Autism and written narrative: discourse analysis and the characterisation of higher level language disorder phenotypes. This work contributes to the national research priority goal 'A healthy start to life', in advancing our understanding of the language disorder of autism. It is expected to benefit the children, their families and the community in furthering the basic research necessary for the development of new measures of performance, of use in the better assessment of children with language ....Autism and written narrative: discourse analysis and the characterisation of higher level language disorder phenotypes. This work contributes to the national research priority goal 'A healthy start to life', in advancing our understanding of the language disorder of autism. It is expected to benefit the children, their families and the community in furthering the basic research necessary for the development of new measures of performance, of use in the better assessment of children with language disorders and in the design and targeting of intervention programs. This work is cutting edge internationally in the approach it takes to the naturalistic language of children with autism. Hence it will raise the profile of Australia in this research domain.Read moreRead less
A typology of adverbial subordination and clause linkage in Tibeto-Burman languages. This project identifies and analyses the typological features of adverbial subordination and clause linkage in Tibeto-Burman languages and will establish the first typology of adverbial subordination in this underdocumented language family. A central component of the project involves linguistic fieldwork on poorly understood languages spoken in north-east India. Expected outcomes include a substantial typologi ....A typology of adverbial subordination and clause linkage in Tibeto-Burman languages. This project identifies and analyses the typological features of adverbial subordination and clause linkage in Tibeto-Burman languages and will establish the first typology of adverbial subordination in this underdocumented language family. A central component of the project involves linguistic fieldwork on poorly understood languages spoken in north-east India. Expected outcomes include a substantial typological monograph on adverbial subordination, plus grammatical descriptions that will pave the way for new research on the neglected Tibeto-Burman languages of Nagaland. This study will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the universal characteristics of clause linkage underpinning the organisation of human language.Read moreRead less
Interpreting spoken Aboriginal English: the communicative role of intonation. This project will produce new knowledge about the ways Aboriginal English speakers use intonation (speech melody) to communicate meanings. This knowledge will improve our understanding of potential linguistic sources of miscommunication between speakers of Aboriginal English varieties and speakers of mainstream English. It will also contribute to an increased appreciation in Australia and abroad of the unique linguisti ....Interpreting spoken Aboriginal English: the communicative role of intonation. This project will produce new knowledge about the ways Aboriginal English speakers use intonation (speech melody) to communicate meanings. This knowledge will improve our understanding of potential linguistic sources of miscommunication between speakers of Aboriginal English varieties and speakers of mainstream English. It will also contribute to an increased appreciation in Australia and abroad of the unique linguistic structures of Aboriginal English, which are reflective of the continuity and maintenance of the distinct cultural perspectives of Aboriginal Australians. Read moreRead less
The role of feedback in second language learning processes. Teachers spend an inordinate amount of time providing feedback to second language learners on their written work. This research investigation has two stages. Stage one aims to examine the effectiveness of different kinds of feedback, the extent to which learners take notice of the feedback, and the extent to which learners are able to incorporate the feedback into their developing second language systems both in the short term, and th ....The role of feedback in second language learning processes. Teachers spend an inordinate amount of time providing feedback to second language learners on their written work. This research investigation has two stages. Stage one aims to examine the effectiveness of different kinds of feedback, the extent to which learners take notice of the feedback, and the extent to which learners are able to incorporate the feedback into their developing second language systems both in the short term, and the longer term. In the second stage we investigate the success with which the findings from the first stage can be transferred into the classroom context.Read moreRead less