- School of Languages and Linguistics
Griffith University
Nathan Qld 4111 - +617 3735 7257
- Bilingualism and cognition, Multi- & Bilingualism & Biliteracy, Constructions of femininity, Applied Linguistics, Gender Discourse, Cultural differences in communications styles, and 17 moreLanguage Acquisition, Intercultural Communication, Gender, Gender Issues, Globalization And Higher Education, Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language, Spanish as a Foreign Language, Spanish, Pragmatics, Social Networking, Globalization, Social Media, Communication, Intercultural Competence, Bilingualism, Bilingualism and Multilingualism, and Second Language Acquisitionedit
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Sociolinguistic research on language attitudes has revealed that non-standard accented speakers are usually perceived more negatively than members of the dominant speech community. Few studies, however, have examined whether a speaker’s... more
Sociolinguistic research on language attitudes has revealed that non-standard accented speakers are usually perceived more negatively than members of the dominant speech community. Few studies, however, have examined whether a speaker’s ethnicity, evidenced by nonlinguistic factors such as appearance, may play a role in listeners’ perception of accent. This project is based on studies by Rubin (1992) investigating perceptions of foreign academics by undergraduate students in the US. In those studies, participants listened to a short lecture presented with a projection of either a Caucasian or a Chinese face and completed a listening comprehension test and a speakers’ evaluation rating scale. Unknown to the participants, the recording was produced by a single standard American-English speaker. Participants exposed to the Chinese face perceived a non-standard accent and rated the speaker more negatively than those exposed to the Caucasian face. Our present study extends Rubin (1992) by examining data collected through an online survey from languages and linguistics university students in Australia. Unlike Rubin’s (1992) findings, this study found no statistically significant differences between responses based on exposure to a Chinese or Caucasian face, a fact that could be attributed primarily to the multilingual and multicultural composition of Australian universities.
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This paper reports on a structured exchange program between Chinese and Australian students which focuses on discussion and reflections on everyday cultural practices and behaviours, the most relevant but often least accessible aspect of... more
This paper reports on a structured exchange program between Chinese and Australian students which focuses on discussion and reflections on everyday cultural practices and behaviours, the most relevant but often least accessible aspect of culture for international students. We ground these discussions in a setting common to both groups: the situationally familiar, yet culturally unfamiliar, environment of Australian universities. The interactions allow students to create a comfortable and non-threatening ‘cultural space’ from where they reflect on their own and others’ cultural mores and practices that occur within the context of the university setting. Students discuss the underlying values that drive behaviours in situations ranging from social gatherings such as parties, to task-oriented academic settings such as tutorials. The program includes a strong language component. We ask students to reflect on the language used in daily conversations, the language appropriate for particul...
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ABSTRACT Part of the tasks of internationalizing the university curriculum involves developing into courses and academic programs generally, activities and assessment practices that provide opportunities for linguistic and cultural input... more
ABSTRACT Part of the tasks of internationalizing the university curriculum involves developing into courses and academic programs generally, activities and assessment practices that provide opportunities for linguistic and cultural input through interaction between local and ...
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INTRODUCTION Even a cursory look at recent linguistics journals, dissertation abstracts and book notices reveals a profound ongoing interest in the syntax of clitics. Yet, despite the proliferation of publications on this subject, very... more
INTRODUCTION Even a cursory look at recent linguistics journals, dissertation abstracts and book notices reveals a profound ongoing interest in the syntax of clitics. Yet, despite the proliferation of publications on this subject, very little research has been conducted into the acquisition ...
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We extend Cuervo's (2003) analysis of the Lower Applicative Dative DP in Spanish to account for the animate definite DP preceded by a and the fact that it is not possible to have both an animate dative definite direct object and a... more
We extend Cuervo's (2003) analysis of the Lower Applicative Dative DP in Spanish to account for the animate definite DP preceded by a and the fact that it is not possible to have both an animate dative definite direct object and a dative indirect object in the same ...
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This study investigates the transnational experiences of young Taiwanese-background children living in Australia, who sojourn to their parents' homeland during the school holidays to improve their linguistic and cultural skills, as... more
This study investigates the transnational experiences of young Taiwanese-background children living in Australia, who sojourn to their parents' homeland during the school holidays to improve their linguistic and cultural skills, as reported by their mothers. Although this appears to be a frequent practice in the Taiwanese diaspora, showcasing the agency of this community, little research has systematically investigated this practice, and in particular its impact on the children and their families. Data for this study were obtained through online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with mothers who engage in this practice, to gather information on family histories and participants' backgrounds, family language policies, and parents' perceptions of children's experiences and challenges. The data show that parents aim to enhance their children's proficiency levels in the home language as well as their Taiwanese identity. Children, however, take an agentive role with regard to identity choices, so parents' aims are not always fulfilled. Sojourning is presented as a clear example not only of enacted family language policy, but also as an explicit management practice, positioning the Taiwanese diaspora within both their new as well as their old homeland.
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In response to the increasing literature on transnational higher education in host countries, this paper aims to identify prominent factors affecting the quality of transnational higher education in China, as perceived and reported by... more
In response to the increasing literature on transnational higher education in host countries, this paper aims to identify prominent factors affecting the quality of transnational higher education in China, as perceived and reported by Chinese host universities. A qualitative data analysis was conducted on 122 self-appraisal reports on transnational higher education programmes submitted to China's Ministry of Education in 2017 by 112 Chinese host universities. The analysis identified and examined relationships between four interrelated factors: low foreign language proficiency among students, shortage of a sustainable supply of highly qualified teachers, low quality of curriculum design and implementation and deficiencies in institutional regulations. The findings are discussed in the context of the literature, revealing two issues in transnational higher education in China: using local Chinese teachers to teach the imported foreign courses and outsourcing foreign language teaching. The paper concludes with some limitations of the study and implications for future research
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Sociolinguistic research on language attitudes has revealed that non-standard accented speakers are usually perceived more negatively than members of the dominant speech community. Few studies, however, have examined whether a speaker’s... more
Sociolinguistic research on language attitudes has revealed that non-standard accented speakers are usually perceived more negatively than members of the dominant speech community. Few studies, however, have examined whether a speaker’s ethnicity, evidenced by nonlinguistic factors such as appearance, may play a role in listeners’ perception of accent. This project is based on studies by Rubin (1992) investigating perceptions of foreign academics by undergraduate students in the US. In those studies, participants listened to a short lecture presented with a projection of either a Caucasian or a Chinese face and completed a listening comprehension test and a speakers’ evaluation rating scale. Unknown to the participants, the recording was produced by a single standard American-English speaker. Participants exposed to the Chinese face perceived a non-standard accent and rated the speaker more negatively than those exposed to the Caucasian face. Our present study extends Rubin (1992) by examining data collected through an online survey from languages and linguistics university students in Australia. Unlike Rubin’s (1992) findings, this study found no statistically significant differences between responses based on exposure to a Chinese or Caucasian face, a fact that could be attributed primarily to the multilingual and multicultural composition of Australian universities.
Research Interests:
Migrant and refugee parents considering raising their children in their non-mainstream home language often fear that this decision may impact negatively on their children’s English language ability and thus affect their academic... more
Migrant and refugee parents considering raising their children in their non-mainstream home language often fear that this decision may impact negatively on their children’s English language ability and thus affect their academic prospects. The lack of institutional support for home languages in the Australian school system, and the well-intentioned but misguided advice parents may receive to switch to the mainstream language in family interactions reinforce parents’ doubts. To assuage parents’ concerns and assist them in making an informed decision most appropriate for their family circumstances, we developed and delivered free workshops on bilingual upbringing. We also trained bilingual facilitators who adapted the workshops culturally and linguistically and conducted these in their own communities. This paper discusses these workshops, the feedback received, our observations, and lessons learned.
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... CONTENTS List of Tables and Figures ix Preface xi 1 The State of the Art of Teaching Spanish: From Research to Praxis Rafael Salaberry and Barbara Lafford 1 2 A Content-Based Approach to Spanish Language Study: Foreign Languages... more
... CONTENTS List of Tables and Figures ix Preface xi 1 The State of the Art of Teaching Spanish: From Research to Praxis Rafael Salaberry and Barbara Lafford 1 2 A Content-Based Approach to Spanish Language Study: Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum Carol A. Klee ...
While advantages of literacy in the home language have been widely documented, the Australian education system has not been proactive in providing institutional support for its development. This paper investigates the impact of... more
While advantages of literacy in the home language have been widely documented, the Australian education system has not been proactive in providing institutional support for its development. This paper investigates the impact of (il)literacy in the home language on the academic, affective, and social development of bilingual/multilingual children and proposes principles that home-language-literacy programs should meet to be effective. It discusses programs that, although designed to develop literacy or second-language proficiency mainly in classroom contexts, could be easily adapted to address the needs of the linguistically and culturally diverse Australian context. We argue that the cost of not investing in successful home-language-literacy programs will be higher in the long run than their implementation costs and recommend that Australia should consider supporting grassroots home-language-literacy programs in a push to improve overall literacy outcomes for Australian home-language speakers.
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One consequence of the advent of cyber communication is that increasing numbers of people go online to ask for, obtain, and presumably act upon advice dispensed by unknown peers. Just as advice seekers may not have access to information... more
One consequence of the advent of cyber communication is that increasing numbers of people go online to ask for, obtain, and presumably act upon advice dispensed by unknown peers. Just as advice seekers may not have access to information about the identities, ideologies, and other personal characteristics of advice givers, advice givers are equally ignorant about their interlocutors except for the bits of demographic information that the latter may offer freely. In the present study, that information concerns sex. As the sex of the advice seeker may be the only, or the predominant, contextual variable at hand, it is expected that that identifier will guide advice givers in formulating their advice. The aim of this project is to investigate whether and how the sex of advice givers and receivers affects the type of advice, through the empirical analysis of a corpus of web-based Spanish language forums on personal relationship difficulties. The data revealed that, in the absence of individuating information beyond that implicit in the advice request, internalized gender expectations along the lines of agency and communality are the sources from which advice givers draw to guide their counsel. This is despite the trend in discursive practices used in formulating advice, suggesting greater language convergence across sexes.
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Self-repair analysis has often been used to gauge a learner's proficiency level, language acquisition or monitoring ability. This study questions these presumed links by examining the self-initiated self-repair practices of second... more
Self-repair analysis has often been used to gauge a learner's proficiency level, language acquisition or monitoring ability. This study questions these presumed links by examining the self-initiated self-repair practices of second language learners of Mandarin Chinese drawing from both classroom interaction data and stimulated recall interviews. While this link may not be as strong as previously suggested, self-repair behaviour can reveal other information about the learner, including monitoring preferences, learning strategies, areas of difficulty, and perceptions about both their proficiency level and the target language. As such, self-repair still appears to play an important role in the language learning process, albeit not the straightforward role that has often been assumed to date.
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Intercultural Education, Vol. 18, No. 5, December 2007, pp. 413425 ... ISSN 1467-5986 (print)/ISSN 1469-8439 (online)/07/05041313 © 2007 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/14675980701685271 ... Susana Eisenchlas a * and... more
Intercultural Education, Vol. 18, No. 5, December 2007, pp. 413425 ... ISSN 1467-5986 (print)/ISSN 1469-8439 (online)/07/05041313 © 2007 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/14675980701685271 ... Susana Eisenchlas a * and Sue Trevaskes b ... Institute, Griffith University, Australia ...
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ABSTRACT Part of the tasks of internationalizing the university curriculum involves developing into courses and academic programs generally, activities and assessment practices that provide opportunities for linguistic and cultural input... more
ABSTRACT Part of the tasks of internationalizing the university curriculum involves developing into courses and academic programs generally, activities and assessment practices that provide opportunities for linguistic and cultural input through interaction between local and ...
Research Interests:
INTRODUCTION Even a cursory look at recent linguistics journals, dissertation abstracts and book notices reveals a profound ongoing interest in the syntax of clitics. Yet, despite the proliferation of publications on this subject, very... more
INTRODUCTION Even a cursory look at recent linguistics journals, dissertation abstracts and book notices reveals a profound ongoing interest in the syntax of clitics. Yet, despite the proliferation of publications on this subject, very little research has been conducted into the acquisition ...
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EJ678762 - Creating Cultural Spaces in the Australian University Setting: A Pilot Study of Structured Cultural Exchanges.
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Clitic pronouns have been one of the most researched topics in the field of Romance languages linguistics, and more studies are constantly being published, adding new theoretical insights. But there is still no account that presents a... more
Clitic pronouns have been one of the most researched topics in the field of Romance languages linguistics, and more studies are constantly being published, adding new theoretical insights. But there is still no account that presents a unified description of the ...