maele.net

We invite you to submit a proposal to present at the TESL Canada 2012 conference, Oct. 11-13, 2012.  The conference will be held at Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.

The theme for the 2012 conference, TESL Interiors: Landscapes of Literacies and Language is one reflective of the multiple dimensions of communication and language education.  Presentations can cover any of the diverse areas of inquiry related to language teaching and Teacher Education.  The Call for Papers and online submission form are available at: http://www.tru.ca/tc2012/call.html

In addition to numerous concurrent sessions, confirmed keynote speakers at this time include: Dr. Steven Pinker (http://www.stevenpinker.com/#mce_temp_url#), and for the Graduate Students Symposium, Penny Ur.

A range of conference information can be found athttp http://www.tru.ca/tc2012

If you are a student or supervising graduate students, the Graduate Students Symposium may be of particular interest as this one-day pre-conference event will bring together those studying in graduate programs and provide opportunity to network and share.

Please feel free to pass this on your colleagues who may be interested.

Warm regards,

Joe Dobson

jdobson@TRU.CA

2nd CALL FOR PAPERS

Innovative Practices in Computer-Assisted Language Learning

Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI),
University of Ottawa

April 26 & April 27, 2012

The Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI), through its research centre CCERBAL, is hosting an international conference on Innovative Practices in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). The two-day conference will be a unique occasion for researchers, teachers, students and all others with an interest in CALL to gather and share knowledge and ideas. For more details… <http://www.olbi.uottawa.ca/en/ccerbal2012.php>

Keynotes speakers at the conference will be: Carol A. Chapelle (Iowa State, USA), François Mangenot (Grenoble III, France) and Elizabeth Murphy (Memorial University, Canada).

Proposals are invited for papers, workshops or posters:

Papers will be allocated 20 minutes for delivery, followed by 10 minutes for questions.

Workshop presentations will allow the opportunity for an interactive demonstration of a CALL tool or resource, with an optional hands-on component. Workshops will be allocated either a 30 or 60 minute time slot and will take place in a language lab equipped with computers.

Poster sessions will be held on both days of the conference and authors will be given an allocated time to present. Poster submissions by students-researchers are most particularly welcomed. Posters should follow the suggested formatting guidelines.

Proposals will be accepted until December 15th, 2011.

To submit a proposal, consult the CCERBAL website: http://www.olbi.uottawa.ca/en/ccerbal2012.php

SEASREP Foundation has resumed its grants program for postgraduate fellowship for the year 2012-2013. M.A. or Ph.D. graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the social sciences, humanities and the arts can apply for postgraduate fellowship in Southeast Asian studies.

Southeast Asian Studies Regional Exchange Program

Call for Applications

Postgraduate Fellowship

Objectives:

The fellowship aims to encourage the study of a Southeast Asian country other than one’s own or a comparative study across the region by M.A. or Ph.D. graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. The fellowship supports:

• M.A. or Ph.D. course work and/or thesis research (documentary research and field work) and thesis writing; and

• Postdoctoral research.

Fellowships are awarded for projects that are considered likely to reinforce cross-national or regional identity and promote mutual understanding in the region.

Who may apply:

• M.A. or Ph.D. fellowship: Southeast Asian nationals residing in the region under the age of 40 and enrolled in social science or humanities graduate programs in a Southeast Asian university

• Postdoctoral research: Southeast Asian nationals residing in the region affiliated to a university or research institute in Southeast Asia and who obtained doctorate degree in social science or humanities within three years prior to the date of grant application Scope of research:

Research projects must focus on a Southeast Asian country (or countries) other than the researcher’s own and may involve cross-national comparisons (which may include the researcher’s own country), or examine a regional theme, issue or problem. The research must include library (or archival) research and/or field work in the country or countries being studied.

• For M.A./Ph.D. students, the research findings must be used in the preparation of the M.A. thesis or Ph.D. dissertation.

• For postdoctoral fellows, the research must lead to the publication of a journal article, book chapter, or book.

Deadline for Applications: 4 January 2012

Contact:

The SEASREP Foundation

Unit 612-613 Residencia de Regina

94 Xavierville Avenue

Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1108

Philippines

Tel. No. 632-7090854

Fax No. 632-7090891

E-mail: grants@seasrepfoundation.org

Website: www.seasrepfoundation.org

CALICO is pleased to announce the publication of Vol. 29, No. 1, of the
CALICO Journal (September 2011)

https://www.calico.org/journalTOC.php?current=3D1

CALICO members and CALICO Journal subscribers can see the complete text
of the articles in the Journal, and nonmembers/nonsubscribers can see
the abstracts of the articles.  (The complete text of the software
reviews are freely viewable by anyone in the software review section
of the website.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Quantitative, Notional, and Comprehensive Evaluations of Spontaneous
Engaged Speech.  Garry Molholt, Maria Jose Cabrera, V. K. Kumar,
& Philip Thompsen

Virtual Social Network Communities: An Investigation of Language
Learners’ Development of Sociopragmatic Awareness and Multiliteracy
Skills.  Geraldine Blattner & Melissa Fiori

Development and Evaluation of English Listening Study Materials for
Business People Who Use Mobile Devices: A Case Study.  Masamori Yamada,
Satoshi Kitamura, Noriko Shimada, Takafumi Utashiro, Katsusuke Shigeta,
Etsuji Yamaguchi, et al.

Towards a Research Agenda for the Use of Three-Dimensional Virtual
Worlds in Language Learning.  Mark Peterson

Exploring Egyptian EFL Students’ Learning Styles and Satisfaction
with Web-Based Materials.  Ahmed Mahmoud Aliweh

Blended Learning in an ESL Class: A Case Study.  Maja Grgurovic

Comparison of the Effectiveness of a CALL-Based Approach and
a Card-Based Approach to Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention.
Andrew Oberg

Communicating Grammatically: Evaluating a Learner Strategy Website
for Spanish Grammar.  Andrew D. Cohen, Angela Pinilla-Herrera,
Jonathan R. Thompson, & Lance E. Witzig

Book Review

Review of Teaching Literature and Language Online.  Izabela Uscinski

Software Reviews

Review of Rosetta Stone Portuguese (Brazil) levels 1, 2, & 3 Personal
Edition Version 4 (TOTALe).  Victor D. O. Santos

Review of En una palabra, Puebla, Mexico: A CD-ROM for Exploring
Culture in Spanish.  Stasie C. Harrington

The research is on e-Learning in Malaysian Higher Education Institutions: Status, Trends, & Challenges. You read the whole book at http://www.scribd.com/doc/53498507/E-learning-in-Malaysian-Higher-Education-Institutions

Research date: end 2010-early 2011
3 sets of questionnaires (E-Learning Admin, Lecturer and student)
7,962 survey respondents (26 e-Learning administrators, 1,635 lecturers and 6,301 students) from a sample of 30 Malaysian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), comprising 20 public HEIs, 7 private HEIs, and 3 polytechnics.

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE
International PhD Scholarship

School of Languages and International Studies
Reference No INT-057Thomas

Applications are invited for a full-time scholarship available in the School of Languages and International Studies. The scholarship is tenable for up to 3 years for a PhD (via MPhil route) [subject to satisfactory progress] and is open to international applicants only. UK/EU applicants are not eligible to apply. The scholarship will provide £15000 towards the cost of the International tuition fee over 3 years.

Project Title: Distance Language Learning with Digital Technologies
Project Description:

The research project aims at increasing our understanding of learning strategies vis-à-vis language learning in online and distance education. Building on the School’s interest in developing distance and blended learning approaches for existing language courses, aimed specifically at international students and the areas of professional teaching practice, the research project has the goal of contributing to our understanding of a number of areas including: online and distance teaching and learning strategies, distance and blended learning materials design, professional development for distance language educators, and the use of social and collaborative learning technologies for language education. The successful scholarship candidate is expected to outline a research proposal that draws on existing work in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and second language acquisition (SLA), and can contribute to the goal of constructing a set of pedagogical and/or design criteria for online and distance language learning that will inform research in the area over the next decade. It is expected that the research proposal will involve the collection of qualitative and/or quantitative data where appropriate, using, for example, an ethnographic approach to understand learner collaboration in online language learning communities, and survey tools, case studies and interviews to examine learner perspectives on distance language learning.

Applicants should have, or expect to receive a qualification equivalent to a high class UK honours degree. A high proficiency in English Language is required for this project at IELTS 7.0 or equivalent. Depending on prior experience, candidates will also have the opportunity to contribute to the School’s undergraduate teaching where appropriate.
Informal project related enquiries may be directed to Dr Michael Thomas email mthomas4@uclan.ac.uk / Tel 01772 893148

Application Forms can be found at: www.uclan.ac.uk/studentships ?
Completed application forms should be emailed to researchdegrees@uclan.ac.uk

The closing date for applications to the Graduate Research Office:
Friday 13 May 2011 5pm British Summer Time

Proposed Interview Date: 1 June 2011

Research Assistantship in German Applied Linguistics

The PhD program in German in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies at the University of Waterloo invites applications for a PhD research assistantship/scholarship as part of the project “Scaffolding and individualized instruction in computer-assisted language learning” funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The research assistantship/scholarship is valued at CAD $22,000 per year for four years.

The research project aims at increasing our understanding of individual learner differences in the context of instructional scaffolding with the goal of constructing a set of evaluation and design criteria for adaptive, individualized computer-assisted language learning environments. This research draws on existing work in instructional scaffolding and individual learner differences in Second Language Acquisition as well as Complexity Science, which conceptualizes language learning as a complex, non-linear process.

The PhD in German program at the University of Waterloo (http://germanicandslavic.uwaterloo.ca/graduate/) encompasses applied linguistics (sociolinguistics, SLA, CALL) and Literature and Film Studies (literature, film, drama, hypermedia & theory), and students attain a critical knowledge base in both areas. Professional development and training are an integral part of the program.

The successful candidate will have a master’s degree in a relevant field and expertise (or interest) in areas such as applied linguistics, foreign language learning and teaching, and computers in language learning. A high proficiency in both German and English is required. The research assistant will register for the PhD in German program with a specialization in Applied Linguistics. S/he will be fully involved in all aspects of the project and will also have the opportunity to contribute to the Department’s undergraduate teaching.

Additional instructions:

1. If you intend to apply, please email Mat Schulze at the address below a.s.a.p.

2. Submit your application for the PhD in German program online (see http://www.grad.uwaterloo.ca/). In the research statement requested for the application package, please indicate that the application is for the research assistantship.  For further information please contact Mat Schulze (mschulze@uwaterloo.ca).

Application deadline: April 15, 2011.  Applications received after the deadline may be considered.

Piotr Siarek.  Seeking a teaching post in Malaysia.

• Cover_Letter for Eng Tutor Lecturer position enquiry.doc
• Piotr Siarek – CV English Tutor.doc