Writing-Skills website is part of the support services and resources offered by the Linguistics Department for its on-campus and distance students.

All Linguistics students enrolled in a postgraduate unit (on-campus, external) can access the site by using their MQ ID and password which every student is given at enrolment. To logon to the website please go to: http://online.mq.edu.au/pub/LINGPWS/

In the Unit Content section of the website, Parts 1 to 5 give information and activities about different aspects of academic writing, with a particular focus on postgraduate assignments in Linguistics. There has been a concentration on questions and problem areas most often identified by Linguistics students in the preparation of their assignments, and in most cases, examples are taken from actual student assignments. In Part 6, there are answers to common questions about Linguistics assignments related to referencing, style and formatting, and organization and argumentation.

For further information, please contact Tessa Green by email tgreen@ling.mq.edu.au

Linguistics research seminars

Upcoming seminars

  • Aug 15 - Dr.Annabelle Lukin
  • Aug 22 - A/Prof. Geoff Brindley
  • Oct 05 - Bonny Norton
  • Oct 10 - Dr Jemina Napier
  • Oct 31 - John Knox
  • Nov 07 - Research student presentations

For more information about the 2005 Linguistics Research Seminar Series please refer to the Seminar web page http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/research/researchseminars.htm

From the Macquarie Library

The Handbook of Varieties of English, consisting of two print volumes and accompanying interactive CD-ROM, is now available for use in the Library.

The print volumes cover Phonology (vol. 1) and Morphology & Syntax (Vol. 2) and feature descriptive survey articles covering national standard, regional, ethnic, social, and contact varieties plus information on historical/cultural backgrounds and current sociolinguistic situations.

The CD-ROM includes a database of speech recordings and sound samples plus interactive maps permitting phonological or grammatical comparisons.

Bibliographic details: A Handbook of varieties of English: a multimedia reference tool. Berlin; New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 2004. 2 volumes +CD-ROM Reference Collection (Level 2) PE1711.H36 2004. CD-ROM available from the Reference Desk (Level 3) for use on a Library PC.

For further information about linguistics resources in the Macquarie Library you can contact the Linguistics Academic Outreach Librarian, Maureen Kattau at mkattau@mars.ocs.mq.edu.au

From Speech Pathology

Lynne Mortensen has been appointed to a permanent part-time position to teach on the MSLP program (2 days per week). Lynne, of course, has been working on the program in both permanent and casual capacities since the program commenced. We are pleased to have her back on board on a permanent basis. She will be continuing to teach on the Professional Practice, Clinical Linguistic and Neurogenic components of the program.

Beth Armstrong recently attended a meeting at the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to discuss the possibility of setting up an international aphasia corpus for teaching and research purposes. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Brian McWhinney (Carnegie Mellon) and Prof. Audrey Holland (University of Arizona). Prof. McWhinney was the designer of the CHILDES database - a corpus of child language used internationally for a number of years. Thirteen aphasia researchers attended the meeting and agreed to investigate the possibilities of contributing data to the project, as well as assembling guidelines for contributions, and detailing innovative ways in which the data could be used for teaching and research, particularly of a collaborative nature. Further follow-up meetings and discussion will be organized in the near future.

Elizabeth Doell recently presented a workshop in April to Speech Pathologists in New Zealand based on her research findings "language-facilitating opportunities within teacher-student interactions." Liz also graduated this month from the University of Sydney, having completed her PhD.

More locally, all MSLP staff presented at the Speech Pathology Australia National Conference in Canberra at the end of May. Macquarie had a large representation, with staff presenting workshops and a master-class, as well as organizing and chairing whole modules. Recent graduates of the Master of Speech & Language Pathology students also presented papers on their research projects carried out as part of the Masters program. One of these papers was picked up by the media (project by Michelle Bennett MSLP student; Elisabeth Harrison, supervisor) and Elisabeth Harrison was interviewed several times during the conference by radio (ABC) and newspaper journalists from across Australia on the use of SMS systems with clinical monitoring of parent-conducted stuttering intervention programs.

Lynne Mortensen and Beth Armstrong will be participating in a colloquium at the upcoming International Systemic Functional Linguistic Conference in Sydney. The colloquium is entitled "Clinical Analysis: Pushing the Boundaries" and is a cooperative effort of the Clinical Linguistics Research Group, consisting of members from Macquarie, University of Newcastle and University of Sydney. Lynne and Beth's paper is entitled "Reflections on ideational resources: transitivity and logical relations" and focuses on analysis of an interaction between an aphasic speaker and a variety of conversational partners.

From the Dictionary Research Centre and Style Council

The DRC is organising two conferences later this year, both to be held in Melbourne. Australex, on Dictionaries and Community will be held on 27 September 2005 at the University of Melbourne. Style Council, with the theme Style in Context: Australian and International will be held on 16 October 2005 at "Eden on the Park" in South Melbourne, and will dovetail with the National Editors conference there.

Publications

The next issue of Australian Style will be available in June, with a lead article by Robert Eagleson on the conventions for writing numbers in discursive texts. The 4th edition of Macquarie Dictionary will be published at the end of September, with a launch at the Style Council conference.

From the NCELTR Resource Centre

New books in NCELTR's Resource Centre:

  • An introduction to systemic functional linguistics, by Suzanne Eggins. 2nd edition.
    New York: Continuum: 2004

    A completely updated, comprehensive overview of systemic theory covering concepts including semiotic systems, genre, register, text cohesion and grammatical metaphor. Includes a functional grammatical description of the simultaneous metafunctional organization of the clause- its mood, transitivity, theme and clause complex systems.

  • Applied linguistics and language teacher education, edited by Nat Bartels. New York: Springer: 2005. (Educational Linguistics volume 4 series)

    The 21 studies in this volume provide information on the complexity of novice teachers' learning and use of knowledge in a variety of applied linguistics classes. Also includes a state of the art summary of research on knowledge acquisition, and evaluation of the research methods used.

New Print and Online Journal

  • Language Assessment Quarterly Vol 2 no1 2005

    LAQ is an international journal published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. It contains articles on the theory, research and practice in first, second and foreign language assessment for school, college and university students, language assessment for employment and language assessment for immigration and citizenship. The table of contents from LAQ will be included in Journal Watch.

Information about resources may be found at the NCELTR Resource Centre website http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources Our email address is rescentr@nceltr.mq.edu.au and phone number 9850 9653.

Upcoming conferences and workshops

Macquarie linguists involved in upcoming inaugural computational SFL conference

Conference website - http://www.cs.usyd.edu.au/%7Ercdmnl/csfgc.html
Conference programme - http://www.it.usyd.edu.au/~rcdmnl/csfgc_program.html

These conferences are to be held each year in conjunction with either a systemic functional congress or the major conference organized by the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL). ACL 2006 will be combined with COLING and will be held in Sydney. The programme includes contributions relevant to corpus-based research, text analysis, language description, computational modelling of language, and so on: computational SFL has grown considerably since our years of research on the Penman project at the Information Sciences Institute/ USC in Marina del Rey, LA, expanding into a range of new areas.

A number of papers are related to the kind of work pioneered on the Scamseek project with a central contribution from the start by Macquarie Linguistics -- Maria Herke- Couchman, Wu Canzhong and Christian Matthiessen, and then also Kathryn Tuckwell and Matthew Honnibal (who's now doing a Ph.D. at Sydney Uni. with Jon Patrick). The research at the Sugeno Lab of the Brain Science Division of the RIKEN Institute in Tokyo is also represented at this conference. This again has a strong Macquarie Linguistics/ Sydney connection, with the team of visiting scholars: David Butt, M.A.K. Halliday, Christian Matthiessen, Kazuhiro Teruya and Wu Canzhong.

The Second Pacific Association for CALL Conference (PacCALL) will be held at Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China from 1-3 December 2005.

The theme for this year's conference is: CALL Directions: New Identities and New Communities. Confirmed keynote speakers are:

  • Bernd Rueschoff, Univ. of Essen, Essen, Germany, President of EuroCALL
  • Mike Levy, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia

Abstracts (max 250 words) for Papers (45 minutes); Demonstrations (45 minutes); and Posters sessions are now invited. Deadline for receipt of abstracts is 31 July, 2005.

There are two submission methods: 1) Online proposal submission can be found at www.paccall.org, and 2) via e-mail - download paper form at http://www.paccall.org and send to: prop2005@paccall.org All submissions will be acknowledged by e-mail. Successful applicants will be notified by August 15th, 2005.

Further details can be found via the PacCALL website http://www.paccall.org/ or contact Renata Chylinski, president pacCALL Australia chapter: renata.chylinski@monint.monash.edu.au

Call for Papers - Social change conference - Queensland University of Technology. Papers due: 15 July 2005.

Social Change in the 21st Century is a one-day conference of the Centre for Social Change Research at Queensland University of Technology. The conference will showcase social research projects that address a wide-range of issues pertaining to social change at a local, national and international level. Collectively, these research undertakings contribute to achieving a better understanding of the drivers of social change and the implications of change for individuals, families, nations and beyond.

Conference held: Friday, 28 October 2005, 8.00am - 5.00pm, Ground Level, A Block, Queensland University of Technology, Carseldine campus, Beams Road, Carseldine.

The Centre for Social Change Research invites submissions for papers and posters on topics related to social change. We particularly encourage submissions from emerging researchers. Abstracts of no more than 250 words with contact details should be forwarded to c.bailey@qut.edu.au. Please see the Conference Style Guide with relevant dates and procedures at the conference website: http://www.socialchange.qut.edu.au/conferences/socialchange/index.jsp

First Call for Papers - The Russian Association for Cognitive Studies invites submissions for the 2nd Bi-Annual Russian Conference on Cognitive Science to be held on 9-13 June, 2006, in St. Petersburg.

Our goal in organizing the conference is to continue the multidisciplinary dialog started in Kazan in 2004 during the 1st Russian Conference on Cognitive Science. Topics of interest include cognition and its evolution, intellect, thinking, perception, consciousness, knowledge representation and acquisition, language as a means of cognition and communication, brain mechanisms of cognition, emotion and higher forms of behavior. Psychologists, linguists, neuroscientists, specialists in artificial intelligence and neuroinformatics, computer scientists, philosophers, anthropologists, as well as other researchers interested in interdisciplinary research, are invited to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations.

The working languages of the conference will be Russian and English. The conference program will include overview lectures by leading experts in cognitive science, round tables, oral papers, posters, and a special session for students and junior researchers. The invited speakers are Natalya Behtereva, Riitta Hari, Ray Jackendoff, Ronald W. Langacker, Dan Slobin, Vladimir Zinchenko and others.

Additional information on the conference is available at the web site of the Association for Cognitive Studies www.cogsci.ru/cogsci06/firstcallen.htm or by e-mail at: cogsci06@cs.msu.su

Call for contributions - New language teacher research series

Professor Anne Burns is co-editor for a volume in a new series on teacher research to be published by TESOL. The details are set out below. Please contact her at anne.burns@mq.edu.au if you are interested in submitting a chapter.

The term teacher research is in the broadest possible sense to encompass all forms of practitioner inquiry that involve systematic, intentional, and self-critical inquiry about one's work in K-12, higher education, or continuing education classrooms, schools, programs, and other formal educational settings. This definition includes inquiries that others may refer to as action research, practitioner inquiry, teacher inquiry, teacher or teacher educator self study, and so on, but does not necessarily include reflection or other terms that refer to being thoughtful about one's educational work in ways that are not necessarily systematic or intentional". (Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (1999). The teacher research movement: a decade later. Educational Researcher, 28(7), 15-25).

The editors are interested in studies of teachers' own work - research through which you, as a teacher, teacher educator or lecturer - investigate some aspect of your own professional practices in your own context and in order to deepen your understanding of what you do. The research may involve collecting data from other individuals in your context, such as learners, trainee or experience teachers you work with, or even colleagues, but the point of any such data collection should be to assist you in understanding some aspect of your own work. For example, you might collect feedback from your learners to help you evaluate some new approach or activity you tried out, or document and evaluate your trainees' growing understandings of a particular issue in ELT to help you understand the impact your work is having. The research might also be based entirely on introspective data (e.g. a diary) you generate yourself. Work which analyses contexts and individuals outside those you normally work in and where the focus is on studying others rather than yourselves is not suitable for the volume. The key question in the preparation of abstracts is to make it clear how the research is an example of practitioner research and which aspects of your work it will illuminate.

For further submission details please check the TESOL web page - http://www.tesol.org The closing date for full chapters is Sept 2005.

Call for papers - forthcoming special issue of the Journal of Research in Reading

Reading and Literacy in Developing Countries

The Journal invites submissions of articles to be considered for publication in a forthcoming special issue of the Journal entitled Reading and Literacy in Developing Countries, scheduled for publication in Spring 2007. The term 'developing countries' should be interpreted in the broadest sense and include countries with low GNP and low levels of adult literacy. We welcome research on reading and literacy in languages other than English as well as research on reading English as a Second or Foreign Language in the contexts concerned. We would also welcome theoretical or review papers.

When preparing their manuscript, authors are requested to keep in mind that readers of the Journal may not be familiar with the specific context being described or with the language(s) discussed and to pay particular attention to the description of the context (political, educational, social or linguistic) of the teaching or the research. For guidelines on preparing and submitting articles, please see the inside back cover of the journal or visit www.blackwellpublishing.com/JRIR/submiss.htm

In order to assist planning, authors are requested to send expressions of interest or requests for further information to the corresponding editor, a.paran@ioe.ac.uk by July 31st 2005. The closing date for receipt of first drafts of papers for this special issue is March 31st 2006. We welcome submission by email. All papers will be subject to the normal peer review process of the Journal. The expected deadline for submission of final versions is November 30th 2006.

Please submit papers for this special issue to: Dr Amos Paran, a.paran@ioe.ac.uk Institute of Education University of London 20 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AL UK.

New publications

From NCELTR

Teachers' Voices 8: Explicitly supporting reading and writing in the classroom
Anne Burns and Helen de Silva Joyce (eds). Published in March 2005 by NCELTR, 84 pp, 297 x 210, Ph 9850 7966, Book $27.50. DVD $39.95

This volume of Teachers' voices and its accompanying DVD form a professional development package focusing on explicitly supporting reading and writing in the adult ESL classroom. It includes illustrative excerpts from the teachers' classrooms that relate to the classroom events they describe.

Explicitly supporting reading and writing in the classroom also provides a number of focus activities that can be used by readers to experiment with the theoretical ideas and classroom tasks presented. Readers are provided with suggestions for conducting small-scale action research projects that allow for application of the ideas in their own classrooms.

Using the Web to support language learning
Pam McPherson and Denise E Murray. Published in March 2005 by NCELTR, 104 pp, 148 x 210, Ph 9850 7966, $16.50

Using the Web to support language learning introduces a range of different ways learners can use the World Wide Web to achieve their language, content and web learning skills. It includes web strategies and activities that are most commonly used by language teachers. The eight chapters include: finding and selecting information on the Web; using ESL websites, listening online; reading webpages; content-based instruction; WebQuests; learning management systems; creating webpages.

The third in the Teaching with New Technology Series, this book provides teachers with practical, research-based approaches to using computer technologies in the language classroom.

For more information on these or other publications, contact Kris Clarke, Publications Production Manager, NCELTR Publishing, Macquarie University, NSW 2109 Australia
Tel: 02 9850 9901 Fax: 02 9850 6055, Email kris.clarke@mq.edu.au

Journal of Applied Linguistics Issue 1.2

  • Editorial - Making methodology matter- Christopher N. Candlin and Srikant Sarangi
  • Metaphor clusters in discourse - Lynne J. Cameron and Juurd H. Stelma
  • Sociocultural discourse analysis: analysing classroom talk as a social mode of thinking - Neil Mercer
  • Using information technology to support empirical SLA research - Florence Myles and Rosamond Mitchell
  • Digital technology and methodological adaption: text on video as a resource for analytical reflexivity - Barry Saferstein

    Editorial Address: Send articles of between 6000 and 8000 words by email to Fran Byrnes (email:jal_submissions@ling.mq.edu.au), JAL Editorial Associate from whom further notes of guidance can be obtained.

The inaugural issue of Linguistics and the Human Sciences Vol. 1 No. 1 (Apr 2005)

  • Conjunction. Edwin Thumboo
  • Why the Human Sciences need the linguist. Jonathan J. Webster
  • Practically human: The pragmatist project of the interdisciplinary journal Psychiatry. Charles Bazerman
  • The linguist as expert witness. Malcolm Coulthard
  • On matter and meaning: The two realms of human experience. M.A.K. Halliday
  • Pushing out the boundaries: Designing a systemic-functional model for non-European visual arts. Michael O'Toole
  • Brains, bodies, contextualizing activity and language: Do humans (and bonobos) have a language faculty, and can they do without one? Paul J. Thibault
  • Time in discourse. Theo van Leeuwen
  • About Linguistics and the Human Sciences.

    This journal is devoted to exploring the relationships between linguistics and such areas of scholarly concern as history, sociology, politics, archaeology, religious studies, translation and the study of art in various semiotic modalities, in so much as these enterprises draw upon or contribute to a catholic understanding and development of linguistics. The journal will also publish reviews.

    Editorial address: Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

    Send articles of between 6000 and 8000 words by email to LHS@cityu.edu.hk. Review Copies: send books for review to the Review Editor (Geoff Williams) at Department of English (A20) University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia.

    Send all orders, sample copy requests, claims and queries for both publications above to: Journals Department, Subscription Customer Services Manager, Turpin Distribution Services, Stratton Business Park, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire SG18 8QB, United Kingdom, Email: subscriptions@turpin-distribution.com, Tel: +44(0) 1767 604 951, Fax: +44(0) 1767 601 640.

From John Benjamins - http://www.benjamins.com/

The Sociolinguistics of Narrative, Series Title: Studies in Narrative 6, 2005. Editor: Joanna Thornborrow, Cardiff University. Editor: Jennifer Coates, University of Surrey Roehampton.

Book URL: http://www.benjamins.com/cgi-bin/t_bookview.cgi?bookid=SiN%206 Hardback: ISBN: 9027226466 Pages: vi, 300 Price: Europe EURO 105.00. Hardback: ISBN: 1588116352 Pages: vi, 300 Price: U.S. $ 126.00.

Abstract: This book aims to appraise sociolinguistic work devoted to the form and function of storytelling and to examine in detail the ways in which narrative constitutes a fundamental discursive resource across a range of contexts. The chapters presented here bring together some of the most recent work in the theory and practice of narrative analysis from a broad sociolinguistic perspective. They address some of the questions left implicit whenever stories are brought within the analytic frame of sociolinguistics: What exactly do we mean by 'story'?; what kind of social and contextual variations can determine the production and shape of situated stories, and what are the core elements of narrative as a discursive unit and interactional resource?; how is the relationship between narrative discourse and social context articulated in the construction of cultural identities? The data come both from institutional settings such as workplaces, courtrooms, schools, and the media, as well as from informal everyday settings.

From Hodder Arnold - http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk

Spoken Discourse and Social Interaction: An Introduction. Alan Firth, Aalborg University. 2005 Book URL: http://www.hodderheadline.co.uk/index.asp?url=booksearch.asp Paperback: ISBN: 0340741848 Pages: c.320 Price: U.K. * 16.99

Abstract: 'Spoken Discourse and Social Interaction' is an indispensable guide to a burgeoning and fascinating field of study. In twenty-two concise and highly readable chapters, Alan Firth outlines the key concepts, dominant approaches and major findings in spoken interaction research over the last four decades. Rather than being tied to a particular approach or paradigm, the book offers a comprehensive and inclusive overview, where emphasis is placed on describing the interactional and contextual nature of spoken discourse in a variety of contexts and social encounters. Topics covered include beginnings, endings, approaches, context, culture and ethnicity, data and transcription, analysis, identity, power, gender, narrative, miscommunication, humour, institutional interaction, grammar and coherence, argument, and embodied discourse. This book will be essential reading for students of linguistics, sociology, communication and media studies, psychology, and anthropology. The book includes discussion questions for each chapter, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary of key terms.

Research grants

TOEFL COE Research Program - 2006 Call for Proposals

TOEFL Committee of Examiners (COE) research grants are intended to support research on topics related to TOEFL as identified by the Committee of Examiners and Educational Testing Service. Award Value - Awards will be up to $75,000 USD, inclusive of institutional overhead.

Research Topics - The TOEFL COE has identified the following topics for research

  1. The effect of rater background characteristics on the rating of TOEFL iBT speech samples.
  2. Effective teaching practices using new TOEFL iBT-related tasks in teaching and learning.
  3. Evaluation of e-rater software for automated scoring of TOEFL iBT writing samples using methods other than agreement with human raters.
  4. A framework for assessing English for academic purposes for lower- intermediate English language students.

Applications are invited from individuals at not-for-profit organizations and institutions with expertise in English Language Learning and Assessment research. Proposals from unaffiliated individuals or for-profit organizations are not eligible. Each awardee will be required to submit interim and final reports and to appropriately acknowledge the support of the TOEFL program when disseminating the results of his or her work. Interested applicants are required to submit an application as described below. Invitations to submit a full proposal will be issued to selected applicants based on the quality and cost effectiveness of the initial application. Application must include

  1. Cover page: Title of proposed study, your name and contact information including address, e-mail, telephone, date of submission.
  2. A 500-600 word précis describing the topic you plan to address, a brief rationale, a short statement about the research questions and design, a time line, and an estimate of the cost. The cost estimate should include institutional overhead.
  3. A curriculum vitae and the names of two references.

Invitations to submit a full proposal will be issued to selected applicants based on the quality of the précis. Précis will be evaluated in terms of the relevance to the identified topics, the feasibility of the proposed research, the qualifications of project staff, organizational capacity to conduct the research, and cost effectiveness.

  • August 25, 2005 - Deadline for submission of application and précis.
  • September 15, 2005 - Response to précis.
  • November 1, 2005 - Deadline for submission of full proposal.
  • December 21, 2005 - Response to proposal.

Preliminary applications described below should be submitted via e-mail to Toeflresearchcoordination@ets.org by August 25, 2005.

Fellowships and scholarships

  • Macquarie University Research Fellowships Scheme (MURF) 2006

    The 2006 round of the MURF Scheme is now open. Guidelines and application material are available from the Research Office website at
    http://www.ro.mq.edu.au/fund/internal/murf/default.html

    The closing date is 20 July 2005 at 5pm. For further details or queries please contact Mrs Tanya Downes, ext: 6844 or email: tanya.downes@vc.mq.edu.au.

  • The University of Sydney Postdoctoral Research Fellowships Scheme 2006

    The University of Sydney will be offering up to ten new Postdoctoral Fellowships in 2006. The Fellowships are extremely prestigious and highly competitive internationally in line with equivalent externally funded fellowships. Successful applicants are expected to be based full-time at the University for the duration of the Fellowship. Applicants seeking to join the University from another organisation in Australia or from overseas are particularly encouraged to apply. Applicants currently employed at the University of Sydney who commenced employment on or after 1 July 2004 are eligible to apply. The application form and related information is available from the Research Office website at: http://www.usyd.edu.au/su/reschols/

    Please contact the Research Office for further assistance on +61 2 9351 4469 or via email: research@usyd.edu.au. Please contact staff at the Department of Linguistics if you are considering an application, as we would be happy to work with you on an application. Check the website for staff with similar interests: http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/linguistics/ The closing date: Friday, 16 September 2005.

  • IDP Education has a number of scholarships available. For information and appropropriate forms go to: http://www.idp.com/development/scholarships/default.asp

Positions vacant

Linguistics work in Bourke, NSW

A linguist is sought to facilitate the community's maintenance work on Wangkumara, including production of a dictionary, learner's grammar and other resources. The work would be for about 3 months, start date and pay negotiable according to skills and experience. We are looking for someone preferably with experience in language maintenance projects, and computer skills including desktop publishing. Please email Greg McKellar at gregm@lisp.com.au or phone on 0428 212 330.

Lecturer in TESOL (Fixed-term). Linguistics programme, Department of English, School of Language, Literature and Performing Arts, University of Otago, Te Whare Wananga o Otago Dunedin, New Zealand. Reference Number: A05/98. Closing Date: Friday 29 July 2005.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified persons for a three-year fixed-term position of Lecturer in TESOL. Applicants should have a completed or nearly completed PhD in TESOL or a closely related area, together with teaching experience at tertiary level.

The successful candidate will be expected to teach introductory and advanced courses in TESOL and second language acquisition (e.g. an introduction to TESOL, testing and assessment in TESOL, and TESOL practicum), and also to supervise the research of postgraduate students in these and related areas. Preference will be given to candidates with a strong research record and good teaching skills. Persons with expertise in TESOL teacher training, web-based teaching and/or quantitative research methods are strongly encouraged to apply.

The position will be available from 6 January 2006, or as soon as possible thereafter. Specific enquiries may be directed to Dr Jae Jung Song, Linguistics Programme Co-ordinator, Tel 03 479 8103, Fax 03 479 8558, Email jaejung.song@stonebow.otago.ac.nz

Application Information: With each application you must include an application form, an EEO Information Statement, a covering letter, contact details for three referees and one copy of your full curriculum vitae. For an application form, EEO Information Statement and a full job description go to: http://www.otago.ac.nz/jobs Alternatively, contact the Human Resources Division, Tel 03 479 8269, Fax 03 479 8279, Email karen.sutherland@stonebow.otago.ac.nz. Equal opportunity in employment is University policy.

Senior Program Manager with Linguistics. Opportunity based in Microsoft, Ireland.

Education / Work experience Requirements: " Degree in Linguistic/Computational Linguistics or Information Technology related qualification, " 5+ years relevant Program Management experience, " Work experience in a linguistics related role is required. We offer competitive salaries and a comprehensive package which include base salaries of  55k to  69k, plus Bonus, Stock, Pension and Health. Our package also includes generous relocation assistance to Ireland for you and your dependents including one month's salary bonus (gross), flight and shipping costs, temporary accommodation, car hire. Please email v-claram@microsoft.com if you are interested in applying for this role.

The IW IPT Team source, license, test, release and maintain third party proofing tools (Spell Checker, Thesaurus, Grammar Checker) that ship as part of Microsoft Office and other Microsoft products. The team also sources associated resources (such as wordlists and corpora) which are used to support development of linguistic tools and references. The team's charter is to deliver a superior and secure proofing experience for our customers worldwide by partnering with independent software and linguistic companies.

1. Project Management
Responsible for shipping proofing tool versions within agreed timeframe, budget and quality standards.
Project Tracking
· Defines, coordinates and owns project schedule & deliverables.
· Manages a virtual team of resources to deliver components.
· Coordinates with external groups e.g. Legal, Linguists and with other component providers.
· Monitors bugs, drives closure of bugs at critical stages of the project
Communications
· Responsible for communicating, liaising and providing product status to all relevant stakeholders, including: Internal project team and service groups, Worldwide localization team; Vendors, US project team and International Product Planners and Subsidiaries
· Co-ordinates project post-mortem and recommends future improvements.
Linguistic Quality Management
· Helps to define the criteria and processes for measuring and improving the linguistic quality of proofing tools.
· Gathers feedback on linguistic quality from our customers and drives the implementation of that feedback.
Contract Management
· Work with LCA to define the terms and conditions of licensing agreements with ISV's.
· Negotiates the terms and conditions of contracts with ISV's.
Financial Management
· Manages and controls external expenditure for the project - create, maintain & approve project budgets.
· Budgeting - gives input to departmental budgets. Provides headcount, vendor, capital and expense budget input.
· Responsible for pricing issues/definitions and negotiating all costs with ISVs throughout the project.

2. Product Management
· Develop an in-depth understanding of assigned products, markets and the associated technologies and ensure that is maintained & extended to the team throughout the product cycle.
· Provide input into product specifications. Gathers and consolidates feedback from subsidiaries, vendors and internal team.
· Participate in the evaluation process for new languages and, working with the Subsidiaries, make recommendations on business cases for language and or specification approval.

3. Planning /Process Improvement and Cross group initiatives
· Works with the worldwide project team to define and implement future processes in line with changing business needs and provides input into the worldwide proofing tools strategy.
· Drives planning and operational management tasks/projects at application/group level. Provides status on the progress, risks & decisions to all stakeholders on a timely basis.

4. Demonstrate leadership within the Program Management team
· Plans 1-2 years ahead, devising strategies for the Proofing Tools Program Management function in conjunction with peers.
· Provides vision and strategic thinking on proofing tools development strategy
· Facilitates and promotes action to meet customers current and future needs

English Teacher - Four Seasons Resorts , Jimbaran Bay, Bali

Four Seasons Resorts is currently looking for a junior native speaking English teacher to help motivate staff to learn English. Applicant requires: a minimum of Cert. TESAL, Cert. TESOL or equivalent; must have the ability to create learning materials based on materials available in the hotel (there are a lot of them) with the assistance and supervision of the Assistant Director of Human Resources. The applicant will undergo an exposure program in the hotel operations prior to teaching. Free accommodation in one of 147 five-star villas is available and 3 free meals per day will be provided. Conditions also include a free return ticket once a year, paid vacation and 18 days international medical insurance. For more information, please contact Ngurah Ciptadi, Assistant Director of Human Resources, Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, Jimbaran, Bali 80361, Indonesia, Voice : (62) (361) 701010, Fax : (62) (361) 701029, ngurah.ciptadi@fourseasons.com : www.fourseasons.com/jimbaranbay

The Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago - Assistant Professor of Communication.

A successful candidate must have interests in the study of new media, the internet, and/or communication technology, in some combination with the study of one or more of the areas in which the department has research strength. The candidate will also have an earned doctorate in Communication or a related field, strong promise of scholarly accomplishments and teaching success (at the undergraduate and graduate levels) appropriate for appointment as Assistant Professor, good prospects for external research funding, and demonstrated commitment to multidisciplinary scholarship.

Located in the heart of Chicago, UIC is a Research I University with 16,000 undergraduates, 6,500 graduate and 3,000 professional students. The Department of Communication has 11 full-time faculty, approximately 100 undergraduate majors, and 25 M.A. students. The Department is developing a doctoral program focused on the relationship between technology and cultural and media studies.

Subject to budgetary approval, the desired appointment is date for the position is August 16, 2006. Interested parties should send a full curriculum vitae, samples of relevant scholarly publications, evidence of teaching effectiveness, and four letters of reference to - Professor Steve Jones, Chair, Communication Search Committee, Department of Communication (MC-132), 1007 West Harrison Street, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607-7137/

Applications should be received by October 15, 2005, to receive full consideration, although the search will proceed until the position is filled. Applications from women and minorities are particularly encouraged. The University of Illinois is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer.

University of Warwick - Centre for English Language Teacher Education, Warwick UK. Postgraduate Research Fellowships: Two positions.

We wish to appoint two people for three years from 1 October 2005. The postholders will be expected to complete a PhD or EdD over the three years and will also contribute to the Centre through teaching and/ or research assistance. The Fellowships cover full tuition fees and provide a salary/ maintenance allowance of £11,500 pa (2004/5 figure). Information about the Centre can be found by accessing the CELTE Webpage at www.warwick.ac.uk/celte

A good MA in ELT/ Applied Linguistics/ TESOL with high grades and a strong potential for research are essential requirements .Closing date for applications: 22 July 2005. Interviews will take place in late July/early August 2005. Appointees will be expected to contribute the equivalent of 110 hours per year to supporting undergraduate or direct language teaching, or to research assistance within the Centre. If you have particular queries about these positions, Elaine Roberts, Senior CELTE Secretary, will refer you to the appropriate person: Elaine Roberts, Senior Secretary, CELTE, Tel: 024 7652 3200, Email: CELTE@warwick.ac.uk CELTE 29/6/05

City University of Hong Kong - Assistant Professor in Linguistics in the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics.

The Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics at the City University of Hong Kong offers programmes at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, which are designed to address the growing needs of Hong Kong and other Chinese communities for language professionals. Teaching and research in the Department are characterized by a strong emphasis on both the scientific and humanistic study of language and communication with the aim of achieving a balanced approach to the pursuit of theoretical insight and practical application.

Duties: Teach and supervise students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including BA, MA, MPhil and PhD. Candidates with a proven record of publications or strong research potential preferred.

Requirements: A Ph.D. in Linguistics or other relevant fields. Be able to undertake teaching and research in one or more of the following areas: phonetics and phonology; syntax, semantics and discourse, preferably with expertise in functional approaches to grammar and discourse. Experience in the comparative analysis of at least two languages, preferably Chinese, and either English, Japanese or Korean required. An exceptionally strong candidate may be considered for appointment at the higher grade of Associate Professor. [The successful candidate is expected to assume duty in January 2006. Please specify discipline(s) in the application.]

The salary offered will be highly competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. Fringe benefits include annual leave, medical, dental schemes and housing benefit. Further information on the post and the University is available at http://www.cityu.edu.hk or from the Human Resources Office, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Please send your application enclosing a current C.V. to the Human Resources Office by 30 July 2005. Please quote the reference of the post in the application and on the envelope.

University of California, San Diego - Communications Position

Owing to a number of factors including Yrjo Engestrom's decision to give up his position at UCSD and that several of our faculty will be on sabbatical for part of the year, we have a position starting in the fall for someone who can teach courses in our Communication Department. The exact courses to be taught is a little bit flexible, but they include courses such as:

  • Literacy in the individual and society
  • Practicum in Child Development
  • Biography and narrative analysis
  • Cross-cultural communication
  • Communication and national development
  • Civic participation

The exact timing of courses is partially negotiable as is the exact menu of courses being taught. Some shuffling can be done. But it needs to be done soon. The person filling this position should have a ph.d in social sciences or humanities and should have some demonstrated familiarity with communicational approaches to human thought and action. The webpage at http://communication.ucsd.edu will tell you more about the department and the kinds of ideas it is focused on. For more information contact Mike at lchcmike@gmail.com

 

 

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