Current ProjectsMembers of the Research Centre for Languages and Cultures are often engaged in multiple projects of various types - more 'pure' research projects, more focussed applied consultancies, some externally funded, some not. The following lists all funded projects which are currently underway in the RCLC. This list is updated twice each year, in approximately February and August. Change in Context: AISSA-NALSSP ProjectAngela Scarino | Michelle Kohler | Andrew Scrimgeour 2010-2011, South Australian Independent Schools Targeted Programs Authority through the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program (NALSSP) This Research Project involves school-based research towards improving the curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment practices in the teaching of Chinese or Indonesian in three independent schools in South Australia. The focus is on 'Change in Context', that is, how each school, in its own setting, has been able to change its practices of language learning over a two year period with the support of the RCLC team. The project is part of the SAISTPA National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program (NALSSP) Strategic Plan 2009-2012. Developing the Shape Paper for Languages in the Australian CurriculumThis project involves developing the conceptual base for developing languages in the Australian curriculum, which is being developed by the newly established Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (see ACARA website). Professional Learning Course for In-service Teachers of Chinese and IndonesianMichelle Kohler | Andrew Scrimgeour | Angela Scarino 2010, Department of Education and Children's Services The purpose of this project is to design and deliver a 5 day professional learning course focussing on intercultural language teaching and learning for teachers of Chinese and teachers of Indonesian in DECS schools. The course will include a focus on engaging middle years students through addressing the diversity of their needs and backgrounds. Participants in the course will undertake a small-scale investigation of their classroom practice and reflect on their learning in a final sharing day with all participants. The materials developed by teachers in the course will be provided to the DECS and made available to teachers of these languages. The project is funded through the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program (NALSSP). Student Achievement in Asian Languages EducationAngela Scarino | Andrew Scrimgeour | Michelle Kohler | Anne-Marie Morgan | Ute Knoch (The University of Melbourne) | Catherine Elder ( University of Melbourne) | Noriko Iwashita (University of Queensland) | Sun Hee Kim 2009-2010, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations This project is being jointly run by the RCLC at UniSA and the Language Testing Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. The purpose of the project is to conduct research to establish a baseline and descriptions of what different students (background and non-background) can achieve in learning particular languages (Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean) under different conditions (program type, duration and intensity) at different phases of schooling, that is, at the end of primary, middle secondary and upper secondary. Developing a Draft National Plan for LanguagesAngela Scarino | Tony Liddicoat | Tim Curnow 2009 - 2010, Languages Education Working Party of Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) The National Statement and Plan for Languages Education in Australian Schools 2005-2008, endorsed by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) in 2005, provided an overarching framework and long-term directions for languages education in schools. The RCLC has been commissioned to develop an updated draft National Plan for 2009-2012 for consideration by the Languages Education Working Party of MCEECDYA (which has replaced MCEETYA). Adding Value? An Exploration of Performance and Perceptions in Enabling Education2009 - 2010, University of South Australia This project will shed light on ways in which students in pre-tertiary enabling education, and the academic staff who encounter them in subsequent undergraduate courses, view and value the challenges and opportunities presented by non-traditional pathways to higher education. In particular, we will investigate intellectual and personal dimensions of performance from the students’ perspective in terms of the challenges and opportunities they both perceive and actually experience. We will similarly examine corresponding aspects from the perspective of academics, including their perceptions of the academic integrity of enabling education and the quality and qualities of the undergraduate students that it produces. An Investigation Into the Role of Languages and Cultures in Residential Aged Care for Residents From CALD CommunitiesJonathan Crichton | Giancarlo Chiro | Mandy Stanley | Angela Scarino 2009 - 2010, University of South Australia The project aims to contribute to the enhancement of aged care for residents from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities by developing understanding of how languages and cultures come into play in their care. This aim is supported by the literature which increasingly emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the personhood of people in care as constituted though language in the context of culture. The methodology will be qualitative, involving case studies of CALD residents, and collaborative, including participants in developing a shared understanding of the findings and their consequences for the well being of residents. The State of Indonesian in Australian SchoolsMichelle Kohler | Phillip Mahnken (University of the Sunshine Coast) 2009, Asia Education Foundation (through University of the Sunshine Coast) The aim of this DEEWR funded project is to provide baseline information on the current state of Indonesian in Australian schools as part of the support for the implementation of the federal government's National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Project (NALSSP). The investigation will focus on quantitative data such as participation rates and qualitative data from interviews with stakeholders in the provision of Indonesian languages programs in schools. This project is managed by the Asia Education Foundation. Professional Standards Project (PSP) 2Angela Scarino | Tony Liddicoat | Jonathan Crichton | Nives Mercurio 2009 - 2010, Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) The overarching objective of the project is to improve the quality of languages teaching and thereby improve the learning outcomes of students. The Project aims to:
The initial professional learning program was developed in 2007 and
implemented in 2008. An extension to the funding is enabling a second round of
training in Stream A to take place in 2009, and development of a further
assessment stream (Stream C) to take place during 2009 to be implemented in
2010. It will continue to incorporate a train-the-trainer model, where selected
educators from each State and Territory will be trained to lead the professional
learning program in their particular context.
Enriching Student Learning Experience Through International Collaboration in Remote Laboratories2008 - 2010, Australian Learning and Teaching Council Andrew Nafalski | Zorica Nedic | Ozdemir Gol | Jan Machotka | Jonathan Crichton | Angela Scarino This project aims to develop, implement, evaluate and disseminate best practice in international on-line collaboration in remote laboratories. A remote laboratory (RL) is a new computer-based learning environment that allows students to access and perform experiments on real laboratory equipment from a distance via the internet. The project will create a framework for dissemination across the Australian higher education sector which will support student collaborative activities in RLs in a structured way to enable students to develop the intercultural communication skills and the international perspectives sought by their profession. Singapore Third Languages ProjectAngela Scarino | Michelle Kohler | Antonio Mercurio (SACE Board of SA) 2008 - 2009, Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia & Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board This project involves researching appropriate levels of student outcomes as a basis for developing assessment specification and procedures for Indonesian and Arabic languages. Assessing the Intercultural in Language LearningTony Liddicoat | Angela Scarino | Antonio Mercurio (SACE Board of SA) 2006 - 2009, ARC Linkage; industry partners are the Department of Education and Children's Services of South Australia, the South Australian School of Languages, and the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) Board The project works with teachers and students in Years 4-12 in a range of languages to develop approaches to assessment for intercultural language learning. The project examines key dimensions of assessment: eliciting and judging intercultural language learning and validating the assessment approach. The project includes the development and analysis of assessment tasks, analysis of students' responses to these tasks, and analysis of criteria used in judging responses. The study develops a theorised model of assessment for intercultural learning in languages, which fills a gap in languages pedagogy and intercultural research, an understanding of task features for assessing intercultrality and an explication of assessment processes. Investigation of Intercultural Teaching and Learning of Internal and External Students of Italian2006-2009, Cassamarca Foundation Australia Project Committee |