Ethnographies of academic writing: research and pedagogy
May 16-17th, 2019
University of Zaragoza (Spain)
Important dates
Deadline for abstracts: January 20th, 2019
Notification of acceptance: February 10th, 2019
Early registration: No later than March 10th, 2019
Deadline for standard registration: May 10th, 2019
Ethnographies of writing Conference: May 16-17th, 2019
Lifelong Bilingualism: Reshaping Mind and Brain
Sun, March 25, 11:20am to 12:25pm, Sheraton Grand Chicago, Chicago 6 and 7
Ellen Bialystok, York University
Abstract
All our experiences contribute to the way our minds and brains develop, but intense experiences have a special role in shaping our cognitive systems. As humans, no experience is more intense or pervasive than our use of language, so a lifetime of learning and using (at least) two languages has the potential to leave a profound mark on human cognition. A large body of research conducted with people at all stages in the lifespan, from infancy to old age, shows that the experience of being actively bilingual reshapes the mind and brain. Beginning with infants exposed to two languages at home and ending with older adults coping with dementia and neurodegenerative disease, cognitive and brain outcomes are different for monolinguals and bilinguals. These differences are generally in the direction of more precocious development for bilingual children and more protection against cognitive decline for bilingual older adults. This talk will review the evidence from these studies and propose an explanation for how exposure to and use of two languages leads to these cognitive and brain consequences.
Language use is intense, sustained, recruits broad brain networks and cognitive systems.
Bilinguals need to select the target language. Attention networks are required.
Bilinguals use the same brain networks for the same tasks. They´ve adapted their behaviour for verbal selection.
In Toronto 50% of the homes do not use either English or French.
-Conflict resolution (Flanker task)
The more bilingual, the better they did
-Frog working memory task (spatial working memory) (no time limit)
The more bilingual, the better they did
-Stop signal task (gold standard for detecting attentional disorders) Response inhibition
The more bilingual, the better they did
The better attention, the better they did
Socioeconomic status and bilingualism: same status, bilinguals do better (Calvo & Byalstock, 2014)
Bilingual adults doing the Simon Task perform as well as younger subjects (reaction time).
Fascinating study by Bat et al. (2014): long term effects of bilingualism.
We studied 853 participants, first tested in 1947 (age = 11 years), and retested in 2008–2010. Bilinguals performed significantly better than predicted from their baseline cognitive abilities, with strongest effects on general intelligence and reading. Our results suggest a positive effect of bilingualism on later‐life cognition, including in those who acquired their second language in adulthood.
Being bilingual postpones the appearance of Alzheimer´s disease.
Klein et al 2016 SSM Population Health Data form 93 countries: wrong to way to do statistics and interpreting data but shows that in bilingual countries the impact of dementia is less dramatic.
Call for chapters for an edited book focusing on the use of corpora for data-driven learning (DDL, Johns, 1991) with young (i.e. pre-tertiary) learners.
DDL, despite being a feature of corpora and language learning research for some time, has really taken off as a viable methodological approach in the last decade due to innovations in corpus query interfaces, data visualisation, open access and improved internet access/speed. However, for a number of reasons including access, resources and difficulties in convincing those outside academia of the value of DDL, the majority of studies on DDL are conducted with tertiary or adult learners, leaving DDL for younger learners (those in pre-school, primary, or secondary education) as a relatively underexplored area in the literature.
With this in mind, chapter proposals are invited that explore the use of DDL with younger learners. Studies dealing with DDL for first or second language acquisition, genre and register learning/teaching and DDL for the teaching/learning of subjects other than languages are particularly welcome. The corpora involved in any of these studies can be spoken, written or multimodal. Chapters may be empirical studies of corpus use and its effects on learning, studies that explore the perceptions of corpus use by younger learners/teachers of younger learners, or studies that make a novel contribution to theory or methodology, such as new software or corpora that deal specifically with younger learners, and new approaches in training teachers / students of younger learners in DDL techniques.
Final chapters will be approximately 6000-7500 words. Chapter proposals of 400-500 words are due mid April, 2018. The edited volume is to be published by Routledge in 2019, part of the Taylor and Francis publishing group.
Please feel free to signal your interest or discuss your ideas by contacting the editor at p.cros@uq.edu.au.
Acceptance notification in April, with final submissions due December 2018/January 2019.
Please contact:
Dr. Peter Crosthwaite, Ph.D., FHEA
Lecturer, School of Languages and Cultures,
University of Queensland
Call for papers Annual IVACS One-Day Symposium
Theme: Corpus Research in Challenging Contexts
24th February 2018
Centre for Irish Language Research, Teaching and Testing, School of Celtic Studies, Maynooth University
The Annual IVACS One-Day Symposium will be hosted by the Centre for Irish Language Research, Teaching and Testing, School of Celtic Studies, Maynooth University, on Saturday, 24th February 2018. This year’s main theme is Corpus research in challenging contexts, including:
Abstracts: The deadline for 300-word abstracts is Friday, 15th January 2018.
Abstracts should be sent by email, as MS word documents, to aoife.nighloinn@mu.ie
Registration for this event is free.
For more information about the IVACS research network, see http://www.ivacs.mic.ul.ie/.
Please circulate this to any colleagues or postgraduates who might be interested.
Travel
Maynooth University is located just 25 kilometres from the centre of Dublin city. Our campus is closely integrated with the historic and lively town of Maynooth, Co. Kildare, which is easily accessible by car, bus, and train. For driving directions and information on public transport options, see https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/location.
Or find us on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/K4tVUWFHFhm
The nearest airport is Dublin airport, 33km north east of Maynooth. There is an hourly shuttle bus between Dublin airport and Maynooth. Tickets can be purchase online athttps://airporthopper.ie/maynooth-timetable/.
Accommodation:
There is a range of guest rooms (ranging from €28 – €92 per person per night) available on the historic South Campus of the university, a 5-minute walk from the symposium venue on the North Campus. See https://www.maynoothcampus.com/rooms/ for details.
The Glenroyal Hotel: Located in the centre of the village, very close to the train station and bus stops and a 15-minute walk to the North Campus. See https://www.glenroyal.ie.
Making the Links: from theory to research design and back again
The video is a film of the lecture given by Professor Madeleine Arnot for the M.Phil, M.Ed, Ph.D and Ed.D courses on educational research. It offers students a chance to think about some recent debates about the role of theory in research, and the ways in which a theoretically informed study can be designed. The examples given derive from actual research projects.
Created: 2013-02-13 10:50 by Andrew Borkett
Keynote speaker: Madeleine Arnot
Publisher: University of Cambridge
You & theories
Category A – I have found theories (or a conceptual framework) I like which I am going to use.
Category B – I am worried because I don’t have a theory or conceptual framework, or can’t find one.
Category C – This is not relevant to me. I am a practitioner and want to improve practice not educational theories. I already know what I want to find out
Category D – I think theory- driven projects are biased and restrictive, I want to start with the data.
Concepts & methodology
Positivism, post-positivism, mixed methods
Surveys, data banks, tests, interviews,
Interpretivist methodology
Ethnography
Symbolic Interactionist
Phenomenology/grounded theory
Participatory/action research
Critical interpretivist traditions
Feminist methodologies
Critical policy research
Community studies/family studies
Youth cultural studies
Debate
-Have you considered how to “position” yourself? What does “positioning” entail?
-Why is it not enough to describe “the world”?
-What is the link between our RQ and theories? Is it one of those technical issues favoured by existing govt policies?
-What is the role of “grand theories”? Is there a grand theory particularly relevant in your research?
-“Life is messy message”. What do you take from this? What´s wrong with “patterns”?
-Theoretically-driven research vs grounded approach. How does this play out in your research?
-How useful are the models discussed by Prof Arnot for your research ( a>b, triangle, circular, deconstruction models)?
-Thinking conceptually and research designs. How does “concept” impact your research methods?
