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.
Congratulations to many
The Department congratulates the following students whose doctorates were recently approved by Senate. Congratulations also to their supervisors.
Jeannette McGregor
(Supervisor Prof. Max Coltheart)
Thesis Title: High rising tunes in Australian English
Kimberly Bunts-Anderson
(Supervisor A/Prof. David Hall)
Thesis title: Relations between teachers' conceptions of out-of-class interactions
and teaching practices.
Wendy Noble (Supervisor
A/Prof. David Hall)
Thesis title: An analysis of argument in novice academic writing in a second
language.
Colleagues in Linguistics also wish to send their warmest congratulations to Dr Annabelle Lukin and A/Prof David Butt for the recent birth of their baby girl.
Linguistics Department's Indonesian Earthquake appeal
Many of our students and former students have been in contact with staff in Lingustics in regard to the difficulty of life in Indonesia following the devastation caused by the earthquake, tsunami, the fear of volcanic eruption and the earthquake aftershocks.
Former PhD student Dewi Rochsantiningsih, who lives in Sola in Indonesia recently sent news to Professor Anne Burns of herself and of another former Linguistics PhD student Joko Prianyia. Dewi described life in Yogya and Sola as "really horrifying". We are pleased to learn, however, that both Dewi and Joko are fine, as are their families.
Current Masters of Applied Lingusitics student Emily Low recently contacted A/Prof David Hall and kindly agreed to write this piece for LINGLINE readers to explain just what life is like at present:
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Everyone is slowly trying to get their lives back together now despite many shops being closed causing food/ water shortages. There are so many scared, homeless, and wounded people around that you just don't know where to start in order to help out. The hospitals are overflowing with hundreds of sick littering the streets in makeshift stretchers and beds. Along the streets, all you can see are flattened houses, and thousands of families sitting by the side of the road, too frightened to do anything. The majority of people who were badly affected by the earthquake come from the south of Yogyakarta. The south is where the poor, elderly and student population live, as housing is cheap and life is traditional.
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Yogyakarta is a peaceful, traditional, ancient city where the safety of the city is believed to come from the mystical powers of the sultan and his queen of the South Seas. People are confused as to why Yogya has been hit, and I fear that the once peaceful and optimistic Yogyakartan lifestyle will be gone forever, as many have lost hope. The scare of a possible volcanic eruption, tsunami and earthquake aftershocks have turned this city into a place of homeless and scared people.
Many staff in Linguistics were keen to find ways they could help. Jean Brick and Anne Burns set about organising a staff auction to raise funds to help those in need. Jean and Anne send a heartfelt thank you to all our colleagues in Linguistics who participated and/or contributed to the recent fundraising collection.
If you couldn't make the auction, there is still time to contribute. You can leave a donation in Hiranya's office or drop one off with Jean Brick ((W3A 411).
Many thanks again to everyone: a great effort!
From the Linguistics postgraduate office
Macquarie University Research Fellowships Scheme (MQRF) 2007 The 2007 round of the MQRF Scheme is now open.
The MQRF Scheme has three main objectives:
- To provide support at a postdoctoral level to researchers generally near the beginning of their research career, who have an outstanding track record (relevant to opportunity) or who show evidence of excellent research potential.
- To provide an incubation research period for early career researchers, allowing them to increase their competitive edge in securing research funding from non-University sources.
- To enhance the research capabilities of existing and emerging areas of research concentration and excellence within Macquarie University.
Funding Rules and application material are available from the Research Office website at http://www.ro.mq.edu.au/fund/internal/murf/
The closing date is 7 July 2006 at 5pm. Late applications will not be accepted. For further details or queries please contact Ms Karyn Knowles, ext 8609 or email: grants@mq.edu.au
From the Research Festival Committee
Division of Linguistics
& Psychology Postgraduate Research Festival
Thursday December 7 & Friday December 8, 2006
To all Research Candidates:
The Postgraduate Research Festival is a Divisional event designed to showcase the work of all Higher Degree Research students in the Division of Linguistics and Psychology. This year's Festival is being held on Thursday December 7 and Friday December 8, in building C4A at Macquarie University. The Festival is an opportunity for you to present your research to others in the Division, and to get feedback in a friendly and collaborative environment. With the diversity of research projects in the Division, the Festival is a stimulating forum for both students and staff.
Participation in the Festival is compulsory. On-campus students must make a 15-minute oral presentation (plus 5 minutes for questions). External candidates are welcome to present in person if this is possible. If not presenting, external candidates must submit an e-presentation (a PowerPoint presentation submitted via e-mail). Presentation guidelines including guidelines for e-presentations can be found on the Festival website http://www.lp.mq.edu.au/festival.htm
All candidates (including external candidates submitting an e-presentation) are required to submit an abstract by completing the online abstract submission form available on the website. You will be asked to indicate whether you will be presenting in person or submitting an e presentation. You will also be asked to nominate your preferred presentation day, and, while every effort will be made to accommodate preferences, no guarantees are given. If you have work or other commitments that make it impossible for you to present during business hours, you may request an evening session. Requests for evening time-slots must be e-mailed direct to the Festival organising committee Festival@psy.mq.edu.au and sessions will be allocated on a first-come basis.
The online submission form is available NOW on the Festival website. Please note carefully the abstract submission requirements, particularly the word limits for presentation titles and abstracts, and the closing date for submissions. Students who do not submit an abstract by the closing date will be programmed to present in a timeslot allocated by the committee.
The Festival website has been designed to assist you with the planning and preparation of your presentation. In addition to guidelines for the preparation of abstracts and presentations, you will also find a PowerPoint template that you may adapt for the Festival. The site also contains links to previous years' Festivals and includes programs and abstracts.
Pre-Festival workshop
To further assist you with your preparation for events such as Festival 2006, we will for the first time, be running a pre-Festival workshop on the topic of "giving successful conference presentations". The workshop will be convened by Prof Max Coltheart and will be held on Friday 4 August, 1-2 pm. To assist with venue booking, please register your interest with the Festival organising committee Festival@psy.mq.edu.au If you have any further queries, please e-mail the Festival Committee Festival@psy.mq.edu.au
Don't forget ... online submission for abstracts is open NOW!
Happy Writing and Researching
The Festival 2006 Committee
New linguistics unit - `How do children acquire language?'
This exciting new unit introduces students to the nature vs. nurture debate. For further information on this Ling 330 seminar which will run next semester, please click here.
Linguistics research seminars (all welcome)
- October 09 - Dr Stephen Moore
- October 30 - Dr Verna Rieschild
Other seminars and venues to be announced. For further information on the seminar series, go to http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/research/researchseminars2006.htm
Obituary Christopher Brumfit, 1940-2006
LINGLINE recently reported on the news that Christopher Brumfit had sadly passed away. Many of you will also be interested in the following piece written recently by Henry Widdowson.
Christopher Brumfit died on March 18th this year, as fate would have it just a few months after the appearance of a special issue of Applied Linguistics which would have been a particularly fitting commemoration of the man and his work. The theme of that special issue was 'Applied Linguistics and real-world problems', a title, which, as is pointed out in the editorial, derives from Brumfit's own definition of the field as 'the theoretical and empirical investigation of real-world problems in which language is a central issue.' Such a definition is general enough to cover a wide range of enquiry and Brumfit's own particular concern was with problems to do with language education. Such problems in the real world would no doubt have impressed themselves on his attention when, on completion of his studies at Brasenose College Oxford, he went to teach English at the Tabora Government Boys' School in Tanzania. Four years later, in 1969, he was appointed lecturer in English methodology at the University of Dar es Salaam, and produced his first book: A Handbook for English Teachers. His career in Applied Linguistics had begun. He may not have called it that at the time, but on his return to the UK in 1972, he acquired the formal credentials of an MA in Applied Linguistics at Essex, getting a distinction into the bargain. After two years as lecturer in English and Linguistics at the City of Birmingham College of Education, he was then, in 1974, to my own great good fortune, appointed as lecturer in what was then the Department of English as a Foreign Language at the University of London Institute of Education. I arrived in 1977, and there he was, already making his distinctive intellectual mark.
What was so distinctive, and inspiring, about his intellect was its independence. Rather than accept current ideas or conventional assumptions, he would submit them to scrutiny. This was the kind of non-conformist critical thinking that he encouraged his students to engage in, and that informed his own research and writing. At that time, in London, he was applying it in particular to communicative language teaching, a relatively recent development in those days. It was an approach he endorsed in principle and indeed the book he edited with Keith Johnson in 1979, The Communicative Approach to Language Teaching, was very influential in making it widely known. He followed this up with his own closely and analytically argued discussion of the approach in his book Communicative Methodology in Language Teaching. But these books were not designed to promote a kind of practice, but to present arguments, to examine the principles of the approach, and so provide the means whereby teachers could also think for themselves, and so take an informed decision about how appropriate it was for their circumstances.
Abstract principle and actual practice - how they are to be related, and how far they can be reconciled, is a theme that runs through all Christopher Brumfit's work. It represents a kind of active and creative interplay of contraries that seems to have been central to his whole way of thinking. He was on the one hand an idealist, an intellectual who delighted in rational and fictional abstraction, whether expounded in the philosophy of Karl Popper, or represented in the novels of Dostoevsky. On the other hand, he was a realist who recognized the need to make ideas operational in practice, a pragmatist who knew how to compromise and negotiate and get things done. What was remarkable about him was the way he would achieve a symbiosis between the two. And for him, I think, Applied Linguistics was just such a symbiotic activity. Real world problems called for an investigation in which the theoretical and the empirical are not complementary, but mutually modify each other.
Christopher Brumfit's thinking was radical by being rigorous, creative by being critical. What was most impressive, and influential, about him was that he made people think about things in ways that would not otherwise occur to them. He had a way of drawing an implication or shifting perspective to reveal things you had not noticed. In conversation, he would often take you by surprise with an unusually acute observation in passing about some current fashionable notion, some recent trend or other. But then there would also be the mischievous remark with a twinkle in the eye, and tongue (quite literally) in cheek, the wry smile. For there was far more to him than intellect, impressive though that was. There was his love of literature, and his awareness of its significance as representing realities beyond reason, the aesthetic pleasure he got out of the play of both ideas and language. There was a sensitivity which enabled him to engage with students and colleagues alike, and a deep seated humanism that led to an active concern for moral issues, for social justice and the opportunity for individual self realization. He never forgot that the real world problems that Applied Linguistics is concerned with have to do with people, not experimental subjects or social categories but essentially with individuals. Significantly, the last book he wrote was entitled Individual Freedom in Language Teaching, written when already suffering from his illness.
His influence on the field of Applied Linguistics, and particularly as it concerned language education, was enormous. And yet he was not the kind of person one would normally expect to exert such influence. For he was not a dominant or flamboyant figure, but was on the contrary rather diffident and non-assertive in manner, socially rather awkward at times - qualities, one might think, not obviously suited to leadership. But then he was never a leader in the sense that he was at the head of some new movement or school of thought. He was critical without being a critical linguist, concerned with socio-cultural aspects of language learning without being an adherent of socio-cultural theory. He embraced no creed, bore no banner for followers to march behind. For what made him so influential was not any particular line of thought but the very manner of his thinking. He showed us how to examine and evaluate ideas and practices and to be aware of their implications.
Applied Linguistics as an investigation into real-world problems and how to deal with them is impressively exemplified throughout all of Christopher Brumfit's work. And he was in his own unique way practising it right to the end of his life. In spite of pain, he kept on reading. Just a week or so before his death he told me that he had been re-reading Elizabethan poetry and with a fresh awareness of its meaning. It was so characteristic of him that he could find something positive in being afflicted with terminal cancer. And so consistent with his way of thinking about Applied Linguistics that he should show so poignantly how a use of language, seemingly so remote from current reality, could be made relevant to the most difficult, and ultimately unresolvable, real world problems of human life.
Henry Widdowson (April 2006.) - Applied Linguistics 2006 27(2):161-163; doi:10.1093/applin/aml017
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
From Audiology
Farewell to Fiji
Colleagues in Linguistics wish Andrew Myles all the very the best for his upcoming travels to Fiji.
Andrew Myles (Clinical Audiologist) has taken six months unpaid leave to take up an Ausaid scholarship. He has been placed at a school for the Deaf in Fiji, where he will be developing audiology services for children enrolled in the school and the greater community. Andrew has an interest in Auslan, and his first Auslan teacher is currently conducting research into Fijian Sign Language. Andrew is hoping to establish contacts with the adult Deaf community through the school and his sign language teacher. The school incorporates sign language into it's teaching. However, there has recently been an interest in ensuring that all children who can benefit from hearing aids, have access to them in addition to access to sign language. Andrew's role will be challenging in that he will be looking to develop a sustainable hearing aid service for children enrolled in a school for the deaf a developing country, where hearing aids and sign language services have not previously been viewed as complementary components of the educational system. Andrew is scheduled to return to his position in the Audiology clinic in January 2007.
He's an audiological fellow
Congratualations to Professor Philip Newall who has recently been made a Fellow of the Audiological Society of Australia. This honour was conferred upon him at the recent Audiology conference in Perth. It places him among a select few within the society, which has about 800 members but only 10 Fellows.
Successful grant - Project title: Investigating Auditory Processing using MEG
Congratulations to Philip Newall (Audiology - Linguistics), Stephen Crain (MACCS), and Max Coltheart (MACCS), on their success in the Macquarie University External Collaborative Grants Scheme. The Collaborating Partners are: National Acoustic Laboratories: Harvey Dillon (Director of Research), Neuromonics: Peter Hanley (CEO).The project is to collect MEG data on auditory processing in adults with normal hearing. Eventually the aim is to investigate both children and adults with auditory processing deficits, including tinnitus, and to look at auditory processing in elderly people, and those with peripheral hearing loss. This scheme provides 1-1 matching funds for projects with external industrial partners. The partners - NAL and Neuromonics (together) - put in 15K as a cash contribution to the project, so the grant total is 30K.
From the Dictionary Research Centre
Members of the DRC will stage the 2006 Australex convernce as one of the five LINQ conferences in Brisbane in early July. The conference theme is"Dictionaries, their users and uses", and a very satisfying set of papers from local and international presenters has been scheduled. Two Australex student bursaries have been awarded to enable young researchers to present at the conference. The keynote speaker is Dr Dianne Bardsley, from the NZ Dictionary Centre at Victoria University, Wellington. Other papers focus on monolingual lexicography (Australian and New Zealand) and bilingual lexicography (Italian, Spanish, French, Japanese); terminography (including wine terms to be used in the EU) and a panel on the assimilation of loanwords in several languages: Turkish, Arabic and Aboriginal language.
From the NCELTR Resource Centre
The list of free ands subscription online journals in TESOL and Linguistics has been updated and may be found at the following locations:
Subscription journals (available to Macquarie University users only) http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources/rcejournals.htm
Free journals http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/resources/free.html
New Book
'A Student's Introduction to English Grammar' by Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press:2005 NCELTR PE1106.H74 2005. This groundbreaking undergraduate textbook on modern standard English grammar is the first to be based on the revolutionary advances of the authors' previous work 'The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language', winner of the 2004 Leonard Bloomfield Book Award of the Linguistic Society of America (NCELTR PE1106.H74 2002).
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.
From NCELTR Publications
Prospect is looking for book reviews and we need your help.
The most recently received titles awaiting review are:
- Oxford Wordpower Dictionary with CD Rom (3rd Ed.). (2006). Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
- Barnard, R. & Zemach, D. (2004) Writing for the Real World: An introduction to general writing. Student Book and Teachers Guide. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
- Barnard, R. & Zemach, D. (2004) Writing for the Real World: An introduction to business writing. Student Book and Teachers Guide. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
- Carter, R.& McCarthy, M. (2006) Cambridge Grammar of English: A comprehensive guide spoken and written English Grammar and Usage. Cambridge; UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Williams, G. & Lukin A. (2006) The development of language. London: Continuum.
For a free copy of any of these titles in return for a review please contact Louisa O'Kelly on 9850 9901 or by email louisa.okelly@mq.edu.au
Alternatively, you may like to let us know of an area of speciality or interest in which you would be willing to review for us.
For further information on NCELTR Publications, contact Louisa O'Kelly, Publishing Coordinator, NCELTR Publishing, Macquarie University NSW 2109 or by email louisa.okelly@mq.edu.au
From the Macquarie Library
Postgraduate Study Room
The Library provides a separate postgraduate student study area on the eastern end of Level 2 (entrance level) of the Library. Access to the room is by swipe card using your student card. The Room has seating for 21 students and facilities include desktop power connections for laptop computers and access to the wireless network. There are also daily lockers available free of charge.
For further information on library resouces contact Maureen Kattau, the Academic Outreach Librarian - Linguistics and Psychology, Macquarie University Library e-Learning & Information Services Division on Ph: (61 2) 9850 6521 Email: mkattau@library.mq.edu.au
From the College of Science and Technology's Liaison Officer - Rachel Jackson
Ideas for Catalyst
ABC TV's Catalyst producer is looking for ideas for a series of 'challenge' stories. You may have seen some of these challenge segments recently - the map test, caffeine challenge, time challenge and information overload. If you're conducting challenge-type research and fancy some publicity, please contact Macquarie University's Media Manager, Kathy Vozella (x7456), kathy.vozella@mq.edu.au. Some ideas maybe a fitness challenge - endurance over strength, co-ordination challenge - age VS youth, organisational challenge - male v female etc...any sort of research that challenges known precepts about life.
From the Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association (MUPRA) - Call for Student Action (International Student Travel Concessions)
In 1989 NSW Government withdrew access to public transport concessions from international Students. They say that they cannot afford to provide concessions to NSW, both culturally and economically, yet international students contribute millions of dollars to the NSW economy (tuition fees and goods and services). MUPRA is against any type of discrimination! Since 1989 the Government has been lobbied and petitioned, and on 23rd March 2006, a decision was handed down from the Administrative Decisions tribunal, which found that the Minister for Transport, Department of Transport, State Rail Authority and State Transit Authority have been engaged in acts of discrimination on the basis of race. This month the NSW government plans to introduce new legislation to allow this discrimination against international students to continue.
MUPRA encourages both local and international students to contact the Minister for Transport to let him know that this discrimination is hurting International Students. It has now been over sixteen years since the NSW Government ceased granting international students access to transport concessions. It's time to act! MUPRA and Cross-Campus Concessions Coalition (CCCC) have launched campaigns on this issue. Write or call John Watkins (Minister for Transport) - ask him about what happens with travel concession for international students. Telephone: (02) 9228 4866 Fax: (02) 9228 4855 Email: dp.office@watkins.minister.nsw.gov.au Street Address: Governor Macquarie Tower, Level 30, 1 Farrer Place, SYDNEY NSW 2000. Tell other students about this campaign. The more students involved in this campaign and in the CCCC the more impact we will have on the NSW Government Join the Cross-Campus Concessions Coalition (CCCC). You can check their website at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cccc_nsw/
Phone or email MUPRA with your ideas on campaigns and events to raise public awareness about this issue: mupra@mq.edu.au or (02) 9850 7699.
2007 Fulbright Scholarship to the United States
Postgraduate students, postdoctoral fellows and academics should be aware that applications are now open for 2007 Fulbright Awards. Valued at up to $A40000, these awards are open to Australian citizens to undertake research or study in the United States. The award must be started between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008. Applications are invited in the following award categories:
Fulbright Postgraduate
Awards
For study or research
(8-12 months) towards an American degree or research related to an Australian
degree. Up to eleven Fulbright Postgraduate Awards are offered in all fields
of study, including the following specific awards:
- Technology and Communications Award sponsored by Telstra
- Science and Engineering Award sponsored by BHP Billiton
- Visual and Performing Arts Award sponsored by Anthony Joseph Pratt
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award sponsored by OIPC, DIMIA
Current Australian Postgraduate Award holders are encouraged to apply, as APA guidelines have been recently changed to encourage international research experiences related to Australian postgraduate studies through awards, such as Fulbright.
Fulbright Professional
Awards
Valued at up to $A25,000 these awards support a 3-6 month research program.
The awards are directed towards professionals [junior to mid level staff, poised
for advancement to a senior level] to undertake professional development in
the United States. Up to four Fulbright Professional Awards are offered, including
the following specific awards:
- Vocational Education and Training Award
- Australian-United States Alliance Studies Award sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
- Business/Industry (Coral Sea) Award addressing a business or industry issue relevant to Australia and the United States
Fulbright Postdoctoral
Awards
Valued at up to
$A30,000, this award supports a 3-12 month research program for scholars who
have recently completed a PhD and would like to pursue ongoing postdoctoral
research.
Fulbright Senior Awards
Valued at up to
$A30,000, the awards support a 3-6 month research program for academic-based
professionals or scholars who intend to teach or undertake research.
Fulbright Tasmanian Award
Valued at up to
$A40,000 this award supports a talented Tasmanian to undertake study or research
in the United States for three to twelve months. The categories covered by the
Fulbright Tasmanian Award include: Professional, Senior Scholar, Postgraduate
and Postdoctoral.
For further information and application forms see http://www.fulbright.com.au/ Applications close 31 August 2006.
Upcoming conferences and workshops
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Diversity and Community in Applied Linguistics: Interface, Interpretation, Interdisciplinarity. Applied Linguistics and Language in Education Research Group (ALLE), Department of Linguistics. Macquarie University, Sydney 20-22 September, 2006.
Formalising over a decade and a half of individual and group research and teaching experience, the Applied Linguistics and Language in Education Research Group (ALLE) was recently established within the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University, Sydney, as one of the Department's Areas of Research Concentration. The research group aims to foster interaction and collaboration among researchers in applied linguistics and language in education at Macquarie and with colleagues in other research groups and centres within Linguistics, and to promote interdisciplinary, inter-institutional and international research and program development opportunities. As a key part of its research profile, the ALLE Research Group is planning an inaugural international conference.
The aims of the conference are to celebrate and interrogate three key areas of intersection in contemporary applied linguistics:
- Research
- Application
- Education
International speakers include: Suresh Canagarajah, Kees de Bot, Elana Shohamy. Local speakers include: Anne Burns, Geoff Brindley, Chris Candlin, David Hall, Trevor Johnston. The latest details are on the Conference website at: http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/centres/alle/conference.htm
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Call for Papers - Music as Human Communication: An HCSNet Workshop on the Science of Music Perception, Performance and Cognition. Monday July 17 - Tuesday July 18, 2006. MARCS Auditory Laboratories. University of Western Sydney (Bankstown * Milperra campus) Convenors: Kate Stevens, UWS and Emery Schubert, UNSW http://www.hcsnet.edu.au/node/913 Abstracts due: June 28, 2006.
The aim of this two-day national workshop is to present and discuss the latest research that investigates human communication in the form of music perception, performance and cognition. The theme is deliberately interdisciplinary to bring together established, early career, and student researchers from psychology, music, acoustics, computer science, linguistics, and speech science. Topics for discussion might include:
- performance and musical acoustics;
- the development of musical expectancies;
- affect expression and recognition in music;
- near-universal features of music and cross-cultural issues;
- the modularity debate regarding music and language.
Two keynote speakers (Prof Barbara Tillmann from CNRS, France and Prof Laurel Trainor from McMaster University, Canada) and student and staff researchers from around Australia will present their research and discuss methods for rigorous investigation of the arts and consider current knowledge of non-verbal cues to affect such as intensity, tempo, timing and rhythm, phrasing, intonation and prosody. The workshop will also be relevant to those interested in music information retrieval. Further information? Drop a line to Kate Stevens: kj.stevens@uws.edu.au
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Thai TESOL and PAC Conference
There will be two very special events in Thailand in January next year (the pleasant winter month) revolving around English language education. The first is the Pan-Asian Consortium of Language Teaching Organisations (PAC) conference, and the second is the Asian Youth Forum.
The PAC conference will be hosted by Thai TESOL next January and its theme is `Beyond Boundaries: Teaching English for Global Communication in Asia'. Papers are being sought now and plenary and featured speakers will be introduced from all members of PAC - from Thailand, Korea, Taiwan ROC, the Philippines, Far Eastern Russia, Singapore, and Japan. Part of the PAC conference will be the Asian Youth Forum, which is a platform at this international event for empowering the young people of Asia by providing opportunities to discuss significant issues in an Asian perspective and creating cross-cultural awareness.
Please see the following links for more details. http://www.asianyouthforum.org/index.htm and http://www.thaitesol.org/conf2007/
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Call for Papers - School of Languages Postgraduate Conference: `In between wor(l)ds - transformation and translation.' 25th-26th August 2006. Graduate Centre (1888 building) University of Melbourne.
The University of Melbourne School of Languages Postgraduate Conference will be held from August 25 to August 26, 2006 at the Graduate Centre, 1888 building, University of Melbourne. The aim of this conference is to create a supportive environment for PhD and Masters students to present their research. The Postgraduate Conference gives you the chance to get your work out of the office and into the open. All speakers will be invited to submit papers to the peer-review volume of proceedings of the conference. Papers are welcome on any topic to do with languages or linguistics and need not relate to the theme of the conference. If you would like to present a paper please send an abstract in PDF format to Robyn Loughnane: r.loughnane@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au. Abstracts must not be longer than one page. Please specify in your email any technical equipment you will require. Abstracts must be submitted by 5:00pm Friday, August 11, 2006. There is no registration fee and refreshments will be provided. Guest speakers will be announced shortly. Updates will be posted to: http:www.languages.unimelb.edu.au/ For further information please contact Robyn Loughnane using the email address above.
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Australian Linguistics Institute 2006 - ALI 2006 - Monday - Friday, 10-14 July 2006, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
ALI 2006 is a selection of 12 intensive courses presented by world experts in their fields. It's a unique opportunity for graduate students, advanced undergraduates, professional linguists, and language professionals to upgrade their knowledge and skills in key areas of linguistics. Many courses in ALI 2006 are on the theme 'Language and Cognition', while others focus on language typology, acquisition, and aspects of linguistic theory. Each course consists of five 90 minute sessions, running Monday through Friday. Three sets of courses will be running in parallel, so participants can attend a maximum of four courses. Confirmed topics and presenters are as follows:
- Cognitive linguistics- John Taylor (University of Otago)
- Combinatory grammar and natural cognition- Mark Steedman (University of Edinburgh)
- L2 syntax: Age dependent effects - Bonnie Schwartz (University of Hawai'i)
- Language and genetics - Brian Byrne (University of New England)
- Language and thought - Lera Boroditsky (Stanford University)
- Logic in child language acquisition - Stephen Crain (Macquarie University Centre for Cognitive Science)
- Morphology and lexical representations - Andrew Spencer (University of Essex)
- NonPamaNyungan languages of Northern Australia - Nicholas Evans (Melbourne University)
- Papuan languages - William Foley (University of Sydney)
- Semantics masterclass - Anna Wierzbicka (Australian National University)
- Understanding typological
distribution - Balthasar Bickel (University of Leipzig)
For more information, cf. http://www.linq2006.une.edu.au/
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Call for Papers - Critical Link 5 Quality in interpreting: a shared responsibility - 11-15 April 2007 - Sydney Australia.
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.
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Call for Proposals - Publishing and Presenting Research Internationally: Issues for speakers of English as an Additional Language. University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. January 11-13, 2007.
This international conference, hosted by the Department of English and German Philology, the Faculty of Philology and the Andres Bello Institute of Linguistics, will bring together researchers and professionals working in the fields of academic publishing and editing, English for Academic and Professional Purposes and Translation Studies. Confirmed plenary speakers are:
- John M. Swales, University of Michigan, U.S.A.
- Françoise Salager-Meyer Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela
- John Flowerdew, City University, Hong Kong
- Inmaculada Fortanet, Universidad de Jaume I, Spain
The organising committee encourages proposals for papers, posters, workshops and colloquia. Submission details are available on the conference website: http://webpages.ull.es/users/ppriseal/index.htm
Important dates:
- Registration details on website: mid-June 2006
- Abstract deadline: 15 September 2006
- Notification of acceptance of abstracts: 31 October 2006
- Earlybird registration
deadline: 11 November 2006
Conference organisers:
- Sally Burgess, Universidad de La Laguna, Spain sburgess@ull.es
- Margaret Cargill, University of Adelaide, Australia margaret.cargill@adelaide.edu.au
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Call for papers (Deadline 6 Oct 2006) - 2nd CELC International Symposium for English Language Teachers: Bridging Research and Pedagogy - 30 May - 01 Jun 2007, Hilton, Singapore. (Theme: The English Language Teaching and Learning Landscape: Continuity, Innovation and Diversity).
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The Centre for English Language Communication (CELC), National University of Singapore invites colleagues from all over the world to participate in an international symposium for English language teachers. This symposium will combine classroom-based research paper presentations with small group discussions to give presenters and participants an enriching professional development experience.
Topic areas:
- Language learning and teaching in the age of information technology
- Intercultural communication in the English language classroom
- Integrating critical and creative thinking and English language teaching
- Assessment and evaluation
- Teaching methodology for the future
- Local versus global materials for English language teaching
- Learner autonomy and English language learning
- Classroom management
- English for specific purposes
- The impact of language policies on the English language classroom
Contact Person: Dr Xudong Deng. Meeting Email: symposiumsec@nus.edu.sg Web Site: http://www.nus.edu.sg/celc/symposium
New Publications
Recommended reading for coursework and research postgraduate students:
M.Wallace & A. Wray (2006), Critical Reading and Writing for Postgraduates. London. Sage (pbk) ISBN-10 1-4129-0222-3/
From: Routledge (Taylor and Francis) http://www.routledge.com/
Thorne, Steve (2006)
Language of War.
Abstract: The Language of War explores how military discourse has entered
mainstream use. By analyzing the interaction between verbal and visual language
in military propaganda, this demonstrates the ways in which language is used
in construct opposing sides during armed conflict.
From Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd http://www.continuumbooks.com
Computational and Quantitative
Studies (2006), M.A.K Halliday, University of Sydney & Jonathan J Webster,
City University of Hong Kong.
Abstract: In the course of his career, Professor Halliday has continued to address
the issue of the application of linguistic scholarship for computational and
quantitative studies. The sixth volume in the collected works of Professor
M. A. K. Halliday includes works that span the last five decades, covering
such topics as machine translation: the early years; and probabilistic grammar.
The last section of this volume includes discussion of recent collaborative
efforts bringing together those working in systemic functional grammar, fuzzy
logic, and intelligent computing, engaging in what Halliday refers to as computing
with meaning. The Collected Works of M. A. K. Halliday is a series that brings
together Halliday's publications in many branches of linguistics, both theoretical
and applied (a distinction which he himself rejects), including grammar and
semantics, discourse analysis and stylistics, phonology, sociolinguistics,
computational linguistics, language education, and child language development.
From: Cambridge University Press http://us.cambridge.org Book URL: http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=052165470X
Linguistic Turns in
Modern Philosophy. Michael Losonsky. Series title: The Evolution of Modern
Philosophy (2006).
Abstract: This book traces the linguistic turns in the history of modern philosophy
and the development of the philosophy of language from Locke to Wittgenstein.
It examines the contributions of canonical figures such as Leibniz, Mill,
Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Austin, Quine, and Davidson, as well as those
of Condillac, Humboldt, Chomsky, and Derrida. Michael Losonsky argues that
the philosophy of language begins with Locke¿s Essay Concerning Human
Understanding. He shows how the history of the philosophy of language in the
modern period is marked by a dichotomy between formal and pragmatic perspectives
on language and that modern philosophy has notbeen able to integrate these
two aspects of human language. Language as a human activity and language as
a syntactic and semantic system remain distinct and competing focal points,
although the interplay between these points of view has driven the development
of the philosophy of language. Written
with both specialists and lay audiences in mind. Sympathetic and informed
treatment of continental and analytic traditions. An analytical history of
the philosophy of language as well as an assessment of the state of the art.
From Amazon - Book url: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/082646632X/qid=1146863151/sr=1-10/ref=sr_1_10/103-5907232-4823063?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
'A Systemic Functional
Grammar of French: From Grammar to Discourse' - Alice Caffarel, Department
of French Studies, University of Sydney.
This is the first grammar of French to provide an overall account of the
language from a systemic functional perspective. Alice Caffarel uses this
approach to linguistics, pioneered by Michael Halliday, to provide a description
of French grammar in terms of its meaning potential and realizations in structure.
This grammar has been developed as a resource for discourse analysis (including
the analysis of literary texts) and for understanding how French grammar makes
meaning in different textual and contextual environments. The multi-perspectival
approach presented here reveals a unique new way of looking at one of the
world's most widely used international languages. The book gives a comprehensive
account of French grammar which is suitable for use by undergraduates, postgraduates
and academics who wish to analyse texts of various registers, and researchers
in systemic functional and French linguistics. (Professor M A K Halliday,
from the Preface).
Positions Vacant
Teacher of English for Gifted and Talented Children: Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea. (Starting Date: September 1, 2006.)
A full-time instructor
to teach a special program called English for Gifted and Talented Children
(EGTC) is sought at the Language Education Center at Kyungpook National University
(KNU), Korea. EGTC has been approved by the Superintendent of The Daegu City
Board of Education and aims to provide the most suitable and effective educational
opportunities for children who distinguish themselves in the acquisition of
the English language and other academic/cognitive skills. Its teaching emphasis
is the concurrent development of high-level English skills and creative, logical,
and problem-solving thinking skills to prepare them to be competent leaders
and pillars in major fields of the society. The English for Gifted and Talented
Children program is part of the English for Young Learners program at Kyungpook
National University, located in Daegu, Korea¡¯s third largest city.
The university has 16 colleges and 11 graduate schools with over 24,000 students.
Job Description and Benefits:
- Teach elementary school students aged 9-15, for 15 hours a week Monday-Saturday (Basic/Obligatory) with optional teaching hours up to 15 hours. Salary: 55,300,000 Won a year (Basic 36,400,000 Won plus Extra approximately 18,900,000 Won. Basic Salary: 36,400,000 Won a year (that includes a severance pay equivalent to one month¡¯s salary, 2.8 million Won, upon completion of annual contract). This basic salary is for the obligatory 15 hours of teaching per week, Monday-Saturday. Extra Salary: Beyond the basic salary above, up to 15 extra hours of teaching are available if the instructor wishes to teach additional classes for extra earning. These extra hours will be arranged for the instructor using two options, and the instructor will be paid according to overtime-hourly rate. The first option is to teach English-for-Young-Learners (EYL) program exclusively (this is the center¡¯s preference), and the overtime rate is 30,000 Won per hour. For maximum 15 extra hours for teaching EYL exclusively, the additional salary will amount to approximately 18,900,000 Won a year. With this, the total yearly salary (i.e., Basic plus Extra salary) is thus estimated to be about 55,300,000 Won. The second option is to teach mostly EYL and partly non-credit based English conversation classes for KNU university students offered within the center. The overtime pay rate for the English conversation classes is 22,000 Won an hour.
- Vacation: Minimum four weeks per year guaranteed, plus all Korean National Holidays, and Sundays.
- Must be able to teach on Saturdays.
- Free studio apartment with free internet service.
Qualifications:
- Native speaker of English.
- Bachelors Degree (English, Education or Childhood Education major preferred) along with TESOL/EFL/ESL teaching certificate minimally.
- Masters Degree in the above areas preferred.
- Previous experience teaching children English preferred.
- Certificate of Gifted or Enrichment training or courses.
The deadline for applications is June 30, 2006. Decisions regarding hiring will be made as soon as possible. Please submit the following documents ASAP:
- Resume/cover letter and photo.
- Copy of your passport photo page.
- Copies of all degrees & transcripts.
- Three letters of reference (personal & professional).
- Copy of Gifted/Enrichment certification.
Please address your application package to: Language Education Center, Kyungpook National University, 1370 Sangyeok-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu, South Korea 702-701, Fax: +82-053-950-6724, Phone: +82-053-950-6729 (Academic Coordinator). You can also apply electronically to: knuli@knu.ac.kr
l'IUT de Dijon a un poste de lecteur vacant à pourvoir en anglais.
De préférence, le candidat ou la candidate maîtrisera bien le français. Il s'agit d'un enseignement en langue de spécialité dans les domaines de la gestion, la biologie et l'informatique. Le candidat n'aura pas besoin d'être spécialiste mais il serait souhaitable qu'il s' intéresse à ces domaines. Les candidats devront envoyer une lettre de motivation et un CV à :claudie.harvey@iut-dijon.u-bourgogne.fr
English teaching position at Wallaby International College
We currently have a position for an English teach at Wallaby International College and would like the desription of this vacancy to be displayed to all interested applicants. Wallaby International College is seeking an English teacher for 15 hours per week (Mon-Fri 9:30-12:30). The rate of pay will be determined by experience (minimum is $25 per hour). You must have a current teaching qualification to apply for this position. Public transport is available. Please apply to: Erin Taylor - erin@wica.com.au Ph: (02) 9922 3000 and Fax: (02) 9923 2888.
Lingline can be accessed via the "News" link on the Linguistics Department website at:
All items for inclusion to be submitted by email to the editor Tessa Green: 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. |