Does phonological awareness help children learn to read? An almost universally-accepted view in the field of reading acquisition is that phonological awareness, or the ability to perceive and manipulate speech sounds, causes a child to be good at learning to read. We argue that, despite the voluminous literature on this issue, it has not been conclusively established that such a causal link exists. To do so requires a project, proposed here, in which completely pre-literate children are selec ....Does phonological awareness help children learn to read? An almost universally-accepted view in the field of reading acquisition is that phonological awareness, or the ability to perceive and manipulate speech sounds, causes a child to be good at learning to read. We argue that, despite the voluminous literature on this issue, it has not been conclusively established that such a causal link exists. To do so requires a project, proposed here, in which completely pre-literate children are selected, their phonological awareness measured, and its relationship with subsequent literacy acquisition followed. Settling this issue will have significant consequences for both theory and practice in reading acquisition and dyslexia.Read moreRead less
Reconciling perceptual and cognitive accounts of dyslexia: The neural rate deficit hypothesis. The proposed research will form part of a co-ordinated program to understand the causes of dyslexia, a disorder that affects a large number of children and often persists into adulthood. It complements parallel efforts to elucidate the genetic basis of dyslexia, the heterogeneity and subtypes of dyslexia, and the developmental precursors to the disorder. This research will inform early intervention and ....Reconciling perceptual and cognitive accounts of dyslexia: The neural rate deficit hypothesis. The proposed research will form part of a co-ordinated program to understand the causes of dyslexia, a disorder that affects a large number of children and often persists into adulthood. It complements parallel efforts to elucidate the genetic basis of dyslexia, the heterogeneity and subtypes of dyslexia, and the developmental precursors to the disorder. This research will inform early intervention and remediation efforts and will also assist in the understanding of the normal process of reading acquisition in children.Read moreRead less
The South East Barito languages of Indonesia and Madagascar: safeguarding their past and future. This project strengthens Australia's position as the pre-eminent Anglophone centre of Indonesian Studies worldwide and enhances its position as a research leader in Indian Ocean studies. It will build links between scholars in Australia, Indonesia, Europe and Madagascar, and its results will feed into Indonesian studies teaching programs.
Doing great things with small languages: Safeguarding Indigenous language material of Australia's region by clever use of new technology. This project will provide a responsible record of Indigenous and endangered languages from both Australia and from Vanuatu. It will build understanding of the cultures in which those languages are spoken and enhance links between Australia and its neighbours by providing access to field recordings made by researchers since the 1950s, thus enhancing Australia's ....Doing great things with small languages: Safeguarding Indigenous language material of Australia's region by clever use of new technology. This project will provide a responsible record of Indigenous and endangered languages from both Australia and from Vanuatu. It will build understanding of the cultures in which those languages are spoken and enhance links between Australia and its neighbours by providing access to field recordings made by researchers since the 1950s, thus enhancing Australia's security. It will also keep Australia at the forefront of the application of new technologies to linguistic research by developing a methodology for language documentation of significance for the discipline as a whole.Read moreRead less