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LINGLINE is a departmental newsletter specific to the interests and concerns of postgraduate students and departmental staff within the Linguistics Department of Macquarie University. LINGLINE aims to help students and staff feel that they are in touch with the Department and its news, as well as with one another, whether one is currently in Sydney or elsewhere in Australia, New Zealand or any of 25 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. LINGLINE welcomes contributions from all students and staff in the Linguistics Department. Please submit notices by email to the editor Tessa Green tgreen@ling.mq.edu.au  Any ideas or comments re this newsletter will also be gratefully received and can be directed by email to this site.

Welcome to new students

It was fantastic to see so many linguistics postgraduate students attend the welcome function held in the first week of semester. About 130 staff and students gathered together to learn about the Linguistics Department and to share in some friendly conversation over some food and drinks. We look forward to holding another of these functions next semester.

From the Linguistics postgraduate office

Welcome to new staff

In February, the Linguistics Department warmly welcomed Dr. Annabelle Lukin as a new member of staff. Dr. Lukin has taken up a half-time appointment as a lecturer in linguistics and will be continuing her MU Research Fellowship in the other half of her time. http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/about/staff/lukin_annabelle/index.html

With Sadness (Christopher Brumfit 1940-2006)

Many staff and students of applied lingusitics will be saddened by the news that Chris Brumfit died at home of cancer last Saturday, 18th March. He was one of the world's leading applied linguists, and his work has had an enormous impact on applied linguistics and the practice of English language teaching worldwide. Chris was very active within BAAL, and was chair of the association 1982-1985. He was also an inspiring teacher and unreservedly generous in his friendship and support to students and colleagues. It is a great loss to his family and to us all.

Linguistics research seminars (all welcome)

The next Linguistics Research Seminar for 2006 will be given by Professor Jim Coleman from the Open University. It will be held at 11 am on 3 April in C4A245. Upcoming seminars include:

Other seminars to be announced. For further information on the seminar series, go to http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/research/researchseminars2006.htm

Writing website for postgraduate students

Linguistics postgraduate students can access LINGPWS The Linguistics Postgraduate Writing-Skills website. This is a resource designed to assist Linguistics students with academic writing. The Unit Content section for the website has six parts:

Part 1. Approaching the Assignment Question
Part 2. Planning Your Assignment
Part 3. Structuring Your Assignment
Part 4. Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism
Part 5. Critical Review Writing
Part 6. Common Questions about Linguistics Assignments

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/ Any staff who don't already have a WebCT account but would like to access this site can request an application form by emailing muotf@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au For further enquiries about the Writing Skills Website, contact Tessa Green tessa.green@ling.mq.edu.au

Communications skills for on-campus linguistics postgraduate students

The Linguistics Postgraduate Writing and Communication Skills Program is designed to help students of linguistics improve their writing and communication skills whilst they are enrolled in postgraduate linguistics subjects. If you are interested in joining the the Presentation skills workshop series that begins in May and you haven't yet enrolled, there are just a few places left.

Presentation Skills Workshops
Workshop 1 - Presentation Skills Workshop 1 (Week 9) Thursday 11 May - 6 pm - 8 pm
Workshop 2 - Presentation Skills Workshop 2 (Week 10) Thursday 18 May - 6 pm - 8 pm
Workshop 3 - Presentation Skills Workshop 3 (Week 11) Monday 25 May - 6 pm - 8 pm

For further information go to http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/support/writing_skills/on_campus.htm or contact Tessa Green tessa.green@ling.mq.edu.au

Workshops for Macquarie postgraduate students

Communication for Academic and Professional Purposes (CAPP) - English for Academic Purposes; English for Specific Purposes; Communication for Academic and Professional Purposes.

CAPP courses and other offerings are designed to equip all Macquarie students with the language and communication skills, as well as the language-based learning skills, that they will need to get the most out of mainstream subjects while helping them succeed in their studies. As part of the CAPP program this year, all postgraduate students enrolled in a Macquarie postgraduate degree are welcome to join the following postgraduate workshops. Classes are strictly limited to 25 students. To register please write your name on the noticeboard opposite W3A407. You can email Dr. Rachel Varshney rachel.varshney@ling.mq.edu.au

From the Academic and Professional Communication Unit (APCU)

The Academic and Professional Communication Unit (APCU) brings together under a single administrative structure in the Department of Linguistics expert staff in the areas of writing skills, English for academic purposes, language for specific purposes, professional communication and presentational skills, applied discourse analysis, and adult literacies. It aims to work collaboratively with individual Divisions and Departments to identify and address their specific language and communication needs. It also provides research support and explores research opportunities.

APCU is currently seeking expressions of interest from appropriately qualified and experienced persons who would like to join a register for potential work in a variety of areas, including research, teaching, administrative and support roles. For futher information contact Tessa Green, APCU Program Manager on (02) 9850 6875 or email tessa.green@ling.mq.edu.au

From the NCELTR Resource Centre

New book

For other new books see the New Resources List at http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources/newres.html

New Journals

These journals will be included in Journal Watch. Journal Watch details may be found at http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources/jwatch.htm

Internet Update

Information about our resources may be found at the NCELTR Resource Centre website http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources Our email address rescentr@nceltr.mq.edu.au, phone number: +61 2 9850 9653 and Fax: +61 2 9850 9953.

Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association (MUPRA)

All Postgraduate students at Macquarie are represented by MUPRA. However MUPRA does not have automatic access to any student details due to privacy laws. Each year MUPRA compiles up to 4 newsletters, which we send to all Postgraduates who have registered with us mupra@mq.edu.au. In the newsletter you can expect to see information such as:

Being a postgraduate can be isolating - especially if you are external. We encourage all postgraduates to sign on for newsletters, and if you have the time add your review or news piece. Please return email your name, address and department/division and indicate whether you prefer hard or soft copy newsletters, so that we can send you this important information in the future. Look forward to meeting you at one of our events, MUPRA. C5A-325 (02) 9850 7699.

Lexicall: A web-site for complete and convenient access to lexical resources: http://lexicall.widged.com/

Lexical is a website which aims to become a trusted repository of shared lexical resources, committed to the long-term accessibility of the archived resources and their appropriate indexing for research and educational use in the psycholinguistics community.

This repository provides access to four types of materials: (a) data files providing lexical statistics, (b) scripts and tools for the manipulation of lexical data, (c) documentation about these resources and their use, and (d) links to materials relevant to research and teaching activities in psycholinguistics.

A large range of linguistic materials is covered, including parts of words, words and non-words, textual and visual material, and experimental datasets from psycholinguistic studies.


Working papers in urban language & literacies - www.kcl.ac.uk/education/wpull.html www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/education/wpull.html

Coverage: applied linguistics, billboard literacies, code-switching, crossing, cultural studies, discourse & interaction analysis, EAL, ethnicity, ethno-poetics, globalization and late modernity, identities, indexicality, language education, language rights, media culture, methodology, multilingualism, narrative, reflexivity, schooling, second language learning, social class, sociolinguistics, speech community, standardization.

Contributors to papers available on the web: Jan Blommaert, Jim Collins, Caroline Dover, Roxy Harris, Jürgen Jaspers, Constant Leung, Marilyn Martin-Jones, Ben Rampton, Paul Shrubshall, Stef Slembrouck, Michael Alderton. Description: This working paper series focuses on language and literacies in socially stratified and ethnically plural urban settings. It publishes research committed to:

The editorial group consists of: Ben Rampton, Celia Roberts, Brian Street (Kings College London), Jan Blommaert (Institute of Education/University of Ghent), Stef Slembrouck (University of Ghent), Jim Collins (SUNY at Albany). In case where they are not available on-line (or where the phonetic transcript in a paper has been imperfectly reproduced), copies of the papers can often be obtained by sending a cheque made out to 'King's College London' for 2.50 (if you are in the UK) or 3 (if overseas), to: Ben Rampton, WPULL, DEPS, School of Social Science and Public Policy, Franklin-Wilkins Building WBW, Waterloo Road, London SE1 9NN, (email: ben.rampton@kcl.ac.uk)


Thinking of a career in the US?

Those who may be interested in working in the U.S. might like to check out the 'Chronicle of Higher Education' website http://www.chronicle.com and its 'Careers' site. Almost all university/college teaching jobs in the U.S. are posted there and you can get e-mail job alerts for free. Simply register to get e-mail job alerts, and as soon as there is an opening, they e-mail it to you with job descriptions.

Announcing a new electronic journal - Blackwell Linguistics and Language Compass

Submissions for survey/review articles are invited for a new online journal covering all areas of Linguistics and Language:

Linguistics and Language Compass does not publish research articles. Its aim is to provide authoritative, peer-reviewed surveys of recent scholarship for non-specialists in any area. Linguistics and Language Compass offers authors:

Contact: Terry Langendoen, Editor-in-Chief langendt@U.Arizona.EDU, Edwin Battistella, Editor-in-Chief BattistE@sou.edu


Would you like to particiate in HCSNet? (http://www.hcsnet.edu.au)

HCSNet is the ARC Research Network in Human Communication Science. HCSNet was awarded five years' funding by the Australian Research Council in late 2004. Our aim is to promote and facilitate interdisciplinary research in human communication science by connecting leading researchers in language, speech and sonics. HCSNet is one of twelve research networks funded by the Australian Research Council; see a complete list of the ARC Research Networks. HCSNet promotes interdisciplinary research in speech, language, and sonics. The Network connects leading and emerging researchers across disciplines, exploits previously unrecognised intersections, supports interdisciplinary graduate training and exchanges, provides database storage infrastructure, and consults with industry and government to set new research agendas. By generating an explosion of new approaches and knowledge, the network aims to build Australia's reputation as a leader in communication science and technology via advances in areas as diverse as automatic speech recognition, distress call monitoring, hearing prostheses, web interfaces, and data retrieval and data mining systems.

If you'd like to participate and receive information, you can sign up to HCSNet by creating an account on the HCSNet website at www.hcsnet.edu.au

News from the College of Science and Technology's Liaison Officer - Rachel Jackson

Macquarie University's science website goes live

Macquarie University's new science, engineering and technology website is now live: www.science.mq.edu.au Thank you to everyone who provided feedback and suggestions. The website features general information about science, engineering and technology at Macquarie University as well as hyperlinks to more detailed information. The information is targeted to researchers, future and current students, industry, the community and the media. I'm still looking for content and all suggestions are welcome. Please contact Rachel Jackson (x6045) if you know of a student or science alumnus who may like to be profiled on the site. I'd also like to hear from anyone who has ideas on resources for teachers.

Pedagogies: An International Journal is now online

Pedagogies is about change and innovation in the most common, typical, and central of educational processes: teaching and learning in classrooms. Pedagogies will apply current theoretical and analytical research work to the question of how pedagogy is being transformed to make new knowledge, new expressive modes and, quite literally, new kinds of teachers and learners. In Dewey's terms, it is focused on the "designed" ways in which cultures and societies undertake the work of social transformation through education. This in part will involve discussions, debates, and studies of the most tenacious and perennial educational problems, some of which have been with us for a century: teaching to diversity, the persistent educational marginalisation of specific communities. But it will also focus on innovative engagements with new technologies and new forms of identity, new repertoires of teacher practice, and preparation of students for emergent forms of civic, workplace and community life. It will do so in ways that model cosmopolitan flows of ideas and innovation - from and across educational communities in North and South, East and West, seeking out the most innovative thinkers internationally, and creating international dialogues about teaching and learning. Authors will address issues of change and the need for practical programs of policy innovation, curriculum reform, and pedagogical action. The 1st issue of Pedagogies is now available online at: http://www.leaonline.com/toc/ped/1/1 http://www.crpp.nie.edu.sg/publications/journals/pedagogies

Call for Chapters for the Handbook of Research on Computer-Enhanced Language Acquisition and Learning. Editors: Felicia Zhang, PhD, Beth Barber, M.A. University of Canberra, Australia. ( Proposal submission deadline: May 31, 2006.)

Language learning is one of the most rapidly changing disciplines. Along with changing perspectives in learning in the field of Second Language Acquisition, information communication technology (ICT) has also created many learning paths to assist the process of learning a second language (L2). In such an ever-evolving environment, teachers, researchers and professionals of a diverse number of disciplines need access to the most current information about research on the field of Computer-Enhanced
Language acquisition and learning. For further information, contact Dr. Felicia Zhang, University of Canberra, Australia, Felicia.zhang@canberra.edu.au

Scholarships, funding and research opportunities for postgraduates

Honours/Masters Scholarships
Funding body: Capital Markets CRC Limited
Award description: $5000 for one year
Who should apply: Motivated, high achieving Honours and Masters students from finance, accounting, IT, securities law and computational linguistics who wish to work in the area of financial markets and who are likely to go on to study for a PhD
More information: Capital Markets CRC Limited Applications close 30 April. See http://www.cmcrc.com/scholarships/Honours_sch/index.html

American Australian Association Education Fund Fellowship
Funding body: American Australian Association
Award description: Up to US$25,000 for research or study in the US
Who should apply: Applicants who are studying PhD, Masters or post-docturate. Applicants must conduct a research project or study business, science, technology, medicine or engineering.
More information: American Australian Association Applications close in March.See http://www.americanaustralian.org/Educational/australia-usa.php

The Isana Bursuaries 2006
These bursaries are being offered to students undertaking research at the post-graduate level in a university in Australia or New Zealand, into areas relating to the education, support and well-being of international students studying in these countries. Several bursaries will be offered and they will be awarded at the conference dinner of the 17th ISANA Conference 2006 which will be held in Sydney, on 5 - 8 December, 2006. The bursaries will be awarded for a refereed paper co-authored by the student, presented at the conference, and deemed to be most worthy by the selection panel. At least one bursary will be valued at $1500.00 and at least two other bursaries will be valued at $500.00 each. All of the bursaries will be accompanied by a conference registration fee waiver, to allow the recipients to present their papers and receive their awards. Applications for these bursaries can be made by visiting the conference website at www.cdesign.com.au/isana06 and completing the appropriate section. An abstract must be submitted to the conference at the time of application. Applications for these bursaries close on 5 May, 2006. Some possible research areas include:

  • Developing a model for student support - from welfare to independence
  • The international student experience from a narrative/individual perspective
  • Mental health issues for international students from a particular ethnic background
  • Methods of knowledge acquisition and cognitive styles of students from various cultural backgrounds
  • The effects of changes in the academic or administrative structures of a university on the international students that study within in it
  • Adolescent development in a foreign culture.

For further information contact Dr Felicity Fallon, Vice-President (Professional Development) ffallon@trinity.unimelb.edu.au

Funded studentship in Descriptive/Applied Linguistics at King's College, London.

A 3 year doctoral studentship in sociolinguistics, text linguistics, discourse analysis, literacy studies, educational linguistics, or cognitive/psycho-linguistics, starting in October 2006. The successful candidate will be affiliated to the College's new Centre for Language, Discourse & Communication. King's College London is a major centre for research on language, communication, society and education. We have particular interests in the dynamics of language and literacy in globalisation and intercultural contact, and we focus on language, literacy and discourse in everyday interaction, in education, literature, and popular culture, in new & mass media, and in medical and workplace settings. We work with English, English-based Creoles, Chinese, German, Greek, Hindi, Spanish, Swedish and a range of minority languages, and we combine linguistics with ethnography, anthropology, sociology, history, and psychology, and with quantitative, corpus and discourse analysis. In recent years, we have provided a base for more than a dozen externally funded research projects; we have 20-30 MPhil/PhD students; we occupy a prominent position in national and international research networks; and we run four seminar series and five MAs ('World Englishes'; 'Language, Discourse & Communication' (MRes); 'Language, Ethnicity & Education'; 'ELT & Applied Linguistics'; 'German Linguistics'). Our research in discourse analysis, educational, text and sociolinguistics was top-rated 5 and 5* in the last Research Assessment Exercise. To capitalize on this expertise, the College is now setting up a Centre for Language, Discourse & Communication. To find out more about our activity, go to http://www.kcl.ac.uk/hums/ling/content/areas/appliedformal/applied.html

The Studentship will provide funding for a minimum of three years, covering home tuition fees and a stipend of £14,300 in the first year, increasing in line with national levels in subsequent years. If you've got good qualifications (the equivalent of BA 1 or 2.1 and/or a Distinction or Merit at Masters) and a well-worked out idea for research that connects with our expertise email: dave.flatman@kcl.ac.uk (entering LDC Studentship as the subject) for details and an application form, or write to: Dave Flatman (LDC Studentship), Kings College London, DEPS, Franklin-Wilkins Building WBW, Waterloo Road, London SE1 9NH. The closing date for applications is Friday 7 April 2006.

Upcoming conferences and workshops

For more information, cf. http://www.linq2006.une.edu.au/

The members of the Organising Committee would like to invite you to submit an abstract for a presentation at the Critical Link 2007 Congress. The Call for Papers includes submissions for Panel and Workshops, Pre & Post Congress Workshops, Oral and Poster Abstracts. For the latest information on the Congress Program visit the Critical Link 2007 website at www.criticallink2007.com. The Program has been developed to grapple with current issues facing not only Interpreters and Translators, but also those who often work side by side with them or are associated with the profession. They include lawyers, judicial officers, legal administrators, police, tribunal members and other tribunal staff, medical practitioners and allied health professionals, medical administrators, interpreting agencies, accreditation, certification, registration bodies, government departments, academics, educators, all service providers and service recipients in any way connected with interpreting services.

This international conference focuses on the impact of increased cultural linguistic diversity, at both national and supernational levels, and its consequences for the theory, policy and practice of language education. As such, the conference will provide an international forum that brings together the latest academic and policy discussions, and promotes critical debate, on the often-complex interconnections between diversity and language education. The conference is the 2nd of its kind. The 1st LED conference, held in November 2003 at the University of Waikato, attracted 500 delegates, from over 30 countries, and included key academics and policy makers in the language and education field. The conference was widely regarded as an academic and organisational tour de force and the 2nd LED conference has been organised as a direct response to ongoing and widespread demand for a follow up conference. As with LED 2003, LED 2007 will focus on language and education, with particular reference to addressing/accommodating diversity. Within this broad focus, there will be specific streams on:

* English language education
* Literacy education (including school-, adult- and multi-literacies)
* Language education planning and policy
* Bilingual/immersion education

Invited keynote speakers: William Croft (University of New Mexico), Sally Rice (University of Alberta), Elizabeth Traugott (Stanford University). Papers most welcome especially those from a cognitive / functional linguistics perspective: Evolution of Language, Grammaticization, Metaphor & Metonymy, Native American Languages, Typology, Spanish and Languages of the American Southwest, Language Revitalization and Maintenance, Language Change & Variation, Sociolinguistics, Bilingualism, Discourse Analysis, Signed Languages, Language Acquisition and Computational Linguistics. The deadline for submitting abstracts is Friday August 25th, 2006. If you have any questions or need for further information please contact us at hdls@unm.edu with ''HDLS-7 Conference'' in the subject line.

The symposium concentrates on the interaction of linguistic structures and context. We invite papers addressing theoretical questions as well as papers taking a specific (empirical) viewpoint on one (or more) particular language(s). Every linguist working on any kind of structural description has to deal with context, or co-text. Many phenomena are said to be context-dependent. What, then, is the 'context' that these phenomena are related to, and how should this relationship be described? Context is a topic that is common among linguists from different schools of thought even if they have different ways of treating it. The symposium offers linguists a possibility to discuss the topic from various angles and lean from each other's views. Problems concerning context are for instance the following:

* What is a sufficient context?
* What belongs / does not belong in the context?
* What is the proper description of context for different linguistic phenomena?
* Should the theoretical description distinguish between the structure and the context?
* What does context-dependency mean for particular linguistic phenomena?

We encourage contributions broadly from diverse areas of linguistics, including traditional theoretical linguistics, experimental psycholinguistics, linguist working on spoken language, historical linguistics, grammar, constructions, text, typology, etc. In case you have further questions please email context-organizers (at) ling.helsinki.fi. Check for information updates at the symposium website: http://www.ling.helsinki.fi/sky/tapahtumat/context/context.shtml

Third time's a charm: we'd like to announce the dates of this year's postgraduate conference for students of Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Deaf Studies and Communication Studies. The conference is specifically targeted at postgraduate students and is a great opportunity to present the current state of your work and meet your peers. Papers from all research stages are welcome, including proposed research methodologies, progress reports and discussions of final results. The conference is also a chance to practice your presentation skills. Presentations should last 20 minutes plus 10 minutes for questions and discussion. Attendance at the conference is free and (scrumptious) lunch and teas are provided. Abstracts for papers should be 150-200 words and include the title of the paper, author's name, university affiliation and the author's contact address. The abstracts will be published in the conference programme. Speakers will also have a chance to publish their paper as part of the conference proceedings. The closing date for submissions is 1st June 2006. Please send abstracts as a Word attachment to vuwling@yahoo.co.nz or mail to: Agnes Terraschke, c/o School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600 Wellington, New Zealand. For updates and further information please refer to our website http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/about/postgrad.aspx

New publications

From Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd http://www.continuumbooks.com

From Equinox Publishing Limited http://www.equinoxpub.com

From Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd - http://www.continuumbooks.com

Positions Vacant

The Division of Environmental and Life Sciences, Macquarie University is seeking to appoint a Postgraduate Co-ordinator (Position 16933). The position has been advertised for internal applicants only. Applications can be submitted on-line at http://macquarieuniversity.nga.net.au Please note the closing date which is 31 March, 2006.

English Teacher - Wallaby International College

Wallaby International College is seeking an English teacher for 18 - 20 hours per week (Mon - Fri 9:30am - 12:30pm). The rate of pay will be determined by experience (minimum is $25 per hour). You must have a teaching qualification and a native English speaker is preferred although excellent English speakers may apply. Public transport is available. Please apply TODAY: Email: erin@wica.com.au Ph:(02) 9922 3000 Fax: (02) 9923 2888 Wallaby International College, Ground floor, 97 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060, Ph: 02 9922 3000, Fax: 02 9923 2888.

Lingline can be accessed via the "News" link on the Linguistics Department website at:

http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/

 
 

All items for inclusion to be submitted by email to the editor Tessa Green:
tgreen@ling.mq.edu.au
 

Enquiries by phone: (02) 9850-6875

This is not an official publication of Macquarie University. While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information included in this newsletter, no responsibility is assumed for same.

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