Reclamation of Victorian Indigenous languages: Using ICT to enable effective exchange between academics, educators and the Indigenous community. The project will exploit online technologies to provide centralised resources for the Indigenous languages of Victoria. The use of modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to present a non-threatening and personalised interface to the resources will connect people and materials, and breathe new life into these ancient languages of such cont ....Reclamation of Victorian Indigenous languages: Using ICT to enable effective exchange between academics, educators and the Indigenous community. The project will exploit online technologies to provide centralised resources for the Indigenous languages of Victoria. The use of modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to present a non-threatening and personalised interface to the resources will connect people and materials, and breathe new life into these ancient languages of such contemporary, social and cultural significance. This 'living system' of language information and exchange, built on pure linguistic research will have wide value. It will be of crucial benefit in rural and regional areas. The project will also encourage intergenerational communication within Indigenous families and will improve awareness and appreciation of Indigenous languages.Read moreRead less
Intercultural Approaches to Teaching Chinese: A basis for pedagogical innovation. The nation in general will benefit by having a better prepared and more competent population of Chinese teachers, learners and professionals, whose exposure to Chinese language and culture will encompass the multiplicity of identities in a contemporary, multicultural society. This research will establish Australia as a major innovator in Chinese language pedagogy and will equip Australians to better understand our ....Intercultural Approaches to Teaching Chinese: A basis for pedagogical innovation. The nation in general will benefit by having a better prepared and more competent population of Chinese teachers, learners and professionals, whose exposure to Chinese language and culture will encompass the multiplicity of identities in a contemporary, multicultural society. This research will establish Australia as a major innovator in Chinese language pedagogy and will equip Australians to better understand our region and our world. A unique feature of the project is the provision for assessment of cultural awareness derived from study of language, ensuring that students who do not persevere with Chinese language will have a 'surrender value' declaration, recording competency in knowledge of Chinese culture.Read moreRead less
Literature, Language and the Expression of Cultural Change in the Francophone Pacific. The proposal aims to analyse and document in monographs, critical editions, doctoral theses and other forms the evolution of linguistic and cultural change in the French Pacific through a comprehensive case study of the contemporary literature and press of New Caledonia. After years of civil unrest, stability was restored to this French Pacific Territory, a near neighbour of Australia, through the Matignon and ....Literature, Language and the Expression of Cultural Change in the Francophone Pacific. The proposal aims to analyse and document in monographs, critical editions, doctoral theses and other forms the evolution of linguistic and cultural change in the French Pacific through a comprehensive case study of the contemporary literature and press of New Caledonia. After years of civil unrest, stability was restored to this French Pacific Territory, a near neighbour of Australia, through the Matignon and Noumea Accords (1988, 1998).This has led to the emergence of new forms of cultural expression, particularly in literature, and a specific form of Pacific French, as part of a process of nation-building in New Caledonia.Read moreRead less
Participation in the administration of justice: deaf citizens as jurors. This project will pioneer international research on legal signed language interpreting and jury service; the results are likely to innovate law reform. The expected outcome will be to overturn previously held common law that deaf people cannot serve as jurors due to having an interpreter as the 13th person in the jury room as well as confidentiality issues.
Access to justice in interpreted proceedings: the role of Judicial Officers. This project aims to examine the ways judicial officers can improve courtroom communication and prevent miscommunication and error, particularly in criminal cases where speakers of the 'new and emerging' and Aboriginal languages are involved, and where interpreters receive limited or no specialised training. Using an innovative interdisciplinary approach, the project aims to generate new knowledge in examining the varia ....Access to justice in interpreted proceedings: the role of Judicial Officers. This project aims to examine the ways judicial officers can improve courtroom communication and prevent miscommunication and error, particularly in criminal cases where speakers of the 'new and emerging' and Aboriginal languages are involved, and where interpreters receive limited or no specialised training. Using an innovative interdisciplinary approach, the project aims to generate new knowledge in examining the variations in judicial officers communications practice when working with interpreters, and their impact on the effective transmission of information in the courtroom. Expected outcomes of this project will include improved outcomes of interpreted communication and a better access to justice for non-English speaking participants.Read moreRead less
Improving engagement in learning and transition to mainstream schooling for newly-arrived Sudanese youth in the middle years of schooling. The 'new wave' of Sudanese refugees (48.3% of 2003 intake) with disrupted educational and social/emotional backgrounds is currently challenging Australian schools' expertise and resources. Using frameworks that draw on cultural theory, identity and language, the study will explore the social capital needs (skills and capacities, and resource needs) of Sudanes ....Improving engagement in learning and transition to mainstream schooling for newly-arrived Sudanese youth in the middle years of schooling. The 'new wave' of Sudanese refugees (48.3% of 2003 intake) with disrupted educational and social/emotional backgrounds is currently challenging Australian schools' expertise and resources. Using frameworks that draw on cultural theory, identity and language, the study will explore the social capital needs (skills and capacities, and resource needs) of Sudanese middle-schooling students enabling successful, productive and engaged transition from their on-arrival program into mainstream secondary schooling. The resulting model and web-based materials will provide a framework for educating other groups likely to follow from Africa/elsewhere, and meet the National Priority Goal: strengthening Australia's social fabric.Read moreRead less
Speaking Greek in diaspora: language contact, survival, and maintenance. Australia is a highly multilingual and multicultural country, speaking several hundred different indigenous and immigrant languages across the nation. Greek is the second largest language spoken in Australia (the second largest country of Greek diaspora in the world). A systematic investigation of the Greek language spoken in Australia by various generations, and its comparison with Greek as spoken in critical locations in ....Speaking Greek in diaspora: language contact, survival, and maintenance. Australia is a highly multilingual and multicultural country, speaking several hundred different indigenous and immigrant languages across the nation. Greek is the second largest language spoken in Australia (the second largest country of Greek diaspora in the world). A systematic investigation of the Greek language spoken in Australia by various generations, and its comparison with Greek as spoken in critical locations in South America, will enhance cross-cultural understanding and communication within Australia and world-wide. The project will fortify the scientific and economic links with the European community already established by the National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research, in terms of social and economic benefit.Read moreRead less
Tackling the issues of low numbers of Australia's advanced users of Japanese: Reasons and strategies. A sound relationship between Australia and Japan is critical to Australia. Their key relations in trade, foreign policy and cultural exchange require an advanced understanding of Japanese. However, Australia is not producing sufficient numbers of advanced users of Japanese. This project creates and implements strategies to develop more Australian learners into advanced users of Japanese, thus c ....Tackling the issues of low numbers of Australia's advanced users of Japanese: Reasons and strategies. A sound relationship between Australia and Japan is critical to Australia. Their key relations in trade, foreign policy and cultural exchange require an advanced understanding of Japanese. However, Australia is not producing sufficient numbers of advanced users of Japanese. This project creates and implements strategies to develop more Australian learners into advanced users of Japanese, thus contributing to Australia's knowledge base in language education and applied linguistics. The PhD project will train a well-rounded Australian applied/educational linguist, equipping them with in-depth knowledge of current learners as well as fundamental research tools in both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Read moreRead less